WWA's Weekly Newsletter
Week of November 14th, 2022
WWA's Mission: “Ensure all students are learning at high levels.”
Dear Parents,
Whispering Wind Academy wants to say thank you to all our Veteran's and active military that have served and currently serve our nation. The sacrifice our service men and women make for our country cannot be understated and is greatly appreciated through the freedom we have. Hopefully everyone had a great Veteran's Day!
Dads come join us this Friday at 8:15am in the WWA Cafeteria. The WWA PTSO will be putting on Donuts with Dad. We hope all dads can make it for a donut and some time with your child at school.
It was great to see parents both in person and virtually for information regarding our DLI program and current data of our students in the program. Mrs. Jay will be sending out the recording of the presentation to DLMI teams and teachers will be sending it out.
We are seeing some difficulty with drivers at 43rd St. and Carol Ann Crosswalk. Drivers are not obeying the 15 mph in the crosswalk creating a safety situation. Please make sure for the safety of our students and staff, to adhere to the posted speed limit when driving through any of our crosswalks.
Finally this is a reminder to parents that school releases at 3:15pm. We understand the need at times to pick up your child prior to the end of the day, however we do ask that this does not become a regular occurrence. Due to the large amount of pick ups prior to 3:00pm, it's not helpful to students when they can't finish up the school day with their peers or when the office has to process a large number of parents picking up kids prior to the 3:00pm deadline. When this does occur, it causes a big back log in the front office and continual interruptions to our teachers. Again we completely understand if an early pick up is necessary for an appointment etc., but please just make sure to use this sparingly.
Items found below on this newsletter to be aware of:
- Tax Credit Donations
- Mrs. Elgin's Choir News
- Picture Retakes
- Donuts with Dad this Friday November 18th at 8:15am, provided by the WWA PTSO!
- Information Regarding Bullying
- Student Council News
- Gifted Testing
- Homework Club
- Flu Shot
- Parent Classes in November
- Before school coding class
- Fall Enrichment Classes through Community Ed.
- Canned Food Drive
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Johnny Brownlie
Principal
News From Mrs. Elgin's Choir:
Picture Retakes
Information Regarding Bullying for Parents:
Bullying Defined
(In compliance with Arizona Revised Statute 15-341)
Bullying: Repeated acts, over time, that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical in form (pushing, hitting, kicking, spitting, stealing); verbal (making threats, taunting, teasing, name-calling); or psychological (social exclusion, spreading rumors, manipulating social relationships).
Bully Prevention
In October our Social Worker, Mrs. Westman and SEL Specialist, Mrs. Albers presented the PBIS model for dealing with bullying. All general education classes (1st-6th grades) had the opportunity to view, participate and discuss the steps:
Stop, say “Not Cool”
Walk Away
Talk
Use an “I Message” or Ask an Adult for Support
I messages are stated as follows:
“I feel ___________when you __________. Next time please __________________.
Additionally, all our staff received information about how they should respond using the PBIS steps for students who report bullying or who come to them for support.
Our staff will:
1. Thank the student for coming to them
2. Ask the student if they “Stopped”
3. Ask the student if they “Walked Away”
4. Ask the student how they can help the student now.
Please talk about the process with your children. We want our students to feel comfortable with the steps and to practice how best to “Talk” to find a resolution to any issues they face.
Presentation Link:
Student Council News!
We are off to a great start with our can food drive this year!
Thanks to all the students that brought in cans for the can food drive! Students please keep bringing in your cans daily! We would like to fill the Oasis Food Pantry with food for the upcoming holidays!
Many of our PV families will have food because of your generous donations!
Thanks!
Student Council
Gifted Testing
Universal Testing for 2nd Grade Student
The Gifted Education Department has the opportunity to administer the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) for 2nd grade students through funds provided by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). You may review the parent information letter for more information about the CogAT and review the district website for testing dates.
If you would prefer that your child not participate in this testing session you may use the following link to complete the Opt Out form.
Note: The Cognitive Abilities Test is the same assessment that we administer to 2nd grade students in the spring (Feb.-May) therefore 2nd grade students will not test in the district spring testing session.
Examen Universal para los Alumnos de 2º Grado
El Departamento de Educación Gifted tiene la oportunidad de administrar el examen de habilidades cognitivas CogAT para los alumnos de segundo grado mediante fondos del Departamento de Educación de Arizona ADE. Pueden revisar la carta informativa para padres para más información acerca del CogAT y revisar el sitio web del distrito escolar para las fechas de los exámenes.
Si ustedes prefieren que su hijo no participe en la sesión de evaluación pueden usar el siguiente formulario para la opción de optar por que no lo presente Opt Out form.
Nota: El examen de habilidades cognitivas es el mismo que tomaron los alumnos de 2º grado en la primera (febrero o mayo), por lo tanto, los alumnos de segundo grado del distrito no van a tener que tomarlo nuevamente en la primavera.
Click on the Items below for Coding and Enrichment...
It Can Take A Village!
Does your student have a social or emotional need that you think school staff may be able to help with? If so, consider completing the form link below so that our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) support team can review your request and determine what next steps might be needed. Click on the picture below. LINK