News from the Nest

• Monday, March 13 - Battle of the Books Competition
• Tuesday, March 21/Wednesday, March 22 - NC Check-ins (3rd & 4th Grade Assessments)
• Friday, March 24 - Early Dismissal (12:25 pm)
• Monday, March 27 - Spring Pictures and Class Pictures
• Tuesday, March 28 - Spring Holiday Meal for 2nd Grade Families (more info to come!)
• April 3-7 - Spring Break - No school
• Friday, April 21 - Leadership Day (more info to come!)
• Friday, April 28 - Weaverville Schools PTO hosts Spring Fling at Weaverville Primary!
• Friday, May 26 - Reading EOG for 3rd & 4th grades
• Wednesday, May 31 - Math EOG for 3rd & 4th grades

Thank you for taking time to look through our Lost & Found last week! Our students also had a chance to look through items, so we hope everyone reunited with some long-lost sweaters, jackets, or whatever else you were missing. I actually found my son's jacket and one of his sweatshirts in the pile! You really just never know...

Here are some important reminders as we head into another great week:

• Congratulations to our 4th Grade Math Team! BCS hosted an Elevating Elementary Math Competition on March 1st and Buncombe County Schools District Office. The competition challenged 206 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders from across the district to apply what they’ve learned in school to solve unique problems in new and unusual ways. The timed questions encourage creativity, innovative thinking, and adaptability. Thank you to Ms. Yopp and Mr. Massey for coaching our math team!
• Our Weaverville 4th Grade team won 1st Place out of all competing 4th grade teams in the district! Team members were Jackson B., Tyler P., Cole W., Hunter G.
• Congratulations to Jackson B. for scoring in the top 10 for the Individual Student Performance.

• Monday is the last day to get your sponsorship form in to be included on the official Weaverville Schools PTO Spring Fling T-shirt. It's also the last day to order a spring fling t-shirt! The original deadline was March 10th, but PTO has extended it one more week day since Friday was a work day and we didn't have school. in for Spring Fling!
• Here's a copy of the sponsorship form in case you missed it.
• Here's the copy of the t-shirt order form in case you missed it.

• EOG Assessment Dates Announced: As we wrap up the last half of the third quarter of the year, I want to remind families that it's super important that students are present for our state and district end-of-year assessments in May. 3rd and 4th grade families: Please plan to have your child attend the last 10 days of school.
• Friday, May 26 - Reading EOG for 3rd & 4th Grades
• Wednesday, May 31 - Math EOG for 3rd & 4th Grades

• For our families, adults and students who don't have access to dental: Zoe Dental has a free clinic on Saturday, April 22nd. Registration starts at 7 am but many people line up much earlier. Each person can receive a free cleaning OR extraction OR filling. People should bring warm clothes, a chair, snacks and drinks as they will be waiting outside until they are seen. Questions? Contact Laura Cleaveland, Spanish Speaking Social Worker - 828-777-2698 cell.

Repeat Reminders:

• Spring pictures are coming up on Monday, March 27! Take a look at the information below. We'll also be doing class pictures on March 27th.

• Our Spring Holiday Meal will be happening on Tuesday, March 28th. 2nd Grade Families are invited to attend. You can pay ahead of time by loading money on your child's account, or you can pay when you arrive. 2nd Graders eat between 12:00 and 1:00, so you can make a general plan. Your child's teacher will send more specific information about the lunch time for your child's class.

Thanks for all you do to support your child's success at school each day!

-Mary Nichols

Principal

Weaverville Elementary

Previous Weeks' News from the Nest

Buncombe County Schools will be administering the Cognitive Abilities Aptitude Screening test to all 3rd graders in our district. This testing will occur at our school sometime during the testing window of March 6th to April 14. The exact date will be determined soon by scheduling with your child’s homeroom.

Your child was recently given a parent letter regarding specific details of this test. If you do not wish for your child to take this screening test, you must return the signed parent letter to school. The screening will be completed online in the classroom on our student devices. It is a 30 minute test.

• Your child does not need to do anything to prepare for the test.
• Results are confidential and will be used to screen for gifted services only.
• Buncombe County Schools will provide the test results to you at the next report card.

If you have any questions regarding this screening, please email me directly at Tera.Yopp@bcsemail.org.

-Tera Yopp

AIG Teacher

Weaverville Schools Counselors are looking for volunteers who would like to be a mentor to our students. Here's more information! Please let us know if you are interested.

• Free/Reduced Lunch Application: www.lunchapplication.com
• Please do not check your child out between 1:55-2:55 so that we can have a safe and calm dismissal for students each day.
• Please always let us know in writing if there is a transportation change for your child.
• Please let us know by 1:00 pm if you are changing your child's regular dismissal procedure.

Thank you for taking time to read the BCS letter that was sent this past week about inclement weather closures and what happens for student learning on those days when the school building is closed. In order to prepare for those kinds of days, our teachers are being proactive and we want you to know how to access information about remote learning if the need arises.

• Let your child’s teacher know if you need a hot spot. We depend on you letting us know this information. I encourage you to do this sooner rather than later.

  
  

• Make sure your child knows how to sign onto the internet at your home, using your child’s school issued device. Teachers have been sending devices home to make sure students know how to log on from home.

  
  

• Read your child’s teacher’s emails about where to find information like the schedule and other remote learning resources. Teachers will be sending this information home by December 9th.
  

• Take care of your child's device. Please read this letter from Buncombe County Schools about the importance of taking care of school-issued devices. Our school must pay for all damage to devices, and in some circumstances, if damage results from neglect or inappropriate use, we will send a bill to parents.

To keep us all prepared, I’ve put together all the remote learning information in one place.

Use this link to find information about remote learning at WvES.

Thank you for taking the time to be prepared for remote learning days!

Don't forget that our students, staff, and visitors have access to masks all day long. We have regular 3-ply masks and KN95 masks available. Masks are available in the front office, and we have reminders at hand-sanitizing stations that you can get a mask in the front office.

If a student requests a KN95 mask, we must have parent permission since it is considered a respirator. Parents must complete the Voluntary Respirator Use Form and sign and return. Here is a link to the form. If a student requests a KN95 mask, and we do not already have the form on file, we will email it to parent/guardians for you to sign.

Phone: 828-645-3127

Address: 129 South Main St., Weaverville, NC 28787

Email:

Mary Nichols - Principal (Mary.nichols@bcsemail.org)

*Please email both office staff if you have a dismissal change.

Dawn Flanigan-Bryson - Data Manager (dawn.flanigan-bryson@bcsemail.org)

• attendance
• student information/records
• immunizations
• enrollment

Ashley Mendoza - Head Secretary (Ashley.mendoza@bcsemail.org)

• general inquiries
• money questions related to school
• bus questions

• If a student tests positive for COVID (at home or at a healthcare provider), they would isolate for 5 days from when their symptoms began. We will recognize the guidelines established by the CDC and NCDHHS regarding the use of a face covering to be worn for days 6-10 upon return to school.
  
  

• Our normal exclusionary symptoms of fever, diarrhea, and vomiting are in effect. If a student has a fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, they must remain at home until symptoms are resolved for 24 hours.
  
  

• Hand hygiene, enhanced cleaning protocols, and improved ventilation are all still priorities and important mitigating strategies.
  
  

• Face coverings remain optional, to be worn by anyone at anytime.
  
  

• Physical distancing such as 3 ft or 6 ft apart is no longer required.
  
  

• Contact tracing is not required.
  
  

• Following the guidelines established by the CDC and NCDHHS, MAHEC will not be providing rapid antigen testing in our schools. Staff and families may order at home tests for free via this link: https://www.covid.gov/tests.
  
  

• MAHEC will send home further guidance regarding when students need to stay home due to an illness.

• For students where an absence is Covid related please indicate this in your parent or health provider's note.

• Students/teachers will follow the same guidelines for makeup work as they would for any other illness or injury.