The 2024-25 school year is off to a great start! Our Hurricane InsEYEder newsletter will give you a look into the Hurricane. We'll include highlights, forecasts (upcoming events), and track our progress so that our community can stay connected.

You can catch up on our recent Board meetings in the August 2024 and September 2024 Board Corner Reports linked below. The full minutes from the meeting will be posted on the district website after they are approved the next regular meeting on October 28, 2024 at Wilmington Middle School at 6:00 PM.

• August 2024 Board Corner Report (doc)
• September 2024 Board Corner Report (doc)

October is Ohio School Safety Month. At WCS, we keep school safety a top priority year round. I want to share some information on what we do at WCS to keep your kids safe at school.

Visit wilmingtoncityschools.com/safety (nested under Parent Resources) to learn more about the following:

• Staff training and Emergency Drills
• Safety Plan and Threat Assessment
• Building Security
• Visitor Management System
• Cyber Security
• Student Services and Supports
• School Safety Hotline

You can help by starting the conversation with your kids or grandkids. Kids are most likely to see concerning posts before parents or school officials do. Here's a list of discussion points and tips for famililes:

• Contact the authorities immediately if you see or hear about a threatening social media post or comments.
• Please don't to share threatening posts. By sharing the posts, you are actually making it harder for law enforcement to track down the perpetrator.
• Talk with your kids about the importance of reporting concerning posts to the authorities right away instead of sharing them on social media.
• Remember, we have a 24/7 Safety Hotline on our website and an app you and your child can download. Get the details on our Safety and Security page (wilmingtoncityschools.com/safety is nested under Parent Resources on our website).
• Parents: Make sure you update FinalForms with the correct phone numbers and emails. That's how we'll contact you in case there is an emergency.

The District will continue to do all that we can to make our schools safe and inviting places for students.

Check out our Hurricane Highlights from recent weeks!

On September 13, 2024 we inducted 4 new members into our WHS Athletics Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Class of 2024 includes Ashley Howard, Marque Jones, Roger Ilg, and Quinten Rollins. Learn more about our inductees here (doc). Congratulations!

Congratulations to the PRIDE of Wilmington Marching Band on receiving 1st Place in Class A and Best Auxiliary at the OMEA/Tippecanoe HS Marching Band Competition. We are #HurricaneProud of our program and students!

Here is the Hurricane Forecast of upcoming events! Grab your calendars.

WHS Homecoming 2024 is just around the corner! So get out your orange and black, and bring your Hurricane Spirit to our activities. Check out the schedule and join the celebrations! Here's the schedule:

• 10/3 at 6:00pm - Homecoming Parade followed by a community pep rally at Alumni Field
• 10/4 from 4-6:30pm - 68th Annual Band Chili Supper (tickets available from any band member or online at wilmingtonbands.ludus.com
• 10/4 at 7:00pm - Wilmington vs. Batavia (tickets available at the gate or online through Hometown Ticketing.

P.S. All Alumni Marching Band members are encouraged to join the Marching Band at halftime. Please see additional information and sign up here.

Check our Event Calendar (doc) for more events and happenings around the District. Remember to always double-check the online calendars before heading out to an event in case there are changes to the schedule.

Visit wilmingtoncityschools.com/athletics for our schedule of athletic events. Tickets for all home athletic contests are available online WCS Hometown Ticketing (see Athletics page on our website). Tickets can also be purchased with cash at the gate. Senior Citizens passes for Wilmington fans are available at no charge. Just stop into the WHS Athletic Office at the High School and fill out a form to obtain the passes.

Events are livestreamed at fan.hudl.com/usa/oh/wilmington/organization/655/wilmingtonscho-high-school

This year, Wilmington High School's Interact Club has partnered with the Disabled American Veterans out of Erlanger, Kentucky, to honor our Veterans this Veterans Day. Wilmington High School will be hosting a "Field of Flags" that is designed to honor Veterans in our community. Each donation purchases one flag from DAV. The proceeds from these sales go toward providing critical care for Veterans and their families. Learn more about our fundraiser and the DAV here.

We look forward to working with our community to honor our local service men and women.

Track our progress and see what we've been up to at WCS in our Hurricane Tracking section.

The Elementary Resource Selection Team spent the end of the last school year studying and piloting potential new literacy resources. The team chose Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum from Amplify. CKLA embeds literacy skills in everyday learning, building reading skills alongside content learning. Each year, CKLA helps students expand content knowlege, vocabulary, and reading skills at the same.

Already, we're seeing excitement from students, parents, and teachers!

• Teachers are loving the lessons and built in parent communications. They feel like they are more productive and are excited to see how their students progress this year. Check out our short teacher video on YouTube.
• Students are actively engaging in learning. They are already using their new skills to learn in other content areas.
• Parents comment that their kids are excited to come home and share what they are learning.

Learn more about this new resource in our parent video. We're excited about the positive impact this new resource will have on elementary literacy. Buiding strong readers in early years will lay the groundwork for academic success in middle/high school.

This resource aligns with the science of reading (Ohio Dept. of Educ. and Workforce) and is a multi-year approach to building strong readers.

If you're wondering how the new cell phone/device policy is going, we have great news! Students are adjusting to the new policy. They are engaging in learning while at school instead of being tethered to their devices.

• WHS: In the Data Science classes, our students have been working on public service announcements about electronic awareness and the effects of social media. They presented to the class and then posted their work in the hallway!
• WMS: It’s been a great start to the school year at Wilmington Middle School. Students love socializing at lunch. Students have accepted and embraced the challenges resulting from new expectations and protocols that we have put into place.
• One WHS staff member shared this about our new cell phone/device policy: "It has been very refreshing for everyone to be able to focus on the business at hand, namely academics and human relationships. The classroom is beginning to feel more like a community again."

We are excited to give our students a break from their devices and social media during the school day.

In 2023-24, nearly 3 in 10 WCS students were chronically absent. From Kindergarten through 12th grade, that adds up to missing more than a year of school! Excused or unexcused, absences add up to missed opportunities for learning. Here are some fast facts about the impact of missing to much school.

• Missing too much school (for any reason) in elementary can make it harder for kids to learn to read.
• Students can fall behind their peers in school missing just 1 or 2 days every few weeks.
• By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.
• By 9th grade, attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.

It is difficult to educate kids when they aren't in school. Chronic Absenteeism creates a domino effect. Absences impact a student's academic success which impacts their chances of graduating. Both academic success in core subjects and graduation rates also impact our State Report Card. Absences also make it harder for kids to make connections and build healthy relationships with their peers.

We've set a goal to continue reducing our chronic absenteeism rate in 2024-25, but we can't do it alone. We need parents to help reinforce to their kids the importance of attending school every day and on time. Parents are encouraged to reach out to school teachers, counselors, and principals if their child is facing barriers to good attendance (chronic illness, homelessness, food/housing insecurity, etc). Our staff is here to help your child overcome barriers and have a successful school year.

We're excited to share the following update regarding attendance at WCS:

• Daily attendance rates are trending up compared to last year.
• We are well below our chronic absence rate from last year (26.6% in 2023-24, currently 19.5% in 2024-25).
• We currently have over 400 students with perfect attendance!
• We're especially excited about the improved attendance in our Preschool-2nd grade building (Holmes). Attendance in early grades is critical in building strong readers. Strong readers become strong learners. They are paving the way toward future academic success.

We started strong and look forward to our continued partnership with to help kids build strong attendance habits.

In our Family Corner we like to share a smorgasboard of resources for parents. (Links and content from external sources are not under the control of the District.)

Below are just a few of the Awareness topics for October along with links to additional information and resources.

• National Bullying Prevention Month (Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center)
• Cybersecurity Awareness Month - Secure Our World (Cybersecurity & Infrastruction Security Agency - cisa.gov)
• National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (Ohio Domestic Violence Network)
• Ohio School Safety Month - see weekly topics below

• Oct. 6-12: Fire Prevention Week - National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Oct. 16: World Unity Day (Pacer's Nat'l Bullying Prevention Center)
• Oct. 20-26: National Teen Driver Safety Week - NHTSA.gov
• Oct. 21-25 - National School Bus Safety Week - NHTSA.gov

September was Suicide Prevention Month. It's important to know throughout the year that there is help and there is hope. Our students (and community members) are encouraged to reach out to someone if they are concerned about a friend or are having mental health issues themselves. We have resources to help and stories of recovery to share. Below you'll find helpful information about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Line.

Election Day is just around the corner. Here are a few reminders for our community:

• 10/7/24 - The last day to register to vote for the November 2024 general election. Visit olvr.ohiosos.gov to register or update your address.
• 10/8/24 - Early/Absentee voting begins. Visit ohiosos.gov/elections/voters for the voting schedule.
• 11/5/24 - General Election Day. Vote at your assigned polling location. Polls are open from 6:30am to 7:30pm.
• Valid Photo ID is now a mandated requirement for voting in Ohio. Visit ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/id-requirements for identification requirements.