Pray-Woodman Elementary School
A message from Principal Mr. Nils Gabrielson
A Note from Nils
The Pray-Woodman Building Site Council will meet next Thursday night and then again on April 25, 2023.
Agenda items will include the annual parent survey, Title I documents, chronic absenteeism, and school improvement goals.
See below for the PWS Building Site Council members and the duties of the Building Site Council.
- PWS Site Council Chair: Brett Eitzen, parent
Staff: Katie Price, 1st Grade Teacher, Ashlyn Johnson, 1st Grade Teacher. Ruth Graber, 4th Grade Teacher, Trish Shields-Media Center Specialist, Ashley Hett, Counselor, John Buchanan, PE Teacher, Jannelle Girty-Special Education Teacher, Nils Gabrielson, Principal, Callie Harris, Assistant Principal
Parents: Lauren Roulhac, Mumenah (Mimi) Burnshire-Parent-District Site Council Rep, Randall ( Randy) Murray, Sara Askew. Todd Dumler, Kimberlee Vo, Jennifer St. Louis, Peggy Schremmer, Adam Gossman
Meeting Expectations:
The Building Site Council (BSC) should meet quarterly (four meetings per year.)
At least one member of each building’s BSC will be part of the District Site Council (DSC.)
Responsibilities:
The chair, in consultation with the building principal or his or her designee(s), will establish agendas, conduct meetings, and communicate feedback and recommendations made by the BSC.
Site councils may make recommendations and proposals to the school board regarding budgetary items and school district matters, including, but not limited to, identifying and implementing best practices for developing efficient and effective administrative and management functions.
The BSC reviews and provides input/feedback on the work of the Building Leadership Team (BLT). This includes needs assessment, goal area selection, goal and action plan development, evidence/data, and analysis of growth.
The BSC provides input during each step of the growth process.
Stay Connected
Visit our website at www.usd266.com/pws.
Connect with Mr. Gabrielson at ngabrielson@usd266.com or call 316-721-0902.
Pray-Woodman Elementary School is located at 605 W. Academy Ave. in Maize.
A message from Assistant Principal Callie Harris
Catching up with Callie
Hello, Pray-Woodman,
I am loving this warmer weather and the opportunity to get outside and move with my family. I hope you are, too!
This month I would like to highlight the learning in the area of the Science of Reading our teachers have engaged in over the last two years. As professionals, it is so important to continue to enhance our skills. Our district has provided many opportunities to learn about the Science of Reading and Dyslexia. We have had at least 5 days of reading training over the past two years. Many of our kindergarten and first grade teachers are being trained in LETRS, which is a two year commitment and fully based in the research. Our third grade team has had many hours of phonics training this year to help address the phonics deficits in the middle grades.
All students are screened 3 times per year using a nationally normed reading screener. Students who are identified as needing more support in the area of reading are given one on one diagnostic assessments to help us tailor-make their instructional programs.
We have adopted a new reading curriculum that is entirely based on the Science of Reading research. We have purchased and used the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness curriculum for kindergarten through second grade and all of our intervention and specialist teachers.
Our district has adopted the HD word phonics curriculum to be used for our third graders and for any students needing direct interventions surrounding phonics.
Our interventionist teachers use and access a curriculum from the 95 percent group, Heggerty and HD Word to meet the needs of all students. Teachers in our categorical program are learning about emergent literacy and math and are piloting new curriculum to meet their student’s needs. Techniques for teaching reading through a multi-sensory approach are being utilized throughout the building. Exciting things are happening in Maize and, I think especially at Pray-Woodman. Our teachers are passionate about meeting every student’s needs!
Stay Connected
Visit our website at www.usd266.com/pws.
Connect with Mrs. Harris at charris@usd266.com or call 316-721-0902.
Pray-Woodman Elementary School is located at 605 W. Academy Ave. in Maize.
Ms. Girty, Special Education, Administrative Intern
How can I help my child at home?
This is a question that we hear often and there are many small, but significant activities and routines that parents can implement at home in order to help their child be successful at school. We will begin by talking about reading routines and activities in this article, but please continue to watch future newsletters for additional topics.
Tips for helping your child learn to love reading:
Studies have shown that reading for 20 minutes each day improves reading skills
Read with your child for a short period of time each day in a relaxed, low key environment at a consistent time of day.
Read aloud to your child. Think aloud while reading so that your child can hear you ask questions about the story. Hearing you use reading strategies will encourage your child to do so as well.
When choosing books, make connections with your child’s life and interests. If your child likes a certain sport or activity, check out books from the library about that topic. Don’t be afraid to read the same book over and over if your child enjoys it! Find something that sparks your child’s interests and use that to encourage your child by reading about it.
Chunk big words aloud so that your child can hear you work to figure out what the word is. You can do this while you read a story, a recipe, a sign at the store, literally everywhere you go!
Take turns reading with your child. If your child is a beginning reader or struggles to read, a long passage or whole book can be stressful and intimidating. Take turns reading every other page or even every other sentence. Don’t be afraid to use silly voices and make the story interesting! Remember, the more low key and fun the activity is, the easier it will be to continue.
Let your child see you LOVE to read! Reading is a lifelong skill and becoming a better reader will help your child in every other academic area. Seeing you spend time reading will encourage your child to do so as well.
Find little things to praise and do so often! Receiving positive feedback for his or her efforts will encourage your child to keep trying and find a love for reading.
I hope that you have found these tips helpful and will be able to implement some or all of them into your daily home routine. As always, please feel free to contact me or your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns.
Connect with Ms. Girty at jgirty@usd266.com or call 316-721-0902.
Media Center with Mrs. Trish Shields
Greetings from the PWS Media Center. We have been having a "ball" with our schoolwide March Book Madness brackets. In the library, we have read and discussed books from many genres and voted on our favorites. Some of the books that have advanced to the elite eight are Salt In His Shoes, Rainbow Fish, Chicken Dance, The Good Egg, I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies, Who Was Kobe Bryant and The Amelia Six. Stop by the hallways outside the media center to check out our brackets as we progress towards the PWS Champions!
We are so excited to announce that Pumpkin Jack has sprouted and is vining out. The plants will be ready to be transplanted to the raised bed outside PWS soon. We are hopeful to harvest a new Pumpkin Jack for next year and perhaps a few more to share with our neighboring schools in the fall. It has been a fun adventure for our entire student body... Be sure to ask your student about our year-long Pumpkin Jack project. If your family is interested in helping Mrs. Shields maintain the plants (water and weed) in the raised bed at PWS this summer, please email tshields@usd266.com for more details.
Mrs. Carrie Heide and Mrs. Ashley Hett
This month our Capturing Kids’ Hearts Character Trait is COURAGE. We are partnering with you this
month to grow your child’s courage.
Free Community Event
You’re invited to attend our Big Truck Night - Gearing Up for Kids from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 28 at the Maize Performing Arts and Aquatics Center, 1055 W. Academy Ave. in Maize! Big trucks and vehicles will fill the parking lot, along with five food trucks. Inside the venue, there will be family support and activities fair with over 25 booths, along with performances from the Premier Martial Arts and Encore! Dance Studio.
Drawings for prizes will be held throughout the evening. We hope to see you there!
Palooza PTO Fundraiser
Register and share today to help our school reach our goal of $25,000. Funds will be used to support our reading and math curriculum and also provide grants for our teachers to dream big about ways to make learning more fun and engaging.
Even if you don't plan to give, you can still register and share the link with friends and family. Don't forget, each student who registers will receive a prize. If 50% of our students register, we will have an all-school incentive!
Thank you for supporting our school - we are grateful for our amazing school community!
Upcoming Events
Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students)
Watch D.O.G.S. is a school registered volunteer program connecting father and father figures with students at Pray-Woodman. Fathers, grandfathers, uncles, adult brothers and father figures are all welcome!
Questions about our Watch D.O.G.S. program? Contact John Buchanan at (316) 721-0902 or email jobuchanan@usd266.com.
Interested in volunteering? Sign up here to become one of Pray-Woodman's Watch D.O.G.S.
Background checks are required for all volunteers. To volunteer please complete the Pray-Woodman Volunteer Background Check form.
Helpful Reminders
- School dismisses at 3:40 (2:55 on Wednesday) students should be picked up on time.
- Please keep contact information in Skyward up to date. Take a moment to review your phone number, email and emergency contact information. Notify the Enrollment Center (316-350-2050) or the Pray-Woodman office (316-721-0902) with any changes.