WDMCS Weather Notice Test Oct. 27
West Des Moines Community Schools | October 19, 2020
The West Des Moines Community Schools (WDMCS) is getting ready for winter weather and will be testing the notification system at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27. We initially planned to send a test out Tuesday, Oct. 20, but delayed testing to allow families and staff time to update contact information. This system helps keep students and staff safe by providing notifications of inclement weather or emergency situation school closings.
The message will be sent out as a phone call, text message, email, and app notification. IT IS ONLY A TEST. The phone call will come from 515-633-5599, and the text message will come from 606-08.
VERIFY YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION
Do We Have Your Correct Contact Information?
Update Your Contact Information in Infinite Campus
- Log into Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
- Click on the "More" link in the left navigation menu.
- Click the "Family Information" link in the center of the screen.
- Scroll to find the person's information you wish to update. You will be able to update cell phone, work phone, other phone, email address, and secondary email address fields.
- Click the "Update" button to save your changes.
Forget Your Infinite Campus Login?
New Plan for 2020-21 “Snow Days”
WDMCS is taking a different approach to “snow days” in 2020-21. If school cannot be held on-site due to inclement weather, we will transition for that day to online learning for ALL students.
Using this approach, developed as a COVID-19 precaution during return-to-learn planning, will prevent the district from having to add make-up days at the end of the year.
WILL SCHOOL START AT NORMAL TIME ON “SNOW DAYS”?
School will start at normal time for all students unless otherwise communicated.
WILL THIS IMPACT STUDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY LEARNING ONLINE?
This should not disrupt elementary students’ routines other than students will not have a scheduled time for related-arts classes. However, secondary students may have a shift in their schedule because they remote into their on-site classes. Students should log into the Student Canvas portal to review any directions their teachers provided.
HOW WILL WE FIND OUT ABOUT THE CHANGE?
As we have in previous years, the district will send out mass notifications to all WDMCS employees and families. This includes a voicemail, email, text, and WDMCS app notification. We also post changes to schedules on the WDMCS website and Facebook school pages.
If you did not update your contact information when going through our annual enrollment process this summer, please log into Infinite Campus and make sure we have your current email and phone numbers.
WHAT IF MY STUDENT DOESN’T HAVE THEIR MATERIALS AT HOME?
Because we may not have much advance notice of bad weather, we encourage students to bring home their Chromebooks and other materials EVERY DAY. If the student does not have their materials on that day, the teacher will work with the student when classes resume at school to make up any missed work.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ON-SITE STUDENTS and TEACHERS?
Elementary students will follow a virtual schedule with some whole class virtual meetings and built-in breaks. Students will not have a scheduled time for related-arts classes.
View grade-specific example schedules >
Secondary students will follow the virtual block schedule. They can find this schedule on the WDMCS website. Students will log into Canvas to understand what tasks or learning will take place for each class. Walnut Creek students follow a seven-period day. They will also log into the Student Canvas portal for course-specific instructions.
Teachers have the option of working from their regular workspace in their building or from home. If they choose to work from home, they will need to make sure they have adequate materials and internet access.
WHAT ABOUT LATE STARTS OR EARLY DISMISSALS?
There will not be any changes to our processes from previous years if we need to start late or dismiss early due to weather or other emergencies.
We will continue to update families in the coming weeks.
West Des Moines Community Schools
Email: scroffice@wdmcs.org
Website: wdmcs.org
Location: 3550 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, IA, USA
Phone: 515-633-5000
Facebook: facebook.com/wdmcs
Twitter: @wdmcs