Windermere Family Update

Windermere Family Update

Windermere Weekly Parent Update 10.4.24

Hawk Walk was a HUGE success!! Our students and families raised 122% of our goal, at $24,448! Wow!!! A couple of weeks ago, we had our PTO meeting and I loved listening to Maggie and Jill, our PTO president and president elect, share with parents what PTO has done over the past year to support our students, staff and work we do daily in the classrooms. As a staff, we know how fortunate we are to have such a great partnership with our PTO/parents. All families are members of the PTO at Windermere and there are no dues, field trip fees and school supply fees, as PTO covers these costs for our students/families. All of our fundraisers are what allow PTO to fund these gifts to our students. Thank you for your generosity, support and hard work. From the bottom of our hearts, we see what you do and appreciate it very much! Although Hawk Walk was rescheduled from last week to this week (yesterday), students had so much fun and were SO proud of their accomplishments. And, check out the picture above! Hawkie came to visit us Thursday morning at Stop, Drop and Go. She stayed for quite awhile to make sure the sun was out for Hawk Walk! We love you Hawkie.


I can’t wait to see all of you this evening at my favorite PTO event of the year. Although, I do love them all. Windermere Fall Family Night is such a great event to celebrate the season and start our school year together as a community. The weather looks perfect. See you soon.


Thank you to Sarah Kasey and Emily Adams for our amazing, successful and FUN Hawk Walk and Michelle Evans and Amanda Endicott for our fabulous, festive and FUN Fall Fest! These ladies and their volunteers help make our school community so wonderful for our students and families. We are so lucky to have you all!!!!


Have a great weekend. Thank you for your continued partnership. We couldn’t do what we do without your support.


Julie


Upcoming Dates:

10.8.24 - Early Dismissal - 11:05

10.10.24 - Picture Retake Day

10.11.24 - NO SCHOOL Students

10.14.24 - NO SCHOOL Students

10.31.24 - Harvest Parade and Parties - UA Beggar’s Night

11.5.24 - NO SCHOOL Students

11.14.24 - Family Cultures and Traditions Night 6-8 pm

11.26.24 - Scarlet & Gray Day

11.27 - 11.29.24 - Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL

Explorations:

The theme for the lesson is "Perseverance and The Engineering Design Process".

- Students can follow The Engineering Design Process in order to create, modify, and test a paper airplane launcher.

Students will...

- Learn about the Engineering Design Process.

- Create, modify, and test a paper airplane launcher.

- Design and test different style paper airplane designs to discover which works best with the launcher.

Here is a link to the latest Elementary Explorations newsletter. In this issue you will find a recap and photos from Lesson 2, as well as a preview of Lesson 3

Upper Arlington Schools ATTENDANCE POLICY regarding 10 Medical Occurrences:

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 medical excuse for personal illness will be accepted in the form of a doctor’s note within five (5) school days of the absence or parent email (or phone call) on the day of the absence due to illness or doctor’s visit.


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.


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

Food Rescue is Back

After lunch, students have the opportunity to donate any unopened food, which will be delivered to the Heart to Heart Food Pantry. We’re looking for volunteers to help with deliveries! It’s a simple, one-hour commitment, typically 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.

Picture Retake Day:

is October 10th. On this day, we will photograph any student that was absent on the first day's photography event as well as anyone requesting a retake picture.

If a student would like a retake of their photo, they simply bring back their original package and hand it to the photographer when they get their photo taken. We will reprint the same package for them using that new image.

Sometimes a student may not have a physical package to return if they ordered a digital download or if the parents have viewed the first image online and were unhappy with the photo. We will photograph any of these students that present themselves for a picture.

Library Media Center News:

Happy October! Please stop in tonight if you are coming to Fall Fest! Our book fair is in full swing! Consider shopping for your child's classroom teacher and fulfilling one of their wishes! Our online book fair continues through October 8th and all sales support our fundraising efforts!

This month in the library and on Wake Up Windermere we are celebrating Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Fire Prevention Week, Indigenous Peoples Day, and Halloween! We will soon begin to prepare for our upcoming Family Cultures and Traditions Night scheduled for November 14th. Stay tuned!

Family Support - Food Resource

For a second year, the district is partnering with the Tri-Village Packers (TVP), a group of community volunteers who work to reduce food insecurity in Upper Arlington. Families with UA students can register throughout October and early November to receive grocery items that supplement their pantries during the upcoming Thanksgiving break. This is not a Thanksgiving meal but support to offset food insecurity by providing breakfast and lunch items during the extended break from school.


Last year, TVP provided food for more than 90 students during Thanksgiving break, and we believe there will be a greater need this year.


Please review and share the linked flyer and registration form weekly through November 1st. In the coming weeks, forms and flyers will be shared in additional channels and languages. Please reach out to Kristyn Anderson at kmanderson@uaschools.org if you have any questions or need support in a particular situation related to this program.

Elementary Progress Reports

Because the elementary school years are so critical to a student’s academic and personal growth, our teachers will be increasing the amount of communication regarding each student’s achievement this year.


In previous school years, elementary students have received Progress Reports three times a year, at the end of each trimester. There have also been conference opportunities for families in the fall and the spring.


Beginning this school year, teachers will provide Progress Reports in January and June. In the fall and the spring, they will provide Interim Reports for each student. Teachers will share each student’s fall Interim Report with families during conferences on October 8th-9th, 2024. While spring conferences are optional for families, all students will receive another interim report at that time. Interim and Progress Reports will be accessible to families in PowerSchool.

Our goal is to increase meaningful conversations between teachers and families regarding each student’s individual achievement, growth and learning needs. We are excited to launch this expanded reporting system this year and look forward to collaborating with you!

Progress Reports for students with IEPs

If your student receives services based on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) you can view their first progress report of the year starting on Wednesday, October 8th via PowerSchool. Click on the green box that contains the letters ‘PR’ at the top of the home screen once you are logged in.

Lost and Found:

Please label your students sweatshirts, water bottles, lunches, etc. so we can return them if they get lost. Our lost and found is beside the office and starting to fill up, please remind your students to check for lost items. We donate all items during winter break, spring break and the end of the school year.

From the Nurse’s Clinic:

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.

Stop, Drop and Go:

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

Wireless Usage/iPhones/Gizmos:

As smartwatches become more common among students, parents have asked about settings that might reduce the risk of the device causing a distraction during school. Here are links to information about school-time settings for two devices we see here at school, the Apple watch and the Gizmo watch. We kindly ask that students use these settings. Please know we will always call you or allow your child to call you during the day, if needed. If a Smartwatch becomes a distraction, we may ask a child to keep it in their backpack.

Student Absences:

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.

Windermere Elementary School
www.uaschools.org/windermere

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