Our Back to School Cookout will be Tuesday, July 28, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Thanks to German American Bank, we will again have free hot dogs! Drinks are provided by the school. The PTO will have their annual snow cone booth. Agencies will set up booths in the cafe, many with free school supplies for students. Paragon Promotions sets up their inflatable obstacle course in the gym, which is a hit with the children. There will be prizes given away. The opportunity to "Meet Your Teacher" will be at 6:00 p.m. We hope to see you Tuesday!

Our school thrives because of strong school/community partnerships. Air Evac visited the students at the Summer Lunch program. Pictured above are YMCA students with Air Evac staff. We appreciate Debra Shadwick and Mike Armstrong--WTE parents--and Family Outreach Coordinator Wendi Rich for helping coordinate the event. Also, pictured below is WTE Parent Len Kring, biologist with the US Forest Service. He shared local pond life with students as well. We love our WTE supporters!

Bus routes have changed this year. Please see the attached routes. If your child rides a bus, please pick up a 2015-2016 bus form at the cookout (neon colored) or print a copy from this link. At the cookout, transportation information, maps, and routes will be available in the library. Please do not send a generic sheet of notebook paper the first day of school stating what bus your child rides. We usually get 20-30 of those the first day that are actually inaccurate--making assumptions that the bus is the same as last year. Use the 2015-2016 form, please.

This year kindergarten orientation will be near the end of the Back to School Cookout. The students will all be in the gym with the inflatables (with supervision) while the parents meet with your child's teacher in the classroom. Please check Harmony for your child's username and password. Those were e-mailed to you. If you did not receive an e-mail, please call the office from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. for assistance.

Starting Monday, July 27, you can go to Harmony and pay for books online and update all of your child's demographic information. We also provide this opportunity during the cookout from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, and from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Thursday, and Friday. The office is closed for lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Book fees are as follows:

Kindergarten: $53.48

1st Grade: $60.59

2nd Grade: $50.81

3rd Grade: $83.71

4th Grade: $80.06

5th Grade: $67.92

6th Grade: $79.99

Thanks to a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, the On Target after-school program is FREE to all of our families from 3:00-6:00 p.m. on school days. Free small group tutoring is offered, as well as opportunities for enrichment through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) activities, including the First Lego League robotics program. There are also family-oriented programming such as Strengthening Families and presentations from Crisis Connection and Purdue Extension. Evening transportation is now provided Monday through Thursday to drop-off locations listed on the registration forms. Director Laura Schilling will have a booth at the Back to School Cookout. You can register your child there, or you'll find the registration form on the school's website. FREE snacks are provided. E-mail Laura Schilling at laura.schilling@tellcity.k12.in.us.

The Walking School Bus operates daily from the Perry County Library. Supervision begins at 7 a.m. with departure to William Tell Elementary at 7:20 a.m. Please do not drop off any child with no supervisor present. The Walking School Bus provides a healthy, fun way to start the day. Students walk and socialize with their friends on the way to school, and parents avoid the drop-off line. No registration is needed. The Walking School Bus begins the first day of school. We invite families to join in!

The first day of school for all students is Tuesday, August 4. The school day will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. Parents are asked to make sure all demographic information is updated in Harmony prior to the start of school. Also, parents are asked to fill out a 2015-2016 bus transportation sheet to help ensure the school has the latest information regarding transportation to and from school. Those sheets will be available at the Back-to-School Cookout and they are on the school corporation website. Watch for information in the next few weeks announcing grade level Parent Nights for more classroom-specific new school year information.