Blue & White Newsletter - 8/16/24

On Thursday, we welcomed those students in kindergarten and 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 9th grades to the 2024-2025 school year. This special day is an orientation day for students who are attending Wallace, Lincolnway, and Trimmer Elementary Schools, WYA Middle School, and WYA High School for the first time. The day was full of meeting teachers and administrators, getting settled into their new building and classrooms, learning or reacquainting with student expectations, meeting some new classmates, and at the secondary level, learning how to get around their school as they change classes.

On Friday, all of our students returned! The 'veterans' of their respective schools arrived ready to start the new school year! Lots of smiling faces, hugs as they reunited with friends and teachers, and halls once again filled with the energy and excitement!

Check out the pictures below of students as they arrived on Thursday and Friday.

On Monday, August 12th, the faculty and staff returned to kick off the 2024-2025 school year. Everyone gathered at the High School for a morning of a delicious breakfast prepared by our AWESOME Food Services Team. Following breakfast, the faculty and staff attended our annual District Welcome presentation, with Mrs. Melissa Appnel, Director of K-12 Education & Assessment, as the always fabulous and entertaining Emcee, and opening remarks from Dr. Todd Davies, Superintendent of Schools, and Mr. Dan Rice, School Board Vice President.

This year, we were delighted to have a guest speaker, Dr. Tyler Cook. Dr. Cook is the Principal of Klein Elementary School in Erie, Pennsylvania, and an author, speaker, and coach. Dr. Cook is passionate about developing high-impact leaders who will grow their organizations, staff, or students into their fullest potential and that everyone is a leader! His presentation, Creating a Culture that Lasts, was very inspiring, uplifting, and quite relevant to the impact that each and every faculty member, support staff, and administrator can make as we continue to focus on Every Student Every Day!

The morning concluded with introductions of each of our new employees (bottom right photo on staircase), acknowledgement of those earning their 30 Years of Service Award, and the awarding of the Bulldog Spirit Award, this year to the Middle School!

Our 30 Years of Service employees are: Ms. Lori Andrus - Wallace 1st Grade Teacher, Ms. Susan Anstine - HS Spanish Teacher, Ms. Jennifer Unger - Elementary Counselor, Ms. Lori Workinger - Trimmer Food Services Assistant, and Ms. Marsha Yanick - Trimmer 4th Grade Teacher. Congratulations and thank you for dedication and commitment to the students of West York!

A special thank you to those who helped make this day a success:

• Mr. Scott Rutkowski and his staff for a delicious breakfast.
• Mr. Jeff Ludwig and his team for assistance with logistics and set-up.
• Mr. Rod Meckley and the Mighty Bulldog Marching Band for getting up early to greet us at the door with music.

From top left: Ms. Stacy Henry, Ms. Lori Andrus, Ms. Diane Savatt, Ms. Sue Anstine, Ms. Melissa Halcott, Ms. Lori Workinger, Ms. Amy Bovender, Ms. Melissa Gordon, Ms. Marsha Yanick, Ms. Bri Seitz, and Ms. Jen Unger.

It was a beautiful morning for our seniors, along with their Class Advisors, Mr. TJ Meese and Mrs. Manda Meese, who gathered at the football field for the Class of 2025 Senior Sunrise! A wonderful way to kick off their final year together as West York students!

Thank you for sharing your 'first day of school' pictures! Check out those we've received in time for today's issue. We'll rap up with more in next week's issue. So, there's still time to send your favorite picture to BullDogMail@wyasd.org.

Please review the document requirements bulleted below and be sure that your child's school nurse has received the necessary documents/verifications.

If you have questions, please contact your child's school nurse. School nurses information can be found on the Health Room page of our website by clicking the image above. There you will see the names of each building's school nurse and a link to Health Room Forms and Procedures.

• Kindergarten/1st Graders - Dental exam dated no earlier than January 2024, physical exam given at age 5 or older, and all up-to-date vaccines

• 3rd Graders - Dental exam dated no earlier than January 2024

• 6th Graders - Physical exam dated no earlier than August 2023

• 7th Graders - Dental exam dated no earlier than January 2024 and Tdap and MCV vaccine (1st doses) due by 9/3/2024 or risk exclusion from school

• 11th Graders - Physical dated no earlier than August 2023

• 12th Graders - MCV vaccine (2nd dose) due 9/3/24 or risk exclusion from school

Mr. Jeff Ludwig, Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds, shares various safety information with our faculty and staff throughout the year, such as Classroom Safety Tips and General Workplace Safety. One that was recently shared was Power Strip Safety Tips that includes great information that can be beneficial in our schools, as well as in our homes that are full of tech devices. Be sure to check your power strip usage at home after reading these safety tips. Simply click on the image to the left.

Seniors (L to R) Kathy Huang and Abby Cook attended Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (PFEW) in July and experienced what it is like to be a part of a business, work as a team, develop ideas for selling a product, and then compete against the other business teams. Kathy and Abby had a very fun and exciting experience. Abby's team won the Stockholders Competition Award. Congratulations Abby!

If you are new to West York, the Bulldog Pantry is a non-perishable food center located in the High School, open to ALL District families, Kindergarten through 12th-grade. The pantry is run by Ms. Amanda Burt, HS Learning Support Teacher, and the students in our Life Skills class. It is open one day a month between 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. for families to pick up needed items that are available at the Pantry. Donations to the pantry are always welcome as well. You can find more information on the Bulldog Pantry by clicking the bar below!

The schedule for the 2024-2025 school year is as follows:

Wednesday, September 25

Wednesday, October 16

Wednesday, November 20

Wednesday, December 18

Thursday, January 16

Wednesday, February 19

Thursday, March 20

Wednesday, April 16

Wednesday, May 21

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Ms. Amanda Burt, HS Learning Support Teacher, via email at amburt@wyasd.org.

This is a question parents often ask. We know that mornings can be challenging for adults and children alike. Sometimes we wake and might not feel our best, but once we get moving, often we find it wasn't a problem making it through the day - at work or at school.

So, here's a great reference for assisting you in determining whether to send your child to school when they have complaints of not feeling well. You can click here for a printable copy to hang on your refrigerator on family bulletin board.

West York students benefit greatly from the programs offered by Junior Achievement. At our elementary levels, students participate in the Junior Achievement Fundamentals Program. Fundamentals empowers students to make a connection between what they learn in school and real-world application, enhancing the relevance of their classroom learning. For our fifth grade students, this culminates in a trip to JA BizTown. This popular experience allows students to operate a bank, manage a restaurant, write checks, and vote for the mayor.

At the secondary level, middle school students participate in a half day program called YES! (Your Economic Success!). This half-day program consists of a series of four activities intended to help students gain an appreciation for the importance that financial and career decisions will play in their lives as young adults.

For our high school students, they participate in a full-day program called REAL Life! REAL Life is focused on financial literacy and career-readiness. Half of the day consists of a budgeting activity intended to help students gain an appreciation for the importance that financial decisions will play in their lives as young adults. The other half of the day is focused on career readiness issues, including interview skills and resume writing tips.

These programs are only possible with the help of WY volunteers! Junior Achievement staff are at each event and count of our volunteers to work under the direction of JA staff with small groups of students. Currently, we are seeking volunteers for the REEAL Life Program at the High School.

All training is provided the morning of the event and no experience is needed!

Prior volunteers have shared how much fun they had while working with our Bulldogs!

REAL Life - High School - September 26th

Check out the REAL Life Program overview/volunteer Q&A here: https://bit.ly/JARealLifeOverview

Video preview here: https://vimeo.com/952705171/66344ffee7

Volunteer Registration Link: https://form.jotform.com/212215942576962

YES! Program - Middle School - November 8th

Video preview here: https://vimeo.com/952705171/66344ffee7

Volunteer Registration Link: https://form.jotform.com/212215942576962

Please consider volunteering for one of the above dates!

Be sure to Like/Follow us on Facebook and Instagram so you don't experience FOMO - Fear of Missing Out! Simply click the images below.

Stay abreast of the Athletic Department's weekly news with the Bulldog Breakdown, a weekly recap of the prior week's athletic accomplishments and the upcoming sporting events.

Check out the schedule of our home openers for our fall sports teams. Let's get the 2024-2025 season off to a great start with lots of support from our Bulldog family, friends, and community!

Simply click the Bulldog Breakdown bar below to view the latest issue!

• Monday, August 19, Wallace Elementary Back to School Night (6:00 p.m.)
  
• Tuesday, August 20, High School Picture Day
• Tuesday, August 20, Cocurricular Committee Meeting (4:45 p.m.)
• Tuesday, August 20, School Board Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
• Wednesday, August 21, Middle School Picture Day
• Wednesday, August 21, Elementary PTO Meeting (6:00 p.m. @ Wallace Elementary)
• Wednesday, August 21, Lincolnway Elementary Back to School Night (6:00 p.m.)
• Thursday, August 22, Trimmer Elementary Back to School Night (6:00 p.m.)
• Monday, August 26, Middle School Back to School Night (6:00 p.m.)
• Tuesday, August 27, High School Back to School Night (6:00 p.m.)
• Friday, August 30, Early Dismissal

The Community Corner of our website offers families many helpful links to organizations or flyers about upcoming or ongoing community activities, clubs, and events. The information on this webpage changes frequently and those changes will be highlighted here as they occur. The latest updates are pictured below.

From our Home webpage, click on Community to access links to various organizations/community events.

Here are just some examples:

• Cub Scouts (Boys & Girls ages 5-12)
• Girl Scouts
• West York Boys Club
• YMCA of York
  
• YWCA of York

Community Resources such as:

• United Way
• Community Progress Council
• Dream Wrights Center for Community Arts
• Belmont Summer Academy - Theatre Summer Camps