Thanks to all of our Webster Groves families for their support for an outstanding first week of school. We have seen so many strong indicators for the upcoming year--many students involved in after-school activities, earnest classroom settings, and students prepared to learn.

I'm excited to see our students fully immersed in our 1:1 campus. Please remind your child to bring their learning device (school-issued Chromebook, personal Chromebook, laptop, or tablet) to school every day. If they have a school-issued Chromebook, please encourage them to take the best care of their equipment as possible, charge their device every night, and keep the Chromebook in it's protective case at all times. Remember that the device issued to your child is for school use. Devices should not be used by or loaned to anyone other than your child.

Our Administrative Team will be reviewing safety expectations and training this week. We have some new district-wide language to communicate internally and externally during alerts. When training occurs, we will attempt to provide the training in the effort to balance continued teaching and learning with tightened security. We are appreciative of the support of local law enforcement, our building staff, and our students for supporting our preparation. I am the parent of two school-age children as well, and I think of them and their safety each day. Part of the work of a school is to build a school culture that recognizes we have a shared responsibility to care and support each other each day.

Don't hesitate to call us at 314.963.6400 with any questions you may have. We are always here to assist.

Regards,

Matt Irvin

• 8/31: Late ID Pictures/Senior Pictures
• 8/31: WGHS Activities Fair, Selma Avenue, 5-6pm
• 8/31: WGHS Selma Street Dance, Selma Avenue, 6-8pm

Call your child's AP office to report an absence, late arrival, or early departure. Checking out early? When leaving school during the day, students must check out through the assistant principal’s office.

Student Early Release:

1. We require at least one hour notice when calling your student out early. Call the Assistant Principal's office before the designated time and report the absence. You may also send a note with the student to be presented to the Assistant Principal's office before school.

2. At the designated time, your student will receive a pass to check out if you called ahead. The student will check out in the Assistant Principal's office.

3. You will NOT enter the building if you have called the absence in and communicated a pick-up location with your child. However, if you choose to pick up your child in the building, you must do so at the main entrance on Selma Avenue. Upon entering the building, check in with the receptionist. Please bring your driver's license if you are checking in. The receptionist will contact the Assistant Principal’s office to send for your student. Please be aware that not calling ahead to schedule an early release can take up to 30 minutes to send for a student.

Webster Groves School District uses ParentSquare for school communication, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent, using their preferred email address and phone number. We encourage parents to access their accounts so they can download the mobile app and update their preferences on when and how they are notified.

To stay connected with the learning in our classrooms, please create a Canvas Observer Account which is our district's learning management system. You will find three helpful documents below:

1. Canvas Informational Letter
2. Creating an Observer Account, Logging into Canvas, and Setting Notifications
3. Student Accessing Canvas

If you have any questions please contact Tim Brown, Director of Student Assessment, Data and Learning Technologies at brown.tim@wgmail.org.

Click here to order your child's photo package.

Important Dates

• September 1: Last Day for $60 Early Bird Pricing. Order here!

Important Senior Dates & Links

• October 27: Senior Ads (Click here to purchase! School #: 8459) are due.

Webster Groves School District uses the Raptor system for all visitors.

The Webster Groves School District uses a check-in system from Raptor Technologies to improve safety for students and staff by screening visitors, contractors and volunteers at all school buildings.

Here’s how it works: All school visitors will be asked to present identification, such as a driver’s license, which will pass through a scanner. Parents and other volunteers who visit regularly or participate in field trips only need to do this once. If you don’t have government-issued identification, we will enter the information manually. Within a few seconds, the Raptor system will check a visitor’s name and date of birth against a national database of registered sex offenders to ensure that offenders aren’t entering a school without our knowledge. No other information from the ID will be gathered or recorded.

Once an entry is approved, Raptor issues a visitor badge. Should the system find a match in the offender database, however, the school administrative assistant will receive a notification but no details. Only the assistant superintendent of human resources will have access to the results.

The safety of our students is our highest priority. This new system provides the schools a quick and efficient way to identify anyone who might present a danger to students. For additional information, we have provided a list of frequently asked questions, attached.

Thank you for your understanding as well as your support for improving safety in our schools. If you have any questions, please call me at 961-1233.

Sincerely,

Dr. Sandy Wiley

Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources

The Spirit Store is open! Hours are 8-9:15 a.m., Tuesday - Friday.

The online store is open 24 hours a day at https://www.wghsparentsclub.org/spiritwear.

Every time you shop at the Spirit Store, you are supporting student scholarships and teacher grants!

Email: erb.mickey@wgmail.org
Website: hs.webster.k12.mo.us
Location: 100 Selma Avenue, Webster Groves, MO, USA
Phone: (314) 963-6400
Facebook: facebook.com/WGAlumni
Twitter: @WebsterGrovesHS