Wildwood Weekly

Tiger Families,

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of helping my youngest son move into his college apartment. The anticipation for this next stage of his educational journey was palpable, and we spent some time recounting the journey that brought him to this point. I was reminded of the article that I shared with you last year at this time, which I will share again because it's filled with time-tested truths for learners of any age on the journey of growth and discovery. Enjoy!

Each school day begins at home long before the school bell rings…

There is the morning scramble to assemble all the stuff needed for the day: pens, pencils, notebooks, textbooks, and of course, that pesky homework! All of it goes into a backpack, and at that point, students might think they are ready for school …but they would be wrong.

What went into the backpack were certainly necessary materials, but pens and pencils alone are not enough to make something good happen at school. What every student also needs to bring is what they carry inside themselves: their attitude, their character, and the virtues they cultivate every day.

An attitude of openness and curiosity makes learning easy and even fun. A character of courage helps us face difficult subjects or assignments, and the virtue of compassion ensures our students will assist others who might need help and even gently correct others when it's needed. A virtue of integrity also ensures that all schoolwork is done honestly, on time, and with our best effort. Taken together, our attitude, character, and virtues combine to instill wisdom and confidence, the most important subjects of all.

A wise student is truly well rounded, having both their material things and their inner character ready and prepared. That student will be more confident and successful in life!

Warmly,

Mr. Lynch

September, 2024

9/11: PTA Executive Board Meeting at 6:00pm

9/24: School Site Council Meeting from 4-5pm

9/27: Back to School Picnic & Movie Night (6:00pm)

9/30-10/4: Reflections Artwork Due to School (See Reflections message below)

Helpful LINKS

Wildwood Important Dates and Events 2024-2025

Wildwood Bell Schedule

Wildwood Website Home Page

CVUSD School Year Calendar
CVUSD website

Thank you to the many families who have generously turned in the suggested donation of $20 to cover your child's school supplies for the 2024-25 school year. 200 of our 390 students' supplies have been covered so far. Thank you!

For those of you who have not yet donated but would like to contribute, please stop by the school office sometime this next week to make your cash donation of $20 or use this QR code to pay by Zelle and put "School Supplies" as the memo.

FALL FESTIVAL! Our annual Fall Festival is just around the corner on Friday, October 25, and the planning is beginning NOW. We'd love to have you join us at our planning meetings on Fridays immediately after drop-off, beginning this Friday, September 13. There are jobs of all kinds so there is something for everyone. We hope to see you there! Any questions reach out to Tracy Yoder at tracyoder@gmail.com

• What: Fall Festival Planning Meetings
• When: Fridays (beginning September 13)
• Time: 8:15am
• Where: Room 21 (STEAM Classroom)

The Wildwood Elementary School PTA is YOU – the amazing parents, teachers and staff members who all wish to create a strong Wildwood community and to provide students with the best educational experience possible. Our PTA works to organize fun family events and educational assemblies throughout the year. We also fundraise to help support programs and specialist teachers for computers, STEAM Lab, PE, Music, Art Masters and so much more! Please click here to join today.

Students create art based on their interpretation of: “Accepting Imperfection”. Create art in any of the categories, write your statement on how your art relates to the theme, and turn in! Students’ work will be judged and displayed at our gallery show. You could win awards and move on through the PTA Shows!

PARTICIPATE IN REFLECTIONS CONTEST:

1. Grab Rules & Entry Form in the Office or Click Here!

2. Choose a Category & Create (art inspired by theme w/o parent help)

3. Mount your Work: Pick-up Matting Material in the office or buy foam core

4. Turn in Mounted Art & Entry Form on: Week of 9/30-10/4 (NO EARLIER)

5. Awards & Gallery Show: Wednesday, 10/16 at 6pm

WATCH REFLECTIONS KICK-OFF VIDEO!

Questions & Digital Files: ReflectionsWildwood@gmail.com

Rules: capta.org/resource/participant-forms

Did you know that Wildwood PTA logs hundreds of volunteer hours for the school year each month!? We need help of all kinds to make all of our programs and events run. Check out this form & fill it out if you are interested in volunteering or just want more information on ways to help. No commitments needed!

Ready to jump right in? Plan to come to our first FALL FESTIVAL meeting on Friday, September 13th immediately after drop-off. We look forward to seeing you!

~ Your Wildwood PTA

So many of you already purchased spirit wear for your student and yourselves...Terrific! We know we ran out of Adult Small, Medium, Large, and XL. We have the chance to order some more - if you are interested in placing an order for any of those sizes, please fill out this form. The remaining sizes are still available for purchase in the office.

Thanks!

Family participation and engagement is a key priority of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Our seven Advisory Councils and Committees meet regularly for vibrant discussions, informative presentations, relationship-building activities and more. These meetings are open to all members of our CVUSD community to attend. However, we understand that attending meetings in-person is not always possible. Visit THIS CVUSD WEBPAGE to stay informed on updates and actions from each Advisory Council and Committee, with "Five Key Takeaways" from each meeting.

All Wildwood families (new and returning) must complete the required Annual Updates for each student before the first day of school. This is the only way for us to have your current emergency contact information on file.

All updates may be completed online via the Q-Parent Connect Portal. Complete details and instructions are available here.

FREE MEALS FOR ALL STUDENTS

School meals for the 2024-2025 school year will be available to all students at no charge. Although all students will receive free meals through the duration of this school year, we request for all families to complete this Online Free / Reduced Meal Eligibility for School Year 2024-2025 form, as this form affects a variety of areas unrelated to school meals, including school funding, college application fees, SAT fees, bus passes and more. Even if your child does not plan to eat school lunches, it is important to fill out this form to help ensure our schools and families receive the available resources.

We are proud to provide all students with a Chromebook through the District’s 1:1 Program. While Chromebooks are provided at no cost to families, proper use and care of the Chromebook is the responsibility of the student and their parent/guardian. To support this program, CVUSD is offering Chromebook Accidental Damage Protection (ADP) program for families to eliminate the concern and costs of repairing or replacing damaged, or stolen Chromebooks.

📍 Important Note: Coverage must be in place prior to a claim being submitted = the time is now to secure Chromebook Accidental Damage Protection for your student's chromebook!

💻 Click here or the images below to learn more about the Chromebook ADP program, and for the steps on how to purchase the ADP for your student's Chromebook.

Please remember that the 8:05am bell is the reminder for students to make their way to their classroom lines and for parents to make their way to the campus exits. The 5 minutes between the 8:05am warning bell and the 8:10am bell is an important window of time for students to settle their bodies and ready their minds for the day ahead. All gates will be locked promptly at 8:10am.

Wildwood is currently seeking candidates for the following part-time position for the 2024-2025 school year. If you or someone you know might be a good fit, please reach out to us to learn more or express interest.

Dance/Music Specialist for TK-Kindergarten (January-May, 2025)

3 hours/week

Wildwood is fortunate to welcome back Miss Soni who will provide dance classes for our TK and Kinder classes through December, 2024. We would like to continue providing dance, music, or performing arts classes through the remainder of this school year for our young learners, so if you or someone you know is interested in the position, please contact Mr. Lynch at klynch@conejousd.org. No certification necessary for this position.

We are currently looking for 5 parents who are willing to serve on our school leadership team (School Site Council) as District Advisory Council (DAC) Representatives. Don't be intimidated by the long, fancy title. Basically, a District Advisory Council representative attends one 2-hour meeting each month with parent representatives from other CVUSD schools and then shares information from those meetings with the SSC team at our 1-hour meeting in the MPR on the last Tuesday of the month at 4:00pm. DAC representatives learn about programs and services available to student groups within and around our school community and then use that information to make recommendations to our Wildwood leadership teams and administration with the aim of ensuring that all students are supported.

Wildwood currently has openings for the following DAC positions on our 2024-25 SSC team:

• (DELAC) District English Learners Advisory Council Representative
  
• (SEDAC) Special Education District Advisory Council Co-Representative
• (LGBTQ+AC) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning and Others Advisory Council
  

To learn more about each position, click HERE.

To see the CVUSD 2024-25 DAC meeting schedule, click HERE.

To submit your name for consideration for one of Wildwood's open DAC representative positions, click HERE.

Now is a GREAT time to get student names on lunch bags and water bottles. Please do your part to prevent loss of personal items by labeling student belongings. This small act also saves school staff hours of time over the course of a school year trying to reunite students with their belongings.

NEW 2024-25 Lost & Found Protocol: All Lost & Found items will be removed from campus and donated to a good cause on the last day of EACH month. Please do your part to remind your children to bring personal items home each day, and we will assist as well.

Wildwood Elementary has an official presence on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Click on each image below to access Wildwood's social media accounts. Be sure to like and follow to get an inside peek into daily happenings at Wildwood through videos, images, and reminders which are posted weekly by our Wildwood social media manager.

All adults entering the campus during school hours must sign in electronically with their picture ID in the front office and obtain a visitor or volunteer badge/sticker to be worn at all times while on campus. All volunteers who work with students must have a current TB test or a Risk Assessment Questionnaire on file as well. REMINDER: TB Tests expire every 4 years. If you are unsure whether your TB test has expired, please contact our school office. If you would like to volunteer on campus, and we hope you do, please complete and return the Volunteer Registration Authorization Packet that will be sent home with students on the first day of school. Attach a copy of your license/ID to the packet, or we will make a copy for you in the office on your first visit.

If your child will be absent or arriving late for any reason, please remember to call our office or leave a message on our attendance line at (805) 492-3531 before 8:30am. Be sure to state the date and reason for your child’s absence or late arrival, and your child’s teacher or room number. Any unexcused absence is counted as a truancy. Students are allowed only three truancies per year before action is taken. Planning ahead with your child will also help to avoid unnecessary tardiness. Students who arrive on time feel better about themselves and perform better in the classroom.

Please click the "Digital Backpack" image to check if any new community fliers have been posted recently. Not all fliers will appear as images in our Wildwood Weekly newsletter, and we don't want you to miss out on community events, classes, or opportunities that are of interest to you. Fliers are organized under three tabs:

• School-Connected Organizations and Governmental Agencies
• Non-Profit Groups
• All Other Groups

From time to time, individuals or groups in the community will distribute information and advertisements to parents/guardians on the public sidewalks during school arrival or dismissal. This information is not affiliated or endorsed by Wildwood Elementary and CVUSD. Any approved communications (i.e. announcements, fliers) from Wildwood Elementary and CVUSD will be provided directly from the school to you via email, or given to your students to take home. If you ever are unsure whether or not materials are from Wildwood Elementary and CVUSD, please do not hesitate to contact the front office.

Email: klynch@conejousd.org

Website: www.conejousd.org/wildwood

Location: 620 Velarde Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

Phone: 805-492-3531

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WildwoodTigers

Twitter: @WildwoodTigers

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildwoodtigers/