Wasco Weekly
THE STRENGTH OF THE WOLF IS ITS PACK
Dear Families,
I have spent the last year of my life thinking about how to do school at Wasco. Along the way, I have met you (virtually), and had the pleasure of your children’s company. Most notably, I have worked alongside an experienced, dedicated, and high quality staff. We were tasked with redesigning our school's instructional delivery and processes for operating. Teaching is never easy, but this year staff assumed new roles, took on new responsibilities and took to the business of delivering education. In some ways I think I have acknowledged their efforts, and yet in some ways I don’t think I have said it enough. I am so proud of the staff for stepping into this year of unknowns, not sure of what we could accomplish and doing it safely.
For me, the purpose of school has dramatically changed. I now see how we have the opportunity to provide a learning community for children in which we adults model and emulate the character, behavior, and attitudes we aspire for their future. As a school community, we work together, develop norms for behavior, expectations, and learning. Together we inspire the children to be the best of our collective selves, or at least on the pathway.
Thank you for your cooperation and support of our policies and procedures for the year. Parents, Staff, and Students have all changed this year, renegotiated our traditions and routines. Thank you for your compliance and help. You wear masks at pickup, you complete the electronic screening, you send your child to school with their device everyday. The message you send with your actions of following the norms of the group communicates your respect for our work. While it hasn’t been easy for any of us, we can look back at the accomplishments of the children and be really proud of the example we set.
Kind Regards,
Principal Brennan
Nurse’s Day carried extra special meaning this year. Yes, the nurse is tasked with caring for the health of the entire building every year, but this year we all relied on the expertise of Nurse Tina and Nurse Landers. There was a plethora of guidance from many levels to inspect and the staff leaned on their expertise and strength to keep us healthy and strong. Their dedication to the profession kept our learning on track! Thank you!
A Note From The Nurse
I want to say a BIG Thank You to all the parents, students and staff for the wonderful sentiments and lovely gifts I received for Nurse’s Day. I enjoy working here at Wasco with all the students. They are the light of my day and I am happy to be here to offer a band aid, ice pack or words of encouragement.
Thank you,
Nurse Tina 😊
Important Upcoming Dates
May 14 Wasco Spirit Day See below
May 28 Last day of school!
End of Year Parties
Our room parents were contacted last week in preparation for end of year parties. The room parents work with the classroom teachers to identify ways to help organize these fun events for students. If you have questions about how to get involved, the office can help you connect with your room parent.
Parties will be held with students and teachers- following the current safety protocols. Just like the Winter party, the party components are to be decided by the grade level teachers so that all parties at the grade level are equitable. The teachers work with the parent volunteers to organize the activities. If party supplies are provided by volunteers, they must be delivered to school three days before the event. There can be no exceptions. If snacks are provided, they must be individually wrapped, and they will be eaten outside of the school building.
Fifth Grade Clap Out
We are excited to invite our fifth grade parents to our annual tradition, the 5th Grade Clap Out. During the 5th Grade Clap Out, 5th grade parents stand in designated areas outside on the last day of school while Wasco Elementary “Claps Out” the 5th grade students in a celebration of their transition to Middle School. As part of the celebration, 5th grade students and their parents are invited to wear a Thompson Middle School T-Shirt. This celebration will occur at 1:30 on May 28 (students exit at 1:40).
2021-2022 Pre-Order School Supply Sale
Parents, we are beginning planning for the next school year. We invite your participation. You are welcome to share your thoughts about your student. Please follow the link below for directions.
Summer Learning
Your child will be sent home with their device over the summer and you may want to use some educational resources to supplement their digital diet. For this purpose I recommend the D303 Remote Learning Resources webpage. The resources are sorted by grade and topics. You will find exploratory offerings such as virtual field trips and coding. Please find the link below to the district's parent university site that has the recordings. If you look at December 14th, you will see Games, Podcasts and Reading: Winter Break(out) Activities. That Parent University talks about BreakoutEdu, Podcasts, and the Literacy portion of the website. It is also linked at the bottom in Resources.
Remote AT Students Summer CogAT and/or Placement Tests
Please click on the below button for more information.
iReady
The Spring i-Ready diagnostic assessment is scheduled for students to take between May 3rd & May 14th. This is an end of-year check on how students are progressing towards their growth goal. Your school will provide you with more specific days when your child will take the assessment. Remote learning students will take this diagnostic assessment from home. After the diagnostic assessment, your child will receive an update in their lessons assigned under the personalized pathway. Click on the button below for a link to the parent letter.
ECRA Survey
This year, students in grades 2-5 and students in 6-12 will be completing a universal screening tool to assess their academic, social, and emotional learning skills. The use of universal screening allows us to refine and strengthen our efforts to help all students achieve success by taking positive and preventative measures as early as possible. This also provides us with the opportunity to assist students who may need additional support with academic, social, and emotional learning.
One of the universal screening tools used by the District is the ECRA SEL Survey, which focuses on the following areas:
Hey, Fourth Graders and Families!
Let’s Get Excited for Band!
Now is the time to enroll your child in band!
In order to help me plan for the 2021-2022 school year, please try to enroll your child in band by Wednesday, May 26th.
We do accept summer and fall sign-ups, but enrolling before this school year ends ensures that your child will have a spot in our summer camp, and a rental instrument lined up for them. If you sign up now but then realize over the summer that your child can not commit to band, just email me- we will be able to take your child off the band list.
Click here to ENROLL NOW!
Marianne Rice-elementary band director
marianne.rice@d303.org
Orchestra is FUN! All current 2nd and 3rd grade students are eligible to join the Orchestra next school year. The study of music is much more than simply learning to play an instrument. Music benefits young people in many areas of their lives. Communication and social skills are strengthened, and creative and analytical skills are nurtured. Learning to play an instrument and participating in an ensemble are valuable experiences for all students.
The instruments of the Orchestra are the violin, viola, cello, and string bass. For more information, please review the D303 Orchestra Website. Please attend one of our Orchestra Townhall information meetings on May 13 or 18 at 7:00pm. Questions? Contact one of our Orchestra teachers: Christopher Pettit at christopher.pettit@d303.org; or Jorge Brito at jorge.brito@d303.org
Songs for Social Emotional Learning
Mrs. Therrien, our Music Teacher, has been including an SEL song of the month at the end of some of her music classes. If you are interested in listening with your children, you are welcome to use the links below. These songs are offered through one of our curricular resources, Quaver, and if you visit their youtube channel (QuaverED) you'll find many SEL songs appropriate to share with our learners.
March: Enojo No Tiene el Control and I Believe in You
April: Unico (English version: You-Nique)
May: Count on Me
St. Charles Park District
D303 Summer Camp 2021 at Ferson Creek
D303 summer camp is offered for students entering Kindergarten through sixth grade. The deadline for registration is Friday, May 21st. Please see the flyer link below for more information.
Previous News Is Located Below
Reminder, please leave your pets at home
Families, while many of us appreciate pets, unfortunately on school campus we need to be considerate of all, including those with allergies. We also recognize that not all students know how to safely approach unfamiliar animals. For these reasons, and perhaps others, we ask that you do not bring pets to our campus during school hours.
A Note From The Nurse
Covid
The CDC has removed 4 symptoms from the Covid symptom list and KCHD and D303 have adopted them. Therefore, if your student has a runny nose, congestion, nausea or stomach ache they do not need to be excluded from school.
But remember…
…If ANYONE in the household has the following symptoms described below then ALL siblings need to stay home from school until the one with symptoms is cleared from their physician with an alternative diagnosis stating the symptoms are not related to Covid or a negative Covid test.
Fever(100.4 or higher), new onset of moderate to severe headache, shortness of breath, new cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain from unknown cause, new loss of sense of smell or taste, fatigue from unknown cause, muscle and/or body aches.
Masks
The students are outdoors for recess and their masks can become moist from breathing in the cool air. Moist masks cause a decreased barrier of protection from germs. Please provide a couple of extra masks stored in baggies to be replaced after recess. We do have extra masks but for emergency use only. We do not have enough masks for every student with a moist and/or broken one.
Kindly,
Nurse Tina
Kindergarten Registration
We are in the process of registering students for kindergarten- be sure to tell your friends!
The District 303 Kindergarten enrollment process for the 2021-2022 school year will be virtual! Between January 19 and March 12, families will be able to enroll their kindergarten-age children by visiting the Kindergarten Registration & Information page of the District 303 website. On the site you will find:
The New Student Intake Form (coming January 19, 2021)
The Kindergarten Step-by-Step Guide for registration
Health and Dental exams and immunization information
Contact information for all elementary schools
Information about Full Day and Half Day Kindergarten
Changes to Push Coin Accounts - School Lunches
Students will need to have a balance on their accounts to cover the items they wish to purchase from the Ala Cart menu. Our school has water bottle fillers throughout the building and students are welcome to refill their bottle at any time. As a reminder, all school lunches come with a milk. If you would like to check the balance on your account, the link for Push Coin is below.
Student Self Certification
Our school community both staff and students, self-certifies their health electronically before entering the building using the D303 Self Certification system. As a reminder, please sign the backpack tag and complete the online Self Certification daily. It would be very helpful if you could complete this certification before your child arrives at school. Please contact the office if you have any questions.
Book Checkout for Remote and In Person Students
Our school library is here to provide reading materials for your child. We have three ways to access fiction and nonfiction books: Print books for In-Person Learners, Digital/eBooks for In Persona and Remote learners, and Book Pickup for Remote learners. Please use this link below to access the pathway you choose. Happy reading!
Book Checkout procedures
How To View Your Child's Most Recent iReady Assessment
The informative video below will walk you through steps to access your child's progress on our most recent iReady test. You will be able to view the diagnostic scale score information and a record of your child's independent iReady practice.
i-Ready Family Video
Organic Life - Now Offering Free Breakfast
Starting November 10th, Organic Life will be offering breakfast at all Elementary Schools. Breakfast meals are free for all students just like the lunches.
Students will have the option to order breakfast in the morning as they already do for lunch. Organic Life will prep the breakfast bags and deliver them to the classrooms by 1:20pm each day for students. This helps to support students eating a breakfast before coming to school the next day.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact our office.
Wasco Stands Against Bullying
As you know, we are using the Second Step program in your child’s classroom. The Second Step program teaches children important skills for getting along with others and doing well in school. It also helps our school be a safe,
respectful place where everyone can learn.
To further help our school be a safe and respectful place, we are also using the Second Step Bullying Prevention Unit. In these upcoming lessons, your child will learn specific skills to help stop bullying. Students will learn how to:
• Recognize when bullying is happening
• Report bullying to a caring adult
• Refuse to let bullying happen to themselves or others
• Be a bystander who stands up and is part of the solution to bullying
For bullying prevention to work, everyone needs to be involved. Get involved in making our school a safe and respectful place by letting us know if you hear about bullying at our school. Make sure your child knows to tell you or someone at school if he or she is being bullied. And give your child the clear message that it is never okay to bully others.
Rebecca Schroeder, Wasco School Social Worker
News From Physical Education
Last spring, Mrs. Misner, our Wasco Physical Education teacher, was awarded two grants from the Greater St. Charles Education Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting excellence in education within Community Unit School District 303. The group provides grants to teachers and several scholarships each year to our St. Charles High School students. Mrs. Misner received a grant for $274.98 for a Gopher Ignition Pro Interval Trainer that will be temporarily mounted on the wall in the gym. The timer can also be placed on a table so it is moveable. This will provide a great visual for station work and fitness training.
A second grant was written by Mrs. Misner for $990.31 on behalf of the D303 Elementary Physical Education team for new bowling equipment. The bowling equipment travels to each school throughout the year with all of our elementary students using it. The purchase was for 3 new bowling lanes including a rubber bowling ball and 10 pins and 6 new lightweight bowling balls for our primary and students with special needs to use.
Mrs. Misner would like to express her gratitude to the Greater St. Charles Education Foundation for their continued support of education and students in D303. If you are interested in learning more about the Foundation or would like to make a donation, the website is http://stced.org/
Attention Parents who drive to Wasco for pickup
Parents we really appreciate your attention to safety you are when you arrive on campus. As inclement weather approaches, we are working to make sure we move traffic as smoothly as possible. Here are some suggestions:
Please pull up AS FAR AS POSSIBLE in available space, without occupying the crosswalks (marked with white stripes). This will enable us to place more students in cars.
Please be aware of loading quickly so that we can exit cars in the pickup line as quickly as possible.
Take care to limit social interactions while driving. During arrival and dismissal, there is a lot of activity and we want to ensure all adults are watchful for moving students.
Encourage your child to watch for your vehicle.
Homework for student absences
If your child is absent from school, your child's teacher will provide the necessary classwork, just as has happened in the past. Teachers can send home online resources as well as provide you with the learning objectives for each content area. Please reach out to your child's teacher when you need information about their lessons.
Mask and Space Requirements When Visiting our Campus
Parents and other visitors to a school campus are expected to be wearing a mask when at the school. Our school community goal is to be as safe as possible and following the precautions such as wearing a mask when sharing space with others or when we are unable to keep our distance is a community practice that decreases the spread of germs. Your help modeling mask-wearing and spacing from others demonstrates our commitment to the health of one another.
New to Wasco? Here is a guide to help! Welcome to Wasco Elementary for Families SY 21
We realize there is much information to digest, especially if you are a parent new to Wasco. Please use this link to access a plethora of information about the daily operation of our school. We hope this guide answers all of your questions. When in doubt, please reach out to our office. We are happy to help! Even if you are a returning family, you might want to keep the link handy.
Bus Information
Transportation route information is accessible to families using this link: Bus Routes. You will need your HAC number to access the information. Transportation route information will not be sent home through the mail and can only be accessed online. Please note that for the first two weeks of the school year, the district will not make adjustments to the transportation routes. Our transportation department will collect suggestions about the routes and make adjustments where necessary after the first two weeks of classes.
Food Service Programs
Since March, District 303 has collaborated with our food service vendors to provide grab and go meals for students to enjoy at home. We want to make you aware of the procedures for making sure that students continue to receive meals, whether they are learning in-person or remotely.
Families who choose to purchase meals for their children will have their PushCoin accounts debited, unless eligible for free lunch. For more information about eligibility for free and reduced lunch, please contact Patricia Townsend at 331.228.6529.
