Windermere Family Update

Happy New Year, Windermere! It’s hard to believe it’s already 2025. It’s going to be a great year, I can just feel it!

This week, we kicked off our new year with a Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday morning. As I shared with our students and staff, when people ask me how many kids I have I tell them I have 565! Three of those are my own, and the other 562 are my Hawks. I count my blessings that I get to come to Windermere each day. We have a great school and that is because of our students, staff and YOU. Thank you for being an important part of this community.

The snow is coming this evening! I wish each of you a fun-filled weekend with time for either playing in the snow or cozying up with a good book inside (maybe by a fire) keeping warm and dry. Have a great weekend.

Julie

We are excited​‌ to​‌ announce that the nomination period for the 2025 Golden Apple Awards is just around the corner. This prestigious award can go to any faculty or staff member in our schools. The nominee may be an outstanding teacher, administrator, nurse, custodian, secretary, aide, paraprofessional, counselor, resource officer, etc. They all make a difference in the lives of our children and are worth celebrating for their contributions to our community.

Nominations will run from Monday, January 6, to Friday, February 28, and can be submitted on the Upper Arlington Civic Association's website at www.uaca.org

Thank you for supporting Food Rescue this fall! We are now looking for volunteers for the rest of the year's deliveries. After lunch, students have the opportunity to donate any unopened food, which will be delivered to the Heart to Heart Food Pantry. It is a simple, one-hour commitment on Thursdays at 11:15 AM.

If you're interested in volunteering, please sign up here! For any questions, feel free to reach out to Sarah Wood at sewood@uaschools.org.

Please take time to read our Counselor Connection Newsletter for parents. You will find updates about monthly counseling lessons, upcoming small groups, resources for parents, and more!

Come see our new cozy space! In honor of our previous library clerk, Mrs. Hartmus who unexpectedly passed away in the summer of 2023, the library has a new spot for students to enjoy a good book. Mrs. Hartmus loved Windermere and loved her two dogs Oliver and Gracie. Readers can snuggle up with a good book, read to one of her dogs, and celebrate a friend who truly believed in the magic of our Windermere community. 💙💚

It is going to be an exciting winter in the library media center! We’re excited to announce, in collaboration with the Upper Arlington Public Library, that children's book author and illustrator Peter Brown will be visiting with Upper Arlington students in grades 2-5 on the afternoon of February 3, 2025 at the Upper Arlington High School Performing Arts Center! Brown is known for his bestselling books The Wild Robot, The Curious Garden, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, illustrating the Creepy Carrot series, and more. During this engaging event, Peter will share his creative process, discuss the journey behind his books, and reveal the inspiration for his whimsical characters. Watch for a permission form to come home from your child's teacher in their newsletter in order to participate! There is an additional opportunity to visit with Peter Brown that same evening in conjunction with UAPL. Registration is required and begins January 29th! Space will be limited!

Also, the Windermere Library Media Center and PTO are excited to announce author Aaron Reynolds will be visiting on February 14th! Aaron is the author of several award winning books (three of which were with Peter Brown!) which are available for purchase through our local bookshop Cover to Cover. This link will be available until January 21st and 20% of all sales will be donated to our library. Click here to learn more about the sale selection. Aaron will autograph any book purchased through this sale or any other that students bring in! Stay tuned for more details about this visit as it approaches!

Hello Future Hastings Middle School 6th Grade Families!

We are excited to invite you to a helpful (but optional) meeting designed to provide information about curricular options and the scheduling process for the upcoming school year for your rising 6th grader!

Meeting Details:

• Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2025

• Time: 6:30 - 7:15 PM

• Location: Hastings Middle School Auditorium

This session will be a great opportunity to gain insights into the academic options available to students and how the scheduling process works. Additionally, we welcome any new families and/or students to Hastings Middle School to explore the building through a self-guided tour. Office staff will be available until 7:30 PM to answer any questions you might have.

If you are unable to attend, all of the information will be shared via email on Friday, February 27th.

If you have any questions regarding the scheduling and/or transition process, please feel free to contact Megan Lippert (mlippert@uaschools.org).

We hope to see you there!

Windermere’s Kindergarten Parent information night is February 6, 2025, 6:30pm

Schoolwide, we are seeing an uptick in illnesses. As a gentle reminder, students should remain home from school for 24 hours AFTER being free from vomiting, diarrhea, and/or a fever without medication. Thank you for partnering with us to ensure Windermere remains a healthy learning environment for all students and staff.

Please make sure you are checking your child’s lunch accounts. Many students have a low or negative balance. You can add money through the district EZ Pay site.

Please make sure your children are prepared for the colder temperatures we are starting to see. Coats, hats, gloves, etc. are very important. We go outside for recess as long as temperatures and/or wind chills are above 20*.

A medically excused absence occurs any time a student is out of school due to an illness or medical visit/appointment (physician, dentist, or therapy).

A student may have up to ten (10) medically excused absences WITHOUT a doctor’s note, as long as we receive an email or phone call from a parent or guardian. After 10 occurrences, a doctor’s note is required to be marked as an excused absence.

It is best to provide a doctor’s note anytime your child has a medical appointment.

This policy only applies to medical absences, not pre-planned absences. Please call or email Ms. Maria for further clarification.

Any prescription medication administered at school requires written authorization from the student’s physician as well as written parental permission. Per Ohio Revised Code, the Prescribed Medication must be received by the health office in the container in which it was dispensed by the provider or pharmacist (we cannot accept medication in baggies). Medication authorization forms and other health forms can be found on the district website at: UA Health Forms. Should you have any questions, please contact the Windermere Health Office at 614-487-5060.

Our health clinics track communicable illnesses and work with local public health agencies to mitigate potential outbreaks. If your student is diagnosed with or treated for a communicable illness/condition (strep, pinkeye, influenza, COVID-19, lice, etc.), please report those to the school nurse at windermerehealthclinic@uaschools.org, or windermereattendance@uaschools.org. Thank you for partnering with us to ensure Windermere is a healthy learning environment for all of our students!

Flyer Connection is our online “bulletin board” of opportunities for students and families in our schools from nonprofit organizations in our area.

Please refer to this arrival and dismissal doc for guidelines on keeping everyone safe during our drop off and pick up times.

Please email windermereattendance@uaschools.org along with your child’s teacher, any student absences. For extended absences (vacations, travel, etc.) please submit a pre-planned absence form. For more information on the district attendance policy, please visit the district's attendance web page. For all medical appointments, please provide a doctor’s note.