Wagshul Wonders 2023

Wagshul

W onders

PARTNERSHIP 2023

A Letter From

KAREN WAGSHUL When I think of partnerships, many interconnecting groups of people, ideologies, companies, countries, and the like come to mind. It is a relatively easy word to understand, but it can also be quite complex. The word "partnership" comes from the Latin word for "portion." In a partnership, we participate with a partner and we share a portion with others. A partnership is one or more people, or one group with another group. Typically, partnerships have a shared vision and the goal is to work together to achieve the shared interest. If the vision is mutually desired, it is incumbent on both sides to work together towards something both partners care about. In a practical example, the compilation of this publication is a true partnership. A partnership succeeds best with guiding principles of a common mission, collaboration back and forth, active listening, mutual respect, trust, a commitment to each's responsibility, and open and honest communication along the journey.

As a parent, it was my responsibility to teach my children that in a family there are partnerships, and each member plays an important part to make the family unit function and evolve. Was it always smooth sailing, no.

Were there some bumps along the way, yes. But inherently, the message got across to them, and today I am proud that I see they have either already internalized or are working towards the goal, that partnerships in their personal and work-related careers are important to their success and happiness in their lives as productive adults.

In my daily life as a teacher, partnerships are the heartbeat of the relationships that are part of the school culture. I have partnerships with my colleagues on a weekly basis, bouncing ideas back and forth, leaning on them and learning from them, communicating shared needs and engaging in professional partnership groups we form. I establish partnerships with each family that comes through my class. It is built on mutual respect and a shared commitment to the child's well-being and success. Teachers must respect and value parents’ knowledge and insights about their children and parents should respect and value teachers’ knowledge and insights about the learning process and their children’s educational needs. All the players involved with the student have the same joint interest and responsibility to be on the same team.

There is a partnership that is bigger and beyond the immediate family and the classroom, one that includes the staff, all the families, the entire school, and the community at large. We partner together to be school ambassadors to ensure visibility, retention, and growth. This bridge is long and connective.

The third edition of Wagshul Wonders is now in your hands. I am honored to be a part of it. Each year, we receive many entries where students partner their words in a creative way to embrace this year's theme, "partnership." As you read through the selected entries, you will see the theme weaved in and out in a variety of intentional ways. Many thanks to all the students, who shared their written thoughts and artwork. It is not a simple task for any of them, or the team that works on this publication. Throughout the many months, we are asked to reflect, redo, respond, re-read, revise, return, reconsider, redesign, reexamine, refine, rephrase, and ruminate, until completion and publication, when we finally rejoice. It is truly a working partnership to put this Wagshul Wonders journal out, and it would not come to fruition, if everyone did not share the same goal and partake in their responsibilities towards the final piece. I thank all of you, many behind the scenes, but most especially, I thank my partnership with Dana Izenson and Ginger Slonaker. You define the word partner with grace. I am humbled to share this third edition with you both.

With admiration, Karen Wagshul

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CLASS 1B

PARTNERSHIP COLLAGE Mixed Media on Paper 18x12"

P- PARTNERSHIP exists between our environment, plants and trees, oxygen we breathe, animals and people, clean ocean and sea life; how we take care of and partner with all aspects to make our environment the best and healthiest it can be.

A- ANIMALS partner with families, hospitals and a variety of agencies, to share their love, support, guidance, help and companionship with people who are in need or who just love pets in their life.

R- RESPECT, active listening, understanding of shared goals, open and non-judgemental, flexible, focused, attentive, team worker, and open minded, are qualities that are integral to a healthy, productive and successful partnership.

T- TEAMWORK happens when a classroom, school, families, teachers, administration, and volunteers connect and partner together to make a school like Wornick run smoothly all year.

N- NETWORK of community workers in our neighborhoods that we rely on and partner with, to provide us with the services we all need to be able to coexist comfortably, safely, and productively. We depend on these vital workers.

E- EVERYONE in class 1B will remain connected forever, in addition to creating this connected puzzle art; each piece is special and unique, but partnered together to make this unified and interconnected art piece titled PARTNERSHIP. R- RESPONSIBILITIES and chores shared as partners in a family unit, a classroom, a school or community in order for all jobs to run smoothly so ordinary and extraordinary tasks get done.

S- SHINSHINIM come from Israel to share their love of their country, their culture and traditions, and partner with us in California as we teach and host them in the states.

H- HEARTS partner with hearts to make lasting commitments in friendships, in love and in supportive connections throughout life..

I- INSTRUMENTS in a band, an orchestra, or in melodic voices, breathe life into notes, chords and words written on a piece of paper. This musical partnership captures our emotions in so many different and dynamic ways and makes us feel good.

P- PARTNERSHIPS between cities, states, and countries, join with each other in alliances which support a social and working economy in a peaceful global world, in order to come together for a just society.

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IZEL G.

Kindergarten BETTER TOGETHER: Sun and Rain Make a Rainbow Paint on Paper 8.5x11"

I have a sun and rain in my picture and they make a rainbow.

It is when the sun hits a raindrop, they are partners, and together make a rainbow. The sun hits the watery shiny stuff and makes colors. The sun doesn't just make red, the sun makes many different colors. Red and yellow are partners that make orange. Blue and yellow are partners and make green. Red and blue are partners and make purple. It would not be a rainbow without the secondary colors. So the primary colors partner with the secondary colors and get other colors. All the colors partner together, and all the raindrops too, and with the sun, make a rainbow.

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NATHAN G. Kindergarten

BASKETBALL TEAM Mixed Media on Paper 7x11"

Partnership means that people are working together on a team. My team is a basketball team. A coach tells the players what to do. The players pass the ball, shoot the ball and dribble the ball. Then there is defense, blocking, and the score keeper. The jobs have to work together. That is a partnership. If the team doesn't work together as a partner team, they can't win the game. People want to be on the winning team, but sportsmanship is important too. Players have to be nice and respectful in the game. That is a partnership.

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MIA G.

1st Grade

FRIENDS ARE PARTNERS Mixed Media on Paper 5x12"

Kids laugh through day and night.

Together we make a team.

Partners and friends work together being a team.

Partners help when friends make a mistake or are in need.

Not just one person doing the work, but partners together doing the work.

We have partnerships in the neighborhood, in school and in our community.

All become a community.

Friends and family meet together to talk, share, play and work.

Partners are in our community.

Love is in the air.

Music flows.

We all look different.

We all are different.

We all have different skin colors.

But we can still be friends.

We can still be partners.

Friends can be partners.

Partners can be friends.

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GABBY T. 1st Grade

SNOW STUDENTS Mixed Media on Paper 12x12"

In a partnership, hard problems can be solved while having fun. In my 1B class, we partner together to give each other ideas like in the poems we have been writing lately, or if we need help with hard homework, or to make rubber band guitars in science. We worked separately at times, but we partnered with someone else to help us.

Then we partner in big groups. The whole first grade got together to learn songs for Generation Day and now we are learning a farewell song to say goodbye to the school. We will also play our kazoos altogether. Kabbalat HaSiddur was a big partnership of learning our script, prayers, and leading T'fillah for the school.

A special partnership I had this year was in the Talent Show Magic Act. Last year I worked alone, but this year it was different because I had a partner with Bayla. We practiced and practiced a lot and accomplished a goal together. Ms. Wagshul and our parents also helped us a lot with this partnership. It made me feel great and special and everyone told us this magic act was one of their favorites in the show.

In my poem I wrote that partnerships are as beautiful as snow crystals. What I mean by this, is that snow crystals are all different in their shapes, but in many ways, they can still work together and be partners in a big snowfall. That is what I mean by a good partnership.

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Snow Students Cold and frosty Learning, sharing Having fun while helping each other with hard problems Partnership as beautiful as crystals Snow Students 11

OMER T. 3rd Grade

WRIGHT BROTHERS: THE MEN OF FLIGHT Found Images, Cardboard 2x3" (card size)

The Wright Brothers always dreamed of flying. They believed they could be the first men to fly a controllable motor-powered flight machine. The Wright brothers persevered through about 4 years of hard work but they were determined to build a plane.

The Wright brothers were like siblings everywhere. But they were much closer than most. Wilbur wrote: "From the time we were little children, my brother Orville and myself lived together, played together, worked together, and in fact, thought together.” Orville was very disappointed after several unsuccessful attempts. But his brother Wilbur cheered him up and with their determination nothing could stop them. Yes, hundreds of people throughout the country, including all scientists, didn't believe any flying-machine could fly using its own power. But the brothers did it. They proved it was possible to do the impossible.

The Wright brothers' hard work really paid off; they were really proud of themselves and they were great partners. All they wanted was to change the world. It was just the two of their brilliant minds that started FLIGHT! 12

Wright Brothers Matching Card Game

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NADIA E. 4th Grade

PARTNERSHIP MAKES IT PAWSIBLE Digital Art 11x8.5"

My art piece, “Partnership Makes it Pawsible,” is about the relationship between people and animals, and how they help each other with love and companionship. Pets give people comfort and support, and people give animals love and good homes. Two years ago, my family adopted our cats, Midnight and Rosana, from the Peninsula Humane Society. Last summer, I participated in Camp PIN Pals at the Pets In Need animal shelter. I saw how both of these organizations help pets and pet owners. While I was working on my art piece, I spoke to the programs director at Pets in Need and the humane educator at the Peninsula Humane Society about how important partnership is to their organizations.

I learned that they take in animals from people and other organizations and help them find new homes. They provide food, vaccines, and other veterinary care to animals of people who have low incomes, are homeless, or live in shelters. They do community outreach like summer camps for kids, and community service projects for teens. They rely on people and organizations for donations of money, supplies, equipment, and volunteering.

My art piece is a mix of hand drawn and digital art. I drew the bird and hand with a drawing pencil and charcoal pencil, and it symbolizes the help that people can give to animals in need. The cat is my cat, Rosana, who we adopted from the Peninsula Humane Society. I used a photo editing program to sketch over her picture and erased the rest of the photo except for her yellow-green eyes. I also drew the dog by hand with a drawing pencil. The inspiration for the dog came from a story about a dog that Pets in Need is having trouble finding a home for because he has anxiety and wrecks the house if he is left alone. He goes to dog training camp and they have a dogsitter that stays with him until he finds a permanent home, but they won’t give up on him because every animal deserves a loving home. I chose a pink background for my art piece so it feels warm and caring. The words in the background describe the important things that animal shelters do as part of the partnership between animals and people, like providing companionship, support, education and community outreach.

Animal shelters like Pets in Need and the Peninsula Humane Society do a lot to support the partnership between animals and pet owners. They also rely on people and other organizations to do the work that they do, because partnership makes it pawsible!

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ELLY M. 4th Grade

PARTNERSHIP FOR EVER Pencil on Paper 8x8"

To have partnership you first need peace, like the peace sign on one of the bracelets. You also need respect that the heart on the bracelet symbolizes.

When you are partnered with someone you need to stick together and you can’t abandon your partner in the middle of a project. That's why they are holding hands symbolizing that they will not leave each other. The friendship bracelets in a way also symbolizes that there is a connection between the two people as partners.

Partnership means having peace and respect between each other, and sticking together no matter what.

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MEENA R. 4th Grade

PINKIE & FOXY Marker on Paper 8x7"

It all started on a farm. Pinkie the poodle dog, and Foxy the fox were best friends. Every morning the sheep in the farm would escape... Like now...

“Pinkie the sheep escaped again,” said Foxy.

“We have to get them!” said Pinkie.

Pinkie and Foxy’s main goal was to get the sheep back to their pasture together, but they had one problem. The sheep were scared of Foxy because he was a fox, of course. They did not really know how they would reach their goal together.

“Pinkie you take that side of the sheep and I will take the other,” said Foxy.

But that plan was not going to work. They did the same thing every morning but the farmer just had to go and get bigger dogs than Pinkie to do the job. Meanwhile Pinkie and Foxy stopped chasing the sheep and realized that their plan wasn’t going to work because Pinkie was too small, and the sheep were scared of Foxy.

“You know the sheep always run from you and chase me. I think that I am starting to think of a plan,” said Pinkie.

“Wait Pinkie you are a genius,” said Foxy.

“If the sheep always follow you, you should go in the front and if the sheep always run from me I should go in the back,” said Foxy. So that is exactly what they did. And it worked and at the end they did a high five and said: “Couldn’t have done it without you partner!”

THE END In this story, Pinkie and Foxy used their partnership to solve the problem together of rounding up the sheep and getting them back to their pasture. They both had a part in the plan, and they realized that they needed each other because they couldn't do it on their own.

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AMELIA S. 4th Grade

WAYS OF PARTNERSHIP Pencil, watercolor on Paper Size: 8.5x11"

My art piece represents partnership because it has two girls in the middle of a sunny day holding hands skipping around.

They are best friends. They support each other through hard stuff and that is what partners should do when they are in a partnership. Another way it shows partnership is that it has speech bubbles/clouds surrounding the two girls.

Inside those clouds there are words related to partnership, where you use partnership, and who you might use partnership with.

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CHARLOTTE B. 5th Grade

FULL SOUL Poem

This shows partnership because a romantic relationship is one of the many forms of partnership. I mean they do work together to make things happen and also help each other out in times of need like partners do. This poem shows that kind of partnership with also a little bit of what it's like when their partner is away. So this is how my poem shows partnership in its own way.

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As I wake up I think of you while you are asleep dreaming you are on the moon.

Then I get up and I see you leave, and then I feel as if I should bereave.

As I sit in the day all alone I think I should call you on the phone.

But then you get back and I feel praised, with everything feeling like a daze.

With night coming all over again, we are seen snuggling in the den.

Then we go to bed with a smile on my face, because then I can dream of your beautiful face.

And in my dream I see you like I say, with us heading into a lay with our hands held.

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BELLA C. 5th Grade

PARTNERSHIP WITH NATURE Pencil on Paper 10x9.5"

My drawing represents the theme of "partnership" in two ways. The first way is that the soil, water, and sun work together to create a beautiful flower. The second way is that this flower drawing connects to the environment. I partnered with my community and started a composting program for apartments to reduce the amount of landfill.

I did some research on compost and told neighbors I would love to start composting where we live since in the past we have never done that. First, I passed along some information I gathered from Recology San Mateo County. The cost of adding a compost program (a 32 gallon green compost cart) would be $21.31 per month for the whole building. Each resident would receive a free kitchen pail to help collect food scraps. I also sent additional information about how to use the 3 carts. I offered an online feature where people could type in what they want to throw away, to find out what to put in each of the 3 different bins and I also included tips about composting.

I asked everyone to please respond to me with "yes" or "no" if you think we should add the green compost bin to our pick up. Every single unit responded no.

I then did more research and sent a follow up email to everyone, saying I still wanted to explore this to help the environment. One way to help is to reduce the greenhouse gas caused by all our food decomposing in landfill and releasing methane. Finally, I said, “If you would like to join the fight against global warming, please consider composting as an alternative to landfill trash.” After my second attempt, the Home Owners Association (HOA) approved composting!

There is also an important partnership between humans and the pollinating insects we depend on for so much of the food we consume. I took this photo of a bee collecting pollen when I went to Marin Headlands on our 5th grade field trip.

“Three out of every four leading food crops for human consumption—and more than a third of agricultural land worldwide—depend in part on pollinators, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. It’s not just fruits, nuts, and vegetables; bees also pollinate alfalfa consumed by cows and crops used for clothing and medicines. Honeybees alone enable an estimated $20 billion in U.S. crop production, according to the American Beekeeping Federation; pollinators support well over $200 billion in food production worldwide.” (Lakshmanan, 2021) Someday, I hope I get to do the composting first hand and grow my own garden using the rich soil.

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