February 2022
Newsletter
A Note From the Principal
Hello Wabash Community!
It is hard to believe that February is already here! Our 3rd Quarter of school is underway and our students are working hard to learn and grow everyday. With this quarter we will be putting added focus on FORGIVENESS via our Choose Love Program. Please take time to talk with your child(ren) about your thoughts on forgiveness. While it is not easy sometimes, oftentimes forgiveness is the first step towards peace and kindness. #ChooseLove
Thank you for sharing some compliments with our teachers and staff on the National Compliment Day. Those kind messages really meant a great deal to everyone in our school. Thank you for spreading kindness! :)
Some reminders:
1) If you plan to be a visitor at school for lunch or for our upcoming Valentine's Day parties, please be sure to bring your photo ID with you. Please also give yourself time to be properly checked in with your photo ID.
2) In the morning at car riders, please do not release the children from their vehicles until the morning staff are on the front sidewalk. We like to have our staff on the sidewalk BEFORE students are getting out of cars. Safety first!
3) If you have a transportation change for your child(ren), please communicate with our main office so we are aware of the change. Our office will ensure that the transportation change is given to the teacher.
4) Please make sure your child(ren) brings their coats, hats and gloves every day, because we still go outside for recess during the winter months. If your child(ren) are in need of winter clothing, please do not hesitate to contact our school counselors. If your family is able to share extra winter coats, gloves and hats, please contact our school counselors as well.
5) Science Fair Projects can be dropped off on Feb. 1 between 7:30 am - 1:00 pm.
6) The 100th Day of School will be recognized on February 4 this year.
Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts!
Mr. Schulte
Updated Safety Measures
Part of keeping students and staff safe is knowing who is in our building at all times, so we have rolled out a system to allow us to do just that. WSD visitors will check in to our buildings using Raptor, a new visitor management system designed to assist with building security.
What does that mean for you?
When you arrive in a WSD building as a visitor, you will be asked to scan your ID, take a photo and complete the management system’s check-in process.
Raptor will screen the information against sex offender databases and locally customized lists of banned or potentially threatening individuals, instantly alert school officials to a threatening presence, and maintain a searchable log of all visitors.
Once approved, you will get a customized visitor badge to wear while in the building.
Thank you for your support as we roll this out and enhance school safety protocols!
Parents or guardians who are only picking up a child for the day will not need to use the visitor management system.
Kindergarten Screening and Registration
Dates have been set for the Wentzville School District’s kindergarten screening process. This event is for all children who will turn five BEFORE August 1, 2022.
Parents are asked to register online using the Quick Registration and Screening form. If your child has not been screened at the Parents as Teachers office or his/her preschool this year, appointments are required and can be made when you register online.
Screening appointments are available in the morning and evening and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to check your address with the District’s Boundary Locator tool to determine which school your child will attend before registering your child for kindergarten.
All screening appointments will occur at the Parents as Teachers Office at One Campus Drive, Wentzville, MO 63385.
Your information will be sent to your child’s elementary school. The school will contact you to complete your child's kindergarten registration. To access a list of necessary materials and documents for registration, please visit the District website. For additional information about kindergarten registration and screening, or to check if your child has a current screening on file, please contact the Parents as Teachers Office at 636-327-3863, ext. 22281.
If you do not have a Missouri birth certificate, you may obtain one for $15 from the St. Charles County Community Health/Environment-Vital Statistics Office, 1650 Boone’s Lick, St. Charles, MO 63301, or by calling (636) 949-7558 for more information.
KATHY POUSSON
KAYLA KEATING
ERIN MAGEE
International Boost Self-Esteem Month
1. Stop the Negative Self-Talk
The labels you assign yourself become ingrained and can shape perceptions, self-esteem, and mental health concerns.
Pay attention to this self-talk and how critical you are. Do NOT nit-pick your every flaw.
When negative thoughts come up, challenge them and CHANGE them.
Flaws - things we wish we could change or improve upon within ourselves.
Some flaws can be worked on, while others are unchangeable.
Unchangeable flaws can be mulled over or accepted. With acceptance, even if you do not like it, you are not allowing that flaw to CONTROL you.
Take a moment, each day to reflect on what your personal strengths are.
Examples may include: physical, personality, abilities, relationships, etc.
Focus on YOURSELF and your NEEDS - do something for only yourself.
Self-care includes all the things you do to take care of your well-being in four key dimensions – your emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual health.
GEORGE ANAGNOS - SCHOOL SUPPORT INTERVENTIONIST (SSI)
Attention and Connection
Kids love attention of all kinds. In an ideal world, this attention is gained in a healthy manner through time with family and friends, recognition through sports or academics, and through various other ways. However, we don’t live in an ideal world. When a child feels like they are lacking the attention they desire, they often resort to a “by any means necessary” approach to get the attention they want.
Why might kids want this attention? Kids very much seek to form and find relationships and connections with others. A recent study performed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) found that almost all behavior boils down to a child’s need to belong. When a child doesn’t find that belonging through “traditional” or healthy routes, they can resort to misbehaving.
If you are experiencing misbehavior from your child which seems to be driven by the need for attention, try asking yourself a few simple questions:
How do you, yourself feel when the child exhibits the behavior(s)? If you find yourself feeling, let’s say, “annoyed,” it’s a good indicator that your child is seeking an unfulfilled connection with you in particular through constant demands. You can try to set aside some extra time with your child to read with them, assemble a puzzle or prepare a meal together.
As presented in a recent report on NBC News, when you catch yourself describing a child’s behavior as, “...just looking for attention,” try replacing the word “attention” with “relationship” or “connection.” This might give you a softer, more open insight as to what they are seeking and help you address the behavior more effectively. For example, “Erica is yelling to me from the living room non-stop while I’m making dinner. That’s her just looking for attention connection.”
Realize that, even though it is sometimes frustrating or challenging, the child has chosen you to seek out for attention/connection. Ask yourself honestly,“Why me...?” You might discover yourself to be a preferred adult or the safest person with whom the child might explore a connection. Perhaps siblings or other adults, etc. aren’t offering quite the relationship they’re looking for at that moment.
Identifying the motivation of a behavior--- in this case, attention/ connection behavior--- plays a major role in creating a positive response that can eventually eliminate the undesired behaviors and contribute to the overall health of your child.
Congratulations to all of the Wabash grade-level winners of the STEAM Olympic challenges! The challenges varied by grade level with some grades having more than one winning team. The Olympic challenges wrapped up this month and the grade-level winners have been submitted. They are as follows:
Ayden Schulz, Beckette Mills, Logan Lopez, Easton Melchoir, Brooklyn Chidster, and Alec McDonnell (Kindergarten), Bryce Keeling, Dane Kraatz, Cooper Sisler, Payton Billingham, Bryce Hauze, and Jaxon Thompson (1st grade), Elizabeth Allee, Grayson Marshall, and Nathan Twellman (2nd grade), Carley Burrow, Bennett Hoffman, Pierce Marcus, Caleb March, Lacey Sisler, Lorelai Colon, Brady Barton, Levi Lewis, Myleigh Hernandez, Dexter Bridegan, and Maira Amaya (3rd grade), Jack Clark, Anthony Nelsen, and Caeden Aubuchon (4th grade), Jayani Green, Tori Tedeschi, and Mackenzie Boland (5th grade). We wish all of these Wabash Ducks the best of luck as they will be invited to participate in the district-wide STEAM Olympic challenges in March.
Scholastic Book Fair
Our next Scholastic Book Fair will be at Wabash Feb. 16 - 25 to help us celebrate Literacy Week!! This is a great opportunity for your student to buy quality books at an awesome price. Our profit will be used to buy new books and resources for Wabash. The Book Fair will be open during normal school hours: 8:20 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Your student will have the opportunity to shop during their regularly scheduled library time.
You may send in cash or a check made payable to Wabash Elementary with your student to pay with at the book fair. You may also set up an online eWallet account through Scholastic at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/wabashelementaryschool1. Please place cash or checks in an envelope marked with the child's name, amount, and teacher. When calculating totals, you must include tax (8.45%). We are happy to fill in blank checks with the total amount, including tax.
You may also shop online from Feb. 15-28 at https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/wabashelementaryschool1. Shop from our Book Fair titles and special promotions. You will receive FREE Shipping with online BOOK ONLY orders of $25 or more. Thank you!
We're a Reading Family!
I'm A Writer!
Important Transportation Update
As a reminder, students will be required to provide their own masks while riding the school bus. Since the start of the school year, the District has provided more than 50,000 masks to students and it is important that all students bring and wear a mask on the bus. The WSD Transportation Department’s supply of masks is rapidly dwindling and we ask for your assistance with this matter. Masks are required on all school buses per federal requirement.
The Transportation Department has been asked to notify building administrators when students are not following this federal requirement. The building will attempt to work with students and families to remedy the situation. If a student is not correctly wearing a mask while on the bus, the family will need to make other arrangements.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter as we work together to support our students.
~WSD Department of Transportation, Administrative Services and Communications & Community Relations
LATE START SUPERVISION
The WSD will once again be providing supervision for K-6 students who need to be dropped off at the regular start time on scheduled Late Start Days in the 2020-2021 school year. This is separate from our Before Care Program through Chautauqua, so if you are registered for Chautauqua, please DO NOT register for Late Start Supervision.
The fee is $10 per child for each late start day you would like to register for. Please fill out the REGISTRATION FORM first prior to paying. If you choose to use PayPal, there is a sliding scale charge assessed to cover processing costs. You also have the option to send a check in to your child's school. In order to arrange for adequate staffing, you must register and pay before the deadline for each late start day (deadline is one week prior to each late start). You may also register for all late start dates one time by choosing the dates you need in the registration form.
Future Late Start Dates:
February 7, 2022
March 7, 2022
April 18, 2022
Wabash Elementary
Email: jillmitchell@wsdr4.org
Website: www.wentzville.k12.mo.us
Location: 100 Golden Gate Parkway, Wentzville, MO, United States
Phone: 636-887-3884
Twitter: @WabashStation