Kent Park Pictures

Photos from our trip to Kent Park have been added to our website.  Please click here to check them out!

Creek Clean Up: This Friday

The students will be headed back to Ralston Creek this Friday morning to participate in a clean-up of the area surrounding Court Hill Park.  We'll be leaving the building at 8:30am so please have students to school a few minutes early.  As always, students should wear clothes and shoes that can get muddy :)  Students should also bring a change of clothes and shoes as we will back at school for the afternoon.  

Details for Documentary Night

Wolf students will be premiering their documentary on May 24th.  All Wolf students will need to be back at school to set-up and serve dinner by 4:45pm.  Wolf students do not need to pay for the show; they will however, need to pay for dinner if they would like to eat here.  Please let me know if you have any questions about that evening's events.  

Out in the Field

Wolf documentarians spent the day collecting footage for AQUAlity. Students visited locations throughout the surrounding areas including the Iowa City landfill, North Liberty Recreation Center, the sewage treatment plant, Kent Park, and many more! Many thanks to our drivers, Joni and Carol, for driving students all over town! Don't forget to buy your tickets for this exciting event!

Out in the Field

Wolf documentarians spent the day collecting footage for AQUAlity. Students visited locations throughout the surrounding areas including the Iowa City landfill, North Liberty Recreation Center, the sewage treatment plant, Kent Park, and many more! Many thanks to our drivers, Joni and Carol, for driving students all over town! Don't forget to buy your tickets for this exciting event!

Kids' Rag Order Forms: Due this Friday

Just a reminder that Kids' Rag Order forms along with payment are due this Friday. Forms are available at Amber's desk or can be downloaded here.

Kids' Rag Order Forms: Due this Friday

Just a reminder that Kids' Rag Order forms along with payment are due this Friday. Forms are available at Amber's desk.

Field Day: Tomorrow

The Wolf documentarians will spend tomorrow out in the field getting "b-roll" shots for AQUAlity, their documentary about water quality.  Be sure to ask a Wolf what b-roll is if you're not sure.  We will be leaving first thing in the morning so please have your child at school by 8:30am.  Also, students should wear clothes that can get dirty.  

Bike to School Day: Wednesday!

International Bike to School Day is Wednesday May 9.  Participants can bike from home or meet on the west side of the First Ave. HyVee by 8:20 to bike to school on the path.  HyVee will donate fruit for participants to enjoy.  Please email Christine, christinek@willowwind.org, with questions.

AQUAlity: Coming to a Willowwind Near You!

Tickets will go on sale for the Wolves' documentary, AQUAlity, tomorrow.  The students have been working incredibly hard on this culminating project and are so excited to share their work with their family and friends.  Please talk to your child about potential extended family and friends that they may like to invite.  Please be sure to buy by May 23rd.  

National History Day Contest: State Competition!

Congratulations again to our National History Day Contest state competitors!  Both Halle and Emma traveled to Des Moines yesterday and competed against middle schoolers from around the state.  We are incredibly proud of their work!

Documentary script writing

Now that the students have completed transcribing all of those interviews - close to 5 and half hours of video!!! - they have begun pouring over the transcripts and looking for the perfect sound bites.  Once they've found all of the sound bites that they need, they will create documentary scripts that outline both audio and video for each and every second of the film.  I'm tired just thinking about it!

Working with Experts: Documentary Film Maker, David Gould

David Gould, a professor at the University of Iowa, has made several documentary films including Two Sides of the Moon in which he interviews the Dalai Lama!  David visited our class today and spoke to the students about his work and how he creates his films.  Our student documentarians were full of questions and were able to use the time to begin thinking about how they would like to piece together their own story about water quality.  He talked about his love for documentary filmmaking and its ability to make people think about their actions.  One Wolf student commented that you can do that best when the audience can connect to the subject matter and have some control over the problem or issue.  The students all had huge smiles on their faces, thinking about the possible effect of their own film: AQUAlity.  

Newsletter Updated

Please check out our newsletter link for May's edition of the newsletter.

Birthday Celebration: Schedule of Events

To kick May off right, we will have a busy week here at Willowwind. Please see the schedule of events for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Read carefully as friends will need special clothing and there will be some schedule changes.

Wednesday, May 2nd - Planting Day

• Friends have worked so hard to research, measure, fundraise and plan for their Prairie Restoration, and on Wednesday it all comes together. We will planting in the afternoon from 12:45 to the end of the day.
• We will be outside planting and painting so be sure that your child has clothes and shoes that can get muddy and stained. They will also want to dress in layers on this day to accommodate temperature. 
• If your child is going to ASP please send them in with a change of clothes, socks and shoes. 
• We will end the Planting Day with an all natural fruit popsicle to celebrate our planting success. 

Thursday, May 3rd - Spring Concert from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

• Please join our friends as they perform songs and music that they have been working on with David.
• At 2:00 students will go to music class as they prepare for their performance.
• Your child will be dismissed at 3:00 p.m. after the concert. If you are not here to pick them up at that time, they will join ASP.
• If you AND your child will not be attending the concert, please let me know so that I can communicate this with David. Also, if you are picking your child up at regular dismissal time (2:00 p.m.) please meet them at the classroom door. 

**ADULTS Please come to our innovative education speaker at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night. This event is FREE and open to the public. 

Friday, May 4th, V.I.P. Day

Please invite a special someone to come be apart of our school for the afternoon (this includes parents, neighbors, a special babysitter etc.).

The schedule is below:

11:45 p.m. to 12:45 

 Lunch and Recess with our V.I.P. Friends. Have you ordered Grey Wolves' Diner - it's a taco bar!

12:45 to 1:00 

V.I.P. Welcome

1:00 to 2:00 

Prairie Presentations in the Gathering Space upstairs. 

Listen, watch and learn how the K-6 Willowwind Friends researched, measured and planned for their Willowwind Prairie Restoration. Join in the fun as we conclude the presentations with a Sing Along favorite that ties it altogether. 

2:00 to 3:15

Classroom Time: share work from the year with V.I.P.s

Saturday, May 5, 2012 - Willowwind 40th Anniversary Picnic

• 11:00 Silent Auction
• 12:00 Potluck Lunch (did you sign up with Amber for a dish to share?)
• 1:00 All School Group Discussion with Alumni Friends

Burrowing Owls' Food Drive

The Burrowing Owl class focused on learning about Iowa City this year. We learned about some of the ways people in our own community, as well as others, become activists to assist those in need. One way is to establish food pantries for those who need assistance feeding their families. We talked about the fact that children are not too young to help and decided that we wanted to collect food for the River Community Church food pantry. Between May 1 and May 7 families are invited to bring in food for a spaghetti dinner. This would include spaghetti pasta, spaghetti sauce, canned fruit, and canned vegetables. If you choose to participate, please leave the the food in the boxes you find in the front entry to the school. Thanks for your support.

The Burrowing Owl Class

VIP Day: Friday, May 4th!

As a part of Willowwind's 40th Birthday Celebration, Willowwind will hold its annual VIP day next Friday, May 4th. VIP Day is a time for your child to invite someone special to spend time with them at school.

VIP Day will occur from 11:45 - 3:15.

Brainstorm with your child a special person they may like to share part of our school day with. Your child's VIP may be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, family friend, neighbor, babysitter….the list is endless. In the coming week, please let me know who your child's VIP will be.

VIP Day's Tentative Schedule11:45 - 12:45 - Lunch / Recess
Your child's VIP can start their afternoon at Willowwind with a special lunch with your child. Students always look forward to a meal for them and their VIP from the Grey Wolves' Diner. The Diner's VIP Day meal will be a Taco Bar. Each meal costs $7. Order a meal for your child and VIP by visiting the Grey Wolves' Diner table in the front entry way.  All orders must be placed by Thursday, May 3rd. Please note, unlimited punches and Tuesday and Thursday punches cannot be used toward VIP Day meals.

12:45 - 1:00 - VIP Day Welcoming

1:00 and Beyond - Prairie Presentations
At 1:00, Willowwind classes will take time to share with our VIPs our year long prairie study. Students are excited to present information, participate in a school wide group reading, and sing one of our favorite prairie sing along songs. After our prairie presentations, students will have a chance to share student work with their VIP.

Please let me know who your child would like to invite for Friday, May 4th's VIP Day. 

From the Interview to Transcription

Conducting the interview

An incredibly important part of the documentary process is creating transcripts of all of the interviews that the students have conducted.  By having a clear understanding of what was said, who said it, and when, student documentarians will be able to efficiently edit film.  Instead of spending hours searching through videos for the exact line wanted, students will be able to quickly read over transcripts and go directly to the clip that they need to help tell their story.  The transcription process also allows students to thoroughly process what was said by interviewee.

Transcribing the interview

The Willowwind Documentarians are on the Move!

Students interview Craig L. Just at the Water Treatment Plant

From the East Side Recycling Center to the Iowa City Water Treatment Plant, Willowwind documentarians are interviewing water quality experts and collecting footage of water projects throughout the Iowa City area.  I've had the pleasure of accompanying the student groups on two of these interviews and WOW!  The students are approaching this project with not only professionalism, but a high level of knowledge that allows that them to understand complex water quality issues such as bioindicators, nitrogen runoff, and dead zones.  Thank you so much to those of you that have driven or will be driving the students to interviews.  Your help is very much appreciated!

Update on Field Days

After further discussion with the students, we've decided to push back our field days to May 9th and 11th so that we can spend more time editing interviews and deciding what shots we need on our field days.  If you can drive on either of these days, please let me know.  Thanks!