Serve Week

Happy to Help!

A quote by Albert Schweitzer states, "The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve."  As Wayne Trail's commitment to service-learning continues, the week of Nov. 27 was a successful Serve Week!  When we serve, we often give ourselves deeper purpose and meaning and that nearly always leads to greater happiness.  However, we don't serve for ourselves, we serve for others.  The Feed My Starving Children event that took place Nov. 30-Dec. 2 was truly a difference maker.  I was so proud to see the students learning what it means to helps others in need and make a global impact.  Students all had a job to do and they took great pride in packing the meals that are sent to malnourished children in over 50 countries.  This could not have been possible without local businesses, churches and community members coming together to volunteer and raise funds for the food.  We were fortunate to have local news stations and newspapers come out to document and share this important event.  You can read one article below:

Blade article for duct tape challenge

I hope your students also shared what they accomplished.  The final numbers are below.  If your son or daughter enjoyed the serve event, stay tuned for a serve day letter coming home this week that is taking place on January 15 (MLK Jr. Day) when students are off of school.  This is another great opportunity for your child to work with other classmates to give back.

Statistics:

WT donated over $1,900 in one week!

We finished out the event with 28 pallets packed.

This equates to 217,728 meals!

Volunteers – 850

Boxes – 1008

# of kids fed for a year – 596!

Much to smile about at Wayne Trail Elementary!

November 25, 2017

 Much to smile about at Wayne Trail Elementary!

     November was an exciting month at Wayne Trail!  We hosted our annual Veterans Day Assembly to start the month and honored close to 100 Veterans with songs, speeches, videos and doughnuts.  Our students did an excellent job of singing and showing respect for our current and past armed forces.  Mid-November, students were engaged with Hockey Week, where students learned how learning core academic content can relate to sports, particularly hockey.  For instance, math teachers had students discover how to find the area and perimeter of a hockey rink.  One team even had students select fantasy hockey players and manage their team for player salaries, budgets and travel costs.  It was a lot of fun as we had Spike from the Walleye visit and superb news coverage with 13abc, The Blade and Mirror.  Before Thanksgiving break, the main dance of the year was the OSU v. UM dance.  There is always a great turn out for this dance as there was a live DJ, photo booth and many treats!

     As we close out the month, Wayne Trail will focus on Serve Week!  This is a week we set aside to carry out our district's mission of teaching students how to be contributing members in their community and beyond.  Students will be proactively engaged in a large-scale service-learning at the end of the week call Feed My Starving Children (FMSC).  Leading up to this event, students will be learning about different cultures and climates countries around the world, nutrients and ingredients in certain foods and how natural disasters can impact entire nations.  On Friday, Dec. 1, we will be hosting this community and school event for the second time.  Students will be applying what they are learning in their classrooms to a hands-on meal packing event, where they will be helping to pack nearly 225,000 meals for starving children around the globe.  Students will hopefully learn the meaning of giving to those in need and develop an understanding that they can make a difference in the world around them.  If you would like to know more or volunteer at the FMSC event, you can access: maumeefeeds.org.  We are still in need of financial support for this project for the meals so students can donate during lunch anytime during the week of Nov. 27-Dec. 1.  I also added an extra incentive that if we raise over $1,200 (approx. $3 per student) as a school, I will be duct-taped to a wall! What am I thinking :)....for a great cause!

 $1,000 grant presented to Wayne Trail at Walleye Game during Hockey Week!

 Lieutenant Timothy J. Stratton as guest speaker during Veterans Day Assembly

OSU v. UM Dance

Fall Fest 2017

October 26, 2017

 Fall Fest

     We had wonderful weather for the 2017 Fall Fest last week!  Rescheduling definitely worked to our advantage.  As the pictures indicate, there was a nice balance of learning and fun throughout the day and I bet the students were tired as they arrived home last Friday.  The Wolcott House was a great host and I want to thank Dan McMaster (British Soldier), Fort Meigs and the PTP for pulling off the event!  We are very fortunate to have such historic and educational resources in this area.

Other notes for this week and next week are listed below.  With so much going on, please feel free to email or call if you have questions:

• School Mall (address booklets) are due Friday, Oct. 27
• Prizes will be handed out tomorrow
• Mobile Dentist forms are still being accepted until Monday, Oct. 30
• Parent-Teachers conferences are next week (Nov. 1 and 2)
• No school for students on Nov. 2/3
• The book fair starts tomorrow and runs until Nov. 2 
• Hockey week (Walleye Field Trip)
• $5 is due Nov. 2
• I will have a November newsletter available next week

Spirit Week at WT

Oct. 11, 2017

Spirit Week at WT

     Last week, students and staff participated in Student Council's spirit week.  Below are a few pictures of the fun!  Student council also collected funds from students who wanted to donate to support ISOH/Impact and their Hurricane Relief efforts.  They were able to donate over $200!  I saw more students and staff participate more this year when compared to past years.
     It is surprising to say that next Tuesday, Oct. 17 is the last day in the first quarter!  Grade cards will be sent home the following week.  We have fun and educational events coming up next week as well.  The 19th is the first quarter PBIS reward when students will get rewarded for meeting our 5 R expectations.  Students will be engaged and amazed in watching a magician!  The 20th is the rescheduled Fall Fest with a history theme where we will be partnering with the Wolcott House.  Last reminder is that the 17th is the Fall Fundraiser pick up at WT from 3:45-6:00pm.  I hope you and your family gets some time to enjoy all of the Fall festivals in the area!

Swap day...Dr. Neiderhouse

 Superhero Day!

 Pizza Party with the Principal!

 Superhero Day!

Parent Information Night Success!

9-22-17

Parent Information Night Recap

On Wednesday, September 20 Wayne Trail hosted its second annual Parent Information Night at All Saints Church.  It was even more successful than last year as we had close to 60 parents and 60 students come out to enjoy the evening.  Students had a ball playing on bounce houses, painting pumpkins and playing games outside.  Thank you to Steven's Gardens (Vicki Tanner) for donating over 50 pumpkins for this event!  Parents were offered FREE reading, math and guidance tips in the three different sessions.  A big thank you to the PTP group for supplying the pizza, cookies, water and 6 gift cards to hand out as door prizes!  A feedback survey will be sent out to those that attended later next week.  If you could not attend the event, we will be posting copies of the FREE handouts on our website under the parent resources later next week.

Students should have received their first round of school pictures from Geskus photography this week.  Picture retake day will be on October 12 and we will take large group photos for our clubs also on that day.  Reminder that yearbooks do not come out until the Spring, but they are typically around $10-12 dollars.  Lastly, please mark your calendars for our Fall Fest on October 6!  We are excited to be partnering with the Wolcott House this year, where students will spend half of their day there and the other half at school learning about the Superheroes of History!

Upcoming Parent Involvement Opportunities

9-2-17

WT Families,

             This blog post will be shorter due to a majority of the necessary information you need to know is located in the September Newsletter.  I do want to reiterate the importance of this month and your involvement in your child's education and Wayne Trail Elementary activities.  On Sept. 12, the Parent-Teacher-Principal (PTP) organization will be holding their first meeting at Jed's in Maumee at 6:30pm.  This will be a great way to kick-off the year and hear about everything that is planned for this year.  On Sept. 20, we are hosting our Parent Information Night (P.I.N.), where you can not only eat a FREE dinner from the PTP, but gain valuable resources to help your child at home this school year.  I hope to see you there and enjoy the Labor Day Weekend!

First full week was a success and ended with a Maumee High School football win!

Wayne Trail Parents,

The first week of the 2017-2018 school year is in the books!  You may have heard that we have a therapy dog named, ABY, that visits about once a week to work with students from a social/emotional standpoint and she will even listen as students' read.  Friday was our first Fist Bump Friday and we had many students enter into the raffle contest, which means there were numerous Fist Bumps and compliments going around.  Our first Maumee Spirit Day was also on Friday and I saw many students at the Maumee Mayhem before the MHS football game.  The team had a great week one win!

You may have also heard your child talk about all of the assessments that are already taking place first few weeks of school.  This is because we have an academic screening program called STAR.  This stands for "Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading."  However, STAR also assesses students' skills in mathematics.  These results are only used "in-house" as we meet as educators to determine the best methods to improve student achievement.  This assessment also allows us to setup interventions and closely monitor students' progress every couple of weeks.


In addition, many teachers are required to submit SLOs (Student Learning Objectives) for their teacher evaluations to determine the amount of growth students have in a school year.  These involve a pre-assessment that students take at the beginning of units and post-assessments that students take at the end of units for the core content areas.  These allow the teachers to see which students made the targeted gain and which students need further assistance to meet certain standards.

I am proud of the students and teachers for their hard work in these endeavors.  Both assessments truly do guide our instruction and help meet the needs of all students. 

Lastly, our main fundraiser kicks off on Tuesday, Aug. 29th so be looking for a packet coming home. Remember that a portion of the fundraiser goes towards students' fifth grade camp accounts.

Dr. Nick Neiderhouse
WT Principal

SUPER first week!

We had a great start to the 2017-2018 school year!  I was very impressed with the turnout at Open House on Tuesday for both grade levels.  This showed how supportive parents are of their child's education!  We met with both grade levels on Wednesday to review WT's routines, protocols and expectations at lunches, recesses and assemblies.  We also reviewed the dress code and informed students that they are not to bring "spinners" or fidget cubes to school this year as they are mainly used as toys.  If there is a concern with this rule, please reach out to us to discuss.  Students also had their first Superhero citing at the assembly...the Incredible Hulk!  He informed students about how he helps defeat villains and when he see injustices, he tries to make it right!  We hope to have Solar Eclipse glasses in by Friday so students can view this event on Monday afternoon.  Lastly, please remember to stay up-to-date by reading this weekly blog or by following me on Twitter @nickneiderhouse.