Wildcat Weekly
August 10th Edition
Ring, Ring, Is Anyone Home?
Homework, Homework...Give Me a Break!
- Ensure parents and students understand that the new policy is NOT a "no homework policy."
- Encourage parents and students to share concerns related to homework as they occur in order to address the concerns.
- Help teachers enhance the way in which feedback is given to students and ensure students understand that feedback does not always mean a grade.
- Focus on the purpose of the assignment and avoid frivolous assignments and "busy work".
- Publicize our WCASD Extensions website for parents who desire additional ways to extend learning beyond homework.
- Periodically review homework as grade level teams to try and maintain similar expectations and workload.
Speaking of Homework...Have You Completed Your Back-to-School Paperwork?
A Note from the Nurse's Office
Hello WTE Staff and Parents,
My name is Jeanne Latimer. I have been a school nurse for WCASD for the past 10 years. I am happy to say that I will be the new Certified School Nurse at WTE. Eileen Bevenour will be the staff nurse working with me. Between the two of us, we have experience managing a wide range of school health issues and student needs. Together we will do all that we can to make sure that our students are in the best possible health and ready to learn. To promote this goal, we are making some small system changes.
Food Allergies: As we strive to promote our practices of ensuring a safe environment for our students to learn and grow, we are making some small adjustments to the guidelines for our cafe Nut-Free Table usage:
- Only students with nut-related allergies will be invited to sit at the table.
- Parents must complete the school form if they wish their child to sit at the Nut-Free table.
- If a student is assigned to sit the Nut-Free table and wishes to have one friend sit with him/her, the friend must buy lunch from the cafeteria.
- The content of lunches will no longer be checked by school staff.
Student Health Screening Time: In order to expedite mandatory student health screening, the nurses office will be closed to routine care from 9:30-10:30 am every day. The office is open to emergencies. Teachers will be asked to sign up their classes for a screening day.
More information about food allergies and student health screening is available at the Nurses Office website: https://sites.google.com/wcasd.net/health-office-news
As always, thanks for your feedback. Jeanne
WTE Book Club for Parents
Since the book is divided into 3 parts, we have scheduled 3 meeting dates:
- Thursday, October 11th from 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM – Part I [Chapters 1-4] This is the hour prior to a PTO meeting. Hopefully, you can do both!
- Thursday, November 29th from 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM – Part II [Chapters 5-9]
- Thursday, January 17th from 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM – Part II [Chapter 10-12 and conclusion]
I am working on securing babysitters.
We Are Getting Closer!
At the moment, we have a little over 500 students for the new school year. This is up a bit from last year. The growth is distributed across the grade levels but did result in the expansion of our 2nd Grade team to include Nicole Katich. Other new staff include:
- Megan Elder - Band
- Kinsey Sullivan - Strings
- Jeanne Latimer - Certified School Nurse
- Eileen Bevenour - Registered Nurse
- Elizabeth Wilson - Speech
There are a couple of more positions we are in the process of finalizing to complete staffing. We are no longer designated as a Title I school. Data is pulled annually to determine which schools in our district qualify for the additional funding and support. As a result, we will have 2 Reading Specialists instead of 2.8 to service the building.
In the next couple of weeks, you can expect to get information from our central office regarding back to school processes and procedures. The Parent Portal opens mid-August and it will be your way of getting your child's class placement and to access the back to school website to complete all of the paperwork! Yes, it is the start of parent homework for the 2018-19 school year. Please know that we appreciate your attention to the opening paperwork completed online because it makes for a much smoother start.
Last Call for Magazines!
2018-19 Bus Information
Dr. Florio, Director of Elementary Education, emailed families earlier in the month with school bus information. As a reminder, you should receive your bus stop assignment in the mail the week of August 13.
A couple of other important points:
- If you require a different bus stop due to daycare, including students who attend A Child’s Place before school or after school, please click the link below, print and complete the form, then return it to the school office. https://www.wcasd.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=266
- Families are permitted to have two bus stops; both stops must be in the WTE attendance area.
Before & After Care
The WCASD contracts with A Child’s Place to offer a program in each elementary school from 7AM-6PM.
ACT NOW as space is limited! To secure your spot, contact Tara Atene via email at tara@acpec.com or call her at 610.304.5374 before 8/10/18. Registration will be closed from Friday, August 10 until Tuesday, September 4. ACP will not be able to add students during this time.