Monthly Wildcat News

🍀 February Highlights

☘️ Habits of Mind

🍀 Staff Spotlight

☘️ Superintendent Message

🍀 Wilder Mid/High School Update

☘️ Career Day

🍀 ParentSquare

☘️ Wilder Elementary Update

🍀 Idaho Future-Ready Academy Update

☘️ IFRA Social Media

🍀 Athletics

☘️ Counselor Message

🍀 Parent University

☘️ Social Media

🍀 Contact Information

☘️ March 8 - Parent University

🍀 March 10 - End of 3rd Quarter

☘️ March 14 - Regular School Board Meeting

🍀 March 17 - St. Patrick’s Day 🍀

☘️ March 22-23 - Parent Teacher Conferences

🍀 March 24-31 - No School - Spring Break

Our first habit of mind is persisting. How do you persist or persevere?

“There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” -Desmond Tutu

"Energy and persistence conquer all things." -Benjamin Franklin

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did." -Newt Gingrich

Lynn Rivera has been with Wilder School District for 25 years. Many of you probably know her. Her dedication and spirit are truly an asset to our community. Mrs. Rivera started working with the school district in 1997 as a full-time sub and paraprofessional and eventually got her teaching degree in 2004. She has taught almost every grade in elementary (K-6). She also coached Wilder volleyball for 9 years. She has two dogs and nine grandchildren (almost ten). She enjoys painting, crafting, and camping, but most of all, she loves being with her family.

Mrs. Rivera is currently our English Language Learners (ELL) Coordinator and Federal Program Director. She oversees the federal program budget, writes grants, captains the community school, and dedicates so much of her time to our students.

When Mrs. Rivera was asked how she persists she said, "Keep a positive mental attitude and find a balance of work, self-care and personal life. Have the ability to adjust and adapt. Never compare yourself to others!!!! "

Perseverance… Life is all about perseverance! Each of you has experienced persevering through challenging circumstances. Did you know that how you manage the challenge is closely observed by your children? We can teach our children how to persevere with character, or just the opposite, we can teach our children how to avoid obstacles. The question is, what life lesson do we want our children to leave home with? Do we want to see them be challenged by the school to the point of success or do we want them to give up and walk away when learning becomes hard?

In 1937 my grandparents and great aunt and uncle loaded up their families in southern Missouri and migrated to Wilder. My grandparents traveled in a Model T Ford with all of their possessions. They sold their horse and tack for $100 and bought the Model T for $90. They left Missouri with $10 in their pocket. When they arrived in Wilder, they were completely out of money. For the next year, my grandparents lived in shacks and farm buildings, working wherever they could to make ends meet.

My grandparents were dynamic examples of individuals who, at an early part of their life, had to persevere through very challenging circumstances to survive. At a very young age, their examples of perseverance have helped me to adapt and overcome every obstacle I have faced. I was blessed to have such great examples in my life, and I would not be where I am today without them.

I understand the difficulty of encouraging your children to persevere in life and school, but we know that they gain inner strength and skills to push through what adulthood will require.

Coming Soon…

The district has adopted a policy from Idaho Code 33-512D “Self-directed Learner”. This policy allows for students in grades 5th – 12th, who demonstrate mastery of content, with parent and teacher approval, to have a flexible school week. In the next few weeks, I will be sending out an invitation to parents/guardians to attend an informational meeting.

Wilder Middle/High School would like to invite interested parents to be part of the School’s

new Parent Advisory Committee (PAC). Your input and feedback in the development of the school-wide improvement plan is crucial as we work together to provide a well-rounded

rigorous mastery-based personalized environment where 100% of our students graduate, have the skills to become leaders, and creatively design their own future. As a member of PAC, parents will also:

• Network and build community with other middle and high school families

• Improve communication between school and home

• Create and promote understanding and awareness of school programs

• Establish a network of advocacy

Please watch for upcoming dates!

Perseverance... When considering the word perseverance, I immediately think of pushing up my shirt sleeves and working hard until I receive my desired outcome. For example, many know I enjoy knitting as a hobby. Knowing the result of creating something inspires me to persevere through learning a new or difficult skill. If I fail in the process, that is when I am learning the most, and that continued effort, despite the struggle, will assist me in achieving my goal.

I have had the privilege of observing, especially recently, as our seniors are nearing graduation, or “The finish line.” They have demonstrated perseverance in collaborating with their teachers regarding earning the required number of credits to graduate. Some are persevering to exceed that by pursuing college credits before graduation. Seeing and hearing our students persevere through this exciting transitional time is very exciting!

~Principal Lindsey

Wilder Mid/High School is using a new messaging app!

Be on the lookout for more information.

I want to start by thanking our Wilder Elementary PTO for organizing such an awesome STEAM family night on Feb. 24. This was a great opportunity for over 30% of the elementary students to join their family to have a free meal and engage with one another to create/engage with science, technology, engineering, and math! Also, a shout out to Mr. Hukkinen, our art teacher, and each of our elementary students who added the "A" to STEAM with their art show.

The PTO is also raising funds through a spirit store. Go to https://wilderstore.itemorder.com/shop/home/ to check out the items for sale.

~Principal Zamora

IFRA students and families are perfect examples of "Thinking Flexibly" and "Creating, Imagining, Innovating," two of the 16 Habits of Mind we strive to embody within the Wilder School District. That said, because of the invaluable feedback, both positive and constructive, IFRA continues to grow and strive for greater refinement in processes and student support. An example of our responsiveness is the recent hiring of two part-time high school teachers: Mr. Hunter (math) and Mrs. Sorenson (English). The adding of these two awesome teachers helps increase student support. These are just the most recent examples of the changes we've made, as we've embraced "Thinking Interdependently" - another Habit of Mind. Because I think it is important to see where we've come based on where we started, we'll be sharing more of these examples of school growth and development soon.

~Principal Zamora

We are in between sports seasons right now. Our student athletes are practicing hard! Stay tuned for schedules and updates for track, baseball, and softball.

Check out these great resources we have available on our website.

Does your child struggle with thoughts of suicide or deal with mental health struggles? They are not alone. You are not alone. Reach out to our school counselors and check out these resources.

https://mylifeisworthliving.org

https://parentguidance.org/

Email: communications@wilderschools.org
Website: wilderschools.org
Location: 419 Huff Rd, Wilder, ID, USA
Phone: 208-337-7400