The Walden Weekly
March 8, 2024
Dear Walden Families,
Talent filled the air this week during our Walden Talent Show on Wednesday after school! Students sang songs, danced, drew pictures, completed math equations, solved rubix cubes, and more! It was a celebration of individuality and cheering one another on. We were proud of our performers and we look forward to next year's show!
We are also having a great time celebrating National Reading Month. Today, students had the chance to "read under the stars" with PJs and flashlights!
A special activity that our 4th-5th students have been working on is creating our first student newspaper! Please click on the link below to view, "What's Up Walden?"
Have a great weekend and we'll see you back on Monday!
- Stephanie Strenger
Upcoming IAR Testing
Dear 3rd-8th Grade Parents and Guardians,
Students across the district in grades 3 through 8 will be participating in the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in English/Language Arts & Mathematics between April 2nd and April 19th.
This state assessment helps us understand how students are growing academically year to year, while also providing an achievement comparison to grade-level peers across the state. By measuring both mastery of the Illinois Learning Standards and the College and Career Ready benchmarks of the PSAT and SAT, the IAR is also designed to help prepare students for success in high school and beyond. The overall performance of each school, by grade, also impacts our designation, which is reported on the Illinois School Report Card.
Please find the testing schedules for Walden below.
If you have questions about the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, please let me know. As always, we encourage our students to do their best and appreciate your continued partnership.
Bluestem Awards
This week in the LMC students submitted votes for the Illinois State Book Awards! Schools from around the state participate in these award programs, in which the winners are selected by students' votes. All Walden students in K-2nd grade voted for their pick to win the Monarch award. We read the nominated titles during their LMC class time throughout the year, and this week students voted for their favorite!
Students in 3rd-5th grades could choose to participate in the Bluestem award. These students read and took quizzes on at least 4 of the 20 nominated titles throughout the school year. On Wednesday, participating students gathered for lunchtime voting parties in the LMC. Here they are, holding up their Bluestem participation certificates. Great job, readers!
Digital Citizenship Learning from the Library
Digital citizenship is taught in the Library Media Center throughout the year, and we know many parents are working to encourage healthy technology behaviors at home. Two popular online games for our Walden students are Minecraft and Roblox. We know this in the LMC because at least once a week a student asks for books about these games! Here are two videos, each about 2 minutes long, explaining Roblox and Minecraft for parents and guardians.
Pictures from the Week
3rd-5th Grade Talent Show Performers
Kindergarten Reading Under the Stars
2nd Grade STEAM
Upcoming Dates
- Wed. Mar. 13 - 2nd Grade Music Show
- Thurs. Mar 21 - 1/2 Day Student Attendance - PM Parent Conferences
- Fri. Mar 22 - No School - Parent Conferences
- Mar. 25 - Apr. 1 - No School (Spring Break)
- Tues. Apr. 2 - School Resumes