Whiskers' Wonderings
First Quarter Newsletter
Weddington Hill Elementary School
IB World School Offering the Primary Years Programme
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A Note from the Principal
Happy Fall Everyone,
We have had an outstanding first quarter of learning and growing at Weddington Hills Elementary. Teachers and students have been hard at work and focused on maximizing growth in the areas of academics, behavior, and social emotional skills. Back to School Bash was a terrific family event and our PTO Movie Night was an awesome attraction for both kids and parents alike. Students have enjoyed our monthly Book Buddies partnerships and of course Club Day was a huge success.
Our first Cat Carnival was an amazing experience for our students and they are already looking forward to showing the “Wildcat Way” and earning tickets for the next Cat Carnival in January. Parent Conferences are wrapping up and report cards were sent home this week. It has been a very busy nine weeks! Thank you for all you have done to ensure that your child is at school every day and ready to learn. I am proud to be a part of the school community at Weddington Hills Elementary.
#GrowHere
Mrs. Dolan
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What's Whiskers Reading?
Nightly reading is a very important for our Wildcats. Whiskers recommends these family read alouds on Empathy, Compassion, and Understanding to help you #groWHere.
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Hey, Little Ant by Phillip Hoose and Hannah Hoose
Pass It On by Sophy Henn
Most People by Michael Leannah
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller
I am Human by Susan Verde
If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson
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What's Happening @ Weddington??
Dwarfism Awareness Month
Club Day Success
Thank you to Concord High School Spiders and WHES Staff for your hardwork and support!
Whiskers' Cat Carnival
What a great way to celebrate our student's PAW-some behavior with all of their grade level friends! Students had to earn their way to the carnival by having no MAJOR Office or Bus Referrals and less than 4 minor referrals. Great job Wildcats!
🎉 Congratulations are in order... 🎉
Staff Impact Awards
Student Impact Awards
Teacher Assistant of the Year
Golden Globe Awards
Mrs. Bryant, Third Grade
Mrs. King, Fourth Grade
Mr. Fuller, Structured Learning
Mrs. Campoverde, Dual Language Assistant
Mrs. Donovan, First Grade
Mrs. Robles, First Grade
ABC Club
IB Learner Profile Awards
Weddington's on the Move!
WHES EXCEEDS NC school growth +4.88
When students of Weddington Hills Elementary were asked what they liked best about their school, their reply was, “Everything!” The kind and caring staff have been meeting the academic, physical and social-emotional needs of their learners since 1996. As an IB World School, their mission of creating a better and more peaceful world is evident through outreach and service to both the local and global community. Their innovative strategies and early interventions have impacted student learning and resulted in multiple district, state and national awards. Community Matters at Weddington Hills where all learners grow.
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Program Choice News: ‘Tis the season for Program Choice!
What: Online application/renewal for:
- WHES IB PYP if you live outside of our attendance zone
- Dual language immersion for rising kindergartners who live in our WHES attendance zone
- IB program renewal applications for middle school continuation
Who: Renewals for 5th grade only, applications for siblings of current IB Program Choice students and rising kindergartners in the WHES zone interested in dual language immersion
Who else: Students who do not live in our attendance boundary but do live in our IB pathway may apply
When: Now through Dec. 19
How: Access the online application/renewal from the WHES homepage or CCS Program Choice webpage, notifications of acceptance or wait list will be emailed to families in February
For more information, contact Mary Hooks, IB PYP Coordinator, mary.hooks@cabarrus.k12.nc.us
IB Updates
Did you know that this is our IB evaluation year? After becoming an IB World School in 2016, it is already time for a quality check by the International Baccalaureate Organization. We will be visited by an evaluation team Feb. 20-21, 2020. They will meet with staff, students, parents and district leadership. We are excited to share all of our successes since becoming an IB school. As part of the visit, they will ask parents about our policies. If you haven’t checked out our language, assessment, inclusion and academic honesty policy, please click here. They are accessible on our webpage at all times. We appreciate your feedback so let Ms. Hooks know your thoughts.
Student Leadership Advisory in Action
Check out the WHES Student Leadership Advisory as they put their suggestions into action! Last year, SLA members provided feedback about club days and having hall monitors assist during club transitions. What a great idea! They also helped direct younger students to their club locations - safety first!
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❗️ VIP Reminders❗️
Car Rider Information for Second Quarter 🚗
Here are few reminders for our morning drop off process:
1. First and foremost, please enter the drive slowly. Use caution at all times when pulling forward and/or changing lanes.
2. Work with your child on car exiting procedures – always exit on passenger side.
a. As you approach the car drop off area, students will be exit ready.
b. When the car comes to a complete stop, the student will open their door and exit onto the sidewalk and push the door closed –Students exit at the spot the car is stopped.
i. Teachers will supervise a two-car area.
c. Upon exiting the car, students will move to the far area of the sidewalk behind the yellow line and walk into the building.
3. Arrive by 8:13 – parent drive closes at 8:13 and you will be asked to park and sign-in.
Here are few reminders for our afternoon pick up process:
1. First and foremost, please enter the drive slowly. Use caution at all times when pulling forward and/or changing lanes.
2. Remain in your vehicle at all times. Pull forward to an assigned spot, child will come to you.
3. Students must enter from the passenger side.
Changing your child’s transportation & early checkout procedures
Our top priority at the end of the day is to ensure students are prepared to get to the
correct location for dismissal. If you need to change transportation, please come to the office by 2:30 pm or write the teacher a note and have your child bring it to school. We will not accept transportation changes over the phone or by email. In addition, we will not accept student check out requests after 2:30 pm. NOTE: New CCS Policy -- 5 unexcused tardies or checkouts will equal one unexcused absence for the student.
Lunch Information 🍏
We welcome visitors to eat lunch with our students. Any visitor that may eat lunch with a child at our school must be listed on the student information card that is completed at the beginning of the school year. This student information card will be checked when a visitor arrives for lunch. If the name of the lunch guest is not on the card, they may not eat lunch with your child. If you are joining your child for lunch, you should always meet your child in the cafeteria. Upon signing in at the front office, please proceed to the cafeteria, you should not access your child’s classroom. In addition, if your child forgets their lunch at home and you need to bring it to school, please do that by 10:45. The office staff is unable to deliver lunches to students after 10:45 due to the beginning of school-wide lunch times. Throughout the year we have schoolwide bag lunch days. These are days that the entire school will be eating in their classroom due to a special event. On these days we are asking that parents refrain from joining their students for lunch on these days. This includes bringing lunches to be dropped off on these days. Thank you for understanding!
Schoolwide Bag Lunch Days:
January 24th, January 30th,
April 3rd, May 1st,
May 6th, June 2nd,
June 4th, June 8th,
June 9th, June 10th, June 11th.
Photo ID Required
Please remember a photo ID is needed each time you access our campus. In order to ensure high levels of safety and security at our school, please be prepared to show your photo ID to the office staff when you enter the building.