2nd grade READING NIGHT! 3.22.13

The 2nd grade team hosted a fun and informal reading night the week before Spring Break. Students and parents were invited to come to Whittier, in their PJ's, bring some of their favorite books and read together! Cookies and milk, as well as TWO special group readers (Mr. Smith and Ms. Buckley) kept the crowd entertained and engaged. 

Thanks to the 2nd grade team for organizing this event, and encouraging our Whittier students to read, read, read!

Whittier Spring Book Fair 3.22.13

Coordinated by our WONDERFUL Librarian Deb Young, Whittier held the annual Spring Scholastic Book Fair the week before Spring Break. Students, parents and teachers had a chance to peruse the large selection of books, posters and other items at the fair. Here at Whittier, we are ALWAYS encouraging our students to read, read, read!

Thanks to Ms. Young, Ms. Talamantes, and all of the wonderful volunteers who helped make the book fair a success, as always!

Kindergarten/5th Grade Buddies at Whittier! 3.21.13

Whittier really prides itself on being one big FAMILY! Our Kindergartners are paired up with 5th grade "buddies" every year, and do lots of fun activities together. Mr. Frichtl's 5th grade class and Ms. Sine's Kindergarten class spent some time painting together! A good time was had by all, and relationships between our youngest and oldest students was strengthened.

"Daily 5" at Whittier! 3.20.13

Students in the 1st, 3rd and 5th grades at Whittier are hard at work with their teachers, improving their reading and writing skills using the "Daily 5" technique.

The "Daily 5" incorporates activities such as "Read to self", "Read to someone", "Listen to reading" and others, and students are placed in small groups and rotate as needed, with the teacher working with a small group while the other groups work independently.

Teachers who have implemented the "Daily 5" have seen steady improvements in both classroom and assessment results with their students!

Whittier Clubs offer great activities! 3.19.13

This is the first year that Whittier has been able to offer students choices in before and after school clubs, and boy, are there some great choices out there! We will highlight a couple every so often, and today, you can get a glimpse of Ms. Vanlaningham's "Club Cocina", which is a healthy cooking club! Students meet once a week to create and prepare a healthy dish and learn about nutrition and math at the same time! Who said healthy can't be tasty?

Also pictured is "Zumbatronic", led by Ms. Kinderman and Ms. Padilla. Students come once a week for an hour to sweat and learn ZUMBA! There are two sessions each week; one for the older students and one for the younger students. Each session is always packed and the students leave happy and energized!

The best part about BOTH of these clubs is that they are both perfectly aligned with Whittier's PEP Grant, which encourages healthy eating and exercise!

Great job Ms. V, Ms. Kinderman and Ms. Padilla!

Whittier PTO raffle puts technology in the hands of students! 3.18.13

On Friday, March 15th, the Whittier PTO organized a wonderful dance for our students. The gym was packed with family, friends, good music and great food! The PTO also raffled off TWO Dell Inspiron 15" laptop computers, and one Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablet computer. Students who received "A's" or "B's" in Reading or Math during the first or second quarters of the year were entered into the raffle. 

Congratulations to Anthony I. in Ms. Alarcon's class, Carlos T. in Ms. Padilla's class, and Biatris G. in Ms. Wadas' class!

Thanks to the PTO for supporting Whittier and reinforcing the idea that hard work and education make a difference and pay off for those who work hard!

Whittier Construction Videos 3.17.13

If you'd like to see ALL of the construction videos, from the start (summer, 2012) of construction to right now, click this link:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpJ7iTHvAjFHgn_BJsO9y3w

Whittier 2nd graders visit Milwaukee Public Museum! 3.15.13

Some of our 2nd graders took an exciting and educational field trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum today! While spending the entire day there, they saw lots of exhibits and learned many new things! Thanks to the 2nd grade team and all the wonderful parents who helped chaperone this amazing field trip and learning experience for our students!

Whittier Construction Update 3.15.13

A quick update on the progress of the new building......you can start to see what the bathrooms will look like, and much more!

Whittier Celebrates "Young Authors" Winners! 3.15.13

Whittier Celebrated our FABULOUS "Young Authors" winners today with a pizza luncheon and awards ceremony! Students in all grade levels were challenged to write an original and creative story during school time. They did not get any help from their teachers, but they still ended up with the most fascinating stories! Although we had the difficult task to pick only one winner per grade level, we realize that our students are very talented writers so congratulations to all who participated.

Congratulations to the following stories that won first place for Young Authors:

1st grade– "The Girl Gets to Go Everywhere" by Shaniya G. (Mrs. Franklin’s Class)

2nd grade– "The Football Player" by David M. (Mrs. Corona’s Class)

3rd grade– "Mr. Pear goes to Work" by Jorge L. (Mrs. Montgomery’s Class)

4th grade – "The Multiplication Kingdom" by Nancy M. (Mrs. Avila’s Class)

5th grade– "How the Lizard Came to Be" by Oscar S. (Mrs. Slater’s Class)

These students will now be competing at the district level. They received a medal for their winning stories and everyone who participated (2nd and 3rd place in each grade level) were treated to a special luncheon with family and their teachers!

Special thanks to 5th grade teacher Dr. Campos, for organizing and running this AMAZING event for us!