Tiger Talk
09/08/20
Our First Day of In-Person Learning Was Fantastic!
We were very excited to see our in-person Tiger learners return to the campus today! Our hallways are still ringing with their happy voices.
Our first few days will focus on safety and routines. We are teaching our Tigers to sanitize on their way into school, on their way into and out of classrooms, as well as protocols for eating lunches and snacks. We are reminding our Tigers how to wear masks, face shields, and how to wash their hands frequently and carefully.
Tiger on-campus learning has resumed, and our teachers and instructional staff are happy to offer hands-on learning in our classrooms. We followed our safe arrival and departure protocols, and we appreciate your patience as our staff and students become familiar with them.
Meanwhile, Tiger remote learning continues, and our teachers are continuing to provide engaging lessons for our students learning from home.
Our campus-wide theme for this school year is "One Team. One Family" and all of the staff of West Cypress Hills Elementary are working together to make this a safe and successful year of learning. We invite you to join us and be a part of Team Tiger. Together with you, our students, our community partners, and our staff we are #WCHEStrong.
With warmest regards,
Melanie Beninga
Your Principal at West Cypress Hills Elementary
Campus Tigers' Dismissal via SMART Tag
West Cypress Hills Elementary utilizes SMART Tag as our on-line dismissal management system. It is dependable, easy to use, and can be updated by parents and guardians from the convenience of their smart phones, tablets, and PCs.
Through the on-line dismissal management system, you can:
- report student absences,
- schedule early departures from school,
- report late arrivals to school,
- schedule after-school activities such as scouting, enrichment classes, taekwondo...,
- and make transportation changes as late as 2:00 PM the effective date of the change.
Please, if you have not already done so, register and set up your parent portal in SMART Tag, verify that the default transportation for your Tiger(s) is correct, and please be sure to note in SMART Tag when a Tiger is absent or the dismissal transportation arrangement for your Tiger(s) needs to be changed.
We plan to send your Tiger home the way you have indicated in SMART Tag, and we are depending on you to keep us informed via SMART Tag.
Thank you, Tigers, for making masks fun at West Cypress!
We are so proud of Mrs. Dunn and her talented Tiger artists.
On-line Learning Available ONLY Through Your Child's LTISD Account
To gain entry to student learning, students should use the LTISD LT1 Classlink to enter and access all classroom google links. This ensures secure and safe learning.
If students/parents attempt to access class meetings or documents without using the student's credentials in LT1 (for example, logging in to the browser from a parent's personal or work account instead of the student's LTISD account) access is restricted. To prevent unauthorized people from accessing our classrooms, only appropriate LT1 Classlink logins with the student's credentials can gain access. Access attempts by any other accounts will be denied.
PLEASE be sure to access all google links through our LT1Classlink using the appropriate LTISD student's credentials.
Changing Instructional Status
A change from in-person learning to remote learning can be made at any time. To request this change, complete the LTISD Instructional Change Form. The completed form should be forwarded to our Registrar, Becky Wright.
A change from remote learning to in-person learning can also be requested on the LTISD Instructional Change Form. The completed form should be forwarded to our Registrar, Becky Wright no later than 2 weeks prior to the start of the next grading period, as shown below:
- Form Due Date is 9/24/20 for the grading period beginning 10/13/20
- Form Due Date is 12/4/20 for the grading period beginning 1/5/21
- Form Due Date is 2/19/21 for the grading period beginning 3/8/21.
WCHE PTO Spirit Night @ Bahama Buck's on September 15!
Show your Tiger spirit while enjoying a frosty cold treat!
The West Cypress Hills Elementary PTO and Bahama Buck's on Highway 71 in Bee Cave present WCHE Spirit Night on Tuesday, September 15, from 3 - 8 pm.
Part of the proceeds from the Bahama Buck's Spirit Night will be donated to our WCHE PTO. Be sure to let the Bahama Buck's staff know that you are there in support of the West Cypress Tigers!
District Assisting With Technology to Support Remote Learning
The Lake Travis Independent School District (LTISD) will lend Chromebooks and WiFi hotspots to students in grades K-12 who have limited or no access to a device at home and who do not already have a device from our initial deployment this past spring. Our district has had a high volume of requests. Thank you for your patience.
Families who meet the above criteria may request a Chromebook and/or WiFi hotspot through the Skyward "Technology Device Request" form. Link to Skyward here. Please complete 1 request form per student. When the LTISD has the student's Chromebook and/or hotspot ready for pick up, they will notify you.
Also, there is a known issue affecting the login credentials of some of our families with district-issued Chromebooks, and we have developed a solution to help you establish credentials for login. If you are unable to log in, please follow the steps outlined here, and if you need additional assistance, please feel free to contact us. We appreciate your patience.
LTISD Chromebooks to Remain Checked Out to Students While on Campus
Students who checked out a District-issued Chromebook for remote learning at home and will be returning to in-person learning on campus should retain the device and bring it to school for use in the classroom as needed, much like an assigned textbook.
Chromebooks will remain checked out to the student until a date to be later determined or at the end of the 2020–2021 school year, whichever comes first.
Meals for Remote Learners
Students in remote learning at home may purchase a meal for pickup from our school cafeteria. Learn more here.
Please note, menu options may be limited. If a parent or child in remote learning at home wishes to pick up a meal at school, accommodations must be made via email directly with the café manager, Mrs. Corinne Stewart, before 10:00 a.m. daily. All meals for remote learners must be picked up at the school’s front office during the regular meal schedule.
Yes, Students Withdrawn from LTISD May Re-enroll Later for In-Person Learning
Students can be re-enrolled for in-person learning after having been withdrawn as students of the LTISD. The re-enrollment process is the same as the enrollment process for any new LTISD student. The re-enrolled student will, initially, be scheduled for in-person learning at the school building.
Once the re-enrolled student is attending school in person, remote learning, if desired, may be selected when the district next extends an invitation to select a preferred learning option.
Follow Principal Beninga on Twitter
Melanie Beninga provides info, photos, and updates via Twitter, too. If not already following Melanie Beninga in Twitter, you can follow her @principalwch and @mbeninga.
Counselor's Corner
Hello, Tiger Families! As we prepare to both return to campus for in-person learning and continue to engage in remote instruction, please know that I am always available should you or your child need support.
Now more than ever, we value the importance of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in our schools, and we will continue to incorporate SEL into our curriculum through school-wide programs, class meetings, and guidance lessons. Second Step will be our campus SEL curriculum. Please click the picture below to access parent information on Second Step, including complementary resources to use at home. By clicking the link, you will reach my website where all of the boxes on the blackboard open to provide to helpful information about Second Step.
Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. We are one team, one family.
2019-2020 Field Trip Refunds
In order to keep our Tigers sheltered safely at home, all of our spring field trips planned for March through May were canceled. Some of our first and fourth graders' families had already paid for their field trips and may, therefore, be concerned about the funds turned in to teachers before we realized that the field trips could not take place.
Please rest assured that we have deposited your payments, have recorded your payments, and have a record of the resulting credit balance of each family.
And, we have plans to ensure that you receive full credit for your payment(s.)
- For students returning to West Cypress Hills Elementary School for the 2020-2021 school year, the credit balance due your family for West Cypress Hills' canceled field trips will be applied toward the purchase price of West Cypress Hills classroom t-shirts and/or field trips that take place during the 2020-2021 school year.
- For students who are not attending West Cypress Hills Elementary School during the 2020-2021 school year, a refund check will be issued to your family by West Cypress Hills Elementary School by the end of the school year. Please complete the WCHE Field Trip Refund Request Form to request your reimbursement check.
Upcoming Events
09/15/20................Bahama Buck's Spirit Night from 3 - 8 pm
09/24/20................Instructional Status Change Form Due - Grading Period October 13 +
12/04/20................Instructional Status Change Form Due - Grading Period January 5 +
02/19/21................Instructional Status Change Form Due - Grading Period March 8 +
More Information about WCH
West Cypress Hills Elementary
Email: wchprincipal@ltisdschools.org
Website: https://www.ltisdschools.org/WCHE
Location: 6112 Cypress Ranch Boulevard, Travis County, TX, United States
Phone: 512-533-7500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ltisdschools
Twitter: @principalwch