Falcon Flash
February 4th, 2022
Principal's Message
Stetson Families:
This week during Falcon Period, we began our discussion about the course selection process. Thank you to all of those who were able to attend our 2/1 parent presentation night. If you were unable to attend the information and recording are available on our website. The next step in the process is teacher recommendations. Teachers will be taking class time to speak with individual students about their recommendations for next year. The final step would be for you and your child to go into Parent Portal and review the recommendation and select electives week of Feb 14th. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the grade level counselor or an administrator.
Next week, we will be continuing our work with restorative behavioral practices. As a grade level, we will have an administrative-led conversation about expectations in our school community. Our long-term goal is to grow as a community and shape middle school behavior. In the short term, we feel it is important to make sure our students understand what is expected of them on a daily basis as a Stetson falcon. While the process is intentional and change is often slow to follow we can not do it without the support of our Stetson families. Research suggests spending 10 minutes per day per child talking about their day can help improve behaviors. We ask for your assistance in having these daily conversations at home about your student's day. Please encourage your child to seek assistance with a trusted adult if they are feeling uncomfortable or upset about something happening during the school day.
Have a great weekend (stay warm and safe),
Mrs. Puchalla
Course Selection Information Reminder
- February 16th--8th graders will get an opportunity for an in-person event at Rustin High School about specific questions on the course selection process (date and location to follow)
**All families and students will be able to select courses/electives during the week of February 14th - 25th. We hope you can review our course offerings and exciting opportunities!
Calendar --Look Ahead and Plan
February 7th--Day 3
February 8th--Day 4
February 9th--Day 5
February 10th--Day 6 *report cards available on the portal
February 11th--Day 1
Daily bell schedule
Falcon Period Schedule--Tuesday and Thursday
Technology concerns--If technical issues arise, please use the following resources:
Tech Support @ Home – WCASD website with important information:
- Schoology Support
- Laptop Support
- Additional Resources
- Schoology Parent & Student Support
If there is an issue with your 1:1 device please email SMS tech_support@wcasd.net
Dress Code Reminder
Please help us in reminding our students to follow our dress code policy. These include crop tops (mid-drift showing), pajama pants, slippers, and wearing hoods inside the school building. Students who continue to violate the dress code will receive a consequence of after-school detention.
A Word From Our Athletic Department
Home Games next week:
2/7 Boys Basketball vs Downingtown Middle School
2/11 Boys Basketball vs Octorara
As agreed upon by the Ches-Mont League, students will not mask in play but will be required to mask at all other times. Spectators are expected to follow the District’s masking expectations outlined in the health and safety plan and be masked. Student spectators are allowed to attend again starting 1/19/22.
**Call our athletic director Mr. Corcoran about any athletic concerns at 484-266-2725
6th Grade Intramural Co-Ed Basketball
The 6th Grade Intramural Basketball Program is an after-school activity in which 6th grade students will learn fundamental basketball skills, interact with their peers and get physical exercise. The program will run from February 22nd to March 9th, 3pm-4:15pm.If your student would like to participate they should attend the informational meeting with Mr. Busz in the gym on Tuesday, February 8th. Following the meeting, please e-mail him at gbusz@wcasd.net for more information.
Library Info
Would you like to VOLUNTEER in the Stetson School Library?
We are always happy to see you!
Please e-mail Dr. Markiewicz at SMSLib@wcasd.net with your availability.
We will contact you soon with a start date.
You will need to have your clearances up to date in order to volunteer.
Ineligibility
It is Stetson’s mission to help all students maintain passing grades, however, if a student is failing two or more academic subjects, or one academic subject, and two unified arts classes, they will be placed on our ineligibility list. Students who are on the ineligibility list are unable to participate in any extracurricular sport/activity. A report is generated every Thursday to determine eligibility status for the following week.
A reminder that our personal cell phones are not permitted to be used during school hours in the educational setting. Please review the policy below with your student.
Nurse's Corner
Thank you for your diligent communication regarding Covid related needs. We will continue to work together while we see the increase in communal positivity.
PTO information
A small thing we can do for our teachers and staff is to provide some treats to show our gratitude. We have lots of open spaces on our teacher snack bowl signup. Please take a look and see if you can help. THANK YOU to all who have already signed up and participated in this act of teacher/staff gratitude and appreciation!
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/805054aa8a72da7f94-teacher
Save the date for the next Dine & Donate: Wednesday, February 16th, 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
*see attached flyer for more information
Community Information
In the most recent round of data from the PA Youth Survey, 57% of West Chester teens report that they do not feel recognized for hard work. Yet, recognition of hard work is directly linked to a child’s commitment to school which is proven to decrease the likelihood of involvement with law enforcement and use of addictive substances. Recognition of genuine effort from teachers, parents, peers, or other trusted adults helps youth to know their value and has a cumulative positive effect on emotional well-being. WCASD is pleased to partner with West Chester Communities That Care on this initiative that shares concrete tools to build resilience and improve outcomes for youth. (www.wcctc.org/resilience1hs)