Wickliffe Family Update
April 7, 2024 Notes and News
Dear Families,
Congratulations to Kathie Zelnik on receiving the Golden Star Apple Award. We were incredibly proud to honor her dedication and hard work this past week.
As a reminder we have early release tomorrow at 1:00 pm for the solar eclipse. We're thrilled to provide our students with the opportunity to witness this event. Solar eclipse glasses for every student should have gone home on Thursday and/or Friday. Please check your child's backpack if you haven't already done so.
Additionally, the Art Show, will take place this Tuesday and Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. We encourage as many of you as possible to attend and show your support for our PTO and our talented students.
As always, we'd love for you to share any adventures by tagging @Wickwolves on Instagram. And don't forget to follow our daily moments at Wickliffe on our Wickliffe Instagram page @Wickwolves.
Wishing you all a fantastic week!
Angela
- April 8: Solar eclipse - Early release for the eclipse (1 p.m. for ES; 1:30 p.m. for MS/HS)
- April 9-10: Wickliffe Art Show: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
April 12: Town Meeting (Pilutti/Shivers/NIPEN Visitors)
April 12: Last day to order Wickapalooza t-shirts
April 15-16: 3rd Grade ELA State Test
April 16: DEI Committee Meeting - CANCELLED
April 17-18: 4th/5th Grade ELA State Test
April 22-23: 4th/5th Grade Math State Test
April 26: Town Meeting (JAM Club/Blair)
- April 29-30: 3rd Grade Math State Test
- May 1-2: 5th Grade Science State Test
May 10: Town Meeting
May 10: Wickapalooza from 6-8:30 pm
May 14: Field Day - Volunteers needed, please see link in PTO Updates
- May 14: Board of Education regular meeting, 6 p.m. at the city building
- May 17: Town Meeting: Craycraft-Hohn
May 17: 5th Grade Party (2:50-5:00 pm)
May 22: Town Meeting: 5th Grade Graduation at 8:30
- May 23: Last day for students; early dismissal (elementary 1:00pm; secondary 1:30pm)
- May 26: UAHS 100th commencement ceremony, 9:30 a.m., Schottenstein Center
- May 28: Last Day Castle Playground will be open
- May 29: Castle deconstruction begins
Wickliffe Updates
Diana I. Kline Author Visit
Wickliffe will be hosting an author visit on Friday, April 12 as part of our celebration of the Solar Eclipse and Earth Day!
Diana I. Kline will be at the school to share her book, “A Solar System Chat," and she will visit neighborhoods during the day to share her book as well as ideas and tips about the writing process.
Dr. Kline is currently a Senior Lecturer in the College of Engineering at Ohio State.
There are copies of the book available for purchase, and Dr. Kline is offering a friends and family discount available for pre-orders.
Book Order Form - A Solar System Chat
Paperback books are $15.00 and hardback copies are $20.00. There also will be a limited number of books to sell on site.
Spring State Testing
Grades 3-5 Spring Ohio State Testing Dates and Resources:
Below are dates for spring Ohio Math, English Language Arts, and Science Tests for grades 3-5. We appreciate you looking ahead to these dates when scheduling appointments and planned absences.
3rd grade:
- ELA-April 15/16
- Math- April 29/30
4th/5th grade:
- ELA- April 17/18
- Math-April 22/23
- Science-may 1 & 2
Families can find online information and resources at this website: https://oh.portal.airast.org/users/students-and-families.stml
Progressive Education Network Conference
Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School will be hosting the Progressive Education Network biennial national conference October 17th - 20th of this year, welcoming around 300 progressive educators from across the country to the community. Our theme this year is The Space Between: How Progressive Education Fosters Curiosity, Creativity, Community, and Connection. By bringing together so many educators, we hope to build on the common vision of pedagogy articulated by leaders in progressive education while enthusiastically embracing a commitment to diversity, equity, and justice in our schools.
We would love to invite Upper Arlington businesses and community members to partner with us in presenting this event. If you are able to financially contribute to the event through sponsorship or donation, we would be greatly appreciative of your support. Please follow this link or reach out to conference@progressiveeducationnetwork.org for more information. Thank you Wickliffe and Upper Arlington supporters!
Wickliffe Progressive Elementary PTO
We are in critical need of a few more volunteers to help make this possible— parents/caretakers, former Wickliffe students and current are all welcome to help! Volunteer for a 1 hour time slot here.
Finally, order your student(s) one-of-a-kind masterpiece now so you can skip the line later.
PS: This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, with tons of fun raffle packages in store, including teacher/staff experiences, generous business and family donations, and more! Don’t miss it!
Jason McKibben and Ashley Neeley
23/24 PTO Co-Presidents
Pre-Sale of Wickapalooza T- Shirts
Deadline to order shirts is Friday, April 12th.
5th Grade Experience
Dear 5th Grade Families,
Our fifth graders are getting ready to leave Wickliffe and move onto middle school! To celebrate the incredible people they have become, the PTO and teachers are planning end-of-year activities. Please help us by completing this form at your earliest convenience, and at the latest by April 14th.
- select your student's t-shirt size
- enter important information about your child's participation in the 5th grade party
- upload kindergarten and 5th grade photos (8MB max file size), and
- pay a contribution towards the costs.
We are asking for a donation of $30 per student to help fund the 5th Grade Party, the 5th Grade Town Meeting and the Graduation cookie reception. If your family is not in a position to make this contribution, please still fill out this form and then use the scholarship code 2024GRAD at checkout to waive the contribution fee.
Please contact Emily Poe at emilyspoe@gmail.com or Rachel Menezes at rmenezes2000@yahoo.com if you have questions, and please watch for opportunities to volunteer at the 5th grade events!
Key dates:
- 5th Grade only outdoor lunches will be held on Mondays on 4/29, 5/6, 5/13 and 5/20.
- 5th Grade party will be after school on Friday, 5/17 from 2:50pm-5pm, at Wickliffe.
- 5th Grade Graduation Town Meeting/Cookie Reception will be on the second to last day of school on Wednesday, 5/22.
Volunteer for Field Day
Volunteers are needed to assist on Field Day! Please click this link to sign up!
DEI Community Read
You Belong Book Read
We're excited to share a new (optional) district-wide You Belong Family Book Read, a collaboration among PTOs and Upper Arlington City Schools to build community through shared experiences. During the month of April families are invited to read Just Roll With It, a middle-grade graphic novel that focuses on themes surrounding mental wellness and belonging. On May 11 community members are invited to a celebration at Thompson Park from 12:00pm - 2:00pm featuring a discussion with the illustrator and author of Just Roll With It, Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie.
In addition to getting a behind-the-scenes look at creating graphic novels on May 11 and discussing themes from the book, we'll also be collecting gently used books with Seeds of Caring. Bring any youth or adult book along with you May 11 and decorate a bookmark to add a little more love to your donation.
To purchase your copy of Just Roll With It or to purchase books to donate to a school, please visit Cover to Cover. For more information on the You Belong UA Family Book Read, please visit https://youbelongua.org. We'll be updating information on the website as more details are finalized.
Yolks for Playground Folks!
Through one of our parent volunteers, we have secured a weekly delivery of farm-fresh eggs! The eggs have been ethically sourced from chickens incredibly well taken care of by an Amish farmer in Fredrickton, OH. The ladies are fed a vegetarian/non-GMO diet, are outside during daylight hours and are never given medication, antibiotics or hormones. The eggs are super fresh - farm to your house! Please see the attached sign-up for details, payment and pick-up instructions. Sign-Up Here
Seeking Volunteers to help with distribution once a month for ~30 minutes per week.
Please email: wickliffewoods@gmail.com
Counseling Updates
Hello families, happy spring! Lots of updates for you this go around. Firstly, I want to remind all of you that my last day at Wickliffe will be April 19th (unless this baby has other plans). I am doing my best to meet with individual kids and collaborate with you all and teachers to help ensure a smooth end of the year for our students. If you were wanting to connect with me about your child, please feel free to reach out!
Classroom Lessons:
In the month of March, we are focused on digital well-being. K’s are learning how to pause, breathe and put devices away. 1st graders are beginning to identify how spending time on technology makes them feel. 2/3s are creating rules around screen time for themselves and their families, and 4/5s are learning about the permanency of their digital footprint!
Body Safety and Awareness Lessons:
Beginning in April, across all UA elementaries, school counselors will be conducting lessons on body safety. Students will be learning about unsafe and unwanted touches, how to refuse unwanted touches, and what to do if their body boundaries are violated. For more information on the specific content of the lessons as well as the evidenced-based curriculum we use see this letter. These lessons will begin the first week of April and I will be sending out a detailed letter on what your child learned that day.
Groups
We will be offering a new round of groups for April and May. These groups will be posted in the next family update if they are open for anyone to join.
Middle School Transition Group:
We will be offering an open group for 5th graders who are feeling anxious about the transition to middle school or saying goodbye to Wickliffe. You can find the permission slip for that here.
Dr. Becky Kennedy Podcast on Parenting
This podcast discusses actionable protocols for raising resilient, emotionally healthy kids and effective alternatives to typical forms of reward and punishment that instead teach children valuable skills and strengthen the parent-child bond.
District Updates
UPDATES FROM SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE/COMMUNICATIONS
New date! Summer Academy registration
Due to a conflict with the Fostering a Conversation event, registration for Summer Academy will open at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 on our website. Upper Arlington Schools is proud to offer exceptional summer academic and well-being programming for our students free of charge for 2024 thanks to federal funding.
View Summer Academy course offerings
Open Enrollment Reminder
All students enrolled in the Upper Arlington school district are assigned to the school providing the regular or special education program serving their attendance area. Students wishing to attend a different school must complete and submit an intra-district enrollment request form. Applications must be completed by the parent(s)/guardian(s) and submitted to the office of the Director of Data and Accountability at the Upper Arlington Schools Graf Center between February 15 and April 15 to ensure timely consideration for the following school year. Families may learn more about this process on our Open Enrollment page.
Please note that we are unable to accept enrollments from students living outside the Upper Arlington school district.
Strategic planning update
Work on the latest version of the district’s strategic plan is underway, with students, staff members, parents and community stakeholders coming together to envision the future of learning in Upper Arlington. You can learn more about the strategic planning process in this video.
Please mark your calendars for the following opportunity to learn more and share your thoughts.
Community Engagement Session on Strategic Planning
May 9 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Upper Arlington High School, 1625 Zollinger Road
Last day early release times
We are returning to the standard early release times for the last day of school on May 23. That means we will release at 1 p.m. for ES and 1:30 p.m. for MS/HS. The calendar on the district website has been updated to reflect this.
UPDATES FROM CHIEF EXCELLENCE AND ENGAGEMENT OFFICER
You Belong Family Book Read Event
We're excited to share a new (optional) district-wide You Belong Family Book Read, a collaboration among PTOs and Upper Arlington City Schools to build community through shared experiences. During the month of April, families are invited to read Just Roll With It, a middle-grade graphic novel that focuses on themes surrounding mental wellness and belonging. On May 11, 2024, community members are invited to a celebration at Thompson Park from 12:00 - 2:00, featuring a discussion with the illustrator and author of Just Roll With It, Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie.
For more information, please visit https://youbelongua.org. For more information, please visit https://youbelongua.org. Check the website as more information becomes available. Questions may be directed to wellbeing@uaschools.org.
SACC ENROLLMENT FOR 2024-2025
Pre-registration for the 2024-2025 school year for ALL families — including current SACC families, wait list and new to SACC — will be open from Monday, April 1 through Friday, April 19 via a link at www.uaschools.org/SACC.
For the 2024-2025 school year, a full-time option (Monday-Friday) and part-time options will continue to be available; however, the part-time options will look different, with the choice of a set schedule of either Monday-Wednesday-Friday (MWF) or Tuesday-Thursday (T-Th). SACC is a popular program for many families, and by requiring a set part-time schedule throughout the school year, SACC will be able to accept more students into the program while still following the guidelines mandated by the Ohio Department of Education.
CURRENT SACC FAMILIES: Currently enrolled families are guaranteed enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year if their pre-registration is completed within the April window and the nonrefundable pre-registration fee ($35 per family) is paid at that time. Requests for a change in enrollment status, including the addition of a sibling/siblings, will be processed as received.
WAIT LIST FAMILIES: Families currently on the wait-list are guaranteed enrollment for the upcoming school year if the pre-registration is completed within the April window and the nonrefundable pre-registration fee ($35 per family) is paid at that time. Any incoming siblings will also be added to the roster as the pre-registration is received.
NEW FAMILIES: If your family is not currently enrolled in SACC or on the wait-list, you must complete the pre-registration for the 2024-2025 school year during the April 1-19 window to be included in a blind lottery to determine placement. The lottery will determine who is accepted into any open spot, who is on the wait-list and who will need to wait until the following year to pre-register again. New families will be notified of their placement before Wednesday, May 1. If you are placed on a roster, a nonrefundable pre-registration fee ($35 per family) and your September tuition will be due. If you are placed on a waiting list, the nonrefundable pre-registration fee ($35 per family) and your Tuition Agreement from the SACC office will be due when you receive confirmation of placement. If you are not placed on a roster or waiting list, you will be notified to re-apply the following spring.
Helpful Links
Attendance Information - Click link for full details
If your child will be absent from school, please email wickliffeattendance@uaschools.org. Please state a reason for your child’s absence. If you are emailing your child’s teacher regarding attendance, simply copy the attendance email - no need to send separate emails.
There is a link to the attendance email in the Upper Arlington Schools app
Please obtain a medical excuse for ANY visit to a doctor, dentist, therapist, etc that occurs during a school day.
Planned Absence Form - Forms should be completed 10 school days in advance of the first date of the planned absence whenever possible. Otherwise, the absence may be unexcused.
Instagram Account ~ @wickwolves
Lunchroom Helper - click here to Volunteer
PowerSchool Parent Portal: https://ps-uar.metasolutions.net/public/home.html
If you need assistance logging into PowerSchool, you may reach out to: familytechhelp@uaschools.org
Email: schoolbusquestions@uaschools.org
Links to Previous Updates:
All of our updates can be found on the Wickliffe website under “school news”.
This email has been sent to you by WICKLIFFE PROGRESSIVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. If you received this email in error, please contact allcall@uaschools.org.