Woodward Elementary
Keystone Central School District
December 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023
Woodward Families,
The holiday season contains many life landmarks. We move through our year, looking forward to birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. The first of January is often looked at as the "starting over point" for goals and life changes. As I've shared before, we know that these breaks in schedules can be exciting and uplifting, and they can really wear out our children. I've been sharing with our Woodward faculty and staff that self-care is critical, and I will share it with families. Take time to take care of you this holiday season, and please don't wait until the life landmark of January 1st, so you can enjoy the holiday season for all it holds for you.
December 7th - Picture Retake Day
Retake Picture Day is 12/7/22! If you're satisfied with your child's picture, no further action is required. If you purchased and were unhappy with your Picture Package, please send your Picture Package to school with your student on Retake Day. Your Retake Picture Package will be produced and shipped to the school four weeks after Retake Day. Please note, if your child is photographed on the original and Retake Picture Days, the Retake picture will replace the original picture in certain products, like the yearbook. Students who were absent for Picture Day should come to school prepared to have their picture taken. If you have not preordered, please use the Retake Order Code 72267EF to place your order at https://inter-state.com/Order. To see your Order History, check your Inter-State Account. Find answers to Retake Day questions here.
Art to Remember
Our orders have arrived! We will have the items available for pick-up from 7:20-8:00 AM and 2:40-3:10 PM Wednesday-Friday of this week and at the Christmas Program at the high school Thursday night from 6:10-6:30 PM and after the program. If you would like your child/children to bring their item(s) home with them on the bus, please send a written note in with the student and we will send it home with them.
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Markle.
Upcoming Activities
.......................(Students need to arrive by 6:10pm)
December 6th - Holiday Headwear Day
December 7 - Picture Retake Day - see information above
December 9th - Wear Flannel Day
December 12th - Wear white and dress like a snowman!
December 13th - Jingle Bell Rock and Socks!
December 14th - Dress like a candy cane (red and white or your favorite kind!)
December 15th - PJ Day for watching the Polar Express
December 16th - No School (King of the Mountain Tournament)
December 19th - Wear GREEN: KG, 1V, 2Y, 3G, 4W; Wear RED: KD, 1N, 2K, 3M, 4L
December 20th - Wear your holiday best for the sing along
December 21st - Holiday Overload Day
December 22nd - Reindeer Day
December 23 through January 2 - Winter Break (no school)
January 3 - Back to School
January 20 - 3 hour early dismissal; End 2nd Marking Period
January 23 - Act 80 Day (no school for students)
Messages & Alerts
With winter weather upon us, there will be days when we may need to delay the start of the school day or have a remote learning day. Please be sure to sign up for Bloomz, our new messaging app, so you don't miss any important information.
Winter Weather Reminders - Winter Gear
At Woodward, we understand how important it is for our students to be active and outside even in the winter months. Our procedure is for students to have outdoor recess if the real feel is at or above 26 degrees Fahrenheit. Please make sure that your children are coming to school with the appropriate attire: winter coats and hats; scarves and mittens or gloves are a nice addition as well. If you need help acquiring these things please reach out to your child's teacher or Mrs. Owens, school counselor.
Federal Programs
December/January Federal Programs Updates
All elementary schools will conduct full school assessment screenings of math and reading progress in January. Our intervention teams use this information to update WIN groups (What I Need), and from what we are seeing so far, our students are growing rapidly!
On December 6th, elementary schools will send home progress reports to keep families updated on student progress. All families in all schools should have received Quarter 1 report cards in November. If you did not receive the report card for Quarter 1, please contact your child's school secretary.
At all school levels, we use Title IV federal funds to purchase incentives for PBIS (our positive school-wide behavior supports) rewards, and we emphasize the goal of following school rules in all schools.
Required documents for families:
Right to Request Qualifications of Teachers (see Annual Notices and Policy Review button above) - if you wish to request a paper copy, please contact rmurty@kcsd.k12.pa.us .
Note: If your child is taught for four or more weeks by a teacher who is instructing in a
content area for which they are not currently certified, the district must notify you. Four week
notification letters will be added here if that becomes necessary.
Non-Discrimination Statement (see Annual Notices and Policy Review button above) - if you wish to request a paper copy, please contact rmurty@kcsd.k12.,pa.us
Title I District Parent Policy - Policy 918
Family Connections
Volunteer Work and Resources for Supports
Volunteer work is an important aspect of our community and culture. Many organizations and churches that give to our community are only able to do so through the work of volunteers. Volunteering helps people and children better understand compassion and empathy. Volunteering can even be a fun experience for you and your family. Kids and teens that volunteer may:
- See that they can make a difference
- Meet people with similar values
- Practice life skills
- Learn about different careers
- Experience different cultures
Please also review the above websites to see if you or your family could benefit from any of the services they offer.
Source: Nemours Kids Health
A note about the types of Volunteers
The link above will take you to a paper volunteer application. Please use this application before you go any further in the process. Complete it and submit it to your child's teacher, and I recommend at the bottom adding the types of things you are interested to do as a volunteer. If you are interested in helping from home or the occasional school visit where you will always be escorted by a district employee, then you can stop at this level of application. You can write that right on the bottom of the application.
If you are interested in being a formal volunteer, a volunteer who can be alone with students without a constant escort from a KCSD employee, then you want to move on to the next step and apply at the link on the bottom of the paper application. I would ask that you write right on the paper application that you are moving on to this level of volunteer. This next level of volunteering requires clearances and records checks. Once you complete your on-line application, clearances and records checks, your name will be submitted to the school board. All PTO officers should have this level of Volunteer clearance in order to be able to do the roles assigned.
We need all levels of volunteers at Woodward Elementary, and we need individuals who are willing to help our PTO. Please think about this opportunity to grow with our school!
Note: This link explains important information from the state about being a volunteer. If you still aren't sure if you need a background check level of clearance, please contact Mrs. Murty.
Current, Board-Approved Volunteers with Clearances as of December 1, 2022:
Barbara Svederus
Carey McCloskey
Hope Winslow
Elizabeth Snyder
Taryn Polk
Skylynn Hummer
Amanda R. Liedtka
Ashley Koser
Brenda and Keith Fornwalt (Mrs. Yourchack's room)
Elaine Barth (retiree)
Debra Moore (retiree)
Jessica Neff (current Title I Associate)
Terry Markle (current Title I Interventionist)
Tracy Smith (Board President)
Our Woodward Student Ambassadors take on many roles throughout the school. They are learning leaders, and they help younger students and grade level peers with various tasks throughout the day. In addition to being good role models and helpers, they also help to make school decisions. It takes a great deal of hard work and commitment to become a Student Ambassador, and we ask students, family members and faculty/staff to join the students as they make their decisions to take on this leadership role. Please read the Commitment Agreement and talk to your child about the decision to become a 3rd or 4th grade Student Ambassador before signing up. Right now sign ups are closed. We will reopen them at a later date.
#KeystoneCares - December
Santa's Workshop
In partnership with #KeystoneCares, the BENV Kiwanis is hosting Santa's Workshop!
Sun, Dec 4, 2022, 01:00 PM
Central Mountain Middle School, Ben Avenue, Mill Hall, PA, USA
#KeystoneCares - January is Attendance Counts Month!
ATTENDANCE MATTERS
Strong attendance has a proven impact on school success. Chronic absence — missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absence for any reason—excused, unexcused absences and suspensions, can translate into third-graders unable to master reading, sixth-graders failing subjects and ninth-graders dropping out of high school.
The faculty and staff of KCSD encourage parents to ensure that scholars attend school everyday in order to achieve academic success!
When we return on January 3rd from winter break, we will have been in school for 75 days. If your student has missed less than 7.5 days at this point, they are within the target attendance rate. Check your parent portal account to see how many days of school your student has missed.
If you are concerned about your student's attendance, please reach out to your student's school counselor.
- Written excuses need to be submitted for all absences. They may be brought directly to school with the student or submitted via email at wwattendance@kcsd.k12.pa.us
- Doctor’s excuses may be brought to school with the student, emailed to wwattendance@kcsd.k12.pa.us or faxed directly to the main office at 570-893-4952.
Counseling Connection
SAP
If you are concerned about a student for any reason, you can make a SAP referral. The SAP referral can potentially lead to any needed services and/or supports the student may need to be successful.
Woodward School Counseling
During the holiday season, students experience changing emotions, and this can impact school as well as home life. Parent(s)/Guardian(s) may contact our school counselor with any questions or concerns they may have regarding their student's academic, career, behavior and/or social-emotional well-being.
A counselor is someone to talk to, who will listen without judgment. A school counselor can assist in short-term counseling and if needed arrange long-term counseling and the SAP (Student Assistance Program) and Tier II support. Counselors can teach students tools to improve and cope with different situations, especially because sometimes it's hard to figure out where to start. Students may be want to see a counselor for the following reasons:
- Want to share an experience/feelings
- Feel depressed and/or lonely
- Have thoughts of self-harm
- Feel stressed and/or anxious
- Feel angry and/or frustrated
- Want to improve grade(s)
- Talk about college/careers
- Relationship/peer issues/conflicts
- Personal issues (divorce/separation, loss of a loved one, etc.)
To learn more or to schedule a meeting, please contact your student's school counselor.
Bonnie Owens: Woodward School Counselor
Phone: 570-893-4900 x3104
Email: bowens@kcsd.us
Athletics & Activities
Safety & Security
Safety & Security
Officer Scott VanGorder - Central Mountain High School
Officer Cory Beaver - Bucktail High School & Renovo Elementary
Officer James Knarr - Central Mountain Middle School
Officer Mike Fetzer - Elementary district-wide and District Attendance Officer
Officer Todd Brian - District-wide
Curriculum
Students and teachers are really diving deep into this new curriculum! December will be wrapping up Unit 3 and beginning Unit 4. Check out the links below for the family connections on Unit 4.
Keeping Up With Keystone
Career & Technical Center
Data & Performance
Winter Keystone Exam Window - January 4-18
Literature - Grade 10 - Jan.4-5
Biology - Jan.9-10
Alg 1- Jan. 12-13
Any student who is currently enrolled in a Keystone trigger course (English 10, Biology and Algebra 1) during the Fall 2022 semester will be scheduled to take the Keystone Exam in the course(s) they are currently completing. All testing must be completed in person and will be an online test. The Keystone Exam consists of 2 modules and is given over 2 days. Students must participate in both modules.
Winter Benchmark Dates - January 11-18 - All students in grades K-8 will be participating in our district assessments which include Aimsweb and NWEA MAP. Students in K-2 will be tested using the Aimsweb assessment and students in grades 3-8 will be tested using NWEA MAP assessment. These assessments are administer in the Fall, Winter and Spring and will provide you as well as their teacher valuable information on academic growth. To learn more about our assessment please click the links below.
Please contact your child's teacher for information and updates on your child's progress.
Need to register for the SAT, find out testing locations, dates and registration deadlines!
Quick Links
School Contact Information
Mrs. Smith is the building secretary (ext. 3101).
Mrs. Owens is the school counselor (ext. 3104).
Please let us know how we can help and support your family.