Warrior News

We cannot believe we only have two weeks left in 2024 and this semester!

This past month we had our annual Veteran's Day assembly, which could not have happened without StuCo and our teacher sponsors. We also got to invite Reverend Goodwin from First Christian Church for our Principal for a Day event - several of our students attend their before and after school program and they are our reunification site should we ever have to evacuate the building so we are so grateful for their partnership and support! Right before fall break, we got to have our Real Men Read week, which is such an amazing opportunity for our students and we had so many guests come read to our classrooms! Finally, we just had our Geography Bee, which our students did an amazing job in! We are so grateful for all of the experiences and opportunities we get to provide our students with, none of which would be possible without your support so THANK YOU!

Students started taking their next round of MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments in Reading and Math this week and will continue next week. Prior to taking these assessments, students are setting personal goals for themselves with their teacher based on how they have scored previously. We love getting to see how much students have grown and learned throughout this school year and see them excited about working toward their goals! Still to come this month are our Spirit Week, a band and orchestra concert, a Whitson night at Culver's, and our winter parties! A short month packed with so much!

It is getting to the time of year where it is pretty chilly outside! We are outside for recess unless the wind chill and/or temperature is below 20 degrees or if it is raining/snowing. PLEASE send your child with their coat, hat, gloves, etc. each day so they can stay warm! If you are in need of a coat, please reach out to us and let us know!

As a reminder from our Student Handbook:

We believe that fresh air and exercise are good for the body and the mind. Students will have at least one recess break daily. Students will be expected to come dressed for outside play—even in winter. Students will have indoor recess if the wind chill index and/or temperature fall below 20 degrees, if it is raining, or if we are in a severe weather alert. If, for medical reasons, your child is restricted from recess, a note should be sent to the office. If the restricted period is more than two days, a note from a physician is required.

We had SO many men come and read to us to demonstrate that reading is "cool" for everyone and something it is okay for us all to love! Thank you so much to Mrs. Schwinn for organizing and for all of the volunteers that came and showed that Real Men Read!

We had our annual Geography Bee. Our participants worked so hard to prepare - staying after school for practice, studying, and completing weekly homework! We are so proud of everyone for the courage and effort they exemplified to prepare and participate today!

Congratulations to our Top 3:

1. Cruz, 5th grade
2. Brooks, 5th grade
3. Elliott, 4th grade

Thank you as well to our staff that helped make this possible: Mrs. B. Wright, Ms. Kellim, Mrs. Parra, Mrs. Sigle, and Miss Rowan.

We were so honored to have Reverend Goodwin from First Christian as our Principal for the Day Honoree! She got to learn about all of the different programs we offer, see instruction in action, and visit with some student council representatives.

Thank you so much Reverend Goodwin for your partnership with and time!

This gentleman came to Whitson with a cart FULL of fun he is DONATING to our school! He has made three log houses and three boxes of blocks that he made. He MADE them - WOW!

His name is Mr. John, he is 90 years old, and is a retired contractor. He has used his time to make these for every elementary school in Topeka Public Schools as well as other schools! Overall he has made 1,100!!!!

Wow, what a kind, generous human and heart! We are so grateful for this thoughtful donation!

The fourth and fifth graders blew us away with their dynamite music program!

We celebrated Veterans with our annual Veteran’s Day Assembly, organized by Mrs. Sigle and Mrs. Wright along with other staff members and our student council.

• We got to recognize all of the veterans in attendance and what branch they served in and for how long.
• Our kindergarten students recited a poem honoring our veterans and how proud we are of them.
• Our amazing brother-sister Groves duo sang the national anthem and My Country Tis of Thee.
• We had a rendition of the white table and what each part means.

Thank you everyone for coming and to veterans for serving!

Check out even more photos including family pictures of the reception taken by the TPS Communications team here (starting on page 2 and continuing into page 3): https://www.flickr.com/.../7217772032186.../with/54133671733

• Ms. Cat’s 4th grade class and Mrs. Austin’s 1st grade class had fun making a craft together for Veteran’s Day!
• Ms. Wodtke’s kindergarten class had book buddies with Mr. Washington’s 3rd grade class. They made Balloons Over Broadway and had lots of fun creating puppets as their balloons!

• Mrs. Lyndelle’s 4th grade class had a fun shield party full of PJs, Pizza, and Parachute Bubble tent!
• Ms. Cat's 4th grade class enjoyed a game party for their next shield party!

Several students spent one of their lunches learning about the ecosystem at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The Park Rangers taught them about the invasive quagga mussels and avian botulism. The following week, the students participated in a live swearing in ceremony and received their Great Lakes Junior Ranger badge.

Students had so much fun voting in our candy election! It was a close one, but with 57% of the votes… The winner was… Skittles!

Thank you so much to Dr. Beason, Whitson parent and TPS Board Member, for volunteering her time to organize this fun event for students!

Our kindergarteners had so much fun working together to make their own pizzas at Cicis Pizza! Plus they look so delicious!

Students in Miss Holmes' 3rd grade class have been loving the opportunity to hold Miss Slithers recently!

• December 5: Geography Bee, 9:30 am
• December 5: Papa John's Night
  
• December 12: PTO, 6:00 pm - CANCELED!
  
• December 16-20: Spirit Week
• December 17: Whitson Night at Culver's, 4-10 pm
• December 17: Band and Strings Concert, 6:00 pm
• December 20: Winter Parties, 2:30 pm
• December 21-January 5: NO SCHOOL, WINTER BREAK

• January 6: Students return to school
• January 9: PTO, 6:00 pm
• January 13: STUCO Meeting, 8:00 am
• January 16: Math Contest Tryouts, Before and After School
• January 20: NO SCHOOL
• January 21: Class Picture Day
• January 21: Whitson Day at Jason's Deli, 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
• January 23: Spelling Bee, 9:30 am
• January 29: Major Saver Kickoff
• January 30: Family STEAM Night, 5:00-7:00 PM

Want all of these dates easily accessible and to be able to check if anything changes? Access our school calendar on the Whitson website! There, you can add the calendar to your own or even sign up for email alerts if something changes using the menu with the < sign above Saturday!

Winter Break and the end of the first semester is only 2 weeks away! Help PTO thank our amazing teachers with some food as they countdown to break.

Can't stop by the store to pick something up or volunteer time, but still want to help? Donate to support a delicious breakfast & lunch for our amazing teachers & staff here!

Substitutes, or as we like to refer to them at Whitson - guest teachers, are a vital part of helping schools function! It is inevitable that teachers have to be gone some days and substitutes that teachers trust helps ease the worry of being gone and allows instruction to continue. Check out this flyer for more information on how to apply and become a substitute.

If you have a DACA renewal coming up, El Centro would love to help. See the flyer below for contact information. You can also see information on the district website here.

As the weather begins to cool, we want to remind families and staff of school closing notification procedures.

As we make decisions about closing school, a number of factors come into play, including the safety of travel but also the safety of students who will be home during the day.

Should school be canceled, we will:

• Send a text, email, and/or phone call via SchoolMessenger
• Update the district social media pages
• Update the district website
• Contact our local media partners

To sign up for text message updates, text Y to 67587. To learn more about school delays and closures, please review our How We Communicate With Families document.

As of July 2024, Topeka Public Schools is using My School Bucks as a way for families to track and pay student fees and other costs online. Create your free My School Bucks account to conveniently and securely pay your student's school fees online or with the mobile app.

To access My School Bucks, please login to ParentVue and create a secure login. Once your secure login has been created, you will login to My School Bucks to access your account. View step-by-step instructions to create an account here.

If you need assistance with your account, you can find helpful how-to videos and answers to commonly asked questions by visiting myschoolbucks.com or by calling 855-832-5226.

We are very lucky that we got a new resource - Character Strong - to help teach Warriors how to be aware of their feelings and how to become "purposefull people." This program is filled with resources that we think will better connect with students AND also includes monthly newsletters that we can share with you at home to keep the learning going. We will finish our focus on empathy this month. Check out this video and the family newsletter to understand what we mean when we say that.

At Whitson, we practice the Warrior Way at all times, which is:

• Self-Awareness
• Compassion
• Respect
• Responsibility

The Warrior Way helps us make good choices with our behavior and show kindness to others. Next month our focus is on RESPONSIBILITY. Check out the picture below to see all the ways we show self-awareness at school and talk with your Warrior about how you can show responsibility at home or out in public.

In addition to the Warrior Way, at Whitson, we also believe our learning is P.R.I.C.E.less, which stands for

• P - Perseverance
• R - Reflection
• I - Innovation
• C - Curiosity
• E - Embrace the Challenge

Our P.R.I.C.E. language describes how we learn at Whitson. Next month we are focusing on CURIOSITY. Look below for what we expect from our Warriors when reflecting. Then, talk with your Warrior about times curiosity has helped you move forward.

Thanks to Horace Mann and Hilary Aubey for funding the library's Donor's Choose project to tie art, literacy and writing together! 3rd Graders last week listened to a story called Sir French Toast and Lady Pancake. It is about breakfast foods that go on an adventure. They took that idea and made their own pop tarts out of Model Magic Clay. Students then used parts of speech to fill out a Mad Lib Adventure story about their pop-tart. They couldn't make and talk about pop-tarts without having a tasty one for a treat to wrap up their 2 week project.

Kindergarten:

• Learning about places in the city and opposite words. Están aprendiendo sobre los lugares en la ciudad y las palabras opuestas.

• We are learning about cultural events and time. Estamos aprendiendo sobre los eventos culturales y la hora.

Nothing this month.

The Whitson PTO needs you! Please consider attending our upcoming PTO Meeting on Thursday, November 14th at 6pm in person or via Zoom to be informed on changes for the school year and to help set direction for how PTO funds get used. We need your input to plan events, raise funds and invest resources where it will make the biggest impact on your children here at Whitson. We can only do this by collaborating with school staff and getting input from parents and family members like you! Please contact ptowhitson@gmail.com at any time with feedback and ideas.

Thank you,

Whitson PTO

President: Taylor Phelps

Vice President: Elizabeth Miller

Secretary: Katherine Phelps

Treasurer: Helen Swan

Email: kpierce@tps501.org
Website: https://whitson.topekapublicschools.net/
Location: 1725 Southwest Arnold Avenue, Topeka, KS, USA
Phone: 785-438-4570
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitsontps