It’s American Education Week, and we’re celebrating our incredible staff for how “sweet” they are! Thanks to The Forgotten Grain Bakery & Bistro, a locally-owned business in downtown Auburn, we are providing delicious 3-cookie sampler packs to each of our staff members. That translates to more than 3,000 cookies baked and delivered with special care and appreciation.

A heartfelt thank you to the Auburn-Washburn National Education Association (AWNEA), the Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation, and the Auburn-Washburn Board of Education for making this possible. Your support helps us recognize the hard work and dedication of our amazing team!

The Auburn-Washburn Parents as Teachers (PAT) program has achieved Blue Ribbon endorsement from the Parents as Teachers National Center, distinguishing it as one of the top-performing home-visiting affiliates within the international Parents as Teachers network. This honor represents the program’s commitment to excellence and its standing as a leader in service to children and families.

Achieving Blue Ribbon endorsement requires a rigorous 18-month review process to ensure the program meets the highest standards of fidelity and quality. Programs that receive this designation are celebrated as models of excellence, delivering exceptional services to their communities.

Through services such as home visits, group connections, child screenings, and referrals to community resources, PAT empowers parents with the knowledge and tools they need to support their children’s early development and prepare them for long-term success in school.

The celebration of district honor groups continues! Today, we proudly recognize the talented students from Washburn Rural Middle School and Washburn Rural High School who have earned their place in one of these prestigious ensembles. Please join us in applauding these remarkable musicians for their achievements!

Each year, students across the state of Kansas have the opportunity to audition for prestigious honor groups at both the district and state levels. District high school honor group auditions were held this past weekend in Eudora. Congratulations to these outstanding Washburn Rural High School musicians for being selected to District Honor Bands! More information about the audition process is available at http://www.nekmea.org.

Students at Pauline Central Primary School welcomed a special guest reader today – Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association. Ms. Pringle traveled from Washington, D.C. to Topeka to celebrate Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. Among her many school stops and engagements was meeting with second- and third-grade students at Pauline Central to share about Ruby Bridges and to read, "Ruby Bridges Goes to School." To help commemorate the day, each student left with their own copy of the book.

In 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges made history when she was escorted by federal Marshals to Williams Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. Every year on November 14, Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day honors her legacy.

To view additional photos of Ms. Pringle's visit and other Ruby Bridges events held in the district, please visit https://usd437.net/albums/2024-ruby-bridges-walk-to-school-day.

We invite all members of the Auburn-Washburn community to participate in a brief online survey to help shape our district’s future priorities. Your input is greatly valued in our strategic planning process! Please visit http://usd437.net/plan to complete the community survey. Thank you!

Today, we paused to honor the brave men and women who have served our country. Across our schools, a variety of programs, assemblies, and activities took place, allowing students and staff the opportunity to honor and remember the sacrifices made by our veterans.

At Wanamaker Elementary School, the walls were adorned with student artwork and messages of gratitude. A school-wide assembly paid tribute to veterans past and present – the honor choir and band performed, a military medley was played, and veterans were presented with flowers to honor their service. A white table was also set to honor fallen, missing, and imprisoned military service members. Sixth-grader Donaven captured the symbolism of the white table beautifully, writing, "To me the little white table symbolizes the bravery of our heroes and what they sacrificed to protect our freedom. Our gratitude is limitless, thank you."

Students and staff at Washburn Rural Middle School came together for an inspiring act of service this week! Through their school-wide drive for Harvesters, they collected enough food to donate 400 Holiday Meal Boxes to families experiencing food insecurity in Northeast Kansas. A team of students helped load the boxes onto pallets yesterday for pickup and delivery. Thanks to these meal boxes, hundreds of families in our community will enjoy a brighter holiday season!

A student-led program at Washburn Rural High School paid tribute to all American veterans this afternoon. The program was hosted by Washburn Rural JROTC and featured performances by the school's band and choir.

The mission of Washburn Rural JROTC is to develop citizens of character, dedicated to serving their nation and community. Under the direction of Lt. Col. Ron Daniels, the high school program works to instill the values of citizenship, community service, responsibility, good character, self-discipline, and instruction in Aerospace fundamentals.

The program may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUlniIMkWzU.

Reminder: Wednesday, November 6, 2024, is an early release day. All schools will dismiss 90 minutes early.