Blue & White Newsletter - 1/5/24
Week of December 18, 2023
Wrapping Up The Many Holiday Happenings
from December!
Crafting Pinecone Bird Feeders for Students' DIY Delight!
Before the holiday break, Ms. Shanda Goodwin's Gem English Learners at Trimmer Elementary and Wallace Elementary read and discussed how birds survive in winter. They then created pinecone bird feeders with sunflower butter and hung them around their schools. The students were very excited to get outside and help nature!
Preparing for the Holidays - Encore Style!
The Encore Team at Wallace Elementary held a combined activity titled "Holidays Around the World." A story was read by Ms. Heidi Wolf (Media Specialist), a song was led by Ms. Margaret Dickerson (Music Teacher), Ms. Alyssa Daugherty (Art Teacher) had students trace their handprints to decorate the tree, and Ms. Deborah Lehman (Health/PE Teacher) set up an obstacle course and a Reindeer Relay for the students. The students enjoyed all the activities!
Festive Classroom Doors: A Wonderland of Creativity and Holiday Cheer
The Middle School Student Council held a holiday door decorating contest between 6th, 7th, and 8th grade homerooms! Students used their synergizing techniques that are learned during Leader in Me to create a holiday movie themed door! Even custodians and administrative assistants got in on the fun! Our winners were the following: 8th grade Ms. Kumontis' homeroom, 7th grade Ms. Eden's homeroom, 6th grade Ms. Bellman's homeroom, and the staff winner was Laurel Life Counseling! Congrats to all of the winners!
Tech Wizards in the Making - Holiday Themed!
Fifth grade students at Trimmer Elementary in Ms. Tristan Philbrook and Ms. Holly Holtzinger's WIN class explored coding with Ozobots. They used the robots to make a snowplow and move snowballs, knock over snowmen, play reindeer games, travel around the Christmas tree and create a synchronized dance party. Way to go! That's a lot of coding!
Snowmen Snacks!
Ms. Bridget Grasser’s 2nd grade students at Lincolnway Elementary worked on making holiday snowmen during December.
Creative Students Crafting Magical Gingerbread Houses
Ms. Bailey Johnson's class at Trimmer Elementary made Gingerbread houses! They used careful planning in the construction process and enjoyed using their creativity as they decorated their houses. They created quite a yummy little village of gingerbread houses!
Secret Santa Paws Toy Exchange
Faculty and staff at the Middle School participated in their first annual Secret Santa toy exchange for pets. It was fun to be able to shop for a gift for our colleagues and their pets. This brought joy to a lot of people and their animals. We cannot wait to do it again next year!
Spreading Holiday Cheer to Our Neighbors!
First grade and kindergarten students from Wallace Elementary made cards and projects for the residents at Country Meadows to spread cheer this holiday season.
Upcoming Dental and Physical Exams
An Important Reminder from our School Nurses
Dental and physical exams will be performed at our school buildings over the upcoming several weeks.
Dental exams will be performed on students with signed parent permission from the beginning of the school year as well as those missing the required dental screening for Kindergarten, 3rd and 7th grades. Dental exams will be performed on the following days:
- Wallace-January 8
- Trimmer-January 9
- Lincolnway-January 16
- Middle school-February 12
Physical exams will be performed on students who are missing the required physical exam for Kindergarten, 1st, 6th, and 11th grades. Physical exams will be performed on the following days:
- Middle School-1/25 and 1/26
- Wallace-2/8 and 2/9
- High school 2/22 and 2/23
Please contact your child's school nurse with questions.
Time to Plan for 2024 Kindergarten Registration!
If you would like to receive email updates specific to activities and registration for the 2024-2025 Kindergarten class, please click the image below and complete our form. Any questions regarding transition activities and/or registration can be directed to Wallace Elementary by calling 717-764-6869. If you have family, friends, or neighbors who reside within the West York Area School District, feel free to share this information with them!
Check Out the Fun Learning Opportunities Recently Captured Around the District!
Ms. Kristin Bielski and Ms. Rebecca Holder's classes at Trimmer Elementary enjoyed time with a special guest speaker. Published author Darah Caldwell came in to talk about her inspiration for writing, the process, and her characters, among other things related to writing. The students had many great questions and enjoyed hearing about Ms. Caldwell's experience. And another guest popped in too, Mr. Brionne Caldwell, Darah's father! Mr. Caldwell is our Health/PE Teacher at Trimmer Elementary.
Ms. Holly Holtzinger's students at Trimmer Elementary learn their multiples kinesthetically, by hopping and saying the next multiple! Shown in the photos: Gareth Hedgcock, Kayden England and Terrance Truvillion Jr.
Students in Ms. Emma Geiger's class at Trimmer Elementary started learning about fractions. They discussed equal parts and the meaning of the numerator/ denominator. Then, they got to play Fraction Uno as a fun way to review some of what they learned.
Another Group of Monsters Have Arrived!
Students in Ms. Mercedes Myers' 8th grade FACS class at the Middle School partnered with Ms. Lorrie Rodriguez’s Kindergarten students at Wallace Elementary to design and create monster stuffed animals! The two classes met to plan and design the monsters, then the FACS class hand-sewed the designs. The classroom was filled with smiles as the FACS students delivered the friendly monsters to the Kindergarteners. They loved seeing their designs come to life off the paper!
January Facilities Staff Highlights!
Visit the Facilities page of the District website
by clicking the image to the right
to meet our Facilities Staff being featured for January!
AWESOME, IT'S WHAT WE DO!
Ms. Jessica Reever, Ms. Roberta White, Mr. Craig Snyder,
and Ms. Liz Montero
The Bulldog Breakdown
You may have noticed that the Blue & White Newsletter hasn't been sharing the AWESOME activities and outcomes/scores from our athletic groups. The WYASD's Athletics Department publishes the Bulldog Breakdown, a weekly recap of the prior week's athletic accomplishments and lists the upcoming sporting events. Each week's Blue & White will include a link to the most recent issue of the Bulldog Breakdown, just in case you've missed the text/email distribution.
Check out the lastest issue by clicking the image.
FAFSA Events - Federal Student Aid Demystified!
Join Penn State York's Financial Aid Coordinator, Kristen Fowler, for an overview of the changes to the financial aid application process. This FAFSA Information Session is scheduled for Saturday, January 27th from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and will take place in Polli Hall, Graham Center for Innovation and Collaboration, Penn State York, 1031 Edgecomb Ave., York, PA 17403.
They are also offering a FAFSA Completion Workshop to complete your FAFSA at the workshop with support resources available for answers to your questions in real time. Please register in advance for this session, scheduled for Thursday, February 8th from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the Admissions Office, Main Classroom Building at the same address as shared above. To register and to see other informational events at Penn State, click the flyer image to the right.
If you have any questions, you can email them at ykadmission@psu.edu or call them at 717-771-4040.
Junior Achievement is Coming to the High School!
Volunteers Needed!
We need your help! On Thursday, March 14th, Junior Achievement of South Central PA will be at the High School with their STEM Summit Program. Students will be participating in the day-long event designed to explore careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
The goal of the STEM Summit is to inspire students to pursue an academic STEM focus in the remainder of their high school courses. After the completion of the STEM Summit, guidance counselors have a foundation to work with students on appropriate course work.
For this day to be a success, we will need volunteers to facilitate ONE of the STEM activities for the day as students rotate through various stations. You do not need to have a STEM background to be a GREAT volunteer! You also do not have to be an approved school volunteer to help with this day. Please feel free to share this opportunity with friends, neighbors, and colleagues who may be interested in helping the students of our school.
Junior Achievement will provide online training as well as on-site support to all volunteers. A light breakfast and lunch will also be available for volunteers. Please consider volunteering and join us as we spend the day empowering and inspiring our students. This opportunity is only possible with the support of wonderful volunteers like you.
You can check out the Q&A here for questions you may have.
You can click on the flyer below to register as a volunteer.
Our CARE Awards will return next week!
January Important Dates
- Monday, Jan. 8, Facilities Meeting (5:30 p.m.)
- Tuesday, Jan. 9, EPC Meeting (5:00 p.m.)
- Tuesday, Jan. 9, AdHoc Meeting of the Board (6:00 p.m.)
- Tuesday, Jan. 9, Work Session of the Board (7:00 p.m.)
- Wednesday, Jan. 10, Marking Period 2 Ends/HS Semester 1/Term 2 Ends
- Thursday, Jan. 11, Professional Learning Day - No School for Students
- Friday, Jan. 12, Professional Learning Day - No School for Students
- Monday, Jan. 15, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday - District Closed
- Tuesday, Jan. 16, CEC Meeting (5:30 p.m.)
- Tuesday, Jan. 16, Board Voting Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
- Wednesday, Jan. 17, Bulldog Pantry Distribution (5:00 p.m.)
- Wednesday, Jan. 17, Elementary PTO Meeting (6:00 p.m.)
- Thursday, Jan. 25, Wellness Committee Meeting (3:15 p.m.)
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
IN AND AROUND THE DISTRICT
Time to Order Your Middle School Yearbook
Calling all Middle School students - don't miss out on ordering your 2023-2024 Yearbook!
The yearbook captures today's memories to enjoy for a lifetime!
The $35 price is only good through January 26th! Don't delay and possibly miss this low pricing! Click the image below to order your yearbook today.
- Complimentary admission to all home athletic events (excludes playoff events)
- Complimentary admission to all District concerts (most do not charge admission)
If you have any questions, please feel free to email
BulldogMail@wyasd.org or call 717-792-2796 ext. 1003 or 1004
Spring events will be announced in January,
and will include the High School musical dinner and a show event!
Community Corner - Be Sure To Check It Out Often!
The Community Corner of our website offers families many helpful links to organizations or flyers about upcoming or ongoing community activities, clubs, and events. The information on this webpage changes frequently and those changes will be highlighted here as they occur. The latest updates are pictured below.
From our Home webpage, click on Community to access links to various organizations/community events.
Here are just some examples:
- Cub Scouts (Boys & Girls ages 5-12)
- Girl Scouts
- West York Boys Club
- York JCC
- YMCA of York
- YWCA of York
Community Resources such as:
- United Way
- Community Progress Council
- Dream Wrights Center for Community Arts