Wildcat Weekly
August 28, 2022
Hello Wildcat Families!
Welcome back!! I know I am not alone when I say I am ready for the kids to get back to school! Mr. Kelly and his crew have been working hard all summer to get the school in tip-top shape and they did not disappoint! Thank you Mr. Kelly, Mr. Curtain and Mrs. Rivera for all of your hard work! After a week full of professional development, room preparations, planning and communication, we are ready to hit the ground running. The teachers, staff and I are anxiously waiting the arrival of our students. For the first week of school, kindergarten students will be directed to the gym while students in grades 1 and 2 will go to the cafeteria and grades 3 through 5 will head to the back soccer field until 9:00.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read through this newsletter with important information in order to start the year smoothly. Once again this school year, the PTO and I will be alternating weeks for our newsletters so you can expect the Wildcat Weekly every other week with the PTO newsletter on the weeks in between.
See you soon!!
Dr. Cruice
📅 First Day of School
The first day of school is Monday, August 29, 2022. Our school day begins daily at 9:10 and dismissal is 3:40 p.m.
Pick Up Patrol
Thank you to those of you who already registered for our new dismissal program, Pick Up Patrol (PUP). PUP will allow you to easily report your child's absence from school without the need to call Safe Arrival Line, and it will allow you to communicate a change in plans for your child's dismissal on any given day. The first step is to register through the link that was emailed to you. For those of you that have not registered yet, I will send out another link following this newsletter so that you will have the opportunity to do so. Check out the flyer and the PUP video below for an overview of the program.
Kindergarten Transition
It was great to see our newest Wildcats during our Kindergarten kick-off and building tours. We understand the mix of feelings the students are experiencing as they begin their next chapter. Please know they are in good hands! Details are below on how we are transitioning our kindergarten crew to their new school:
- Kindergarteners will be escorted directly from their bus to the gym to meet their teachers each day during the first week of school.
- Students will be escorted directly to their bus/parent pick at dismissal as they are called.
- Each kindergartener was provided with a bright transportation tag to attach to their book bag so that all staff can easily identify them when they are in the halls during arrival and dismissal.
- Extra support will be in the classroom during the first few days to help them get unpacked and then packed up at the end of the day.
🏫 Open House/Back to School Nights for Parents
Our staff looks forward to meeting you in person soon! Thank you to all our kindergarten and first grade parents that made it out to back to school night on the 24th. We are looking forward to seeing our 2nd - 5th grade parents this coming week. The dates and times are below. Please note that Back to School night is for parents/guardians only.
2nd & 3rd Grade: August 30th 6:30 to 7:30 PM
- 4th & 5th Grade: September 1st 6:30 to 7:30 PM
🚍 Back to School Website
WCASD Back to School Website: https://www.wcasd.net/domain/2091
WTE Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
Thanks to the dedication and passion of our amazing parents, we are very fortunate to have an extremely active PTO at WTE. Please visit our PTO Page to learn more about the PTO and for information on signing up for the PTBoard where you will be able to access the student directory, volunteer opportunities, and much more.
Also, check out the information below for our first fundraiser of the year, Mabel's Labels!
✏️ School Supplies
Each grade level requirement can be found here WTE School Supply Lists and our PTO has provided an option to help make this easier for families: WTE School Supply List Ordering Form.
Boys Basketball Camp for Grades 3-5
🚗 Morning Drop-Off
If you plan to drop your child off at school, drop off begins at 8:30 AM at the back hall entrance by the soccer field on the lower lot. Drop-off ends sharply at 9:00. After 9:00, students will need to enter at the main entrance. Please help us by dropping off your child prior to 9:00 at the drop off location. More detailed instructions for drop of logistics to follow.
🚗 Dismissal and Parent Pick-Up
Dismissal is at 3:40 so the busses will not depart WTE prior to that. In order to get the buses into the school lot, we begin parent pick up at 3:30. Parent pick-up occurs at the same location as morning drop-off on the lower lot by the back soccer field. For a variety of safety reasons, please do not come to school prior to 3:00. The pick-up line begins at the flag pole. Please do not pull all the way up to the gate as there may be students outside. Staff will be there to help direct traffic once we open the gate.
🥪 Lunch
Grade levels will eat together in the lunchroom. Students may bring or buy lunch. Please note that breakfast (served 8:30 to 9:00 each day) and lunch are no longer free to all students. Students wishing to purchase food will do so from their account. Parents may load money to their child’s account through PayPal in Parent Portal Instructions for funding child's lunch acct. When making purchases, students will enter their student ID number, which can be found in Parent Portal. It might be a good idea to practice that with your child prior to school starting. 2022/23 menus will be updated prior to the start of school at this site: WCASD Meal Menus. Visual of our keypad: Lunchroom Keypad for practice
🍽️ National School Lunch Program
The National School Lunch Program application for the 2022-23 school year is now available online. For information regarding the program, visit the WCASD website at https://www.wcasd.net/Page/6842. Contact our school caseworker with any questions or for assistance with the application.
WTE Caseworker: Mrs. Beata Starr - bstarr@wcasd.net
Apply for the NSLP online at https://www.schoolcafe.com
Aplicar en linea en https://www.schoolcafe.com
💲 Activity Fee
The West Chester Area School District has a tradition of offering high-quality extra-curricular programs for students. To support the costs of these programs, an Activity Fee is applied to extra-curricular programs supervised by a contracted coach, advisor, or director. This yearly fee allows a student to participate in one or multiple funded activities, and the maximum amount a family may pay per year is $250. At the elementary level, the activities that require payment of an activity fee for the year are intramurals, chorus, orchestra, and band. Please see the attached letter for additional details and payment information. Payment should not be made until your son or daughter is rostered for the given activity during the school year.
Communication
Your child’s teacher will maintain regular communication with you and should you have questions or concerns, he or she should be your first point of contact. You’ll hear from me often as well via email and our newsletter. Throughout the year, if questions or concerns arise on your end, please reach out to us directly. Our school counselor, Mrs. Ashley Kleckner is a great support as well for assistance with navigating friendships, challenges in the classroom, and unforeseen circumstances. Mrs. Kleckner can be reached at akleckner@wcasd.net.
Learning Platforms
Our K-2 teachers utilize Seesaw and our 3-5 teachers utilize Schoology. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with these applications.
Seesaw How To: Seesaw Parent How To
Schoology How To: Schoology How To
👪 Parent Volunteers
👩⚕️ Nurse's Corner
PA State School Health Requirements
PA State school health mandated immunization, physical and dental requirements for 22-23 school year:
- All students are required to be up to date with PA state mandated immunizations within the first 5 days of school in order to avoid being excluded from school.
- All kindergarten students and any student registering for the first time to WTE must submit updated physical and dental examination report to the school nurse within the first 60 days of school in order to avoid being excluded from school. Reports can be dated in/after September 2021.
**Kindergarten through 5th grade students must receive:
- 4 dtap (diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis) with the last dose given after the child’s 4th birthday
- 4 IPV (polio) with the last dose given after the child’s 4th birthday
- 3 Hepatitis B
- 2 Varicella (chicken pox)
- 2 MMR (measles/mumps/rubella)
If you registered your child(ren) through WCASD portal and did not upload all or part of the above PA state school health mandates, please send the information to our school nurse, Mrs. Kellie Wallace at the above email address as soon as possible.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this very important notice.