Willow Wind

December 2015 NewsletterToday the sky is bright blue and crisp, but almost all of the fall leaves are gone. By the time you get this newsletter, winter will be on the way. As the weather turns cold, please remember to send your child with warm clothes. We play outside even when it is cold! This is a time of year for giving thanks and giving to others. Thank you all for being a part of Willow Wind and helping in so many ways. The community of parents at Willow Wind is exceptional and I appreciate your contributions and input.

I hope you will all join us for the Winter Faire. It is a wonderful celebration—a gift to the children of Willow Wind. We will gather on the evening of Wednesday, December 10 from 6:00-7:30 to celebrate the season together. There will be crafts, food and lively company. Please bring finger foods to share.

Willow Wind will be closed for the two weeks of winter break: December 22-January 2. The January Focus session will begin on Monday, January 5.

Best wishes from all of use for a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! I hope you all have time to relax and enjoy the quiet of winter. We will look forward to seeing you again in January.

Debbie

WINTER FAIRE & CELEBRATION Wednesday, December 10—6:00-7:30 pm This is a chance to come together and celebrate the season. Winter Faire is one of Willow Wind’s favorite events. Come and enjoy COMMUNITY, CRAFTS, ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD and FUN! Please bring cookies or other finger foods to share, and join us for a wonderful time.

Volunteers are always needed and this is a great way to complete family service hours. Please contact Debbie for more information.

SPRING SEMESTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE Please remember to return your spring course requests on time. We have tried to work around holiday schedules and provide enough time for all students to register. The timeline is short so that everyone can have a winter break.

December 5—Registration Packets sent via email December 12—Registration Deadline January 9—Mail Confirmations

JANUARY FOCUS WORKSHOP REGISTRATION STARTS DECEMBER 3Registration for January Focus afternoon workshops will be held DECEMBER 3 – DECEMBER 9.We will begin registration at 8:30 on December 3 in the Office. All Parent Partner students are required to attend classes during these weeks in January. All Debut students will attend required classes each morning only. Kindergarten families do not need to attend registration.

PARENT COUNCILParent Council will meet on Tuesday, December 9 at 2:30

FAMILY SERVICE REMINDERAll families should have completed 6 hours of Family Service by the time we register for Spring Semester Classes (December 12.) Please make sure you have recorded your hours in the Log Book. If you cannot complete your time for any reason, please complete the waiver form.If you are planning on doing all of your hours on a spring project (Talent Show, Yearbook, etc.), please note your intentions on your log page so we know your plan.

PARENT PARTNER CONFERENCES This year we will be conferencing with Parent Partner families after January Focus. Because we will be registering for spring classes before conferences, please feel free to contact your consultant with any questions you may have about class requirements for your child. Your consultant will be contacting you to set appointments when we return from break. You will have the opportunity to review evaluations from your student’s fall semester teachers. This is a good time to bring up any questions you may have about curriculum or your student’s learning. As teachers, we look forward to this time with parents

LOST AND FOUND Please remember to check the Lost & Found on the back porch and retrieve any items belonging to your students. Any items left in the Lost & Found will be donated to a charity organization when school resumes in January.

JANUARY FOCUS SESSION January 5 – January 16 Parent Partner students will be participating in academic classes each morning. This will provide time for focused work in the core academic areas as well as intervention opportunities and extensions. Students will be assigned to their morning classes. All Debut students will attend each morning only. All students will participate in workshops during the afternoons.

Registration for these workshops will be held DECEMBER 3 – DECEMBER 9. The workshops will provide an opportunity for students to choose something to work on each afternoon - there are many creative, exciting options. All Parent Partner students are required to attend classes during these weeks in January.

WINTER PERFORMANCE Thurs, Dec.18 at 7 pm— Mountain Ave. Theater (Ashland High School) Our Willow Wind students are hard at work preparing for this year’s winter performance! Come and enjoy the show as our talented students perform drumming, tap dance, ballroom dance, and jazz dance selections. A fully entertaining and not to be missed evening for family and friends. Tickets are $5.00 at the door.

WINTER BREAK Willow Wind will be closed for Winter Break from December 22-January 2.

FROM WWCAWillow Wind has a strong culture of parent involvement and participation with teachers in our children's education. The Willow Wind Community Association’s mission is to support this culture through fundraising and social activities. Every time you buy grocery scrip, order a T-shirt, send your child to Pizza Friday or attend a fun event like the Welcome Back Picnic Cake Walk, Bingo, or the Talent Show, you are participating in this mission. This year, the funds we raise will go toward purchasing and installing a covered bike rack for our dedicated bike commuters, underwriting the costs of yearbooks, and addressing other special projects that fall outside of the regular school budget. If you see a need that is going unfulfilled, you can submit a request for funds proposal to the WWCA for consideration. Forms and guidelines are located on the WWCA web page at http://www.ashland.k12.or.us/Page.asp?NavID=2390 or you can pick up a copy from the WWCA board in the office hallway. Together, we make our school a vibrant community for all.

TSHIRTS AND TOTESMissed the first round to order a t-shirt, tote or sweatshirt? You’ll have another opportunity in December! To purchase a t-shirt or place a special order, fill out the order form in the office and contact Rachel Starr at 541-740-2768 or rastarr0@yahoo.com.

WWCA MEETING DATEMonday December 15th 1:15 - 2.45 p.m.

Willow Wind 3rd Place

SOU STATE OF JEFFERSON ACADEMIC

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCAVENGER HUNT November 12th, 2014

Willow Wind’s upper school students participated in Southern Oregon University’s

State of Jefferson 2014 Scavenger Hunt. All of our 6th through 8th graders worked for 72 hours searching for people in our community, hunting for the answers to difficult research-based questions, identifying obscure songs and photographs, and bringing in random and rare tangible objects. We all had an amazing experience and bonded as a team. Please visit room 6 to see the new third place plaque and check out the December NewsBlast on Willow Wind’s website to view the full story. We look forward to the trophy next year!

TALENT SHOW—SAVE THE DATE! Friday, March 13th at the AMS Commons The 2015 Talent Show, a much anticipated celebration of our students' talent and capacity to entertain, will be held Friday evening March 13 with rehearsal Thursday evening, March 12, 2015 @ AMS.

Interested performers: Auditions will be held on February 10, 11, 12th,  4-6pm at the WW Barn. Sign-ups begin in early February.For further information, please contact Jennifer Damon-Tollenaere @ jjnmatt@me.com.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Nov. 26 -28 No Classes— Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 3 - 9 Arena Registration for January Focus Workshops

December 9 Parent Council 2:30-3:45pm

December 10 Winter Faire 6:00-7:30pm

December 12 Spring Registration Forms Due

December 18 Winter Performance at Mountain Ave. Theatre (AHS) - 7pm

December 19 Pizza Friday

Dec. 22-Jan.2 No Classes— Winter Break

Jan. 5 -16 January Focus Workshops

DECEMBER PERFORMANCE SCHEDULEThere are so many exciting performances happening this month at Willow Wind!

Creative Improv: Tuesday, Dec. 2nd from 11:00-11:45 - The BarnWe'll make up some scenes and stories just for you. Maybe even a joke or two. 

Shakespeare Scene Study Class: Tuesday, Dec. 2nd and 16th from 2:00-3:00 - Room 5Come see some scenes from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night!

TeenProv: Wednesday, Dec. 10th from   2:15-3:00 - The Barn Come see the TeenProvers kick out some new scenes you've never seen before!

Theatre Improv: Friday, Dec. 12th from 1:00-2:00   - The Barn Gibberish Interview? State Trooper? Word-at-Time Expert?

Skits:   Wednesday , Dec. 17th   from 1:00-2:00   - The Barn Come to a world premiere!

Winter Dance & Music Show, Dec 18 th from 7:00-8:00 at the Mountain Avenue Theater (AHS)

NewsBlast Needs You!The NewsBlast team is looking for talented Willow Wind students who are interested in performing for the next NewsBlast production. Each performance will be filmed at Willow Wind and should be 30-45 seconds in duration.

Please contact Max for more information or to schedule a performance.