The Bear Bulletin ~ Parent Edition
Week #2 - August 1 - 5, 2022
A Great Start to the School Year!
Good evening, Willow Brook Parents! Thank you for a wonderful first week back! Our students had a great week and were learning from day one!
Please below for some back to school tips:
- Be Prepared - One of the most important back-to-school tips for a parent is to get a supply list. If you need help purchasing anything, please let us know.
- Get to Know Your Child’s Teacher - It is important to visit your child’s school and meet their teacher. Attend any events such as Open House ( August 9th), PTO meetings, etc. Ask your teacher what their preferred method of communication is and ask how to best address any questions or concerns.
- Set up a Bedtime and Wake-up Routine - Start a regular bedtime and wake up schedule. Make sure your child gets 8-10 hours of sleep at night, so they can have a successful day at school. Make sure to wake them up early enough so they don’t feel rushed. This can cause stress which starts their day out in a negative manner. Please drop students off between 7:45am and 8:15am.
- Organize Clothing - As part of the before bed routine, work with your child to pick out what they want to wear to school the next day. This promotes independence but also allows you to have a say in what they wear. Lay it out where they can easily find everything they need.
- Make a Central Location for School Items - Find a central spot, where you can store everything related to school, including backpacks, lunchboxes, shoes, etc. Try to keep this area, free of any clutter and other non-school items so they can easily find everything they need to prevent tardiness.
- Communicate with Your Child - Talk with your children each day about how their day was. Ask them what they learned, who they sat with at lunch, who they played with at recess, what special area class they went to, etc. Ask to see any papers or folders they brought home and help them remember to put them in their backpack for the next day.
If you are looking for an after school program, please reach out to the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge. The CMOR After School Program will begin on Monday, August 15, 2022. Please contact the Museum at 865.482.1074.
Please be sure to read the contents of The Bear Bulletin each week so that you are updated and informed!
We are focused on ensuring mastery of our essential standards in Math and ELA! We are holding the CROWN high and working hard to ensure every student achieves the crown!
Please do not hesitate to reach out at any time if you have questions. My work cell is 865.338.2904 and I can be reached by text/call anytime.
Have a great evening!
Mrs. Jenifer L. Laurendine, Principal, jllaurendine@ortn.edu
Mr. Jason Nussbaum, Assistant Principal, jnussbaum@ortn.edu
Mrs. Kim Miller, PLC Coach, kcmiller@ortn.edu
Mr. Dan Schwartz, School Counselor, dschwartz@ortn.edu
Mrs. Jo Bruce, Family Resource Director, jbruce@ortn.edu
Week at a Glance - Important Dates!
Monday, August 1st
- Kindergarten Staggered Day
- Board of Education Meeting - SAB - 5:00pm
Tuesday, August 2nd
- Kindergarten Staggered Day
- PLC during Teacher Plan
- PTO Meeting - 6:00pm - WBES Conference Room
Wednesday, August 3rd
- All Kindergarten Students Attend
- Kinder Boo Hoo Breakfast - 8:30 - 9:30am - Cafeteria (Last day to walk kinders to class)
- Specialists PLC - 8:40 -9:15am
Thursday, August 4th
- No School for students & staff
Friday, August 5th
- AED/CPR Drill - Project Adam
Attendance Matters - Be Present Every Day!
A Great First Week of Learning!
A Few Reminders for Parents/Families ...................
- Arrival is going very well! Dismissal/Student pick up will continue to get quicker this week. Please be sure to park if you must buckle your child in their car seat. This takes time and holds up our car line.
- You received a Back to School Packet in your child's folder last week. Please be sure to sign all forms and send all forms back to your child's homeroom teacher (in their class folders) no later than this Wednesday, August 3rd. If you have questions, please reach out to Mrs. Pack in the main office.
- If you need to change your child's mode of transportation, please reach out to Mrs. Pack VIA EMAIL no later than 1:15pm each day. Please email lhpack@ortn.edu and she will alert the teacher and make your child a car/bus pass.
- Additionally, if you are going to pick up your child from school early, you must contact Mrs. Pack no later than 2:45pm (12:45pm on Wednesdays) to make arrangements.
- Please be sure your child is here no later than 8:15am!!
Before School Math Focus - Math & Movement
Counselor's Corner with Mr. Dan!
Thank you, parents and families for an excellent first week back!
Our character trait of the month for our Social/Emotional Learning Curriculum, Purposeful People, is Respect.
Please see the link to the Respect Smore newsletter here: https://www.smore.com/t6zfb Here you will find resources regarding Respect!
Also, please see below for some family activities for you to enjoy with your loved ones!
I look forward to serving your child this year! Please reach out using the contact information below if I can assist.
Dan Schwartz
School Counselor
🐾Willow Brook Elementary School
8865.425.3202
Back to School Online Safety Tips from SRO Askren!
Welcome back to school for the 2023 school year! We want to make sure we take time to think about internet safety. Students spend plenty of time on computers and tablets at school, and most have access to unrestricted internet for research. It’s important for kids to be computer savvy, but it also means they have access to the outside world. Now is the time for parents to set guidelines for their kids and become educated on how to keep children safe online.
Please see below for a list to help parents get ready for back to school and internet safety:
- Only use tablets or devices in common areas at home. We advise parents to keep all devices connected to the internet out of bedrooms. A family room, kitchen, or other common areas are a great place to set up a computer station for family use.
- Use the privacy settings to keep your child’s account private. Each social media channel has different settings, so adjust each to make sure your kids are not sharing personal images and information with strangers. Go back and check the settings once a month to be sure nothing has changed. Set a calendar reminder, it’s that important!
- Pause before you post. Remember, yours and your child’s digital footprint lives forever. And don’t just limit that to photos of yourself. Don’t post pictures of your children that they might find embarrassing. Ask yourself the following questions before you share anything online: Why am I sharing this? Would I want someone else to share an image like this of me? Is this something I want to be part of my digital life? Tell your kids if they wouldn’t want it in the newspaper or online then don’t post it or send it either! This goes both ways.
- Remind teens to only friend people you know IRL (in real life), even if you have multiple mutual friends. The same goes for private or direct messages (DM). They should not respond to anyone that they don’t know.
- Don’t share sensitive information about yourself or your family online. – No last name, no school name or even the city or town that you live in. GPS and location services can pinpoint exactly where you are, alerting predators. Posting that you are home alone or even out of town with family shows predators that you or your possessions are in a vulnerable position.
- Tell children not to give their password to anyone but their parents or primary caregiver. And as their guardians, you do have the right to check their social media, texts and other apps when you want.
- Kids should choose usernames and passwords that don’t give out personal information. This is something that even adults don’t do, but since usernames tend to stick around for life, it makes sense to put it into practice at a young age. A child should never use their first and last name in their handles, this makes it easier for predators to locate them.
- Children should never agree to see someone in person that they “met” online.
- If your child sees any type of mean texts or cyberbullying, tell them to not respond or participate. Tell an adult immediately.
For more information on Child Rescue Coalition and how to keep kids safe online, visit www.childrescuecoalition.org.
Make Plans to Attend!
TCAP/TN Ready Testing Parent Portal - Access Today!
Dear Parents and Families,
This past spring, your student took the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program
(TCAP) test in English language arts (ELA), math, social studies, and science, to better
understand your student’s progress toward grade level learning expectations.
We know there is no one more important in a student’s education than parents and families, and one way we can better serve you is to ensure that you are equipped with complete information about your student’s academic performance in the four core subjects: math, ELA, science, and social studies. I want to share with you a few additional resources this year accompanying the state score report that can be found in the TCAP Family Portal.
The Tennessee Department of Education has been gathering input this year on what parents would like to see and this redesigned version reflects that input. However, if after spending time in the Family Portal, there is something else you think would be helpful to see on this platform, please feel free to email me at jllaurendine@ortn.edu. The Family Portal was designed specifically for you to help accelerate your student’s academic achievement.
What you will find in the portal:
- Your student’s scores compared to grade-level expectations. You will find a measure of whether your student scored Below Expectations, Approaching Expectations, Met Expectations, or Exceeded Expectations, based on their TCAP results in all four subjects: math, ELA, social studies, and science.
- Personalized Student Video Reports in five languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Mandarin, which provide a quick, easy-to-understand summary of your student’s TCAP results, areas of strengths, and areas where they may need support in the year ahead, in the language you speak at home.
- Information about the types of grade-level questions on the TCAP, including:
- Specific questions and student responses with an explanation about why a student’s answer was correct or incorrect (under the ‘Test Questions’ tab for tests taken in 2020-21) (delete for grade levels that didn’t test last year)
- Sample questions for every grade level and subject area (click “View Sample Questions” on the Personalized Video page)
- An individualized summary in all subject areas. For example, in ELA you might see that your student excelled at editing text for grammar, needs additional work using relevant text evidence, and a recommended practice would be using informational text to support the main idea. (Under the ‘Test Results’ tab).
- Historical data dating back to 2019 (update based on grade level) is available for you to track your student’s academic achievement and acceleration over time and through the pandemic. This provides you an opportunity to compare your student’s academic progress in a specific subject this year to progress in that same subject in past years.
- Questions to ask your student’s teacher to learn more about how you can collaborate to support your student’s academic progress.
- If you do not have a score report to reference, please contact your school and ask for your student’s state ID (USID) number.
- If you have any additional questions, please reach out to our School Counselor, Mr. San Schwartz at dschwartz@ortn.edu.
We hope you will take the results of this test and what you will learn in the portal to discuss your observations with your teacher. The parent-teacher partnership is at the core of consistent academic achievement and acceleration, especially as parents are the link between teachers from year-to-year. The TCAP Family Portal provides information and guidance on how to partner with me/your student’s teacher(s) more effectively, and how to use TCAP results as a tool to support your student.
How Can I Access the TCAP Parent Portal?
See Below for Willow Brook Elementary PTO Information!
We are looking forward to our first PTO Meeting this Tuesday, August 2nd at 6:00pm in the newly remodeled WBES Conference Room!
Let's help our amazing educators "Clear The Lists"! Click on the links to help our teachers!!
KINDERGARTEN:
Ms. Williams - https://a.co/3laafbl
Ms. Aldridge -https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/223D4BKEOQFNA/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex
FIRST GRADE:
Ms. Overton - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DZ6BAUPOV847?ref=cm_sw_em_r_un_un_NMBX3r
SECOND GRADE:
Mrs. Sensibaugh - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1YC9D1RQPU5BE?ref_=wl_share Mrs. Chenot - https://a.co/4JMDkCg
THIRD GRADE:
Ms. Rhyne - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3LHLUKLW5U6LJ?ref_=wl_share
Ms. Collins - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1AC3B3I1SL2EN?ref_=wl_share
Ms. Halcomb - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2260FDAXQLRO3?ref_=wl_share
Ms. Walter - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/175RY4P31HHJY?ref_=wl_share
FOURTH GRADE:
Ms. Cox - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/377G7LOJ7GF71?ref_=wl_share
Ms. Okert - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3MPMVQNPJKZKX?ref_=wl_share
EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION:
Ms. Newcomb - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/21FGOB7M4RK2X?ref_=wl_shar
If you have questions, please reach out to our PTO President Melissa Bishop at willowbrookpto@yahoo.com.
Save The Date!
4th Grade Strings - Register Today!
We LOVE Our Kindergartners!
Mrs. Meidl's Book Nook
2022 Current Covid Guidelines
Where is My Child's Bus? Download the MYSTOP Bus Tracking App Today!
Our transportation provider, First Student Transportation, is currently working to assign bus routes for all students in our District. If your child needs bus transportation, please be sure to fill out the proper paperwork as soon as possible! This information will be available at "Meet the Teacher" day and also in the Back to School Packet that will be sent home the week of July 25th.
First Student use the MYSTOP phone application to communicate the location of the fleet with parents and school personnel . Please see below information on how to download the App! Remember, you must first be registered for transportation services then you will be able to track your child's bus using the app information detailed below.
Please see information on how to register for MyStop below.
MyStop - Parent/Student Login
- https://transportation.ortn.edu/onscreen/login.aspx
- Username: (use student’s name - case sensitive) firstname.lastname
- Password: (use student birth date) in this format 03122007 for March 12, 2007
MyStop Phone App Available In Your App Store
Go to: Versatrans My Stop™ provides mobile access to bus information. This app displays the location of the user’s assigned school bus, as well as the estimated time of arrival to their stop. Students can plan for late or on-time arrival, and prevent missed pick-ups or being left outside in inclement weather.
Can’t Access the MyStop App?
If you are having difficulty accessing the MyStop App please take the following steps:
- Please confirm the following:
- You have downloaded the App from Tyler Technologies.
- You are using the legal student name as listed in Skyward.
- You have selected all lower case letters.
- You have placed a period between the first and last name.
- The birthdate is correct and only consist of 8 numbers.
Please reach out to Mrs. Pack in the main office at 865.425.3201 if you are unable to complete the detailed process above.
Check Out These Community Opportunities!
Our Portrait of a Graduate!
Follow Willow Brook on Twitter, School Website & Instagram- Click the QR Codes Below!
Willow Brook Elementary
Email: jllaurendine@ortn.edu
Website: https://www.ortn.edu/willowbrook/
Location: 298 Robertsville Road, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
Phone: 865-425-3202
Twitter: @WBESbears