Washington Post
Family Newsletter for Washington Elementary
A Word from Mrs. Wolf
Dear GWES families,
Good morning! Where on earth has time gone? I cannot believe we are into April! This time of year can bring the joy of warm weather (perhaps someday) and a pride in all we have accomplished this year. However, we still have several weeks of school left and want to finish strong! I would like to share with you some of our great accomplishments from this year:
- Chinese language and culture integration
- We welcomed Milo-our robot for children with autism (see link below for video)
- Broad scale student support including: attendance mentors for the chronically absent, check in and check out mentors for social, emotional, or behavioral support, tiered academic support, small group social and emotional support 3 weeks of every month
- Grade level teaching teams: This has allowed consistency in content area teaching and more collaboration which provides more equitable experiences for students and a more clear picture of student goals. In working with our Instructional Design Specialist this year, our teachers have a "guide on the side" to help them dig deep into curriculum, data and best practices
- PBL implementation process improvements through a team of teachers supporting one another in the planning process in hopes of deepening the impact for students
- Continued focus and additional levels of school wide expectations for all areas including cafeteria, auditorium, playground, hallway, bathroom, classroom, etc. These are explicitly taught to students and reviewed and improved from year to year
- Dedicated morning meeting times and purposes: We designated each day of the week with a focus on community, problem solving, teamwork, and wisdom. This focus allowed more consistency among classrooms
- Our leadership team has reviewed our vision and established a road map for making our vision a reality over the next few years
- We increase our global education efforts through Chinese integration and dedicated "race around the world" time on RACE days, including "informances" by fourth and fifth grade
- Diversified our club time to include grades 3-5 together to allow more choice and relationships among intermediate teachers and students
GWES Artshow 2018
In addition, 4th and 5th grade have created original "soundscapes" in which they have used music curriculum and coding curriculum to create an original product. QR codes can be scanned to hear some of these, so download a scanner before you arrive!
GWES is TN Ready!
Our testing window for GWES is:
- Tuesday, April 17: ELA Subpart 1
- Wednesday, April 18: ELA Subparts 2 & 3
- Thursday, April 19: ELA Subpart 4 and Math Subpart 1
- Friday, April 20: Make-up day
- Tuesday, April 24: Math Subparts 2 & 3
- Wednesday, April 25: Science Subpart 1 (3rd through 5th) & Subpart 2 (5th grade only)
- Thursday, April 26: Social Studies Subpart 1 (3rd through 5th) & Subpart 2 (5th grade only)
- Friday, April 27: Make-up day
The following link is available with resource for parents:
https://www.tn.gov/education/assessment/tnready/tnready-parent-resources.html
Test times are listed below, however our district does NOT participate in testing for second grade.
Yard Sale this Weekend: GWES parking lot 8-2
The time is now! File or re-file your zoning/tuition requests-must occur every year
Parents who would like to request their child attend a different city school instead of one for which their child is zoned, must apply for a zoning exception. Parents of students who are not legal residents of the City of Kingsport must submit a tuition application to attend Kingsport City Schools. Parents or legal guardians must apply annually for their child’s tuition and zoning status, even if they attended Kingsport City Schools during the preceding school year.
Applications can be found online at k12k.com via the "Parents" tab, 2018-19 Zoning and Tuition Application link or if need be, in-person at the KCS Administrative Support Center, 400 Clinchfield Street, second floor, downtown Kingsport. Application deadline is April 30, 2018.
The following are excerpts from the Kingsport Board of Education’s policies and procedures for zoning and tuition:
- Parents or legal guardians must apply annually for their child’s tuition and zoning status.
- Students who are not legal residents of the City of Kingsport shall pay tuition charges as approved annually by the Board of Education.
- Failure to pay tuition will disqualify a student’s application for the next year.
- Tuition students are accepted and zoning exceptions are granted only if current enrollment permits.
- The system does not provide bus transportation for tuition or zoning exception students, except in specific circumstances.
- Documented medical reasons
- Child care availability
- An expected move to a different zone
- Specialized school programs
- A fifth or an eighth grade student with a previous zoning exception
- Documented justifications related to the child’s specific educational experience
- Zoning and tuition for Kingsport City Schools employees and retirees, as well as City of Kingsport employees
- Zoning exception reapplications
- Siblings of currently enrolled out-of-zone students
- New zoning exception applications
- Tuition reapplications
- Siblings of currently enrolled tuition students
- New tuition applications for out-of-district residents
For more information please contact Jim Nash at (423) 378.2169 or visit k12k.com.
Coming soon:
Saturday, April 14 8-2 PTA/Public Yard Sale
April 17-Tax Day
April 17- LCB Celebration of Learning: Go Fish! (6:00) and GWES Art Show "Under the Sea" (6:30)
April 17 TN Ready testing begins
April 18 LCB Community Field Trip
April 19 ECLC Artwalk
April 25 Birthdays with the Principals
May 2-4 5th grade students to Mountain Trail Outdoor School
May 8 LCA Celebration of Learning
May 14 Faculty vs. 5th grade kickball
May 15 Patriot Promise Celebration
May 22 LCE Field Trip
May 23 Fifth grade celebration of promotion 1:30
May 23 Fifth grade party @ Allandale Barn