Greetings Washington Families,

We are excited to welcome you to our Open House this Thursday, starting at 5:30pm! This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with your child’s classroom teacher and learn more about what the year holds. Please plan to attend one classroom session for each of your children, and don’t forget to join us in the cafeteria between sessions for our first General PTA meeting of the year.

This week’s Washington Weekly includes an introduction to our Instructional Support Team, a reminder about transportation changes, and exciting news from PTA—like Spirit Night this Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park! We’re also gearing up for International Night in November and need your help to showcase the diverse cultures within our community. Let us know which cultures/countries your family can represent to make this event a success!

As a reminder, Friday, September 20 is a Teacher Workday and there is no school for students.

Let's make it a great week at 1000 Fayetteville Street!

Magically,

Catie Burnette

Principal

Meet Ms. Heben!

Role: Intervention Team Facilitator

Time at Washington: 5 Years

Goals: Supports students by working with teachers and parents to analyze data and develop intervention plans aligned with student needs

GT: Color-coded spreadsheets

📧: kheben@wcpss.net

Meet Ms. Schmidt!

Role: Instructional Facilitator & Literacy Coach

Time at Washington: 6 Years

Goals: To ensure teachers have curricular resources for appropriate instruction; coaching and supporting literacy instructional practices in classrooms

GT: Reading, DIY projects

📧: cschmidt2@wcpss.net

Meet Ms. Wilkinson!

Role: Magnet Coordinator

Time at Washington: 19 Years

Goals: To support the implementation of our magnet program; providing support to students and parents when selecting appropriate electives; ensuring teachers have curricular resources for our over 200+ elective offerings annually

GT: Dancing, Making People Laugh

📧: awilkinson@wcpss.net

Open House is an event that provides a great opportunity for parents to hear directly from their child's teacher about what a typical day looks like, the curriculum being covered, and how they will communicate with families throughout the year. You'll also learn valuable tips for supporting your child's learning at home. The partnership between parents and teachers is vital to student success, so we encourage you to come and strengthen that connection.

Children are always welcome to attend Open House; however, the primary audience is parents. The information teachers will be sharing is specifically directed toward parents to give a clearer picture of what to expect throughout the school year. While students may enjoy being present, we encourage parents to engage fully with the teachers during these sessions to make the most of the evening.

Parents are invited to attend one classroom session per child during our Open House. In between sessions, we encourage you to attend the PTA meeting and stop by the media center to meet our specialists team. You'll also find tables throughout the building with information about our Student Support Services, Special Education, and Intervention Teams. This is a great chance to connect with staff and learn more about the resources available to support your child's success.

Parents of students who participate in SSA (Single Subject Acceleration) are invited to attend both their child's homeroom teacher's session and the SSA teacher's session during Open House. If you’re unable to attend both, don't worry! SSA teachers will send home the presentation materials via Talking Points following the event.

Please note that the school will not be providing childcare for after-school events this year. However, we encourage families to consider joining the Boys & Girls Club for a one-time fee of $7.50 per student for the year. This is a great option for nights when your child has to return to school for events like concerts, Open House, PTA meetings, or if you're running late. Even if your child doesn’t attend daily, this afterschool program, open Monday through Friday until 8:00pm, is a great way to ensure you can attend evening school events on time.

Reminder: For the safety of our students, it is important that you DO NOT contact teachers directly about same-day transportation changes—these must be called into the front office at 919-856-7960 by 3:15 pm. Teachers may not receive same-day changes sent via email/Talking Points. Students are only allowed to ride home with others with parental permission and may only ride their assigned bus. Without a note or office call by 3:15 pm, students will follow their normal transportation plan. Thank you for your cooperation!

As a valued member of our volunteer community, we would like you to renew your volunteer status for the 2024-25 school year.

The volunteer renewal process is quick and simple for all volunteers who were approved for the 2023-24 school year. The renewal window is now open through Oct. 1, 2024. Go to the MyVolunteer Volunteer Renewal site to renew your volunteer status today! Log into your MyVolunteer account and follow the directions for Volunteer Renewal. The process should only take a few minutes. Once approved, the renewal date in your MyVolunteer profile will be updated.

Families and individuals who were approved to volunteer in the 2023-24 school year received an email on Sept. 5 about the simple volunteer renewal process for the 2024-25 school year.

All Washington GT students and families are invited to WakeMed Soccer Park for the NCFC match and other festivities and opportunities including inflatables, games, scoreboard shoutouts, on-field activities before the match and at halftime.

The match starts at 7:30pm and pre match fun begins at 6:30pm.

The match starts at 7:30pm and pre match fun begins at 6:30pm.

$30 Endline North tickets including TM fees (section 404) are only $12 (portion of proceeds goes to WES). We hope to see you at WakeMed Soccer Park!

https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Washingtongt2

We're excited to celebrate our diverse community at International Night on November 21st and need your help! If you’re interested in performing or sharing information about your culture, please sign up using the link below. We look forward to an amazing night of cultural exchange and fun!

Students will get more information regarding the Birthday Books program in their Monday Folders, however, parents are welcome to use this link to purchase books online to support the WES media center and celebrate their child’s birthday.

Please remember:

• Deadline for submissions is Oct 4,2024 11:59 PM ET
• If your student needs assistance getting/buying supplies for their artwork, let PTA know!
• Accessible Arts is a special category for our artists with an IEP or 504. These entries will not be judged at the school level and will be sent directly to Wake County PTA !

Questions? Please reach out to wesgtpta@gmail.com with subject - "Reflections Program 2024"

K: Dhiya

1st: Sharvi (not pictured)

2nd: Bianca

3rd: Chandler

4th: Anirvin

5th: Pranav

Staff: Ms. Parker, 3rd Grade Teacher (not pictured)

Thursday, September 19: Open House, 5:30pm-7:00pm

Friday, September 20: Teacher Workday, No School for Students

Saturday, September 21: Washington GT Elementary School Night @ WakeMed Soccer Park

Planning Ahead:

• 2024-25 Student/Parent Handbook (English)
• 2024-25 Student/Parent Handbook (Spanish)