Spry Newsletter
February 16th 2018
Spry Events
February 19-23 Winter Break - No School
February 26 - 5th Grade Parent Meeting 6:30 pm @Spry Auditorium
February 26-March 2 Spry Spirit Week
March 1 - Spry MEGABAND Concert 7:00 pm @ Schroeder
March 2 - Spry/Willink Charity Basketball Game 7:00 pm @ Schroeder Gym
March 8 - Jazz Band Concert @WSHS
March 9 - Drama Club Production 7:30 pm
March 10 - Drama Club Production 2:30 and 7:30 pm
March 13 - Coffee with the Principal
March 19 - Small Ensemble Concert @ Spry
March 30-April 6 Spring Recess
As we head into the break, I know the recent events in Florida have been on the minds of many. It has also led to a lot of reflection about our own children and supporting them through these tragic events in our country. I know you place your trust in us each and every day as we continually plan, reflect, and adjust to provide a safe learning environment for our students (and our community's children). I can assure you that we take safety seriously and have systems in place that support our staff in practicing, carrying out, and directing procedures in response to an emergency situation.
As Mr. Gumina shares below, we do work in partnership with agencies within and outside the school. This does include you. One thing we stress with our students is 'If you see something, say something'. If it is during the school day, let a teacher, counselor, principal, or trusted adult in the building know. If a concern arises during the evening, you can always email me, or your child's House Principal. Another resource is the Safe School Helpline, 1-800-4-1-VOICE (1-800-418-6423), extension 359, texting the word “TIPS” to 66746 or visiting safeschoolhelpline.com. This is a completely anonymous service used by Webster CSD that allows you to provide us with health and safety concerns 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
We also want to continue to provide our students great learning opportunities, events, and celebrations at Spry! Please check out the items in this newsletter as we return back from break with our Spirit Week and Charity Basketball Game on Friday, March 2nd! We hope to see all our students participating and celebrating Spry that week! In supporting positive CARE behaviors that week, we will also be monitoring student behavior in determining attendance at our week end spirit assemblies. Also, don't forget about the Mega Band Concert Thursday (3/1) night that week at Schroeder.
Finally, we will also be welcoming our 5th grade parents at our 5th grade parent meeting on Monday night (2/26) at 6:30 in the Spry Auditorium.
In caring,
Jim
Dear Webster CSD Families,
As parents, I know all of us in the One Webster community join together in sympathy, compassion, and sadness with the families of Parkland, Florida, forever changed by the unthinkable tragedy that occurred yesterday afternoon at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. I write to you as a father who sends his daughter to school every day in the same district where I was educated, taught, and now am superintendent. I am also an educator who views your children as if they were my own. I know my colleagues share this sentiment.
Every day, you trust all of us at Webster CSD to compassionately connect and joyfully engage with your children, to care for their needs, and most importantly, to keep them safe. When something like this happens to threaten our children’s safety, all of us take a step back to mindfully consider the ways we are working together to keep our children safe. I can only reassure you that our district has safety protocols, systems, and drills in place that we regularly practice with our administrators, teachers, staff members, and your children. It pains me to think that we live in an era where our children implicitly understand the meaning of the word lockdown, but we must continue to be prepared.
You are a critical partner in managing our children’s safety. I mentioned that you trust us to compassionately connect each day with your children. That is a personal goal of mine, and one that is helped by having a strong, multi-tiered system of support in all 11 schools with counselors and social workers available to care for the whole child that enters our classrooms every day. Yes, we educate children, but we also care for our children’s mental health and the many challenges faced by today’s young people. We are committed to working with all of our families who may be experiencing crises during their time with our district.
I cannot stress this enough: IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING! You are able to partner with your district by reaching out to the Safe School Helpline, 1-800-4-1-VOICE (1-800-418-6423), extension 359, texting the word “TIPS” to 66746 or visiting safeschoolhelpline.com. This is a completely anonymous service used by Webster CSD that allows you to provide us with health and safety concerns 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We also tell our children that when they read something, hear something, or observe something that sets off that inner voice of concern for their own safety or the safety of others, reach out to a trusted adult. I encourage parents to do the same.
I know these events can be challenging to talk about with our children. The district recommends the information provided by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) as a way to help in your family’s discussions. Please visit http://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/school-safety-and-crisis/talking-to-children-about-violence-tips-for-parents-and-teachers.
Thank you for your support as we continue to work together, making our children’s safety the district’s highest priority. Thank you for sharing them with us every day.
Sincerely,
Carmen Gumina
Superintendent of Schools
Spring Sport Sign-ups
Spring 2018
Baseball - Varsity, JV, Mod A & Mod B
Field Hockey - Mod B
Boys Golf - Varsity & JV
Lacrosse (Boys & Girls) - Varsity, JV & Mod B
Softball - Varsity, JV, Mod A & Mod B
Boys Tennis - Varsity, JV & Mod A (District Merged Teams)
Track & Field (Boys & Girls) - Varsity, JV & Mod B