Watertown Unified School District -

📣 CALLING ALL WUSD YOUTH WRITERS AND ARTISTS:

Students in grades 3–8 are invited to submit writing or artwork for the Southern Lakes Anthology. This year's theme is The Journey! 🚀

Categories Include:
Writing - Prose, Poetry, Expository (be sure to follow the rules on the website!)
Art - Art, Cartoon (black and white only, use a template from the website, please!)
Combo - Illustrative Writing (art + writing)

Submissions must show a clear connection to the theme and follow all rules and rubrics at https://sites.google.com/mywusd.org/wusdanthology/home . Deadline for submission is January 5.

Scoring:
Entries earning 36+ points (see rubric on website, 3 judges) → published in the local anthology
Top 24 scores (grades 3–8) → advance to regional judging
Regional entries scoring 42+ points → published in the regional Southern Lakes Anthology book and honored at the May award ceremony!

Start your journey today! #SouthernLakesAnthology #TheJourney #StudentWriters #YoungArtists

Please email anthology@mywusd.org with any questions.

🌟 WUSD Student Art Showcase Nov. 19

This is always a great event - join us for the annual WUSD K-12 Student Art Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 5-7 p.m. at Watertown High School. The community is invited to view amazing student art, participate in FREE art activities, and more. 🎨🖌

Tradition. Innovation. Transformation.
#WatertownWay!

🎉 Exciting news for the WUSD 🎉

Webster Elementary School has been ranked among the top 6% of elementary schools in Wisconsin for 2026 by U.S. News & World Report! Webster now ranks #76 out of 1,200 public elementary schools in the state (up from a ranking of #90 last year). To read more about the ranking and test scores at Webster, visit: https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/wisconsin/webster-elementary-225240.

Congratulations to our Webster staff, students, and families on this impressive achievement! We thank all of our teachers - all across the WUSD - for the care they provide our students and for striving for academic excellence everyday. 🍎💙

Do you have questions or wish to learn more information about the Watertown Unified School District? If yes, join us for the next Burke's Briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Educational Service Center. A Burke's Briefing is a one-hour town hall-style meeting facilitated by Superintendent Dr. Jarred Burke. The community is invited to ask questions regarding any topic relevant to the WUSD.

We had a great turnout and discussion at our Oct. 22 Briefing. We look forward to another great discussion on Nov. 11. No pre-registration necessary.

The Watertown Unified School District Board of Education will hold two committee meetings this week. The Educational Services Committee will meet tomorrow morning (Tuesday, Nov. 4) at 7:30 a.m. The Planning Committee meets Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 5:30 p.m. To view the meeting agendas, please click here: https://go.boarddocs.com/wi/watertown/Board.nsf/vpublic?open.

Today marks the start of National School Psychology Week. We are so grateful to work with five amazing school psychologists who give their all to the Watertown Unified School District. Thank you to Liam Champeau, Kendall Hazen, Stef Renner, Rebecca Roost, and Dana Sorensen for all that you do for our schools.

The month of October at Lebanon LEAP Elementary School was filled with fun and learning. The students enjoyed Homecoming festivities with a special visit by Watertown High Schoolers who are LEAP alumni, and celebrated Milwaukee Brewers' wins with peanuts and cotton candy. They also participated in an apple taste testing to determine which apples were the most sweet to sour, and visited the local fire station.

In addition, students and staff took a field trip to the Wisconsin Science Festival, enjoyed beautiful fall weather in the outdoor classroom, had fun with Halloween activities, and more.

Tradition. Innovation. Transformation.
#WatertownWay

Information regarding the pause in SNAP funding was emailed to all WUSD families on Friday, Oct. 31. At the request of the Nutrition Services Department, we are also sharing information here regarding free and reduced lunch and the district's Angel Fund that helps support families in need in our school district.

Lincoln STEM Elementary School was the site of a very fun Trunk-or-Treat last night hosted by the Lincoln STEM PTO. In addition to trick-or-treating, Lincoln's Student Leadership Team organized and decorated the "Haunted Playground" and planned a scavenger hunt for all attendees to enjoy. The event was also a great opportunity for the students to begin publicizing their food drive to benefit the Watertown Food Pantry running now through Nov. 21. 🎃

The community is invited to help the students reach their goal of collecting 900 items for donation by dropping off non-perishable food products at Lincoln STEM Elementary School, 210 N. Montgomery St., during school hours (8 a.m.-3 p.m.) Monday through Friday.

Thank you to our Watertown High School National Honor Society students for hosting a fun and festive Trunk-or-Treat on Oct. 22 for area children and their families. 👻

🎃 So much fun - Schurz Elementary School hosted Trunk-or-Treat last night for students and their families. 👻

Thank you to the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce for partnering with our Riverside Middle School staff to plan another wonderful and successful Career Exploration Day for our 7th grade students. During this special event, students learned about different Watertown businesses and career fields through presentations and site visits!

Participating businesses included: Madison College Watertown, Pizza Ranch, Summit Credit Union, The Marquardt, United Electric, Inc., Watertown Park and Rec Dept., Watertown WI Police Department, Watertown Area YMCA, GLORY Global Solutions, Rosy-Lane Holsteins LLC, Watertown Regional Medical Center, Sheeley Executive Consulting, J & B Quality Roofing, and the Watertown Humane Society.

Tradition. Innovation. Transformation.
#WatertownWay!

Giving back with purpose 💙🛠️

Watertown High School National Honor Society members spent the day recently with Cornerstone Of Grace restoring sheds, raking leaves, and pulling weeds — helping to create a more welcoming space for the women and children the organization supports. NHS students said they are proud to serve our community and make a difference, one brushstroke and rake at a time. 🌿🎨

The community is invited to attend a special Veterans Day celebration at Watertown High School on Monday, Nov. 10 from 8:30-10 a.m. We would love to see a great turnout to honor our veterans and to support our high school students who are helping to organize the event. ❤️🤍💙

Please register by Nov. 3 by calling (920) 262-7500 ext. 6801 or by clicking this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7YAPSgTVAL70MlwFXFgROBBnVCpTP5nvPWA8N5QwCSbetSA/viewform?fbclid=IwY2xjawNu8k5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFGdGI5ZDh4WmZQQjlnU05hAR48nJhIkqQ9O2Bu2imCDkLa8Yw95QvAv2lEiU2x88iPefl-z-HE0XlKJKehqg_aem_oKTYVKw07eTL0giDk1fFzg.

Tradition. Innovation. Transformation.
#WatertownWay!

The Watertown High School chapter of the National German Honor Society celebrated German Week starting on German-American Day, October 6. In addition to a daily trivia contest and finding "Hannah the Bear," NGHS also hosted a competition to guess the number of German candies in a jar. Mr. Diderrich and Mr. Mertens shared the prize by each guessing the exact number, 73!

The Watertown Unified School District Board of Education is seeking to gauge voter support for a potential future operational referendum through a survey that will be mailed to all school district households later this week.

The Board of Education has hired School Perceptions, an independent education research firm, to conduct the survey and to ensure all responses are kept confidential.

The survey has recently been emailed to WUSD staff members, and it will also be emailed to WUSD parents and guardians this week. If multiple members of one household would like to take the survey, additional copies can be obtained by contacting Lynn Linskens at (920) 262-1460 ext. 3202 or by emailing linskensl@mywusd.org. Each survey contains a unique confirmation code to avoid duplication.

The survey response deadline is Nov. 17. The Board of Education thanks the community for its support of our public schools and strongly encourages all voters in the district to complete the survey. For more information, visit: https://www.watertown.k12.wi.us/page/spring-referendum.

Webster Elementary School held its Cool, Awesome and Terrific Students (CATS) lunch on Friday, October 17. Each month Webster Principal Brad Clark eats lunch with a group of Cool, Awesome and Terrific Students. These students are selected by teachers in grades 5K-5 for making great gains in an academic area or working super hard.

Picture 1 - Grades K, 1 & 2
Top Row (left to right): Sophie Moreno, Grayson Steele, Jase Butler
Middle Row (left to right): Ellison Rein, Jhavia Satterfield, Kay'anna Smith
Bottom Row (left to right): Greta Grotelueschen, Charlotte Opps, Reese Newson-Heller

Picture 2 - Grades 3, 4 & 5
Top Row (left to right): Lilly Glodowski, Emily Ewer, Avery Grulke
Middle Row (left to right): Jaxon Jaworski, Jacob Brumbaugh, Da'kari Smith
Bottom Row (left to right): Ben LeGrow, Sawyer Schweickhardt, Rowan Jackson

Tradition. Innovation. Transformation.
#WatertownWay

The Watertown Unified School District Board of Education will meet tonight for its regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Please note, the board will hold its annual budget hearing prior to the regular meeting at 5:30 p.m.

The Human Resources Committee will also meet this week on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 4:45 p.m. To view the meeting agendas, please click here: https://go.boarddocs.com/wi/watertown/Board.nsf/vpublic?open.

Watertown High School FFA students recently hosted the annual "Day on the Farm" where elementary school students come to the high school to learn about animals and farming. During the event, the younger students had the opportunity to pet sheep and rabbits, watch a drone sprayer in action, view tractors, ask questions of the high schoolers and more. It was a beautiful, sunny day for outdoor learning. 🐑🐇🌽

Tradition. Innovation. Transformation.
#WatertownWay