Weirton Elementary School
April 2022-2023
APRIL FAMILY NEWSLETTER
Important Updates, Reminders, & Messages
It is hard to believe we are in the final 4th nine-weeks for this academic school year, we challenge each and every student to make the most of every day and really take the time to enjoy the learning process.
Families are encouraged to connect with their child’s teachers to follow-up on any questions they may have regarding the 3rd nine-week report card, STAR reports, or ELRS (grades PreK & K).
The administration team is always happy to meet with parents who wish to discuss their child’s academic, social, or emotional progress. Please call the office if you would like to set up a meeting (304-748-8370).
Read the entire newsletter. Lots of updates and information included as you scroll down the newsletter.
April is Autism Awareness Month:
Refer to all the activities below.
Next Year's Kindergarten and Second Grade Students:
Any Hancock County student entering Preschool, Kindergarten, and Second grade (2023-2024 school year) are required to provide proof of a health examination or physical and proof of a dental examination by a licensed dentist. More information below in the newsletter.
PreK Registration 2023-2024:
Paperwork drop-off is scheduled for Friday, April 14 and Monday, April 17. All families that registered on-line should have been mailed a registration packet. Ms. Kristin our enrollment, secretary, she is in the process of calling families to set up appointments to drop-off registration packets.
Kindergarten Registration 2023-2024:
If you missed Kindergarten registration, please call Ms. Kristin to schedule an appointment (304-748-8370). Kindergarten registration packet is attached below.
April Lunch Menus:
Refer to April lunch/breakfast menu attachments below. Scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter.
April Dates:
April 3rd- 7th:
- No School due to Spring Break
Monday, April 10:
- 3rd and 4th grade WVGSA kick-off
Tuesday, April 11:
- Class pictures (please let us know if you still need an individual picture for the yearbook)
Wednesday, April 12:
- Wear blue for Autism Awareness month
- Friendship bracelet making
Thursday, April 13:
- WES PTA meeting 6:00 pm in the cafeteria
Friday, April 14:
- No Preschool
- Preschool (2023-2024) Packet Drop-off
- Autism t-shirt order forms due. Order forms sent home on Thursday, March 30. Digital order form below.
- Red Rider Friday. Wear your school colors.
Saturday, April 15 (1:00-3:00): Inclusive Storybook Walk to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month at 1,000 Colliers Way, Weirton, WV. Refer to flyer for more details.
Monday, April 17:
- No Preschool
- Preschool (2023-2024) Packet Drop-off
Wednesday, April 19:
- Family Game Night. Must RSVP. K-2 from 4:00-5:00, Grades 3 & 4 from 5:30-6:30
- Wear blue for Autism Awareness month.
Friday, April 21:
- 3rd and 4th grade WVGSA t-shirt order forms due if interested in ordering a t-shirt. Order forms were sent home Thursday, March 30. A digital copy of the order form is below.
- Red Rider Friday. Wear your school colors.
Wednesday, April 26:
- Preschool Art Show
- Secretary's Day
- Wear blue for Autism Awareness month.
Thursday, April 27:
- 4th 9 weeks progress reports
Friday, April 28:
- Faculty Senate (2-hour early dismissal)
- No Preschool
- Red Rider Friday. Wear your school colors.
Tournament of Books and the winner is.......
Tournament of Books Family Survey
Please give us feedback on this year's Tournament of Books.
Next Year's Kindergarten and Second Grade Students:
Dear Parents of Next Year's Kindergarten and Second Grade Students:
Any Hancock County student entering Preschool, Kindergarten, and Second grade (2023-2024 school year) are required to provide proof of a health examination or physical and proof of a dental examination by a licensed dentist.
All students must complete the West Virginia State Requirements for school entry. Please make an appointment with your child's doctor and dentist as soon as possible. Once the exams are complete, provide copies of the exam records to Mrs. DeCaria or fax it to Weirton Elementary School at 304-748-8383. Oral Health Exams and Physical Exams completed between March 2023 and the first day of school will be accepted.
Attached are blank copies of the WV Oral Health Assessment Form and West Virginia DHHR Health Exam or Physical Form which you make take to the appointments. (Choose the Physical Form for your child's age - all ages are attached.) Please call Nurse DeCaria if you would like a hard copy of the Physical or Dental form sent home with your child.
Please contact the Weirton Elementary School Nurse, Mrs. DeCaria, with any questions.
Sincerely,
Denise Miller
Principal
Autism Awareness Activities
4th grade t-shirt design winner is Baylee Krzys
3rd grade t-shirt design winner is Aubrielle Schriener
GOING BANANAS for ATTENDANCE
Ms. Stephanie, Attendance Secretary (304-748-8370)
Attendance Reminders:
Going Bananas for Attendance:
Going Bananas for Attendance video:
Go Bananas for Attendance: https://youtu.be/bYiR6YPKCao
Please remember to call the office or email Ms. Stephanie for any missed days.
304-748-8370
or
There has been a change in the attendance policy regarding Parent Note Days.
The number of days a parent can call or send a note to report their child sick has gone to ten (10) per school year to five (5).
Any absence after the five (5) parent notes/calls will have to be excused with a doctor's note.
Class Pictures - April 11
Below is the link for the digital picture form. Picture forms sent home on Friday, March 31.
PreK April News
Important Dates for PK
*April 3rd- 7th: No School due to Spring Break
*April 11th: Class Pictures
*April 14th & April 17th: No PK due to PK registration
*April 26th: PK Art Show 4:00-5:30pm at WES
*April 28th: No PK due to 2-hour early dismissal
PK Registration will be held on April 14th and 17th for the 2023-2024 school year.
Our April Family Engagement Activity is the PK Art Show. It will be held on Wednesday, April 26th at WES from 4:00-5:30pm. Come join us as we proudly display the hard work of our preschoolers! Please RSVP to your child's teacher ASAP via Class DOJO. PK Students and their families that will be attending Kindergarten at WES next year are welcome to attend the Art Show as well.
Kindergarten April News
In Kindergarten, we are learning to write informational narratives with a topic sentence. We constantly practice adding details and a conclusion to our daily journal work. We can recognize words with blends, digraphs and long vowels.
During our Heggerty lessons, we can count the sounds and syllables in words which help us spell words.
Our Wit and Wisdom lessons enhance our ability to describe the relationship between pictures and the story. We are more accomplished at answering questions about key details, identifying the main idea, retelling, and making connections between text elements.
In math we are learning shapes both 2D and 3D. It’s fun to recognize 3D shapes all around us!
Kindergarten has gotten used to logging into our iPads independently. We access IXL, Starfall and some of us are even taking AR assessments.
Kindergarten has daily check-ins which incorporates wellness talks, lessons and exercise. This is a dynamic process of students learning to be aware and make choices towards a happy and fulfilling life is well received by all. It is best understood how children feel and how they function. Both on a personal and social level, and how they change their lives for good.
We certainly enjoy taking advantage of being outdoors for recess on beautiful spring days.
First Grade April News
April will be absolutely AMAZING in First Grade. WES firsties have been quite busy learning throughout the month of March. In English Language Arts,
the first-grade crew have continued their learning about the powerful force of the wind and their feelings while exploring Module 3 in Wit and Wisdom.
All first-grade classes have been diving deep into word connections, learning all about root words, expanding their knowledge of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and practicing verb tenses (past, present, future).
In Fundations, the students have wrapped up unit 10 and have moved onto unit 11. They have learned all about closed syllables but will be introduced to vowel-consonant-e in unit 11. They are continuously reviewing the alphabet, digraphs, welded sounds during daily instruction but have added the r-controlled and vowel teams into the daily phonics review.
We are still loving AR! We enjoy seeing Ms. Paull “hop” into our rooms on Friday to distribute new critters to our every growing collection. We love moving the badges along the AR trail. Firsties are doing SPLENDID with AR, and we are ALL EXTREMEMLY proud of each READING ALL-STAR!
In Math, the first graders are continuing to work on topics such as place value, comparing numbers, measurement, and time. They are really “ROCKIN” on Reflex Math and really enjoy filling their green light. First Graders have been diligently working on increasing their overall addition and subtraction fact fluency.
During April, First Graders will be learning all about weather, moon phases, plants, celebrating Earth Day, and much, much more all throughout the month. Keep watching your child's classroom dojo and the Weirton Elementary Facebook page for weekly pictures about all the MARVELOUS things the first-grade crew will be doing throughout the month of APRIL.
Second Grade April News
Welcome Spring! April brings us into the final nine weeks of the school year.
2nd graders are working hard to continue down our AR trail to earn their reading badges.
In Fundations we are finishing up our vowel team units.
In our Wit and Wisdom Module 3. We are learning about people in history who made a difference for a “Just World”. We are reading about the Civil Rights Movement. Including Martin Luther King jr., Ruby Bridges, and Sylvia Mendez.
We are reading our Geodes each week to practice reading fluency and comprehension skills.
2nd Grade Classes are celebrating our “Young Authors” with a publishing party for each homeroom.
We look forward to Data and Graphing as well as Geometry in Math this month.
We thank all of our Parents/Guardians for helping us to continue to grow! Second Graders are Blooming! Hope Grows here at WES!
Third Grade April News
In 3rd grade Wit and Wisdom, students are continuing with Module 2: Outer Space. In Arc 1, we are building knowledge on our focusing question- How did Galileo learn about space? Students are creating timelines, examining, listening to recount events, analyzing art, establishing a relationship between ideas.
In Fundations, we are starting Unit 10. In this unit, students review the double vowel syllable. This syllable contains a vowel diagraph or diphthong. A vowel diagraph is two vowels together that represent one sound. Diphthong is a sound that begins with one vowel sound and glides into another.
In 3rd grade math, we are starting our chapter on Time and Measurement. Chapter 10 at a glance: Time to the minute, measure time intervals, measure length, estimate and measure liquid volume and mass. We will continue working on math facts, fractions, area perimeter, and multi-step problem solving.
The GSA’s is one month away! Students are working so hard on their practice tests. They will definitely be ready to rock this test!
Keep our learning strong 3rd grade and we will succeed!
Fourth Grade April News
We are in the final stretch of our elementary years in 4th grade!! It’s a time to start reflecting on how far we have come during our time at Weirton Elementary. We have made many friends and created memories within our classrooms. This is also the time we start getting super excited for all the great things to come!!
In 4th grade, we are mastering skills on IXL with daily challenges or assignments from our teachers that are set right to where we need them to be to encourage us to work harder! We are still working on fractions- adding and subtracting, even multiplying them! Decimals, shapes, lines, and triangles are coming in April.
We are reading Hatchet and trying to understand how our main character can survive in the Canadian Wilderness, while wondering Could we do it? This is just more preparation for us to be able to create our own survival stories.
We are also gearing up to tackle the State test. We have been using the computer labs, laptops, and our iPad to prepare. We take quick test checks and work really hard to show improvement each week.
We are having a special state testing kickoff and the theme this year is Super Marios Bros! Gaming is life for some of us and this is a perfect way to ease right into this testing!
State Testing Grades 3rd & 4th
"This letter will be coming home to notify parents what days their students are taking the West Virginia General Summative Assessment. Please send back the 3 "power-up" notes by Monday, April 24. Let's cheer on our amazing 3rd and 4th graders!"
Energy Express Application
Energy Express Dates:
June 21st-July 28th
If you are interested in your child attending Energy Express, complete attached form and send back to school.
Any questions regarding Energy Express, contact Love Wood refer to contact information below:
Love Wood
4-H Youth Program Assistant
WVU Extension Service - Hancock County
104 N. Court Street, Room 203
P.O. Box 457
New Cumberland, WV 26047
Office: (304)-564-3805
WES SCHOOL COUNSELORS
April News from our Counselors
April signifies Autism Awareness Month this is a time to reflect on Inclusion, kindness and empathy. It is also a time to celebrate all of our beautiful differences and what makes us unique and special.
Inclusion helps to eliminate the stigma, provide social acceptance and improve students’ social settings in their classroom, school and community environments. It is important that we show kindness to everyone. Empathy shows us the ability to understand one’s exceptionalities. Inclusion helps us all to feel welcomed no matter who we are.
Here are some books about Autism and exceptionalities that you can read with your child.
All My Stripes: A Story for Children with Autism
By: Danielle Royer and Shaina Rudolph https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gaLxpifMcQ
Different a Great Thing To Be
By: Heather Avis and Illustrated By: Sarah Mensinga https://youtu.be/x5LazZR-fn4
My Brother Charlie
By: Holly Robinson Peete https://youtu.be/CxdxMw1OvTw
AR Quiz No. 136345 EN Fiction IL: LG - BL: 2.8 - AR Pts: 0.5
WES School Counselors
Ms. Mary Ann Petrelle: Grades PreK & K
Mrs. Stacy Cullinan: Grades 1 & 2
Mrs. Sarah Aspenleiter: Grades 3 & 4
WES Health Center offers Social Emotional/Behavioral Therapy
http://www.changeinc.org/health/weirton-elementary-health-center/
(304) 797-5299
Friendship Bracelets
Friendship Bracelets:
During the month of April, we will be pairing up students with their peers from the unique learning classrooms. These friends will be making friendship bracelets for one another. These bracelets are a symbol of our friendship, kindness, love, acceptance and caring for one another in our WES community. All Homeroom classrooms will be given bracelet supplies and Ms. Stacy and Ms. Freshwater will coordinate classroom collaborations.
Mrs. Naughton, Mr. Cassiadoro, and Mr. Lenhart's PE Classes
WES PE
4th Grade Families:
During your child's 4th grade physical education class, students will perform the Fitness Gram test. During the next couple of weeks your child will be doing different tests to see if they are in the health fitness zone.
Students will be learning about their muscular fitness, muscular endurance, body composition, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility.
Students will perform the pacer test, push-ups, sit ups, trunk lift, back saver sit n reach and BMI.
Students have to run for the pacer test and see how many beeps they can make successfully.
Students have to do push-ups and sit ups.
Students have to see how flexible they are in the back, and legs.
Students will get weighed and see how tall they are, and we will calculate that and turn it into their Body Mass Index.
All of these scores will be turned into the state for they Physical Education testing in May.
The students are very excited to see how they do.
Grades K-4:
During students' physical education class, they are learning different skills about baseball and softball. Students are practicing their hitting skills and fielding skills. Students will be learning the rules of kickball and playing that inside and outside during their physical education classes. The weather will eventually be turning nice, and we will be using the outside basketball hoops. When students are in the little gym, they are climbing across the rock wall and having tons of fun.
Ms. Turani's Music Class
Writing and singing RAPS
Ms. Turani's Music classes are writing and performing their own RAPS.
Mrs. Greco's ART CLASS
PTA NEWS for March
WES PTA News
Thank you, WES PTA, for planning the fabulous Easter activities on Friday, March 31.
Candles:
There are still candles in the office to be picked up from the candle fundraiser.
Yearbooks:
Information coming soon regarding 2022-2023 yearbooks.
Thursday, April 13: PTA Meeting 6:00pm cafeteria
April Menus
Kindergarten Registration Packet 2023-2024 call for an appointment 304-748-8370
PreK Registration Link 2023-2024
WES News Crew
W.E.S. 4th Grade News Crew
Our news crew team is responsible for filming the news, helping write the scripts, and making edits when necessary.
Landon Manypenny
Lilly Burge
Laila Bailie
Ave Fair
Kristopher Wasmer
Karter Fowler
A special thank you, to all the 4th grade students producing the WES News each day.
LEARNING ALLY
Learning Ally
Weirton Elementary School is increasing our reading activity from Jan 9 - Feb 24 and competing to win Learning Ally’s national Great Reading Games to gain recognition and prizes for our school! Reading is power!
I’m so excited to share a resource with you that our school has purchased to support your child at school and at home. I want to ensure that your child is a happy, confident learner in my classroom and has access to all of the material we are reading for class assignments and for enjoyment.
Our school now has a membership to Learning Ally, a national nonprofit that provides access to human-read audiobooks through a reading app. They have novels from our assigned reading lists and those popular novels that other students are reading, as well as textbooks. By reading what other students are reading, we will be able to give your child the confidence they need to be an active learner in our classroom.
When students read with Learning Ally, it takes away the effort of decoding so your child can mentally focus on the meaning of what they are reading, this is often called ear reading, and it’s a powerful way to stay on top of reading assignments and help students enjoy books. Don’t worry, learning to read is still really important and we are working on those skills as well.
One of the best things about Learning Ally is all the books have human voices. It’s like you have an extra voice helping your child with homework, and I have an extra reader to share more books with students in my classroom. Human voice helps to model what reading should sound like; it pronounces words correctly and helps to build your child’s vocabulary, comprehension and fluency in reading.
I’ll be adding books to your child’s Learning Ally bookshelf, and they’ll use the app at school. You can download the free app on your personal computer, phone or tablet and log in with your child’s credentials to add the books they want to read. I hope you take advantage of this wonderful resource we are providing to your child.
Readers are Learners. Readers are Leaders.
Grades K-2 AR Information
AR Information for Grades K-2 (watch the video link below)
https://renaissance.widen.net/s/dtq9lnvlg5/arprimarystudentviewprogress
AR Trail
We can't wait to watch our K-2 grade students earn their AR badges!
Grades 3rd and 4th AR Information
Notes from Nurse DeCaria
Please make sure your contact number is up to date on the emergency card. You will also need to list an emergency. If your child gets sick at school, we will need to be able to get a hold of you and arrange for your child to be picked up.
Mr. Arneault (PreK & K) Mrs. Martich (3rd & 4th) Mrs. Carinci-Bell (1st & 2nd) Ms. Miller (Head Principal)
WES Title Services
Meet our WES Title Teachers:
Mrs. Orwasky
Ms. Paull
Mrs. Donna Carnes
Mrs. Davidson
WES Related Arts
WES HEALTH CENTER
WEIRTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HEALTH CENTER
Our licensed healthcare staff is on site in a safe, child-friendly environment. We closely work with the school nurse and faculty to provide convenient care to your child. We closely work with the school nurse and faculty to provide convenient care to your child.
We provide the following services:
Well check exams, sick visits, injury treatment, immunizations, allergy shots, ADHD evaluation and treatment, sports physicals, behavioral health, dental care, chronic health care maintenance - like being on site to assist with Diabetes, Seizures, and Asthma. Just think of us as a doctor's office inside the school.
Please contact the WES Health Center at 304-797-5299 if you have any questions or medical needs.
WES SPEECH THERAPISTS
WES Speech Therapists
If you questions regarding speech screenings or speech services, please contact one of our speech therapists.
Mrs. Lockerbie (Kindergarten)
Mrs. Gianvito (First Grade)
Mrs. Hinzman (PreK & 4th)
Mrs. Burdette (2nd & 3rd)
Mrs. Edie (Special Education Classes)
Special Education Staff
Bank at School
Our Partners in Education, First Choice America, will be setting up a program called "Bank at School". Families were able to sign-up at Open House. Students will be able to do banking at school during breakfast once a week on Tuesdays. More details to come.
Bus Safety
Please remind your child about good behaviors on the bus.
- Students are to stay seated the whole time.
- Students are not to walk in the aisles or jump seat to seat.
- Students are to refrain from touching each other.
- Students are not to yell or argue.
- Bottom to bottom, Back-to-Back, Bookbag on lap.
Students are to refrain from creating any type of safety issues for anybody on the bus.
Contact Mrs. Carinci-Bell if you have any bus concerns or questions.
November Lunch and Breakfast Menus 2022
STUDENT PUBLICATION RELEASE
During participation in activities related to the education programs at WES/Hancock County, students and student products may be photographed for the purpose of showcasing student work and participation. They may be published in order to positively recognize students and share learning experiences. These materials may be posted online, television, and print media outlets including names and photographs. Please contact the school IN WRITING within 10 calendar days of receiving this statement if you DO NOT want your child’s picture or name to ever appear online, in the newspaper, or TV.