Wilder Elementary School
Parent Newsletter - Back to School - August 10, 2022
Welcome to the 2022-2023 School Year!
Dear Families,
Greetings from Wilder Elementary School! I am excited to introduce myself as your new principal! I transitioned to Wilder after spending the past five years as the principal at Ben Franklin. Throughout the summer, I met with various staff members to learn about the Wilder community. One theme that emerged from those conversations was how staff and families work together to make Wilder a great place to be. Mrs. Wiegnandt, the former principal, shared that Wilder has the best. I find that to be very true.
The next phase is to meet all of the students and families! I could not be more excited about the start of the school year. Please stop by the office to introduce yourself when you are in the building. I appreciate your patience as I learn all new faces and names! Currently, I have learned the names of the students participating in Intro to Kindergarten. 15 names down, 155 to go!
Students and their parents are always eager to learn who their teacher will be for the coming school year. We will send each parent an email confirmation next week with this information. Thanks for your patience as we continue to update our rosters with students coming and going.
The Newsletter and other communications will continue to be delivered via email. Be certain to update your email address in Powerschool or call Anne with updates. The newsletter will also be available on our school website https://www.gfschools.org/. Just click on Wilder Elementary School under the “Choose your School” tab at the top.
Wilder staff take great pride in our school. Positive relationships among staff, students, and families are valued and promoted. Your child’s education and well-being is our priority. We know that a “sense of belonging” is imperative to student success, and we are continuing to foster that sense at Wilder. We look forward to partnering with parents to ensure our students continue to grow and learn at Wilder--where they belong!
Please note the important information that is linked to this newsletter. This includes applications for Encore and Free and Reduced Lunch.
Anne, our school office administrator, will be happy to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have. Be sure to call (701)746-2320 if we can help.
Sincerely,
Leslie Bjelde
Principal
Staff Updates
Mrs. Tetrault~ We have added another section of Kindergarten (Miss Abel will also be in Kindergarten).
Mrs. Bubendorf (former Miss Bosman~ Congratulations!) has moved to 3rd grade (Mrs. King will be our other 3rd-grade teacher).
Miss Irving will Co-teach with Mr. Boemann in 5th grade. Miss Irving and Mr. Boemann are piloting the Co-teaching model for elementary. Both will be responsible for teaching all students in 5th grade.
Mrs. Anderson will come to Wilder from Twining as our Speech Pathologist.
Mrs. Helgeson, our former Reading Specialist, will be our Instructional Design Coach.
Mrs. Biermaier, a former 1st-grade teacher from Lake Agassiz, will be our Reading Specialist.
Ms. Benjamin will be our Special Ed Resident teacher.
Please Join Us for Wilder's Back-to-School Open House!
Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 pm
- Meet your child's teacher and visit the classroom (Parents will receive a notification from the school prior to the open house so that you will know which teacher/classroom to visit.)
- Finalize registration requirements/paperwork
- Stop by the information booths in the gym to assist you with various back to school needs
- Meet your PTO representatives (and consider joining!) on the playground
- Also, if you would like, you can bring your school supplies at this time.
School Supply Lists
- Grand Forks Public Schools will once again use TeacherLists (LINK: https://www.teacherlists.com/) to share 2022-2023 school supply lists information with our families! This free tool allows families to find and shop their student's supply list easily with the convenience of one-click shopping or in-store pickup from several national retailers, including Target and Walmart. If you'd rather complete your shopping in-person, just visit the TeacherLists website to view/print your student's supply list. Here is a quick demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky63BjX4FYI
Upcoming Dates
AUGUST
Tuesday, August 23 - Wilder's Back-to-School Open House, 4:00-6:00 pm
Wednesday, August 24 - First Day of School!
SEPTEMBER
Friday, September 2 - Professional Development - NO SCHOOL
Monday, September 5 - Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, September 21 - Early Dismissal - SCHOOL OUT at 1:30 pm
Monday, September 26 - Picture Day (Caulfield's)
OCTOBER
Wednesday, October 5 - Early Dismissal - SCHOOL OUT at 1:30 pm
Thursday, October 13 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4:00-7:00pm
Friday, October 14 - Early Release at 11:20 am
Friday, October 14 - Parent/Teacher Conferences 11:20-4:00 pm
Tuesday, October 18- Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4:00-7:00 pm
Wednesday, October 19 - Professional Development - NO SCHOOL
Thursday, October 20- Administrator Convention Day - NO SCHOOL
Friday, October 21 - Administrator Convention Day - NO SCHOOL
DAILY SCHEDULES AND ROUTINES
Important School Times
School Begins: 8:25 am
Breakfast: Served from 7:40-8:15 am -- Use Door #1
School Dismissal Time: 3:00 pm -- Students will be dismissed through Door #4
Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up
Before School:
- Students not eating breakfast should be dropped off near door #4 on the East side of the school as close to 8:20 as possible. Students are not to arrive early or play on the unsupervised playground. They may stand nicely in a line outside door #4. Drop off your child along North 4th St.
- Students eating breakfast may arrive no earlier than 7:40 AM and will come in the main entrance in the parking lot, directly in front of the door.
- We encourage participation in the breakfast program. If your child will not be eating breakfast at school, but needs to be safely dropped off earlier than 8:20, please contact the office. We have limited space, beyond serving breakfast participants.
After School:
- Pick up your child along N. 4th Street. Students are dismissed through Door #4. Parents are expected to promptly meet their children outside at dismissal time. Each grade level will be lined up on the grassy area near the sidewalk along N. 4th St. They will be in order from building to fence: Grade K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- If you or your child need to cross the street to get to or return to your car, use the crosswalk. Playing on the playground is not an option, unless a parent is there to supervise.
- Students enrolled in Encore, the after school program on site, will not begin until Monday, August 30.
- In order for safe habits to be established, it is especially important that parents help their children follow our pick up and drop off routines and procedures.
Absences and Tardies
If you are taking your child out of school early for any reason, come to the office to sign them out. Please let your child's teacher know ahead of time if possible. Daily attendance is very important. If your child is not in school, he/she is missing out on very important learning. Tardies and early pick ups result in lost instruction as well.
Early Release Days
2022-2023 EARLY RELEASE WEDNESDAYS - 1:30 pm
September 21
October 5
November 2, 15, and 30
December14
January 18
February 8 and 22
March 8 and 29
April 12 and 26
May 10
On early release Wednesdays, students who are walking home or being picked up will dismiss from Door #4 promptly at 1:30 pm. Please plan accordingly.
Students enrolled in ENCORE's Early Out Club will report to their designated attendance location at Wilder at 1:30 pm.
Early Out Club will dismiss at 3:00 pm. Parents (of children not also enrolled in Encore) are to come to Door #1 (parking lot door) and sign their child out.
ENCORE (After School Program) Information
The ENCORE Office released registration information in an email to all Grand Forks Public School families at the end of July. Registration took place from August 1-8, but if you missed that notification or are new the the school system, the information about ENCORE is also summarized here, and contact information for the ENCORE office is provided.
Grand Forks Public Schools will offer the ENCORE (after-school) program at the following locations for the 2022-2023 school year: Ben Franklin, Century, Discovery, J Nelson Kelly, Lake Agassiz, Lewis and Clark, Phoenix, Viking, Wilder, and Winship elementary schools.
Everyone is welcome to apply for ENCORE. Registration is required, including re-registration even if enrolled last year. The first day of ENCORE will be August 29th, 2022.
It is important to note that we may not be able to accommodate all registrations. Physical space available and staffing ratios all play into how many students we can accommodate. Should we have to start with a waiting list, we will use our enrollment criteria (LINK: https://www.gfschools.org/Page/9449). It is always our hope to not have a waiting list. It is important to have backup after-school arrangements in place.
You will see below the monthly fee for ENCORE Programming:
Ben Franklin, Century, Lewis and Clark, Lake Agassiz, Phoenix, Viking, Wilder, Winship Elementary Schools
If you receive Free Meals, monthly pricing is
- 1 Student = $50; 2 Students = $60; 3 Students = $70
If your receive Reduced Price Meals, monthly pricing is
- 1 Student = $80; 2 Students = $90; 3 Students = $100
If you have Full Pay Meals, monthly pricing is:
- 1 Student = $150; 2 Students = $180; 3 Students = $210
The Early Dismissal Program
We will also continue to offer The Early Dismissal Program at Ben Franklin, Century, Discovery, J Nelson Kelly, Lake Agassiz, Lewis and Clark, Phoenix, Viking, Wilder, and Winship elementary schools. This program operates from 1:30-3 p.m. on 1:30 p.m. early dismissal Wednesdays for the 2022-2023 school year. This program is free and is being offered in cooperation with Grand Forks Public Schools. Registration for this program will also begin Monday, August 1st, and remain open until August 24th, 2022. Registration is required, including re-registration if enrolled last year. Registration options will be either online or paper form.
For additional information on the ENCORE program, please visit https://www.gfschools.org/encore. Please contact ENCORE at (701) 215-8041 if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Kayla Erickson, Director of ENCORE
FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH FORM
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
PowerSchool Online Registration
You should have received an Access ID and Password (specific to each child) previously for setting up your PowerSchool account, but if you have questions, please call the Wilder office at 701-746-2320.
Also, if you have moved and will not be returning for the 22-23 school year, please contact the office at 701-746-2320 to let us know.
Back-to-School Information from the School Nurse
- Back to School Health Checklist
- Medication at School
Wilder's "Food Brought From Home" Requirements
- "The Fruit and Vegetable Program" provides a free snack for all students on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, beginning in mid-September. These are fruits and vegetables.
- You may/should send a snack with your child, daily.
- Fruits and vegetables are good options. If you check ingredient labels to be certain items are not processed in a facility that also produces peanuts, you may send these items as a snack:
cheese sticks, yogurt, applesauce, pretzels, popcorn, fruit cups,
Goldfish crackers, graham crackers, animal crackers, raisins, dried fruit
- Cold lunches brought to school need to follow the same guidelines. No peanut products or tree nut products are allowed at school. What makes this difficult is that so many packaged "convenient" snacks are made in facilities that also produce peanut items. The nutrition label for packaged food items cannot say that it was "made in a facility that produces peanut or tree nut products."
- Birthday food treats for classroom sharing are not allowed. Non-food items such as stickers, pencils, or a classroom book or a game are an alternative, if you wish.
Emergency Response Guide for Grand Forks Public Schools
Wilder Elementary School
Email: afiala210@mygfschools.org
Website: https://www.gfschools.org/Domain/1087
Location: 1009 North 3rd Street
Phone: (701) 746-2320