Calendar revisions approved; night custodian makes a difference

March 26, 2019

Making Learning Visible:

Encourage Connections

A message from Peggy Larson, Ed.D.

District Administrator

In August, I shared 10 tips to make your children’s learning more visible. I have been sharing tips each month, and just like the school year is flying by, here we are, already on Tip #6 of 10!

I took the tips from the work of Ron Ritchhart. Hopefully, these tips will help make you feel more a part of what your child(ren) is/are learning at school.

Tip 6: Encourage connections!

Students encounter new information constantly. To learn and make sense of new information they must connect it to previous knowledge and then integrate it with their new experience.

When talking about the topics your child is studying or exploring, ask questions of connection and encourage the creation of metaphors, similes, comparisons and contrasts.

Here are some questions that may help you begin the conversation:

What does this remind you of?
Where else have you seen something like this?
How does this connect to the topic you’ve been studying?
Where does this fit within the grand scheme of things?
What is it like? What is not like?
If you were to group these things, what would go together?

When we help children access their prior knowledge, we help them make connections to new knowledge. This helps them make sense of information and helps them learn.

10 Apps to Make Learning Visible

Winneconne Custodian

"Makes a Difference"

Congratulations and thank you for a job well done!

Mark Henn, night custodian at Winneconne Elementary School, takes his job to the next level. According to Jody Jennerman, Winneconne Director of Students Services, he goes above and beyond custodial work and makes it his priority that the school is a safe learning environment for all students.

On Friday, March 22, the Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services (WCASS) will honor Henn as one of the recipients for the WCASS Region 6 “Making a Difference Award.”

In her nomination of Henn for this award, Jennerman said, “Although Mark doesn’t work directly with our students with disabilities, he does amazing things behind the scenes, that deserve recognition. Mark has gone above and beyond his job responsibilities as a custodian to ensure our students have the most conducive learning environment possible.”

“For example, he installed anti-slammers on doors, secured mats on the walls in sensory/calming areas and recognizes and quickly addresses potential safety hazards within any of the classrooms or spaces our students and staff are utilizing,” said Jennerman.

Henn was humbled when he heard of the award. “It’s an honor. I’ve never received an award before, so that really adds to it,” Henn said.

When asked why he works so hard at the school, he said, “Smiles. I love to see kids smile. I love to see the staff smile. If I can get a smile out of somebody, that makes my day, that makes their day. At Winneconne, that’s what it’s all about.”

Jennerman and Elementary Principal, Lisa Hughes nominated Henn because they wanted him to know that the school staff is grateful for his positive attitude and willingness to help them address any concerns that arise. Jennerman and Hughes said Henn is always pleasant and helpful and has a listening ear for how to make things better at the school.

They agreed that Henn’s efforts make a big difference for the students at the school. Congratulations on earning this regional-level award!

Approved Calendar Changes

for this School Year

The Board of Education approved the schedule to make-up the school days lost this year due to weather related school cancellations this winter.

Find the new schedule here.

Here is a summary of the changes:

Cancel the April 18 early release. Students attend full day.

Attend full day of school on April 19. (This was previously a full day off.)

Cancel the May 24 early release. Students attend full day.

Last day for students is June 6, 2019.

Enrollment for the 2019-2020 School Year is Underway

Do you know someone who has a child 4 years or older by September 1, 2019?

Please encourage them to enroll soon for Winneconne's 4K program! The elementary office staff is happy to answer any questions and will have enrollment paperwork available.

Also, the Wisconsin Open Enrollment period extends through April 30, 2019 for non-residents who want to enroll in Winneconne Community School District.

Facilities Study

Update

The Board and leadership team had its “ now that we have projections on our enrollment and information on our facilities, what do we do” planning meeting with Plunkett Rayisch Architects (PRA) on March 15, 2019.

There is a lot of information to understand before making decisions on next steps. One common understanding or core belief that emerged from the meeting is that everything that will be discussed, contemplated, or considered will be filtered based upon facility needs that will provide safe and healthy learning environments in the schools.

I will continue to keep you posted as discussions move forward. It is likely that we will be surveying the community in early summer. Stayed tuned!

Stay in Touch - School Announcements

To stay in touch, look here for each school's daily announcements, as posted to each school's website.

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You Can Support

Winneconne Community School District

Winneconne Community School District continues its Journey.

The first major project of the Winneconne Champions was to create a District-wide Endowment Fund held at Winneconne Area Community Foundation (WACF). The Endowment Fund is special because all donations to the fund contribute to the fund’s principal and are never spent. Only the earnings on the account are used to support the schools.

There are many ways to help support the School District. Please visit this webpage for information how you can contribute to Winneconne Community School District. Thank you!

Winneconne Community School District | (920) 582-5802 | Website