Pray-Woodman Elementary School
It has been an amazing first few weeks of school, and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the students and families. If I haven’t had a chance to meet you yet, I look forward to it!
I wanted to share a little bit about myself with all of you. This is my 28th year in education and my 14th year as an elementary principal, and I am honored to be given the opportunity to work with such an amazing group of people at Pray-Woodman. I have one son who is a freshman at Kansas State University. Go Cats!! I live west of Maize on a little farm with pigs, chickens, dogs, and a cat. It is a new experience for me, but I absolutely love it. When I am not at school, I love to be outside running, hiking, golfing, playing pickleball, or anything else that keeps me active.
I am excited for the opportunity of a new school year filled with promise, growth, and achievement. I believe in the power of collaboration among students, parents, teachers, staff, and community to create a nurturing and successful learning environment. These are foundational years of student development and we are dedicated to establishing a welcoming culture that maximizes the successes of all students.
Please feel free to visit our school, attend events, or reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. I will strive to always be available to our families and the community that we serve. Your partnership is invaluable to us, and together, we can make this school year truly exceptional.
Hello, Pray-Woodman Families!
Wow! I cannot believe it’s the beginning of September already! These last few weeks have flown by. I have loved getting to know your kids; they are amazing!
I am starting my fourth year as the assistant principal at Pray-Woodman and my twenty-first in education. I spent ten years at Maize Elementary and seven in Wichita public schools before arriving at PWS. I have three kids of my own who are in Maize schools, and my husband is a Wichita firefighter. We spend our time watching our kids play soccer and tennis, as well as dance. I understand a busy evening schedule!
I am so happy to be able to spend my days with your children. I never take for granted the gift that you send to us each day. I love getting to know them, seeing their smiles, getting all the hugs, and watching them grow! It’s going to be an awesome year!
Welcome to another great year, PWS Pride! The PWS Media Center is off to a wonderful start to the school year.
Mark your calendars! We will host two Scholastic book fairs this year. The book fairs are a great way to find books for your children, promote literacy, and provide a wonderful opportunity to support our Pray-Woodman School. We hope to see you at the fairs on October 9 and 10, 2024, and February 12 and 13, 2025.
We welcome and encourage PWS students and staff to wear a t-shirt with a positive message on Thursdays. Examples of positive shirt messages: “Choose Kind," “Be Kind," "Kind People Are My Kind of People..." Any phrase or picture on a shirt that sends a positive thought and puts a smile on someone’s face is perfect!
This is optional, and we hope you will consider joining our media center staff by participating on Thursdays! Thank you for supporting and encouraging the positive culture of our school community!
Please join our PWS Library Media Center Facebook page. You can find photos and announcements throughout the year on this page. The PWS Media Center is a wonderful place to be!
Today's Readers are Tomorrow's Leaders!
Madison Anderson manderson@usd266.com
New and exciting changes!
Welcome back to another fun and active school year in PWS Physical Education.
We do have a few new and exciting changes for this school year. The first of those being that your child will have PE three times a week all year! We appreciate the opportunity to spend more time developing your child’s physical fitness and motor skills, along with assisting their academic performance. Students are excited to have fun, socialize, and learn! The second change is that we have added Shelley Schuette to our physical education staff. She is at PWS in the afternoon.
Here are a few ways to ensure your child has a Safe and Fun experience in PE.
- Athletic shoes—sandals, boots, crocs, and dress shoes—are not very safe for the activities we do in physical education. If a student forgets their shoes, I will have them walk around during class so they are getting some exercise. One way to help out is to pack extra PE shoes in their backpack when they wear fancy shoes.
- A great attitude: This year we will focus on “I can” statements. Encouraging each other and working to improve ourselves in every class. You don’t need to be the best; you just need to try.
- An ability to tie those shoes :) Students love to learn new skills, and there are a ton of
videos and books to help your child learn to tie their shoes.
We look forward to a great year,
Coach Hubert and Coach Schuette X 2
Starting this month, all students will begin monthly counseling lessons. These lessons are thirty minutes long and are designed to teach students character traits from Capturing Kids Hearts.
For the first lesson, students will focus on friendship and empathy. All students will also be invited to lunch with the counselors and their grade-level peers. Please look for future communications regarding tier two counseling groups or tier 2 support.
As always, we are here to partner with you for the success of your child. Please reach out via email or phone if you have any questions or concerns. We know this school year is going to be great!
Haley Spears, hspears@usd266.com, grades 1, 3.
Georgia O'Brien gobrien@usd266.com, grades K, 2, 4.
Hey PWS Pride! We are ready for another amazing year making beautiful music 🎶
Our music programs this year will be:
- November 19: 3rd and 4th grades
- March 11: 1st and 2nd grades
- May 6: Kindergarten
Be on the lookout for more information as these dates get closer.
Madelaine Zuniga mzuniga@usd266.com
Keri Bye kbye@usd266.com
Hello, Pray-Woodman Pride families! I hope everyone had a fabulous summer! It's SO good to be back! I had my sweet little baby girl at the beginning of May, and although I miss her terribly while I'm at work, I love getting to see and take care of your children every day! Here are a few reminders:
- ALL vaccinations need to be up-to-date by October 1, 2024. Failure to provide documentation of immunization compliance may result in unexcused absences until they are received. If I have reached out to you in regards to this, please get these vaccination records to me as soon as possible. If your child has a religious or medical exemption, please get a signed statement to me as soon as possible. A medical exemption must be signed by a physician.
- If your child needs a prescription medication at school, it must be kept in the health room. All prescription medications must have a doctor's order and signature. Over-the-counter medications only need a parent's signature. You can find the medication administration form on the Maize website at https://www.usd266.com/ under frequently requested forms.
- In the event your child needs a change of clothing, please consider putting a set of clothes in their backpack! Any clothing donations to the health room are greatly appreciated!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kwallender@usd266.com or call me at (316) 350-2607. Thank you so much!
Join us for breakfast and lunch at school!
Grab & Go Breakfast is offered daily beginning at 8:20 a.m. Students can pick between three or more filling whole-grain entrees, juice, fruit, and milk each day and will take their breakfast directly to the classroom to begin learning.
During Lunch time students have a choice of three entrees each day, including one Grab & Go meal.
Microwaves are not available for student use.
You can Support Pray-Woodman PTO while you Shop at Dillons!
Dillons Community Rewards: Register your Dillon's Plus Card with "Pray-Woodman Elementary Parent Teacher Organization" and it automatically donates a percentage to PWS every-time you shop! Our organization number is TH774.
Visit PWS PTO on Facebook!
