Tiger Talk
11/10/20
A Campus-wide Shout Out to Veterans!
We usually have a special live musical performance to honor our veterans at this time of year.
Although we are unable to provide a live musical tribute this year, our 3rd Grade Tigers and our Music Teacher, Mrs. Hill, provided this video to show our respect for and appreciation to our veterans. We have not forgotten our veterans or the sacrifices that they made on behalf of all of us.
Thank you to all of the veterans in our Tiger family. Thank you for your service.
Kindness Week is November 9 - 13
Kindness is contagious......pass it on!
Staff Shout Outs
WCH Families,
In the last two weeks, 28 families submitted a shout out to a staff member. The smiles and tears shed by your words of appreciation in such a difficult time were priceless. Thank you and please continue to submit your Shout outs!
If you would like to send a Shout Out to a WCHE staff member or teacher, I will gladly pass it along. It can be anonymous or signed. Thank you for lifting up our hardworking teachers and faculty. We love what we do and appreciate your partnership.
Thanks for taking a minute to say thanks!
Melanie
WCHE will perform a Lockdown Drill on Tuesday, November 17
Dear West Cypress Hills Elementary School Parents and Guardians,
In 2019, Lake Travis ISD officials introduced the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) to school safety. The SRP is a proven method of creating shared language and actions among students, staff, and first responders during a school emergency. During the 2020-2021 school year, district and campus officials will continue to conduct drills following SRP procedures, however, with slight modifications due to COVID-19.
Our staff and students will take part in a lockdown drill on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. As a result, parents and students may see law enforcement officers, safety vehicles and/or other emergency responders onsite. Once the drill has been initiated, both in-person and remote teachers will immediately suspend all in-person and online instruction. All in-person students will close their Chromebooks/devices, if applicable, and they will receive further directions from in-person teachers regarding the drill.
Teachers of remote students teaching on campus will also participate in the lockdown drill. Remote students will experience a pause in live instruction and should remain muted while online until the teacher resumes instruction.
Once the exercise has been completed, all instruction will resume as scheduled. The drill is scheduled to occur in the morning and should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Our teachers and students have been advised of the drill and are prepared to participate. We appreciate your patience, understanding and support during this time.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Melanie Beninga
Principal, West Cypress Hills
WCHE Supports LTLOV's Green Santa 2020
With the holidays just a few weeks away, we would like to remind you that many Lake Travis families could use a little help from the rest of us. And, some of us may actually need help, too. So many of our neighbors are struggling financially due to the pandemic this year making it difficult for them to give their kids gifts.
Again this year, West Cypress Hills Elementary School is pleased to support LTLov by collecting new, unwrapped toys for Lake Travis families. We have donation boxes in the foyer, and, this year donations can also be made via PayPal. See the link in the photo below.
If you would like to apply for a Green Santa Gift Box for your family, please fill out this application form or download and print a form to complete manually here. As funding is limited, gifts will be awarded on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis and are not guaranteed. Once your application has been processed, you will receive an email or text with your Family Number. Gifts will be given to each child based on the selections made on the application. Applications will be accepted beginning Sunday, November 1, through Tuesday December 1 – applications must be received before Tuesday, December 1, to be processed.
If you would like to help out, this is where you can step in and be a “Neighbor Helping Neighbors”. Below are several ways you can make a difference during these special times:
- Make a cash donation to Green Santa with all funds going directly to kids in need by using the Donate box on the LTLov website.
- Buy a gift that has been preselected by our Green Santa Elves through Amazon.com by using the Shop Direct box on the LTLov website.
- Read for neighbors in need by participating in the Lake Travis Community Library Holiday Reading Challenge Benefiting Green Santa. If the community collectively reads 100,000 minutes from November 1 to December 31, the library will donate $1,000 to Green Santa. Click here for more information to help us meet that goal!
- Have your school-aged child experience the joy of giving by bringing a new, unwrapped toy for kids, infant through 17 years old, to school to fill our Green Santa Donation Bins, which will be at West Cypress from November 5 through December 3. Most needed items include, sports equipment, art supplies, games, blocks/building toys, trucks, dolls and HEB or Target gift certificates. At Lake Travis Independent School District, it has been a holiday tradition for the students to bring toys for children who may have little or no gifts for the holidays, and in 2020, the students will be experiencing the joy of giving. Teach your child the true meaning of the holidays by giving to others.
- Bring toys to one of our wonderful Green Santa Lake Travis businesses between November 17 and December 7.
- The holidays are just around the corner. Due to the pandemic, you may be looking for a unique way to spread holiday cheer. Consider a Give Back Event and host a Holiday Party Benefiting Green Santa following Covid-19 protocols with guests bringing an unwrapped toy for a needy child, and then drop them off at one of our school or supporting business locations. Use your imagination, events can be virtual or live. Registered children range in age from infant to 17 and live at or under the poverty line. Embrace the spirit of the giving season and throw a party with a higher purpose.
If you have and additional questions, please contact greensanta@ltlov.org.
Thank you for your donations to the Lake Travis Education Foundation!
Thanks to you, the Lake Travis Education Foundation presented us with a BIG CHECK!
Wall of Fame for Shoe Tying
Our Wall of Fame for Shoe Tying is dedicated to Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd Grade Tigers who have just learned to tie their shoes AND for Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade Tigers who know how to tie their shoes and have not already been honored on our Wall of Fame for Shoe Tying in prior years.
The honor is extended to in-person learners and remote learners. Contact our PE coaches if you have questions or need a paper or electronic shoe sent to your Tiger(s.)
Don't Forget your Remote Learner Apex Prizes!
Any prizes due our remote learners that have not already been picked up will be available for pick up at the school. Please contact us to arrange a day and time convenient for you to pick up the prizes.
News from Nurse Hensel
Tiger Masks
To keep all in-person Tigers safe, please be sure to send your in-person learner(s) to school each day wearing freshly laundered cloth face masks or new, clean disposable face masks.
In-Person Learner Replacement Transportation and ID Badges
- $3 - Transportation ID scan badge
- $5 - Retractable transportation badge reel
- $2 - Transportation lanyard and plastic sleeve
- $1 - Campus student ID badge, holder, and lanyard.
Our WCHE Receptionist, Mrs. Michelle Harper, will be happy to assist you in the event replacement badges are needed.
On-line Learning Available ONLY Through Your Child's LTISD Account
To gain entry to student learning, students should use the LTISD LT1 Classlink to enter and access all classroom google links. This ensures secure and safe learning.
If students/parents attempt to access class meetings or documents without using the student's credentials in LT1 (for example, logging in to the browser from a parent's personal or work account instead of the student's LTISD account) access is restricted. To prevent unauthorized people from accessing our classrooms, only appropriate LT1 Classlink logins with the student's credentials can gain access. Access attempts by any other accounts will be denied.
PLEASE be sure to access all google links through our LT1Classlink using the appropriate LTISD student's credentials.
District Assisting With Technology to Support Remote Learning
The Lake Travis Independent School District (LTISD) will lend Chromebooks and WiFi hotspots to students in grades K-12 who have limited or no access to a device at home and who do not already have a device from our initial deployment this past spring. Our district has had a high volume of requests. Thank you for your patience.
Families who meet the above criteria may request a Chromebook and/or WiFi hotspot through the Skyward "Technology Device Request" form by linking to Skyward through a browser. Link to Skyward here. Please complete 1 request form per student. When the LTISD has the student's Chromebook and/or hotspot ready for pick up, they will notify you.
Also, there is a known issue affecting the login credentials of some of our families with district-issued Chromebooks, and we have developed a solution to help you establish credentials for login. If you are unable to log in, please follow the steps outlined here, and if you need additional assistance, please feel free to contact us. We appreciate your patience.
The Lake Travis Community Library Offers Reading Challenges on Beanstack!
Reading Challenges
The Lake Travis Community Library is excited to offer reading challenges on Beanstack all year round! With challenges for everybody, they encourage you and your entire family to sign up and earn badges for different reading activities! Active challenges are listed below.
Beanstack Challenge: Holiday Reading Challenge
Use Beanstack to log your reading minutes from November 1 through December 31. The LTCL challenges you to read 1,000 minutes – that’s just 20 minutes each day! If the community collectively reads 100,000 minutes, the Friends of the Lake Travis Community Library will donate $1,000 to LTLov’s Green Santa. Green Santa assists local children and families in need by providing meals, groceries, and gifts for the holidays. Registered children range in age from infant to 17 years and are living at or below the poverty line. Help us reach our community goal!
Beanstack Challenge: 1000 Books Before Kindergarten
Enjoy reading 1000 books together to help your little one prepare for Kindergarten! Children who are read to from birth have a larger vocabulary, a higher rate of academic success, and are more likely to become lifelong readers and learners. Reading together provides a great opportunity for bonding and will create lifelong memories for both of you. Log each book you and your newborn, infant, or toddler read together (yes, repeats count!) to earn badges to help you reach your goal.
*A reader under 5 years old must be registered to see this challenge in Beanstack.
How it works
- Register yourself and other family members on Beanstack or the Beanstack Tracker app on your mobile device.
- Log your reading and participate in fun reading activities to earn badges for the challenge!
- Happy reading!
And here's more news about the LTC Library Resources!
Our Neighborhood Bookmobile is Back!
The Lake Travis Community Library Bookmobile comes to our neighborhood amenity center for contactless reserve pick up service, take and make crafts, and free Wi-Fi.
Our favorite Bookmobile will be a the West Cypress Hills neighborhood pool on alternating Thursdays from 3 to 4 pm, beginning Thursday, October 8.
Visit the Lake Travis Community Library website for more information.
Changing Instructional Status
A change from in-person learning to remote learning can be made at any time. To request this change, complete the LTISD Instructional Change Form. The completed form should be forwarded to our Registrar, Becky Wright.
A change from remote learning to in-person learning can also be requested on the LTISD Instructional Change Form. The completed form should be forwarded to our Registrar, Becky Wright no later than 2 weeks prior to the start of the next grading period, as shown below:
- Form Due Date is 12/4/20 for the grading period beginning 1/5/21
- Form Due Date is 2/19/21 for the grading period beginning 3/8/21.
LTISD Chromebooks to Remain Checked Out to Students While on Campus
Students who checked out a District-issued Chromebook for remote learning at home and will be returning to in-person learning on campus should retain the device and bring it to school for use in the classroom as needed, much like an assigned textbook.
Chromebooks will remain checked out to the student until a date to be later determined or at the end of the 2020–2021 school year, whichever comes first.
Meals for Remote Learners
Students in remote learning at home may purchase a meal for pickup from our school cafeteria. Learn more here.
Please note, menu options may be limited. If a parent or child in remote learning at home wishes to pick up a meal at school, accommodations must be made via email directly with the café manager, Mrs. Corinne Stewart, before 10:00 a.m. daily. All meals for remote learners must be picked up at the school’s front office during the regular meal schedule.
Yes, Students Withdrawn from LTISD May Re-enroll Later for In-Person Learning
Students can be re-enrolled for in-person learning after having been withdrawn as students of the LTISD. The re-enrollment process is the same as the enrollment process for any new LTISD student. The re-enrolled student will, initially, be scheduled for in-person learning at the school building.
Once the re-enrolled student is attending school in person, remote learning, if desired, may be selected when the district next extends an invitation to select a preferred learning option.
Follow Principal Beninga on Twitter
Melanie Beninga provides info, photos, and updates via Twitter, too. If not already following Melanie Beninga in Twitter, you can follow her @principalwch and @mbeninga.
Counselor's Corner
Second Step: This week, along with our grade-level Second Step lesson, we also reflected on our school-wide topic of the week. This week, we reflected on being assertive.
Learning means doing something new every day. Sometimes when we’re doing something new, we get stuck and don’t know what to do. If we get stuck, we can use a skill for learning—being assertive—to ask for help. Being assertive means asking for what you need or want in a calm, firm, respectful way. Face the person you are talking to, and keep your head up and shoulders back. When you can’t figure out what to do in class, remember to be assertive and ask for help.
Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. We are one team, one family.
Upcoming Events
11/01 - 12/01/20...Apply for Green Santa Gift Box via LTLov
11/05 - 12/03/20...Donate Toys/Gifts or $ to Support Green Santa via LTLov
11/09-11/13/20.....Tiger Kindness Week! Kindness is Contagious! Pass it on!
11/10/20................Kindness Week - Wear Camo Today!
11/11/20................Kindness Week - Wear Sports Attire Today!
11/11/20................Veterans' Day Celebrated (not a school holiday)
11/12/20................Kindness Week - Wear Crazy Hair Today!
11/13/20................Kindness Week - Wear Tiger Spirit Wear Today!
11/17/20................Lockdown Drill to be Performed on Campus
11/23 - 11/27/20....Thanksgiving Holiday - No School!
12/04/20................Instructional Status Change Form Due - Grading Period January 5 +
12/07 - 12/11/20....WCHE Book Fair! More Information Coming Soon!
12/18/20................Classroom Winter Holiday Party Day. View Party Schedule Here.
12/21 - 01/04/21....Winter Holiday - No School for Students
01/05/21................In-person Learning Begins for the Grading Period That Begins January 5
02/19/21................Instructional Status Change Form Due - Grading Period March 8 +
03/08/21................In-person Learning Begins for the Grading Period That Begins March 8
More Information about WCH
West Cypress Hills Elementary
Email: wchprincipal@ltisdschools.org
Website: https://www.ltisdschools.org/WCHE
Location: 6112 Cypress Ranch Boulevard, Travis County, TX, United States
Phone: 512-533-7500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ltisdschools
Twitter: @principalwch