Tradition. Innovation. Transformation. #WatertownWay!
Students in Riverside Middle School's AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program recently learned about practicing medicine and law as careers following presentations by Dr. Steven LeGrow from Watertown Family Practice and Attorney Allen Larson from Bender, Larson, Chidley, Koppes, Hetfield & Associates.
Dr. LeGrow spoke with students about his journey to become a family medicine doctor, highlighting the education necessary to be successful in a medical profession. Atty. Larson discussed his professional background, as well as aspects of criminal justice and law with the students. The students asked many questions of both professionals to identify if one of those fields could be a future career pathway for them.
Thank you to Dr. LeGrow (pictured at top) and Atty. Larson (pictured at bottom) for sharing your expertise with our students.
Tradition. Innovation. Transformation.
#WatertownWay!
🔥 Hot off the press - The Watertown Unified School District is pleased to share the Spring 2025 edition of its official newsletter, The District Download.
Read all the news here: https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/2120/WUSD/5645519/The_District_Download_Spring_2025_Updated.pdf
The Watertown Unified School District Board of Education will host three committee/sub-committee meetings this week. The monthly Board of Education regular meeting will take place next Monday, May 19 at 6 p.m.. To read the meeting agendas for this week, visit https://go.boarddocs.com/wi/watertown/Board.nsf/vpublic?open.
There's only 22 days of school left 🙂. Time flies when we are learning and having fun!
Happy School Nurses Day to our dedicated and caring school nurse, Lynn Gilbert, and to her equally dedicated and caring health room assistants - Alex Stankey (Watertown High School), Lisa Dominguez (Riverside Middle School), Tracey Rein (Webster Elementary School), Betty Richardson (Schurz Elementary School) and Theresa Kempf (Douglas Elementary School). Thank to you these special staff members for all they do for our schools! 💗
Tradition. Innovation. Transformation. #WatertownWay!
This week, May 5-9, is Teacher Appreciation Week. We are grateful for all our caring and dedicated teachers not only during this special week, but the whole year through.
Thank you to our WUSD teachers for all they do to support our students and their families. 💙
Today we celebrate our very special Nutrition Services staff during National School Lunch Hero day. We appreciate the great work the Nutrition Services Department does in keeping our students well-fed and for the kindness they share throughout the WUSD.
The 54th Massed Band concert carries on a tradition started in Watertown in the late 1960s, and features all of the WUSD's band musicians, 6th through 12th grade. This year's event will feature music from the Broadway musical and smash hit movie, Wicked! Join us on Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m. for this wonderful celebration of our students' growth this year. Tickets are sold at the door; $3.00 for adults, and $2.00 for students and seniors.
Thursday, May 1, is National School Principals' Day! Today we are celebrating our incredible Watertown Unified School District building principals Brad Clark, Mark Getz, Emily Lessner, Casey Rusch-Weiland, Jason Widiker and Josh Kerr.
We thank them for all they do to support our staff, students and families. 💙
On Tuesday, May 6, Endeavor Charter School is hosting a Community Information Night from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Watertown Public Library Community Room.
This event is organized by students and will be hosted by students! Everyone in the Watertown community is welcome to attend - individuals, families, businesses and organizations. The event will feature a raffle (tickets are free), trivia, student presentation about Endeavor Charter School, and honest conversation with students.
We hope to see you there!
We’re proud to honor our incredible WUSD Library Media Specialist team who support over 3,200 students with dedication, heart, and a passion for learning.
From fostering a love of reading to coordinating state testing, fixing Chromebooks, and meeting students' individual needs - they do it all. Their work makes a difference every single day.
Thank you to Michelle Bergman, Conchetta Braatz, Jennifer Devers, Darianne Keuler-Nelson, Jamie Klubertanz, Jackie LaDew, Patricia Long, Kristen Roberts and Kelly Surdick for being the quiet heroes of our schools. We appreciate you!
Celebrating Advanced Learning Achievements
On Monday, April 21, students from across the district were honored for their achievement in programs sponsored by the Advanced Learning Department. Students who achieved at certain levels through the Newbury Reading Program (grades 3-5, open to all students), Challenge by Choice (grades 2-5, open to all students), and the Southern Lakes Anthology (grades 3-8, open to all students) were presented with awards from Program Coordinator Mrs. Barganz, Mrs. Pochop and Mrs. Jensen.
Students were also honored for their achievement in the Advanced Learning Department's competitive programs: Math Meet (grades 5-8), Academic Bowl (grades 6-8), and WordMasters (grades 2-5). Awards from the last two academic years were given out for these programs.
A few awards of note:
⭐ Connor Young tied for third place in the nation on the fall WordMasters contest (3rd grade)
⭐ Bennett Kowalski tied for third place in the nation on the winter WordMasters contest (5th grade)
⭐ Kaylie Merriett tied for second place in the nation on the spring WordMasters contest (4th grade)
⭐ Audrey Arnett, MVP for Academic Bowl 2025 (Language Arts category)
⭐ Briar Wegner, MVP for Math Meet 2024 (7th/8th grades) and Academic Bowl 2024 (overall top scorer)
⭐ Parker Wheeler, MVP for Math Meet 2025 (5th/6th grades)
⭐ Elianna Keddington, MVP for Math Meet 2024 (5th/6th grades)
⭐ Elise Hensler, MVP for Math Meet 2025 (7th/8th grades)
⭐ WUSD Anthology Choice Award Winners: Zander Ness, Mikayla Freeson, Elliana Walter (also cover art)
⭐ WUSD Anthology read-alouds: Zander Ness, Lena Wiedenfeld
⭐ WUSD Anthology cover art: Elliana Walter, Ellie Krueger
Congratulations to all students who participated in any AL program, and especially those who showed task commitment and earned enough points for an award!
Happy Administrative Professionals Day to this amazing group of WUSD employees - thank you so much for all you do to support our staff, students and families.
We extend our sincere appreciation to Vian Abdulrahman, Terri Danner, Cory Dittmann, Jaime Fischer, Jill Geske, Danielle Hansen, Jennifer Harris, Jean Heiden, Cheryl Hollatz, Diane Klemm, Kathryn Klinger, Kelly Kwapil, Amy Liesch, Lynn Linskens, Sherrie Loeffler-Tietz, Dawn McBride, Jennifer McCrory, Sarah Miller, Kelley Piasecki, Katie Pirkel, Amanda Ristow, Jaclyne Rocole, Sara Schmitz, Katie Schroeder, Crystal Stalker, Angel Vander Steeg, Jean Vesper, Amy Wesemann, Jennifer Willis, Michelle Yelk and Laura Zautner. 💙
Riverside Middle School 6th and 7th graders recently had fun playing trench ball during gym class led by Ms. Grotenhuis, Ms. Moulton and Mr. de Galley.
What a fun Friday for our students - the Watertown High School Show Choir performed at Riverside Middle School and several elementary schools today and they were fantastic! The community is invited to see the Show Choir perform this evening at WHS starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are sold at the door - admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and $2 for students.
April 7-11 is National Assistant/Associate Principals Week. We are proud to recognize our dedicated Associate Principals - Jamie Koepp, Jennifer Pennington, Colleen Good and Michael Cunningham. We thank them for all they do to support our schools.
The Riverside Middle School Academic Bowl team recently competed against four other schools in the areas of Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, and Current Events. The following students earned awards:
🌟 Audrey Arnett, 2nd place 6th grade Language Arts
🌟 Parker Wheeler, 1st place 6th grade Math
🌟 Malaina Sontag, 3rd place 7th grade Science
🌟 Carter Pliska, 2nd place 8th grade Language Arts
🌟 Peter Saugstad, Ricky Zhang, Carter Pliska, Cadence LaDew, and Parker Wheeler - 3rd place Current Events team
Great job everyone!
Tradition. Innovation. Transformation. #WatertownWay!
Since Jan. 20, the Watertown Unified School District has hosted more than 40 referendum pop-up discussions and formal presentations throughout the community to provide factual information regarding why the referendum is needed and to answer questions.
Pictured below are two slides from our presentation - the first image illustrates the potential property tax impact of an approved referendum on homes at various price points in Watertown. The second image charts Watertown's current mill rate in relation to our neighboring communities. An approved referendum would add 70 cents to Watertown's current $5.99 mill rate.
