Walker Elementary School

🌎✨ Celebrate Earth Day with a twist! Join us at The Farm @ SOU for an extraordinary Rogue Earth Day event! 🚴‍♂️🎭🎨 🗓 Mark your calendars: April 19 | 3:30 PM - 7:00 PM 📍 155 Walker Ave, at the heart of SOU. Don't miss out on the fun and the opportunity to connect with the community in celebrating our planet. 🌱💚 For more info, pedal over to 👉 sou.edu/earthday

🎉 Walker Elementary’ s Spirit Wear Arrival Alert! 🎉 Elevate your family's wardrobe with our newly arrived Spirit Wear! Whether it's for field trips, school events, or just showing off that Walker pride every day, we've got you covered with stylish t-shirts and hoodies for all ages. 📅 Orders must be in by Tuesday, April 9th, no later than 4:30 PM. 👕 Youth t-shirt sample sizes are available in the office for sizing certainty. 🗓️ Pick up your items starting Tuesday, April 30th, courtesy of our PTO team. For a swift and secure transaction, the preferred method is through our online store, where credit cards are readily accepted. We understand the need for flexibility; thus, we will accept cash and Venmo for in-person tee purchases, aiming to make Walker Wear accessible for every family. To explore the styles and secure your Spirit Wear, click below: https://www.cognitoforms.com/WalkerElementaryPTO/WalkerSpiritWearOrderForm Let's show our school spirit in style! 💙🐾

PREVIEW NEW ONLINE CURRICULUM FOR SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) HERE: https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/page/sel-curriculum-adoption The State of Oregon has launched its Transformative SEL Framework and Standards, a pioneering initiative aimed at fostering holistic development in students and educators alike. This comprehensive approach centers around the belief that learning is inherently a social and emotional process, deeply intertwined with the development of healthy identities, empathy, supportive relationships, and responsible decision-making. To align with the state framework, Ashland is preparing to adopt new K-12 curriculum tools. These will be online tools designed to be used in age-appropriate ways at each grade level from Kindergarten through high school graduation. Visit the site in the next 30 days to preview the online tools, read more about top choice WAYFINDER, and register your comments.

🎒 Embark on the Educational Journey: Ashland Schools Kindergarten Registration Now Open for Fall 2024! 🌈 Ashland Public Schools is excited to announce the opening of kindergarten registration for the upcoming school year! We're dedicated to providing an engaging, comprehensive, and inclusive educational foundation for every child. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Join Our Kindergarten Orientation Webinar Save the Date! 📅 Wednesday, April 3rd at 6:00 PM Dive into what makes our kindergarten program a nurturing and formative experience. This webinar is your opportunity to ask questions, and prepare for this significant milestone in your child's life. See link below or scan QR code in image for zoom link. 📌 Click the link to register your kindergartner today and for more information about our orientation session: ashland.k12.or.us/kinder We're eager to welcome you and your kindergartner to the Ashland Schools family, where every student's potential is cherished and nurtured. 🌟

Join us for this incredible documentary on Wednesday, 3/20 at 5:30 at Walker!

We are delighted to share the success of our very first Ukrainian Student Union (USU) meeting, which took place on Tuesday at Walker Elementary School. It was a joyous occasion, marking the beginning of a special journey for our students. The USU is a safe space for students to connect, share their identities, and feel seen and heard. We were so pleased to see the enthusiastic participation and the smiles on the faces of our students as they engaged in various activities. A special thank you to Walker parent, Olha Dubova, for her dedication as the facilitator, and to Ms. Julie for coordinating the event and ensuring everything ran smoothly. We look forward to the continued growth of the USU and the positive impact it will have on our community. Thank you to all the families who support this initiative. Your involvement is crucial in building a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our students. Stay tuned for more updates on the USU and other affinity groups at Walker Elementary School.

The YMCA partnered with Walker School to teach mini basketball clinics to our students! We love our local YMCA! 💙🐺💙

Walker Wolves went to college last Friday! We had a blast at the Southern Oregon University Women’s Basketball game! 🏀 Our choir rocked the national anthem accompanied by the SOU band! Some of our 5th graders were invited to compete in a relay event at halftime! We had so much fun cheering for our Raiders and they won! 💙🐺💙 #HowlWalkerWolves #GoRaiders!

What an amazing experience for our 5th grade Walker Wolves in the BSU at the Black Youth Leadership Summit at Southern Oregon University last Thursday! Joined by students from across Jackson & Josephine counties, we learned together, set individual goals, and strengthened our community connections. 💙🐺💙

📢 Attention Walker Families! 🍎📚 We rely on your generous support to enhance the Walker experience for every student. Our goal is to collect a $20 classroom donation from each family, but we appreciate any amount you can give. Every contribution counts! Funds raised through classroom donations directly impact our school community by: 🎤 Hosting engaging school assemblies with exciting guests and speakers 📚 Enriching each class's activities and resources budget 📖 Providing every student with a memorable Walker yearbook Here's how you can contribute: 1️⃣ Bring payment in a sealed and labeled envelope to the Walker office. 2️⃣ Send cash or a check to your student's classroom. 3️⃣ Conveniently donate online using this link: https://ps.ashland.k12.or.us Your support makes a significant difference in enhancing our school. Thank you for being part of the Walker Community!

📚 Don't miss out on our student-led conferences happening this week! Conferences are a fantastic opportunity to learn about your child's progress and connect with their teacher. 📝 Sign up with your child's teacher today for available slots on February 28, 29, and March 1. Let's work together to ensure your child's success! 💙🐺 💙

We held our school OBOB tournament last Wednesday! We had 46 participants who competed in a total of 19 battles to determine our School Champion! Congratulations to the Wings of Fire for coming out on top of a competitive field! 5th graders Marley Winzig, Lilly Choi, Nenji Barrey, Zoe Washburn, and Jocelyn Bucy will go on to represent Walker at the OBOB Regional Tournament on March 9th. We are incredibly proud of all of our students who worked so hard throughout OBOB season this year. OBOB is a voluntary reading comprehension and enrichment program for 3rd-5th graders where the students read from a curated list of sixteen titles. They form teams and compete in a gameshow like format answering questions about all of the books. OBOB’s mission is to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, to increase comprehension and academic excellence, and to promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students. Congratulations and Good Luck to the Wings of Fire at Regionals! We are looking for family volunteers to coach teams next year. If you are interested in participating or just have questions about the program, please contact Ms. Julie at julie.odagrantham@ashland.k12.or.us.

We had such a great time playing, learning, and connecting as a Walker School Community at our Title I Family Science Night at ScienceWorks last week. Big thanks to ScienceWorks for the use of their awesome museum & to Northwest Pizza for delivering the best pizza and jojos in town! 💙🐺💙

Our Walker School Wolf Pack Leaders, counselor, & principal presented to the Ashland School Board this month. Our students did a fantastic job sharing how they help younger students, resolve conflicts, build belonging, and act as leaders in our school community. We know that when we provide leadership opportunities in the younger grades, we help create leaders for life! 💙🐺💙

Walker School's BSU organized & presented a beautiful and powerful assembly in honor of Black History Month. We were honored to hear a moving story from Dr. Geneva Craig, a local Civil Rights legend & activist. We learned about impactful Black Americans, listened to a touching song, & shared the stage with the BSU from Ashland Middle School. Happy Black History Month! Black History is our history. 💙🐺💙

Please join us today, Thursday, February 15th from 5:30 - 7:00 at ScienceWorks! Admission to the museum is free for the entire family of Walker students. We'll have Northwest Pizza, a Title 1 presentation, and so much fun exploring the museum! It will also be a great opportunity to connect with other families and make new friends in our Walker Community. 💙🐺💙

National School Counseling Week, Feb 5-9. Please join Walker in celebrating and appreciating our Child Development Specialist, Student Advocate and Behavior Health Specialist this week (and all weeks!). Our counseling team works hard to support all our students with the development of social-emotional, problem-solving, and sound decision-making skills. They provide critical guidance and support of the structures and practices that support our children’s mental and emotional well-being and by extension, that of our staff and parents. Thank you, team!!! Kate Sullivan: Student Advocate (full week) This is Kate’s 11thth year at Walker. Given her experience, Kate has an invaluable knowledge of all things Walker. Kate helps “kiddos solve problems together”, runs Lunch Bunch groups, meets with Peer Mediators, supports students on CICO and HUG cards, oversees the backpack program, and supervises recess play. Kate also helps student leaders prepare for assemblies to promote the “Walker Way” and build belonging throughout the school. Finally, Kate serves as a mentor and guide for the newer Educational Assistants. Outside of school, Kate has an amazing family and group of friends-both with whom she “has a blast with”. She has been an actor for over 40 years and loves theatre (she has been co-director of the Ashland Children’s Theatre for almost 20 years). Finally, Kate loves hiking, backpacking, playing in nature, and swimming in the ocean and high mountain lakes. And anyone who has ever spent more than a few minutes around Kate, knows she loves to laugh!!!

National School Counseling Week, Feb 5-9. Please join Walker in celebrating and appreciating our Child Development Specialist, Student Advocate and Behavior Health Specialist this week (and all weeks!). Our counseling team works hard to support all our students with the development of social-emotional, problem-solving, and sound decision-making skills. They provide critical guidance and support of the structures and practices that support our children’s mental and emotional well-being and by extension, that of our staff and parents. Thank you, team!!! Brooke Johnson-Thygeson: Child Development Specialist (full week) Brooke grew up in Ashland and attended Briscoe, AMS, and AHS. She has worked as a school counselor for 15 years now and brings an invaluable breadth of knowledge about child development, support approaches and system coordination. During her years as a school counselor, she has worked across Oregon and internationally in Qatar as a K-8 counselor. At Walker, Brooke spends the majority of her days teaching SEL (Social Emotional Learning) lessons, running groups and supporting individual students with academic, social, and problem-solving needs. Brook also organizes the Wolf Pack leaders at recess, helps students get the food and supplies they may need in the Family Room, and participates in CST meetings with families. Brooke often combines her love of art and play into her individual and group counseling work. Outside of school, Brook loves being with her family, including her dog Sunny and cat Boo. When she has the time, she also loves to travel, spend time in nature, make jewelry and play basketball.

National School Counseling Week, Feb 5-9. Please join Walker in celebrating and appreciating our Child Development Specialist, Student Advocate and Behavior Health Specialist this week (and all weeks!). Our counseling team works hard to support all our students with the development of social-emotional, problem-solving, and sound decision-making skills. They provide critical guidance and support of the structures and practices that support our children’s mental and emotional well-being and by extension, that of our staff and parents. Thank you, team!!! Lance Matthewson: Behavior Health Specialist (1 day/week) This is Lance’s second year as a Behavior Health Specialist at Walker. He has worked with children and adolescents as a classroom teacher, play therapist and social worker for the past 15 years. His work focuses on helping students “safely” learn to recognize, regulate, and respond to overwhelming feelings. Lance uses interactive techniques including social-emotional learning, mindfulness, movement-based learning, group work and cognitive behavioral therapy. Outside of school, Lance loves to move in nature, travel and explore different cultures, dance and spend quality time in the company of friends and family.

It's National Counselors Week & Walker is so excited to celebrate our counseling staff. Kate Sullivan is our student advocate. The Great Ms. Kate is a super hero. She spends her days connecting with kids, problem-solving concerns, & making our school a wonderful place to teach & learn. Ms. Kate brings such love, compassion, & kindness to our school community! We are so grateful for her support. 💙🐺💙