Pray-Woodman Elementary School
A message from Principal Mr. Nils Gabrielson
A Note from Nils
It was great to see so many families at last week’s Title I Family Night!
If you didn’t get a set of dominoes or a bag of Scrabble letters, please call the office, and we will send them home with your child.
I would like to take this opportunity to affirm and thank our fourth graders who lead our school in the Pledge of Allegiance every morning.
After saying the Pledge of Allegiance, the student leads our school in the Hands and Words Are Not for Hurting Pledge.
"I will not use my hands or my words for hurting myself or others."
This pledge is said around the country and around the world to help students focus on appropriate behaviors and ways to manage conflicts. We have been saying this pledge at PWS for the past 12 years. Each classroom has a magnet. Posters with the pledge can be seen throughout the building.
For more information about the Hands& Words project please visit handsproject.org.
Student birthdays are shared next. When students hear their name, they come to the office for a fabulous birthday pencil.
The announcements end with a reminder about Pray-Woodman Pride-Self-Control-Respect-Responsibility.
Have a great Fall Recess!!!!
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 can’t believe we have made it to fall break! I hope this next week fills your buckets with quality time and relaxation. When we come back to school, the winter FastBridge assessment window will be open. All students will be screened in the areas of reading and math. This assessment helps us sort students into Tier 2 instructional groups.
Tier Two Time is a designated part of our school day where every child will work on skills to meet their individual needs. We have Tier Two Reading and Math every day for thirty minutes. Students either work with their classroom teacher, a buddy teacher or the reading or math specialist according to their need. This time of day is in addition to their Tier One reading (90 minutes) and Tier One math (60 minutes) each day. Our district has been working with TASN (Technical Assistance System Network, a state level consultant group) to help with streamlining and aligning our Tier Two systems. We are excited to see the gains made over the first semester.
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.
Media Center with Mrs. Trish Shields
Please view our slideshow for book fair statistics.
Mark your calendar for a Spring Blooming Book Fair on February 22, 2023. Today’s Readers are Tomorrow’s Leaders!
2nd Annual Storybook Pumpkin Patch
Thank you for taking part in our 2nd Annual Storybook Pumpkin Patch. Our students and staff enjoyed all of the entries and it was an engaging way to share story elements and character traits with our classmates.
PWS Media Center Food Service Cultivate Maize Grant
Our PWS Media Center was selected to be a part of the USD266 Food Service Cultivate Maize Grant from the Kansas State Department of Agriculture. We are excited for the unique opportunity to participate in sustainable gardening right in our media center! We are maintaining a 36 pod thriving hydroponic garden. Our students are observing, caring for and harvesting produce for our school cafeteria. It’s definitely an a-MAIZE-ing experience for all!! Check out these photos of our current garden and our first harvest.
We were so fortunate to get many students and families signed up for a Wichita Public Library card during our Family Game Night on November 9th. We hope our families will use those cards and visit the Wichita Public Library during our upcoming Fall and Winter break.
PWS students have been busy reading this school year. Students have read 6,678 books through October, 2023.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us in the PWS Media Center!
STEAM with Mrs. Christina Eck
This month we are beginning our bi-annual STEAM-lympics, where students will compete in engineering challenges to earn gold medals for their class. Students don't know what the challenge is until they come to class, but the week before they will receive a riddle with clues as to what it could be! Our first challenge begins after fall break and the clue is: "Round and delicate, I need your care. Craft a shield in the open air. From a height, I'll take a dive. Your challenge: keep me alive." I can't wait to see what they come up with!
The Capturing Kid’s Hearts word of the month is Teamwork, with the slogan “Better Together.” We are enjoying implementing teamwork strategies in the counseling rooms. All students in grades 1-4 have enjoyed a friendship lunch with their counselor. Our November lessons have included teamwork activities. Round one of tier 2 counseling groups are underway for students who signed up to participate. As always, we are here to partner with you for the success of your student. Please call (316-721-0902) or email us cheide@usd266.com or hspears@usd266.com if you have any questions or concerns.
Health Room News with Nurse Katie
Hi PWS Family!
It’s that time of year to spread kindness not germs. If your child is feeling unwell and has a fever of 100.3 or greater, they must stay home until they are fever free without medication for over 24 hours.
All medications, prescription and non-prescription, must be brought to the nurse by a parent or guardian, this also includes cough drops. If at all possible, medication needs to be given prior to coming to school or after returning home from school under parent supervision. Please fill out the Maize USD 266 Medication Authorization Form for medication that needs to be administered at school.
Handwashing is one of the best ways to help protect yourself and your family from getting sick. Visit cdc.gov for more information and the importance of hand washing!
Our health room is in need of clothing for the health room. Girls size 6x pants and underwear. Boys underwear size 4/5. For additional items please visit our Amazon wish list. Thank you!
Important Upcoming Dates
November
- November 20 - 24 Fall Break – NO SCHOOL
December
- Thu., December 7 Noodles & Company Spirit Night
- Tue., December 19 Chipotle Spirit Night
- Thu., December 21 Teacher Work Day – NO SCHOOL
- Dec. 22 - Jan. 2 Winter Break – NO SCHOOL
Helpful Reminders
- After school transportation changes please call the Pray-Woodman student pick-up line (316) 721-0902 (option 5) by 2 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday please call by 3 p.m. Wednesday please call by 2 p.m.
- All visitors and volunteers who wish to enter the school during school hours must present a government issued photo ID, such as a driver's license. This includes parents, guardians and grandparents. Please allow for extra time to either run the driver's license or to look up their information if already in our system.
No cell phones/communication devices allowed during the school day. The use of cell phones/communication devices during the school day is prohibited. Phones should be turned off and kept in student backpacks during the school day unless special permission has been given by the administration for use in classroom projects directed by teachers.