WPUSD eNews
PARENT EDITION | August, 2022
WPUSD eNews: August 2024
Important Upcoming Dates
August 5 - District Office Resumes Normal Hours (7:30-4:00)
August 6 - First Day School Offices are Open for 2024-2025
August 9 - New Teacher Orientation
August 15 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Kerry Callahan, Superintendent
WPUSD Board of Trustees
Board Meeting Highlights & Upcoming Meetings
Board Meeting Highlights
- June 18 Highlights
- President Jason Price went through an extensive list of achievements and initiatives from the 2023-2024 school year
- The Board received update on the district's community outreach efforts
- Reno Penders presented the recent adoption process of high school World Language curriculum.
- Audrey Kilpatrick presented on the 2024-2025 adopted budget
Upcoming Meetings
- August 6, 2024 - WPUSD District Office, 3rd Floor
Miss a meeting? Click HERE to view them on our YouTube Channel
Board Objectives
ACTION ITEMS: PARENT 'TO-DO'S'
In This Section
🚨Annual Registration Update NEW!
Update Your Child’s Information for the 2024-2025 School Year
All students attending WPUSD schools for the 2024-2025 school year must have their registration, emergency contact and health information reviewed and updated. Please ensure all required forms are e-signed before the school year begins.
To simplify the process for parents, we've consolidated several forms and procedures into the new 'Annual Registration Update' accessible through your PowerSchool Parent Portal. This comprehensive update includes the annual Parents' Rights Notifications, Emergency Contact Update, and more. Our goal is to provide a one-stop shop within your Parent Portal to complete all necessary updates and revisions before the start of the school year.
Information & Instructions
PowerSchool Parent Portal Log In Link
The Annual Registration Update Now Includes:
- Additional Services Survey *New
- Student/Parents Rights Annual Notification *New
- Residence Verification Form *New
- Technology Use and Waiver Agreements
- Student Health Insurance Option
- Photo Release Opt-Out
- Universal Free Meals and Funding Formula Data Collection *New
- Contact your child’s school office with any questions after they reopen on August 6, 2024. For immediate assistance before August 6th, you may contact the District Office Monday-Friday from 10am-2pm.
- If you don’t have a Parent Portal account, you should have received an email or letter with setup instructions.
- Forgot your student’s Access ID/Password?
- Before August 6: Contact the Technology Department at 916-434-3737 for assistance.
- After August 6: Contact your child’s school for assistance.
- For technical support with your Parent Portal account, email HelpDesk@wpusd.org
- If you forgot your username or password, use the 'Forgot Password' link on the log-in screen.
Ensure your child's information is up-to-date to start the school year smoothly!
INFORMATION SECTION
In This Section
🎒Back to School Basics NEW!
💻Chromebook Service Plan NEW!
🥗Enhancing School Food NEW!
📱Social Media Buzz NEW!
🚌We're Hiring NEW!
BACK TO SCHOOL BASICS🎒
How do I find out about my child's teacher or their schedule?
Be on the lookout for information from your child's school site on upcoming dates to pick up schedules, find out who their teacher is, and more. This type of information will come from your child's school! If you did not receive communication from your child's school with this information, reach out to the school site beginning August 6th.
What will my student's bell schedule look like?
Click HERE to for a full list of bell schedules for each site.
I need to get a bus pass. Where do I go?
All things transportation happen through the District Office. Click HERE for bus pass applications and information on bussing. Not all schools offer transportation, please see the application to see if you qualify (if your child's school is not listed on the application, you do not qualify). We offer transportation to all families who live outside of our city limits.
NOTE: Bus routes and times are still being finalized and will be posted on the transportation page under 'Information'.
What about food? What can I expect?
Universal meals continues this school year (and every school year moving forward!) - meaning, all students are offered a free breakfast and lunch daily. Although meals are free for all students, it helps our department if you still fill out a meal application. You can do that by clicking HERE. Food service is making some major improvements this year. Be sure to read more about what's happening in Food Service in this newsletter. Menus are available now - you can find those HERE.
What will the calendar year look like?
Click HERE for the full district calendar. This will tell you when breaks are, early release days and more!
How will I receive communication?
This will vary depending on your child's school site. Typically, elementary families receive a weekly newsletter-style communication from the principal. Our middle and high schools typically communicate via email in a bi-weekly or monthly fashion - among the additional teacher and site notifications. All of our sites utilize our district communication platform called ParentSquare. You can find out more about how to download the ParentSquare app and use ParentSquare HERE. The District uses ParentSquare to communicate with families and staff in the event of an emergency.
Our middle and high schools utilize Schoology as a learning management system for all around academic and school information. For more information on Schoology, visit your child's school website or contact your child's school directly.
What about student safety?
The safety of our students and staff is a top priority, always. We are consistently working to improve our safety protocols, enhance our safety drill effectiveness, and regularly collaborate with our local law enforcement to ensure we are prepared should an emergency occur. This summer, with Lincoln Police Department and Lincoln Fire Department, we held active threat training sessions which allowed for collaboration between agencies and enhanced our overall preparedness. We are thankful that our first responders share our commitment to maintaining safe campuses in WPUSD. You can find out more about our safety protocols on our website HERE.
NEW THIS YEAR! Chromebook Service Plan💻
NEW THIS YEAR! We are offering a Student Chromebook Service Plan for families to purchase to cover basic repair or replacement of the student’s Chromebook for the school year.
Families can find more information and enroll on our website HERE.
COMMITTMENT TO ENHANCING TO MEALS FOR STUDENTS 🥗
2023-2024 School Menu Feedback Results
Last school year, we surveyed students, families and staff to better gage our ability to provide quality meals to all students at no cost. We've analyzed the data and put together a report showcasing areas of success and areas of improvement. Click the link below to review the report and see where we plan to make improvements this year.
2024-2025 Goals
Scratch Cooking
Increase our scratch cooking capacity by focusing on:
- Student approved menus that are culinary driven
- Awesome professional development for our team
- Improving our kitchen infrastructure
- New equipment at LHS and GEMS, also adding dishwashers at TBE, TBMS, LCE, COES, LHS
Increase our Average Daily Participation (ADP)
- Increase revenues & daily ADP across all grades, emphasis on high schools. Our plan is to focus on outreach and place a big emphasis on Food & Service!
Adding Supper Program
- We will swap our current snack program for a CACFP Supper program. We will call this super snack, allowing us to increase the amount of food and variety of options we offer students
Waste Reduction
- We will be focusing on proper forecasting, ordering and inventory management to help our department reduce waste.
Become Eat Real Certified
- We will work to go above and beyond our program requirements to become Eat Real Certified
Department Goals
- To serve a menu that is at least 50% freshly prepared selections
- To safely and consistently produce meals that meet the needs of our students and program
- We aim to offer high quality, minimally processed items
- We will meet or exceed the nutrition standards set at federal and state agencies
- We strive to offer as many locally procured items as possible
- We aim to expose our students to new and exciting fruits and vegetables through nutrition education programs like Harvest of the Month and cafeteria tastings
- Our goal is to hire individuals that are passionate about food and serving our students amazing food
- Sustain a team of food service professionals by offering a livable wage, sufficient hours and professional development opportunities in an effort to support their ability to maintain school foods service as a career
- Reduce our food waste through focusing on proper forecasting and following inventory best practices
- We will invest in our kitchens by improving facilities and equipment strategically
HEALTH SERVICES REMINDERS & UPDATES🩹
Medications at School
If your student requires any medication at school, whether that's to be kept in the Health Office or carried on their person, that medication must be signed in at the front office with the doctor's orders.
Remember, all medications (even non-prescription) need to be accompanied by the proper paperwork/doctor's orders, completed and signed by your student’s physician. All prescribed medications (including inhalers that need to be administered by the nurse) must have a prescription label on the box or container. A new form must be completed at the beginning of each school year and when there is a change in medication or dosage. Medication administration forms can be found on the WPUSD website.
If your student has been trained to administer their medication by a physician, paperwork is still required. Please have their physician indicate that your student is allowed to self-carry the medication on the paperwork.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child’s school.
WHAT'S BUZZING ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA?📱
📢 BIG NEWS! 📢
We hit our first milestone with the completion of demolition for the Phoenix High School Classroom Addition Project! 🏗️ The demolition has given us a glimpse into the existing underground utilities on campus so we can begin working with the contractor to create accurate as-builts. As-builts are used to track changes made to the original building plans during construction and are an important part of new construction.
Debunking Myths about Public School Funding
Myth: Public funds should only be used for academic purposes, not facilities.
Fact: A holistic approach to funding, encompassing both academic and infrastructural investments, is essential for student success.
Facilities play a critical role in the overall educational experience by:
Encouraging Attendance: Students are more likely to attend and stay in school when the environment is inviting and functional.
Kerry Callahan & Jason Price Guests in PowerSchool Keynote Session
Superintendent Kerry Callahan and Board President Jason Price were featured speakers at the PowerSchool EDGE Conference keynote. Invited by PowerSchool CEO Hardeep Gulati, they highlighted the advantages of using a unified educational software platform to manage various operations such as attendance, learning management, and HR functions.
Give us a follow for more!
WE ARE HIRING!🚌
Interested in Working for WPUSD?
WPUSD is hiring! Check out our current job openings at https://www.edjoin.org/wpusd. Be sure to share the Edjoin link with those who may be looking for employment!
Some of our current available positions:
- Color Guard Technician
- Middle School PE Teacher
- Food Service Assistant - Multiple Sites
- Paraprofessional - Multiple Sites
- Instructional Aide - Multiple Sites
- Bus Driver
- Campus Supervisor
- Substitutes
- Many More!
QUICKLINK CORNER
Here's where you can find quick links to frequently searched items.
Western Placer Unified School District
Website: www.wpusd.org
Location: 600 6th Street, Suite 400, Lincoln, CA, USA
Phone: 916-645-6350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WPUSD/
Twitter: @WPUSD
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