Wilder Family,

This update of the Wilder Blast includes information about:

-Upcoming Events

-Attendance Goals

-Volunteer Information

-Book Fair Info

-Picture Re-take Info

-Transitional Transfer Info

-PTA Events & Updates

-Community Table Resources

It is a great time to be a Wildcat!

Adam Bax

Principal

Nov. 13-17 -- Book Fair in Library

Nov. 14 -- Picture Re-take day

Nov. 15 -- Family Day @ the Book Fair (see schedule below)

Nov. 16 -- SPS U @ Glendale - 5:30-8:00

Nov. 20-24 -- NO SCHOOL--Thanksgiving Break

Nov. 21 -- Happy birthday to Ms. Browning!

Dec. 8 -- Happy birthday to Ms. Moore!

Dec. 17 -- Happy birthday to Ms. Greer!

Dec. 18 -- Happy birthday to Ms. Howser & Ms. Jill Long (PAT)!

Dec. 19 -- Happy birthday to Ms. Kristi!

Dec. 19 -- 2/3 Musical @ 6:30 @ Field Elementary gym

Dec. 22 -- Last day of 2nd quarter

Dec. 22 -- Holiday parties from 1:00-2:00

Dec. 25-Jan. 3 -- NO SCHOOL--Winter Break

Jan. 4 -- Start of 3rd Quarter

Jan. 4 -- Happy birthday to Ms. Ott!

Good attendance matters! Research has proven that good attendance supports high levels of student achievement. When students miss frequently they miss out on valuable learning, fall behind their peers, and it can place them at risk for dropping out of school.

This year, our goal at Wilder is to maintain at least 95% attendance for the school year. Did you know that if a student misses more than 1 day a month on average they will not reach this target. In addition, arriving late frequently adds up to large amounts of instructional time missed. To help achieve our goal it takes everyone working together.

The past several years Wilder has not met attendance targets established by the state. We know that poor attendance impacts our students in a negative way, but we also lose points on our MSIP report card. Last year, Wilder received 0 out of 4 points for our attendance rate.

Here is our plan to help support high levels of attendance for our students.

• We will monitor attendance and tardies weekly for all students.
• Monthly, attendance letters will be mailed out to all students at 94% or below.
• Any student who has missed 5 or more days of school for the semester will be contacted by our counselor to offer support and see how we can assist.
• Any student who has missed 8 or more days of school for the semester will be contacted by Mr. Bax to set up an attendance meeting.

Again, our goal is for student success and we appreciate your support! We know that there are times and instances where students are absent for legitimate reasons for multiple days. When these situations arise, we encourage you to be in contact with the office so we can note those absences accordingly.

We love our volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering within SPS this year you can find all the information you need using this link.

One question we typically get is the difference between a visitor and a volunteer.

• VOLUNTEERS are adults who assist teachers, administrators, or other staff in public school classrooms, schools, or school district programs who do not receive compensation for their work.
• A VISITOR is a parent, relative, or other adult with permission of the child's parent or guardian who visits the school for a specific event or reason, or attends an off-campus school-sponsored event. There is no reasonable expectation that a visitor would be alone with a child other than their own.
  

Returning volunteers: A volunteer form is required to be filled out each school year. Background checks must only be completed every 7 years as they are only valid for 6 years.

The Fall Book Fair will be held November 13-17 in the library. We will have be having spirit days each day of the week (see image below). In addition, on Wednesday (15th) will be our Family Day at the Book Fair. All visitors will be required to sign in to Hall Pass and will be given a visitor badge. If you have never utilized Hall Pass before in the district, you will be required to provide a photo ID to get registered. We will not be able to allow visitors to eat lunch with their child/grandchild due to space restrictions.

We anticipate a large number of visitors on Wednesday. To best distribute the large number of visitors and to reduce classroom disruptions, we are recommending that you attend at the times listed below. If you are unable to attend during this timeframe, you may attend at other times. In addition, we ask that no visitors arrive before 8:00 or after 1:45 due to arrival and dismissal times.

Kindergarten & Wonder Years: 12:00-1:00

1st Grade: 1:00-1:45

2nd Grade: 9:30-10:30

3rd Grade: 9:00-10:00

4th Grade: 8:00-9:00

5th Grade: 8:30-9:30

We are very excited to be able to provide this opportunity for our families to shop at the Fall Book Fair. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the office at 523-5300.

WILDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Absentee/Retake Day Picture Day is:

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Wagner Portrait Group will be at school to photograph any students who were absent on the initial picture day or any student that needs his/her picture retaken.

If you are having a picture taken as a RETAKE, please make sure your student returns their package in its entirety, including the package insert sheet, to the photographer on retake day.
(Feel free to attach a note to describe what you’d like us to do differently.)

FOR ABSENTEE STUDENTS-

https://bit.ly/44K17bo

www.WagnerPortraitGroup.com

Online Pre-Order Password: 6D6T2S6Z

Can’t order online or have other questions? We are happy to help! 314-567-5900

Thank you for your help to prepare for a great picture day! We appreciate you!

Fifth-graders may apply for Transitional Transfer for the 2024-2025 school year beginning Nov. 1, 2023.

SPS fifth-graders have the opportunity to request a Transitional Transfer for the 2024-2025 school year to a middle school of their choice that is open to transfers. Students interested in this option may submit requests between 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 1st, and 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8th.

This type of transfer is offered as part of Springfield Public Schools’ open enrollment option. If your child plans to attend the middle school assigned to them based on the student’s home address, no action is needed.

If your child is on transfer to a current elementary school and you would like for them to attend the connected middle school you will need to submit a request to transitionally transfer to that middle school.

The transitional transfer request form for the 2024-2025 school year must be completed electronically. Requests are granted on a first come, first served basis determined by an electronic time/date stamp.

If your student is interested, visit www.sps.org/transfers to learn more.

During this month of thankfulness we want to take time to thank our wonderful teachers! Help us flood the teacher's lounge with words of encouragement for teachers and staff. Simply visit https://tinyurl.com/WilderThankATeacher2023 to write a note and it will be transferred to a Post-It Note and hung up in the lounge. We will continue to add all month, so keep it coming! Thanks!

Mark your calendars for November 13-17 as Book Fair returns! Family Day will be Wednesday, November 15.

We are looking for more businesses to partner with Wilder PTA! Your tax-deductible sponsorship will be used to fund teacher grants that enrich their classrooms and students experiences, provide resources to host community building events and support our students immediate needs to heath and safety.

Each of the three levels of Annual Business Partnership includes marketing benefits to your business. The earlier you become a Business Sponsor , the more exposure your company will have to our school and community.

Sponsor now by filling out our online form. Click here for the form.

Questions? Contact Tanya Johnson here for more information.

Thank you to those who have already chosen to partner with us!

• Tanya Bower-Johnson, Murney Associates Realtors
• Vivo Salon
• Chris Lock, KW Realtor
• Julie Allen, Cantrell Real Estate

Due to Book Fair happening in the library the week of our November meeting, we will be moving the meeting to Friday. If you can, we'd appreciate any help we can get packing up book fair.

We are looking for Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles, Brothers, and/or other male role models to join Watch D.O.G.S. - Dads Of Great Students. The goal is to provide extra sets of eyes and ears to enhance school security and reduce bullying. We are going to start with shifts on Mondays from 7 - 9am and Fridays from 12:45pm - the end of car line. No long term commitment. We would love lots of men to get involved with this! To claim a date or ask questions, call or text David Ybarra at 636-281-6160.

Thanks for all who came out to Fall Fun Fest! We had over 250 kids in the building!

This section of the newsletter will include any community resources provided to us by community organizations. These resources are also found on the Community Table right outside the office. These are provided as a resource to our families and are not endorsed by the school or district.