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.!
📢 Attention parents of incoming Riverside Middle School 6th graders! Registration is now open for the RMS Experience set for Tuesday, Aug 13. Please register your student through Skyward Family Access.
We're looking forward to hosting the third of our four Watertown Unified School District Strategic Planning Workgroup meetings this evening at 6 p.m. at the Watertown Public Library. Read the latest Strategic Planning news and view the agenda for tonight's Workgroup meeting at https://www.watertown.k12.wi.us/page/district.
Summer School Scenes 🌞
Week 3 of summer school is now underway! Middle schoolers are having fun at RMS baking, beading, playing sports, riding bikes, and more. We also have students working on improving their core curriculars. PLEASE NOTE: There are no summer school classes this Thursday, July 4 or Friday, July 5.
It has become a tradition that at the end of each school year, the Watertown Unified School District purchases two art pieces from graduating seniors for display at the Educational Service Center (ESC) and at Watertown High School. Pictured are the two selected art pieces – “Out of the Hat” by Ryley Wolfe held by WHS Art Instructor Dave Pawl (pictured at left), and “Blue Symphony” held by artist Rae Heier. Wolfe’s artwork is set for display at the ESC, and Heier’s work can soon be viewed at the high school. The seniors were recognized for their artistic achievements at Monday evening’s Board of Education meeting.
Strategic Planning Work Continues 🗒✏️✔️
Parents, staff, students, and community members are continuing the process of developing a new, comprehensive strategic plan for the WUSD. The Strategic Planning Workgroup held its second meeting on Thursday, June 20 with more than 50 participants in attendance!
At the start of the workgroup meeting, Dr. Melissa Thompson and Nick Kent from Plunkett Raysich Architects provided an update on the state of the district's facilities. The attendees then discussed the purpose of a mission and vision for the school district, along with strengths and areas for growth within the WUSD. Members also discussed opportunities and threats to the district in the present and future.
The next workgroup meeting will take place July 10 from 6-8 p.m. at the Watertown Public Library. Community members are welcome and encouraged to join! To register, visit bit.ly/wusdspsignup.
Summer School Scenes 🌞
Week 2 of Watertown Unified School District’s Summer School program is off to a great start. Students entering grades 1-4 are having fun learning to cook mini pizzas, playing frisbee golf, creating 4th of July tissue paper wreaths, learning about sea turtles, diving deeper into core academics and so much more. This year, there are 1,050 students enrolled in Summer School entering grades K-12.
The Watertown Unified School District was represented at the 2024 Educators in Industry event held June 10 at the Bobcat Company in Johnson Creek. During the event, area educators and the team from Bobcat discussed how the company could further help local schools prepare students for careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). Educators toured the manufacturing facility and test drove Bobcat equipment. Attending from the WUSD were Technology & Engineering Instructor Jesse Domer, Superintendent Dr. Jarred Burke, and RMS Guidance Counselors Lora Konz and Jesse Leonhardt.
Did you hear the exciting news? The Watertown High School Marching Band has the incredible opportunity to perform in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2026 in Dublin, Ireland! To help offset the cost of the trip for students, the WHS Music Department will hold its first-ever mattress fundraising event on Saturday, August 10, from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the WHS Commons.
During the sale, high-quality mattresses manufactured right here in Wisconsin will be sold at deep discounts with a portion of sales going toward trip expenses. If you are planning to replace your mattress in the near future, please consider buying a new one at this event. Please mark your calendar for August 10 and help us spread the word! Follow the mattress sales fundraising event at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1094485391619563?active_tab=about&scrlybrkr=49c5d569
Congratulations to our RMS Panthers who made Fourth Quarter Honor Roll!
PLEASE NOTE: The WHS Band & Orchestra concert live Facebook stream is now expected to begin today at approximately 1:30 p.m. central time instead of 2 p.m. Also note: this is barring any technical difficulties. Thank you!
Special Announcement!
Tune in right here tomorrow at 2 p.m. central time to hear a live concert from the WHS Band & Orchestra from the deck of the USS Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum in New York City! 🎺🎻
Congratulations to the Watertown High School Class of 2024! On Saturday, June 8, more than 290 seniors crossed the stage to receive their diplomas in front of a packed field house of family and friends. The graduation ceremony was a wonderful celebration of our students, as well as the teachers, staff, parents and caregivers that have supported them along the way.
Ameera Alouqui is a special little girl with a BIG talent. A recent 5th grade graduate of Schurz Elementary School, Ameera’s art club instructor, Mrs. Tahera Horstman, is shining a spotlight on Ameera’s extraordinary drawing ability. Ameera’s artwork has been recognized in the National Celebrating Art Contest and her peers chose another of her drawings as the image for this year’s Schurz Art Club T-shirt. Ameera said she enjoys drawing animals and figures of humans best, and finds happiness in the time she spends with her sketchbook.
The drawings featured below were drawn free-hand by Ameera. The self-portrait was inspired by the purchase of a fancy umbrella at a yard sale, and sketching angels and anatomy is also of great interest to her.
Mrs. Horstman said Ameera has an “amazing gift of seeing shapes, proportions and space layout – she works hard and finishes every piece she starts.” She added, “I envision her as a very successful free-lance artist who will build a name for herself making special commission portraits and figure art, or perhaps as a creative illustrator/media specialist for large corporations.”
While contest opportunities are limited at Ameera’s age, Mrs. Horstman recently entered Ameera’s work in three youth judging opportunities and is eagerly awaiting the results. “Ameera has grown tremendously while in our art club,” she said. “I have witnessed her emerging talent since first grade, and her fear of taking risks because she always strives for perfection. After winning her art club logo design, and being published in the National Celebrating Art contest, Ameera gained her confidence in so many ways with her art and life!”
Keep growing your amazing talent, Ameera!
From WHS Athletics: There have been multiple requests for a fan bus for tonight’s Softball Semi-final State game. We will provide a free fan bus to include WHS Students and their families (and WHS staff) as an alternate to the traffic and limited parking at Goodman Diamond. Here is the info:
Bus departure TODAY from WHS: 5:00 pm sharp (game time is 7:00 pm)
Cost: FREE. Voluntary donations will be accepted to help offset the cost
Sign up is REQUIRED NO LATER THAN 2:00 pm on Friday, June 7th so that we can plan accordingly for the number of buses. Please note there is limited availability and seats on the bus will be reserved on first come, first served basis.
Game ticket can be purchased online here: https://gofan.co/event/1488559?schoolId=WIAA2
We are not able to accommodate any requests to ride the bus after the 2:00 pm deadline. Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSce2IP-X8ERq_JWdsBQev9FVH6THjyROpYFvv-13c6HCJFSMg/viewform?usp=sf_link
We hope you will consider joining the fan bus to the game this evening to cheer our WHS Softball team on to victory!
🎓 Watertown High School Class of 2024 Graduation will take place this Saturday, June 8 starting at 10 a.m. in the WHS Fieldhouse. Last week, several graduating seniors visited their elementary schools for the annual Senior Walk. The graduation ceremony will be livestreamed via Watertown TV at https://www.youtube.com/live/8Kt__Ln6fRw?si=-w3FJp_zkHLk8omf. Congratulations Seniors, and Happy Graduation!
Our Watertown High School Lady Goslings Softball Team is on its way to STATE! The team will compete tomorrow in the WIAA Division 1 Softball STATE Quarterfinal - SUN PRAIRIE EAST vs WATERTOWN at 10 a.m. at Goodman Diamond, Madison, WI.
A special send-off was held this afternoon at WHS. Congratulations Lady Goslings on your fantastic success, and let's bring home the WIN! #wearethegoslings #WuTownProud
RMS Daily Announcements for Wednesday, June 5,2024 https://5il.co/2nq6x
RMS Daily Announcements for Tuesday, June 4, 2024 - https://5il.co/2nknw