Good Evening!
Please take the time to read this letter from Mr. Dawidziak so you can find out the latest happenings
here at school. Also, see the following attachments which include Raymond School's 2015-2016
calendar with corrections, our new logo and some dates to mark on your calendar!
Parent(s),
Let me begin by once again thanking the PTO for the incredible fundraiser this year. We are so grateful
for their efforts and contributions to the education of our children. I am also very appreciative for the
overwhelming support that the Raymond School community continues to demonstrate before, during,
and after the fundraiser each year. Additionally, a special thank you to Deb Shore, Jill Peterson and
everyone else involved with another great year of PBS Kids. Also, to Stacy Stock and everyone involved
with the Forensic competition, both were a success!
GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY/CHANGES TO COME
Allow me to give you an update regarding a few other things that are going on. We are currently
planning a groundbreaking ceremony that will take place on Monday, April 20th at 1:00 p.m. While we
are still working out the details, we are hoping for a great event that mostly involves the reason we are
all here: our students. As I have mentioned, expect to receive notifications regarding changes in the
pick up and drop off procedures in the near future. I want to reiterate that we are asking for your
patience and understanding as all of this takes place. There will be a need for parents to be flexible with
the possibility of sudden changes in the routine as well.
CHROMEBOOKS
During the afternoon of our last early release day, we had a meeting in which much discussion took
place and we planned for several things. Some of the topics on the agenda included the ground
breaking ceremony, potential internal room changes, internal construction transitions/storage, summer
school, the upcoming Badger Testing, transitioning from Infinite Campus to Skyward, Educator
Effectiveness, and Chromebook policy.
While I am happy to answer any questions regarding any of these things, I would first like to address in
detail our discussion related to Chromebook usage in our upper grades. This year we have experienced
a much higher rate of broken or damaged Chromebooks and we have spent some time trying to analyze
why. We have noticed that some students are becoming increasingly more irresponsible with their
Chromebooks. When asked about the damage, I have had students tell me “my parents will just buy me
another one”. We have had students intentionally break them because they know that they will then
receive a new or newer one. There have been cases where students have received a new Chromebook
and immediately began removing parts off of it. We also believe that there is a possibility that much of
the damage being done to the Chromebooks is happening at home. We have several great ideas moving
forward to correct this here at school and we will communicate them to you as they are finalized in our
discussions and plans. I ask for your help at home reinforcing the policy on Chromebooks as it is now
and once we implement any changes to that policy. As we continue to talk internally about how to
address this, I would love to hear from any parents that may have their own thoughts regarding this
matter. We look forward to your support once we have jointly decided what we think may be the best
solution.
Our next early release is Wednesday, April 29th. Part of that afternoon will involve a staff meeting that
will address a laundry list of things. The other part is tentatively planned to provide professional
development to teachers regarding Badgerlink, RtI, and Technology.
NEW RAYMOND PANTHER LOGO
Lastly, as you may or may not have noticed, we currently have at least six different versions of the
Raymond Panther logo circulating. These logos are not only located in all different places throughout
the building, but also on various paperwork, athletic gear, etc. We have completed the process of
picking one Raymond Panther to represent us. This logo will be the same regardless of whether it is on
the wall, a uniform, school stationary or anywhere else. We think that it looks awesome and we hope
that you feel the same! It is attached here for you to view. We are also anticipating to have our new
slogan/motto developed through the Branding Committee by the end of this school year. Our goal is to
proudly display it on our new web site, which will hopefully be ready to go by the fall of next school
year. As always, I hope to hear from you with any questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions as we
continue on this exciting journey through the next year.
Have a great weekend!
Mr. Dawidziak