Wildcat News
October 8th, 2021
Message from our Principal
Dear Families,
I cannot believe we are done with the 1st week of October! We have had a very eventful week at FWE. Our first FWE Principal Chat facilitated by Kathy Jackson was a huge success. Thank you all to those that attended. We appreciate your feedback and partnership in our students’ education.
In addition, we have been busy at work interviewing potential candidates for our posted positions. Per our previous newsletters, we will be adding two primary teachers and an intermediate teacher (Kindergarten, 1st/2nd grade split, and another 4th/5ht grade split). Our numbers have continued to increase as the year has progressed. These new classrooms will be critical to safety and learning as the classrooms will become more manageable. We will be proceeding with a stand alone 1st/2nd grade split because we were able to find an experienced teacher to fill the role. This is different from the 4th/5th grade splits because we have new teachers that need mentorship from strong veteran teachers. Please stay tuned for information pertaining to a timeline next week.
Office staff will be making phone calls to families and emailing letters to those that will be impacted by the change. We understand that parents may have a number of questions about what a combination class means for their child. Please see answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQs) below.
FAQs:
How are class lists formed?
Formulating student classroom assignments is a very complex process. It involves the input of each classroom teacher who worked most closely with the children throughout the previous year, any input received from parents in the spring, as well as the input of school administration. Many factors are considered as staff work together to develop educationally and socially sound groupings for each classroom. During this important process, we carefully evaluate the social, academic, and emotional needs of every child prior to assignment.
Why was my child placed in a combination class?
As detailed above, professional staff carefully consider each and every student prior to assignment in a combination class. Students are not randomly placed, because we want to make sure each child has a successful experience. When selecting students for combination classes, we consider many factors to set the class up for success. Often students recommended for a combination class have demonstrated qualities such as: hard working, self-motivation, leadership, and students who can mesh with the other students academically in core subjects. Combination classes create an amazing chance for older students to take leadership roles and for younger students to benefit from interactions with older peers.
How will my child’s academic needs be addressed?
One of our core duties at school is to teach academic subjects that grow a child’s learning from the level they are currently at. In any classroom, whether it is a combination class or single grade, we have a wide range of strengths and needs. Teachers differentiate within any setting to meet those individual needs of each child. In this year’s 1st/2nd & 4th/5th grade combination class, we will be addressing academic needs in a few ways:
Students will receive instruction at their grade level. Teaching teams differentiate the instruction to meet the needs of the learners.
An amazing aspect of our curriculum is that the themes and lessons for each unit are able, and intended, to be adapted and responsive to individual students in each classroom. This means that each child in the combination class will be given instruction and materials appropriate to their reading level in order to allow them to grow as readers.
Our science curriculum will be taught pulling lessons from both grades, giving students an opportunity to explore new science concepts hands-on.
We are excited to see our students begin to create positive class communities and move forward with student learning. I thank you in advance for supporting us in the work we do! If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
A couple more things we would like to highlight are:
Conference Week will be the last week of October. Conferences will be via Zoom. Office staff are working on creating time slots for individual appointments for families along with interpreters if needed.
With the return to school, we have seen an increase in behaviors during transitions and on the playground. Please know we are constantly teaching into these issues as they arise. We would appreciate your support in having conversations with your child regarding appropriate behavior for school vs. behavior at home with siblings. For example, roughhousing, i.e. pushing, kicking, punching, tripping, etc… are not ways we interact with our classmates at school. We recognize our students have been out of school for more than a year. With that said, we would like to partner with you in reminding students that school is for learning (not a preferred activity at times). We have to follow classroom and school wide expectations when we become frustrated. Each classroom has a calming corner with fidget activities. We also have our R.O.A.R room for those students that need a space other than their classroom to decompress. Using our words is key to having a successful day at school. If there is an issue at recess, please encourage your child to tell a recess para on duty or fill out a communication slip which allows Mrs. Henderson and I to do a thorough investigation. If the issue involves bullying, Mrs. Simeoni uses this language when working in the counseling office with students:
IS IT BULLYING???
When someone says or does something unintentionally hurtful and they do it once, that’s rude.
When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful and they do it once, that’s mean.
When someone says or does something intentionally hurtful and they keep doing it even when you tell them to stop or show them that you are upset, that’s bullying.
Please partner with us in following procedures for dismissal. Please do not arrive before 3:05 p.m., if you do so, please park next to Wagner Center. Please remember the grass area becomes crowded when walkers & parents are leaving campus. Walkers must go through the gym, so please do not call students from car pick-up. When we all follow the dismissal directions, we do notice our dismissal is more efficient.
Please remember that while we are not requiring paper attestations this year, students and/or their guardians are required to screen for symptoms of COVID-19 prior to the arrival of school. Masks are required for all on campus, regardless of vaccination status. The only masks that are not acceptable, per the Health Department, are mesh masks and gaters with only one level of fabric. All other masks will work and we always have masks available if students need one.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Hugo
Mark your Calendar
October 8th - Parents are welcome to go through our lost and found in the tent near our outdoor garden.
October 12th - First YOFORIT Fundraiser of this school year.
October 25th-29th- Parent/Teacher Conferences via ZOOM
November 10th - Picture Retake Day
FWE YOFORIT Fundraiser
Our first YFI Night is THIS TUESDAY, October 12th. The official hours are 5 - 8PM but you can arrive earlier or later - just have to mention Frank Wagner Boosters for us to get credit.
Facemasks
You’ve heard that October is bullying prevention month but what exactly is bullying?
Bullying is: Repeated physical, verbal, or psychological attacks or intimidation against a person who cannot properly defend themselves. This can include teasing, , spreading rumors, leaving kids out on purpose, hurting someone, attacking someone by hitting them or yelling at them, stealing or damaging their belongings and name calling .
1 out of 5 students report being bullied.
160,000 teens skip school because of bullying.
77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally, and physically.
Bullying can, among other things, cause anxiety, fear, withdrawal, low-self-esteem and poor concentration.
Together we can stop bullying.
57% of bullying situations stop when a friend steps in to help. Step in, be kind, be respectful, help each other. Let’s make every month anti-bullying month. Learn more by watching these videos:
Signing Students Out of School
Extra Clothes
Lost and Found
Student Race & Ethnicity Data Collection
Recently, there was a change in federal and state law that affects how student ethnicity and race data is collected by school districts. This change now requires schools to have this data recorded for every student.
As a result, we are required to ask families to verify their child as either Hispanic/Latino or not Hispanic/Latino AND by one or more of 217 racial groups. We ask that families please respond to the two questions in Family Access for each of their students currently enrolled.
While families are not required to verify the race and ethnicity of their students, we are required as a school district to submit this data to comply with federal and state law. We will make two attempts to reach families with the request to submit their child's ethnicity and race category. If there is no response, schools are required to make the ethnicity and race selection for the student.
Changes to your child's end of day plans
COVID Protocols and Preventions
Our best preventions for COVID are Masks Up over our noses, Hand Washing frequently, and Physical Distancing from others as best we can.
If your child is not feeling well, please make sure they do not come to school. Call the attendance line or the office and communicate the symptoms your student is experiencing.
If an adult or other family member in your home has symptoms and is getting tested, PLEASE keep your child home from school until the test results are in. If the results are positive then your child is a “close contact” and needs to be home quarantined. If they come to school and then become positive, then they are potentially exposing others.
Our district website has a COVID-19 page that includes the Latest Updates.
Skyward Family Access
Contact Us.
Frank Wagner Elementary
Main Line (360)804-3200
Attendance Line (360)804-3201
Principal: Hugo Molina
Vice Principal: Deb Henderson
Office Manager: Col Wolf
Office Assistant: Karina Blanquet
NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Monroe School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:
Title IX Coordinator
Joanne Dickinson
14692 - 179th Avenue S.E., Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2539
Section 504/ADA Coordinator
David Paratore
14692 - 179th Avenue S.E., Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2603
Compliance Coordinator for 28A.640 and 28A.642 RCW
Joanne Dickinson
14692 - 179th Avenue S.E., Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2532
The Monroe School District will also take steps to assure that national origin persons who lack English language skills can participate in all education programs, services and activities. For information regarding translation services or transitional bilingual education programs, contact:
Kimberly Whitworth
14692 - 179th Avenue S.E., Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2558