09/04/2026
It's Mr. Binder back with another....
❤️WHAT MATTERED THIS WEEK AT WILLIAMSFIELD SCHOOLS ❤️
Where Every Day Matters.
Sometimes what matters most in a school isn’t found on a test, in a gradebook, or even in the lesson plan.
Sometimes it’s a seventh grader writing about learning to cook eggs with a parent.
Sometimes it’s a Pre-K student waving to a teacher during a fire drill.
Sometimes it’s a high school student stopping his friends at a gate to make sure the little kids get through first.
Those are the moments we noticed this week.
📚 Stories Across Generations
In Ms. Bowker’s 7th Grade ELA class, students wrote personal narratives answering the question, “What experience helped you see how people of different generations can influence one another?”
Their stories included everything from teaching Grandpa how to use his new smart TV to learning how to cook eggs for the first time from a parent. At the end of the week, students paired up for peer reviews and gave one another thoughtful feedback.
👋 A Little Wave That Mattered
During our fire drill, Mr. Mahn waited as our elementary students passed on the sidewalk. One little Pre-K student spotted him, started waving and talking to him, and completely made his day.
Sometimes that’s all it takes.
❤️ Knowing a Child Wants to Be Here
Mrs. Traphagan had a parent take the time to tell her how much their child enjoys coming to see her each day at school.
There may not be a better reminder of the impact our adults can have on a child.
🎵 Working Together for Kids
McKenna, Ms. Bosnich, and Ms. Tucker worked together to adjust schedules so Kindergarten music could happen.
Flexibility, teamwork, and people willing to make things work because it’s good for kids—that matters.
👏 “Let the Little Kids Go First.”
After the fire drill, Mrs. Fuller was helping students get off the baseball field and through the gate when three high school students approached.
Tyler Johnson told his two friends to stop and let the younger students go first.
Nobody told him to.
He just did it.
Mrs. Fuller made sure to notice it, thank him, connect, and celebrate.
That’s leadership.
🧪 Sometimes the Slime Doesn't Slime
Ms. Jess and Ms. Raaf’s students attempted to make slime this week…but their activator had other plans!
Instead, students got a pretty authentic science lesson: experiments don’t always work the first time. Science is about trial, error, adjusting, learning, and trying again.
And Lakin still had an absolute blast!
😊 The Reason We Do It
For Mrs. Bosnich, what mattered this week was simply her third graders—their smiles, their growth, and all those little moments in between.
Getting to be part of their lives and watching them learn and grow is what makes every day worth it.
🐛 Six Tiny Classroom Guests
Mrs. Powell’s classroom currently has SIX caterpillars!
As exciting as that is at school, she especially loves hearing students share that excitement with their parents.
When something learned or experienced at school becomes the conversation at home, that matters.
🎨 Creativity Everywhere
Mr. Hart noticed some pretty incredible chalk pictures being created during recess this week.
Creativity doesn’t always need an assignment, rubric, or lesson plan.
Sometimes you give kids some chalk and a sidewalk and see what happens.
📖 A Library That Belongs to Them
Mrs. Brakenbury shared how meaningful our partnership with the Williamsfield Public Library continues to be.
Students are learning how to use their public library, building a relationship with our amazing librarian, discovering books and other materials, and learning about resources, clubs, and opportunities available to them now and in the future.
Some classes also used their time to continue meaningful ELA work. Eighth graders worked on retelling The Medicine Bag from the grandfather’s point of view, while sixth graders continued drafts of personal narratives about food-related memories. Others talked about books, made bookmarks, and participated in library activities.
But it’s bigger than a trip to the library.
We want our students to understand that the public library is their place, too—a resource for curiosity, connection, discovery, and learning long after they leave our classrooms.
Finding ways to foster lifelong learners always matters.
🍎 Kindergarten Applesauce Day!
Mrs. Tucker’s Kindergarten students made homemade applesauce, and everyone helped cut the apples into little pieces before they went into the crockpot.
The room smelled amazing all day, and the kids were VERY ready to finally have it for snack.
But maybe the sweetest part?
One student insisted on filling TWO bowls so she could take applesauce to her previous teachers. ❤️
📚 New Books + Excited Kids = A Pretty Good Day
One of my favorite moments this week was working with Mrs. Jacobus to add new books to our Blue Room and watching students immediately get excited about reading them.
Mrs. Jacobus also put some of our new books on display outside the room—another way we're working to make reading visible, inviting, and part of our culture.
When kids get excited because there are new books waiting for them, that matters.
🏆 Mr. Danner’s Weekly Leaderboard
Mr. Danner’s Weekly Leaderboard continues!
And someone please tell Meeka…
the dates are updated. 😂
👨👩👧 Family in the Middle of the School Day
Mr. Mills captured a simple but pretty special moment this week: watching one of our students get to spend time and have lunch with her uncle when he came to visit.
Watching our students enjoy time with the people who love them is pretty awesome.
🧥 Sometimes It’s a Sweatshirt
Mr. Mills also had a sweatshirt his son had recently outgrown and needed to get out of the house.
Lucas was apparently VERY pumped to become its new owner. 😄
Sometimes making somebody’s day really is that simple.
🙌 “YAY! MR. RIGG IS OUR SUB!”
While subbing for Mrs. Kapraun, Mr. Rigg walked into a middle school classroom and was greeted by students cheering:
“Yay! Mr. Rigg is our sub!”
That one put a pretty big smile on his face.
❤️ And this is why we ask: What mattered this week?
Because a school is built from thousands of moments like these.
A wave.
A story.
Six caterpillars.
A bowl of homemade applesauce.
A new book.
A sweatshirt finding a new owner.
A science experiment that didn't work.
A student telling his friends to let the little kids go first.
A parent telling one of our staff members, “My child loves coming to see you.”
None of these moments will show up on a state report card.
But they matter.
Because together they tell the story of a school where kids are learning, creating, laughing, reading, growing, looking out for one another, and building relationships with adults who care about them.
And that’s a pretty good week.
Have a great weekend and Labor Day!
-Principal Binder
❤️🤍 WE ARE WILLIAMSFIELD SCHOOLS.
Where Every Day Matters.
