Watertown 4 Kids

The WUSD Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024 starting at 6 p.m. Please note, this meeting will be held in the Watertown High School Media Center, 825 Endeavour Dr. The Media Center is the library at the top of the main stairs at WHS. For more information, call (920) 262-1460 or email linskensl@mywusd.org.

On National IT Professionals Day, it is our pleasure to announce that WUSD Supervisor of Information Technology David Lockstein has been named the BEST TEAM LEADER through the 2024 Connection I.T. Superhero Awards! The awards included five categories – Best Team Leader (leads to success, inspires others to greatness), Best Catch (made an amazing save, big or small, that averted disaster), Best Rookie (a fresh IT pro who performs like a seasoned pro), Most Unshakable (always calm, patient, and focused in the face of IT chaos), and Best Superpower (capable of performing astonishing feats, no matter the deadline). The awards are sponsored by Hewlett Packard and Lenovo. Judges included Ed Soo Hoo, Worldwide CTO, Global Accounts, Lenovo; Patrick McGee, Director, Technology Support Services, St. John’s County School District, 2022 Ultimate IT Superhero Award Winner; and Johan Dowdy, Global Head of IT and IT Security, Asana, 2024 Ultimate IT Superhero Award Winner. Congratulations to Mr. Lockstein on this impressive achievement!

Join us in celebrating National Information Technology Professionals Day! Technology is constantly changing, and these five outstanding employees work hard to keep our students, teachers, staff and families connected on the information highway. Thank you to David Lockstein, Miranda Kluge, Tyler Letlebo, Rich Bowman and Frank Galioto! 💻

It was an exciting day yesterday at Riverside Middle School as teachers and staff welcomed students in grades 6-8 to the start of the 2024-25 school year! To help students become more familiar with staff and to better understand school expectations, each grade attended a welcome assembly in the school gymnasium. Enjoy these images of our sixth-graders attending their assembly, as well as their first official lunchtime as middle schoolers in the cafeteria.

The Watertown Unified School District Administrative Team wishes all our students a great start to their school year! Welcome back to our WUSD staff, students and their families - let's make the 2024-25 school year the best yet! 🏫🍎🎒

We’re setting the bar high for the start of the 2024-25 school year by announcing that five Watertown High School students have been identified by the College Board National Recognition Program for their grade point average (GPA) of a B+ or higher and their outstanding performance on the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and/or AP® Exams. Congratulations to Julian Byrne, Megan Doherty, Aubrey Keddington, Reggie Reimer and Nathan Rocole!

Did you know that Riverside Middle School has a thriving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) program that includes a new SmartLab 💻 and SmartLab Studio? 📹 The SmartLab is designed to increase student engagement and creativity while providing exposure to current and future STEM-related career pathways. Through a unique, project-based learning approach, the SmartLab and SmartLab Studio will enable students to gain essential next-generation skills while reinforcing core math and science concepts through hands-on learning. The SmartLab was made possible through a generous grant from the Bentzin Family Foundation. To learn more about the SmartLab and the SmartLab Studio, visit: https://www.smartlablearning.com/learnin.../smartlab-studios. Pictured are RMS staff members Alexandra Agar-Pratt, Jackie LaDew, Jon Pickelmann and Cloey Braatz attending a training session earlier this week with a SmartLab representative.

The Watertown Unified School District Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting this evening, Monday, Aug. 26, starting at 6 p.m. at the Educational Service Center. There are many topics to be discussed on tonight's agenda, including the board's review of the draft Strategic Plan. To view the meeting agenda and the draft Strategic Plan, please click on the following links: Board Meeting Agenda: https://go.boarddocs.com/wi/watertown/Board.nsf/vpublic?open WUSD Strategic Plan page: https://www.watertown.k12.wi.us/page/district

The Watertown Unified School District hosted New Teacher Orientation today at Watertown High School. Let's give a warm #WatertownWay welcome to our new staff members and wish them all the best as they begin the 2024-25 school year with us!

We are so pleased to share this photo of an amazing group of people – the administrative assistants and clerical team of the Watertown Unified School District. These dedicated, caring individuals do so much to support our teachers, administrators, parents and students and our schools thrive because of them. The team met Thursday at Watertown High School to share updates regarding the start of the new school year. School begins on Tuesday, Sept. 3 for WHS and RMS, and Thursday, Sept. 5 for our elementary school students. Let’s thank them for all they do for our schools! 💛

Both Watertown High School and Riverside Middle School hosted special events on Tuesday to welcome incoming freshmen and sixth graders to each building, respectively. Students had the opportunity to meet teachers, engage in team building activities and participate in scavenger hunts to become more comfortable with their new surroundings. Pictured are the newest Panthers having fun during the RMS scavenger hunt.

Employees from ORBIS Corporation based in Oconomowoc delivered dozens of school supplies to the WUSD Educational Service Center yesterday. The supplies were collected by one of the company’s Community Action Teams. This year, Menasha Corporation, ORBIS Corporation’s parent company, is celebrating its 175th anniversary and has challenged its Community Action Teams to complete 175 community acts of kindness. This is the second year ORBIS Corporation employees have donated school supplies to the WUSD. Pictured with the donated school supplies are ORBIS Corporation employees Erin Stroup (left), senior manufacturing engineer, and JoAnne Behling, senior salesforce administrator.

It's a busy week for WUSD Board of Education committee meetings. All meetings are open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Several educators from the Watertown Unified School District recently attended the Professional Learning Communities conference in Madison to gain insight and share ongoing improvements in their teaching practices. A Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a team of educators who share ideas to enhance their teaching practice, while creating a learning environment where all students can thrive. During the three-day conference, WUSD staff members had the opportunity to listen to speakers, attend training sessions and to network with other educators from across the state.

The Watertown Unified School District is experiencing issues with its phone system today. If you are trying to call the district and cannot get through, we ask that you try calling the auto attendant number at (920) 341-1460 or email the staff person you are attempting to contact. We hope to have this issue resolved soon! Staff email address can be found here: https://www.watertown.k12.wi.us/staff

Online registration is now open for the 2024-25 school year for Watertown Unified School District students entering 4K-12th grade. Classes begin on Tuesday, Sept. 3 for middle and high school students, and on Thursday, Sept. 5 for elementary schoolers. If assistance is needed with online registration, please contact the school your child will be attending. https://www.watertown.k12.wi.us/o/wusd/page/2024-25-registration.

Attention WUSD families with school bus riders! The deadline to register students for bus service is Tuesday, July 30, 2024. Please note, registration for bussing is SEPARATE from regular school registration (which opens on Monday, July 29). For more information, or to register for school bus service, please visit: https://www.watertown.k12.wi.us/.../go-riteway-student....

The Shared Community Mission Group, which is a group of 13 churches in Watertown committed to outreach assistance for children and families, will again distribute free school supplies thru the SOS: Support Our Students program. This year, school supplies will be distributed on Tuesday, Aug. 20, and the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 in the St. Henry Catholic Church parking lot, 300 E. Cady St. Families that cannot afford school supplies for their children are invited to take part in this program. The group will serve children enrolled in grades 4K through high school. Registration is required to receive school supplies. Registration can take place by contacting any of the churches listed in the flyer attached. The Shared Community Mission Group assisted 411 children with free school supplies in 2023 and expects that number to increase this year. The organization is seeking the donation of school supplies and funds to help support this effort. Collection boxes and/or donation jars for school supplies are located at these Watertown businesses: Bradow Jewelers, Bank of Lake Mills, Zweig’s Grill, Ava’s a Posh Boutique, and PJ’s Pizza. To make a monetary donation, please make checks payable to the Shared Community Mission Group: SOS, c/o St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 413 S. Second St., Watertown, WI 53094.

In what seems like the blink of an eye, the five-week Watertown Unified School District Summer School program has come to an end. We would like to thank the many teachers and staff members, parents, and especially the students for having fun and learning with us this summer. Enjoy the remainder of summer break and we will see you when school resumes on Tuesday, Sept. 3 for students at Watertown High School and Riverside Middle School, and on Thursday, Sept. 5 for our elementary schoolers.

Attention all incoming and current Riverside Middle School Panthers - make plans to attend the back-to-school OPEN HOUSE on Tuesday, Aug. 27 from 5-7 p.m.!