Notes from Dr. Irvin
Your Weekly WGHS eNews for March 7
Hello Parents and Guardians,
We are enjoying our week of All Write here at the high school. It is akin to being in Florence during the Renaissance: musicians, visual art, and spoken word are all around our building. The school bell noting the end of an hour reluctantly moves us from a place we want to linger in an idea, a production, or an artist sharing their journey. Professionals in all artistic formats share the stage with our many talented students to make us ponder the world around us more deeply and perhaps in a new way. We are grateful for our faculty and students that bring us this special week--it is truly a team effort.
Please see the information below on our upcoming parent conferences. Hope to see you next week.
Best,
Matt Irvin
A Peek at the Week Ahead
- March 11: 4th Quarter bus money is due
- March 12: Parent-Teacher Conferences, 4-8 p.m. (4-6:30 is scheduled conferences)
- March 13: Early Dismissal (11:59 a.m.); Parent-Teacher Conferences, 12:50 - 2:45 p.m.
- March 14: MIOS Assembly, 3rd hour; Spring Sports Assembly, 7th hour
- March 14: Parents' Club Meeting, Library, 7 p.m.
- March 15: NO SCHOOL
- March 18-22: Spring Break
Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences are Next Week!
It's not too late to schedule conference times!
Available Times:
Tuesday, March 12
4:00 - 6:30 p.m.: Scheduled via PTCFast
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.: Walk-up
Wednesday, March 13
12:50—2:45 p. m.: Walk-up
Locations
Cafeteria
English, Drama, Music, Art, Social Studies, Chelsea Center
PV Commons
World Languages, SSD
Library
Science, FACS, Business, Industrial Technology
Multi-purpose Room
Math, P. E.
We're looking forward to meeting with you.
The purpose of the conference is to give parents and teachers an opportunity to discuss student progress and to work together to ensure student achievement. All teachers will be grouped by academic departments and will be located in the cafeteria, PV Commons, Multi-purpose room, and library (look for the colored banners). Parents should know the names of the teachers they wish to visit in each department. We urge you to visit as many of your child’s teachers as time permits. Please bring a printed copy of your child’s progress report with you or review on your device prior to attending.
Conferences will be a combination of scheduled and unscheduled. Up to SEVEN minutes will be allotted for each conference. We believe we can serve more people with this arrangement. For walk-up times, sign-up sheets are available on each teacher’s table for parents to register if they wish to see that teacher.
We will be using the PTCFast system for scheduling conferences. Please see instructions below on how to schedule conference times.
As you prepare for conferences, here are some things to keep in mind:
- Teachers will call all parents who they have the greatest need to meet.
- Please check your child's progress online in the Parent Portal. This will assist in determining whether you need to schedule a conference/meet with a teacher.
- You may choose not to see all or any of your child's teachers, depending on their progress.
For specific questions, an email to the teacher may suit your needs.
The following teachers will be present for conferences at the high school ONLY on the evening of March 12:Jennifer Aguado, Carolina Rincon, Lee Drake, and Dane Williams. Jamie Burchett, Kevin Cole, and Andrew Pulliam will be available on Wednesday afternoon only.
We look forward to meeting with you. If you desire more than the seven minutes allowed at these conferences, please set up an individual teacher conference.
How to Schedule Conferences with Your Child's Teachers
Click here to view the privacy policy for www.ptcfast.com.
Conferences will be scheduled online using www.ptcfast.com. Please note that you must have a personal email account (ex. Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc.) in order to schedule a conference for your student. Conferences will be scheduled on a first come, first served basis. You must register your student for each teacher with whom you wish to meet.
Please click on or enter the following web address into your browser window to get started:
https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Webster_Groves_High_School_1
Next, select your child's teacher; you can select more than one if applicable to your family. You will then register your child's name, then your name and contact information. This creates a registration for each child and sends you a confirmation email with a link to choose a conference time for that teacher. It is a two-step process, as the first registration just gets you into the system. Going to the email that is generated from your registration and clicking on the active link will allow you to choose a conference time for the teacher.
Once you have chosen a time for each teacher with whom you wish to visit, you will receive a confirmation email with the schedule.
How to maximize your conference time during walk-up hours:
1. Sign up with all teachers first; then wait. Stop and sign-up at each table for every teacher you wish to visit.
2. Visit the electives tables while you wait—they most likely have the shortest wait times.
3. Go back to the tables at which you signed up and wait for your name to be called. It’s a good idea to visit science and math together and communication arts and social studies together, since they are grouped in the same areas.
If you have any questions, please call us at 963-6400. We'll see you soon!
Highlights from All Write Week
Congratulations to our English department faculty and the many students who made this such a special week so far! A special congratulations to:
FRANZIE SEMIFINALISTS
Contest semifinalists read their pieces onstage during the festival. The overall winner will be announced on 3/8 during the 7th hour awards assembly.
The twenty semifinalists in the 2019 Jonathan Franzen Excellence in Student Writing contest are Kathleen Babel, Elizabeth Carver, Catherine Curtis, Matthew Curtis, Jared Epps, Ada Foley, Eleanor Gilstrap, Sophia Gotto, Rawsthorne Grundy, Joi Johnson, Trinity Madison, Ray McIntyre, Rosa Parks, Rosalie Ryan, Ethan Ryan, Finn Saupe, Nakailah Shields-Robinson, Samuel Toskin, Alison Whaley, and Katherine Wienke.
ART WRITE PROGRAM
Art Write artisans create original pieces to personally gift onstage to our featured guests. The overall winner will be announced on 3/8 during the 7th hour awards assembly. Their work was displayed in the Gallery hallway that runs from Room 208 to the Chelsea Center on the 2nd floor later.
Our 2019 Art Write artisans include Anna Barr, Mady Barr, Zoe Castro, Amanda Cutak, Melina Dante, Makayla Felder, Isabella Ferrell, Izzy Gaines, Celeste Gardner, Briana Garner, Katie Gilker, Grace Hardison, Sam Hayden, Cheyenne Holley, Emilee Killeen, Ellie Krueger, Lydia Martin, Henry Miller, Khotso Moore, Molly Nash, Eavan O’Neil, Lilly Portell, Brianna Richardson, Zoe Rios, Zoe Schultz, Emma Sellers, Ainslee Stroup, Aja Trachtova, Katka Trachtova, Chloe Trost, Remi Wagner, Chayse Walker, and Elise Wilke-Grimm.
Our team is already fundraising for All Write in 2020! Hopefully you’ve heard your WGHS student abuzz this week over this week’s building festivities and educational experiences. We’d love to do it again next year, but we need your help. If you support celebrating writing and creativity at Webster Groves High School, please consider donating to the festival through our new Go Fund Me. Questions? Contact English teacher Katie Guymon at guymon.katie@wgmail.org.
Stay tuned next week for a complete list of winners and recognitions!
Proposition E on the Ballot April 2
Voters in the Webster Groves School District will be asked to approve the district's Proposition E in the April 2 election. The district has placed information about Prop E on its website. You can find studies, surveys and other information related to development of the proposition as well as a place to ask questions here https://www.webster.k12.mo.us/domain/3898
Over the next few weeks, we'll feature information about the proposition in newsletters and social media, starting with some frequently asked questions.
What is Proposition E?
Proposition E is a no-tax-rate-increase, $22 million bond issue on the ballot April 2 to improve safety, accessibility and other space issues in district buildings and relieve overcrowding in elementary schools.
Six million dollars would be used for safety and accessibility enhancements that include secure doors and controlled, single point of entry vestibules for all buildings, a districtwide communications system, asbestos abatement, secure interior and classroom doors, secure exterior doors, as well as elevators and chairlifts to improve accessibility, in accord with the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
In addition, the bond issue would include $16 million to add space at Hixson Middle School so that sixth grade can be moved there and to convert the Steger Sixth Grade Center/Givens School campus into a single elementary building.
Passage of the bond issue would not raise the district’s current debt service tax rate of 56.99 cents for every $100 of assessed valuation.
How much will this cost me?
Passage of the Proposition E bond issue would not increase the district’s current debt service tax rate. Property owners will continue to pay the current debt service tax rate of 56.99 cents for every $100 of assessed valuation.
Doesn’t the district’s overall tax rate rank at the top of school districts in St. Louis County?
No. The district hasn’t had an increase in its overall tax rate since 2010. It currently ranks ninth out of 22 school districts in the county.
Speaker Series Offered at Hixson
Celebrations/Announcements
Happy School Social Workers’ Week! Thanks to Anne Gibbs, Ann Marie Guntli, and Suzanne Goldstein for everything you do!
Mark your calendars: The Statesmen Service Awards are April 12, 2019 at 7am. The service hour logs are due to Office 124 by 3/29/19.
Other Important News
Procedures for Check-Out During the School Day
We often get questions about how to check out of school early for appointments. If students know in advance that they need to check out from school, they should bring a written, signed note from a parent stating the time at which they are to check out. Students should present their request to the assistant principal’s office before school. Parents may also call in to the Assistant Principal's office ahead of time and have students check out at the designated time. When leaving school during the day, students must check out through the assistant principal’s office. If students do not follow this procedure, their absence will be considered cutting class. In case of sickness, students check out through the school nurse. In case of emotional upset, students should see their counselors or an administrator to discuss whether or not to remain in school.
When students need to check out of school early:
- Call the Assistant Principal's office before the designated time and report the absence. You may also send a note with the student to be presented to the Assistant Principal's office before school.
- At the designated time, your student will receive a pass to check out if you called ahead. The student will check out in the Assistant Principal's office.
- You do not need to enter the building if you have called the absence in and communicated a pick-up location with your child. However, if you choose to pick up your child in the building, you must do so in the Assistant Principal's office. Upon entering the building, sign-in in the main office and proceed to the Assistant Principal's office.
All attendance procedures are outlined in detail in the Student Handbook. To report your child's absence, please call your child's assistant principal's office directly:
Dwight Kirksey--918.4139
Shiree Yeggins-Campbell--918.4132
Angela Thompson--918.4127
John E. Thomas--918.4131
Webster Groves High School
Email: erb.mickey@wgmail.org
Website: hs.webster.k12.mo.us
Location: 100 Selma Avenue, Webster Groves, MO, USA
Phone: (314) 963-6400
Facebook: facebook.com/WGAlumni
Twitter: @WebsterGrovesHS