Weekly Hoots

Dear Wise Owls Family,

As we continue through the school year, I want to reach out to underscore the essential role that communication plays in your child’s education. As partners in your child’s learning journey, it is critical that we work together, staying connected and informed about their progress, needs, and achievements.

Our teachers are committed to creating a positive, supportive environment where each child can thrive. However, we know that education extends beyond the classroom, and no one knows your child better than you do. Regular communication with teachers allows us to create a seamless connection between home and school, reinforcing our shared goals and ensuring that your child feels supported at every step.

Here are some ways that we can work together to support your child’s success:

1. Share Observations and Insights: If you notice any changes in your child’s behavior, mood, or study habits, sharing this information with teachers can help them better understand and address your child’s needs.

2. Request and Attend Parent-Teacher Conferences: These meetings provide an invaluable opportunity to discuss your child’s strengths and areas for growth, along with strategies that can help them excel.

3. Stay Updated on Class Announcements: Regularly reviewing class updates, newsletters, or messages ensures that you are aware of assignments, upcoming projects, and classroom expectations.

4. Celebrate Milestones Together: Reaching out to recognize your child’s achievements with their teachers reinforces the joy of learning and encourages a positive attitude toward school.

If you ever have questions, concerns, or simply want an update on how your child is doing, I encourage you to reach out directly to their teachers. By staying engaged and informed, we can work together to help every child reach their full potential.

Thank you for your partnership and commitment to supporting [School Name] in providing an excellent education for your child.

B. Gantt

#AllforONE!

Our mission is to cultivate a caring community that utilizes a multitude of teaching and learning experiences to prepare children for their next adventure.

1. We believe that everyone deserves to feel safe, valued, and appreciated.
2. We believe that all children deserve a high quality education.
3. We believe in collaboration and making connections.

Staying Safe

Owning Your Actions

Acting Responsibly

Respecting Everyone & Everything

Monday, October 28th - Friday, November 1st

Red Ribbon Week

• Monday - Team Up Against Drugs
• Tuesday - Grade-Level Color Day
• Wednesday - Red Out
• Thursday - Movie Character Day
• Friday - Pajama Day

Monday, October 28th

Monday Morning Parliament

Tuesday, October 29th

Picture Day

Friday, November 1st

Kindergarten, 3rd, and 2nd Grade Tags of Honor Celebration

Sunday, November 3rd

Daylight Savings

Monday, November 4th

1st, 4th, and 5th Grade Tags of Honor Celebration

Red Ribbon Week highlights the importance of living a drug-free life. It presents an opportunity for parents, educators, and communities to reinforce the drug-free messages they share with their children throughout the year. During Red Ribbon Week, youth and adults around the nation pledge to increase their knowledge by learning more about the destructive effects of drug abuse, including prescription drug misuse, and renew their commitment to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

Tuesday, October 29th

We will have make-up pictures on Wednesday, November 20th

The purpose of our Tags of Honor Celebration is to celebrate our Wise Owls for their accomplishments during the first quarter. We will acknowledge our Wise Owls by providing Brag Tags based on our their succeses and achievements from Outstanding Attendance to a Reading Award, Math Award, Growth, and Honor Roll categories for grades 3-5.

All families are invited to join and celebrate our Wise Owls; however, families of students who will be recognized for earning a Tag will be sent an invitation in Thursday Folders.

We will do Tags of Honor Celebrations quarterly which gives students the opportunity to set goals, see success, celebrate their friends and classmates, and build on previous set goals. For that reason, we will have students keep their Tags at school until the end of the school year.

Friday, November 1st

• Kindergarten: 7:45 - 8:45 a.m.
• 3rd Grade: 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
• 2nd Grade: 10:15 - 11:15 a.m.

Monday, November 4th

• 1st Grade: 7:45 - 8:45 a.m.
• 4th Grade: 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
• 5th Grade: 10:15 - 11:15 a.m.

Tuesday, November 5th

Election Day - Schools & Offices Closed

Friday, November 8th

WES STEAM Day

Monday, November 11th

Veterans Day Celebration

Thursday, November 14th

PTO Meeting

Friday, November 15th

Early Release Day

Do you think you have a student that could be gifted in any of the arts? Please sign them up for STEP auditions coming in January 2025. The forms will be open from Aug. 23 through Nov. 22 to accept nominations.

The Special Talent Enrichment Program (STEP) serves Berkeley County School District students in grades four through 12 who have been identified through auditions as gifted in dance, music, theatre, visual art and creative writing. The program currently consists of a two-week summer session and Saturday programs at Goose Creek High School. Middle school STEP students are also eligible to enroll at Marrington Middle School of the Arts.

AUDITION REGISTRATION

FULL STEP DESCRIPTION

If there is a change of transportation, a note with a parent/guardian's signature MUST be provided. Any student that tells staff that his or her parent/guardian told them to go home by another means will not be honored. For the safety of our students, a change in transportation must be submitted in writing to the student's teacher AND to the Front Office.

To ensure that our students remain safe while off-campus, we are asking families to purchase a WES School Spirit Shirt. Students will be able to wear their School Spirit Shirt on all of their Field Studies which has our 2024-25 AllforONE! logo and our school's contact information (on the front of the shirt). Also, 100% of the proceeds will go back in our field trip budget to ensure that we can keep costs down for families.

Shirts cost $10

Order your shirt using the link below

*shirts will come white with the blue logo or blue with the white logo

Show your school spirit and support our students by grabbing your WES Car Magnet! Every purchase helps fund exciting programs and activities, enriching your child's school experience. Plus, you are showcasing your WES pride in your community. Join us in making a difference—buy now and roll with school pride!

Car Magnets cost $10.

Children who read more often show different development trajectories than those who read less. These differences occur specifically in the part of the brain responsible for reading, and the network of different circuits and signals becomes stronger and more sophisticated as the child improves their reading skills.

Interestingly, there is also a two-way relationship between emotional development and literacy in children. Here are some other ways in which reading influences our brains:

• It helps develop empathy and teaches us how to think in sequence by linking cause and effect through story structure.
• Reading in different languages can help grow the brain, particularly the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex.
• It allows us to feel the same emotions we would if we actually experienced the things we are reading about.
• Listening to audiobooks or hearing someone else read to you (e.g. parents reading to children) is also considered a way to exercise the brain.

Saturday, February 8th - Sweetheart Dance

Friday, March 7th - Boosterthon Fun Run

Thursday, April 10th - Spring Fling (a part of STEAM Night)

Friday, May 23rd - 5th Grade Celebration

Breakfast and lunch will be served on every day. If your student wants to eat breakfast at school, they should arrive to school between 6:50 a.m. - 7:18 a.m. Breakfast will no longer be served after 7:45 a.m.

“South Carolina Compulsory Attendance Law requires that a parent or guardian shall require his child to attend regularly a public or private school or kindergarten of this State which has been approved by the State Board of Education, a member school of the South Carolina Independent Schools and Association, a member school of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools, or some similar organization, or a parochial, denominational, or church-related school, or other programs which have been approved by the State Board of Education f rom the school year in which the child is five years of age before September first until the child attains his seventeenth birthday or graduates from high school.”

Please also submit any medical or additional excuses to the front office. We process our attendance forms once per week so you may not immediately see that the note has been accepted.

• Our school's website is found at https://www.bcsdschools.net/o/wes
• WES Facebook page is Whitesville Elementary School Wise Owls
• The Weekly Hoots newsletter will be emailed & texted to families every Sunday evening. Please be sure to have your updated information in PowerSchool.
• Our PTO's website is wiseowlspto.com.
• Our PTO's Facebook page is Whitesville Wise Owls PTO.
• Schoology: Teachers will update their grades weekly.
• Rooms: Our two-way form of communication at WES. Every teacher at WES will use Rooms as a tool for communication.