Washington Learning Center News
"Learning for fun, learning for growth, learning for life"
Message from Principal Brown - October 2017
A team of four represented WLC Saturday for the New Ulm "Day of Caring": Kris Giefer, Marissa Klimmek, Sue Kimmel and Dawn Brown. We were thankful we were able to help those who needed it. Some of our jobs included dusting, vacuuming, cleaning windows, taking down and putting up draperies, raking, trimming plants and shrubs, mowing, and sweeping out a garage. We were provided a fabulous breakfast by the HONU volunteers and were sent on our way with delicious home baked cookies and home grown apples!
The WLC Culture and Climate Committee have encouraged our staff to create #LiteracyOLanterns again this October. Please be sure to stop in the media center to check them out!
November provides us with an opportunity to have conferences with parents. We look forward to welcoming you into the classroom to discuss your child's first couple months at WLC. You should have received an email to sign up for a conference with your teacher. If you have any questions, please contact the office.
I am excited to share with you that I will be going to Washington D.C. this November representing Minnesota at the National Association of Elementary Principals (NAESP) annual meeting to work on legislative resolutions. NAESP believes that the child is the focal point of the educational program and that education in our society must assist each child to realize his or her potential as a functioning and contributing member of that society. The Association believes that each child should have an equal opportunity to attain self-realization. I am honored to represent New Ulm, MN at the national level!
Mark your calendars!!
Washington Learning Center & Eagles Preschool
-Monday, November 6 : NO SCHOOL - Teacher Inservice
-Monday, November 13-Friday, November 17: American Education Week
- Monday: American Pride! Wear Red, White & Blue
- Tuesday: Read a t-shirt day! Wear your favorite t-shirt with lettering on it.
-Wednesday: Minnesota Pride! Wear a shirt representing Minnesota.
(ALSO picture retake day)
- Thursday: Grade Level Pride! Preschool: Blue, Kindergarten: Red
- Friday: School Pride! Wear your purple & white
-Wednesday, November 15: WLC Picture Retakes
If your child did NOT have their picture taken on the original picture day please fill out a form or order online. If your child already had it taken on our original date please send your picture package back & nothing further is needed.
-Thursday, November 16: NO EAGLES PRESCHOOL - Parent/Teacher Conferences
-Thursday, November 16 & Monday, November 20 - Washington Learning Center Preschool & Kindergarten Conferences
-Thursday, November 22-Friday, November 24: NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break
ECFE
Friday, November 3: Open Gym Night, 6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.
Saturday, November 4: Women's Expo: 9:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.
Tuesday, November 7: NO EVENING CLASSES, ELECTION NIGHT
Saturday, November 11: Sensory Bottles 10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M.
Monday, November 13: Early Childhood Screening, 8 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.
Tuesday, November 14: Preschool Information Night
Friday, November 17: Cookie Jar, 6:00pm-7:00pm & Parent Advisory Meeting, 5:30 P.M.-7:30 P.M.
Please help keep our students safe!
We know that parents and staff want to be sure our students are safe when they are at school. Parents have quickly learned about our routines and procedures, especially with our unique curbside drop off and pick up. It has been running smoothly and we continue to reduce the time it takes to get all of the cars through the line. Thank you for your efforts in making this a safe and convenient way to pick up you child(ren).
The following procedures need to be followed in order to ensure the safety of our students.
Door #2 to be used ONLY for dropping off or picking up students curbside in your car. Drive through the drop off/pick-up lane. If you will be using this option, students will only be allowed to get in your car when your car is directly in front of the doors or farther up in the laneFor safety purposes, do not ever leave your car unattended and do not block the driveway. No walk up pick up is allowed in this area. Please be patient as you are waiting in line. The staff that are on duty in this area have your student's safety in mind and will be focused on being sure that the line continues to move and that child(ren) are picked up in the loading zone.
If your child will be picked up by you after school you may park in the parking lot and walk to Door #9 (under the canopy) to get your child. No students will be allowed to walk alone to a car. Please use the sidewalks to and from the building and refrain from walking through the parking lot as much as possible.
How Tall Are You?
Getting Dirty
The Sandbox is ALWAYS a Favorite!
Eagles Preschool - Ms. Sara
Firefighters talking with WLC's preschool students
Ms. Sara's Class
Preschool students having some outdoor FuN
ECFE
It has been a crazy busy October at ECFE, its hard to believe we are half way through our fall ECFE session!
Here are some of our highlights:
First Fire Drill!
Our class for 2’s and 3’s were able to experience their fist fire drill….as a bonus they were able to see the fire trucks!
Bedtimes Stories at the New Ulm Public Library
Each month we offer Bedtime Stories at the Library. Jan the Librarian reads stories and Jen brings activities for the families. Our next Bedtime Story class is November 8 from 6:00-7:00. This is a FREE event and every child leaves with a book to keep!!
Open Gym at NUAGA
We offered a new event this month…we invited families to meet us at NUAGA for an evening of jumping, tumbling, and even parachute fun! We will have to do this again…everyone had a great time!!
Some of our Great ECFE Staff!
0 - 12 month class!
We have 12 babies in our 0-12 month old class! You can’t help but smile to see all the parents and children together!
Thursday Night Class
Our Thursday night class finished their 5 week session. We start a new 5 week session this week!
Halloween Party!
We have over 460 parent and children attend our Community Halloween Party last weekend. We would like to thank all our donors for helping fund our event…especially 3M and the Optimist Club.
Women's Expo & Craft Fair
On Saturday, November 4, we will hold our Women’s Expo and Craft Fair at Jefferson School from 9:00-2:00. This is our one large fundraiser of the year. We are also part of the GnomeMade Shows and are located on their map. Come check out all the great vendors!
Keep an eye on our Facebook page: ECFE-New Ulm for family friendly community events!
Kindergarten - Mrs. Holly Syverson
October brought about many exciting adventures for kindergarten students. Students were able to travel to A-Peeling Acres, The New Ulm Fire Department and Flandrau State Park. These adventures offered the opportunity for real life hands on learning relating to apples, fire safety and the fall season.
October is also kindness month. Kindergarten students at WLC identified and participated in various kindness activities and practiced showing kindness to others at home and at school.
Over the river and through the woods onto November we go!
Music - Ms. Madeline Cacciatore
Kindergarteners are off to a great start in music! They have music class Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for half an hour.
We began our year by introducing our rules and expectations in the music room. Kindergarteners have been working on acting respectfully, responsibly, and safely in our music room and throughout the school. We talked about what our jobs will be and what it means to be a participator in music.
Our students have been working really hard on keeping the steady beat with their body and rhythm sticks. And as we sing, dance, play instruments and play games, the students are discovering their singing voices. Hopefully your child has shared some songs and activities with you!
We hope your child is enjoying music this year. If you have questions or concerns about your child’s progress in music, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Ms. Madeline Cacciatore, Mrs. Kyara Koepsell, and Mr. Dave Stordalen
Library & Technology
The library will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair during conferences. It will be open the evening of November 16th and the 20th, so please stop by say hi and find some good books. If you cannot make it to the Book Fair, you can also shop it online
(www.scholastic.com/bf/washingtonlearningcenter1) beginning November 12th.
In media tech we finished our lessons in Kodable. Students who completed all the sequence and condition lessons received a certificate. They can continue to play on Kodable by going to https://game.kodable.com/and entering their class code. Their class code is the number 88 followed by their classroom number. For example Mrs. Sasser's class code is 88308.
We have now started using the visual programming language Blockly. Students soon will be writing programs with loops and then creating their own games. You can access the program using following the class links at goo.gl/YEkFV3.
School Social Worker - Nan Huffman
During the month of November, I will be presenting Second Step bullying prevention lessons to each of the Kindergarten classes. Students will first learn to recognize bullying. Bullying is aggressive behavior that is repeated over time, usually occurs when there is a power imbalance and is intended to cause harm or distress on the target. Recognizing bullying is the first step in getting it to stop.
The second step in our bullying prevention lessons is learning how to report bullying to an adult. Often adults in schools are unaware of bullying happening. Students will learn how to report bullying. Students will learn that reporting bullying is not the same as tattling and that it is their job to keep themselves and others safe by reporting.
The third classroom lesson will focus on learning how to refuse bullying when it happens. One way children can help stop bullying is to say words assertively that mean “no” to refuse bullying when it happens. Research shows that students can reduce their chances of being bullied in the future by responding assertively.
The last step that will be taught is bystander power. Bystanders are the people who see or know about bullying happening to others. Students will learn what they can do to help stop bullying when they are a bystander. Research shows that changing how bystanders react is a powerful way to reduce bullying.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please call Nan Huffman at 233-8330.
Kitchen Services - Teri Jesperson
Notes from the Nurse
We're into the Influenza season, so I'd like to remind you of a couple things if you're wondering if you should send or kids to school or not. Ask yourself these questions:
1. Does my child have a fever 100.0 or higher?
2. Does my child have a sore throat?
3. Does my child have a cough?
If you answered "Yes" to a fever and at least one of the other symptoms, there’s a good chance they have an influenza like illness. Please keep your child home and let your school know. Keep them home for a least 24 hours after the fever is gone and until they feel well enough to participate in school activities. I know with the pressures of jobs, activities, etc, it’s tempting to send kids back to school too soon, but please don’t! They may still be contagious and they still need to rest and take it easy.
Also, remember to get your flu shot, as well your children!
Sharon Larson, BSN
NUPS Nurse
Special Education - Early Childhood Special Education - Tracey Schmiesing
“You can’t bounce off the walls If there are no walls: outdoor schools make kids happier—and smarter”
David Sobel
WLC moved another step into the outdoor classroom direction on Oct 9th when kindergarten classrooms were given the option of teaching math centers outside in the garden area. Children were outside, counting out wooden blocks, making graphs with sticks, pinecones, and acorns. They were moving rocks around and counting dots on rocks. Children counted pumpkins that were planted last spring. They analyzed the tomatoes that were still trying to turn red before the frost. They took rocks and sticks and practiced writing numbers in the dirt planter boxes. Number lines were built out of wood and acorns were used as markers.. Large wooden slices were placed out in the garden. There were numbers 1-10 painted on them, allowing the children to move from one to the next, ordering them and being exposed to the numbers in a different environment. Learning was happening as the children had a wonderful time outdoors.
The preschool children also ventured out into the gardens, helping to pull out the vegetables and composting them as we “put our garden to sleep” for the winter months. THANK YOU PRESCHOOLERS!!
Now to plan what we’ll plant in the spring!!!
Community Education
BRRRR, It's starting to feel like Winter out there! Come keep warm at one of our FUN Painting Classes coming up! Call me at 507-233-8307 to reserve your spot!
Canvas Painting with Lori
Instructor Lori Kruggel
Tuesday November 14th
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Must be registered by Nov 7 to participate
Washington Learning Center (door #1)
Room # 103
Fee $28
For ages 13-100
Min 3/ Max 8
In this class you will be painting an angel. You will get to paint it's gown and wings any color. I have a template for you to use if you don't feel comfortable drawing it yourself. I can also help you paint it to look like a loved one by changing the hairstyle. Everything you'll need including a 12 x 12 canvas will be supplied.
Canvas Painting with Lori
Instructor Lori Kruggel
Tuesday December 12th
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Must be registered by Dec 5 to participate
Washington Learning Center (door #1)
Room # 103
Fee $24
For ages 10-100
Min 3/ Max 8
In this class you’ll be painting a fun little reindeer on a 9 x 12 canvas. This painting is perfect for beginning painters. Everything you'll need including a 9 x 12 canvas will be supplied.
Contact the WLC Office
Website: http://www.newulm.k12.mn.us/washington-learning-center/
Location: 910 14th North Street, New Ulm, MN, United States
Phone: (507) 233-8300
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NUPSwlc
Twitter: @NUPSwlc