We had a fantastic week back with students last week! We are excited to resume our regular schedule this week, with school starting at 7:55 am. Bus stops will be 2 hours earlier than they were last week. I would love to see students arriving on time and ready to learn. Getting to school with time to unpack backpacks and get settled is a great way to start the day. This gets harder as the weather gets colder, but it's so important. Thank you for working diligently to get your children to school on time.

This week we'll be starting automated phone calls to parents when students are marked tardy or absent. The phone call will notify you of the tardy/absence, and it will remind you to turn in an excuse. If your student has excessive absences, we'll ask for doctor notes before an absence can be excused.

I know that many families plan trips throughout the year. Please work to plan trips around school days. Our students have missed so much school, and we rely solely on parents/caregivers to make sure their students are present. Our teachers work so hard to prepare engaging and rigorous lessons. Being absent/missing too much school can cause unnecessary stress for students. If you are planning an extended absence, please email Dawn.Flanigan-Bryson@bcsemail.org (our data manager) so that we can document your trip with the correct paperwork.

Below we have some information about our Holiday Assistance Program. Whether you are in need of support or would like to sponsor a child or donate to Cops for Kids (which funds our program), keep reading below for important dates. Ms. Wheeless, our amazing counselor, is ready to connect with you!

The deadline to ask for Holiday Assistance for your child/ren or family is November 6th. To sign up or learn more about the program, please reach out to your child's teacher or the school counselor, Maggie Wheeless (margery.wheeless@bcsemail.org, text-828-668-2317) by November 6th.

Thank you for everything you do for our school and community,

Mary

• This google doc is updated daily with resources in our community!

• If you have a student who might be struggling emotionally (or even just needs a check-in from one of our caring staff members), you can reach out to Ms. Wheeless. We have a team of teachers who would love to visit and check in! Email Margery.wheeless@bcsemail.org.

• If you have a question about community assistance and resources for Hurricane Recovery, including what you’ll find at the FEMA center now open at A.C. Reynolds High School, please visit the Hurricane Resources link at BuncombeSchools.org. It’s updated daily. Also, you may reach out to our School Social Worker, AnnMarie McBride, or myself so that we may work to assist you with resources.

• If you or someone you know is asking how they can specifically help Buncombe County Schools, our Buncombe County Schools Foundation is set up to receive donations directly to our school system for Hurricane Helene relief.

With Mr. Brown's retirement at the end of September, we were so lucky to find Ms. Tamra as our new driver for bus 292! Here's a note from Ms. Tamra:

Greetings Weaverville Elementary School Parents and Students! My name is Tamra Dawsey and I have been a school bus driver in the North Buncombe District for 9 years beginning with 5 years at North Windy Ridge then 4 years at Weaverville Primary School. This is my first year at Weaverville Elementary School and I am so excited to see many old friends and meet many new friends and students this 2024 – 2025 school year.
On the bus ride each day, safety is number one along with staying in our seats and being respectful and polite to each other. So, let’s have a great year Black Hawks!

Ms. Tamra
Bus 292

Monday, November 4th

• Resume Full Days,

Tuesday, November 5th

• Optional Work Day for staff, no school for students.

Monday, November 11th

• Veteran's Day - No school for students or staff

Thursday, November 14th

• PTO Meeting - 8:15 am at Weaverville Elementary (Media Center)

Monday, November 25th

• Fall Picture Day

Tuesday, November 26th

• First School Clubs Meeting

November 27th - November 29th

• Thanksgiving Break

*We are closed for Election Day on Tuesday, November 5, since many schools are used as election sites.

• Girls on the Run (Starts week of November 4th)
• Playground Stage (meets until 4:30)
• Zaniac (Starts back Monday, November 4th)

Tuesdays -

• Tennis Time (has resumed)
• Disc Golf Club with Ms. .Wheeless (Tuesday from 2:30-3:30) *If your student signed up. You should have received communication in an email and a letter home. Reach out to Ms. Wheeless with questions. Margery.wheeless@bcsemail.org`

Wednesdays -

• Battle of the Books (4th only) - 7:30 am - 8:15 am (Starts Wednesday, November 6th)
• Girls on the Run (Starts week of November 4th)
• Chess Club (has resumed)

Thursdays -

• Lego Robotics (4th Grade Only) - You will hear from Ms. Moran

The holiday season is approaching, and Weaverville Elementary would like to support families in need during this special time. If your family could benefit from holiday assistance, please let us know! We’re here to help make the season brighter for everyone. To sign up or learn more about the program, please reach out to your child's teacher or the school counselor, Maggie Wheeless (margery.wheeless@bcsemail.org, text-828-668-2317) by November 6th.

All parents are automatically members of the PTO! Come to a meeting to learn more about how our PTO supports our students, staff and families. We have one of the best PTOs around!

Check out our PTO Website for all things Weaverville Schools PTO!

In a previous email, I mentioned that I would let you know about parent/teacher conferences and how that would work this year. As with most things right now, we are having to pivot or shift so that we can keep moving through this school year, only with fewer days to do so.

Parent/teacher conferences are such a valuable use of our time! Typically, teachers are expected to meet with each child's parents/caregivers in a one-on-one meeting during the month of October. Teachers schedule conferences before school, during their planning periods, and after school. It's a lot, but very much worth it. During these conferences, we go over the beginning-of-year assessment results and we talk about how the student is doing so far with work completion, peer relationships, and emotional regulation (or similar topics, as needed). We also discuss whether or not the student is receiving supplemental or intensive academic support here at school (in math and/or reading). We then have "student-led" conferences in February, and we plan to do those this year, as usual.

Because of the hurricane and being out of school for a month, we have shifted our plan a bit. One of our seven habits is to "Think Win-Win." It's my favorite habit, and we use it all the time in education! How can both parties get what we need from this situation? Here's our plan:

One-on-one conferences with some families:

Teachers will be reaching out to meet one-on-one with some families, focusing on families of students who are receiving supplemental academic or social/emotional support. Teachers will not be scheduling one-on-one meetings with every family. These one-on-one conferences will be scheduled via email or phone call, and the teacher will reach out to you.

Group Conferences

Some students' families will be invited to a "group" conference the week of November 18th. Parents/caregivers will have an opportunity to come in and see their child's work and get time to talk to the teacher. Picture 3-5 students and their parents in a classroom, computer and work at their desk, and the teacher circulating and checking in with each family. The student can show their family what they've been working on, and the family can view beginning-of-year assessment results. The teacher is there to answer questions and give more information as needed. Teachers will be choosing an afternoon the week of November 18th and inviting families to sign up for a 30 minute window of time.

All students' parents/caregivers will get an invitation for either a one-on-one conference or a group conference. We hope to have conferences completed by Thanksgiving Break.

While we wish we could meet with every family as we normally do, we also realize that we have fewer days and hours left in this semester. Our teachers and I felt like this was a good "Win-Win." As a parent, I love going to my child's classroom and seeing their work. I love getting a chance to talk to their teacher and hear how they're doing! We want these components to remain, and we hope you'll understand our need to change it up a bit this Fall.

Thank you, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Mary Nichols

Weaverville families, please be on the lookout for Parent-Teacher conference information. During this time you will receive two documents that need your signatures. One of the documents is our Title I Compact, this is a document that is signed during our Open House Event but because of Hurricane Helene these will need to be signed during your parent teacher conference. If you aren’t able to make a parent-teacher conference then this document will be sent home with your child. Please sign and return it back to school!

The second document that you will receive is a Parents Right to Know letter. As a parent and family member of a student at Weaverville Elementary School as part of our beginning of each school year notifications, you have the right to know about the following:

1. Professional qualifications and licensing criteria of the teachers who instruct your child.

2. Information regarding student participation in mandatory state or local testing and affiliated policies.

3. Language instruction and English learner identification protocols and services, and our assurance that such information will be in an understandable language and accessible format.

You will receive a half sheet of paper that states you received this documentation, you will need to sign this sheet and return to the school as well.

Thank you for your continued support of Weaverville Elementary and our school wide Title I program.

• If you need to check your child out early, please check them out BEFORE 1:45 pm. We will not be checking students out the last 30 minutes of the day as this interrupts instruction for all students.
• If you need to make a dismissal change for your student, please call the front office before 12:30 each day.
• Do not enter the car line from Main Street. Please use Yost St. Please respect our school rules that keep others safe.

The Edulog Parent app is AWESOME if you have a student who rides a bus! I use it for my own children. Take a moment to explore it. You can see where the bus is, and this is helpful when your bus is running late (or even if you're running late!).

• For accurate drop off /pick up times, and bus number, sign up for the edulog app. Edulog directions click here.
• Bus # Update: Bus 302 is now Bus 86.

The WvES campus will open at 7:15 (9:15 on 2-hour delays) for morning arrival. No students may be dropped off prior to 7:15 AM (9:15 am for 2-hour delays). Students will wait in the cafeteria until they are dismissed to their homerooms at 7:40 AM (9:40 am for 2-hour delays). All students should be in their classrooms and ready to learn by 7:55 AM (9:55 AM for 2-hour delays).

Car Riders:

Please remember that all school traffic should use Yost Street (which is off Merrimon Avenue) when dropping off students and picking up students as car riders. In the morning, cars must use Yost Street to enter our car rider line, and then use Yost again when exiting the car rider line.

Please be respectful and patient. The first weeks of school are always a little bit confusing for everyone, and wait time can be longer. I promise it will improve as we move into the school year.

Students will be dismissed from class at 2:25 pm. Buses will load in the bus lane, and car riders will wait in the gym for their names to be called when their ride arrives.

All parents of car riders must use the car rider line to pick up their child(ren) in the afternoon.

Please view the illustration above to see how the car line works.

Dismissal Car Line Pro Tips:

• Pull all the way forward to the empty space, and a staff member will call for your child to come out.
  
• Please use your car tag each afternoon if you plan to use the car line. This will help the line move swiftly and efficiently.
• Please use YOST ST. to both enter and exit the car line. Use the illustration above for reference.
• If you have someone picking your child up that is not YOU, make sure this person is listed in powerschool as someone who can pick up your child. We will ask for their ID to make sure they are who they say they are. We appreciate your patience and kindness in these circumstances; we definitely want to make sure we're sending kids home with adults who have permission to pick them up!
• If you do not have your car tag with your child's name, we will ask you to come into the office and get one, and we'll ask you to show and ID. We can't do this in the car line because only our office staff have access to that information in powerschool. Please remember that this is a commitment to keeping each child safe. We only want students going home with grownups who are approved for pick-up.
• Please be patient during the first few weeks of school. The car line always take a bit longer in the beginning, but we'll get the hang of it! After a week or so, it's usually about 15 minutes.
  

Walkers:

A few WvES families live next door to the school and they are considered 'walkers'. Parents of 'walkers' may come to the gym door with their green card to collect their child/ren. If you do not walk to campus to pick up your child, this does not apply to you so you must use the car rider line. Please do not park your car and walk to the gym door to collect your child/ren.

ALL parents and visitors to campus must sign in at the office and obtain a visitor sticker (or a volunteer pass if applicable). Please note that you must sign in even if you are only visiting the cafeteria. Your cooperation in helping us to follow Central Office policy and ensuring the safety of all children is expected and appreciated.

If you have an appointment or scheduled time to be at school in the morning, and wish to walk in with your child, please still plan to follow the established procedure of coming to the office, signing the visitor registry, and obtaining a visitor tag.

Visitors will only be allowed to visit a classroom if the visitor has scheduled the visit with the teacher beforehand or if the visitor is a scheduled volunteer.

Safety is one of my top priorities, and I want to be very clear with all of our families about the ways we will keep our students safe on our campus. The following procedures and expectations are in place with safety in mind. Please support our staff and students in keeping our campus safe by following these expectations at all times.

• All visitors must check in each time with no exceptions. You'll get a badge to wear, and you must wear the badge at all times. If you do not have the badge on, our staff will politely ask if we can help you, so please be kind to staff in response.
• Visitors are only allowed to visit a classroom if they have a scheduled appointment with the teacher. We want to protect the instructional time of all students.
• All doors will remain locked at all times.
• Please do not enter the front door unless you have been buzzed in by an adult. It may seem easy to slip in with someone else who is being buzzed in, but please help us keep our safety practices in tact by following this simple request.
• If you are already inside the school, please do not open the front door for others. Please allow our office staff to safely screen each person entering the building.

Please follow this "Multi-visitor Entrance Procedure:"

1. If you have buzzed in and are being screened and you notice another visitor is arriving, please don't hold the door and allow anyone in without being screened first.
2. If the other visitor is 15 feet or less from the door, please buzz in and be screened together.
3. If the visitor is more than 15 feet from the door, please buzz in and ensure the door is closed completely after you enter.

We certainly want to encourage politeness, and we also want our visitors to understand that it is unsafe to hold doors and allow visitors in without being verified by front office staff first. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

School safety is the most important component of our day. We know we must balance safety with having a welcoming school building so that parents and community members can be part of our school. Please help us do this by honoring these safety protocols about entering our building.