THE CURRENT
Michael Pellegrino, Principal
The Pellegrino Post
Dear Parents,
In the upcoming months, many of our students will be administered standardized test... some sooner than others. As we approach these tests, there are ways that you can help as parents to prepare your child(ren) with the best opportunity for success. Your child's teacher is regularly reviewing material. Help your child prepare for testing by making sure that he/she is completing nightly assignments. Also ensure that he/she gets a good night's sleep each night before testing and eats a nutritious breakfast each morning. Please make every effort to schedule appointments for your child on another day. And most important, talk with your child(ren). Let them know that you care about the results, but care more about the effort that they give during testing. All of our students are capable of passing... help us motivate them.
As we get closer to these dates, letters will be sent home to parents describing the tests with specific dates and times. Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have regarding testing. Thank you for your support.
With Piranha Pride,
Michael Pellegrino
W.E Are The World ~ February 22, 2024 ~ 6:30-7:45 p.m.
All Waxpool Elementary Families are invited to come and share their ancestral and cultural heritage and dress! Each grade level will have an experience or display for you to view. Students will be given a passport to complete as they visit all of the stations.
We invite you to share your culture with our community. We will provide a desk for you to display items. Ideas may include: flags, artifacts, games, art, money, Henna, Origami, literature, musical instruments, etc. Please, no food.
If interested, please click the picture above to download our form and return it to school no later than Thursday, February 8, 2024.
Ancestral Figurine
Students are encouraged to decorate a figurine for our W.E. Are The World event in a way that represents their family's ancestry, i.e. grandparents, great grandparents, and even further back!
Click the picture above to download instructions and the blank figurine.
Please return the finished figure, cutout, by Thursday, February 8, 2024. Label the back of the figure with your name, teacher's name, and the country represented.
W.E. Are What We Eat
Do you have a meal that you would like to share? Please click the picture above to have your special family recipe included in a Digital Cookbook that will be shared with our community. Although digital recipes submitted through this link are preferred, a paper version was included in your child's backpack that can be returned as well.
Please submit any recipes by Thursday, February 8, 2024.
We would love for you to submit your recipe digitally.
Attendance Matters
How Absences Impact Your Student:
- Student absences lead to missed instructional time and it adds up (Attendance Matters Graphic).
- This missed instruction impacts student performance and can cause substantial stress for your student as they work to make up missed assignments.
How Absences Impact the School Community:
- We believe every student at Waxpool is a contributing member of our community. Your student’s presence makes a difference in their classroom(s) and the daily events of the school.
- Student attendance is an important metric used by the Virginia Department of Education for our yearly accreditation rating, specifically chronic absenteeism. A student is considered chronically absent if they miss 18 school days in a year, regardless of whether it is an excused or unexcused absence.
How We Can Partner Together with You:
- Here is where we can use your help as parents and guardians:
- Communicate your student’s excused absences via ParentVUE (Instructions).
- Proactively connect with your student’s counselor with concerns/barriers to your student’s regular attendance.
- Jessica Carper (Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th)
- Michelle Fernandez (1st, 3rd, 5th)
- Review your student’s attendance in ParentVUE and see where in this upcoming school year there could be improvement. Barring extenuating circumstances, we encourage families to monitor their student’s attendance and avoid more than three absences per quarter.
- Please avoid scheduled school days for planning trips.
What You Can Expect From Us:
- Increased communication about your student’s absences- this is for both excused and unexcused absences. This communication will come in many different forms;
- Phone calls from support staff and attendance team members.
- Mailings with updates regarding your student’s absences.
- Meetings with school staff to discuss attendance and other student needs.
Resources:
TEXTING DURING THE DAY
Many students bring their own personal devices/telephones/watches to school. These devices should be used for instructional purposes throughout the day. Please refrain from texting your students throughout the day as it becomes a distraction to our learning environment. Our office is ALWAYS available to deliver emergency information and messages to students.
⭐⭐⭐COMPLIMENT OF THE MONTH ⭐⭐⭐
"My child would rather be in school than have a snow day."
- Waxpool Parent