An Easy Way to Raise Money for Washington!

Click above to enlarge!

Jumpstart on Spelling!

Students can get a jump start on this year's spelling words by visiting SpellingCity.com. Students are able to practice spelling, play games and take tests over each units' spelling words on this interactive website.

Each units' list can be found by clicking on the link, "Find a list," located at the top of the main page. Type in "Washington" and the units will be listed. Choose any week's unit and get started! Not every unit is posted yet, but they will be when school starts!

Registration is August 7th!

Red Oak Students to Register Thursday, August 7
School Begins August 19

The Red Oak Community School District will register all students in grades pre-kindergarten through grade 12 on Thursday, August 7. All grade levels will register at the Inman Primary School Cafeteria. Hours of registration will be 8 am to 8 pm. School office staff, school counselors, and selected school teachers will be available to register everyone, help parents/students complete forms; answer questions about bus transportation needs; and collect fees. School Administrators will visit the Registration Day site at Inman and will be available to address any concerns from parents or guardians or students. All school offices will be open for students and parents who need to make a visit to one of the schools (other than Inman Primary) on Registration Day.

Special School Early Dismissals for the 2008 – 09 School Year

The Red Oak Community Schools will observe a major change in the school calendar for the new year. Starting August 27th, classes will be dismissed two hours early every Wednesday. The two hour early dismissal will allow the district’s teachers to participate in professional development activities that will improve the teaching/learning process for all students. The Red Oak Community School District has adopted a system of improving students’ learning through Professional Learning Communities. After studying ways to improve district schools for the past year, it was determined that quality teams of teachers working together to increase student learning would have a significant, positive effect for students. Teachers collaborating together to improve learning; teachers learning new strategies for the teaching process; and teachers developing new curriculum programs; - all would require more time than the once per month early dismissals experienced in the past. In order to accomplish the professional development work, the Red Oak Board of Directors accepted the staff’s recommendation to dismiss early every Wednesday of the school year. The only Wednesdays that will not see an early dismissal include those weeks where other vacation days are in effect or during parent-teacher conference weeks. Parents and guardians are encouraged to closely look at the new school calendar in order to plan adequately for child care and supervision.

School Registration Fees Remain the Same – Lunch Prices Increase

The Red Oak Board of Directors have authorized registration fees to remain the same for one more year in spite of huge increases seen this past year in books and instructional support materials. The prices of lunches will increase by 10 cents. This is the first price increase in over five years. The Directors have requested that food prices be monitored and watched carefully during the school year in case other changes are needed.

Registration fees for the 2008 – 09 school year are as follows:
Grades Kindergarten to 5 $25
Grades 6 to 8 $30
Grades 9 to 12 $36

School Meal Prices for the 2008 – 09 school year are as follows:
Breakfast:
K-12 grade student per day $1.10
Adult per day $1.50

Lunch:
K-3 student per day $1.80
4-12 grade student per day $1.95
Adult per day $2.50
Extra milk $ .35

Other Fees for the 2008 – 09 School Year:
Students Activity Ticket $40
Adult Activity Pass $50
Family Activity Pass $150


Red Oak School Days Times, Early Dismissals, and Vacations
School times for each school remain the same for the 2008 – 09 school year.

The times for each attendance center are as follows:
Inman Primary School
Classes begin at 8:15 am each day & classes end at 3:07 pm each day

Right Start Pre-School at the Webster Building
Classes begin at 8:10 am each day & classes end at 3:15 pm each day

Special Pre-School at Inman Primary School
Morning session begins at 8:10 am and ends at 11:10 am
Afternoon session begins at 12:25 pm and ends at 3:15 pm

Washington Intermediate School
Classes begin at 8:25 am each day & classes end at 3:10 pm each day

Red Oak Middle School
Classes begin at 8:10 am each day & classes end at 3:10 pm each day

Red Oak High School
Classes begin at 8:15 am each day & classes end at 3:07 pm each day

Supply List for 2008-09

During the week of July 14th, the supply list will also be found at the Red Oak K-Mart, Red Oak Pamida, Shenandoah Wal-Mart and the Atlantic Wal-Mart. If you have questions, please contact the school. With generous donations from community organizations, individuals and parents, we are able to keep extra supplies on hand for families that cannot afford to purchase all of the materials needed for school.

4th Grade:

• Box of 16 crayons or larger set
• 8 oz. bottle glue or glue stick
• Pair of pointed scissors
• Lead pencils - 2 lead, sharpened
• 2 large boxes of facial tissues (Ms. Chelsvig's class needs 1 box)
• 8 notebooks (single subject spiral, wide lined)
• Pencil pouch
• Set of colored pencils (8), sharpened
• 12 inch ruler with centimeters and inches (no fold-up rulers, please)
• Red checking pens
• 4-5 different colored highlighters
• Eight 2-pocket folders with 3 hold prongs in solid colors
  (Ms. Chelsvig & Mr. Haufle's students do not need these folders)

5th Grade:

• Box of 16 crayons or larger set
• Large glue stick
• Pair of pointed scissors
• Lead pencils - 2 lead, sharpened
• 2 large boxes of facial tissues
• Set of colored pencils (8), sharpened
• Loose leaf, college ruled notebook paper
• 5 single subject spiral notebooks
• 5 pocket folders
• Two 8 oz. bottles hand sanitizer

Red Oak R.O.C.K.S.

Respect Our Community Kickoff to Summer!

The Red Oak Chamber and the Y.E.S. Mentoring Program
teamed up for a clean-up day in our community on June 21st. We had nearly 50 volunteers to assist in pulling weeds, mulching and picking up trash along Broadway. We had a generous grant from Boost for Families and seven wonderful sponsors that allowed us to provide every volunteer with a t-shirt and free lunch! We will do this event every summer so please join us next year if you did not do so this year!


Y.E.S. Mentoring/Washington Intermediate
904 Broad Street
Red Oak, IA 51566

Thank you to our current sponsors:
Allensworth Heating and Cooling
Great Western Bank
Jones Mechanical
KCSI 95.3FM
Parker Hannifin Corporation
Red Oak Glass Awning
First Covenant Church

Iowa Core Curriculum

On April 25, 2008, the Iowa legislature approved mandating the Iowa Core Curriculum for all students in grades 9-12 by 2012 and grades K-8 by 2014. The Iowa Core Curriculum (also known as Model Core Curriculum) provides local school districts and nonpublic schools a guide to delivering instruction based on consistent, challenging and meaningful content to students. The curriculum identifies the essential concepts and skill sets for literacy, mathematics, science and social studies, as well as 21st century learning skills (civic literacy, financial literacy, technology literacy, health literacy, and employability skills). Governor Chet Culver signed the bill into law on May 1, 2008.

To hear a podcast about the new Iowa Core Curriculum, click here. In this Iowa Department of Education podcast, Director Judy Jeffrey talks about the Iowa Core Curriculum.

The Power of Summer Reading!

(Click to enlarge)

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!

(From our June, 2008, Newsletter...it should have come home on Wednesday!!)

Reasons to Celebrate 2007-2008

This is always a bittersweet time of year. Students, staff and parents look forward to summer break and possible trips, camp-outs or the opportunity to hang out at the pool. On the other hand, we have to say goodbye to friends, students and teachers and wish the 75 fifth graders good luck as they start a new endeavor next fall at the middle school. It is also a great time to reflect on the successes of the 2007-08 school year and focus on the reasons why our staff truly loves being a part of the family at Washington Intermediate.

On a large scale, our students took part in a few events that brought together parents, community and the school. Track and field day was a sunny-success as over 100 parents, relatives and friends joined us during a full day of celebrating health, fitness and some friendly competition. A community reading part at the town Square brought together students, parents and quite a few local business members for an extended lunch and reading. Over the past week, our 150 students, teachers and a few parents walked from Washington to the high school with a couple stops along the way. The students had learned about healthy eating habits and participated in a day of health and wellness capped by Washington and Inman students getting to watch Mr. Barry eat some not-so-healthy pie “served” by a lucky 3rd grader at Inman Primary! Finally, our ELO (talented and gifted) students entertained students, family and friends with a performance they had planned, choreographed and written themselves.

Nearly 1000 students attended our after school math program AND 12 local businesses and our school board supported our efforts in some fashion! Our third year of after school math showed us again that parents, students and our community believe in knowing the math basics. We do encourage our students to work on their math facts over the summer too. Just like tennis, basketball, piano or any other skill, it takes practice to become better at it. Make some flash cards, use an internet game to practice (http://www.mathplayground.com) or just practice orally in the car!

We know that our students grew leaps and bounds academically, emotionally and physically this school year. Of those three, we only have to report our students’ academic progress. We do have much to celebrate here too! Looking at the ‘Big Three’ ITBS testing areas, all of our students showed growth from last year to this year in at least one area. When looking at each area for our Washington students:

Reading Comprehension 107 of 148 proficient = 72.3% (nearly 3% higher than last year)

Math Total 104 of 148 proficient = 70.3% (less than 1% lower than last year)

Science 121 of 148 proficient = 81.8% (nearly 3% higher than last year)


Finally, we will say good luck to 75 fifth graders from elementary school and Washington Intermediate. They have come a long way since they started school in kindergarten and I have told them many times that they are a class full of potential, positive leaders and big thinkers!! I know they will continue to learn, grow and become people of great character.

As you can see, we do have much to celebrate at Washington! I hope you find time early this summer at home to celebrate your child’s successful school year too. We appreciate all you have done for us at Washington to make our school a great place to learn, laugh and work! We wish you a restful, relaxing and family-filled summer!

3rd Grade Orientation

Washington hosted nearly 100 third graders from Inman Primary on Wednesday afternoon. The students got to ask questions of 4th grade students, meet the staff, get a tour of the building and learn more about Washington Intermediate before they arrive next fall for school! Students got to watch the "Top Ten Reasons You'll Like It at Washington Intermediate" video we have included below. Enjoy!

Walk Across Red Oak

We will announce before 10:00 am today as to whether we will continue with our event or cancel it. Listen to KCSI (95.3 FM) or check back here!

This Friday, May 23rd, the entire student body and staff at Washington will take part in a very original health and wellness activity, Walk Across Red Oak! Food Services Director, Sharon Foote, received a grant from the Department of Education to help sponsor the program. This will allow students to take part in a healthy day that will start at 11:00 AM with a walk from Washington Intermediate to the high school with stops at College Park for lunch and Chautauqua Park for activities and healthy snacks. Both stops will include activities and information about maintaining healthy lifestyles and the importance of taking part in life-long healthy activities. Our final stop at the high school will allow the family and consumer science class the opportunity to provide recipes for healthy snacks, activities and games for our students. Students will return to Washington Intermediate by 3:00 pm for dismissal. Questions? Please call (623-6630) or email Mr. Barry or Mrs. Foote.

Students are encouraged to check out some great "healthy" learning sites to learn more about how to maintain good eating habits and healthy activities:

- MyPyramid Blast Off Game
- MyPryramid Interactive Menu Planner
- Kids Health Games, Information and Activities

Track and Got Facts? Champions

MS. CHELSVIG'S & MR. FEHRING'S CLASSES TAKE THE
ANNUAL TRACK & FIELD DAY CHAMPIONSHIP!

What a beautiful day we enjoyed for our annual track and field day! A full day of exercise, fun and teamwork resulted in Ms. Chelsvig's class taking the 4th grade crown and Mr. Fehring's class winning the 5th grade point total. Most importantly, Ms. Hughes' class was declared Tug-A-War champions this year! We had a great crowd of parents, grandparents and assorted relatives and friends. Thank you to Don Scarborough and Kathy Walker for helping out and also a congratulations to the two of them, Carrie Shalters and Troy Terry for easily winning the "Teacher Challenge Relay. Tons of laughs and fun was had by all! Join us again next year!

MR. HAUFL'ES STUDENTS DECLARED:

2ND ANNUAL "GOT FACTS? CHALLENGE" CHAMPIONS!

Last Tuesday, Mr. Haufle's class took home the After School Math Program championship as they defeated Mr. Fehring's class in a very close championship match. Thank you to all the students, parents and school board members who came to our year end event. Congratulations to all the classroom champions and participants. See you again next year, 4th graders!

4th Graders from Mr. Haufle's class: Beann, Michaela, Murphy, Alyssa

5th Graders from Mr. Fehring's class: Donnie, Aaron, Jerrica, Adam

6th Grade Band Registration

To: 5th Grade Parents
Fr: Mr. Hewett & Mr. Hoesing

The 5th Grade students will be bringing home information forms regarding registration for 6th Grade Band this fall. Listed will be their first choice of instrument for 6th Grade Band class. You may return the bottom portion to their classroom teacher anytime, but please have them back by May 21st. If you have any questions regarding 6th Grade Band, please give us a call at Red Oak Middle School.

ROMS: 623.6620

Mr. Hewett & Mr. Hoesing

Red Oak Students Get Into Reading

RED OAK - With clear skies and only the wind to battle, 150 fourth- and fifth-graders from Washington Intermediate School held a reading party in Fountain Square Park Thursday afternoon.

The reading party was in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of National Library Week with the theme "Join the Circle of Knowledge."

"We wanted to make a connection between the school and community," said Doug Barry, Principal of Washington Intermediate School.

Click here for the full article from the Council Bluffs Nonpareil

Lindsay Blake, Staff Writer
05/03/2008

PTO Needs Your Help!

Washington Parents,

We did get the May newsletters out today so expect those to come home with your child. Toward the back of the newsletter is information about an upcoming PTO fundraiser event! Please look over the information below and consider contacting them to see how you can help. It sounds like a lot of fun for the whole family!

The PTO has supported Washington Intermediate very well over the past as we have been able to purchase books and laptops using PTO funds. Our PTO supports students by paying the cost of travel for one field trip each year (Holland’s Performing Arts Center, Omaha Zoo, SAC Museum, etc.) and this summer we are purchasing at least 3 interactive Smart Boards for Washington with the assistance of PTO funds!! We could not put this technology in front of our students without PTO’s help.

Please help anyway you can! Thanks.

Mr. Barry


********************************************************************************

Attention Red Oak Washington School
4th and 5th Grade Families

Who: Red Oak PTO (Parent Teacher Organization)
What: Wants your help working at the upcoming PTO Carnival
When: Friday, May 16, 2008
Sometime/Anytime between 4:00pm and 9:00pm
Where: Inman Primary School Playground (Gym in case of rain)
Why: Raise funds for our Kindergarten through 5th Grade
students and classrooms AND because it could be FUN
for your whole family

I bet you’re asking yourself, “WHAT DO I DO NOW?”

Consider volunteering individually or as a whole family

THEN

Contact Jennifer Barry or Molly Carlson (PTO volunteers) before they call you! J

Molly: 370-5853 or mmcarlsn@netins.net
Jennifer: 623-4878 or djbarry98@msn.com

K-5 Science Fair

Teanna Pafford, daughter of Tonya Currin, took “Best of Show” in the 3-5 division. She is a 5th grade student in Miss Hughes’ class. Her project was titled “Popcorn Madness.” Contestants in the 3-5 division receiving a third place ribbon included Christian Horn, Cassie Vrabel, Dana Marsden, and Sydnee Esaias. Receiving second place ribbons were Zach Irvin, Marissa Homan, Vincent Breedlove, Chris Hudson, Chase Rea, Sam Tucker and Brenna Craig. First place ribbons were awarded to Grace Blomstedt, Sean Griffen, Samantha Dilocker, and Jamie Storesund.

High school students helping at the event were Nikki White, Tina Bishop, and Allison Bitterman.

Fifth Grade Performs Well!

Ms. Mann and our 5th grade students performed very well Monday night at the middle school. A large crowd had the opportunity to see the students sing and dance their way through the evening! Continue to check back for pictures and video clips!

5th Grade Soloist

SpellingCity - Help & Fun!

A reminder to parents and students about the online spelling help located at SpellingCity.com. Students are able to practice spelling, play games and take tests over each units' spelling words on this interactive website.

Each units' list can be found by clicking on the link, "Find a list," located at the top of the main page. Type in "Washington" and the units will be listed. Just choose the current week's unit and get started!

Cellular 29's School Rebate Program

Are you currently a Cellular 29 Plus customer? Please visit their website to sign up your cell number for the program. Cellular 29 Plus donates 2.5% of all monthly access fee to the participant’s school of choice!

Tune In Monday, April 7th!

Great job, Brenna, Leatha, Donnie & Mrs. Burnison!

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Posted April 2nd, 2008

At 6:15am on Monday, April 7th, Mrs. Burnison, Donnie (5th), Brenna (4th) and Leatha (4th) will visit KCSI for an interview with Mr. Jerry Dietz promoting National Library Week, April 13-19. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the event and to make it extra special Mr. Barry & Mrs. Burnison have been working on a community-wide reading party for Friday, April 18th, from 11:30-12:30 in Fountain Square Park. Our three Washington Intermediate students and Mrs. Burnison will be sharing details with Mr. Dietz and also singing a song about the event!! Please tune into KCSI next Monday morning so you can find out how to share in the fun! Listen on the radio or online at http://www.kcsifm.com/livestream.asp.

April - From the Desk of Mr. Barry

ITBS Week Is Here!
All students in grades 3rd through 8th will be taking the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) during the week of April 7-11. These tests are very important for giving parents and teachers feedback on the progress students make. During the first full week of April, I will be talking to every student about why we take this test, take a look at their scores from last year and set goals for this year’s test. To help us out, please make sure your child gets plenty of rest, eats a nutritious breakfast, and realizes that much information can be learned if he/she tries hard and does his/her best. We want our scores to reflect how hard we have worked and how much the students have learned. These tests are very important. Please avoid scheduling doctor and dentist appointments during the morning or early afternoon hours.

Snacks Needed April 7-11!!
Any parent or business interested in providing a class, grade level or all the students with a healthy snack during testing week should contact the school today. We also have a need for ‘brain-awakeners’ like lifesaver mints (spearmint, winter fresh, etc.). J Please call or email Stephanie Ehmke (ehmkes@roschools.com) today! Thanks!

Ten Tips to Help Your Child Before, During and After Testing Week!
To help children prepare adequately for tests, you can do several things to provide support and create a positive test-taking experience.

1. Make sure that your child is in school during the testing sessions. Please, do not plan any doctor or dental appointments on test dates.
2. Make sure that you are aware of your child's performance and that you can help interpret the results when they become available.
3. Remember to keep well-informed about your child's tests. Know how test results are used, and how they will affect your child's placement in school.
4. If there are major differences between standardized test scores and school grades, find out why.
5. Encourage your child to listen carefully to all test-taking directions given by the teacher and to ask questions about any directions that are unclear.
6. Encourage your child to read the directions carefully and to go back over the test if they have time.
7. See that your child gets his/her regular amount of sleep before the tests and is well-rested.
8. Make sure that your child eats his/her usual breakfast on the day of the test. Hunger can detract from a good test performance.
9. Encourage your child to do his/her best.
10. During testing week, ask your child how they did on that day’s test. Celebrate each night or at the end of the week by doing something special as a family (read a book, play a game, make a special dinner, etc.)
    

Keys to Success

As the 4th Quarter begins on March 24th, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all the students, staff and parents who have consistently lived and modeled our "keys to success" at Washington, at home and in the community. We truly believe that we create a positive and welcoming environment for everyone when we live by these traits:

Respect - Responsibility - Pride - Trust - Fairness - Caring

Thank you! Mr. Barry

March - From the Desk of Mr. Barry

COME ONE, COME ALL!!

Our third Parent Advisory meeting of the year will be next Monday, March 3rd, at 7:00 PM. This meeting is open to all parents!! The meeting will held at the middle school as I will be showing parents a Smart Board located in Mr. Hardy’s room. We are considering purchasing one for our building next year and need your input. Mr. Hardy’s room is on the main floor at the northwest end of the hall. This is a great opportunity to see the Smart Board in action and there will be time for parents to interact with it too. Next, I wanted to take this time to introduce you to our website if you have not visited it yet! We continue to post current happenings, student work and student created videos on the site.

4TH Grade Field Trip a Success!
A HUGE thank you to the PTO for providing a wonderful opportunity to our 4th graders last week as they traveled to Omaha to visit the Holland Performing Arts Center. The students were treated to an interactive and engaging performance by the Omaha Symphony entitled, Concerts for Youth. We will have pictures posted soon, but to read more about what our students did on Friday, visit http://wistigers.blogspot.com/2008/02/margre-durham-concerts-for-youth.html.

Take Five…
“In five minutes, your kids could smoke a marijuana joint, have a reaction to meth, inhale from an aerosol can or have a talk with you that could save their lives.”

This is this first line of a helpful resource provided by Partnership for A Drug-Free Iowa your son or daughter will be bringing home from school the first week in March. We encourage you to take this and every teachable moment seriously to talk with your child about the dangers of non-prescription drug use.

Drug Awareness Education for Washington Intermediate students is an on-going commitment. Most of you heard about our Red Ribbon Week activities in October. These activities kick off additional teaching and activities in guidance classes related to the consequences of drug use and alternatives that contribute to start-prevention. Tobacco use and its effects will be emphasized during the third week in April.

In between those times we continue the conversation about healthy choices, being positive role models, and belonging to groups and activities that are life affirming. It is our sincere hope that you will participate in the conversation with your children at home, providing the team balance our mission statement declares as we: “work as a team of families, students, community, and staff in developing the emotional, social, and academic potential of each child.”

Ms. Jeannie Bates, School Counselor

Get Your Child Excited About Math

When you balance your checkbook, buy shoes, measure distance or check the time, you're using math. Use these tips to help get your child excited about math.

By Jesse James, GreatSchools.net Staff

Reprinted from: http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/209/print/

Be an example. Many adults say they hated math in school, according to national polls. If you are one of them, be careful that you don't communicate that attitude to your child. Help him improve his attitude toward math by showing him that you are confident when completing routine tasks like counting money from a school fund-raiser, balancing your checkbook or completing your tax return. You can also point out the importance of math in different professions including architecture, medicine, fashion design, restaurant management and computer programming.

Help your child use math every day. Encourage your child to solve problems involving math outside of school. In the grocery store, ask her to figure out the price of four cans of tuna fish. In the car, ask her how long it will take to travel to your destination based on your speed. In the toy store, ask her to calculate the price of a discounted toy and how long it will take to save up her allowance to buy it.

Familiarize yourself with learning standards. It's important to know what math skills your child should learn in his current grade. You can access the learning standards for your child's grade on the Web site for your state department of education or ask your child's teacher to outline them for you. If you know what your child will be learning, it will be easier to complement those skills with activities at home.

Monitor your child's math homework. Do your child's math assignments only call for rote work or does the teacher include a creative "problem of the week" that tests students' understanding of mathematical concepts? Ask your child's teacher which techniques he uses to help students become more comfortable with math.

Pay attention to details. You can help your child with math homework by making sure she shows all her work when solving equations and checks for correct calculations and answers. It's a good idea to limit distractions and set aside the same time every day for homework.

Play math games at home. There are many games your child can play that involve math. Beginning in the elementary years, students can learn to enjoy math by playing games such as chess, dominoes, cribbage, checkers, Yahtzee and backgammon.

Read books that incorporate math. More and more schools are starting to integrate diverse subject areas in the curriculum so that students can make clearer connections. But how do you include math in a history or English class? One way is to read books in which the main characters solve a problem using math or logic. Examples include One Hundred Angry Ants by Ellinor J. Pinczes, The King's Commissioners by Aileen Friedman and Socrates and the Three Little Pigs by Tuyosi Mori.

The bottom line: We naturally encourage our children to read, write and speak outside of school, but often leave learning math skills to 45 minutes a day in the classroom. Like everything else, your child's skills and confidence in working with mathematical concepts will improve with daily practice, support and encouragement.

Learn what your child should learn in math each year:
Kindergarten First grade Second grade Third grade Fourth grade Fifth grade

Try these activities to build math skills:
Counting Coins Number Sense Beach Ball Math Reading Recipes

Related Links:
Math Literature

Children's literature that incorporates mathematical concepts:
Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies: Resources for Parents

A parents' forum, homework tips and helpful newsletters

10 Ways to Improve Math Skills

Ms. Hughes' Students Create Fun Art!

By Cameo Stephens and Makayla LeRette

In our art class (with Ms. Noonan) we are making books. It is so much fun! We have made many small, medium, and big books. We have also been making flowers with pastels. This was fun, although it was messy. You can pick any kind of flower, but it has to be realistic. If it was realistic and you were in a dream, you can smell the flower.

MARGRE DURHAM CONCERTS FOR YOUTH

The fourth grade students at Washington Intermediate will be attending the Concerts for Youth on Friday, February 22nd, at the Holland Performaning Arts Center in Omaha. The students will join the Omaha Symphony as they explore “The Composer’s Craft.” Through interactive and directed listening, students will explore how composers put all of the notes together. Whether it’s joining the orchestra on stage, answering questions from a seat in the audience, or working together to compose a piece of original music, the Omaha Symphony’s Concerts for Youth acknowledges that students learn by doing.

Thank you to PTO for helping provide this opportunity by paying for the cost of the transportation and a portion of each student's ticket.



From the Omaha Performing Arts website...


Omaha, Neb – Join the Omaha Symphony and 10,000 area elementary students as they
participate in Concerts for Youth, February 21, 22, and 23 at the Holland Performing Arts Center. The Omaha Symphony Concerts for Youth performances feature an exciting repertoire and interactive student activities throughout the concert created to engage the students and follow this year’s theme of “rhythm.”



“With each performance, students gets to explore and experience the sounds of a full
symphony orchestra – some for the first time,” said Jennifer Boomgaarden, director of education and community partnerships with the Omaha Symphony. Students will get to be a part of the final song as the Symphony will have the students use an unusual instrument for the first time in history!

This year’s Concerts for Youth are supported by First Comp and the Omaha Symphony Guild.
Performances will be held each day, February 21-23, at 9:45 a.m. and 11:10 a.m. at the Holland
Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas Street.

Meet Mr. Maurer

Olivia sits down to interview Mr. Maurer. Learn more about Mr. Maurer by clicking on the video below. Continue to check our website for more student interviews and videos!

From the Desk of Mr. Barry

From the February 2008 Washington Intermediate Newsletter (click to visit)

Starting 2008 Off On the Right Foot!
If your house is anything like mine after the holidays, it may be hard for everyone to get back into a routine! Students return to school after being on different sleeping, eating, studying and playing schedules. It usually takes a week or so to get back on track and get focused on the task at hand. I was very impressed with how our students returned from the holiday break and got back to work so quickly and so efficiently! They deserve a pat on the back!

Mid-Year Testing
The students took our mid-year (winter) reading comprehension and fluency (rate and speed) assessments the first two weeks of January. We measure these two reading areas three times a year to monitor progress. As a building, we saw an average growth of over 8 months since September. This was twice the normal growth for 4 months time between tests and I am proud of the students and teachers work with their reading comprehension skills. Your child’s individual growth will be shared with you during our February Parent-Teacher conferences on February 25th and 28th.

After School Math
A note came home this earlier in January with the final 6 dates for the After School Math program and an explanation of our year end Math Celebration and Contest. We are asking students who want to participate in the May math contest to attend 4 of our final 6 after school dates. All students will be welcome to attend the celebration in which we will hand out certificates, awards and crown our Washington Math Team Champions. Last year the students had a blast and we hope to repeat the success and fun this year! Remaining dates as of now are Feb 12 & 26; March 11 & 25 and the May 6th Celebration.

Pain Free Fundraiser!
Before break, we received a $15 check from the Goodsearch.com. This money came from searching done from the www.goodsearch.com site by staff, parents and anyone else who indicated “Washington Intermediate” as the charity of their choice. The $15 may not seem like much, but it was only for 3 months time. We hope to increase our numbers this year! This is one fundraiser that does not cost anyone a dime! Visit the site, search and bookmark it for later use! More information is listed on our website (http://wistigers.blogspot.com). If you have questions, do not hesitate to call, email or stop in my office.

Student Advisory
The students at Washington Intermediate collected, organized and delivered nearly 600 food items to the local food pantry the week before break. It was quite a group effort as every class collected over 30 food items and one class, Ms. Linn's, collected nearly 200 food items on their own! The November and December Student Advisory groups helped load the food items into Mr. Barry and Mr. Maurer's vehicles. Then, the 5th grade Student Advisory students helped take the items to the food pantry near the Square and unload all the items. Mr. Barry is extremely PROUD of each and every student at Washington Intermediate for taking part in this program. It is a very CARING act of kindness before the holidays.

The Lost Word in Today's World: “No”

I recently read a very interesting and useful article written in the School Administrators of Iowa monthly newsletter. Below, we have reprinted a large portion of the article with the permission of Dr. Dan Smith, Executive Director of SAI. I would be interested in hearing your feedback, thoughts or "success stories." Call, send or email them to me! ~ Mr. Barry


The Importance of “No”
By Dr. Dan Smith

I recently had the privilege of hearing Dr. David Walsh speak on the topic of “Say Yes to No.” He is a Minnesotan who has written a book titled No: Why Kids-of All Ages-Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It.

Dr. Walsh believes that many young people today suffer from what he calls Discipline Deficit Disorder (DDD) because our society has become focused on Four Cultural Values:
1. More
2. Easy
3. Fast
4. Fun

As a result, our students lack a key success trait, which is self-discipline. Dr. Walsh cites “The Marshmallow Story” to illustrate the importance of self-discipline. This story comes from a research study done at Stanford in the 1960s and involved four-year-olds where an experimenter gave each child a choice. Basically, each child was presented with a marshmallow and told that if they waited to eat the marshmallow at a later time that they would receive an additional one.

Some of the kids couldn’t resist the temptation and ate the marshmallow. Others were able to delay their gratification in order to get a second marshmallow. They sang songs or looked away from the marshmallow.

Interestingly, all of these four-year-olds were followed until they were 18. The students who were able to delay gratification were happier, they were more successful in school, and were more popular. The moral of the story is that setting limits and the skills of self-discipline that we teach our kids early in life equip them with the competence needed for success later in life.

Dr. Walsh’s book presents information to parents and educators on strategies to develop self-discipline. It talks about the myths of self-esteem which are based on feeling good, and beliefs that self-esteem comes before success and that stress or disappointment damage self-esteem. He believes that true self-esteem comes from overcoming challenges and successfully dealing with failure and disappointment.

Carson & Leatha Interview Mr. Barry

It takes two determined 4th grade students to ask Mr. Barry the tough questions! Leatha & Carson came up with some great questions for Mr. Barry and they were able to catch up with him right before break. Click above to watch the video.

Continue to visit our webpage for more staff interviews and student created videos.

Sleep: The Secret Weapon for School Success

Lack of sleep is a national epidemic for today's children, and the consequences are serious.

By Lisa Rosenthal, GreatSchools Staff, GreatSchool.com

Is your child having behavior problems and trouble in school? Making sure she gets enough sleep may be the solution.

Lack of sleep is a national epidemic for today's children, and the consequences are serious. Sleep deprivation can affect cognitive skills and academic achievement. A continuing lack of sleep is linked to serious health problems including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, depression and a shortened life span.

(To read the rest of this interesting and useful article from GreatSchools.com, please click here.)

Stop Bullying Now

Students & Parents - visit http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov for fun games, cool videos and tips on how you can help Stop Bullying Now. More information on how we will use this at Washington Intermediate will be coming! Until then, let us know what you think of the site by posting a comment below.