Notes from Dr. Irvin
Your Weekly WGHS eNews for March 14
Hello Parents and Guardians,
Thanks to all who had the chance to attend parent conferences this week. Our goal with the new combination of scheduled and walk-up opportunities is to proactively make connections with our parent community, learn more about your student, and connect on how we might support a struggling learner. I had many positive conversations with teachers and parents about the new format, and I hope to continue improving the process as we navigate these intentional conversations. Please take a moment to complete the survey below. Your feedback will greatly assist in our efforts to continually improve the Parent-Teacher conference process.
Spring Parent-Teacher Conference Parent Survey
I hope you all have a wonderful spring break with time to relax and reconnect.
Best,
Matt Irvin
Snow Day Make-up Information for WGHS
As you know, we experienced an unusual number of school cancellations because of weather this year. The state of Missouri requires that students attend 174 days and 1,044 hours each year. This year, students will only have attended 173 days, therefore we will be extending the year as follows:
- Students will now attend school on Friday, May 24 from 7:55 a.m. - 11:05 a.m.
- Monday, May 20 and Tuesday, May 21 will be a special schedule, meaning all 7 classes will meet. The first hour final exam will be given on Tuesday, with shortened 2nd - 7th periods.
- Half-day final exams days are Wednesday-Friday. School will be dismissed at 11:05 each day.
The extended school year will NOT affect seniors and early check-out.
This revision will ensure that the district calendar is in accord with state requirements.
A Peek at the Week Ahead
- March 14: Parents' Club Meeting, Library, 7 p.m.
- March 15: NO SCHOOL
- March 18-22: Spring Break
Celebrations/Announcements
Congratulations to Nicolaus Braun and Gabriel Mitchell, who have been selected for the 2019 Missouri Scholars 100, a statewide program that honors 100 of Missouri's top academic students in the graduating class of 2019. Students will be recognized at a luncheon in Columbia, MO in late April.
On Sunday, March 10, the Webster Groves Jazz Bands from Hixson Middle School and Webster Groves High School performed at Delmar Hall in the University City Loop. Hixson 7th Grade Jazz, Hixson 8th Grade Jazz, Webster Groves High School Jazz II, and Webster Groves High School Jazz 1 performed at 2:00pm in front of a capacity crowd.
This performance is a unique opportunity for students to perform in a world class venue with professional lighting and sound. WGHS Jazz instructor Kevin Cole has developed this opportunity for Webster Students in conjunction with Delmar Hall and the Pageant owner/operator (and Webster Groves) resident Patrick Hagin.
A big thank you to Kevin Cole, Jamie Burchett, Dane Williams, Joe Stevison, Emily Tokos and Tim Tobin for making this wonderful afternoon concert a reality.
All Write Week Wrap-up
Congratulations to our 200+ students who participated in the 2019 All Write week. WGHS students performed as readers, musicians, dancers, filmmakers, artisans, and actors and worked as interns, greeters, salespeople, tech crew, photographers, camera people, designers, chefs, and more throughout our celebratory festival.
Here are the students who took top honors in our creative contests:
Jonathan Franzen Excellence in Student Writing Award
Winner: Trinity Madison
Runners Up: Sophia Gotta and Ross Grundy
Art Write Prize
Winner: Eavan O’Neil
Runners Up: Zoe Castro and Melina Dante
Screen Write Prize
Top Film: Sam Hayden’s Reach
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vPWBBjLFdI&disable_polymer=true
Hixson Hootenanny Poetry Contest
2019 Hixson Poet Laureate: Arctic Grosvenor for “Uncharted”
1st Honorable Mention: Katherine Teeter for “If I were in your shoes”
2nd Honorable Mention: Katie Lawless for “The Real Me”
For pictures of the week, please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @allwritewghs. You can view a highlight reel here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPsL_jClCWI
film created by Sam Hayden, Christian Ragain, and Philip Freeman
The annual All Write festival is completely self-funded, so we humbly ask for your help to keep it going into the future. We are now accepting your generous donations for 2020 at our new Go Fund Me. Thank you so much.
Proposition E on the Ballot April 2
Frequently Asked Questions About Proposition E - April 2
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, asbestos abatement, secure interior and classroom doors, secure exterior doors, as well as elevators and chairlifts to improve accessibility, in accord with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. 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.
You can find additional information – as well as survey results, studies and other material – on the Proposition E page on our website, at this link https://www.webster.k12.mo.us/domain/3898
Didn’t the district just increase classroom space at the elementary schools by installing modular units?
Resident enrollment in the district has increased eight percent since 2009 and is expected to trend up through 2024. Three schools currently have modular units (Avery, Clark and Edgar Road). Nine percent of the district’s elementary students will attend class in a modular in 2019-20. Avery and Clark each have one; Edgar Road has two and the district is purchasing another for next year. If the bond issue is approved, the district would gradually discontinue use of or repurpose the modulars.
Is the district enrollment growing?
Enrollment in the Webster Groves School District has been growing for quite a few years. Since 2009, elementary resident enrollment has increased by 8% and total resident district enrollment has increased by 11%. While a few factors surely attribute to this increase, the data shows an upward trend in the number of children born in the district and a notable increase in the number of students who had attended private/parochial schools prior to entering the district (second-highest of any regional school district from 2009 - 2013).
While we monitor actual district enrollment on a regular basis, the district is in its third year of contracting with Dr. Charles Kofron to develop five-year rolling enrollment projections. Dr. Kofron’s projections are based on the number of children born within district boundaries and the number of resident children who enter kindergarten in the district. While a projected decrease can be observed in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 kindergarten cohorts (2023-24 based on 5 months of actual births and seven months of projected births), resident district enrollment is still expected to increase 2.3% between now and 2023-24, and resident elementary enrollment is expected to increase by 4.1% within the same timeframe.
Why does the district recommend converting Steger Sixth Grade Center/Givens School into one elementary school?
Converting the Steger/Givens campus into one elementary school would provide considerable relief to the overcrowding in district elementary schools, offering the district more space for a longer time than other options considered. Using this space would increase elementary capacity in the district by 396 students.
In addition, use of the Steger/Givens building in this way furthers district efforts to become a more equitable school system by providing more students and families with a neighborhood elementary school.
Speaker Series Offered at Hixson
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