Walker and Prestonwood Montessori Staff,

In this critical three week period from now until Spring Break, remember that your words, actions, and attitudes have a profound impact on the lives of our students. It's easy to get caught up in the stresses of academic success and the pressure to achieve. But we must remember that education is not just about academic excellence; it's about fostering emotional intelligence and compassion in our students. You have the power to create a safe and nurturing environment for our children, one where expectation and empathy are equally at the forefront.

By example, you inspire our students to work together, celebrate differences, and show compassion to those who are struggling.  By modeling these behaviors, we instill the values of empathy and kindness, creating a culture of caring and respect.  We as a Timberwolf Team are building up students who value not only academic success but also compassion, empathy, and community.

One Pack, One Goal!

Mr. Albert Briones

Assistant Principal

E.D. Walker Middle School

In this issue, look for . . .

• #BeTheLight: The Week in Review
• #1Pack1Goal: The Week Ahead
• E.D. Walker Middle School
• Prestonwood Montessori
• Testing
• Athletics
• Calendar and Events

We are celebrating some VIP's on campus! Read on below about the impact that Custodial Supervisor Virgil Williams, School Resource Officer Tenitria Tottress, and Substitute Principal Lynda Opitz have made on our campus!

We congratulate Mr. Virgil Williams on his promotion to Hillcrest High School, and send him with lots of love from the Walker Wolfpack! We’ll miss you, Mr. Williams, and the amazing care you took of our students, staff and building!

On SRO Appreciation Day, we honored our amazing Officer Tenitria Tottress!

"THANK YOU for your unwavering dedication and commitment to our safety and well-being. Your presence goes far beyond enforcing rules and maintaining order; you embody the true spirit of service and compassion.

Your genuine care for students and staff is evident in every interaction, whether it's a friendly greeting in the morning or lending a listening ear during challenging times. You build strong & positive relationships and serve as a mentor & role model to our students.

We are incredibly fortunate to have you as our guardian and friend."

Ms. Lynda Opitz has been an inspirational leader during her time at Walker and Prestonwood, and we are so grateful for her commitment to supporting teachers, her consistency of high student culture expectations, and her joyful spirit!

Kudos to Ms. Joselyn Valero for creating a balance between Montessori lessons and district curriculum. Students experience math concretely with Montessori materials developing a strong foundation to understand "how" and "why" math works. Then, students can build upon those concrete Montessori experiences and apply that knowledge to more abstract questioning in the district curriculum.

Huge shout out to Ms. Clare Newton (ELAR Instructional Coach) who is leading a meaningful discussion with her 8th grade students about the figurative language used by Romeo to describe Juliet while citing textual evidence. Students then transfer the information from the discussion and apply it to their Extended Constructed Response.

Ms. Newton’s internalization of the lesson is evident by her ability to navigate and dissect student responses along with providing scaffolds (unpacking the prompt, exemplar copies, graphic organizers, etc.) to help meet the needs of diverse learners. Way to go Clare!

Shoutout to Mr. Douglas Dunlap and Mr. Lynn Pogue for developing our newest musicians so successfully! This week's Beginner Band concert was a huge success as our first-year band students showed off their rich sound and musicality for parents and friends!

Shout out to Ms. Laura Hall (6th Grade ELAR ILT) for her commitment and dedication to 6th grade ELAR’s student achievement. Ms. Hall spends her day modeling, co-teaching, and/or pulling small groups to help close learning gaps. The learning experience is always differentiated and tailored to student needs. Students are asked frequent checks for understanding questions, tasked with citing evidence, and often discuss their responses with a partner.

Outside of the classroom, Ms. Hall is busy coaching Softball at WT White, planning & presenting to our ELAR Department, and helping dismiss our students joyfully at car line. Thank you for everything you do, Ms. Hall!

Check out our new swag! Teachers and Staff of the Year for 2021, 2022, and 2023 were honored with new letter jackets!

Congratulations to SFC Gregory Duplessis and the LCC Blue Knights for sweeping the Middle School Drill Meet at Summer Creek MS! The team won 1st Place Overall Champions and 5 more awards:

• 1st Place Overall Champions
• 2nd place Unarmed color guard
• 2nd place Armed color guard
• 2nd place Armed regulation
• 3rd place Unarmed drill exhibition
• 2nd place Armed drill exhibition

Congratulations to Chess Coaches Rhonda Gilbert, AnaVictoria Braun, and Zach Manriquez for hosting P4 Chess and Walker Chess mentoring sessions!

Huge thanks to Anderson Hewitt, former Walker student, for leading a Scout team to construct a new GaGa Ball pit for our campus as his Eagle Scout service project, a Scout tradition for the candidate "to demonstrate leadership of others while performing a project for the benefit of their community". Anderson, shown below as a Walker student volunteering at Field Day and Career Day, is a Timberwolf for life!

Action Items:

• All EDW and PWM Staff - Webclock by 8:00am on Monday, 2-19 for Virtual PD Day
• All EDW and PWM Staff - Complete the Notice of Intent for 2024-25 Form (more details below)

Upcoming Events

Library Schedule

EDW and PWM Notice of Intent for 2024-25 Form

We are in the process of preparing staff assignments for the 2024-25 school year and require information from you as we make the most important decision impacting our campuses' goals to empower students to achieve and discover their passions. Staffing decisions are based primarily on the following factors: student enrollment (per grade level), certification information, student course selection and campus budget.

Please take a moment to complete the information in the EDW and PWM Staff Notice of Intent for 2024-25 form. 

This form does not guarantee a specific position next year and is in no way binding. The Notice of Intent is solely used for planning purposes and we greatly appreciate you providing your input and intentions so we can best plan, schedule and staff accordingly.  

Black History Month Celebrations!

E.D. Walker Middle School

Upcoming All in Learning Tests

Click here or on the image below to access the deck with links.

Please continue to follow district calendar for kinder through second grade Eureka and Amplify assessments.

Upcoming State Testing

Now that these dates have been announced they are Blackout dates, please do not request time off on any of these dates. More information will be shared about the STAAR field test and TELPAS as PD on Thursday, February 1st.

Upcoming PLC and PD

Click here or on the image below to access the deck with links.

Black History Month

Celebrating Black Futures Month 2024, the B-FAM (BIPOC Family Alliance for Montessori is thrilled to announce our upcoming Black History Month program - Black Futures Month.

1. Daily riddles and Close Reading for the month of February. Close Readings are rolling out this week!
2. Living Museum: February 29, 2024 in the library. Stay tuned for more information and details.
3. Black History Month Program: February 29, 2024; 2:00 - 2:45pm; PWM/EDW Auditorium. Stay tuned for more information and details.

The Black Futures Month planning committee includes representation from PWM staff, EDW staff, and families -- thank you for your hard work and planning!

THIS WEEK IN WALKER TESTING

3 Week Walker Testing Calendar

February 20 to March 8

Blackout Dates: Thursday 2-22, Tuesday 2-27, Thursday 2-29, Tuesday 3-5

Our volleyball team had a great time this past Saturday at their pre season tournament. Now it is time for our regular season to start! Our first game is this Wednesday! Come out and support!

Devon Journee-Singleton February 5

Alahir Villasenor February 6

Ty Rhodes February 12

Jose Lema February 16

Janet Rodriguez February 16

Torri Hancock - February 17

Lin Lim - February 28