Auburn-Washburn Foundation

So great to see teacher and student ingenuity recognized. If you'd like to support the Foundation to make more classroom grants possible, please visit our web page: https://usd437.net/foundation

https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/education/2023/05/09/washburn-rural-b3-alternative-forensic-science-miniature-crime-scenes/70183841007/

Thank you to our sponsors and everyone who helped to make our 2023 Spring Breakfast a huge success!

The Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation provided some seed money earlier this year to help get this Classroom Grant project going. Now the school is working to grow the program through an innovative fundraiser.

Multi-Grade Art Book Project

Last semester, Washburn Rural Middle School Art teacher Mindy Armstrong coordinated a special Foundation Classroom Grant project. Through the project, 8th grade design students got the opportunity to collaborate with 2nd graders at Jay Shideler Elementary School.

The 2nd grade students created an illustration of a monster, and each of WRMS students received two illustrations. The 8th graders had limited info of the monsters and first wrote a short story about the two monsters, and then they created a work of art that would illustrate the monsters to go with the story.

The Foundation Classroom Grant provided the printing of books of these short stories with illustrations of the 2nd graders’ and the 8th graders’ artwork. The grant provided a book for each 2nd grader, each 8th grader, and a teacher’s copy. There are four books in total, one for each class in 2nd grade at Jay Shideler.

On March 3rd the WRMS students took a field trip to Jay Shideler to meet the 2nd graders and read the book of short stories to them.

Also, it just happened to be Bob Ross Day in honor of Art Month at Jay Shideler on the day the WRMS students visited.

Elementary Artists Pop-Up Art Show Kickoff

In recognition of March as National Youth Art Month, over 200 works of art created by Auburn-Washburn K-6 grade students will sprout in favorite youth locations across the city. They will kick off the traveling art show on March 3 with a Free First Friday Artwalk Private Event for Auburn-Washburn student artists, their family, and friends at the Topeka Zoo from 5-7pm. Each piece of artwork includes a QR code to access more information about the work and artist.

All artwork will remain on display at the zoo through March 19, 2023 and can be viewed during normal business hours with a general admission ticket to the zoo.

On March 20th the art show will travel across Gage Park to the Kansas Discovery Center where it will sprout up for children and families to enjoy until March 31.

During the month of April, the artwork will continue to sprout up all over our community and finally return to each student’s school in May.

This Elementary Artists Pop-Up Art Show project was funded through a grant from the Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation.

Help Us Lift Up the Auburn-Washburn Staff!

To help celebrate American Education Week, the Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation is renewing their Lift Up initiative.

Our teachers and other support staff are working hard every day to create the best possible learning experience for our children. We want to say THANK YOU to each one of them and we need your help.

If you click on the link below and sign up, we will provide you with the contact information for a randomly selected staff member. Then, whenever you have a chance, you can share a message of thanks and appreciation.

You will have the opportunity to choose the location and job category of the staff member you will be paired with. You can even sign up for more than one!

Click https://forms.gle/kFBZKKS7uU1993hU7 to help us say THANKS!

It's World Teachers Day so how fitting that for the 20th consecutive year, the Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation Prize Patrol visited our schools to surprise teachers with Classroom Grant checks. Today we awarded 68 grants totaling over $63,000! Congratulations to all the innovative educators whose grants will provide opportunities to enhance, enrich and expand the educational experience for our students across the district.

Brewster Buddies & PC Pals

After a year of writing letters back and forth, students in Anne Hawkins’ third grade class at Pauline Central finally got to meet their Brewster Buddies in person for the first time recently. The project, made possible by a Classroom Grant from the Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation, connected the students with residents at Brewster Place in a year-long, intergenerational literacy experience. “The kids grew their brains and their hearts in this learning project,” Hawkins said. “I can't express how excited the students have been all year – like, holiday-level excitement – with cheering and dancing every time they received a letter from their Brewster Buddy!”

When students finally met their new friends, it was like the holiday itself. They exchanged gifts they had made for each other. PC Pals brought hand-painted candle holders to their Brewster Buddy, to represent the light their Buddy shined into their third grade year. Brewster Buddies gave each student a hand-painted t-shirt they made, expressing that their PC Pal is a star in their eyes.

Staff Appreciation - Thank You!

This week the Auburn-Washburn Foundation and the Board of Education joined efforts and provided a Crumbl Cookie to every staff member to express their appreciation for the work they are doing.