Eagle Family Connection #9

We hope you’ve enjoyed another beautiful October weekend. Here are updates for the week of October 20-25. Scroll down for more details and a direct link to your teacher’s page: https://secure.smore.com/n/75caf

We want to thank you for your generosity last week. Thank you to everyone who supported PTO’s Fall Festival. Your help, encouragement, and energy made for a very memorable night for our students. Thanks to everyone who volunteered or helped put on this fun event, and thank you to all families who made time for this special night at school.

Thanks for your generosity in making donations to build activity packs for children in impacted areas across western NC. We continue to accept donations this week, and our students will build the first packs to be delivered later this week. You can find more details below on how to make a donation or contribution.

On Tuesday our 1st grade students will take a field trip to the Farm in Dobson. Please make sure to return signed permission slips to school.

We wanted to remind you that we will dismiss school at 12:30 on Wednesday, October 23. Please be prepared to receive students early from the bus, and please let your teacher know about your child’s transportation plans. Note that the YMCA after school program does not operate on early dismissal days.

Please note that there is no school for students on Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25. We hope your family will enjoy a little time off from the school routine while our teachers participate in professional development and prepare for the second quarter.

This week’s Eagle Connection includes details about next week’s Red Ribbon Week. With schools across the nation, we celebrate Red Ribbon Week to highlight the importance of making safe and healthy choices. We celebrate with lessons and simple dress up days. We’re sharing those details below so you can plan ahead.

This week, we will end the first quarter of the school year. It’s been fast, busy, and productive, and we want to thank you for your support and encouragement from home. Have a great evening!

We have heard from educators and relief workers across northwest and western NC that one need that is going unmet are activities for children. Our students and staff want to help fill that need, so we will begin collecting supplies to build activity packs for children in impacted areas. We will collect donations of coloring books, crayons, cards, small toys, children’s gloves and socks, and other items to put in activity packs.

Your child can bring in donations, or you can order from an Amazon wish list or make a cash donation through School Cash Online using the QR page here or on our WE Help page: https://secure.smore.com/n/4czy0

We hope this small contribution will help children across northwest NC. Click below for a link to a page with full details and methods to donate. Thank you for your help supporting our neighbors!

We celebrate Red Ribbon Week the last week of October with schools across the nation. Red Ribbon Week highlights the importance of making safe and healthy choices. Research shows that strengthening family bonding, community connection, healthy relationships, and personal development is the best way to prevent children from engaging in risky behaviors. Red Ribbon Week is an opportunity for parents, educators, and communities to reinforce the safety and healthy messages they share with their children throughout the year.

We celebrate through simple dress up days and lessons about making safe, healthy choices. Please see this year's celebration details below.

Thank you to the many families who have transitioned to REMIND for school communications. Wilkes County Schools will use REMIND for school communications. REMIND offers all the features we've used with ClassDojo including translation and two-way messaging with school staff and also will allow for connections with middle and high school teachers in the same platform.

We will no longer post school communications on ClassDojo or be available for messaging after Sunday, October 13. Teachers have archived classes in ClassDojo and no longer use ClassDojo for class communications or messaging with you.

You can help other family members who may need REMIND access get signed up. There are 3 easy ways to sign up. Once you sign up, you will receive messages and updates from our school.

TEXT TO SIGN UP: You can text @wegrow24 to the number 81010. You will receive a welcome text from Remind. Once you receive this text, you will be connected to our school via your cell number.

SIGN UP ONLINE: Go to https://www.remind.com/join/wegrow24 Choose JOIN and enter your details.

DOWNLOAD THE REMIND APP: The REMIND app is available for iOS and Android users. You can find it in the app store or directly at https://www.remind.com/send_the_app

Once you sign up, it is also important for you to join your child's class. You can JOIN A CLASS in the same way that you join the school REMIND. You will need the class code, which you can find above or at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YBMjjOHga_t5OCC1puOE-GQw7NRvEm3v7iyOpNnnNDc/edit?usp=sharing

Here a link to more details about how to sign up for REMIND: https://help.remind.com/hc/en-us/articles/203179887-How-do-I-join-a-Remind-class

Thank you for your help making this change to a new communication tool. We want to maintain our good communication with our families, and we want to be easy to reach anytime you need us. If you need help now, please call our school office at 336-838-4261 or email Beckie Spears at spearsr@wilkes.k12.nc.us

Field trips are a special part of school. Field trips allow students to experience new environments, learn in unique places, apply skills learned in the classroom, and connect with the real world. We have planned a full year of field trips for students in every grade, and we look forward to meaningful learning in new places!

We've created a dedicated field trip page to share full information about how to pay.

Visit our FIELD TRIP HEADQUARTERS PAGE here.

Our talented team of school nurse, school social worker, and school counselor are here to help your family. School nurse Lindsey Roberts (robertslwilkes.k12.nc.us), school social worker Brandy Walsh (walshb@wilkes.k12.nc.us AND link to SSW Page), and school counselor Rachel Minick (minickr@wilkes.k12.nc.us) can help your family access information and resources for your child's health and overall well being. They can also provide referrals for school-based therapy provided by Jodi Province Counseling. You can contact this team on ClassDojo, by email, or by calling the office at 336-838-4261.

Do you need to make a transportation change or have questions about your child's records? Our office manager Rebekah Lisk is here to help. Please CALL or DOJO by 2:00 with any transportation changes. Also, to maintain safety as we learn new families, please make sure to show the office staff your WES car tag or photo ID when you come to the office to pick up your child. You can find her at school at 336-838-4261 or on ClassDojo. You can also reach her by email -- Rebekah Lisk at liskr@wilkes.k12.nc.us

Do you have questions about your child's health or ? Our school nurse Lindsey Roberts is here to help you. You can find her at school at 336-838-4261 or on ClassDojo. You can also reach her by email -- Nurse Lindsey Roberts at robertsl@wilkes.k12.nc.us

Do you questions about your student's information, records or attendance? Our data manager Sydney Nickles is here to help. She is here each day and also works at Moravian Falls Elementary. You can find her at school at 336-838-4261 or on ClassDojo. You can also reach her by email -- Sydney Nickles at nickless@wilkes.k12.nc.us

School starts at 7:50 each day. Students who are participating will be marked PRESENT or ABSENT. If your child is not in school, you will need to send in absence notes the next day and it will be coded as excused or unexcused. Written notes are required and can come directly from the parent/guardian or a medical office. Also note that ClassDojo messages are great for communicating an absence, but they do NOT serve as legal documentation of absences. Please send a written note. Thanks in advance for your help!

The YMCA will be operating an after-school childcare program on our campus each day. You can learn full program details on the YMCA website: https://ymcanwnc.org/children-and-teens/before-and-after-school-academy.

You can sign up for the YMCA after school care for the Wilkesboro Elementary site online. Once you are signed up, please communicate with your teacher to let them know your plans.

Also, this year the YMCA classroom will be in building 2. Please park in our back parking lot beside the MEGA Toy playground when coming to pick up your children. Thank you!

We welcome volunteers to help with school events. WCS uses Volunteer Tracker to help organize this process, and we use Sign Up Genius (shared via email and ClassDojo) to make signing up easy and convenient. To get signed up, follow steps below.

1. Go to www.wilkescountyschools.org

2. Go to the PARENTS tab at the top (or VOLUNTEER at the bottom).

3. Click on VOLUNTEERS.

4. Click on VOLUNTEER TRACKER.

5. Go to the green NEW REGISTRATION and follow instructions from there.

Level 1 volunteers can help in many ways. Level 1 volunteers can sign up to help with book fairs, school events, class parties and projects, Field Day, Fall Festival, and proctoring for tests.

Level 2 volunteers can do all level 1 tasks but can also help chaperone field trips and work more closely with students in small groups. Level 2 volunteers can also sign up for classroom tutoring and assistance, reading buddy program, tutoring, leading after school activities, and chaperoning school events field trips.

We ask that all parents/guardians who plan to attend field trips sign up to be Level 2 volunteers at the start of the year. It takes a few weeks to verify volunteers, and signing up early will make sure that you are approved in time for this year’s events and field trips.

We are looking for friend, positive people to help on morning carline. If you're interested, please complete this form and we will be in touch. Thanks for considering this volunteer opportunity!

Fill out the form below to sign up.

Email: spearsr@wilkes.k12.nc.us
Phone: 336-838-4261

Email: spearsr@wilkes.k12.nc.us
Website: wes.wilkescountyschools.org
Location: 1248 School Street, Wilkesboro, NC, USA
Phone: (336) 838-4261
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wilkesboroelementary/
Twitter: @WilkesboroElem1