Wrightstown Ravens' News
September 2016
Principal's Office
Mrs. Beth A. Fox, Principal
Mrs. JoAnn Lawall, Interim Principal
729 Penns Park Road
Wrightstown, PA 18940
(215) 944-2306
(215) 944-2397 (FAX)
A Message from the Interim Principal
I feel very privileged to be your Interim Principal here at Wrightstown Elementary School until Mrs. Fox returns in January. The school community of Wrightstown has supportive, involved families and the children are enthusiastic and excited as they enter school each day.
I thought that I would share some suggestions for how to manage to the hectic pace that the beginning of school can bring to families. This information has been obtained from www.schoolfamily.com
Back-to-School Organization Ideas
With the many moving targets of family life, back-to-school time can be hectic and stressful. These simple organizational steps can help everyone enjoy a smoother and more successful start to the new school year.
Set up one large calendar for everyone in the family. Keep it in a convenient place. Record school notices and important meeting dates. Pencil in when all assignments are due. Write the day of the week for gym class so your child will remember to wear his/her sneakers. Get him/her in the habit of checking the calendar before starting homework and before leaving for school each morning.
Together, agree on a specific homework place and time. The place can be the kitchen table, a small desk, or any area that works for your family (and has adequate lighting). Determine whether your child likes getting work done right after school or needs time to play and unwind before starting. Try to maintain his/her schedule as much as possible. Reassess after a week or two and make adjustments if needed.
Keep clutter to a minimum. Make sure that the space designated for homework has necessary tools nearby, such as a pencil, eraser, crayons, scissors, and a glue stick. Keep the tools together in an easily accessible container like a shoe box or a small basket. Return the container to the same place when finished working.
Keep backpacks and lunch boxes in a specific place and help your child remember to store them properly right after school. Empty and inspect backpacks together at the same time each day, such as right off the bus or right after dinner.
Help him/her remember to put completed homework (and other necessary supplies) in his/her backpack each night before going to bed so he/she will get credit for work well done!
On behalf of the staff I wish everyone a wonderful school year. Please let us know how we can help in any way!
Sincerely,
JoAnn Lawall, Interim Principal
Wrightstown Elementary School
Upcoming Events for September
- September 5th - All Schools/Offices Closed
- September 6th - 3rd & 4th Grade Instrument Recruitment Assemblies
- September 7th - PTO Back to School Picnic - 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
- September 13th - Back to School Night (See schedule below)
- September 16th - Mad Science Assembly
- September 19th - Running Club Starts
- September 20th - PTO Meeting - 7:30 pm in the Art Room
All Schools Closed
Instrument Recruitment Assembly
Tuesday, September 6th
3rd Grade at 2:15 p.m. & 4th Grade at 2:45 p.m.
3rd and 4th grade parents are cordially invited to attend the Instrumental Music Assembly on Tuesday, September 6th to help their child choose a music instrument to study for the upcoming school year. 3rd grade students can choose the violin, viola or cello. 4th grade students can choose the violin, viola, cello, upright string bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, baritone or percussion.
Being part of the band or orchestra can be fun and a wonderful learning experience. I hope you will encourage and support your child to try a musical instrument this year!
-Mrs. Betty Hintenlang
PTO Back to School Picnic
Wednesday, September 7th
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
On the WES Playground
Let's kick off the school year with a playground party! Please join the PTO at the Back to School Picnic, Wed. Sept. 7th from 6:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m. behind the school. Feel free to bring a blanket and a brown bag dinner to eat on the grounds. A Rita's Truck will be selling frosty treats, and we'll have a DJ, lawn games, sidewalk chalk, balls, and bubbles. After school programs will have marketing materials at tables. Make sure to "sign your sign" to welcome your teacher back to school!
A Message from the PTO President
Home Room Parents
Sign up by Friday, Sept. 9th! Two parents per classroom will be selected before Back to School Night to run the 4 classroom parties during the year, and they'll help with the Staff Luncheon and the Spring Fair. Candidates must obtain the Volunteer Clearances if they are chosen. To put your name into the drawing, send an email to wrightstownpto@gmail.com or fill out an entry card at the Back to School Picnic.
Back to School Night
Tuesday, September 13th
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade - 6:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.
3rd & 4th Grade - 7:00 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.
Specialists will be in the APR from 6:15 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. so that you can see the different programs that we offer!
ART NEWS
Welcome back to Art!
This is the right place for imagination and creation, thinking and building, exploring and discovering. We’ll be starting off the year with a variety of drawing lessons designed to build visual skills as well as fine motor ability. Everyone values their visual sense, but artists fine tune their vision and connect it with their hands. We will have so much fun with hands on activities that you might not even know you’re working hard. Try to wear clothes that can get smudged, so you won’t have to worry too much. No smocks needed. We’ll have a wonderful year together in Art!
- Mrs. Marian Heffren
Literacy Corner by Mrs. Etgen
Welcome back! I hope that your summer was amazing and full of adventures with your families both inside and outside of books! Wrightstown students were full of smiles this first week and many of them have already handed in their summer BINGO activity sheet! We are planning for our ice cream party around mid-September to celebrate those summer readers so please send in your BINGO sheets as soon as you can! Remember students were supposed to complete three activities and choose one to hand in. I can’t wait to hear about the amazing adventures that books have taken your children on this summer!
Remember always take the time to read a book with your child!
Counselor’s Corner with Mrs. Jachimski
I hope your summer was full of adventure and relaxation! I had a very enjoyable break with my family. I watched my daughters (1st and 3rd grade) compete together on the swim team at the Richboro Swim Club, and we also spent time as a family in Sea Isle City, NJ. After our vacation at the beach, my girls were eager to get to home and reunite with the latest addition to our family - our 4 month old golden doodle puppy, Lucy!
I now have renewed energy and am eager to dive into the new school year! It is hard to believe that this is my third year as the school counselor at Wrightstown Elementary School. We have thirty new students this year! We had our New Student Celebration on Friday, September 2nd which included ice breaker games and popsicles as cool treat during this warm weather.
As a reminder, here are some of the services I offer as your school counselor:
Individual Counseling: One on one counseling is designed to help students gain a better understanding of themselves or others, define goals, or resolve conflicts. Students sometimes ask their teacher to meet with me, but referrals are also made by parents and teachers. Individual counseling with students is most successful through collaboration with parents and teachers.
Small Group Counseling: Some groups are formed by grade level and others include students sharing a common concern. Some examples include friendship skills, emotion management, and building self-confidence.
Classroom Guidance Lessons: This is an excellent way for me to build relationships with all students! Various topics include conflict resolution, handling emotions, diversity, cooperation, and bullying prevention. Discussions also include how these areas tie into the school wide positive behavior support program: 7 Habits of Happy Kids
Please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time! Have a great school year!
Nancy Jachimski
School Counselor
215-944-1846
Math Department News
Exciting news! This school year, every child in grades 1st – 4th grade at Wrightstown Elementary will be assigned a personal account with a unique User ID to utilize the First in Math (FIM) Online Program. FIM aligns with the Common Core State Standards in Math (CCSSM) and is a great supplement to any math curriculum for all K-8 students.
Students are motivated to earn points by solving problems and completing games. First in Math modules are designed to reinforce mastery of basic facts, decimals, fractions, integers, exponents, variables, order of operations, and algebra readiness. Self-paced activities focus on both fluency and procedural skills that promote conceptual understanding. The basic premise of the “24 Game” is to make 24 with four numbers using any of the mathematical operations.
When a child solves a predetermined number of math problems, First in Math automatically generates an additional Family User ID. Family members can learn and refresh their skills as they work alongside their child toward higher levels of math achievement.
- Mrs. Erin Prozzillo
From the Nurse's Desk
Dear Parents,
I hope your family had a nice summer! As you are preparing your children for school this September, please accept this gentle reminder about the paperwork required for your child, and our ongoing guidelines for all ‘nut-safe’ classrooms.
Medication Forms-If your child needs a daily, or an occasional medication at school, a new ‘CRSD Medication Form’ with doctor’s order is required each year. Medication forms are available for download from the district website. And, kindly note, medication must be transported by an adult, and must be sent in the original labeled container, please.
Physical Exam form- Pennsylvania requires a PE form for all new enters to K or 1st, AND also for 6th grade. Forms are available for download from the district website.
Dental Exam forms- Pennsylvania requires a Dental form for all new enters to K or 1st, AND also all 3rd grade. Forms are available for download from the district website.
Tylenol Permission- Please remember to log in to the online HAC (home access center) to update the Tylenol permission for your child, as well as your emergency contacts.
Medical Update- If there are any updates on your child’s health, we would be grateful to hear from you, to update our records. Please feel welcome to call or visit the Health Office.
‘Nut-Safe’ Classrooms- Due to an increase in students with severe nut allergies, and since our classrooms are ‘shared’ spaces, we are reminding all of an important food safety measure. ALL classrooms at WES will now be ‘nut-safe’ zones. Please do not send any individual snack for your child, or any ‘shared’ classroom foods that contain nuts, nut products or nut ingredients.*Please note all shared classroom snacks MUST have labels that can be checked for safety. More information is available on the E Friday folder, and the school nurse website. Your assistance in protecting our vulnerable children is much appreciated.
Welcome back!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Daniels