Weddington Middle School Newsletter
August 5, 2020
Notes from the Principal
Schedules will be mailed out this weekend!
Rising 6th, New 7th/8th Chromebook Drive-Through
We will have a drive-through Chromebook distribution for all rising 6th graders and any NEW rising 7th/8th graders.
Last name:
A – D Thursday(8/6) 7:30am – 9:30am
E – K Thursday(8/6) 9:30am – 11:30am
L – Q Friday(8/7) 7:30am – 9:30am
R – Z Friday(8/7) 9:30am – 11:30am
We need TWO things--
1. Please print, fill out and bring this Chromebook agreement form. You will not receive a CB until the form is signed by student and parent. https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01910453/Centricity/Domain/56/CB%20form.pdf
2. Please have your child's LAST NAME on a sign in the window for quicker check out!
Need some help when you get home? This is a GREAT source: https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/Page/7372
Safety Recap
● Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or greater will not be allowed to enter the school building or facility. Parents of students with temperatures will be notified and should arrange pick-up for their child.
● Students will be placed six feet apart in the classroom.
● There will be signage and floor markings to remind students of social distancing expectations in all public locations. This includes hallways, the cafeteria, and the gym.
● Lockers will not be used.
● Students will not change for PE.
● Classrooms will be wiped down between each class change by staff.
● Masks are required for all staff and students.
● Social distancing measures will be in place in the hallways, cafeteria, classrooms, gymnasium, and bus.
The Ins and Outs
- Students cannot be dropped off prior to 8:20.
- No student should exit the car until a staff member has completed the screening and temperature check. Students should not be dropped off and left unattended. Staff will be strategically positioned in and around the building to ensure social distancing.
- Bus riders will be screened and have temperatures taken as students exit the bus
- Bus riders: Parents/guardians must complete a Bus Attestation form. Please sign and return to bus driver.
- If entering the building before school begins, 6th grade will go to the cafeteria; 7th/8th will go to the gym. Students will be required to wear masks and will be socially distanced.
- School will begin at 9:05
Dismissal: - School will conclude at 4:05, due to transportation changes.
- Buses may need to complete double runs, which could cause your child to be home later than anticipated.
- Car riders can be picked up on the middle school or the elementary school car line. The area has been marked to keep students distanced, and masks must remain on. Please have your child's name on a sign in your car window.
You do not have to have all your supplies the first day!! Students will not be able to share supplies.
6th GRADE SUPPLY LIST
General Items used in all classes
glue sticks
sticky notes (at least 3 packs to start)
pencils
pens
highlighters
colored pencils
earbuds
Additional Items by class:
Science:
1-in binder
5 tabbed dividers
Math:
1 inch binder
1 Folder
1 Graphing Paper Notebook
1 Set of 10 pocket dividers
Ti-34 multi view calculator (highly recommended to prevent sharing)
Reading:
2 bound notebooks/composition books (no spirals)
3 ring-binder or folder to hold loose papers/notes
Social Studies
One spiral notebook
one folder
glue-sticks
7TH GRADE SUPPLY LIST
- Three 1 inch binders
- 10 Dividers
- Loose leaf paper
- 3 bound composition notebooks (100 pages, no spiral)
- Pencil Pouch
- Pencils
- Colored pencils
- Glue sticks/tape
- Scissors
- Pencil sharpener
- Highlighters
- Expo markers
- Earbuds
- TI-84 Calculator for Math 1
- TI-34 Multi-view Calculator for Math 7 (highly recommended to prevent sharing)
- There is an online version
Optional
- Tissue
- Cleaning wipes
8TH GRADE SUPPLY LIST
ALL CLASSES:
loose leaf paper
hand held sharpener
pencils
pens (blue or black AND red)
highlighters
scissors
colored pencils
glue sticks (at least 3)
scotch tape (at least 3)
earbuds
MATH:
folder
100 page composition notebook
6" ruler
graph paper
Ti-83 or Ti-84 Calculator (required for Math 1 and Math 2, and strongly suggested for pre-algebra)
SOCIAL STUDIES:
3 subject spiral
1.5" binder
SCIENCE:
1" binder
ELA:
composition notebook
1.5" binder
pocket folder
post it notes
Ready for Reading
School is about to start and so are those English novels! With such uncertain times, it is understandable that parents may want students to have their own copies of the class novels to bring back and forth from school to home and/or to annotate. Therefore, you can find a list of grade level books below. These books can be found at any local or online book provider.
6TH GRADE
English:
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
AIG:
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
7TH GRADE
English:
They Cage the Animals at Night
The Outsiders
AIG:
The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank
Fahrenheit 451
8TH GRADE
English:
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Our book club selections will be as follows:
Social Issues Book Club Choices:
(students would read at least ONE of the choices below)
Prisoner B 3087 by Alan Gratz
Code of Honor by Alan Gratz
Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Grenade by Alan Gratz
Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
Dystopian Literature Book Club Choices:
(students would read at least ONE of the choices below)
Matched by Ally Conde
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Cinder by Marisa Meyer
The Selection by Keira Cass
Legend by Marie Lu
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
English I:
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
PTSO NEWS
Uniform orders placed over the summer will be ready for pick up on Wednesday, August 12th via drive-thru style at WMS.
*Please have your child’s name on a piece of paper posted in your front window.
Orders will be available for pickup for
LAST NAMES
A -M from 10 to 11:30 AM,
N-Z from 11:45 to 1:15 PM.
If you cannot make it, orders will be available to your student at the end of their assigned school day the following week.
***This will be the only opportunity to get your uniforms prior to the start of school!***
BOOSTER CLUB NEWS
Hello WMSABC Family -
As promised I wanted to give an update on last nights call with the county AD.
Here are the things that have to happen for us to get some hard dates on getting FALL sports underway.
1. The Governor of NC needs to move us to phase 3 and remove social distancing. I believe the Governor is addressing this on Friday but I cannot say that he will move the state into a different phase. I just only say that this seems to be the first chance we have to see good news.
Until this happens - contact sports cannot be played at a school level. I have heard from recreational leagues for most (not all) contact sports who are conditioning and they are waiting on the word from the Governor as well.
****Non Contact sports are another thing and I will cover that in a bit.
2. Once we get the ok from the Governor we would need to see High School sports resume. I do not see a scenario that we could get back to using HS fields before the HS starts back. But if we get to phase 3 I do feel confident that we could get to moving things pretty quickly.
Many of you have asked why the high school can practice and why we can’t proceed with non contact sports in middle school.
Truth is that the HS is run by paid staff. The middle schools in our county are run by volunteers. That leads to some difficult obstacles.
The amount of training, equipment, and accountability it would take is noteworthy. Additionally, not all schools have the same resources. We heard from a High School Athletic Director who talked about how much work has gone nto getting their High School kids back into just a few sports and it goes well beyond just taking a temperature and answering some questions. We are all in agreement our kids need sports back for many reasons (physical and mental well being) but we have to do this in a safe way.
It is not the WMSABC decision whether we play. We must wait on the county approval (which as I mentioned hinges on both decisions by the Governor and NCHSAA)
I want all of you to know I do understand how frustrating this is. Still in a holding pattern is not the answer we wanted.
Please rest assured there is still hope. So many people are working extremely hard on multiple plans so we are ready to move in any direction once we hear from the Governor. I know there will come a time where the season is too far past, but know that there are plans being talked about that include getting all 3 seasons in starting in December if we have to. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented options. We are exploring all of these as we await the Governor.
I hope this helps some - I will check back in with you all next week.
Thanks!
Chris Jones & WMSABC Board
Educators, Parents, and Caretakers –
These are challenging and frustrating times for everyone. There are a lot of different opinions on how to return to learning this month. About the only thing we can all agree on is that no one is going to be happy with how this school year is starting.
We get it. Distance learning doesn’t replace being in a classroom and is a struggle for parents, students, and teachers. At the same time, many educators and parents share concerns about the potential for the spread of COVID-19 at schools.
The tough decisions on how communities are returning to schools are being made by your local school leaders under the requirements set forth by Governor Cooper and his team. Every school faces unique challenges that reflect the uniqueness of each community, so different decisions will be made for different communities. Currently, two out of three of North Carolina’s students will start this school year with distance learning.
At your NC Department of Public Instruction, we have been supporting local schools and communities by providing multiple strategies on how schools can meet the COVID-19 requirements for in-person learning. We have worked closely with local districts to strengthen distance learning so that it is improved from what students, parents, and teachers faced at the end of last school year. It still will not be perfect, but it will be better and specifically should have more live interactions with teachers, even if over video chats. Please click here to visit our resource page for parents and teachers.
Please join us as we work to help encourage each other and our students. We can all agree that no one is happy that COVID-19 has created obstacles unlike any we have ever faced. We don’t have to agree on everything after that, but let’s work together, with grace and encouragement, to overcome the challenges ahead.
Sincerely,
Mark Johnson
NC Superintendent of Public Instruction
We have a NEW phone number!
The Nurse's Notes
Being in the same building, on the same bus, in the same classroom , in the same gym, in the cafeteria with a positive case does not mean you are considered exposed according to the CDC guidelines and public health guidelines. The current guidelines state that, to be considered exposed, you must be within 6 ft of a positive person for 15 min or more without a mask on. When current contact tracing is done, those are the questions that must be answered "yes" to equal true exposure.
COVID Q&A
All UCPS Schools and Facilities will:
· Temperature check any student, staff, or essential visitor entering the building or facility. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or greater will not be allowed to enter the school building or facility.
· Screening for COVID-19 symptoms anyone entering a building or facility utilizing the screening tool provided by NCDHHS/NCDPI.
· Limit non-essential visitors entering the building or facility.
Guidance for Student and Staff COVID-19 cases:
Students and staff:
· who test positive for COVID-19
· show symptoms of COVID-19
· had contact with a person with COVID-19
should stay home and not come to school or report to work in the school facility until certain criteria(criteria is below) has been met.
Criteria for Returning to School or to Work at the School Facility (Adhere to the following process for allowing a student or staff member to return to school.)
· If a person has had a negative COVID-19 test, they can return to school once there is no fever without the use of fever-reducing medicines and they have felt well for 24 hours.
· If a person is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a medical professional based on a test or their symptoms or does not get a COVID-19 test but has had symptoms, they should not be at school and should stay at home until they (or a family member if younger child) can answer YES to the following three questions:
1. Has it been at least 10 days since the child first had symptoms?
2. Has it been at least 3 days since the child had a fever (without using fever-reducing medicine)?
3. Has it been at least 3 days since the child's symptoms have improved, including cough and shortness of breath?
· A person can return to school, following normal school policies if they receive confirmation of an alternative diagnosis form a health care provider that would explain the COVID-19 symptoms, once there is no fever without the use of fever-reducing medicines and they have felt well for 24 hours.
· If a student/employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19 but does not have symptoms, they must remain out of school until 10 days have passed since the date of their first positive COVID-19 diagnostic test, assuming they have not subsequently developed symptoms since their positive test.
· If a student/employee that has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or has been presumed positive by a medical professional due to symptoms, they are not required to have documentation of a negative test in order to return to school.
· If a student/employee has been determined to have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, they must remain out of school for 14 days since the last date of exposure unless they test positive. In which case, exclusion criteria above would apply. They must complete the full 14 days of quarantine, even if they test negative.
Potential Closure of a UCPS School or Facility due to COVID-19
· UCPS will work closely with the Union County Health Department in response to positive case(s) of COVID-19.
· UCPS will follow any guidance issued by the Union County Health Department and/or NCDHHS in response to positive case(s) of COVID-19.
· UCPS is working with the Union County Health Department on guidance for potential closure of classrooms, schools, or facilities in response to positive case(s) of COVID-19.
· The UCPS Facilities Department (custodial team) will follow cleaning guidelines and procedures for school classrooms, buildings, and facilities in response to positive COVID-19 cases.
Is there a certain number of positive case(s) of COVID-19 that will result in closure of a school building or facility? No. We work with the Union County Health Department on each case(s) to determine the appropriate response. UCPS is currently working with UCHD to develop a guideline when school buildings or facilities may be closed. (This will be in place before the first day of school on August 17, 2019) Currently five positive cases of COVID-19 at a location is considered a cluster and reportable to the State of North Carolina, but this does not automatically result in closure of a school building or facility.
Take care of Chromebook issues now!
If the issue concerns Canvas or Powerschool, please wait for a phone call. If the computer is broken or having connectivity issues, please drop it off (with a copy of the helpdesk ticket) from 8-11am Mon-Thurs.
About Us
Email: amy.rogers@ucps.k12.nc.us
Website: https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/Domain/56
Location: 5903 Deal Road, Matthews, NC, USA
Phone: 704.296.6318
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeddingtonMS.NC/
Twitter: @WMSINFO