Hello Wilkesboro families! We hope that you’ve enjoyed this weekend. We are calling tonight with updates for the week of October 10-14. You can find full details and updates from your child’s teacher on our weekly LET’S BUILD page below.

We are doing our best to improve our school’s attendance and make sure we keep accurate records for your child. Please find in your child’s weekly folder some templates as an option for you to use when your child is out. We often get ClassDojo messages or phone calls regarding student absences, but those do not meet the legal requirement for documentation. We ask parents to send in a written note the day a child returns to school after absence. We also ask that you get a medical note from providers for medical appointments when possible.

Our PTO has big plans for the school year, and on Monday they will kick off their annual capital campaign fundraiser. This capital campaign will run through October 25, and 100% of funds raised by the campaign will support our school and provide security and facility updates. Your child will get a big yellow envelope with full details on Monday. Students who raise funds can earn a WES silicone bracelet, pop it toys, ticket to a pizza party, and chances to win gift cards, and the class who raises the most will win a trip to Sweet Frog. The first collection date is Friday, so please send in donations and envelopes then.

We also want to remind you of PTO's fall festival coming up on October 20. This annual event is always a hit, but we haven't had it since 2019. This event features a costume contest, carnival games, BINGO, and a creepy library visit along with much more. The event is free for students, with additional costs for BINGO. PTO needs your help to send in individual wrapped candy for this event, and we will also share a way later this week for parents to sign up to volunteer to help with an event.

We are still waiting for the online payment portal for field trips, but we want to remind families that our 2nd, 4th, and 5th graders have field trips coming up this week. Please make sure to sign and return your child's permission slip.

We also will honor our Terrific Kids on morning news on Wednesday and Thursday. Please check ClassDojo later this week for links to a webpage with photos and videos from the celebration.

Thanks for your support and encouragement during this busy month of October. Have a great evening!

Field trips are a special part of school, and we are excited for students to enjoy these learning experiences again. Field trips allow students to experience new environments, learn in unique places, apply skills learned in the classroom, and connect with the real world around us. Our teachers have planned 4 to 5 field trips for each grade level.

All students are included in field trips. We calculate the cost of field trips to include gas and driver pay for bus transportation and admission tickets. Costs are calculated based on every student participating. All students will ride on our bus transportation to field trips, and we will also provide regular free lunch (or snack) for students through our cafeteria. We invite parent chaperones to attend many field trips (separate cost for parents) but not all. Some trips, like those to the JAWCC, are required by Wilkes County Schools. Click here for full details about field trips for the 2022-2023 school year!

We are waiting for an online payment portal to be activated, and we will share that link as soon as it is available.

If you'd like to donate to help make field trips affordable for all, please contact our office at 336-838-4261.

We welcome volunteers to help with school events. WCS uses Volunteer Tracker to help organize this process, and we use Sign Up Genius (shared via email and ClassDojo) to make signing up easy and convenient. To get signed up, follow steps below.

1. Go to www.wilkescountyschools.org

2. Go to the PARENTS tab at the top (or VOLUNTEER at the bottom).

3. Click on VOLUNTEERS.

4. Click on VOLUNTEER TRACKER.

5. Go to the green NEW REGISTRATION and follow instructions from there.

Level 1 volunteers can help in many ways. Level 1 volunteers can sign up to help with book fairs, school events, class parties and projects, Field Day, Fall Festival, and proctoring for tests.

Level 2 volunteers can do all level 1 tasks but can also help chaperone field trips and work more closely with students in small groups. Level 2 volunteers can also sign up for classroom tutoring and assistance, reading buddy program, tutoring, leading after school activities, and chaperoning school events field trips.

We ask that all parents/guardians who plan to attend field trips sign up to be Level 2 volunteers at the start of the year. It takes a few weeks to verify volunteers, and signing up early will make sure that you are approved in time for this year’s events and field trips.

School counselor Rachel Minick (minickr@wilkes.k12.nc.us AND link to counseling newsletter), school social worker Brandy Walsh (walshb@wilkes.k12.nc.us AND link to SSW Page), and school nurse Kim Sluder (sluderk@wilkes.k12.nc.us) can help your family access information and resources for your child's health and overall well being.

You can contact them all on ClassDojo, by email, or by calling the office at 336-838-4261.

School starts at 7:50 each day. Students who are participating will be marked PRESENT or ABSENT. If your child is not in school, you will need to send in absence notes the next day and it will be coded as excused or unexcused. Written notes are required and can come directly from the parent/guardian or a medical office. Also note that ClassDojo messages are great for communicating an absence, but they do NOT serve as legal documentation of absences. Please send a written note. Thanks in advance for your help!