The Who's News

9/10 (Tue): Willett Chorus begins (before school)

9/10 (Tue): Willett Wear Contest Deadline

9/10 (Tue): 4th-6th Music Program Enrollment Opens

9/12 (Thur): Kona Ice at Willett (after school)

9/13 (Fri): Willett Fall Auction (Spooky Soiree) Early Bird Ticket Sales Deadline

9/15 (Mon): Willett Yearbook Early Bird Purchase Deadline

9/16-20: Willett Safety Week

9/17 (Tue): Willett PTA Meeting, 7pm

9/18 (Wed): Dental Screening for Kinder, 3rd, and 5th Grades

9/25 (Wed): Book Club First Meeting, 6:45 pm

9/27 (Fri): Willett PTA Family-Friendly Ruhstaller Social Event, 5-7pm

9/30 (Mon): Picture Day

10/4 (Fri): Coffee with the Principal 8:30am

Subscribe to the Willett PTA Calendar HERE.

Do you have an artistic student that loves Willett and wants to see some fresh Willett Wear? Then read on! Your student's design could be the winner for our Willett Wear Contest! Make sure to get those submissions in by TOMORROW, 9/10/24, to be considered! Please email to willettroomparent@gmail.com.

Click on the Willett Owl to the Right for Contest Rules and to Buy Willett Wear! --->

Join the Willett Chorus! Chorus consists of 3rd-6th grade students here at Willett Elementary. We meet before school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, at 7:45 A.M. in the new MPR. Chorus is directed by Ms. Lindsay and will focus on learning fun songs in a group setting, for a winter performance and a spring performance. Our first practice will be on Tuesday, September 10th. Please get a permission slip from the front office, and turn it into Ms. Lindsay on the first day of chorus. It's going to be another rockin' year! Please contact lmanvillewiebe@djusd.net with any questions.

If you have a 4th, 5th, or 6th grader, be sure to consider DJUSD's incredible music program! Click the link below for information on enrollment, instruments, and parent meetings (9/9, 9/10 or 9/11).

Here is a very short video from 2023 about DJUSD's elementary music offerings (note that parent meeting dates in video are from last year and this year's dates are noted above and on the link)!

Come have fun at a Willett costume party this fall at our Spooky Soiree! Early bird tickets are now on sale through September 13th. The Spooky Soiree will include dinner, drinks, and dancing with your ticket in addition to a costume contest and silent and live auctions. This fun party will be held on Saturday 11/2/2024 from 6 pm to 10 pm at Wildhorse Golf Club in Davis. The PTA is doing all the hard work, we just need you to show up and have fun! Buy tickets here: https://willettelementary.schoolauction.net/spookysoiree/

Yearbook: Early Bird Pricing $29.50 before 9/15/23. Regular Price: $36. Take advantage of Early Bird Pricing for your yearbooks and purchase today. $29.50 through 9/15/24 at buytheyearbook.com. School Code is 723141.

Welcome Back Willett Community! We need volunteers to help us scan between 8:20-8:30 am as kids arrive to school, especially for these first few weeks of school. If you can help it would be greatly appreciated. Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D49A8AD2BA0F49-50637567-willett

If you’re new to Willett, and your student walks, bikes, uses a scooter, electric vehicle, or public transit, please consider signing up for Active4.me at: www.active4.me/Registration/willett. Paper forms are also available at the Active4.me table. We will issue your student a bar code tag when we receive the signed registration form. As always, we need volunteers!

Want to make a big impact with just a small time commitment? Become a Room Parent! The Willett PTA is seeking one enthusiastic parent per classroom to help bridge the gap between the PTA and families. Your role? Simple but impactful: share PTA updates, lend a hand during teacher appreciation events, and be a vital support for your child’s learning environment. It’s a fantastic way for busy parents to stay involved and make a difference!

Interested? Got questions? Reach out to us at willettroomparent@gmail.com and let’s make this school year unforgettable!

Students, families, and members of the community are all invited to join us as we walk in support of kindness, anti-racism, and anti-bullying from Arroyo Park Soccer Field to Willett Elementary school. Will you join us? If so, please RSVP to this post (below)!

The first 150 students to sign-in at Arroyo Park will receive a free purple beanie! Students (especially younger students) may wish to join us for the second portion of our walk starting at Sycamore Park. The first 150 students to sign-in at Sycamore Park will receive a purple bracelet! We’d like to thank the Ruby Bridges Foundation and AAA for their help in sponsoring this event and providing us with free swag to share with our participants.

RSVP for the event here!

Learn more about the Ruby Bridges Foundation here!

Each school year, we have students who may have allergies to certain types of foods. Nut allergies can be very serious so we ask that no food containing nuts or nut oils be brought out and eaten in classes during the school day. At lunch, we have three “nut free” tables that students who have allergies can use to maintain a safe lunch environment for them. If they need help finding the tables, have them come ask Principal Campbell who is always out at lunch in support of students.

Willett Librarian, Mr. Fluetsch, will be hosting the Willett Book Club again this year. The Book Club is for 4th, 5th and 6th grade students and the students' chosen adults. Each month both students and adults read the book. We then get together and discuss it as a group. Much more information about the Book Club can be found at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o-ueiBbmlWx5XDI8_yGdEny1o6xPHmTi69kiuXXCw8k/edit?usp=sharing

Willett offers breakfast to students at two different times during the school day, independent of lunch. Students can get breakfast between 8:00-8:25 each morning and also during the first recess starting at 9:55. The second breakfast is available to all students at either of these times with the understanding that students can choose breakfast at one but not both of these times. Please remind your child that these two offerings for breakfast are available to them.

Our first General Membership PTA meeting will be on Tuesday, September 17 in the Willett Staff Lounge.

• Our meeting will begin at 7pm (info for virtual options HERE)
• Our agenda will include budget review and discussion of teacher grants. See full agenda here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kx6L9nIHBYdHmMGORT5luMiRS2J9HeFsp-ipbHDeOMg/edit?usp=sharing

Please join so all voices are represented!

The PTA is looking for volunteers to oversee the following vacant positions or roles:

•BRAVO Music Chair

•Coffee-with-the-Principal Chair

•End-of-Year Celebration Lead

•Jog-a-thon Committee Chair

•Lunar New Year Committee Chair

Contact Katie Lasker at president@willettpta.org for details and next steps if this sounds like something for you!

Let's put together our funds, talents, and efforts to give our students and the Willett staff all the supports they need! Our PTA provides funding for: Chorus, Library, Art/Cartooning in the Classroom, Garden, Davis Parent University, Paraeducator salary contribution, playground equipment, fun community-building events & more. Please consider donating and/or joining today!

Interested in being a yearbook photographer!? If you are interested and/or would like to send in photos, please email yearbook@willettpta.org, any and all photos are appreciated!

Have a love for spooky decor? Have an amazing silent or live auction item to donate? A great idea for the event? We need you! Please email erinautrymontgomery@gmail.com to join our (small) committee of people working to make this event a success for the school.

Please mark your calendars for Friday September 27th, 5-7pm for a kid-friendly, dog-friendly Willett social hour at Ruhstaller Farms. There will be a reserved area for the Willett community. We hope you can join us for some low-key Friday night socializing! Outside food and non-alcoholic beverages are permitted, and the PTA will have snacks to share. Ruhstaller is located at 6686 Sievers Rd, Dixon, CA 95620, about 10 minutes from Davis.

Davis Parent University is a volunteer organization unique to our community. It is a committee composed of representatives from each DJUSD school who partner with school leaders and educators to determine the support that is most needed for our children, families and community. From there, the committee researches authors relevant to the topics recommended by the elementary, junior high, and high schools and the 2024/2025 school year will address communication and mental health with authors who will provide tools that apply to any and all stages of parenting.

The first event kicks off with an in person event highlighting speaker Ned Johnson, bestselling author of the acclaimed book, What Do You Say? How to Talk with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home. We hope to see you on Wednesday, October 30th beginning at 7pm in Brunelle Theater. Space is limited, so please reserve your FREE tickets starting August 20 at the DPU website: davisparentuniversity.com.

Are you an international family? Be sure to check out how the International House of Davis (on the corner of College Park & Russell) seeks to support the International Parent Community HERE.

Registration for Davis REC Guide programs is now open. Check out the many programs for you and your student to participate in and have fun this Fall and Winter! Check out the online program here:

https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/parks-and-community-services/forms-and-publications/recreation-schedules

This year, the Davis Community Action Network, a local grassroots organization focused on housing and climate issues in Davis and Yolo County, will publish a report representing as many community perspectives as possible about our housing and climate crisis. They have reached over 200 people but are asking for more parents to get involved! If you are interested, please join for a 1 hour zoom conversation where you will:

• Learn about affordable housing and climate-smart design
• Share your experience and ideas about how to make Davis more affordable and sustainable
• Add your voice to DCAN’s upcoming report on community perspectives for the City of Davis

When: Wednesday Sept. 12, 9:00-10:00 am OR Thursday Sept. 18, 7:00-8:00 pm

Where: VIA ZOOM - Register for the link at https://forms.gle/AokxxSVosw3KVooS6

• Nugget Scrip (cards available at Nugget)

• Farm Fresh to You Produce Boxes: Farm Fresh to You will give 10% back to Willett PTA if you enter the promo code WILLETTOWLS during checkout, or add it to your Account Summary if you (or someone you know) already receives a box. Sign up and browse options here.

September DJUSD lunch menu HERE.

DJUSD Breakfast menu HERE.