[News] November Waukee School Update
Wayne Cooper
waynec941 at mchsi.com
Wed Nov 1 21:18:24 EST 2006
For those receiving this for the first time, welcome to my monthly update of
happenings in the Waukee School District. Please feel free to share with
others who may be interested or let me know if you would like to be taken
off the mailing list. Others can get on the list by sending me an e-mail.
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November 1, 2006
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www.waukee.k12.ia.us <http://www.waukee.k12.ia.us/>
Last month started with the Governor’s walk for Dollars for Scholars walking
from Terrace Hill to the Des Moines Art Center and back. Thanks to Jamie
Conlon and our Dollars for Scholars Board members, some of our National
Honor Society, parents and students who again made Waukee one of the largest
high school groups participating. Rumor has it that Dr. Wilkerson and Kathy
Brewer both finished the 5-K, coming out with the medals for first place in
there class! Thanks to the participation, the $4S board received a $1000
scholarship to UNI that will be distributed at the year end awards ceremony.
The next day our high school student body participated in a special assembly
for Rachel’s Challenge, followed by a special session for parents that
night. Rachel Scott was the first student to be killed at Columbine High
School, and her family has taken her story and her challenge to the world
throughout the United States and several other countries. It’s a strong,
powerful and emotional story!
Rachel's Challenges
1. Eliminate Prejudice by Looking for the Best in Others
2. Dare to Dream - Set Goals - Keep a Journal
3. Choose your Influences - Input determines Output
4. Kind Words - Small Acts of Kindness = Huge Impact
5. Start a Chain Reaction with Family & Friends
“You just might start a chain reaction”
Over 30 students have signed up to be part of the Waukee Rachel’s Challenge
Club. If you haven’t heard about this from your high school student, please
ask them to share their thoughts. If you don’t have a high school student,
take the time to ask someone about the assembly and how they are taking the
challenge to make Waukee a better place to live. For more information:
http://www.rachelschallenge.com/link.php
Do you have a passion to help our academically gifted and high ability
students in Kindergarten through 8th grades? If so, you are invited to
attend the organizational meeting of the Waukee Academic Boosters Club,
Thursday, November 2, Prairie View media center, from 6:30 - 7:30. The
meeting will include a discussion of the Belin Blank Exceptional Student
Talent Search (BESTS), and the development of extra curricular activities to
provide students with academic challenges outside of the school day.
The Waukee Athletic Booster Club Meetings meet the first Wednesday of the
month at 7:30 pm at the HS commons. Anyone in the community interested in
helping support our athletic programs are welcomed to attend or to contact
this year’s President Pat Foley Office Phone (515) 978-7811 Cell Phone (618)
407-1174. Thanks to the officers and all who volunteer to help out with all
the important functions the boosters do to keep our athletes competing.
There's more good news you can add! Cassie Wang, 11 years old in 6th grade
at WMS has also won the Iowa PGA Drive, Chip, and Putt championship for the
3rd time and will also be honored on the field before the Iowa vs.
Northwestern football game on November 4, 2006. Thanks to Grace Wang for
sharing this great honor!
October 5th brought another amazing opportunity for many of our students as
the Waukee Arts Council sponsored Trio-X. This internationally renowned
avant-garde jazz group worked with over 100 Waukee Middle, Prairieview and
High school students during the day, followed by a nearly sold out
performance for the public at Caspe Terrace. That evening the group raved
at the level of jazz knowledge and talent displayed by our students, and
asked to be invited back to Waukee where they were amazed at the large crowd
and hospitality. Over 40 Waukee parents and students joined jazz fans from
3 states to fill this first class auditorium.
Last month I missed two of our students from those honored in the National
Council of Youth Leadership. Sarah Cutter and Michelle Mayer were also among
the 14 seniors from Waukee who were honored. If you missed the display, you
can still see it at the following loacations and dates. Southridge Mall;
11-13 - 11-21 Ruan Center; 11-21 - 12-5 Iowa Methodist MC; 12-5 - 12-19 801
Grand; 12-19 - 1-3 Mercy West; 1-3 - 1-17 Wells Fargo; 1-17 - 1-31 Farm
Bureau. Thanks to Cathy Mayer for the added information.
Elana Shinkle shared that Shari Bender also misses her church family at
Waukee UMC, and hopes to teach Sunday School when she returns from Germany!
The class Elana teaches with Ellen Pieper (5th grade) is going to send Shari
a care package. Hopefully many of us will find ways to help our youth care
for others in our community! I just received an e-mail from Shari outlining
her busy month of activities and sharing her appreciation for e-mails and
care packages that arrived this month. What an opportunity!
Did you know that Waukee hosted 19 German students from Dortmund,Germany at
Prairieview and WHS? The students and 3 teachers visited our school from
October 1 until October 18. I had a chance to visit with a few of these
great kids when they had an opening reception at the high school commons and
Frau Peterson introduced Jeanne and me to the instructors. What a neat
opportunity!
The WHS German Department is hosting a trip to Germany and Austria over
Spring Break 2007. Over 30 WHS German students and parents have already
applied for the journey and there are more openings available. The 12-day
tour will begin in Berlin and end in Munich. Thanks to Tammy Getting for
sharing!
Pastor Jay Braband wrote to share that they have several Waukee teachers who
attend Westview, and many students from the different Waukee schools. We
invite any children or youth to check out our youth groups! We are starting
our Wednesday evening programming on October 11, with groups for kids
through adults (including our junior high and senior high groups). We break
down the larger youth groups into small groups on Sunday mornings for junior
high and senior high. Check us out at www.westview.org
Waukee is a great place to serve! If you missed it, last year Westview
invited several of our vocal groups to perform at Westview services,
providing them another opportunity to share their talent, and a chance to
visit another of our churches.
Thanks to all of our elementary PTO officers, hundreds of parents, teachers
and staff who made the family fun nights such a success at each building
this month. These are always a highlight for our students and give our
parents a chance to meet other parents. In a district of our size, this
level of support is amazing! If you haven’t attended a PTO meeting yet, why
not check with your building office and attend the next meeting.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
This partnership is a coalition of businesses and educators. They state,
"Economic, technological, informational, demographic and political forces
have transformed the way people work and live. These changes-and the rate of
change-will continue to accelerate. Schools, like businesses, communities
and families, must adapt to changing conditions to thrive."
They have recommended six key elements:
1. Emphasize core subjects. They use the core subjects identified in No
Child Left Behind: language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages,
civics, government, economics, arts, history and geography.
2. Emphasize these learning skills: information and communication, thinking
and problem solving, and interpersonal and self-directional skills.
3. Use 21st century tools to develop learning skills: information and
communication technologies.
4. Teach and learn in a 21st century context using real-world examples,
applications and experiences, both in and out of school.
5. Teach and learn 21st century content including global awareness;
financial, economic and business literacy; and civic literacy.
6. Use 21st century assessments that measure 21st century skills
(high-quality standardized assessments as well as classroom assessments).
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php?option=com_content
<http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe631c797264047d7615-fdf71575736d047573167274-ff
021573726406> &task=view&id=60&Itemid=48
Congratulations to the high school marching Warrior Regiment for another
great marching season. After 5th place finishes at Cedar Rapids and at
Prairie, they finished 4th at Valley in the afternoon and 6th place at the
evening Showdown on Oct. 7th . They finished the season with a I rating at
the state competition. Thanks to all of our students, instructors, and
parents who help support our bands throughout the season, and the nearly 200
who volunteered to make our Waukee Invitational on Oct. 14th such a success.
Over 3000 student musicians marched across our field before a packed
stadium. The evening highlight was the ISU marching band, fireworks and
senior recognition. What a day!
Angie Schaffer, Director of Youth Ministry at Immanuel Lutheran Church
dropped me a note to let you know that they have a new program called
CHOWEO which stands for Come Hang Out Wednesday Early Out. Our first one is
Oct. 11. We are simply opening up our building as a safe place for 6-12th
grade students to hang out from 1-3pm. We'll provide snacks and homework
help. We are located right across the street from the middle school. I
just wanted to share that opportunity with you. Our high school group,
Mongoose72, meets every Sunday night at 7pm and we have many fun outings in
the near future. Everyone is welcome.
The Warrior Athletic Club Softball program is holding a Super SCRAPBOOK
Saturday II fundraiser at the high school on November 11, 2006. The WAC
Softball program is for girls ages 7 to 14 who love to play softball, and
last season we had 8 teams with 80+ players. The Scrapbooking fundraiser
includes an all-day cropping party, multiple vendors, free make-n-take
projects, prizes, goodies, food and fun! We have pictures from the last
event, and registration information, on our website at
www.WaukeeSoftball.com. We invite the community to join us!
Thanks,
Tara Inghram
Thanks to our Waukee School Foundation for its continuing efforts to fund
special projects in our buildings. They awarded fall grants:
* $300 to the High School Family and Consumer Science Department for
butane burners, chef’s coats and food supplies for the new competition meals
that are part of the ProStart program.
* $300 to the Middle School to support the 6th grade field trip to
the Henry Dooly Zoo for students who can’t afford the cost.
* $1500 to the Middle School to support the new positive behavior
supports program.
* $3000 to the High School Math Department to provide projectors,
overhead calculator and set of scientific calculators.
* $2000 to Prairieview for a start-up after school Art Club.
* $1100 for the High School Science Department for an air track and
pump for the physics classes.
If you didn’t attend one of the two performances of Annie Jr this month, you
missed a great performance by our Middle School students. It was a great
evening of professional acting and singing! What talent!
Researchers at the University of Chicago have identified five essential
supports that distinguish improving schools from stagnant ones. Based on six
years of achievement data in Chicago elementary schools, they found that
schools strong in most of the essential supports were at least 10 times more
likely than weak schools to show substantial gains in reading and
mathematics. Don’t these sound like Waukee? The five supports are:
* Strategic and inclusive leadership, with a focus on instruction;
* Parent-community ties;
* Professional capacity of the faculty;
* Student-centered learning climate; and
* Ambitious, coherent curriculum.
Last year, the Waukee Dollars for Scholars Committee started working with
the Waukee Area Christian Food Pantry as a district wide service project.
The collection date this year is Nov 9,very close to the beginning of the
Holiday season. In the past, our efforts have been HUGE and we hope to
continue to be a strong contributor to the pantry. Please make every effort
to contribute and challenge others to help. We have everyone from
Kindergartners to Seasoned Citizens helping us with this project. Dollars
for Scholars Board members help to transport the food items from the Waukee
Schools to the pantry.
Thank you,
Jamie Conlin
At our school board district meeting this month, Russ Wiesley, Dr. Wilkerson
and I had the chance to have an intensive update on the controversial effort
to establish “state academic standards”. Iowa is the only state that has
continued it’s history of allowing local control over standards, but
research is now showing that our students could be better served by joining
the effort to have unified state dictated standards. A quick analysis of
sample standards being used by other states would indicate that our course
work at Waukee already meets the “best” and more rigorous standards being
proposed and would only reinforce the good work already being done in our
district. This will be a major item for discussion at our state meeting in
November, and will surely bring important dialogue because of the wide
diversity of schools in the state. I will try to keep you posted as the
concept moves forward.
Congratulations to our high school football teams for an outstanding season.
The varsity and sophomores both finished second in our division and the
freshmen came out in first place! What a season!
And, congratulations to both the boys and girls cross country teams for
making it to state!
Our board meeting last night concluded our annual 3 night board retreat
looking at growth, finances and leading to our 10 year facility plan. (Dr.
Wilkerson and Duane Van Gorp have developed what is probably the most
sophisticated model in the state to estimate future growth, anticipated
funding streams and facility needs.) As you know, we already have the next
elementary school under construction to open next fall, along with a major
addition to our high school. The updated estimates show a need to expand
our Middle School in 2008, Prairview in 2009, add an elementary in 2010
along with another expansion to the Middle School, followed in the next few
years by the final expansion to the high school, Prairieview and the next
elementary.
Our financial analysis shows that we won’t have adequate funds to handle the
next building needs without a bond referendum, so we anticipate the need to
ask for voter approval of a bond referendum in early 2007. Following a long
history in the district, the first step will be the appointment of a
citizens committee to review all of the data presented to the board and come
back with a citizen recommendation for how to move forward. If they come
back with a building plan that will require a referendum, a separate
referendum committee will be formed to move that initiative forward. If you
are concerned about ensuring Waukee continues our history of “just in time”
building to meet our classroom requirements I would encourage you to
volunteer should a referendum committee be organized. In the past, we had
committees formed almost every two years, and it takes a large group of
committed citizens to ensure we continue our overwhelming approval
percentage. This is a great way to get an extensive education on the needs
of our district as well as a great way to ensure your children have
buildings they can be proud of.
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Coming events:
Nov 3&4 High School Play presenting A Midsummer Nights Dream
Nov 10 High School vocal department presents “On Broadway” Come
hear the best songs from old and new Broadway hits.
Nov 13 6th & 7th vocal concert
Nov 15 & 20 Elementary, middle school and Prairieview parent teacher
conferences
Please check the school Web site for the full calendar of events happening
almost every day of the month!
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Have some news I can share? Just send me a note and I’ll be glad to share
it next month.
Wayne Cooper
Waukee School Board
WayneC941 at mchsi.com
Our significant purpose:
* Create a caring culture where students feel safe and nurtured.
* Provide students the skills to be literate and productive citizens
in a democratic society.
* Build a foundation for the pursuit of continuous life-ling learning.
Values we are committed to:
* Integrity, Responsibility, Perseverance, Respect, Trust, Honesty,
Tolerance, Optimism, Loyalty
We want to be:
* A caring school community where adults model the district¡¯s values
and build a solid partnership with teachers, students and parents.
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