Wildcat Weekly
March 20, 2022
Hello Wildcat Families!
Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to a parent-teacher conference either by phone, zoom or in person. The home-school connection is one of the many strengths of our WTE community and time to conference with your child's teacher plays a big part in that. I also want to thank our awesome PTO and all those that donated towards the conference night dinner for the teachers! It's always a big hit and much appreciated!
In addition to welcoming parents into the building, we welcomed our new canine friends! Shallowlee Canine will be visiting WTE weekly with a few of their finest. Teachers can sign their students up for time to visit with the pups and needless to say they were a huge hit!
To add to the excitement, students in grades K - 5 were treated to a music technology assembly in their classrooms. The assembly was held virtually and it was hosted by Brent Daniels. Although virtual, there were loads of student participation and lots of dancing and smiling throughout the school. Thank you to Mrs. Domizio and our PTO for coordinating this fun event for the students! Next up is the Magic of Science assembly to be held on March 29th.
The end of the trimester was March 9th so teachers have been working hard to finalize and verify grades. Report cards will be visible on the Parent Portal on March 23. Please see the report card information below for help understanding your child's report card.
Finally, check out the pictures below with some of the fun we had donning our green on March 17th. Kindergarten was surprised to see leprechauns had caused some shenanigans in their classrooms when they were gone, and second grade was treated to story time with a special leprechaun visitor.
That's all for now!
Dr. Cruice
March 17th Shenanigans!
Virtual Music Technology Assembly
Student Council Bake Sale
World Down Syndrome Day
Rock your best socks on Monday, March 21st as we read You Are Enough: A Book About Inclusion and celebrate all the things that make us great! Socks may be all different sizes, colors, and patterns but can still be worn together happily!
Welcome Shadowlee Canine!
WTE welcomed back Shadowlee Canine this week! Shadowlee Canine is a nonprofit that trains and certifies therapy teams to volunteer in the community and visit children in schools. The smiles speak for themselves, but the students (and staff) were all so excited to see some furry friends in our halls. Our volunteers will be back every Tuesday and Thursday to visit with a variety of students!
Enhance the WTE Library Program!
West Chester Nation Spring Basketball League
Congratulations to our most recent Power Paw winners pictured below!!
West Chester Communities That Care
Any kid, any age. Tell them you see them work hard. Whether we're 5 or 15 or 50, knowing that people in our circles value hard work teaches us to love a challenge and feel good about ourselves. For kids, it also increases their commitment to school. #bonus Learn more and claim your Resilience Building Action Plan at wcctc.org/resilience-3 #wcyouthmatter
Report Card Information
HOW TO UNDERSTAND REPORT CARDS
Grades K-2 - WCASD utilizes standards-based reporting. Each child will receive a 1, 2, 2+, 3, or 4 for each standard addressed this trimester. N/A means that the standard has not yet been assessed. This year, your child may also receive N/A if we do not have enough data/information to accurately assess your child. Please remember the goals are end of year standards/expectations. In December, you may see many 2’s and some 1’s which is appropriate for this time of year. The expectation is that students meet the standards with a 3 by the third and final report card in June. In addition, please know that 4’s are rare to receive, even at the end of the school year. For a child to reach that level, he/she is performing significantly and consistently above the standard expectations.
Grades 3-5 - WCASD utilizes numeric grades (45-100) that correspond to letter grades (A, B, C, F) for core subjects. Please know that standard grading (1, 2, 3, 4) does not correlate to a letter grade. Teachers utilize various assessments and assignments to determine an overall grade. Parents are encouraged to stay abreast of progress via Parent Portal over the course of the entire trimester. Click here to set up parent portal weekly emails if you have not already done so. This will help you stay on top of your child's grades.
Learning support students and reading support students will receive progress reports at the same time that report cards go live on Parent Portal in December.
LRBS- Learning Related Behaviors are assessed for all students: (NI) needs improvement, (P) progressing, or (DC) demonstrates consistently. This year, your child may receive N/A if there is not enough data/information to accurately assess the LRB.
Special Area Subjects - For grades K-5, we utilize standards-based reporting as noted above for K-2.
SEL at WTE
●Objective 1: To develop awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success
●Objective 2: To demonstrate social-awareness and interpersonal skills to create and maintain positive relationships.
●Objective 3: To demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behavior in personal, school and community contexts.
Here at WTE, we focus on a different objective each trimester. This is not only embedded to our teachers lessons and activities, but also done purposefully with scheduled classroom meetings and grade level meetings where the students work on these skills. The final months of school from March - June will be spent focusing on decision-making skills and responsible behavior. Be sure to talk to your kids at home about these important life skills that they are learning!
Volunteers Needed for Track Meet
Is your child in 4th or 5th grade? We are excited to share that the 4th and 5th District-Wide Track Meet is back! Our students will enjoy a day at the WCU track in a friendly competition against other WCASD elementary schools. WE WILL NEED YOUR HELP!!! The success of the track meet rests heavily on the parent volunteers. YOU WILL NEED YOUR CLEARANCES. You can visit this link on the district website for information for information about obtaining your clearances. We suggest you put in for your clearances now as they do sometimes take a bit of time to receive them back.
Save the Date below to attend as a parent volunteer. More information will come with specific times.
May 18, 2022 (rain date – 5/20)
Volunteers Needed for Pretzel Fridays
Help make pretzel Friday's successful by volunteering to sort pretzels by class and prepare the pretzel bags for pick up. Please click on the sign-up genius below for more details and to sign-up for a slot. Thank you in advance!
Nurse's Corner
Important Attendance Reminders
ABSENCES/LATE ARRIVALS
For all absences or late arrivals, please call the Safe Arrival phone line at 484-266-1810. This answering system can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to leave messages.
A maximum of ten (10) days absence for students verified by a parent note will be considered an excused absence. All absences beyond the tenth day of absence will require a note from a licensed practitioner of the healing arts. The caveat to that is the five vacation days students are permitted each year that can also be used as parent notes instead, which brings the total to 15. After that, you’ll need doctor notes or they will be unlawful.
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Early Dismissals
- For all early dismissals, you MUST send in a signed note with your child on the day of the early dismissal. Only if it is a last-minute emergency change, please CALL the office at 484-266-1802 or 1803.
- Doctor notes will excuse the time that your child is being absent from the school day.
- Early dismissals that are 60 minutes or more before the end of the school day without a doctor's note, will be considered an unlawful early dismissal.
- Early dismissals that are less than 60 minutes before the end of the school day, will require a parent note to be excused and will not count as a full day absence.
Drop Off
The school day begins at 9:10 which means students must be in their classroom by 9:10.
This year the gate to the parent drop-off will be closed at 9:00 a.m.
Please be sure to drop your child off with enough time to get to their classroom by 9:10 so that they are not marked late.
- ACP uses the cafeteria and the back playground. If you are later than 8:30 for ACP drop off, continue all the way to the back in the regular CAR LOOP with the rest of the parents, please.
- Buses are able to transport more kids than last year, so that should help alleviate our large car line from last year (hopefully).
- If the gate is closed when you arrive, please park your car and walk your child to the door to be let in. If it is after 9:10, you will need to sign them in, too. If it is later than 9:00 but the buses are also still emptying, you are able to drop them off at the walkway as we will still have staff out front.