Wrightstown Ravens' News
February 12th Edition
Dear WES Families,
The Student Council's "Souper Bowl Drive" was a success! Thank you to everyone who contributed to this worthy cause. Soup donations will be delivered to a neighboring shelter. This is a reminder that all schools and offices will be CLOSED on Monday, February 15th for the Presidents' Day Holiday.
Happy Valentine's Day weekend!
Beth
Congratulations to the Principal's 100 Board Winners!
Congratulations to:
Jacob Nicholson (6T)
Katelyn Campanelli (4AB)
Connor Dvoracek (5G)
Peter Vergis (6T)
Matthew O'Neill (3F)
Katelyn Schneider (6R)
Maxine Yanovsky (3J)
Owen Hartley (KPM)
Ryan Fox (1D)
Mr. Joshua Scott (Staff Winner)
Mrs. French wins STEM Award
Mrs. French was nominated by a colleague as a leader in STEM education as part of Olay’s initiative to #FACEtheSTEMgap. She along with 275 other teachers from across the country were chosen! Her prize on Thursday morning arrived by a special drone delivery! The prize was filled with tons of Science fun for Mrs. French to use with her students. Check out this video to see the delivery in action! https://www.wevideo.com/view/2050763490
CONGRATULATIONS MRS. FRENCH!
Staff Updates
Additionally, Mrs. Sheila McNamara joined the WES team this week. She will be assisting in the Library during Mrs. Ventresca's classes.
WES Virtual Book Fair
Mark your calendars! Wrightstown Elementary is hosting a Virtual Book Fair March 1-7, 2021. Book Fair sponsored by the Newtown Bookshop, more information to follow.
Celebrating 100 Days of School!
WES Celebrates the number 100! Click on a book below!
Virtual Valentine's Day Celebrations!
Here at WES, we are promoting kindness throughout the month of February! Students across all grade levels will have the opportunity to participate in an assortment of kindness activities, including:
- The Kindness Bulletin Board -- On a paper heart, students will answer the question, "How will you be kind?" by drawing or writing an act of kindness. All hearts will be displayed on our bulletin board of kindness!
- Kindness Video -- Students will have the opportunity to star in a kindness video, sharing ideas of how they give and receive kindness.
- The Kindness Challenge -- For the final week of February, students will be challenged to complete at least one act of kindness per day. Each homeroom will have a kindness challenge board, with various examples of acts of kindness. Students will aim to fill the board by the end of the week!
We look forward to sharing the video and bulletin board with you soon!
February is Black History Month
Black History Month is a federally recognized celebration of the contributions African Americans have made to the United States and a time to reflect on the continued struggle for racial justice. By spotlighting important people through history on the student-led announcements, as well as incorporating related history lessons into classroom instruction, Wrightstown Elementary is honoring Black History throughout the month of February.
It's Kindergarten Registration Time!
Council Rock School District utilizes a secure online portal for parents to enroll their kindergarten-age child. Children must be five (5) years of age on or before September 1st for the school year you are registering. Click the link below to start the kindergarten registration process for your child.
Visit Our New Parent/Student Technology Resources Site
Yearbook Photos Needed
Families, we need your help! We would like to provide students with a memorable yearbook this year. Due to the restrictions that prevent parent photographers from being in the building, we need your pictures throughout the year. These photographs should only include students at Wrightstown Elementary School. Please upload your photos below. Thank you in advance for your help to create a memorial yearbook for our students!
Geography Bee
While National Geographic is not hosting their annual Geography Bee this year, Wrightstown Elementary will still be holding their own Bee!
On February 2nd, all 5th and 6th graders took the preliminary test during their Social Studies block with their homerooms. The top ten finalists will then compete on February 25th. The event on February 25th will be live-streamed to all 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade classrooms as well as to the families of the finalists. We are looking forward to another year of competition!
Counselor's Corner
Beginning this week, I will be facilitating weekly lunch groups via Zoom for all virtual learners in hopes of increasing social opportunities and peer connections. Students will play games and be given the chance just to chat with one another. These groups are completely optional, will last between 20-30 minutes, and students are welcome to eat during if they would like. Zoom links can be found under the "Ms. Gulnac" topic heading on the "classwork" page of your student's google classroom. This opportunity is available to all virtual students.
Monday’s 1st Grade – 11:00 / 2nd Grade 11:30
Tuesday’s 3rd Grade – 12:00 / 4th Grade 12:30
Thursday’s 5th Grade – 1:00 / 6th Grade 1:30
Specials Rotating Color Schedule for 3rd Marking Period
February Lunch Menu
The February lunch menu is available on the homepage of the WES website, and you can find it at the following LINK
Mrs. Etgen's Literacy Corner
With the winter winds blowing outside, it is a perfect time to sit down and read a book! Make reading a fun family activity by building a reading fort, or making some hot cocoa and popcorn before sitting down to read. If you are struggling with screen time and reading is competing with Fortnite or Roblox, then make some deals - one hour of gaming for one hour of reading and reading games. Reading games can consist of anything from an old fashion Scrabble or Boggle game, to letter bingo and sight word memory games. There are some great make your own word games on this site.
Remember our kids need to read in order to become better readers! So please do your best to make reading a fun family activity.
Stay tuned for information about our “Virtual” Reading Camp In this year!!
Reminders!
4 Day In-Person Learning Continues
All elementary schools will continue to follow the 4 day in-person learning schedule. Wednesdays will continue to be 100% virtual.
Change at Recess
The board of school directors approved changes to the district's Health and Safety plan during their meeting on Thursday evening. One of the changes was with regard to the use of equipment at recess. The policy now states “limit sharing so that equipment/balls are not held/manipulated by individuals for extended times before exchanging with others. Sanitize equipment between individual uses to the extent feasible.” The equipment will be divided into two groups so that they can be rotated for use while one set is being cleaned. The children have been waiting for this!
Raven Ready - PBIS Information
Our Positive Behavior Intervention Support program (PBIS), otherwise known as Raven Ready is up and running again! With PBIS, students are explicitly taught the expectations and procedures for each area of our school. Teachers are in the process of teaching and reviewing with students the expectations in areas such as the classroom, hallways, bus, cafeteria, etc. Through this explicit instruction, students learn about expected and unexpected behaviors in each area of our school. PBIS strives on being a positive support system, where the adults in the school are recognizing good behavior and decision-making. Your child may have already earned a Raven Reward!
PBIS is enforced school-wide by every member of the Wrightstown Elementary School staff. Please click on the button below for more information. You can also find this information on the WES website, tabs on the left side.
Our board is starting to fill up! Keep up the great work, Ravens!
Attention all Car Riders!
If you use the car rider line for either drop-off in the morning or pick-up in the afternoon, please stay in the line once your child exits/enters the car. Please do not pull out of line and drive around other cars. Also, please stay in your vehicle at all times. If you need to assist your child in loading into your vehicle, please park your car in the lot and meet your child at the dismissal doors. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and cooperation as we work to ensure a safe and efficient pick-up process for all.
Car Rider Drop Off and Pick-up Procedures
If you are new to Car Pick Up Only: During the first week of school, every car rider family received two (2) placards. Students will be given these placards to take home. Please note, these placards will be distributed per family, not students. We appreciate your patience as we transition to these new procedures. It will take some time for this new process to become routine.
- Two (2) placards will be provided per car rider family.
- Placards must be displayed in the car windshield in full view for staff to see when picking up students.
- Remember to remain in your car during this process. Staff members assigned to this area will assist your child to your vehicle.
- If you don’t have a placard displayed and the staff doesn’t recognize you, you will be asked to park and visit the main office in the front of the building to provide identification to sign your child out.
Here is how car rider dismissal procedures will work:
-Display your school-issued placard in your car windshield so that it is visible.
-Upon entering the school site you will turn left (there is a sign on the right of the driveway indicating this) and drive through the front parking lot.
-Once you come to a stop sign you will cross over the bus lane into another parking lot and turn right.
-You will proceed down toward the gym entrance and pull your car up as far as you can go. Cones will be stationed in this area.
-Please remain in your car.
-A staff member will write down your child’s name and radio the office to call for your child/ren to be dismissed from their classroom to the gym doors.
-Depending on the time that it takes your child to exit the building, you may be asked to move your car out of the line and park in a parking space. Staff will direct you.
If your child is a car rider, you will no longer be permitted to park in the staff/visitor parking lot, walk up and receive your child. You must remain in the car line to pick up your child/ren. No child will be released to a parent/person outside of their car.
Car rider procedures for morning drop off remain the same.
-Once on site follow the signs for car rider drop off located on the gym side of the school.
-Parents pull their car up to the gym side of the school where you will remain in your car.
-Children exit the car from the passenger side only and enter the school through the gym doors.
A directional map is provided below for your reference.
A Note from the Nurse's Office
As you know, starting this year we asked that there be no food sent in with birthday celebrations. In the interest of Covid precautions, we are asking that nothing be brought in for distribution to the class. Thank you for understanding and helping to keep our WES community safe.
Updated CR Health & Safety Plan
On 12/3/20 the district's Health and Safety Plan was updated. Please CLICK HERE to read the updated version of the plan.
Family Trip Request Form
Please ensure the Family Trip Request Form is completed prior to the start of your trip. This form is located on the front of the WES website and is also provided directly below.
Library News for Virtual Students
Virtual students are able to check out Library books. If you are interested in learning about how to do this please visit your child’s Library Google classroom. The link is in the classroom under the heading Virtual Book Check out or click the button below.
Free Lunch for Every Student in CR Extended through End of School Year
CRSD has communicated information to families about our free lunches for all students. It really is FREE and it is for ALL students! Through a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CRSD will be able to provide all students in the District with lunch on school days at no cost to families. The free lunches are available to both in school students and 100% virtual students.
In addition to the great choices available for children, each day they have the option of pizza or a fun lunch. Also, all meals come with fruit, vegetables, and milk.
A la carte items (e.g., snacks, ice cream, and certain drinks) are NOT included as part of the free meal and must be paid for the student’s lunch account. A la carte purchases will be deducted from the account after purchased.
Please contact the cafeteria manager at Wescafeteria@crsd.org if you have any questions.
If you would like your child to purchase snacks or additional menu items, you may add them to your child's lunch account using the button below. Please note, you do not need to add to this account to take advantage of the free lunch program for all students.
Chromebook Support
Students/parents should use our help desk system at the following link: https://crsdstudent.sherpadesk.com
The system will allow students/parents (student ID is required to submit a ticket) to submit a ticket for help. It will also allow them to see the status of existing tickets.
The first time they use the system, they will need to set up their account. This will require a unique email address, the location where the student attends school (this is a required field), their first and last name, a phone number where they can be reached (if additional/different contact information/preferences are desired, they can be included in the body of the request), the type of issue (called class on the form - this is also required), the student ID (this is required), a subject or brief description of the issue, and then the details about the issue.
To see the status of a ticket that was submitted, they can click on that option, log in with their email address and password (set during account creation).
We will continue to monitor the chrome support email address but will refer parents/students to the ticketing system if they have an issue or problem that needs to be resolved.
The two biggest advantages to this system are that the ticket will go directly to a technician, and the parent/student will be able to see the status of the tickets they have entered.
WiFi Issues: Contact your provider (Comcast, Verizon, Xfinity, etc.)
Password Issues: Contact our Librarian Assistant, Kristi Marino at kristi.marino@crsd.org
COVID-19 Daily Screening Tools for Parents
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a disease capable of rapidly spreading to other persons with whom you come in contact. If you have been infected, you are capable of exposing other people to COVID-19, even if your symptoms are mild, such as a cough. Symptoms of COVID-19 may include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Early symptoms may also include chills, body aches, sore throat, headache, diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, and runny nose. Given that COVID-19 is a threat to the public’s health, staff members are asked to perform the following self-symptom assessment prior to entering school. Similarly, guardians are asked to conduct symptom assessment of children each morning prior to the students entering school.
Symptom assessment:
Do you or your child have any of the following?
Fever (body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38.0 degrees Celsius)
Cough
Shortness of breath
New loss of/altered taste or smell
Fatigue
Chills
Body aches
Sore throat
Headache
Diarrhea
Nausea/vomiting
Runny nose
If you answered yes and do not have another explanation for that symptom (e.g., allergies), please remain home until symptoms improve or medical documentation for alternative diagnosis is provided and notify the school nurse of the reason for remaining at home. If you have any questions or concerns, contact your primary care physician and/or school nurse.
Thank you for helping to keep our entire Council Rock community healthy and safe!
Struggling at Home with how School has Changed?
Having trouble managing your school day? Struggling with emotions and feelings related to COVID? You’re not, but you know someone who is? Don’t do it alone! Let’s work through it together! We want to help! Please contact your school principal, counselor, teacher, or another trusted adult in the school so we can talk.
Wrightstown Elementary School
Principal
Email: bfox@crsd.org
Website: http://crsd.org/wrightstownes
Location: 729 Penns Park Road, Wrightstown PA 18940
Phone: (215) 944-2300
Twitter: @BethFox_WES