Wildcat News
~ First full week of school, five days: 8/29/22 - 9/2/22 ~
Safe, Responsible, & Kind...Wood Wildcats!
Wood Families:
August has been, for us, the month focused on Welcoming our Wildcats for the 22-23 year, though it is our hope that "welcoming" is always a way you can describe your experience at Wood regardless of the month of the year.
I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little more about our work with High Reliability School. We at Wood are excited to work alongside our District towards ensuring equitable opportunities and outcomes for all our students. Our work at Wood is guided primarily by two initiatives: Culturally Responsive Teaching & High Reliability Schools (HRS) about which you read in last week's newsletter. HRS like Culturally Responsive Teaching is a multi-year endeavor for continuous school improvement, including the development and implementation of culturally responsive teaching practices through which we strive to nurture community and deliver rigor with care for all our students.
Together, these two frameworks help our school community collaboratively fulfill our mission at Grant Wood: To provide academic rigor with care to every student, every day - and to do so through a welcoming and safe learning experience.
We're not only excited to work alongside our District, we are also excited to work with you, our families, throughout this year and the years to come to provide our Wildcats a learning experience that they can take with them well into their lives beyond Wood, a learning experience that prepares them for the opportunities to come throughout their lives: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Sincerely,
Ms. Maria (she, her)
Principal
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AUGUST dates to NOTE below:
- Monday - August 29th, first day of preschool;
- Morning preschool only, 7:55am- 10:45am;
- We do not have afternoon pre-school at this time.
Upcoming SEPTEMBER dates to note:
- September 5th: Labor Day, NO School
- September 28th: School Photo Day
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Principal: Ms. Maria, martin.maria@iowacityschools.org
Office Secretary: Ms. Kiana, samaniego.kiana@iowacityschools.org
Attendance Secretary: Ms. Kara, steggall.kara@iowacityschools.org
School Facilitator: Mr. Brown, brown.ryan@iowacityschools.org
Counselor: Ms. Newman, newman.heather@iowacityschools.org
Student & Family Advocate: Mrs. Palante, palante.alyssa@iowacityschools.org
Instructional Design Strategist (IDS): Ms. Fischer, fischer.stacy@iowacityschools.org
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#GrantWood-SAFE
#GrantWood-RESPONSIBLE
#GrantWood-KIND
#TheWildcatWay
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Email: martin.maria@iowacityschools.org
Website: https://www.iowacityschools.org/Domain/552
Location: 1930 Lakeside Dr, Iowa City, IA 52240, USA
Phone: 319-688-1180
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwoodwildcats/
Twitter: @GrantWood_IC
2022- '23 - Car Line, BUS access Update
Each year we aim to prepare for both our driving families and our bus access within our parking lot. This year, Wood has multiple busses providing transportation to our students and therefore requiring access to our parking lot.
The long (full-length) bus will be pulling into and out of the extra parking area on the west lot. Similarly, the shorter busses: one District bus and one Lionheart bus will be pulling into the parking lot at the car line area - though using the entrance that is to find parking, note that those busses "park" at the car line or the bus lane at the west (small) parking lot. Your patience with the car line as we direct these busses in and out of the parking lot is greatly appreciated.
Below are the IMPORTANT changes that went into effect to our parking lot this year:
- The main access closest to the school sign on Lakeside Dr., is a two-lane ENTRANCE ONLY now;
- The far right lane is only for car line use...no parking; please do not leave your car/vehicle unattended in the car line;
- The left lane is for parents, families, & visitors seeking to park as well as our two shorter busses mentioned above;
- Parents/Guardians/Families that intend to walk away from your vehicle, up to the building or into the building at drop off to walk your child up to the walkway or building; or at pick up time to pick up your child ...you should use this entrance lane.
- The middle access by the bushes is an EXIT ONLY - never to be used to enter the parking lot by any vehicle.
- The far west access is an exit lane for the full length bus that parks in the west lot.
- While we hoped our shorter bus would be entering at the car line entrance up to the driveway at the gate, and exiting at the middle EXIT ONLY lane; they may enter in the inner most "entrance only car lane" and pull up to their designated parking as directed by parking lot staff - again your patience and support of the parking lot safety measures are greatly appreciated.
Please see the parking lot map image below for clarity - email Ms. Maria, Principal (martin.maria@iowacityschools.org) with any questions.
Thank you for your extra attention to parking lot safety!
Safety First...
Screener Notification - mySAEBRs (2nd-6th grade)
Dear Families,
This letter provides information about our school’s continued efforts to identify all students who may need additional help to meet student learning goals. During the 2022-2023 school year, the students in our 2nd-6th grade classrooms will participate in universal social, academic, emotional behavior screening that is designed to help schools identify students who may need additional support due to social, academic, or emotional concerns.
We will use the student universal screener, called mySAEBRS, provided through FastBridge Learning®. FastBridge Learning® is the same system we use for our reading and math screeners three times a year. The mySAEBRS screener asks students to complete a 20-item computer-based questionnaire related to their academic, emotional, and social skills. Our school’s leadership team will review the screening scores after the testing. Screening reports will be reviewed during conferences and sent home with all students as part of their end of year information.
We plan to participate in this screening three times during the year (fall, winter and spring). If you are concerned about your student participating in the mySAEBRS screening process or want additional information, please contact me.
Thank you,
Maria Martin, Principal
Grant Wood Elementary
Our Next PTO meeting will be this Wednesday, Aug. 31st at 5:30pm
22-23 Drop Off (Breakfast & Line up) Safety Protocols
BREAKFAST opens at 7:30am -
- Only students that intend to eat breakfast should enter the cafeteria (this is different from last year.
- While breakfast opens at 7:30am - students not eating breakfast should not arrive before 7:40am, Wood cannot provide supervision prior to 7:40am;
- Parents/Guardians that drive are encouraged to use our front parking lot to drop off students - students arriving for breakfast will have the option of following the outside walkway to the cafeteria door (door 19); or to enter the building by way of the community foyer (door 25)
- For safety reasons only Wood students can enter the building at these two doors for breakfast - any parent or family member wanting to enter the building with their student, must follow the sign in procedures at the office before entering our building beyond the office. Thank you for your understanding and support of our safety measures which are in place for the safety of all our students and staff.
- Students will not be sent or allowed access to classrooms before the teacher escorts their class from their outside line up spot.
- Parents/Guardians that drive - if you do not use the school's front parking lot - please note that it is your responsibility to follow all City road/driving rules and laws - please use safety above all else.
- This year we are reinstating outdoor line up protocols -
- ...students not eating breakfast at school must report to their line up location (which will be specified by grade below)
- ...students that enter the cafeteria for breakfast and finish eating prior to 7:50 will be instructed to exit the cafeteria and report to their line up location
- ...students still eating at 7:50am will be reminded that they have 3min minutes to finish eating and directed to their classroom at 7:53am
- Our school day - instructional learning day starts at 7:55am
LINE UP LOCATIONS:
- Kindergarten (KG) will continue to line up at door 18 before school, (however, given the afternoon schedule - we are considering dismissal at the front parking lot along with everyone else) - there will be more follow up on this matter - given we are aware that not all families are driving families for drop off and pick
- 1st grade will line up at the paved area outside door 25 (the door labeled COMMUNITY)
- 2nd grade will line up at the front of the building, close to the front door (door 1)
- 3rd grade will have two line up locations:
- Mr. Munoz's class will line up just past the gate at the front of the building (where the car port used to be) which will be the same area as 4th grade line up;
- Ms. Meyer (which many know as Ms. Leunis), her class will line up close to 1st grade by door 25;
- 4th grade as mentioned earlier will line up on the paved area just past the gate at the front of the building, close to the tree
- 5th grade will line up close to door date which is at the walkway that is parallel to the Safety village.
- 6th grade will also line up at this walkway that is parallel to Safety Village but not as far up as 5th grade - and rather closer to the tree.
ATTENDANCE-
- Students arriving to school after 7:55am will be marked tardy
- Students arriving over 60min (i.e. over an hour late) will start accruing absence time - our attendance response team will follow up further with families that may need further clarification or assistance with this concern.
- Students arriving to campus or the building before 7:55am but not their classroom will be marked tardy - it is our goal not to be punitive but to be clear that just as we take safety as our main priority for a positive learning experience for all our students - we also strive to teach our students the value of being responsible which includes being on time.
- Our Office response team will contact parents/guardians of student that are unexcused absent the day of the absence - communication may be in the form phone call, email, and/or text. Communication may also be processed with the assistance of interpreters from a service called - Language Line.
- Our Office response team will also be following up further with parents of students when students' absences become multiple - this may include additional phone calls, District attendance letters, required meetings at school, and other responses that we will explain further if they become necessary for us to put in use.
- As a PBIS school - we are committed to not only focus our energies to responding to concerns when they arise - we also seek to acknowledge all the positives that happen each day, throughout the day. This year, Ms. Maria will be awarding perfect attendance certificates.
DISMISSAL: Our School day ends at 2:55pm each school day except, Thursdays.
- On Thursdays, our school day ends at 1:55pm
- Please complete this confidential form to inform us of your child's or children's dismissal plan after school.
- On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays please pick up your child by 3pm
- On Thursdays please pick up your child by 2pm.
Wood's Wildcat Way: Be Safe, Responsible, & Kind
We have confidence that together, collectively, we can positively nurture a safe and welcoming school community, as well as a safe and supportive learning experience for all our students.
Thank you!
Let us be a community working together to teach our kids to be Safe, Responsible, and Kind.
Voice level expectation - will be determined by context and circumstance - and communicated to our students accordingly throughout the school day and year.
IMPORTANT - Meal Costs, 2022-23 school year
Unfortunately, the government-funded free meal program for all students that was established during the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end at the conclusion of the 2021-22 school year. This means that there will now be a cost associated with school meals for all families who do not meet the Free & Reduced Meal requirements when school begins on August 23, 2022.
We understand this change may cause concern; however, there are important steps you can take today to make sure your student receives the meals they need this school year.
If your student qualifies and you have not already done so, please be sure to complete the 2022-23 application for Free & Reduced Meals. The 2022-2023 online Free & Reduced Meals application can be found at https://www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict. If you need assistance completing this form, please contact the Nutrition Services Department at (319) 688-1021.
Families that do not qualify for free or reduced meals can begin depositing money into their student’s meal account by logging into MySchoolBucks.com. Information on meal prices for the 2022-2023 school year can be found at www.iowacityschools.org/MealPrices. If you have questions about adding money to your student’s account or if you need assistance accessing MySchoolBucks, please contact the Nutrition Services Department at (319) 688-1021.
We are dedicated to ensuring that all students have access to school meals and we will provide the necessary assistance to make that possible. We look forward to welcoming students back on August 23rd!
Sincerely,
Alison Demory
Director of Nutrition Services
Iowa City Community School District
Extra note about meal item costs...
Please note that if a student is only wanting a single carton of milk, there is a $.50 charge. We typically, only see this situation arise from students who bring home lunch - however, it can arise for any student and we want all our families to be aware that there is a cost for when a student only wants to get a milk or wants to have an extra milk. Full price lists can be found here, within our District's Nutrition Services website. Parents/Guardians can add money to their students' lunch accounts using My School Bucks.
22-23 Office Hours Update
Wood's office will be open 7:30-3:30pm Monday through Friday.
It is highly recommended that our families call first, when possible, before coming to the school building.
**Our Office will be with reduced staff, while our office staff take their lunch breaks or assist with matters away from the front desk; we appreciate your patience at all times but especially from 11:30am - 1::30pm.
Your understanding when our phone lines may be busy - will be needed and is ALWAYS appreciated greatly. Busy phone lines can also impact our ability to answer the door buzzer. For everyone's safety it is imperative that everyone needing in-person assistance use the office entrance and check-in at the office for any and all assistance or questions you may have while on campus, during our office hours.
If a parent/guardian is interested in speaking with a teacher/staff member, please initiate planning with an email - though you may also call the office (319-688-1180) and request that a message be given to the teacher/staff member. We will strive to respond within 48 hours. You may also reach our office staff, including secretaries and Ms. Maria (Principal) via email - this is helpful for when you are unable to come to the building in person. To ensure effective communication practices, we ask that all parents/guardians update their contact information on Infinite Campus to reflect a working email and working phone number at all times.
As part of our safety protocols, all visitors, including parents coming to Grant Wood for meetings with staff will need to sign in - there is a new sign in system which will require that you provide your phone number upon signing in.
Your understanding, cooperation, and collaboration in helping us ensure a safe and welcoming school environment - personifying and modeling the Wildcat Way: Being Safe, Responsible, & Kind is always appreciated! Thank you!
Past Year(s) Grant Wood Yearbook(s)
Thank you for supporting our Wood Wildcat community.
Needing Tech Help...
If your child experiences difficulties with the school-issued device (i.e.their chromebook) or school related accounts such as Seesaw, Dreambox, Lexia, Canvas, or ClassLink - our staff, including the Library staff may be able to help, however, it may help you and your student to contact the Iowa City Community School District Technology Help Desk:
- Phone, 319-688-1001 Ext: 4357 | Email: helpdesk@iowacityschools.org | Chat With Us!
Monitoring Children's Internet Use
ICCSD is entering its fourth year of using Securly, a service that filters internet access on District devices and also includes the SecurlyHome Parent Hub, which parents can use to monitor internet usage, receive usage notifications, and establish limits on what your child can access. Limits parents can set include turning school-issued devices off at parent-determined times (such as bedtime).
You may have already received an email from Securly when your child was issued their 1:1 device. You can access Securly at https://www.securly.com/parent-login, and your login email will be the primary email address listed for your child(ren)'s contacts in PowerSchool. If you have trouble accessing Securly, please verify your primary contact email in PowerSchool or contact your child's school to do so (Grant Wood, 319-688-1180). You can also contact Securly support if you've confirmed your email in PowerSchool and are still having trouble accessing Securly.
Additional information about content filtering and about Securly can be on the ICCSD Technology & Innovation Blog.
Care Assessment & Securly Monitoring Tool
In 2018, our Board directed the administrative team to create a safety committee. The goal of the committee was to conduct research and make recommendations back to the Board on safety measures to be implemented across our District. Care Assessment was one of those recommendations.
Care Assessment is a program to prevent violence and resolve conflicts proactively. The goal is early detection and attention to problems such as bullying, harassment, teasing, and conflict before it escalates into violent behavior. This is accomplished through staff observation, student reporting, and the Say Something incident reporting tool. In addition to these methods, our District implemented the Securly 24 monitoring tool for District technology devices.
Our District uses Securly content filtering to block access to inappropriate websites and material on school-owned devices. In addition to blocking inappropriate content, Securly alerts the district when they detect activity such as searches, sites visited, or emails sent and received that indicate a student may be considering self-harm and harming others. The goal of this monitoring is to provide early notification of concerns so that families and schools can work together to provide intervention and support in an effort to circumvent violence and harm to oneself.
For additional information on the process Securly uses when concerning activity is detected, please visit the Securly informational page located on the District’s website.
If you have any questions regarding Securly and its use within our District, please visit our Care Assessment webpage or contact Kate Callahan at callahan.kate@iowacityschools.org.
PBIS - Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports
PBIS invests in proactive prevention. Some of the strategies include:
- Ongoing recognition of appropriate behavior—including verbal praise & documented recognitions, ClassDojo points reedemable for tangible rewards, and the traveling Golden Ticket class plaque;
- Proactive intervention—identifying expected building behaviors throughout all school settings;
- Active teaching & reteaching—teachers, students, families, and community members often work together to teach and model appropriate and expected behaviors;
- Clear, consistent responses to inappropriate behavior;
- Additional support for students with more significant needs; and,
- Collecting and using data to inform decisions
More PBIS information available here.