Help Needed: WW-a-Thon Day - NEXT Mon, 1.18

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., Willowwind students WILL have school next Monday, January 18th.  The school day will be different given it is a Day On / Day of Service.  Please read the following blog post as it provides a lot of information from all of our faculty members regarding the events that will occur next Monday and ways we need your help.  Our school community is going to have raising awareness (and funds!) to support Dance Marathon and the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. 

What will school be like on Monday, January 18? 

•   Please plan to drop your child off at Willowwind at the regular school start time (8:15). Students will begin the day in their regular classrooms, and will divide into their WW-A-Thon planning groups after Morning Meetings

•   Your child need only bring outdoor recess wear, snacks, a lunch, water bottle, and desired A-Thon supplies (see notes below) for the day. As we are walking students to the church for the Dance-A-Thon at the end of the day (shhh...remember THIS part of the day is a secret), we are asking families to minimize items brought to school that day. 

•   If you ordered a t-shirt from the Wolves, your child will receive it the morning of January 18. 

•   You are invited to join us at River Church beginning at 3 PM for the end of our Dance-A-Thon. The Treat-A-Thon group will be selling the treats they created, with all proceeds to go to DM/UICH. 

•   Please plan to pick up your child at River Church at 3:15 PM. ASP students will return to Willowwind after 3:15 PM. 

1)  Game-a-Thon News:

The Game-a-Thon team has done a great job planning to play games to support kids at UIHC! Students have chosen to have stations for card games and electronic games. If you have decks of cards or fun card games we can borrow, please label with your name and give them to Rachel D. by Friday, Jan. 15. The team has decided to slightly modify rules that are used for the once-weekly 3rd-6th grade e-recess for the electronic gaming portion of the day. For those unfamiliar, here are the rules:

1. You must use your own handheld device. We will not use school devices as these are reserved for classwork as educational tools. Exception for WW-a-Thon: Devices will only be brought by 3rd-6th grade students. They will share appropriate games with younger friends who wish to play. 

2. Devices may include laptops, tablets, phones, or other handheld gaming devices.

3. Games only. This is not a time for videos or music. 

4. Use the Willowwind Student wi-fi network to play collaborative games (e.g., Minecraft).

5. When playing collaboratively, respect others' virtual property and keep your user name the same at all times so everyone knows who they are playing with. 

6. Games need to be rated E10 or lower. Ask a teacher if you're unsure if a game is appropriate for E-Recess. 

7. Sound can be on. Bring headphones if you wish to use them.

8. Personal electronic devices or card games must be stored in backpacks or cubbies during the remainder of the school day to avoid distraction from classwork. 

9. Special WW Game-a-Thon Rule: electronic game play is limited to 20 minutes. 

 Please direct questions about the Game-A-Thon to Rachel at racheld@willowwind.org. 

2)  Read-a-Thon News:

We are having a lot of fun planning our Read-a-Thon. Although we will have books available to read, we want to encourage students to bring a favorite book to read during that time. Students are also invited to bring a personal stuffie to create a comfortable reading space. Students should put their names on the books and stuffies, so that everything gets to the rightful owner at the end of the day. Students can store these items in the Burrowing Owl project room in the morning. We look forward to a wonderful extended reading time.

3)  Art-a-Thon News:

During GD's Service Learning time, Michelle and Chesley have been working with a group of partner families to plan the Art-a-Thon on our MLK Day of Service.  As a group, students planned and voted on what our Art-a-Thon will look like.  The students have collectively decided to have craft stations which will include a variety of art activities students can complete.  Art-a-Thon activities include a card making station for UIHC's Children's Hospital, a wearable art station - to wear and spread our Day of Service message throughout the day and beyond, and an origami station to promote love, kindness, health, and peace.

4)  Treat-a-Thon News:

We are making all types of treat for both our friends to enjoy through out the day and to sell at the Dance-A-Thon.  If you are able to donate any supplies please use THIS link below!

5)  Dance-a-Thon News: 

To make this event special we are having a surprise dance party to finish our Day of Service!  This will be our own mini version of DM's Power Hour, just like at the University of Iowa!  Click HERE to check out UI's DM Power Hour in action!  Our students know that we will be all dancing together, but they don't know that we are going to make this event special by going to the church gym and replicating a REAL power hour... DJ, glowsticks, and all!  (Help us keep this a secret!) 

If you are willing to donate some items or your time in helping set up/tear down, please sign up on this sheet!  All contributed items should be brought to school by Friday, January 15th.  If you have questions about gathering donations and the donation form please email your classroom teacher.  If you have questions about our surprise Dance Marathon , please email Eryn at  erynv@willowwind.org.

Community Monetary Donations: - Due this Friday, January 15th

Your child brought home THIS donation form and attached envelope.  We encourage you to use this form to raise awareness and gather donations for this year's charitable organization.  The Willowwind students are very excited to collect donations for an organization they are passionate about.  Donors will be recognized with colored stars on display.  All donations should be collected in the form's attached envelope and returned to your child's classroom teacher by Friday, January 15th.  Please note:  while donations to DM are a wonderful gift to give the goal is all about awareness.  We have emphasized with the students that no donation is too small and that helping others see the importance of DM is the most important task of all.

Whew! Thanks for reading this lengthy update and sharing in our excitement. It is truly wonderful to see our students express such passion and love for giving to others. We are looking forward to sharing this day together, as we work FTK!