Wickliffe Family Update

Dear Families,

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Friday for the Wickliffe Social to support our PTO! We had an amazing turnout, and it was truly a fun evening for all. Events like these wouldn’t be possible without our incredible planning team, so a huge THANK YOU to Chi Nguyen, Marci Shumaker, Ashley Neeley, Jesse Juett, Kathleen Cress, and Gina Forster for all their hard work.

A big thank-you also goes out to every volunteer who helped with setup, cleanup, and everything in between—we couldn’t have done it without you! Your ongoing support means so much to us, and we are so fortunate to have such dedicated families who make events like this special for our students.

As we approach Winter Break, our days are a wonderful mix of exciting special projects and focused classroom learning. Here’s a look at what’s ahead:

• Winter Performances: Next week, Miss Blake and Mrs. Santilli’s classes will showcase their Winter Performance for their families in the evening.
• Pajama Day: On Thursday, we’ll enjoy an all-school Pajama Day! Don’t forget to send your student to school in their coziest jammies.
• Winter Sing-Along: Our Winter Sing-Along will take place on Thursday, and due to space limitations, we kindly ask that this event be reserved for 5th grade families only. This is a special tradition for our 5th graders in their final year at Wickliffe, and we want to ensure enough room for everyone to enjoy the performance.

Additionally, Mrs. Santilli and Mrs. Shivers' buddy classes will be selling Winter Greeting Cards to raise funds for Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, NC. Cards will be available for purchase on Thursday, December 19th, after Town Meeting from 9:00–9:30 in Wickliffe Town Square, as well as during lunch from 11:05–12:25. Each pack of 5 cards is just $3.00. We hope to see you there!

Wishing you all a safe and wonderful week!

Warmly,
Angela

December 18: Bibibop Asian Grill (dine and donate)

December 19: All School PJ Day

December 19: Winter Sing-Along (5th Grade parents can attend)

January 7: Wickliffe Wolves Around the World planning committee meeting

January 10: Town Meeting

January 20: No school for students or staff; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 22: Early dismissal (1:00 Dismissal)

January 26: DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) meeting

January 27: Town Meeting

Please note that students should not be dropped off in the Wickliffe Road parking lot before school unless prior approval has been granted. This area is reserved exclusively for families who require access to the handicapped spaces or need additional assistance with their students. We've noticed that as the weather has chnaged, we have had several families parking or dropping off in the staff parking lot. Please be mindful of this request as we consider everyone's needs in getting into our building efficently.

The preferred drop-off locations for students are:

• The carline on Eastcleft Drive
• The building side of Cimarron Road
• On Eastcleft Dr. or Wickliffe Rd., west of the building (between Kioka and Cimmaron), where students can walk up to the playground from there

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us keep our drop-off procedures safe and efficient for everyone!

If your child will need to leave early for an appointment during the school day, please email us in advance so we can ensure they and their belongings are ready when you arrive.

Students may sometimes be at recess or in a related arts class, which can take extra time to locate them and gather their things. To help streamline the process, please notify us as soon as possible by emailing both your child’s teacher and wickliffeattendance@uaschools.org. If your child will be leaving and returning later, please include that information in your email.

Thank you for helping us make this process as smooth as possible!

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 Wickliffe Health Office at 614-487-5150.

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 wickliffehealthclinic@uaschools.org, or wickliffeattendance@uaschools.org. Thank you for partnering with us to ensure Wickliffe is a healthy learning environment for all of our students!

Please encourage your students to check the Lost and Found regularly between now and winter break.

The next donation day is scheduled for January 31. Thank you for helping us keep our Lost and Found manageable!

I hope this season is bringing you joy, gratitude and time to spend with your loved ones! If you need anything during the holiday season don’t hesitate to reach out to me at extension 6503 or kkaram@uaschools.org. Below you will find information of our December counseling lesson and a new counseling group opportunity for 5th grade girls!

Take good care,

Kaitlyn Karam

Restaurant Night - Bibibop - Wednesday, December 18th!

Dine and Donate! Proceeds from restaurant night will help support Wickliffe PTO.

Where: Bibibop Upper Arlington - Henderson Rd. Location

When: Wednesday, December 18th Open to Close

***Use Code BIBIFUNDRAISER for ordering online, or say 'Wickliffe PTO Fundraiser' when checking out in person***

DEIB Wickliffe Wolves Around the World Planning Mtg. Jan. 7 @ 8 PM

Wickliffe PTO's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging committee had our first Wickliffe Wolves Around the World subcommittee meeting (notes here) and plan to meet again Tuesday, January 7, at 8 p.m. - here's the link to join.

Unfortunately, the Progress Report icon for students with IEPs in PowerSchool has been eliminated. This was out of Upper Arlington’s control. In order to access your child’s progress report, your child’s intervention specialist or speech language pathologist will share the report via an email from Same Goal after each reporting period. You should receive the 2nd quarter progress report by January 9th for students in grades 6-12 and by January 22nd for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade.

What's topping your kids' holiday wish lists this year? Chances are it has a screen, Internet access, and games. With a little planning -- and kids' assistance -- you can balance your family's tech activities with much-needed face time.

As an extension of the 2024 Digital Safety Week, Screenagers viewing, and Thanksgiving Digital Wellness Activities, we wanted to provide families with some Digital Wellness tips and strategies to consider during the Winter break. These two weeks are an opportunity to exhibit a healthy balance with device use.

Here are some ideas to try from CommonSense Media:

Be jolly -- but firm. Let your kids know that you'll be enforcing stricter time limits to create more quality family time. And tell them that the rules will apply to the grown-ups as well.

Make a list (and check it with your kids). Don't go cold turkey. Schedule some daily tech time for yourself and your kids. Get their input on which devices they absolutely can't live without, and allow some limited use.

Plan a device-free dinner. Put the phones and tablets in a basket and don't check 'em til the dishes are done.

Make setup fun, not frustrating. No matter how easy to use companies make new devices, there's always some (often frustrating) setup time. Truth be told, kids often figure out thorny tech glitches faster than parents, so involve your kids in the process. Use that time to discuss responsible use of the new device.

Try some tech togetherness. Unplugging for its own sake isn't the point. Family time is. Plan a night of video games, movies, or maybe preselected YouTube videos that you can all enjoy together.

Combine on- and offline activities. Document your family memories and consider compiling them into journals, cards, and scrapbooks. This is a perfect time to share your own holiday memories with your kids.

If no creatures are stirring … don't check your email. Remember, your kids learn their media habits partly from you.

By January 5th, discuss questions with your students related to this activity, such as:

• Did you feel more present with your family?

• What was the most challenging part of the break for you?

• What was the one offline activity we did that you enjoyed the most?

• Can you help our family create a plan to make this a more frequent practice?

If you do this with your family and feel comfortable to share, please share an anonymous feedback about the process. The Excellence and Engagement Office is committed to supporting families with exercises like these to help create a healthy digital balance for our students.

Upper Arlington Schools is proud to offer students the ability to travel abroad with their teachers and peers as part of our Global Education Program. As we begin to think about future opportunities within this program, we are inviting students and families currently in grades 5-10 to share some thoughts to inform our travel selections. Students in these grades will be eligible for school-sponsored global travel opportunities in the 2025-2026 school year. Parents/guardians may complete this survey. We invite parents/guardians to preview the student survey before asking your grade 5-10 student(s) to take it at home to share their feedback.

Below are links to both a parent/guardian survey and a student survey. The surveys will close on December 18 at 4 pm.

Attendance Information - Click link for full details

• If your child will be absent from school, please email wickliffeattendance@uaschools.org. Please state a reason for your child’s absence. If you are emailing your child’s teacher regarding attendance, simply copy the attendance email - no need to send separate emails.

• There is a link to the attendance email in the Upper Arlington Schools app

• District Attendance Policy

• Please obtain a medical excuse for ANY visit to a doctor, dentist, therapist, etc that occurs during a school day.

Planned Absence Form - Forms should be completed 10 school days in advance of the first date of the planned absence whenever possible. Otherwise, the absence may be unexcused.

District Website Link

• 2024-2025 School Year Calendar

• A-E Calendar

Drop off/Pick up information

Instagram Account ~ @wickwolves

Lunch Menu

Lunchroom Helper - click here to Volunteer

Nurse Notes

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 Wickliffe Health Office at 614-487-5150.

PowerSchool Parent Portal: https://ps-uar.metasolutions.net/public/home.html

If you need assistance logging into PowerSchool, you may reach out to: familytechhelp@uaschools.org

Technology Family Support

• Check out this resource for K-5 families.

• WOSU Digital Wellness

• CommonSense Media Activities

Transportation Services

Email: schoolbusquestions@uaschools.org

UA Flyer Connection

Wickliffe PTO

Links to Previous Updates:

All of our updates can be found on the Wickliffe website under “school news”.