May 17, 2013

Dear Parents,

As we near the end of school, I always enjoy reflecting on the year.  Our kids have had a wonderful school year.  They’ve worked hard on their studies, and they’ve practiced positive behaviors and character traits.  Our staff has also enjoyed a successful year, too.  We are proud of the state-wide recognition we’ve received for our character education efforts, our work with Professional Learning Communities and most recently with Missouri SW-PBS Bronze Level Award status for our first year implementation of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS).  Wildcat PAWS experienced a great year with exceptional support from our parents, and the community.  In all, our students, parents, and staff earned an enjoyable summer!

Our 4^th annual Autism Walk begins in  a few minutes.  This year’s walk is special because our students with autism have done a significant part of the planning.  The kids have made posters, counted donations from our “Change War” and helped to plan the experiences the rest of our students will have when they walk this afternoon.  Thank you and many accolades to teachers Megan Russell and Lisa West for leading this event!

Here’s a calendar of upcoming events:  

Kindergarten Celebration – Our kindergarteners will celebrate a successful year with a music program and awards ceremony at 10:00 AM on Monday, May 20^th.  Both of Mrs. Dechau’s classes will attend class during the morning session.

Yearbook Signing – Yearbooks will be distributed to the students, and they will have time to autograph each other’s books on Monday afternoon, May 20^th.  Mrs. Dechau’s classes will receive their yearbooks that morning.    

5^th Grade Graduation – We send our 5^th grade graduates off with fond memories at the 5^th Grade Graduation Ceremony.  The ceremony begins in the gym at 9:45 AM on Tuesday, May 21^st.

Cross-Over Day – The students will “cross-over” to meet their new teacher on the last day of school, Wednesday, May 22^nd.  Placement letters will be sent home with the kids that afternoon. 

5^th Grade Talent Show – As their last act at Wohlwend, the 5^th grade students will perform a talent show for the whole school after the completion of cross-over day.

Early Dismissals – The last two days of school, Tuesday, May 21^st and Wednesday, May 22^nd are early dismissal days.  Full-day kindergarten through 5^th grade students will be dismissed at 1:25 PM.  Mrs. Dechau’s morning kindergarten class will meet from 9:15 AM to 11:05 AM.  Her afternoon class will be in session from 11:35 AM to 1:25 PM. 

Summer Hours – The school office will be open from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM from May 23^rd until May 31^st.  We will also be open Mondays through Thursdays during the first two weeks of June from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM.  The office will close for the summer on June 17^th, and it will reopen on July 22^nd. 

As this message winds to a close, I’d like to thank all of you for a successful year.  Your support and kindness makes it joyful for the staff and me to come to work every day.  We love working with your kids and with you so we can teach and educate them to be successful adults.  Thanks also to everyone who participated in PAWS this year, especially our officers – Bill Blumm, Kendra Hjorth, Sharon Walther, and Marie Rausch.  It was great to see all our parents work together to plan outstanding events for our kids. 

Have a wonderful and relaxing summer break!  We look forward to seeing everyone back at school in August!

Sincerely,