The first day of school for next school year is Wednesday, Aug. 9, for students in grades 1-12. Fall Break will be Oct. 9 and 10.
Upcoming Important Dates
- There is no school from Feb. 17 - 24. Happy Mardi Gras!
- 3rd Quarter exams will be held March 3 - 8.
- School starts at 8 AM on Friday, March 3rd due to 3rd quarter exams
- The 3rd quarter ends on March 9.
- Students are dismissed at noon on March 9 due to a professional development meeting for teachers.
- There is no school for students on March 10. It is a Records Day.
- LEAP testing will be held May 1 - 5. We will have an early dismissal after LEAP testing each day. Aftercare will be available and ends at 6 PM. Drop-in fees and full-time aftercare fees will still apply.
School will start at 8 AM on Friday, March 3rd due to 3rd quarter exams.
crawfish boil drink drive
In years past, the middle school grades would compete for an ice cream party by bringing in cases of drinks that we sold at Boil. This year, you get to skip the hassle of going to the store, bringing the case home and then sending it in with your child. You can purchase your cases online, and they are being delivered to the school for the event. But your child's grade can still win an ice cream party! The grade with the most cases purchased will win.
prides of the week
Our "Prides" of the Week and our Leader of the Pack are recognized weekly. The "Prides" of the Week are students who exemplify the Project Pride rules. They were nominated by their teachers. The Leader of the Pack is a staff member who is recognized for their dedication and work with our middle school students. Congratulations to this week's "Prides of the Week" and Leader of the Pack.
- 5th Grade: Rachel Salgado Ayala
- 6th Grade: Caya Jones
- 7th Grade: Olivia Gelder
- Leader of the Pack: Ms. Bagneris
spirit days celebrating black history month
- On Mondays during the month of February, we will celebrate HBCUs. HBCUs are Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Show your pride in HBCUs by wearing HBCU T-shirts or other gear on Mondays!
- On Wednesdays during the month of February, students are encouraged to wear shirts or other gear celebrating Black history. This could mean wearing a T-shirt representing an important African American figure in history or wearing a shirt celebrating Black History Month.
- Students also could dress in the colors black, red, or yellow on Mondays and Wednesdays to celebrate Black History Month.
7th GRade black history month project
Our 7th graders in Ms. Guillory's American History class are working on a special project for Black History Month. Students are working on finding sources in the library database, answering research questions, and then creating some visuals that will be part of a group shoebox float parade. Please see the pictures below for the creation of the floats for the parade. Stay tuned for more photos and videos of the parade in our next newsletter.
mardi gras parade celebrating black history month
ellis marsalis, Jr. mural
Last week, our entire middle school was invited to paint a mural of Ellis Marsalis, Jr. The creation of this mural is one of our Black History Month celebrations. This week, many of Ms. Bagneris' visual arts students have continued working on the mural. We will share more updates on this special project in the next few weeks!
7th grade (rising 8th grade) certificate of artistry meeting
On February 15th, our 7th graders (rising 8th graders) met with high school teachers in the Certificate of Artistry (CA) program. In 8th grade, students enroll in Foundations courses for our high school Certificate of Artistry program. The students met with our Arts Director Ms. Megan Neelis. They also met with teachers and students from the following CA programs:
- Creative Writing
- Dance
- Media Arts
- Music including Chorus, Jazz, and Symphonic Band
- Theater
- Visual Arts
bake sale
Our middle school Rainbow Club had a very special Valentine's Day event on Tuesday, Feb. 14. The bake sale raised almost $500.00. The club decided to donate all of the proceeds to The Point Foundation. Thank you to the Rainbow Club for a wonderful event. Thank you to the students who helped participate in the bake sale by purchasing the delicious goodies!
morning meeting spotlights during black history month
During Morning Meeting, our Black History Month club is sharing a "spotlight" each day. Our "spotlights" are focused on biographies of African Americans from New Orleans who have made a positive impact on our city. Some of the important individuals we learned about were Matt 'Flukie' Suarez, Dr. William Matthew Zanders, Sr., Brandan "BMike" Odums, and Leah Chase.
Ms. Lett's students working in the library
On Wednesday, Ms. Lett's fifth-grade ELA students worked with our librarian Ms. Barrios to learn more about literature genres. They worked collaboratively in groups to identify the genres of given books.
Happy Valentine's day
On Tuesday, February 14th, we had a special Spirit Day. To celebrate Valentine's Day, students were encouraged to wear pink, red, or any other Valentine's Day attire. We love our students! Happy Valentine's Day!
7th grade theater
Middle School Theater Rocks! On Tuesday, the 7th grade A day class devised their first scene for The Tempest with our theater teacher Mr. Martin. The students created a boat in a storm that shipwrecks the characters from the play on an island.
6th grade ELA
Lots of wonderful discussions are happening in Ms. Maldonado's ELA class. On Wednesday, the students discussed with their partners the novel The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
spanish class
Ms. Robinson's Spanish class is working on an exciting Mardi Gras project this week. They are describing a typical outfit they would wear to a parade.
Celebrating mardi gras - february 16th
5th grade math
To review for an upcoming assessment, 5th-grade students in Ms. Schwilke's and Mr. Solomon's classes played Bazinga. The students had a lot of fun reviewing materials for their assessments while playing the game.
Happy Mardi GRas
6th grade teacher Ms. Dunn and students M. Braunig and A. Reinlieb rode in the King Arthur parade on Sunday, February 12th.
our MS & HS Singers will be featured with LPO
Our middle and high school singers will be the featured choir in the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra's "The Music of John Williams" Concert later this month! We'll be performing 3 pieces during the 2nd half of the program: "Dry Your Tears, Afrika" from Amistad, "Hymn to the Fallen" from Saving Private Ryan, and "Duel of the Fates" from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
You have 3 chances to catch us!
- Saturday, February 25 @ Orpheum Theater at 2:00pm
- Saturday, February 25 @ Orpheum Theater at 7:30pm
- Sunday, February 26 @ LaFon Performing Arts Center in Luling, LA at 3:00 PM
Tickets are currently on sale for the Orpheum Theater performances at www.LPOmusic.com and for the LaFon Performing Arts Center at https://lafonartscenter.org/.
The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC)’s Student Writing Contest is currently open and accepting submissions through March 3, 2023. For this year’s contest, which is open to all students in grades 6 – 12 and which comes with cash prizes for the top middle and high school entries, students are to respond to a prompt with their thoughts on the current state of rights and civil liberties in the United States. The prompt is a quote from Sylvanie Williams, an African American educator, activist, and leader, who compared the plight of African American women to flowers mistreated and trampled underfoot and whose work will be featured in THNOC’s upcoming special exhibit on the fight for women’s suffrage in Louisiana opening this Spring.
K-12 students, parents and teachers are invited to participate in STEM Fest on the Saints practice field. The hands-on educational event will feature live performances, interactive demonstrations in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and Saints & Pelicans activities! The $15 admission ticket gets you a ticket to the STEM Fest and a Pelicans game. The price will increase after Feb. 17 and space is limited.
Purchase tickets: HERE
GOt Pictures?
We collect photographs from special events at school throughout the school year. Please help us build our collection! Send us photographs from school-sponsored events such as sporting games, plays, performances, and other special events.
Office Hours
Each week, the teachers will hold office hours once during lunch and once after school.
Students May Access paper through CLEVER.
Middle School Admin Team
Interim CEO: Nicolette London nicolettte_london@willowschoolnola.org
Principal: Kendra Henry kendra_henry@willowschoolnola.org
Assistant Principal: Elizabeth Sepanik elizabeth_sepanik@willowschoolnola.org
Dean of Students and Student Activities Coordinator: Claire Ory claire_ory@willowschoolnola.org
Ellis Marsalis, Jr. Campus, 5625 Loyola Ave. New Orleans, LA 70115
Phone: (504) 324- 7330 Fax: (504) 324-7340
https://www.willowschoolnola.org/
The Willow School does not discriminate in the rendering of services to, or regarding employment of, individuals because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.