WHS Family Engagement Opportunities
Dear WHS Families,
We have several family engagement opportunities in the weeks to come. Below you will find details about our “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) event, honoring the veterans of our WHS community, and ways to support our World Exploration Days.
Dia De Los Muertos
The Day of the Dead
As we embrace our 2023-2024 school theme, “Breaking Boundaries, Exploring our World”, Hammerscmidt will be having a “Day of the Dead” (Dia de los Muertos) celebration on November 1st during the school day. This tradition has strong roots in the country of Mexico.
The Day of the Dead is a celebration that honors the lives of our loved ones that have passed on. It is a happy, colorful, and vibrant celebration of life. If your child/ family would like to participate, feel free to send a framed photo with your child to school by Thursday morning 11/2. It will be given to your child's teacher and then will be placed on the school's memorial altar (Ofrenda) to honor and celebrate your loved one who has passed on. Please keep photographs at a 4x6 size or smaller. Clearly label and mark your child's name on the back of the photo frame and their grade level, this way it will be sent back home in its original condition.
During the day on Wednesday, November 1st, students will meet in their Star Constellations groups to view the movie “Coco” and complete crafts and activities related to Day of the Dead. Each classroom will have an opportunity to visit the Ofrenda on Nov. 2nd to honor the special people who have passed.
Click on the link below to learn more about “Dia de los Muertos”.
Informational Slides about Day of the Dead
Honoring our WHS Community Veterans
VETERANS’ DAY PRESENTATION:
Do you have a veteran in your family? We would like to honor veterans in our WHS community this Veterans' Day. Please complete this form by Friday, October 27 so that your family member may be included in this year's Veterans' Day slideshow. It will be shared with all students during a Morning Meeting on November 10. Questions? Please email Brianna Harks at bharks@sd44.org.
World Exploration Days at WHS
As we celebrate our 23-24 School Theme: “Breaking Boundaries, Exploring OUR World!”, we will be framing our shortened Early Release Days as “World Exploration Days”. Students will be engaged in learning not only about their assigned classroom country, but about other countries as well. Each of these days will start with a School Wide Morning Meeting (SWMM) to learn about a specific country. I will be kicking this off on 10/31 and sharing things I learned about New Zealand during my travel this past summer.
We would love your help! Is your family background strongly connected to another country? Have you visited a country and have artifacts that you would like to share? We would love to share them with our students. If you would like to partner with us in celebration of our school theme, please fill out the form linked below!
Together, as a school community we can help our students Observe, Understand, and Reflect as we break boundaries to explore OUR world! Thank you for your consideration and partnership.
23-24 Hammerschmidt Family “Exploring OUR World” Survey
2023/2024 WHS PTA COMMITTEE OPPORTUNITIES
There are still opportunities to get involved in the PTA this year. We are always looking for parents to help out with various committees!
Please click here to volunteer!