End of Year Activities

 

May 29: Field Trip to Camp St. Croix (rain date May 28)

Here is information for the groups and activities; permission slips went through ParentSquare and were due last week; we will give teachers names of students who will be getting a bag lunch from school.

TO DO: check the linked doc

• check bus groups (5 buses total)
• Remind kids to bring:
• tennies
• lunch (if they didn't order one from school)
• sunscreen
• water bottle
• hat (optional)
• sunglasses (optional)
• classroom teachers - check buddies and how I've paired you
• "extra" staff - check where I've put people (sped, para, etc.)
• please let me know if changes need to be made - apologies if I forgot anyone
• K-2 teachers indicate what ice cream treat their students want with marker or sticker (Sweet Treats menu)
• 2:30-3:30 - All School Meeting

Wear your Better Together t-shirts, and 5th grade wears green Track and Field!

May 31: Willow Farewell Celebration (12:00-3:00)

• Tentative planning
• Staff Sign Up if you're interested in helping.
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xUalCoLC-R55orhtAGd9c5hOOCRp7WN9/view?usp=sharing

June 1: 5th Grade Farewell

Staff: Wear black Willow WOW shirts

June 2: Last Day of School

The last day of school walk and picnic is pretty much the same that it has always been, weather permitting.  If it rains, we'll do something similar to last year. Permission slips have been sent through ParentSquare, and were due last week due to food order deadlines.  Vanessa is following up (thank you!).

TO DO:

• "extra" staff sign up to walk with different grade levels (on the link above)
• note the times for the bounce house and Cinder lot activity with specialists.
• Classroom Teachers; find 2 volunteers to help with crowd control during bounce house time
• bounce houses delivered to gym June 1st at 7:00 pm; picked up at 2:00 on June 2nd
• All School: Wear this year's light blue Boosterthon t-shirt

End of Day/Clap Out 

Parent Pick Up - on St. Croix with grade levels go thru the tunnel coming out of Door 4

• Clap Out on steps/sidewalk by original entrance on St. Croix 

• Parent Pick Up
• In person pick up: Park on side streets or Trinity UPPER LOT, and walk to Door 4 on St. Croix; adults stand on grass between sidewalk and road.
• Car pick up: park along the Willow side of St. Croix St. 
•  4K starts, and it goes in order from youngest to oldest; 4K students walk to sidewalk between 4th and 3rd for pick up (away from the rest of the students)
• As students come out, they go down the sidewalk to the grassy area near 5th St., and grades continue to go to the grassy area moving toward 4th St. to wait with their teachers.

As students come out, they go down the sidewalk to the grassy area near 5th St., and grade levels continue to go to grassy area between school and sidewalk, filling in from 5th St. up toward 4th St.  

Release/pick up order:

• 1st -  Lindi and Adam will take bus students to Oak St.; SAC will meet at Door 1
• 2nd - students will be released to in-person parents (standing on grassy area between sidewalk and road) by classroom teachers
• 3rd - students will be released to adults in cars by classroom teachers

Available Staff: 3:30

• 4K: 3:35 pm

• Kindergarten: 3:36 pm 

• First Grade: 3:38 pm 

• Second Grade: 3:40 pm 

• Third Grade: 3:42 pm 

• Fourth Grade: 3:44 pm  

• Fifth Grade: 3:46 pm

June 2: Block Party (4:00-6:00)

We are working on RSVPs from families so we know the plan for each student; this will be communicated to teachers.

Prep for the Block Party:

June 1 - after school on the playground: tent (by basketball hoops) and porta potties (along fence by swings) 

June 2 

• 10:00 - stage put up (by basketball hoops)
• 1:00 - no parking on 4th Street (staff will need to park elsewhere that day) - street will be blocked off by the city; potential parking in St. Pat's and Trinity's lots
• playground will be off-limits after the family picnic so parent group can set up
• Teachers will get information for student RSVPs

Parent Pick Up Information communication plan:

• paper copy of flyer with information sent to all 4K-5 students on Tue. 5/26
• information included in Sue's message in the Family Newsletter on Thur. 5/28
• ParentSquare message to 4K-5 families on Mon. 6/1
• Please include in weekly Peeks as well!!

Miss Maple's Seeds - May 11-15

 

Miss Maple's Seeds

May 11-15 is our One School-One Book event, where everyone will read the book, Miss Maple's Seeds.  Below are some optional activities you can do with your class/buddies - this is a snip of the menu so use the linked presentation at the bottom of this page to get to the links to activities and writing pages.  Paper copies of the writing sheets were also given to teachers at the last staff meeting. PLEASE SEND BOOKS HOME ON THURSDAY.

Reminders:

• If you need any materials, please let me know.  
• We will be highlighting some parts of the books on this week's Raider Report. 
• Student copies will be in mailboxes on Monday - these go home with oldest (you'll have a list).

Enjoy the book and discussion-

Sue

Miss Maple's Seeds Activities - presentation

Staff Appreciation Week!

This year, more than ever, the Willow staff are Willow strong!  

Thank you for all you do - past, present and future.  

I appreciate you individually, and am grateful for you as a team.

Here's a look at the special treatment for this week!

 

End of the Year Planning

 

End of Year Planning

End of Year Notes:

• May 4 - Leadership and PBIS invites sent for summer work 
• May 7 - PBIS Reward: All School Bingo (3:10)
• May 8 - Young Author's Day
• May 11-15 - Miss Maple's Seeds (One Book/One School activities) - Miss Maple’s Seeds Activity Suggestions
• May 15 - SLOs due (how to presentation)
• May 18 - Family Tours of elementary schools (staff invited to volunteer at new buildings)
• May 22 - PD/Committee Meetings - May 22nd professional learning schedule
• May 29 - All-School Field Trip to Camp St. Croix - 9:30-2:00  (May 28 - rain back up date) 
• May 29 - All School Meeting (start at 2:45)
• May 29 - class placements communicated to families
• May 31 - Community Farewell Party (12:00-3:00) - 5th graders lead school tours, ice cream truck
• June 1 - 5th Grade Farewell
• June 2 - Last Day of School Celebration! Willow Walk and traditional family picnic; teachers need to find 2 volunteers to help with bounce house
• June 2 - Family Farewell (4:00-6:00) - food trucks, bands, family fun!
• June 3 - Check Out
• science supplies -  attached spreadsheet
• June 5 - Teacher welcome letters sent to families (send to Vanessa by May 29)

Notes:

Transition and Packing Guidelines

Archived - linked information

• April 10 - Support Staff Placement
• February 11: Certified Staff district staffing meeting - presentation
• February 25: District-wide Certified Staff placements
• March 27: Support Staff district staffing meeting - presentation

Ending the year...

 

We have worked very hard this year, and have influenced every child in our building.  We've kept our focus on kids, and I have been so proud of your positive attitude and professionalism. The anticipation of the end of year is always a collection of mixed emotions - excitement, melancholy, sadness, happiness - and even more so this year.  It can be exhausting.  Add in an uptick in behaviors, state testing, navigating new curriculum, inside recess days, schedule changes, field trips, packing, and a rollercoaster of weather (and emotions!) - and we may need to stop for a breath.  This is a great time for a reset, and to remind ourselves of why we do what we do.  We are all here because we are passionate about helping students be all they can be - even when it's hard.

Deanna shared this graphic, which has great reminders on how to power through these last six weeks (30 days?!) - here's a quick reminder about the importance of maintaining those relationships with your students - 

especially when days are hard.

Hang in there!  And have a great week!
Sue

Safety Week: April 13-17, 2026

  

April 13-17, 2026

IMPORTANT: Safety Drill Reminders

We are going to have our School Safety Week April 13-17, so here is the information ahead of time.  All staff need to review safety procedures for themselves, and classroom teachers/specialists need to review the procedures with their students for the SEVERE WEATHER and LOCK DOWN drills this week.  I will review each of our drills (Hold, Secure, Evacuation, Severe Weather and Lockdown) on the Raider Report this week as well.  We will try to do a fire drill next week as well, depending on the weather.

Severe Weather

Next week is designated as Severe Weather Awareness week, with a statewide Tornado Drill on Thursday, April 16th (sirens at 1:45 and 6:45).  While we will not be doing an all-school practice at that time, staff are asked to do the following:

Please review:

• Classroom teachers: On Thursday (April 16), at your own chosen time, review the overhead message: Shelter for tornado. Go to your tornado shelter area. In addition, review the crouch position (crouch low, head down, protecting the back of the head with their arms), and visit your classroom's severe weather (tornado) location - 2025-2026 and the Tornado Review procedure.  The state tornado Drill is at 1:45, but teachers/specialists can choose to do their review at any time during the day.

• Specialists: review your location with your students
• Note: I will review lunch/recess procedures on the Raider Report next week: students will go into the hallway between Deanna's and Ryan's rooms, and near the elevator if needed.

Lockdown Drill

Staff will practice the Lockdown Drill Thursday morning (April 16) after the staff meeting.

Classroom teachers and Specialists: Talk through the drill with your students, sometime this week

• Discuss with students that sometimes there are times when our school will have emergency situations like a fire drill, needing to stay in the classroom for a medical situation, or other emergency situations.

• Explain that this announcement would say: Lockdown! Locks, Lights, Out of Sight. You do not need to explicitly discuss active shooters, but most importantly, remind them when a lockdown occurs, all students need to listen carefully and follow the instructions of their teacher.

• Remind students that if they are in the hallway/bathroom, they need to quietly find a classroom door that is unlocked (if they can’t get into their own classroom).

• Please record your drill here: Lockdown Drill Documentation

• Optional: Here's the I Love You Guys presentation.

Building Safety

As always, continue to:

• keep outside doors closed/latched
• keep classroom doors locked so they can be quickly closed and secured
• keep an eye on entry doors (by front office) to make sure they are closed - they sometimes get propped open
• follow up with anyone in the building that does not have a badge or visitor sticker

Thank you to everyone for your diligence to this information and these practices. It is always our hope that we will never have to implement any emergency procedures, but if we do, it's important that we are ready.

Semiquincentennial - 250th Birthday! (April 6-10)

Semiquincentennial - slides from Gail

Semiquincentennial

Per the state requirement, the district is required to do something to honor this day. Directions for teachers: 

1. Read the purpose on slide 3.
2. Share the optional introductory video on slide 4. 
3. Choose at least one option from the 250 choice board to have your class complete.
4. Take a picture of your class completing the activity or a picture of a few completed products. Add the picture(s) to a slide in this presentation. You may need to add a new slide for your pictures.
5. These pictures will be shared on the Raider Report, as well as with the district; please make sure students pictured have permission.

Thank you!