Wildcat Wisdom Weekly Newsletter

Wesley Chapel High School provides a community in which students become life ready citizens with confidence, empathy, and perseverance.

To ensure our students are college, career, and life ready, we are:

Accountable

Resourceful

Compassionate

Principled

Inspirational

We are moving quickly into third quarter. This week's edition is packed with tons of information, please take some time to review this edition. Parents, if your student is in an online class (eSchool or FLVS) they are responsible for staying on pace. If a student is not on pace, their schedule may be changed to a WCHS class.

If your student failed a course for the semester or if their GPA is below a 2.0, there is an opportunity for them to recover credits and improve there GPA through Extended School Day. Please reach out to your student's counselor to discuss this option.

Wesley Chapel High School Athletics will be hosting their annual signing day ceremony on Tuesday, February 18th at 12:00 in the school gymnasium. If you have a senior athlete that has verbally committed or signed a national letter of intent for next year, please notify Mr. Mumaw so your child can participate in this ceremony.

We will host the PERT test on February 11th at 8 am for students interested in taking Dual Enrollment courses over the summer and next year. This test is offered once per year at WCHS. Any student with a 3.0 unweighted cumulative GPA is eligible to test. Please sign up here by February 3rd at 11:59 pm: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=aaJT4khSVE6bZ7duOoYiIOMBzadEB51HsrV_ZeXA2KFUOFY2WTYzRjJMNElWMFhUTjZWUDRWNVcxTy4u

PERT Study Guide: https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7533/urlt/pert-studentstudyguide.pdf

We also invite you to attend our annual Advanced Placement/Dual Enrollment Presentation on February 3rd at 6 pm in the cafeteria. Counselors will discuss the differences between these two pathways and the benefits of each.

Please reach out to your counselor with any questions:

Ms. Kiser (9th) kkiser@pasco.k12.fl.us

Mrs. Taylor (10th) ptaylor@pasco.k12.fl.us

Ms. Barbo (11th) jbarbo@pasco.k12.fl.us

Mrs. Faysash (College/Career) kfaysash@pasco.k12.fl.us

Pasco County Schools will host the 5th annual Virtual College and Career Fair on March 5th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The purpose of this event is to ensure helpful information is shared with middle and high school families across the district as they plan for college entrance and/or careers after high school. Each session will be hosted live by experts, with recorded versions being shared here after the event.

Girls Flag Football Tryouts, with a tentative start date of 1/27/25 and 1/28/25 (2 day tryouts). For any questions the students or parents can reach out to Ms. McHugh or Mr. Pertee. Special note that we are going to have a minimum of 2 preseason games during a tournament at the Buccs facility.

Mrs. Cullum (science teacher) is leading a student trip to Belize over spring break in 2026. This trip will be open to any current students or former students under the age of 21. There will be an informational meeting on Thursday, January 30th from 6:30 to 7:30 pm over Zoom. Please RSVP to the meeting using this link: https://rsvp.eftours.com/wwcuy6v

The completion deadline for all online courses of seniors is May 2, 2025. If all coursework, DBAs, and exams are not completed by this date, seniors may not be able to participate in graduation ceremonies. Please monitor and speak to your students regarding their online classes.

WCHS will host a college-reportable School Day SAT on March 5th and 6th. All juniors will take this test for free and do not need to do anything to register.

Freshman, Sophomores, and Seniors interested in testing with us may now register in their Student Quick Pay/Student Fees portal. The cost is $40. The deadline to register is the end of January. This score can be used for university admissions/Bright Futures/graduation testing requirements. (You may also bring check or cash to Mrs. Faysash or Mr. Walensky to register.)

Students will an IEP or 504 who wish to test with their accommodations on College Board tests must be approved through College Board. Please fill out the form at the link below and return to Mrs. Faysash in Student Services promptly. If students were previously approved for PSAT, SAT, or AP accommodations, they do not need to reapply. Email with any questions or to confirm current accommodations kfaysash@pasco.k12.fl.us.

https://accommodations.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ssd-consent-form-accommodations.pdf

MARCH SAT BOOTCAMP SIGN UP BEGINS JANUARY 23rd!

Feeling lost, overwhelmed, and stressed when it comes to the SAT? We totally understand. The SAT can be a major roadblock, but it doesn't have to be! Here's why you should choose Schoolhouse for your SAT prep:

• Expert guidance every step of the way: Our trained and certified tutors break down complex concepts and give personalized advice where you need the most support.
• Targeted practice to build your skills: Pinpoint your weaknesses and tackle them head-on with practice questions and focused review sessions.
• Strategies designed for test day success: Learn proven techniques to manage time, tackle those tricky questions with confidence, and maximize your score.
• A supportive community to keep you going: Connect with other students, get your questions answered, and find the motivation to keep pushing forward.
• Zero cost, unlimited potential: Everything at Schoolhouse is completely free! We believe that high-quality tutoring should be available to everyone.

Ready to ditch the SAT stress and start seeing results? Check out our upcoming sessions and sign up today! Let's crush this test together! Click here to learn more about the Schoolhouse SAT Bootcamp program.

SENIORS

We will be offering the Classic Learning Test (CLT) on Saturday, January 25, 2025. We will be starting the test at 9:00 AM on that day. There is a test fee of $31 for this exam. If you are interested in taking this exam, please see Mr. Walensky in the Media Center Testing Office.

Please review the flyer for senior testing opportunities to meet the Reading and/or Algebra 1 testing requirements. The flyer gives:

• Testing Date
• Name of the Test
• Cost (if any) associated with the test
• The time students need to be in their testing room
• When to expect results to be reported

Students can also sign up for the SAT, ACT, or CLT exams to be taken outside of the school environment by going to the respective sites and registering:

• SAT = www.collegeboard.org
• ACT = www.act.org
• CLT = www.cltexam.com

Upcoming Testing Dates:

Please make note of the below testing dates through the end of January. All tests will begin during 1st period, and we are asking all students testing on a particular day to arrive at their testing room at the start of the school day. Rosters have been posted throughout the school. Further testing date information can be found on the testing calendar, located at:

https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/04d5e00972e1472093c0e4cdf2ba40b6@pasco.k12.fl.us/ad6a5b94ff844887bef363a0fac12afa12638930688347999456/calendar.html

01/22/25 – WIDA Testing for ELL Students

01/23/25 – WIDA Testing for ELL Students

Yearbook Sales

Yearbooks will be sold until January 23, 2025. the cost is $90. You can make your purchase using the school quick pay site or by visiting our publisher's site, www.yearbookforever.com (if you want anything special like a name stamped onto the cover or a clear protective cover), you must make your purchase through our publisher's site.

Seniors, our links are ready to sign up for PHSC Info Session and Application Workshops. Beginning in January, our PHSC Advisor will come to WCHS and walk us through the applications, help you submit, and waive the $25 application fee.

APPLICATION WORKSHOPS (CHOOSE 1)

JAN. 23 (4TH PD.) PHSC APPLICATION WORKSHOP

Sign Up: https://forms.office.com/r/FNhS8ArP

FEB. 18 (3RD PD.) PHSC APPLICATION WORKSHOP

Sign Up: https://forms.office.com/r/qTWKdGkygY

MARCH 26 (3RD PD.) PHSC APPLICATION WORKSHOP

Sign Up: https://forms.office.com/r/rUWL5pdprp

**All students who complete an application but March 31 will be invited to attend "Senior Commitment Day" at PHSC in April. This will serve as orientation and course registration.**

Our annual College and Career Fair is coming soon! All juniors will attend with their second period class. Juniors do not need to sign up.

Seniors, If you are undecided about your plans for next year or would like to speak to university admissions reps, please sign up to attend our WCHS College and Career Fair on Wednesday, February 5th during 3rd period. Seniors must sign up in advance to attend this event. Great opportunity to speak with and learn about over 60 post-secondary colleges, businesses, trade schools, military etc. as you finalize your plans for after graduation! SIGN UP HERE: https://forms.office.com/r/nkErCcCeVs

Seniors, the Florida Financial Aid Application is now open! This application is used to qualify for Bright Futures, the 100% Military Disability Scholarship (parent), and a few others. If you are pursuing Bright Futures, please take ten minutes to fill this out. You do not need to have met all BF requirements to fill out the application--it just gets it on file for you. See Mrs. Faysash with any questions.

https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/SAPHome/SAPHome?url=homeLinks to an external site.

Look under First Time Applicants to "Create an Account"

Once you create the account, a blue screen will appear and then it will load the short application.

All volunteers will be required to complete a Level 2 background screening every 5 years. This background screening will review records in the state of Florida as well as the national FBI database. The cost for this screening is $41.25 and volunteers will be responsible for paying this cost. The District will pay the yearly monitoring fee for each volunteer. You can access the 2024-2025 Volunteer Programs Application on July 1st, 2024. This application will be posted on the Volunteer Programs page of our website at the following link: https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/hreq/page/volunteer.

We encourage you to complete your volunteer application and background screening early as the average review time is 30 days. Questions regarding the volunteer application and background screening process can be directed to volunteers@pasco.k12.fl.us.

Click here to learn more about clubs at Wesley Chapel High School.

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  Link to the testing calendar - https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/04d5e00972e1472093c0e4cdf2ba40b6@pasco.k12.fl.us/ad6a5b94ff844887bef363a0fac12afa12638930688347999456/calendar.html
  

Are you College and Career Ready? Check out Mrs. Faysash’s Smore for events, scholarships, and planning resources for all grade levels!

https://www.smore.com/vgxh7

Click on this link, https://www.khanacademy.org/SAT, for free SAT prep.

WCHS Calendar

If your family needs supports or has any needs from the WCHS ABC program, please fill out the following form. If you would like more information about the ABC program, the flyer is attached and/or call the front office, 813-794-8702.

https://wchs.pasco.k12.fl.us/mform/view.php?id=105960

School Information

Principal:
Mr. Matt McDermott

30651 Wells Road
Wesley Chapel, FL 33545
Phone: (813) 794-8700
(352) 794-8700
Fax: (813) 794-8791

Office Hours:
M-F 7:00AM – 3:30 PM

Website: https://wchs.pasco.k12.fl.us/
Location: 30651 Wells Road, Wesley Chapel, FL, USA
Phone: 813-794-8700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildcat.pride.63
Twitter: @WCHS_Wildcats