The Howler

Issue 1

Wilmot School

September 29, 2017

“Every child, every chance, every day.” Wilmot School, bringing you news from the classrooms and more!

Special points

of interest:

● Homecoming

● Back To School

● Maker Space

● Lunch Menu

● Birthdays

● Things To Come

Inside this issue:

All State Chorus

Land Judging

Lessons In Math

A Wild Adventure

HOMECOMING, 2017

The 2017-2018 school year kicked off with one of the best homecoming

weeks yet! Students from grades K-12 worked hard on building their floats for

the parade. The band practiced marching, and students in grades 7-12 com-

peted along side each other in noon game activities! The teacher team put up

an excellent fight, but in the end, the seniors had the most points. The home-

coming royalty was crowned during coronation on September 19. Saraya

Bronson was crowned queen, and RiShawn Rios was crowned king. Home-

coming week ended with the parade on September 22, followed by the Griz-

zlies taking on Hamlin that night. A fun week was had by all, both students

and alumni.

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“Education is the most powerful weapon, which you

can use to change the world.”- Nelson Mandela

5TH GRADE GOES TO STARBASE

By, Laurie Hulscher

The 5th graders attended STARBASE in September. The mobile classroom was located at the Enemy Swim

Elementary School. STARBASE focuses on elementary students, primarily fifth graders. The goal is to moti-

vate them to explore Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) as they continue their education.

The program engages students through the inquiry-based curriculum with its "hands-on, mind-on" experi-

ential activities. They study Newton's Laws and Bernoulli's principle; explore nanotechnology, navigation

and mapping. They are captivated by engineering as they use the computer to design space stations, all-

terrain vehicles, and submersibles. Math is embedded throughout the curriculum and students use metric

measurement, estimation, calculation, geometry and data analysis to solve questions. Teamwork is

stressed as they work together to explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate concepts.

Some comments from the kids:

“It was exciting because we got to do STEM activities.”—Regan S.

“It was cool when we got to meet the National Guard soldier.”—Drew B.

It was challenging trying to keep Eggbert safe.”—Rhyanna R.

It was cool building and launching projectile devices.”—Jaxen D.

Kindergarten 2017

By, Dawn Schmidt

The kindergarten class is getting used to a routine

since we have two classrooms now, the maroon group

and the white group. I teach the Math and Hand-

writing to both classes in the morning. They are doing

a great job learning numbers and quantities! We like

to learn from songs and hands on activities. We had a

blast riding the bus for homecoming and dressing up

for Pajama Day!

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CREATION STATION Over the summer, the library magically transformed into a

brand new space for learning and creation! With funds re-

ceived from a technology grant, the Maker Space was built.

The colorful and modern space includes tables and chairs

for students to sit, various new technology items such as

3D printers, a Lego wall, and much more! Teachers can

bring their classes into the lab and have them create freely.

It is a space where the impossible becomes possible, and

the ideas, are simply endless.

Pop-tab Possibilities!

Don’t forget to…

SAVE THOSE POP TABS!

“Ronald McDonald House Charities is an American

independent non-profit organization whose stated

mission is to create, find, and support programs

that directly improve the health and well-being of

children.”

The 5th grade will be collecting and tallying pop

tabs for the rest of the year!

2017 All State Chorus

Congratulations to those students chosen to represent Wilmot

School at the 2017 All State Chorus Festival! Going as…

Bass-Lee Schwagel, Tenor-Antonia Block, Alto-

Saraya Bronson, Soprano-Brittany Gapp

Congratulations also, to our alternates, Kylee Mogen, and Braxton

Wetterling

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School Year Off To a Wild, But Great Start By, Larry Hulscher

At times it seems like we have been in school for a long time and at other times it feels like we have just be-gun. 2 things are for sure is that this year has been a wild as well as a great start. It starts with our stu-dents. Our numbers have jumped to 222 students K-12 which is about a 10% increase, looking at recent his-tory we have never had this sort of jump and it takes us back to about the same numbers we had in 2011. This numbers jump does create some problems but all good problems. The most interesting problem has been in our kindergarten. We have known this class would be large for a couple of years now, but it has con-tinued to increase to a point that we had to make a change after the school year started. We had to split the class entirely and hire a new teacher to help teach. We currently have 33 students in kindergarten as com-pared to an average of 15 or 16 in most other classes. This move then also triggered a move of the preschool from the afternoon back to the traditional morning classes we have had. I would like to thank all families involved with this move for their patience and support. Other wildness at the building is the number of new teachers in the building. Our staff of teachers is 20 right now and about one third of them are new to Wilmot this year. Brenda Butler is the new kindergarten teacher, Devin Pedersen is 7-12 math, Melissa Lester is the K-12 counselor, Wyatt Vander Vorst is 7-12 social stud-ies, Roslyn Arendsee is our new 1st grade teacher, Steve Stemsud is our high school science, and LeNae Chamley will do elementary special education in the first semester and will be replaced by Allison Dockter in the second semester. As you can see a lot of new names and new faces both on staff and students. Each one of these people bring their unique personality to the building and I feel will continue to make our school a great safe learning envi-ronment for everyone.

Remembering 9/11

On the anniversary of 9/11 students from the 5th and 6th grade classes made a memorial wall in remembrance of 9/11 and those who lost their lives on that day. There was also a moment of silence during the time when the towers fell.

A Wild Adventure!

On September 21, 2nd and 3rd graders took a

fieldtrip to the Waubay Wildlife Refuge. They

experienced many things, learned about many

animals, and even got to hold salamanders and

fish!

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What’s In Your Soil?

On September 27, students in FFA went to Webster

for a land judging competition. Once there students

competed in land and range judging. During the

competitions students evaluate how much percent-

age of what species of plant is in the land plot. This

determines if the grass growing on the land is nutri-

tional for the animals feeding on it. Students in FFA

came in 6th place in the competition!

Are You Thirsty For Some Knowledge?

By, Devin Pedersen

Homecoming week is very busy for all students. They have coro-

nation, a homecoming volleyball game, Junior High volleyball

and football games, parade, and two pep rallies all in 5 days!

During this extremely busy week, the Seniors in the Pre-Calculus

class was asked to complete a project. They used what they

already learned about quadratic functions to find the best water

fountain in the school. This group of nine seniors measured the

amount of water that shot out of the fountain in one second,

the temperature of the water, the equation of the parabola that

the water fountain shot out. Each group had to decorate a post-

er and hang it next to their water fountain, Check them out! The

three water fountains used in this experiment were located in

the entry way of the gym, in between the bathrooms in the high

school end, and the water fountain in the elementary end of the

school.

Artists Of The Month

Jorge Calderon Dezi Johnson

Maci Kasuske

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The volleyball season is in full swing and got off to a great start. There are 20 girls out

this year. We have played in two tournaments and took 2nd place in both. There were

two volleyball camps held in Wilmot this summer and 8 girls participated in the ath-

letic enhancement program held Mon., Wed., and Fri. mornings throughout the sum-

mer. The Sweet Sixteen has been added to class B volleyball this year so there will no

longer be a district tournament. Our record is currently 10-6 and we are looking to

increase our wins.

Article By, Renae Bronson

See You At The Pole

On September 27, students participated

in “See You At The Pole.” “See You At

The Pole” is an annual gathering of stu-

dents of all ages. Students gather at the

flag pole to pray together before school

starts. This is a national event which

many schools participate in.

COMING SOON! Haunted House and Fall Carnival, October 21st

5pm, Wilmot School Gym

Halloween Concert, October 31st 2pm, Wilmot School Gym

Trunk or Treat, October 31st, Community Center Parking Lot

All State Chorus Concert, October 28th, Sioux Falls

School Board Honored

On September 27, the Wilmot School Board was pre-

sented the ASBSD Bronze Level School Board Award.

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Reading is FUNdamental!

By, Rachel Waldner

The 3rd grade class went up to the Wilmot Care Center

on Wednesday, September 20, 2017. It was also Paja-

ma Day for Homecoming. The 3rd graders read a few

books to some of the residents. We even received

some treats. We enjoyed our experience, and we will

be back to read again soon. Thank you to the Wilmot

Care Center staff and residents! Thank you to Mrs.

Argo for helping set it up!

Up and Coming Events For October!

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October Birthdays!

1-Jacob Trautner 7-Melissa Lester 25-Hailey Madsen

1-Braxton Wetterling 8-Stella Saxton 27-Seth Hickman

3-Natalie Remily 12-Parker Wika 28-Robert Feather

5-Monique German 15-Dustin VanCleve 31– Tremar Settles

6-Travor Anderson 18-Dawn Schmidt 31-Dezy Johnson

7-April Mathison 18-Jamie Schwenn

7-Melissa Jurgens 22-Mike Schmidt