Aiken Update
February 23, 2024
Message from the Principal
Dear Aiken Families,
Thank you to everyone that has participated in the read-a-thon. Thank you for all of your support and for encouraging your children to read and record their minutes. So far we have raised $2,940. We will still be accepting donations until the end of the month. We have 194 students participating in the and they have recorded 94,000 reading minutes during the month of February.
Conferences are the week of March 4th. If you have not already done so, please sign up for a time to meet with your child's teacher. We are hoping to have a 100% participation rate for conferences. Similar to the fall, report cards will be available through the PowerSchool Portal. In order to view your child's report card, it is important that your information in PowerSchool is up to date. Please take a minute before next week to click on the link and make sure all information is accurate. (log into your Parent Portal here). You will receive a notification on the afternoon of Friday, March 1st that your child's report card is available for viewing. This will provide you time to review the report card before the conference.
The following is a message from Mrs. Tamaccio, our Library Media Specialist:
Aiken is getting ready to celebrate Read Across America during the month of March! To kick off the celebration, we will be having an assembly on Friday 3/1 to unveil the new book for our One Book, One School program! For those new to Aiken, this is when everyone in the school participates in a shared reading event. More information will be coming home soon, but we are looking forward to the big reveal! A small hint for those reading…it is a realistic fiction book! To help us celebrate, please have your child wear their Aiken t-shirt to school on Friday 3/1 and show off what a fabulous community of readers we have!
Have a great weekend,
Shannon
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
LUNAR NEW YEAR
Happy New Year to all our families that will be celebrating! The Lunar New Year begins tomorrow, February 10th and lasts until February 24th.
CULTURAL TRADITIONS NIGHT
Cultural Traditions Night is an evening dedicated to celebrating the rich diversity within our school community. We would like to represent as many cultures and backgrounds as possible.
You can participate in a variety of ways:
Set up a table with information about a particular country. This could include a board with pictures, facts, artifacts, etc.
Read a story in your native language.
Teach a dance or sing a song
Make a craft that symbolizes a tradition or holiday.
Teach students to write their name in another language
Make your favorite dish.
Together we can have learn from each other and create an even stronger home school partnership by celebrating the amazing cultures in our Aiken community!
The event will be held on Tuesday, March 19th from 6:00-7:30. Your activity does not need to last for the entire event and the PTO will provide funding for any needed materials.
We are also looking for some parent volunteers to help with this event. Please click on the blue button if you are able to volunteer your time for a 30 minute time slot. Thank you in advance for your help.
If you are interested in being part of this event, please contact either Daniela Sturm at Daniela_Sturm@whps.org, or Shannon_Mlodzinski@whps.org.
ATTENDANCE
The West Hartford Public Schools uses auto-generated letters at absences 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18+ to make sure caregivers are aware of their child's absence rate. The state of CT identifies "chronic absenteeism" as missing 10% or more of the school year, which is 19+ school days, no matter the reason for absence. Please know that we do understand if your child needs to be home sick. If you receive one of these and ever want to speak further, you can always reach out.
LIBRARY NEWS
ATTENTION: 2nd-5th Grade Families…author of the popular Wildelore series, Amanda Foody, will be visiting Aiken Elementary school on February 26th to speak with 2nd-5th graders! The first book in the series, The Accidental Apprentice, is a current 2024 Connecticut Nutmeg Nominee. If you are interested in purchasing a signed copy of one of her books for your child, please fill out the form below and send it back to school no later than February 7th. A paper copy is going home next week, but you can also access the form by clicking on the link below. Please print and send in with your child. We are looking forward to a fabulous visit!
Thank you,
Mrs. Jessica Tamaccio, Library Media Specialist
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
ART BEAT
Congratulations to the Aiken School artists whose artwork was chosen to be showcased in Town Wide, Artbeat Artshow of 2024.
Tyler G., Jack H., Lily M., Isaac S., Rachel B., Maya R., Max B., Aditi B., Cullen S., and Emily T.
Their artwork will be showcased at the Saltbox and Clubhouse Galleries of the West Hartford Art League. The Art League is located at 37 Buena Vista Road, on the left before Cornerstone Aquatics.
The opening reception is Wednesday, March 6th 4:30 - 6:30. The show will run through Saturday, March 24th. If you cannot visit during the opening reception, please call 860-231-8019 for additional gallery hours.
Please note: Non perishable food items will be collected for the West Hartford Food Pantry at the night of the opening reception. Please consider bringing a donation. Collection boxes will be at the entrance.
SHOE DRIVE
ONE COMMUNITY SESSION
Join One Community for the second installment in our multi-session series on belonging. In the session we will embark on exploring the ways we create spaces of belonging within our community. Learn more about our parent-led groups under the One Community umbrella and engage in community circles around what belonging means for our community partners and WHPS. RSVP HERE
DATE: Monday February 26th, 2024
TIME: 6:00 - 7:30 pm
LOCATION: Zoom
AFTER SCHOOL CLASS WITH MR. GOLDEN
POPS 'N JAZZ
5TH TO 6TH GRADE TRANSITION
Dear Families of Rising Grade 6 Students:
We want to welcome you and your child to our middle school families! Various unique and exciting opportunities await your student, whether attending Bristow, King Philip, or Sedgwick. Middle school experiences will allow your child to cultivate their talents and explore areas of personal interest.
Course selection is essential in this process; your choices will help us plan appropriate programs based on your child’s specific interests. To aid in course selection, you must complete course registration in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Please use the links below to complete this process.
Please take time to make your selections through this online process no later than March 15, 2024. If you need to make a correction or change after that date, please contact the principal at your child's middle school directly (KPM or SMS).
We look forward to welcoming you and your child and are excited to have you join our school community.
Sincerely,
Joy Wright, King Philip
Juan Melián, Sedgwick
Chad Ellis, Bristow
EMERGENCY CLOSING INFORMATION
Here are a few reminders regarding weather related closings.
- When there is a delayed opening of school, all before school activities such as choir and band/orchestra rehearsals are cancelled.
- Listed below are the dismissal times in the event of an emergency closing. Please take the time before an emergency arises to develop a contingency plan in the event of a school delay, early dismissal, or cancellation and discuss it with your child
Elementary schools: 11:45am
Middle schools: 11:00am
High schools: 10:30am
ELC Schedule:
- Delayed Opening: No AM Class, PM Class has usual schedule. Full day students come at the delayed opening time. (For example, an hour delay would be a 10:00 start).
- Emergency Closing: AM Class arrives at usual time, PM Class would be cancelled. Full day students would be dismissed at 11:45.
- Buses will continue to run at the adjusted times on weather/emergency closings
-When school is closed early, all afternoon and evening activities are cancelled.
-When school is closed early, all afternoon and evening activities are cancelled.
PARENTS OF KINDERGARTEN CLASS OF 2024-2025
Kindergarten Virtual Enrollment Packet
Is your child turning 5 on or before September 1, 2024? It is time to register for Kindergarten! Find all the information you will need in the Virtual Enrollment Packet.
Kindergarten Entry Age Change
All Connecticut districts have a new age requirement for the incoming Kindergarten class. Effective in the fall of 2024, children need to turn five on or before September 1 of the school year to be eligible to enroll in public school Kindergarten. This is a change from the previous Kindergarten enrollment birthdate cutoff of January 1.
The legislation also allows a school district to admit a child who has not turned five by September 1 of the school year if (1) the parent makes a request in writing and (2) the school district conducts an assessment of the child to ensure that admitting such child is developmentally appropriate. The requests must be made by February 1. Please click here for more information including a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
Magnet School and Pre-K Lottery
The Magnet School and Pre-K Lottery opened on January 16th! The application will be available on the whps.org web page through March 8, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.. Please note that children now must turn 3 or 4 years old on or before September 1, 2024 to apply for Pre-K.
BRISTOW LOTTERY INFORMATION
Dear West Hartford 5th Grade Families:
The annual lottery for admission to Bristow Middle School’s 6th grade is just around the corner! You will receive a more detailed letter in December explaining the process. Today’s note is just to provide a brief informational overview and to share the timelines for this year’s process.
- December 2023—a detailed email will be sent to the families of all WHPS 5th grade students via PowerSchool with an explanation of the lottery process and how it works.
- February 16, 2024—Lottery numbers will be sent by email to the addresses families have on-file in PowerSchool
- March 4 & 7, 2024—Information sessions at Bristow
- March 15, 2024—deadline for families to notify us of their preference.
We plan to send more details to families on or around December 13, 2023. Please be sure that your current email is on file with your child’s PowerSchool account and that your email is accepting messages from the West Hartford Public Schools.
Here is a link with additional information: Bristow Middle School Lottery Information
Community Flyers
Auerfarm Winter and Spring Vacation Camp
West Hartford Youth Soccer
No Child Left Behind Winter Festival
The Bridge Family Community Center Flyer