Wrightstown Ravens' News
February 26, 2021
Dates to Know
3/1 - 3/7 - Virtual Book Fair
3/2 - Virtual Camp Read In Night 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
3/10 - PTO Virtual Meeting at 7:00 p.m.
3/12 - Student Early Dismissal at 12:15 p.m. AM Kindergarten attends
3/19 - PTO Virtual Bingo at 7:00 p.m.
4th Marking Period - Learning Model Change Period (3/11 - 3/16)
As in the past marking periods, parents will be able to email me directly to change from the virtual to in-person learning model or vice versa. The window for changes will be open from March 11th through the end of the school day on March 16th. If you would like to change your child's learning model, please use this window of time to communicate directly to me at bfox@crsd.org
Thank you.
"Be Kind" Challenge
Congratulations to all GEO BEE Finalists!
While National Geographic did not host their annual Geography Bee this year, that did not stop Wrightstown Elementary! On Thursday, February 25, eleven 5th and 6th grade finalists participated in the school Bee. Fifth grader, Braden Notz won first place with the winning response, “Red Sea” and 6th grader Alyssa Akselrad placed second. The Bee with questions covering all things geography, was held in the All Purpose Room, with nine participants socially distanced on stage and two students attending virtually. The entire event was livestreamed to families and classrooms.
Congratulations Braden and all participating students! A big thanks to Mrs. French for organizing this fun event for students, our moderator Mr. Hentz (S.S. District Coordinator), and judges, Mrs. Mangan, Mrs. Etgen, and Mrs. Keen.
WES Celebrates Read Across America Week: 3/1 - 3/5
Click on Spirit Week Plans
Next week, there will be a few mystery read-alouds included in the morning announcements. After students watch the announcements, they will be asked to complete a form to guess the readers! The winner will be announced the next day!
Camp Read In – March 2nd at 7:00 PM
Please RSVP HERE if your family plans to participate!
Reading Incentive Kick-Off - We are starting a whole school reading incentive. Everything is available here - reading logs, forms, and information. This information was shared with students during morning announcements today (2/26).
WES Virtual Book Fair: 3/1 - 3/7
Mark your calendars! Wrightstown Elementary is hosting a Virtual Book Fair March 1-7, 2021. Book Fair sponsored by the Newtown Bookshop. Please be sure to mention that you are part of Wrightstown Elementary or write in the comments section of the order that you are part of Wrightstown.
Attention Families---Exciting News--- In honor of Read Across America week Wrightstown will have a virtual book fair sponsored by the Newtown Bookshop. Families will be able to shop from the comfort of their own homes. Books can be shipped to you or delivered to your child in school. To learn more please click on the button below. Profits from this virtual book fair will go towards new books for the Wrightstown Elementary Library. Thank you for your support.
Schoolwide Reading Incentive
At Wrightstown, we always expect our students to read independently each day. To help encourage this independent reading, we are rolling out a new incentive program. In a normal school year, students are expected to read daily about 20 minutes a day. This goal has been a little challenging this year, so we are rolling out this program in the hope that we can get our reading goals back on track! We are making this a whole school community event. The March goal is for all of our students to read at least 76,000 minutes and the incentive for reaching that goal is going to be a whole school pajama day! Our goals are going to be a little more crazy and exciting as the months go on, culminating with a very messy situation for me (Mrs. Fox), but that is a surprise for later!
Watch this video for details or read further. Beginning March 1st, the official start of Read Across America Week, we will provide students with reading logs - they can record their minutes of reading virtually or on paper. By the end of the month, however, they need to log in to a Google Form and record their total minutes read for the month. This Google Form will be accessible from their Google Classroom.
I hope that you are as excited as we all are for this exciting event! We are kicking off this program by giving each child a brand-new grade-level-appropriate book! The books will be distributed soon! Thank you for all your support at home!
Yearbook Photos Needed
Families, we need your help! We would like to provide students with a memorable yearbook this year. Due to the restrictions that prevent parent photographers from being in the building, we need your pictures throughout the year. These photographs should only include students at Wrightstown Elementary School. Please upload your photos below. Thank you in advance for your help to create a memorial yearbook for our students!
It's Kindergarten Registration Time!
Council Rock School District utilizes a secure online portal for parents to enroll their kindergarten-age child. Children must be five (5) years of age on or before September 1st for the school year you are registering. Click the link below to start the kindergarten registration process for your child.
Specials Rotating Color Schedule for 3rd Marking Period
You can find the calendar for the third marking period specials days below along with a printable page at the following LINK.
Visit Our New Parent/Student Technology Resources Site
Council Rock families are invited to visit our brand new Parent/Student Technology Resources Site. The site was created with our families in mind. In visiting there, you will find tutorials, troubleshooting tips, Chromebook information, and important technology updates. The new Parent/Student Technology Resources Site is located within the CRSD Reopening Hub. Please take a moment now to visit the site by clicking on the link below.
Reminders!
4 Day In-Person Learning Continues
All elementary schools will continue to follow the 4 day in-person learning schedule. Wednesdays will continue to be 100% virtual
Attention Car Riders!
If you use the car rider line for either drop-off in the morning or pick-up in the afternoon, please stay in the line once your child exits/enters the car. Please do not pull out of line and drive around other cars. Also, please stay in your vehicle at all times. If you need to assist your child in loading into your vehicle, please park your car in the lot and meet your child at the dismissal doors. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and cooperation as we work to ensure a safe and efficient pick-up process for all
Mrs. Etgen's Literacy Corner
With the winter winds blowing outside, it is a perfect time to sit down and read a book! Make reading a fun family activity by building a reading fort, or making some hot cocoa and popcorn before sitting down to read. If you are struggling with screen time and reading is competing with Fortnite or Roblox, then make some deals - one hour of gaming for one hour of reading and reading games. Reading games can consist of anything from an old fashion Scrabble or Boggle game, to letter bingo and sight word memory games. There are some great make your own word games on this site.
Remember our kids need to read in order to become better readers! So please do your best to make reading a fun family activity!
Raven Ready - PBIS Information
Our Positive Behavior Intervention Support program (PBIS), otherwise known as Raven Ready is up and running again! With PBIS, students are explicitly taught the expectations and procedures for each area of our school. Teachers are in the process of teaching and reviewing with students the expectations in areas such as the classroom, hallways, bus, cafeteria, etc. Through this explicit instruction, students learn about expected and unexpected behaviors in each area of our school. PBIS strives on being a positive support system, where the adults in the school are recognizing good behavior and decision-making. Your child may have already earned a Raven Reward!
PBIS is enforced school-wide by every member of the Wrightstown Elementary School staff. Please click on the button below for more information. You can also find this information on the WES website, tabs on the left side.
Our board is starting to fill up! Keep up the great work, Ravens!
Change at Recess
The board of school directors approved changes to the district's Health and Safety plan during their meeting on Thursday evening. One of the changes was with regard to the use of equipment at recess. The policy now states “limit sharing so that equipment/balls are not held/manipulated by individuals for extended times before exchanging with others. Sanitize equipment between individual uses to the extent feasible.” The equipment will be divided into two groups so that they can be rotated for use while one set is being cleaned. The children have been waiting for this!
Virtual Student Lunch Groups
Beginning this coming week, I will be facilitating weekly lunch groups via Zoom for all virtual learners in hopes of increasing social opportunities and peer connections. Students will play games and be given the chance just to chat with one another. These groups are completely optional, will last between 20-30 minutes, and students are welcome to eat if they would like. Zoom links can be found under the "Ms. Gulnac" topic heading on the "classwork" page of your student's google classroom. This opportunity is available to all virtual students.
Monday: 1st Grade – 11:00 / 2nd Grade 11:30
Tuesday: 3rd Grade – 12:00 / 4th Grade 12:30
Thursday: 5th Grade – 1:00 / 6th Grade 1:30
A Note from the Nurse's Office
As you know, starting this year we asked that there be no food sent in with birthday celebrations. In the interest of Covid precautions, we are asking that nothing be brought in for distribution to the class. Thank you for understanding and helping to keep our WES community safe.
REMINDER: All 3rd graders need a dental and all 6th graders need a physical as these are mandated requirements for school.
Updated CR Health & Safety Plan
On 12/3/20 the district's Health and Safety Plan was updated. Please CLICK HERE to read the updated version of the plan.
Family Trip Request Form
Please ensure the Family Trip Request Form is completed prior to the start of your trip. This form is located on the front of the WES website and is also provided directly below.
Library News for Virtual Students
Virtual students are able to check out Library books. If you are interested in learning about how to do this please visit your child’s Library Google classroom. The link is in the classroom under the heading Virtual Book Check out or click the button below.
Free Lunch for Every Student in CR Extended through End of School Year
CRSD has communicated information to families about our free lunches for all students. It really is FREE and it is for ALL students! Through a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CRSD will be able to provide all students in the District with lunch on school days at no cost to families. The free lunches are available to both in school students and 100% virtual students.
In addition to the great choices available for children, each day they have the option of pizza or a fun lunch. Also, all meals come with fruit, vegetables, and milk.
A la carte items (e.g., snacks, ice cream, and certain drinks) are NOT included as part of the free meal and must be paid for the student’s lunch account. A la carte purchases will be deducted from the account after purchased.
Please contact the cafeteria manager at Wescafeteria@crsd.org if you have any questions.
If you would like your child to purchase snacks or additional menu items, you may add them to your child's lunch account using the button below. Please note, you do not need to add to this account to take advantage of the free lunch program for all students.
Chromebook Support
Students/parents should use our help desk system at the following link: https://crsdstudent.sherpadesk.com
The system will allow students/parents (student ID is required to submit a ticket) to submit a ticket for help. It will also allow them to see the status of existing tickets.
The first time they use the system, they will need to set up their account. This will require a unique email address, the location where the student attends school (this is a required field), their first and last name, a phone number where they can be reached (if additional/different contact information/preferences are desired, they can be included in the body of the request), the type of issue (called class on the form - this is also required), the student ID (this is required), a subject or brief description of the issue, and then the details about the issue.
To see the status of a ticket that was submitted, they can click on that option, log in with their email address and password (set during account creation).
We will continue to monitor the chrome support email address but will refer parents/students to the ticketing system if they have an issue or problem that needs to be resolved.
The two biggest advantages to this system are that the ticket will go directly to a technician, and the parent/student will be able to see the status of the tickets they have entered.
WiFi Issues: Contact your provider (Comcast, Verizon, Xfinity, etc.)
Password Issues: Contact our Librarian Assistant, Kristi Marino at kristi.marino@crsd.org
COVID-19 Daily Screening Tools for Parents
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a disease capable of rapidly spreading to other persons with whom you come in contact. If you have been infected, you are capable of exposing other people to COVID-19, even if your symptoms are mild, such as a cough. Symptoms of COVID-19 may include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Early symptoms may also include chills, body aches, sore throat, headache, diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, and runny nose. Given that COVID-19 is a threat to the public’s health, staff members are asked to perform the following self-symptom assessment prior to entering school. Similarly, guardians are asked to conduct symptom assessment of children each morning prior to the students entering school.
Symptom assessment:
Do you or your child have any of the following?
Fever (body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38.0 degrees Celsius)
Cough
Shortness of breath
New loss of/altered taste or smell
Fatigue
Chills
Body aches
Sore throat
Headache
Diarrhea
Nausea/vomiting
Runny nose
If you answered yes and do not have another explanation for that symptom (e.g., allergies), please remain home until symptoms improve or medical documentation for alternative diagnosis is provided and notify the school nurse of the reason for remaining at home. If you have any questions or concerns, contact your primary care physician and/or school nurse.
Thank you for helping to keep our entire Council Rock community healthy and safe!
Approved 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Calendars
The Council Rock School community is invited to review the approved 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school year calendars. These calendars were presented at the January 21st Education Committee Meeting and approved at the February 4th meeting of the Board of School Directors.
Struggling at Home with how School has Changed?
Having trouble managing your school day? Struggling with emotions and feelings related to COVID? You’re not, but you know someone who is? Don’t do it alone! Let’s work through it together! We want to help! Please contact your school principal, counselor, teacher, or another trusted adult in the school so we can talk.
Wrightstown Elementary School
Principal
Email: bfox@crsd.org
Website: http://crsd.org/wrightstownes
Location: 729 Penns Park Road, Wrightstown, PA 18940
Phone: (215) 944-2300
Twitter: @BethFox_WES