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Wildwood Elementary School |
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The eNews is the official electronic newsletter of Wildwood Elementary School. |
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October 31: All School Comfy Cozy/Pajama Day
October 31: 1st Grade Pumpkin Day
October 31: Kindergarten Puppet Show
November 1: Early Voting available 8 am-3 pm
November 3: Early Voting available 8 am-5 pm
November 3: Card Sharks @WW Volunteers Needed!
November 3: Strategy Games @OH
November 4: Election Day (see polling locations below)
November 4: 2nd Grade Field Trip to Orchestra Hall
November 5: MPTO Meeting @ DEC 9:30am-10:30am, Rm 121 (all are welcome!)
November 13: 2nd Grade Field Trip to the Ordway
November 18: MahtoREADi 6:30-8:30 pm at Mahtomedi High School Chautauqua Fine Arts Center
November 21: Family Fun Movie Night @ WW 6PM
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This Issue's Top Highlights |
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We reached the $20,000 benchmark for fundraising from the Fun Run! Please see below for more details. Thank you to everyone! |
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Come to school tomorrow (Friday, October 31st) in your pajamas or comfy cozy clothes! |
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In honor of the veterans in our lives, we're creating a special Veteran Wall. Check out the details below. |
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Principal's Spotlight on Learning |
Each month, Principal Scott Briske spotlights learning happening at our school.
This month, the Principal's spotlight focuses on Rigorous & Meaningful Learning. |
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Wildwood adopted Wit and Wisdom as our literacy resource last year. Wit and Wisdom challenges students through the use of complex, grade-appropriate texts. The curriculum is designed to promote deep comprehension by requiring students to engage in strategic questioning, Socratic seminars, and collaborative discussions. Let's break that down:
Strategic Questioning: This involves using carefully crafted questions to move students beyond simple recall and encourage deeper thinking, reasoning, and making connections. Our students in grades K-2 start with big-picture questions and gradually progress to lesson-specific inquiries. Some examples of strategic questioning include:
1. Essential Question: Example (for Kindergarten, often in a module on the senses, such as "My Five Senses") "How do my five senses help me learn about the world?"
2. Focusing Question: "How do I use my sense of sight?"
3. Content Framing Question: "What can I learn about the world from looking at the pictures in the book?"
4. Craft Question: "How does the illustrator use color to help me feel what the character is feeling?"
Socratic Seminar: This is a formal, student-led discussion based on a text where students engage in dialogue with classmates and the teacher to explore ideas, ask open-ended questions, and construct meaning. The Socratic Seminar follows some simple rules. It is…
Student-Centered: The students, rather than the teacher, lead the discussion. They respond directly to one another and guide the conversation.
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Scott Briske, Principal, Wildwood Elementary School |
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Text-Based: All discussion points must be grounded in and supported by evidence from the shared text.
Inquiry-Driven: Questions are open-ended, meaning they have no single "right" answer. The focus is on exploration and deeper understanding, rather than reaching a final conclusion.
Collaborative: The goal is to work together to understand the text and the ideas within it, not to win an argument.
Finally, a collaborative discussion in Wit and Wisdom is a student-centered, structured conversation where students work together to deepen their understanding of a complex text and the essential content of the module. Students utilize a "Think, Pair, Share" approach to analyze the text and discuss it with a partner.
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Referendum: Early Voting & Polling Locations |
Mahtomedi Public Schools will hold a two-question referendum on November 4 - one for operating revenue and one for facility improvements. Together, these questions reflect a forward-thinking, innovative approach that reinforces Mahtomedi’s leadership in education and prepares students to thrive today and in the future. Learn more at www.mahtomedi.k12.mn.us/elections |
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Early Voting and Absentee Voting are terms that are used interchangeably. All eligible Minnesota voters can vote early, either in person or by mail, without needing to provide a reason. Early voting is a great option for busy families! |
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Early Voting Locations
Washington County Gov. Center
14949 62nd St. N., Stillwater, MN 55082
Central Service and License Center
1261 Woodlane Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
Cottage Grove Service Center
13000 Ravine Pkwy, Cottage Grove, MN 55016
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Early Voting Hours
Weekly Hours: Mon - Fri. 8 am - 4:30 pm
Nov. 1: 8 am - 3 pm
Nov. 3: 8 am - 5 pm
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Polling Locations
RESIDENTS OF MAHTOMEDI
City of Mahtomedi, Precinct 1 & Precinct 2 vote at St. Andrew’s Church
900 Stillwater Road, Mahtomedi, MN 55115.
RESIDENTS OF WHITE BEAR LAKE
White Bear Lake W-4 P-2 vote at Redeemer Lutheran Church
3770 Bellaire Ave, White Bear Lake, MN 55110
All other precincts vote at the COMBINED POLLING PLACE
City of Dellwood; the City of Grant, Precinct 1 and Precinct 2; the City of Hugo, Ward 3, Precinct 6; the City of Lake Elmo, Precinct 2; the City of Oakdale, Precinct 5; the City of Pine Springs; and the City of Willernie vote at the Mahtomedi District Education Center 1520 Mahtomedi Avenue, Mahtomedi, MN 55115
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To support our families impacted by the emergency food shortage, our school community will accept shelf-stable food donations and create “emergency grocery grab bags” for our families who need extra food support in November.
To contribute, starting November 3, drop off donations in the collection bin in the front entrance of any of our school buildings or the District Education Center. District staff will assemble grocery grab-bags with the received donations and distribute them to families in need.
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Items in Need
Accepted donations should be non-perishable and shelf-stable grocery items such as pantry staples and grains (rice, pasta, oatmeal, tortillas, cereal, peanut butter, pasta sauce, jams), quick-prepare meals (mac and cheese, ramen, microwaveable meal cups, canned foods), snacks (nuts, dried fruit, popcorn, crackers, granola bars), and non-food essential items (brown paper grocery bags, toilet paper, paper towels).
Support Resources
If you need food support, please contact our district social worker, Ali Middlebrook, ali.middlebrook@isd832.net or call 651-407-2304 or your child’s school counselor. You may also check out additional community resources for food support at this link here.
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Pajama/Comfy Cozy Day Tomorrow, October 31st |
Halloween is tomorrow, Friday, October 31st. Please know that at Wildwood and OHA students do not wear costumes to school. We will however have a Comfy Cozy Day so kids can wear pajamas, sweats or other comfy clothes. Also, please do not send candy. We want to maintain our routines at Wildwood and OHA. |
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Celebrating Veterans at Wildwood |
Our Wildwood family would like to honor all soldiers past and present who have served our country. Starting tomorrow (Friday, October 31st), if you have a family member who is a veteran, please have your student bring a copy of a picture to the WW office (no originals please). They will be displayed in the hallway, and we don’t want them damaged.
On the picture please write:
Student's name
Teacher
Who is in the picture ex: Grandpa Joe
The relationship of the veteran to the student
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Our Students reached the $20,000 benchmark for fundraising from the Fun Run! That means students earned a treat! Candy will be handed out on Friday, October 31st to celebrate. Thank you to everyone who contributed! The funds raised help support discretionary spending for teachers, specialists, and principals, teacher hospitality, assemblies and music programming, field trip subsidies, school events like Nature Day and Field Day and enrichment programs such as Art Adventure, Missoula Children’s Theatre. We also fund special requests—like the Lü System and adaptive climbing wall at Wildwood and various other items. |
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The MPTO Family Fun chair is sponsoring a free movie night at Wildwood for the whole family! All children with a parent/guardian are welcome.
Date: Friday, November 21, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: Wildwood School Gym @ WW
Movie: Bad Guys 2
All children with a parent/guardian are welcome.
($5 suggested donation to help cover the cost of movie licensing)
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Our lost and found is growing fast. Please stop by to see if any of the items belong to your child. The lost and found is located in the vestibule by the cafeteria. |
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Thank You for another Spooktacular Trunk or Treat!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who joined us this year at our annual Trunk or Treat! With 23 amazing trunks and 500+ kiddos in costume, it was a fantastic time with Halloween fun. We hope everyone had a blast and can’t wait to host trunk or treat again next year!
A special shout-out to the custodian at Wildwood for his incredible help in making the day
run smoothly—thank you!
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First graders are loving the nonfiction books! |
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Students reading to their stuffies! |
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The kindergarten students had an amazing field trip to the Pine Tree Apple Orchard on October 14th. During their visit, the students learned all about how apples are collected and discovered that the orchard grows an impressive 25 different varieties of apples. |
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The School eNews contains information about our students, staff, and programs. The School eNews is published once a week and archives are available at www.mahtomedi.k12.mn.us/page/enews |
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