W.O.W
Word of Walden
APRIL 2012
Volume #30 Issue # 8
A FEW WORDS FROM BOB………………………
In a few days, work will start on replacing the
entire lighting system at Walden. Energy efficient
LED lights will be installed throughout the entire
facility after hours and this work should be
completed in June.
Along with these updates, we’re still working on
getting other facility improvements addressed.
Along with these tidbits, we’re entering the 4th
quarter and the year has flown! See you at
conferences or before. Thanks for allowing
Walden staff to work with your kids. We take that
responsibility seriously.
Welcome to end of 3rd quarter!
I hope you’ve heard the news about the St.
Baldrick’s event and all of the wonderful work of
those involved in raising funds, planning,
participating, and having their hair removed in
support of those battling cancer. It was a
memorable occasion involving students, staff,
parents, and the community – true Walden stuff.
Thanks to all for their support.
Recently, Walden’s Academic Decathlon team
made history – earning first place in state
competition in USAD division 3. Hard working
members of the team included: Augie Jensen,
Cody Haws, Kyle Sandow, Anthony Paonessa,
Antonio Moctezuma, Kristian Iliev, Grace Bedoin,
Adrian Traverso, Sage Sanchez, Tyler Potter, &
Keegan Geisler. Receiving special awards were
Adrian Traverso with a Bronze medal in
Literature, and Augie Jensen received the Top
Scholar award. This was a truly great
accomplishment for these students, their peers,
the school, Racine, and RUSD. The extra effort
these scholars put in is really typical of their drive
and determination to succeed. Kudos to them,
and their coach, Michael Seyller, for an
exceptional showing and on to national
competition!
The old basement room 102, otherwise known as
the ‘asbestos room’ has now nearly been
completed through the diligence of PTSA,
Leadership Racine, and other donors, like Dave
Forsman, who contributed to helping us get it
arranged. This spot will serve us well and plans
are under way to utilize it to the maximum.
CALENDAR 2011 – 2012
APRIL
6 & 9 No School – Easter recess
12
6th grade Tech Day
12
Cubs game trip
14
Band-A-Rama
17
PTSA meeting 6:00-6:30pm
18
7/8 grade to Racine Theater Guild
19
Dine Out at Culvers 5 -10pm
20
Early Release –dismiss at 11:31am
24
Market Day Pick-up 3:30-4:40pm
25
6/7/8 grade to movie “Chimpanzee”
MAY
9-18
11
15
18
19
22
Penny War
High School Fieldtrip to Chicago
PTSA meeting 6:30-8pm final mtg.
Dine Out - TBA
Prom
Band, Orchestra, & Choir Concert – 6:308:00pm
22
Market Day Pick-up 3:30-4:40pm
25
Springing Walden
28
Memorial Day – No School
29
ROPE Presentation Night
30-6/2 Music Trip to Minnesota
JUNE
TBA
7
8
8
8th Grade Graduation & Dance
Conferences – dismissal at 11:28am
Conferences – no classes
Graduation – 6:00pm - Parkside
ST. BALDRICK’S DAY AT WALDEN……………
ST. BALDRICK’S event nets over $7000.00!
On Friday, March 2nd, Walden III Middle/High
School hosted a St. Baldrick’s event. St.
Baldrick’s is the world’s largest volunteer – driven
fundraising program for childhood cancer
research. Today it funds more childhood cancer
research grants than any organization besides the
U.S. government. Not only do participants raise
funds, but they also shave their heads to show
solidarity with children who have lost their hair
due to cancer treatments.
Teahelahn Keithraffety proposed the idea to the
student government reps last November, and
after voting to participate, student government
spent the next 3 months preparing for the event.
And the hard work paid off! Walden had 38
“shavees,” including Principal Bob Holzem, and
teachers Tom Rutkowski and Pam Veenstra. A
total of 7 young ladies shaved their heads along
with 31 men. Long hair was donated to Lock of
Love. More importantly, Walden’s “shavees”
and the many people who supported them
raised over $7000.00 dollars in a single
morning!
In addition, we had special visits from John
Lehman and Mayor John Dickert, and many
parents and friends of “shavees” came to watch
the creation of these nude noggin’s! Special
thanks goes out to the licensed hair dressers who
donated their time to the event: Erika Peterson
and Margot Nielsen from Profiles Hair design,
Holly Falaschi from Tangles, and Tracey Moser
from Tracy’s Touch Hair Salon. Way to go
Walden!
STUDENT LED CLASSES WERE A SUCCESS!
Walden students have a plethora of skill and
talent. To celebrate that, on Friday, March 2nd,
students taught classes for 3 hours in the
afternoon. 37 different classes were taught by
student teachers whose age ranged from 6th
grade(11 years old) to high school seniors (18
years old). Class subjects were as varied as our
students and included fencing (teacher, Alyssa
Venn), poms and cheerleading (Elle Cooper,
Ashley Smith, Stephanie Rangel), Golf (Joey
Boyd and Nick VanTubbergen), and a Hair and
Makeup clinic (Cristina Ibarra). Many other
interesting classes were taught with great
prowess by our talented and organized students.
Both teachers and students gave highly positive
feedback, and kids are already asking when we’re
going to do it again! Well done, Walden
students!!!!!!
WALDEN MUSIC DEPARTMENT………….
Congratulations to all participants of the district
Solo and Ensemble over the March 24th weekend.
Good luck to the following students who are going
to state: Michaela Westmoreland, Sarah
Gudbauer, Kijung Kwak, Johnan Gamble, Prasan
Knotek, & Alex Aviles.
PERFORMANCE ANNOUNCEMENT
Band-a-Rama…April 14th
Middle School 7th & 8th grade band will play at
Band-A-Rama on April 14th at Case High School.
Concert – May 22 – all groups – Bands,
Orchestras, & Choir will perform – 6:30 –
8:00pm.
*Please donate to the cookie/cake/brownie
drive – please contact Zach.
*The plant sale is coming. Get your gardens
ready!
Music Dept Trip to Minnesota – May 30th –
June 2nd. All money due April 20th. We will
leave after school on Wed. May 30th & return
Sunday, June 2nd (time to be determined very
very soon).
*If anyone has unused musical instruments,
equipment, or ? that works, the music department
would love hear from you!
Register online to take the ACT test at
www.actstudent.org or at
www.collegeboard.com for the SAT. The code
for Walden is 501-919.
COUNSELOR NEWS…Katie McCauley
COLLEGE INFORMATION NIGHT……
Park High School will be hosting a College
Information Night on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 at
6:00pm in the Theatre. Walden families are
encouraged to attend. Stop on out to talk to
college admission counselors and hear
information about application & scholarship
procedures, financial aid and admission
requirements. The following colleges will
have representatives there: UW-LaCrosse,
UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, UW-Oshkosh,
Gateway Technical College, Northern Illinois
University, University of Minnesota, & Great
Lakes Higher Education Corp.
COLLEGE/SCHOLARSHIP WEBSITES
There are many websites to search for
information about colleges and scholarships. Go
online to Fastweb.com, collegeboard.com or
anycollege.net. For financial aid information, try
finaid.org, ed.gov, or fafsa.ed.gov.
HONORS INFORMATION
RUSD Central Office sends honors information to
the Racine Journal Times, using the following
criteria:
High honors = GPA of 3.5 and above
Honors = GPA of 3.25 – 3.49
JUNIORS should be planning to take their ACT
test. Below are test dates and signup
information. See Katie or email:
Katherine.McCauley@rusd.org with questions.
ACT Registration Dates for 2011-2012
Test Date
Registration Date
Late Date
(Fee Req.)
6/9/2012
5/4/2012
5/5-18/2012
SAT Registration Dates for 2011-2012
Test Date
Registration Date
Late Date
5/5/2012
6/2/2012
4/5/2012
5/8/2012
4/20/2012
5/22/2012
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE TO SENIORS
A variety of scholarships are available to seniors.
They should stop and see Katie McCauley for
more info and deadlines in room 319.
Selective Service: All 18-year old men must
register for Selective Service. If you fail to
register, you cannot qualify for federal student
grants or loans for college. Registration is easy
and can be completed in less than two minutes
via the Internet at www.sss.gov. Register today!
FEDERAL STUDENT AID APPLICATION
Seniors can apply online at www.fafsa.gov for the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is
the form needed to apply for government aid and
may be required by your college. Seniors & their
families can apply after Jan. 1, 2012. See Katie
in room 319 or call 664-6262 for more
information.
ATTENTION: High School Students: Colleges
consider the following when evaluating your
application:
* Vigor, or challenge of high school curriculum
* ACT or SAT scores
* Leadership abilities
* Involvement outside the classroom
EVERY YEAR COUNTS – not only senior year.
A high GPA and choosing challenging courses
will improve your chances for both scholarship
eligibility and getting into the college of your
choice. Keep these points in mind as you
schedule your classes.
CREDIT RECOVERY CLASSES
Lighted Schoolhouse course are open to students
who need to recover a failed grade in order to
graduate. Priority is given to seniors. See Katie
for an application or more information.
PTSA DINE OUT NIGHT……………………
Dine Out at Culvers and support Walden’s PTSA!
Eat at Culver’s on Thursday, April 19th from
5:00pm to 10:00pm. Make sure that you mention
that you are there to support Walden! (Please
note that no Scrip or other gift cards can be used
for this promotion). Thanks for supporting our
school!
YEARBOOK INFO………………………
Yearbooks are for sale – still just $43.00. Cash or
check, made out to Walden III. Get it to us soon!
U.S. ACADEMIC DECATHLON TAKES 1ST
PLACE………..
The Walden USAD Team, led by 1st year coach
Michael Seyller, travelled to Wisconsin Dells for
the WI State Tournament for the 3rd year
consecutively. Students have studied the Age of
Imperialism all year to prepare for relevant test
questions in Math, Economics, Science, Art,
Music, & Language Arts. Their studies also
include reading and analyzing The Heart of
Darkness by Joseph Conrad. In addition to the
academic tests each student wrote an essay
about the Imperialist Era. To round off the 10
events students prepared an informative speech
and detailed interview. Finally, at the State
Tournament, the students participated in a Super
Quiz relay. The team this year consisted of:
HONORS – Augie Jensen, Cody Haws, Kyle
Sandow; SCHOLASTIC – Anthony Paonessa,
Antonio Moctezuma, Kristian Iliev; and VARSITY
– Adrian Traverso, Grace Bedoin, & Sage
Sanchez. Receiving special awards were Adrian
Traverso with a Bronze medal in Literature and
Augie Jensen received the Top Scholar award.
Finally, our team’s concerted efforts paid off
Walden III’s team earned 1st Place in Division 3
which qualified them to participate in the National
Online Competition to be held in April. Our team
also placed 10th overall in the entire state. What a
terrific feat. Kudos to all. A special thanks to
Lynn and Sandy for all their support over the 2
day competition. We’ll be studying arduously for
the next month preparing for the National
Competition. The team will represent us skillfully,
gaining national exposure for Walden III.
FORENSICS NEWS…………………………….
On March 17th twelve talented Walden III students
and their coach, Michael Seyller, competed at the
district Forensics tournament. After completing
three rounds of adjudication it was an honor to
learn that all twelve students qualified for the
WHFSA State Tournament in Madison on April 20
& 21, where they will be competing against more
than 5,000 Wisconsin students statewide. This is
the 5th year consecutively that the entire team
qualified for state competition. The team, very
excited, will be practicing their acting, speaking
radio announcing and oral interpretation of poetry.
The 2012 Forensics squad includes: Sarah
Carmody, Teahalahn Keithrafferty, Elizabeth
Inloes, Coryn Wright, Pierce McVeigh, Adrian
Traverso, Kristian Iliev, Kate Heineck, Destiny
Erhardt, Kait Carmody, Josh Fick and Kyle
Sandow (who ranked 1st in each of the 3 rounds).
Again, Walden III continues the tradition showing
that no matter our size we are mighty contenders.
Good luck at the State competition in April.
RENT – THE MUSICAL………………………
The much desired and anticipated rock musical
RENT by Jonathan Larsen will be performed
exquisitely on March 29 & 30. The show, written
in the mid 80’s still proves relevant today. The
story is based upon the opera “La Bohoeme.”
Some material, although the show has been
adapted for high school, has some deep
controversial social issues. Walden’s
interpretation of RENT is directed by Kate PotterBarrow and Michael Seyller. The live music is
conducted and directed by Zach Fell. It’s a
coincidence that we are able to perform this
musical, which doesn’t need stage curtains.
Tickets for RENT are $8.00 – adults, $6.00 –
students and $25 family package. Tickets are on
sale now through Kate or Michael. If you would
like to place an ad in the playbill please contact
Michael for details. This is a MUST see
production for all. The intricate harmonies
accompanied by a live band hasn’t occurred at
Walden for more than a decade. Schedule your
student’s conference, then come to our
production of RENT.
MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE….
Congratulations to members of the Walden United
Nations Club for dong a great job at the UWMilwaukee Model U.N. Conference held on
Thursday, 3/22 & Friday, 3/23. This year’s
members include the following Waldenites: Isabel
Orno, Henry Clickner, Lauren Instenes, Ryann
Kosterman-Thillman, Heba Ali, Matalin Schoone,
Brandon Embrey, Sergio Reza, Anthony Moser,
Coral Buchaklian, Willard Kwak, Kristian Iliev,
Antonio Moctezuma, Emily Weiss, Paku Thor,
Kristi Parsons, Chris Kozenski, Breanna
Vanderplow, Alejandro Maldonado, Michael
Roberts, Natassja Dubinski, Arthur Gasca, Leslie
Lee, Jacob Spiegelhoff, Nick VanTubbergen,
Ktelyn Flynn, Amanda Ali, Lena Ali, & Mariah
Breckenridge.
HIGH SCHOOL CHICAGO TRIP……………….
The Chicago Trip for the high school will happen
on Friday, May 11th. If you want to chaperone
you must complete the WINGS volunteer form (if
you haven’t already been approved). Groups up
to 5 will be chaperoned by an adult at all times.
Permission slips will be available at conferences.
What a great learning experience, not to be
missed. Ticket prices TBD soon.
CHICAGO CUBS FIELD TRIP……………..
Get ready baseball fans!! On Thursday, April 12th
we will be taking our Middle School Baseball
History class on the annual baseball field trip to
see the Chicago Cubs vs. our own Milwaukee
Brewers at historic Wrigley Field. It should be an
exciting day of baseball and fun! Extra tickets will
be available for other students and chaperones to
purchase on a 1st come basis. Cost is $15.00 for
ticket & bus.
WALDEN WHEELS SHOW……………………..
The 12th annual Walden Wheels is June 1, 2012.
We are starting to take names of volunteers
willing to help before, during, and after the event.
We are also asking the community for door prize
donations and sponsorship. Any and all help is
needed and very appreciated. Contact Julie
Fornary, staff advisor, or Christopher Roberts,
student chairperson. Contact by e-mail at
chrisim1212@yahoo.com.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS……………….
Track starts April 16th until the end of May. There
will be an activity bus available for bus riders.
Floor Hockey will go from April 2 – 12.
An alternate (northside or southside) bus will be
available.