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.
With the start of the fall sports season only a few weeks away, we are shining a spotlight today on the Watertown Athletic Booster Club. This non-profit, volunteer organization does so much to support Watertown High School sports programs, and its door is always open to new members. Learn all about the sports boosters by joining their Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/420542434177387
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.
A group of Watertown High School students recently returned from an incredible tour of multiple European cities organized by WHS Social Studies Instructor Blair Thorpe. So much history and so many beautiful things to see - enjoy these great photos!
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.
The Gosling Flight Feather, a new promotion at Watertown High School to recognize students and staff for their "acts of kindness, doing the right thing, or just being a great role model for others” has been met with soaring success.
Students and staff may be nominated for a Gosling Flight Feather at any time by anyone in the school building. A drawing is held weekly to select five students and one staff member from among those nominated to win prizes such as candy, movie tickets, gift cards to area businesses, and Gosling swag.
During the third trimester, a total of 78 students and 48 staff members were nominated for Gosling Flight Feathers. At the end of the school year, one more drawing was held from all the nominations submitted this spring. The winning students are pictured from left to right: Ava Salas nominated by Nicole Loppnow, Liz Verriden nominated by Dana Wagner, Kloi Sweeney nominated by Joe Jenna, Carson Crom nominated by Jennifer Bault, and Carlos Acosta nominated by Kathy Klinger. The winning staff members (not pictured) were Travis Moulton nominated by Oscar Ramirez and Jerry Williams nominated by Dave Pawl.
Thank you to Associate Principal Jennifer Bault for coordinating the Gosling Flight Feather program!
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
Eleven Watertown High School students were selected to participate in the Badger Conference Art Show held last month at Oregon High School. Six students were awarded honors by the judges in their individual categories. The students pictured include (back row): Kristian Cutler (1st Place Animation), Rodrigo Pineda Olmos (1st Place Adaptive Art), Issac VanBuren, Onyx Elkins, Joanna Schwartz, Alora Thomas (Honorable Mention 3-D Mixed Media), Vivian Antonacci, (front row): Emily Leinstock (3rd Place Oil Painting), Rae Heier (3rd Place Water Based Painting, and Helena Cahoon (Honorable Mention Glass & Jewelry).
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 our WHS students who made Honor Roll during Trimester 3! To qualify for Honor Roll, students must earn a GPA of 3.2-3.499. #WatertownWay
Congratulations to our WHS students who made High Honor Roll during Trimester 3! To qualify for High Honor Roll, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher. #WatertownWay
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.
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!
