The Monthly Mustang
The Official Newsletter for Wedgwood School Families
SEPTEMBER 2020 Part II - The Return To Wedgwood Edition
Before The First Day
We are very excited to see our students who will be receiving hybrid instruction return to Wedgwood next week! This year will feature routines and procedures that will be new for all of our students. As such, our staff and students will be spending plenty of time building and practicing new habits aimed at keeping Wedgwood a place that's safe for all.
As we prepare for our students' return, there are several new procedures in place that we would like to share.
- Our Hybrid Schedule will begin on September 21. Students in Cohort A will begin Monday, September 21 and students in Cohort B will begin Thursday, September 24.
- All students who are in Cohorts A, B, or C will need to have the COVID-19 Pledge Form completed in Unified Classroom before attending school. Please contact our Main Office with any questions about completing the pledge.
- During hybrid instruction the school day will begin at 9:30 a.m.
- The dismissal of walkers will be staggered in the afternoon. Students whose last name begins with letters A-L will be dismissed at 1:20 p.m. Students whose last name begins with M-Z will be dismissed at 1:25 p.m. Kids Choice and bus students will be dismissed at 1:30 p.m.
- Bus passes and transportation information was emailed to parents earlier this week. If you have a question about your child's busing, please contact the transportation office at (856) 589-9190.
Please remember that all students and staff will be following all required safety guidelines upon returning to school. This includes wearing face masks, maintaining social distance and washing their hands regularly while at school.
The First Day Of School
- Students will enter the building upon arrival and will be escorted by staff members to their classrooms.
- Buses will begin arriving in the parking lot at 9:20 a.m., and parents driving students to school should plan to arrive between 9:15 and 9:25 a.m.
- Once inside, students will follow directional arrows and maintain six feet of distance as they proceed to their classrooms.
- So that staff can assist students and children in the primary grades, please print the name of your child, grade, and teacher on an index card in case they forget who their teacher is on the first day.
- Please take first day photos at home prior to coming to school. There will not be an opportunity to do so once you have dropped your child off at school.
- For the safety of all, no visitors will be allowed to enter the building.
Additional Reminders
Signing Students In Late/Out Early
All students being signed in/out of school must be accompanied by an authorized adult. After being buzzed into the building, the parent/guardian will remain in the vestibule, asked to present ID, and will sign out the student out without entering the main lobby. Please know that students who arrive tardy or leave early for in person instruction may be marked absent for the day as the schedule is already abbreviated. We ask that families make every effort to arrive and leave Wedgwood on time.
If your student is planning on attending in person instruction days, please be sure to send them to school with their fully charged district-issued device so that they may participate in all of the day's lessons.
Families in need of tech support during remote learning are asked to submit their request, including your child's name, PIN/ID number (if available), and a description of the issue to studenthelp@wtps.org.
Library Books
Our library media specialist, Mrs. Dabrowski, has been working hard with her assistants to create a plan to get books into the hands of our students this year. In order to take out a book from the library students will need to have returned all outstanding library books. If you have a Wedgwood School Library book that has not been returned, please return with your son or daughter or drop off to Wedgwood School.
Forms
Please be sure to complete all required forms in Unified Classroom for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. They include the Health Information, Health Authorization, and Student Contacts forms.
Student Materials Pick Up
Any materials that students will need from school will be distributed to our remote students on Wednesday, September 30 throughout the day, and on Thursday, October 1 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. A schedule will be forthcoming with each classroom's pick up time.
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT: A VIRTUAL EVENT!
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Please review the following information regarding Wedgwood School's arrival and dismissal procedures. For the safety of all, it is critical that both students and families practice social distancing during arrival and dismissal at Wedgwood.
Walking Students
- Walking students are to arrive at the school not earlier than 9:20 AM
- The dismissal of walkers will be staggered in the afternoon. Students whose last name begins with letters A-L will be dismissed at 1:20 p.m. Students whose last name begins with M-Z will be dismissed at 1:25 p.m. This includes those who will be picked up by a parent/guardian.
- Students walking home will exit down the walkers' path at the back of the school, toward Dorado Avenue.
Students Dropped Off
- All traffic must enter the Wedgwood parking lot through the entrance designated in the diagram above.
- Cars are to move all of the way forward in the drop off line before releasing students for arrival.
- Students who are dropped off to school will enter the building via the door by the playground.
- Students are to be dropped off to school no earlier than 9:15 a.m.
- Parents/Guardians who are dropping students off must do so by allowing them to exit the vehicle along the sidewalk on the side of the building. Please do not park your car and drop off your child from the parking lot. Once your child has exited the vehicle, please continue on the drop-off loop as detailed in the illustration above.
Students Picked Up
- Students who will be picked up by a parent will exit the school from the door by the playground. Wedgwood staff will supervise all students until a parent comes and personally escorts the child to the vehicle.
- The dismissal of walkers will be staggered in the afternoon. Students whose last name begins with letters A-L will be dismissed at 1:20 p.m. Students whose last name begins with M-Z will be dismissed at 1:25 p.m.
- All parents/guardians who wish to pick up their students at dismissal or who require alternative arrangements for pickup must notify the main office in writing. All written notification should be directed to your child's classroom teacher as well as our main office secretary, Mrs. Crosby, so that your child's needs can be met. She can be reached at bcrosby@wtps.org. Students are not permitted to verbally tell Wedgwood staff that they require alternative arrangements for pickup; all requests must be made in writing by the student's parent/guardian. If a teacher does not receive a note about the change in the child’s regular dismissal, the child will be sent home on his/her assigned bus.
- Students who are scheduled to be picked up and do not have a parent/guardian present at the time of dismissal will be brought to the main office. As per district policy, we will attempt to contact the parent(s) and/or emergency contacts on file. If no contact can be made within 30 minutes following school dismissal, the main office will coordinate efforts with the Washington Township Police Department to make contact with the student's parent/guardian.
- Parents/guardians are responsible for reviewing the school calendar and complying with all school dismissal times and procedures.
Regular Dismissal
- Students will board the buses in the loading area at the front of the school. Parents who are picking students up must their child’s teacher and the main office prior to the start of that school day.
- Parents must personally sign their child out of school.
- If a teacher does not receive a note about the change in the child’s regular dismissal, the child will be sent home on his/her assigned bus. Students are not permitted to ride any other bus but the one that is assigned to them.
Snack Guidelines For Your Child
Each day your child will have an opportunity to have snack. We request that you send a small snack and beverage from home each day. Children will also be encouraged to bring in water bottles daily as the water fountains will not be available for use by the students and staff. Please send only one kind of healthy snack food per day. We encourage you to pack all snacks in disposable containers or brown paper bags so that students are not bringing containers back and forth to school. As a reminder, please keep us up to date on any food allergy restrictions your child may have. Hand washing and clean up procedures will be reviewed and practiced daily during snack time.
Snack Ideas
- Pretzels
- Fresh Fruit (ready to eat)
- Canned fruit in individual cans
- Rice cakes
- Crackers
- Fresh Veggies (ready to eat)
- Cheese cubes or string cheese
- Applesauce
If utensils are needed, please be sure they are disposable. Please avoid cake, candy, chips, cookies, fruit roll ups, popcorn, and soda.
Lunch Distribution During Hybrid Schedule
Due to a waiver granted by the United States Department of Agriculture and adopted by the State of New Jersey, breakfast and lunch will be available for all students at no cost until either December 31, 2020, or until the funding is exhausted, whichever is sooner.
Meals will be delivered to the classrooms at the end of the day for students who are in attendance for in-person instruction. Meals will not be eaten at school nor can they be eaten on the bus. If your child is attending the Kids Choice program after school, they will eat at the program.
- Students in Cohort A and C will receive Monday and Tuesday's meals on Monday afternoon. They will receive Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday's meals on Tuesday.
- Students in Cohort B will receive Thursday and Friday’s meals on Thursday. They will receive Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday’s meals on Friday.
- Students in Cohort D - FULLY REMOTE can pick up Monday and Tuesday’s meals on Monday and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday’s meals on Tuesday. The pick-up will be from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Mondays and Tuesdays. Pick up will be at the kitchen door on the side of the school, near the cafeteria. If you have questions regarding pick up, please contact food services at (856) 582-4010.
If you would like your child to receive lunch, please email your child’s teacher prior to the start of the school day. Your child will be dismissed at the end of the day with the lunches for those days specified above. The menu for the first week of school can be found below. Meals are prepackaged and not able to be altered. Again, by ordering lunch on Monday, you are automatically receiving meals for two days, and on Tuesday you will be receiving meals for three days. By ordering lunch on Thursday, you are automatically receiving meals for two days, and on Friday you will be receiving meals for three days.
Important Information From Our Wedgwood Health Office
Parent Resources
- Learning from home is definitely different than learning at school. It requires students, families, and teachers to work together like never before in order to overcome challenges and make instruction happen. Check out these helpful tips for establishing virtual meeting etiquette with your children at home.
- Let's be honest...The Technology Can Feel Like A Lot! We're fortunate that we have the resources in Washington Township to leverage technology as a way to make learning happen anywhere, at any time, and in any place. But we've all had to work toward mastering new and sometimes confusing tools along the way. Our district's talented Technology Integration Specialists have put together a fantastic resource to help us help our kids! It's a one-stop shop for information about how to support your student's use of programs like Schoology, ClassLink, Seesaw, FlipGrid, and PowerSchool! Be sure to bookmark this EdTech Resource Guide For Parents
- Remote Wednesdays are one of the key features of our Hybrid Schedule. Click here to learn more about how all of our students will learn on Wednesdays this school year.
- Looking for a quick reference to help plan for holidays and confirm which days students are in person versus remote? Our WTPS Cohort Calendar for the 2020-2021 school year (pictured below) is a great resource for families. Here's a link for a printable PDF copy.
Wedgwood Elementary School
Email: czimmerman@wtps.org
Website: wtps.org/wedgwood
Location: 236 Hurffville Road, Sewell, NJ 08080
Phone: (856) 227-8110
Facebook: facebook.com/wedgwoodwtps
Twitter: @wedgwoodwtps