Principal Update
November 2021
Whitney Families,
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Happy November and Happy Thanksgiving! As I reflect on things I am thankful for, the Whitney students, staff, and families are at the top of my list. I am very grateful for the support and kindness you show to the school, and the support and guidance you provide for your children. Research shows that students do their best when schools and home work collaboratively.
Thank you to those who have served our country in the armed services. Whitney is very thankful for you and the sacrifices you have made.
The number one way to make sure that your child is getting the most out of school is to make sure they are in attendance each day. Since much of what we do at school is direct teaching and practice, it is very hard to put together the lessons as make-up work. When a child is absent they can miss important instruction and the teacher's help with practice. Please consider taking vacations and scheduling appointments when we are not in session. However, if your child is ill or your family is struggling with Covid19, our teachers will do their best to accelerate your child's learning when they return.
Whitney students are able to earn PBIS Rewards points for following the ROAR expectations. They can then use those points to make purchases in the school store as well as their classroom store if their teacher has one set up. Stores offer both tangible items and experiences but funding the store has been difficult. Normally we would ask for parent support via a fund raiser to help support the incentives offered in the school store. We would typically make 25% - 50% of profit off fundraisers like World's finest chocolate, Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, Pizza making kits, and other magazine based fundraisers.
So, instead of asking parents to go sell stuff out of magazines we have set up a way to donate for those that are interested in supporting the purchase of student incentives at Whitney. Many schools are now offering this option instead of doing a fundraiser so that parents don't have to buy or sell items to support their local school. Every dollar donated will go into a general fund set up by the district and will only be used for student incentives. If you are interested in supporting your child by donating please scroll down to the Incentive Donation section of the newsletter where you will find a written step by step tutorial and video tutorial on how to login and navigate the touchbase website.
If you have questions please reach out via telephone (573-1900) or via Let's Talk and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
November 24th - 26th - No School for Thanksgiving
November 29th - Pajama Day
November 30th - Superhero Day
December 1st - Disney Day
December 2nd - Tie Dye Day
December 3rd - Sports Day
December 20th - 31st - No School
Academic Winners!
Katherine Buck
James Arias
Eliazar Gonzalez
Julian Romba
Primitivo Balderas
Sawyer Olney Mccarl
London Garza
James Buck
Michael Meyer
Emilee Jennings
Aubrey Cardwell
Calvae Thompson
Christian De Jesus
Laela Moran
Kerstin Garces-Garcia
Phoenix Madrigal-Espindola
Layla Myers
Enily Macedonio
Damian Mendez
Thomas Buck
ROAR Winners!
Neliani Nava
Katalyna Cook
Ivan Benitez
Janie Fullerton
Nayeli Trillas
Antonio Chalino Mendoza
Aleyah Ackerman
Kendra Youngblood
Annabelle Cantu-Tisher
Diego Prado
Elliana Sheets
Annabelle Abrams
Alyssa Lopez
Landon De La Torre
Angel Martinez
Ryanna Mather
Noah Garzia
Romeo Mungia
Eric Elkins
Giselle Urbina
New Fence between Whitney and Wilson
In order to secure our campus all access points will be locked while school is in session. In the event of an emergency or evacuation all staff have been given a key that will unlock all access points on campus.
Goals
High Priority Goal #1 - We will increase our math growth for all from 48 to 60 in the next three years with an increase of 4 Student Growth Percentile points each year. We will also increase math growth for Students With Disabilities from 34 to 60 in the next three years with and increase of 8.7 Student Growth Percentile points each year.
High Priority Goal #2 - We will increase our English Language Arts proficiency for English Language Learners from 15% to 50% by 2024 with a yearly increase of 12%.
High Priority Goal #3 - By the end of the 2021-2022 school year, Whitney Elementary will increase regular attendance of all students from 94.6% to 95%.
Donations for incentives
Spirit Week
Our AMAZING Whitney students have earned over 100,000 PBIS Rewards points this school year, which has earned them a SPIRIT WEEK!!! Our spirit week will be the week right after Thanksgiving.
Monday, November 29th - Pajama Day
Tuesday, November 30th - Superhero Day
Wednesday, December 1st - Disney Day
Thursday, December 2nd - Tie Dye Day
Friday, December 3rd - Sports Day
Information About The ZONES of Regulation
Whitney Elementary will be participating in The Zones of Regulation curriculum (or “The Zones” for short), which are lessons and activities designed by Leah Kuypers, licensed occupational therapist, to help him/her gain skills in the area of self-regulation. Self-regulation can go by many names, such as self-control, self management, and impulse control. It is defined as the best state of alertness of both the body and emotions for the specific situation. For example, when a student plays on the playground or in a competitive game, it is beneficial to have a higher state of alertness. However, that same state would not be appropriate in the library. The lessons and learning activities are designed to help the students recognize when they are in the different Zones as well as learn how to use strategies to change or stay in the Zone they are in. In addition to addressing self-regulation, the students will gain an increased vocabulary of emotional terms, skills in reading other people’s facial expressions, perspective about how others see and react to their behavior, insight into events that trigger their behavior, calming and alerting strategies, and problem solving skills.
A critical aspect of this curriculum is that all team members know and understand The Zones language. This creates a comfortable and supportive environment for the student to practice his or her self-regulation skills. It also helps the student learn the skills more quickly and be more likely to apply them in many situations. You can support the student during this process by doing the following:
- Help the student gain awareness of his or her Zones and feelings by pointing out your observations. • Validate what Zone your students are in and help them brainstorm expected ways to self-regulate so their behavior is expected for the context.
- Share with the student how his or her behavior is affecting the Zone you are in and how you feel.
- Help the student become comfortable using the language to communicate his or her feelings and needs by encouraging the student to share his or her Zone with you.
- Show interest in learning about the student’s triggers and Zones tools. Ask the student if he or she wants reminders to use these tools and how you should present these reminders.
- Ask the student to frequently share his or her Zones Folder with you and talk about what he or she has learned.
- Make sure to positively reinforce students for recognizing their Zone and managing their behaviors while in it, rather than only pointing out when students are demonstrating unexpected behaviors while in a Zone.
It is important to note that everyone experiences all of the Zones—the Red and Yellow Zones are not the “bad” or “naughty” Zones. All of the Zones are expected at one time or another. The Zones of Regulation is intended to be neutral and not communicate judgment.
Check out the attachments below in English and Spanish for a Visual and Glossary of Terms.
Holiday Program
Visitors and Volunteers
Now in effect volunteers and visitors will be allowed to enter YSD schools and buildings with the following requirements.
Visitor/Volunteer Requirements
- All visitors/volunteers staying less than 30 minutes are not required to provide proof of vaccination. These visitors must be masked and maintain 6 feet social distancing.
- All visitors/volunteers staying longer than 30 minutes will be required to provide proof of vaccination. These visitors must be masked and maintain 6 feet social distancing.
All volunteers must have an application on file with the Yakima School District.