Congratulations to all the students who took part in completing the WASL.  I witnessed first hand the hard work that went into this challenging assessment.  Each day I asked students, "What did you think about the WASL?"  Every year many students actually tell me, "It was fun!"  Perhaps this is due to the format of the test.  Instead of only filling in bubbles like many tests require, the WASL makes students dig a little deeper into their knowledge bank.  Students are allowed, even encouraged, to express their ideas using words, numbers, and pictures.

I also want to note that all the staff played a big role in the WASL.  Many people think of the WASL as a tool that tests what was learned in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade.  However, the skills that are learned in kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade are the building blocks throughout education.  The entire staff gets in on the action in some way or another (providing free breakfasts, proctoring, accommodating schedule changes). 

Although the WASL gets a lot of publicity it is not the culminating event to the school year.  With a month left there is plenty of time for more learning, and if you take a look at the event board in the office you will see May is arguably the busiest month of the year for schools. 

This year we have six student teachers from WWU working at Larrabee.  They will be taking on a larger role in the classroom throughout May.  One benefit of this is that it will allow the official teacher more time to support small groups of students.  This type of individualized instruction can provide significant growth in a relatively short amount of time.  Your children deserve every ounce of learning that we can squeeze out of the school year and we are committed to providing the best educational we can.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Eric Paige