Washington Junior High School

Washington Newsletter

March 2025

March Madness!!

March is busy!!

Monday, March 3: No School, Casimir Pulaski Day

Thursday, March 6: Spring Open House

Everyone is welcome to attend our Spring Open House!

We will have:

  • Bake Sale for our Student Council.

  • Our Student Council will be available to provide a guided tour and information.

  • Report Cards will be available for pickup and discussion with homeroom teachers

  • We will have actors on site to perform small skits from Matilda Jr.

  • School Nurse Jordan will be available to discuss any information pertaining to physicals and immunizations for the upcoming year.

March 7 at 7:00pm: Matilda Jr.

  • 5:00pm for anyone who may need extra time to get ready

  • 5:30pm for cast & crew and volunteers to arrive in the rear of the school by 5:45 pm.

Admission is $3.00 per attendee

  • 6:15pm doors to the school will open

    • Any interior lines should line down each of the hallways to maintain order

  • 6:30pm doors to the gymnasium will open

    • There will be bleachers available along with metal folding chairs for seating on floor

March 8 at 1:00pm: Matilda Jr.

  • 11:00pm for anyone who may need extra time to get ready

  • 11:30pm for cast & crew and volunteers to arrive in the rear of the school by 5:45 pm.

Admission is $3.00 per attendee

  • 12:15pm doors to the school will open

    • Any interior lines should line down each of the hallways to maintain order

  • 12:30pm doors to the gymnasium will open

    • There will be bleachers available along with metal folding chairs for seating on floor

March 12:

  • LPHS play for all students - Mean Girls

March 13:

  • 8th grade trip to Teen Showcase at IVCC

March 27:

  • Spring Pictures

  • Scholastic Bowl pictures after school

March 28:

  • Holocaust Museum - 8th grade trip

March 31 - April 11:

  • Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) testing and Illinois Science Assessment (ISA)

March 7 at 7pm. Gym doors open 6:45.

March 8 at 1pm

Matilda Jr.

March 6 at 5pm

Open House

John Ourth Winners

JO

Congratulations to Sailor Ernat and Diku Useini, who were selected as the John Ourth Winners. They attended a special recognition breakfast for the outstanding work throughout the year!

8th Grade Volleyball

VB

These girls are flying under the radar and turning heads!

The 8th grade girls have been doing amazing things this season! Many of these girls have been playing volleyball and cheerleading throughout December-February. They have been giving so much effort and it has been providing incredible results as they finished the season with a record of 21-1. Amazing!!

Good luck in postseason ladies!!! Let's make some memories!!

8th Grade Basketball

BB

A lot of attention has been on these boys who finished their basketball careers last Thursday with a win over Midwest Central to take 3rd place in State.

In their IESA careers they got 2nd and 3rd in State, which is amazing! I wish them the best of luck in their next steps and thank them for the memories!

Sailor

Not one, but TWO!!

A young writer is not just someone who tells stories, but someone who shapes the world with their words and carries the power of possibility in every sentence."

Sailor E. – Winner of the 2025 American Legion Essay Contest

This year’s essay topic was "What Is My Favorite National Memorial or Monument?" Sailor chose the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring her grandfather, who served in the Vietnam War.

This marks Sailor’s second essay award of the year!

She is currently awaiting the results for her VFW essay at the state level and now proudly holds 1st place in the American Legion contest as well!

It’s truly a great day to be a Bulldog!

Edible Car Challenge

Steam students from Washington School participated in IVCC's "Edible Car Challenge" with four cars entered into the contest.

Levi Z., Easton S., and Aiden Z., tied for 2nd place in the Speed Category! Way to go!

IVCC

Attendance

For the year, Washington School has a collective attendance percentage of 93.9%. This means that our students average about 4 absences for the year. If your child is missing more than four days of school to this point in the year, they are at-risk for falling behind their peers. When students miss school, they miss instruction, they miss feedback, they miss opportunities to collaborate and work on activities. When students experience those losses it can potentially build into anxiety. Anxiety about the work piling up, social shifts. Additionally, students who are chronically absent are at higher risk of falling behind, scoring lower on standardized tests and even dropping out.

For the month of February, Washington School has a collective attendance percentage of 93.6%.

We want your kids at school everyday!

5 Essentials

We are at 7% of the parents have submitted their responses.

The State of Illinois has opened a survey for parents that inquires on the service quality of our schools.

The completion of the survey provides us with your collective voice to better develop & serve you! Please take the time to complete this survey.

Here is this year’s link for parents to provide feedback.

We will be texting the link out as well.

PBIS Spotlight Students of the Month

6th Grade

Ramirez

Elliana is respectful and kind to everyone.  She does great quality work and tries hard on every task she does.

7th Grade

Baker

Natalie consistently demonstrates respect towards her classmates, teachers, and school staff. She listen attentively, use kind words, and treat everyone with courtesy.  She has really stepped up lately in terms of her work as well.

8th Grade

Stokes

Gavin has demonstrated tremendous leadership to his peers, through his actions as well as words. He has taken the next step in leadership this year.

Notice: Admission for Homeless Children

Under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, any homeless child shall be immediately admitted, even if the child’s parent/guardian is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment. A homeless child may attend the District school that the child attended when permanently housed or in which the child was last enrolled. A home child living in any District school’s attendance area may attend that school. The child shall have access to the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children, including a public preschool education. Please contact Kelly Legrenzi, homeless liaison for the Oglesby Public School District for additional information about homeless issues.

logo

Illinois Assessment of Readiness and Illinois Science Assessment

Beginning March 31st and running through April 11th students will be participating in the Illinois Assessment of Readiness. Students will be taking assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics.

Students will take one test per day and teachers will make sure not to schedule any major tests during the testing period to help students perform at their highest level. 8th Grade students will be taking the Illinois Science Assessment during this time as well.

Parents are asked to support their children during the testing period by making sure students are:

  • In attendance

  • Get plenty of rest

  • Eat a good breakfast.

Breakfast is available every morning at school. It is very important that students are here on time each day that testing will take place. Together we can work to make sure the students do their best on the state assessments.

We appreciate your help in this effort!

Nurse's Notes

Just a note from your school nurse to remind you that during cold and flu season the spread of most infections can be reduced by good hand washing. After coughing, sneezing, and before eating, please remind your children to wash their hands well. If your child experiences a sore throat with a fever or a sore throat that is not going away, he or she should be checked by their medical doctor to determine if they may have strep throat. If a diagnosis of strep is made, your child needs to be home on an antibiotic for 24 hours before returning to school and fever free. Thank you for helping in keeping the spread of infection to a minimum.


School Nurses Page

Lunch Menu/Calendar

March Lunch Menu

March Activity Calendar

As a reminder school breakfast and lunch are free for all students.