Next week begins Teacher Appreciation Week. When we think of conveying knowledge, an Albert Einstein quote comes to mind. “I never teach my pupils: I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” In order to achieve this objective, our teachers work in teams to plan and design lessons. They gather resources, share, and reflect on progress. Much of this work is done as part of a teacher team, so I am spending the month honoring each Professional Learning Community (PLC) publicly. Starting next week, you will receive a special edition of the Wasco Weekly called the Teacher Appreciation edition. In each edition, we will highlight the unique contributions and achievements of each teacher team because they are what make Wasco prodigious.

Dear Families,

As we approach May, we all anticipate end of school year events. The staff and I are working alongside the other elementary school buildings to organize and plan fun events while still recognizing our current safety protocols. Our building is not currently receiving visitors, so parents cannot attend end of school year celebrations. On the last day of school, we will be celebrating the 5th graders with a “Clap Out” and there will be a designated staging area for 5th grade parents outside of our building. We recognize that this news is difficult for some. We hope you will understand our efforts to preserve the wellness of our school community until the very last day of school. Our purpose remains at the forefront-a commitment to your child's academic development preparing them for their future success.

*Another note: Mrs. Misner has traditionally held a fantastic Field Day event for Wasco school in the past. Without our parent volunteers, the event required some restructuring. For this year, our PE Department organized Wasco Olympics. Each grade level will have their own designated time of outside games and festivities. I will share the plans when they are finalized. Thank you Mrs. Misner! This school year required many adjustments on your part, and you have continued to provide quality activities for the kids!

Kind Regards,

Principal Brennan

Our room parents were contacted last week in preparation for end of year parties. The room parents work with the classroom teachers to identify ways to help organize these fun events for students. If you have questions about how to get involved, the office can help you connect with your room parent.

Parties will be held with students and teachers- following the current safety protocols. Just like the Winter party, the party components are to be decided by the grade level teachers so that all parties at the grade level are equitable. The teachers work with the parent volunteers to organize the activities. If party supplies are provided by volunteers, they must be delivered to school three days before the event. There can be no exceptions. If snacks are provided, they must be individually wrapped, and they will be eaten outside of the school building.

We are excited to invite our fifth grade parents to our annual tradition, the 5th Grade Clap Out. During the 5th Grade Clap Out, 5th grade parents stand in designated areas outside on the last day of school while Wasco Elementary “Claps Out” the 5th grade students in a celebration of their transition to Middle School. As part of the celebration, 5th grade students and their parents are invited to wear a Thompson Middle School T-Shirt. The order form is below. This celebration will occur at 1:30 on May 28 (students exit at 1:40).

April 29 Lunchroom Supervisor Appreciation Day

April 30 Read In/Pajama Day

May 11 Virtual Band Concert at 6:45pm

May 28 Last day of school!

This year, students in grades 2-5 and students in 6-12 will be completing a universal screening tool to assess their academic, social, and emotional learning skills. The use of universal screening allows us to refine and strengthen our efforts to help all students achieve success by taking positive and preventative measures as early as possible. This also provides us with the opportunity to assist students who may need additional support with academic, social, and emotional learning.

One of the universal screening tools used by the District is the ECRA SEL Survey, which focuses on the following areas:

• Responsible Decision Making

• Self-Regulation

• Social/Relationships

Dear Fourth Grade Families-

Hesitant to enroll your child up for band? Not sure what to expect as a band parent? Check out this short video to get the parent perspective on joining band and why enrolling your child is one of the best things you can do!

Parent Video BPOTM

You can enroll your child in the D303 band program by visiting:

D303 Elementary Band Website

No previous musical experience required to join band!

Save the Date!

Band Parent Town Hall Virtual Meeting

THURSDAY May 13 6:00PM Band

Marianne Rice, Elementary Band Director

marianne.rice@d303.org

The Premier of the 5th Grade Spring Band Virtual Concert is coming soon!

Tuesday, May 11 6:45 P.M.

The instruments of the Orchestra are the violin, viola, cello, and string bass. For more information, please review the D303 Orchestra Website. Please attend one of our Orchestra Townhall information meetings on May 13 or 18 at 7:00pm. Questions? Contact one of our Orchestra teachers: Christopher Pettit at christopher.pettit@d303.org; or Jorge Brito at jorge.brito@d303.org

New Band Parent Informational Meeting - Virtual

New Orchestra Parent Information Meeting - Virtual

THURSDAY May 13

6:00PM Band

7:00PM Orchestra

TUESDAY, May 18

7:00PM Orchestra

*More information and links coming soon!

Mrs. Therrien, our Music Teacher, has been including an SEL song of the month at the end of some of her music classes. If you are interested in listening with your children, you are welcome to use the links below. These songs are offered through one of our curricular resources, Quaver, and if you visit their youtube channel (QuaverED) you'll find many SEL songs appropriate to share with our learners.

March: Enojo No Tiene el Control and I Believe in You

April: Unico (English version: You-Nique)

Families, while many of us appreciate pets, unfortunately on school campus we need to be considerate of all, including those with allergies. We also recognize that not all students know how to safely approach unfamiliar animals. For these reasons, and perhaps others, we ask that you do not bring pets to our campus during school hours.

Covid

The CDC has removed 4 symptoms from the Covid symptom list and KCHD and D303 have adopted them. Therefore, if your student has a runny nose, congestion, nausea or stomach ache they do not need to be excluded from school.

But remember…

…If ANYONE in the household has the following symptoms described below then ALL siblings need to stay home from school until the one with symptoms is cleared from their physician with an alternative diagnosis stating the symptoms are not related to Covid or a negative Covid test.

Fever(100.4 or higher), new onset of moderate to severe headache, shortness of breath, new cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain from unknown cause, new loss of sense of smell or taste, fatigue from unknown cause, muscle and/or body aches.

Masks

The students are outdoors for recess and their masks can become moist from breathing in the cool air. Moist masks cause a decreased barrier of protection from germs. Please provide a couple of extra masks stored in baggies to be replaced after recess. We do have extra masks but for emergency use only. We do not have enough masks for every student with a moist and/or broken one.

Kindly,

Nurse Tina

We are in the process of registering students for kindergarten- be sure to tell your friends!

The District 303 Kindergarten enrollment process for the 2021-2022 school year will be virtual! Between January 19 and March 12, families will be able to enroll their kindergarten-age children by visiting the Kindergarten Registration & Information page of the District 303 website. On the site you will find:

• The New Student Intake Form (coming January 19, 2021)

• The Kindergarten Step-by-Step Guide for registration

• Health and Dental exams and immunization information

• Contact information for all elementary schools

• Information about Full Day and Half Day Kindergarten

Students will need to have a balance on their accounts to cover the items they wish to purchase from the Ala Cart menu. Our school has water bottle fillers throughout the building and students are welcome to refill their bottle at any time. As a reminder, all school lunches come with a milk. If you would like to check the balance on your account, the link for Push Coin is below.

Our school library is here to provide reading materials for your child. We have three ways to access fiction and nonfiction books: Print books for In-Person Learners, Digital/eBooks for In Persona and Remote learners, and Book Pickup for Remote learners. Please use this link below to access the pathway you choose. Happy reading!

Book Checkout procedures

The informative video below will walk you through steps to access your child's progress on our most recent iReady test. You will be able to view the diagnostic scale score information and a record of your child's independent iReady practice.

i-Ready Family Video

Starting November 10th, Organic Life will be offering breakfast at all Elementary Schools. Breakfast meals are free for all students just like the lunches.

Students will have the option to order breakfast in the morning as they already do for lunch. Organic Life will prep the breakfast bags and deliver them to the classrooms by 1:20pm each day for students. This helps to support students eating a breakfast before coming to school the next day.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our office.

As you know, we are using the Second Step program in your child’s classroom. The Second Step program teaches children important skills for getting along with others and doing well in school. It also helps our school be a safe,

respectful place where everyone can learn.

To further help our school be a safe and respectful place, we are also using the Second Step Bullying Prevention Unit. In these upcoming lessons, your child will learn specific skills to help stop bullying. Students will learn how to:

• Recognize when bullying is happening

• Report bullying to a caring adult

• Refuse to let bullying happen to themselves or others

• Be a bystander who stands up and is part of the solution to bullying

For bullying prevention to work, everyone needs to be involved. Get involved in making our school a safe and respectful place by letting us know if you hear about bullying at our school. Make sure your child knows to tell you or someone at school if he or she is being bullied. And give your child the clear message that it is never okay to bully others.

Rebecca Schroeder, Wasco School Social Worker

Last spring, Mrs. Misner, our Wasco Physical Education teacher, was awarded two grants from the Greater St. Charles Education Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting excellence in education within Community Unit School District 303. The group provides grants to teachers and several scholarships each year to our St. Charles High School students. Mrs. Misner received a grant for $274.98 for a Gopher Ignition Pro Interval Trainer that will be temporarily mounted on the wall in the gym. The timer can also be placed on a table so it is moveable. This will provide a great visual for station work and fitness training.

A second grant was written by Mrs. Misner for $990.31 on behalf of the D303 Elementary Physical Education team for new bowling equipment. The bowling equipment travels to each school throughout the year with all of our elementary students using it. The purchase was for 3 new bowling lanes including a rubber bowling ball and 10 pins and 6 new lightweight bowling balls for our primary and students with special needs to use.

Mrs. Misner would like to express her gratitude to the Greater St. Charles Education Foundation for their continued support of education and students in D303. If you are interested in learning more about the Foundation or would like to make a donation, the website is http://stced.org/

Parents we really appreciate your attention to safety you are when you arrive on campus. As inclement weather approaches, we are working to make sure we move traffic as smoothly as possible. Here are some suggestions:

• Please pull up AS FAR AS POSSIBLE in available space, without occupying the crosswalks (marked with white stripes). This will enable us to place more students in cars.

• Please be aware of loading quickly so that we can exit cars in the pickup line as quickly as possible.

• Take care to limit social interactions while driving. During arrival and dismissal, there is a lot of activity and we want to ensure all adults are watchful for moving students.

• Encourage your child to watch for your vehicle.

Parents and other visitors to a school campus are expected to be wearing a mask when at the school. Our school community goal is to be as safe as possible and following the precautions such as wearing a mask when sharing space with others or when we are unable to keep our distance is a community practice that decreases the spread of germs. Your help modeling mask-wearing and spacing from others demonstrates our commitment to the health of one another.

We realize there is much information to digest, especially if you are a parent new to Wasco. Please use this link to access a plethora of information about the daily operation of our school. We hope this guide answers all of your questions. When in doubt, please reach out to our office. We are happy to help! Even if you are a returning family, you might want to keep the link handy.

Transportation route information is accessible to families using this link: Bus Routes. You will need your HAC number to access the information. Transportation route information will not be sent home through the mail and can only be accessed online. Please note that for the first two weeks of the school year, the district will not make adjustments to the transportation routes. Our transportation department will collect suggestions about the routes and make adjustments where necessary after the first two weeks of classes.

Since March, District 303 has collaborated with our food service vendors to provide grab and go meals for students to enjoy at home. We want to make you aware of the procedures for making sure that students continue to receive meals, whether they are learning in-person or remotely.

Families who choose to purchase meals for their children will have their PushCoin accounts debited, unless eligible for free lunch. For more information about eligibility for free and reduced lunch, please contact Patricia Townsend at 331.228.6529.