Welcome Back to School - 2023-2024

"It's A Great Day to be a Timberwolf""

Welcome back to school! We missed you! I hope you had a fun break with your family and friends.

Please check our Lost and Found by April 5, 2024. After April 5, we will donate the Lost and Found clothing to Boxes of Basics.

This week is Future Ready Week - a week we remind students the good study habits and academic skills they learn in elementary school will serve as the foundation for their rest of their lives.

• Tuesday is College Wear Day
• Friday is Career Dress Up Day

Transfer requests can be made for students in grades 1 through 5 between January 2, 2024- April 30, 2024 Kindergarten transfer requests can be made starting from the first day of Kindergarten registration through 30 days after the kindergarten student registers. Please contact your child's school for more information.

We truly do Everything Better Together as a Community of Leaders and Learners Achieving Excellence.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Dr. Andrew Buchheit

Principal

#TimberwolvesROCK

“At T. Clay Wood, Everyone Belongs”

In preparation for the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, we want to ensure the safety of our students and families during this spectacular celestial event.

Please review the guidelines below. We will also share with students and remind them to Never Look Directly at the Sun - Looking directly at the Sun, even during an eclipse, can cause permanent eye damage, including blindness.

The Solar Eclipse is "scheduled" to take place on April 8 between 2pm - 4:30pm -this means it will take place during our regular dismissal time. We will remind students before they leave to not look directly at the sun but I would ask you to also remind them that morning.

What is a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in between the Sun and the Earth, temporarily blocking sunlight. The upcoming solar eclipse is unique because parts of the North American continent will see the "totality", where 100% of the Sun is covered by the Moon for a short period of time. The next U.S. eclipse that spans from coast to coast will not happen until 2045!

What can we expect in Prince William County?

The eclipse will begin at 2:03 p.m. and end by 4:32 p.m. Although Prince William County is not located in the path of totality, the maximum coverage will be substantial, and we will see approximately 87% of the Sun covered by the Moon at 3:19 p.m. A simulation of the eclipse for Manassas, Virginia, is an excellent way to build understanding and excitement for this event.

How can we safely view the eclipse?

Safety is our top priority. Here are some essential guidelines to follow:

Never Look Directly at the Sun: -Looking directly at the Sun, even during an eclipse, can cause permanent eye damage, including blindness.

At home, if you want to prepare for looking at the Solar Eclipse, here are some additional information from our PWCS Science Supervisor:

1. Use Approved Solar Eclipse Glasses:
• Always use special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses,” that comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
• Ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the Sun.
2. Inspect Your Solar Filter:
• Before use, inspect your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer. If scratched, punctured, torn, or damaged, discard them.
3. Supervise Children:
• Always supervise children using solar filters.
• If your child wears eyeglasses, keep them on and put the eclipse glasses over them.
4. Indirect Viewing Methods:
• If you don’t have eclipse glasses, use indirect methods:
• Create a pinhole camera or a viewer using simple household materials and observe the partially eclipsed Sun indirectly.

For additional information, refer to the instructions endorsed by NASA and other national organizations or contact the PWCS Student Learning Department at 703.791.7240.

We will have a spirit week the week of April 15.

• Monday, April1 5- Wear Patriotic Colors - RED, White, and Blue
• Tuesday, April 16 - Hats of to Military Families - wear your favorite HAT
• Wednesday, April 17 - Purple Up Day - Purple is a blending of all the colors of the different branches of the military - wear purple to support our military families.
• Thursday, April 18 - Wear your favorite branch of service
• Friday, April 19 - R.E.D - Remember Everyone Deployed -by wearing Red

Here are some more ideas from PWCS:

https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/student_services/military_connected_student_support/month-military-child#:~:text=April%20is%20the%20Month%20of,nation's%20youngest%20heroes%E2%80%93military%20children!

Kindergarten Registration is now open for the 2024-2025 school year. Please register your rising kindergarten students using the below link as soon as possible.

If you have neighbors and friends who have rising kindergarten students for next school year, please let them know as well.
We look forward to meeting all our new Kindergarten Timberwolf Pups.

https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/student_services/registration__new_students_and_transfers_/kindergarten_registration/index

Student Placement for 2024-2025

We are beginning to look at student placement for the 2024-2025 school year.

Placement of students is an important decision and we consider it very carefully.

If you have information that you feel is significant for us to be aware of regarding your child’s placement, we would like to know about it.

These letters are OPTIONAL and we do NOT expect or require anyone to send placement input. This is just optional for those families that feel there is some additional information which they would like to share with us.

It is very important to note, however, that we cannot accept any specific teacher requests or any requests to have students placed with other students. (The only exception would be siblings).

When placing students, we look at individual learning styles, class make up and how classroom teachers can support individual learning needs.

I can assure you that all our teachers are excellent educators and are dedicated to doing their best for all of their students.I know your children will be happy, safe, and successful in any one of our teacher’s classrooms.

However, please share information, which you feel would assist the placement committee as we develop our class lists, regarding your child’s:

· learning style,

· academic strengths or weaknesses,

· organizational skills/work habits,

· how you feel your child learns best

· PLEASE DO NOT List any specific teachers or students with whom you want your child placed.

You may share this information with me by emailing me at buchhear@pwcs.edu or mailing a letter to my attention. If you are moving out of our school ☹ - please let me know as well. THANK YOU!

If there are students with whom you feel your child should NOT be placed with, you may include this as well. Please do NOT include names of students with whom you would like your child placed.

I cannot accept letters asking to place your students with specific students or specific teachers.

I will share each letter with the current classroom teacher as well since their input will also be a significant part of the placement decisions.

I can accept letters of input between April 1, 2024 thru April 23 2024

Dear Timberwolf Families (T. Clay Wood),

T. Clay Wood Elementary School, like all Prince William County Schools, has an Advisory Council made up of Parents, Teachers, and Staff Members. (We also have a student representative).

Each year, some of our representatives and alternates rotate off and we hold "elections" for the open positions. Parent members are selected as representatives based on their neighborhoods.

This year we will need the following positions:

1. Kettle Run/Schaeffer Lane Representative
2. New Bristow Village Representative
3. Kettle Run/Schaeffer Lane Alternate
4. Tartan HIlls Alternate (New Opening)

If you are interested in possibly serving in one of those positions and you live in those neighborhoods, please email me at buchhear@pwcs.edu All names for each neighborhood will be put into a "hat" to be drawn at the April 18 meeting. I will follow up with all interested families after the "election" to let everyone know.

This position is for 2 years and starts in 2024-2025 (Although all elected members will be invited to our May meeting).

Meetings will be held once a month starting at 6:30 pm. Most of the meetings will continue to be held via ZOOM with a couple of in-person meetings.

Elections will take place at our April 18, 2024 Advisory Council/PTO meeting in the Art Room. The election is simply a lottery drawing if we have multiple candidates for one position.

Please let me know by Friday, April 5, 2024 if you would be interested in serving as a representative for one of these 3 open positions if you live in one of the above neighborhoods.

The TCW 2023/2024 Yearbooks are officially on sale! The cost of each book is $25, and they will be delivered to your student's classroom during the last week of school. The deadline to order is April 31, 2024.

Please click the link below to order today!

https://link.entourageyearbooks.com/my/TCW2024

Future Ready Week will be April 1st-5th! Students will be looking ahead at their futures and thinking about the many opportunities that lie ahead. Students will focus on their skills, interests, abilities, and how their current learning will be important to their future success. Tuesday 4/2 will be College Wear Tuesday. Friday 4/5 will be a schoolwide Career Dress Up Day and the Career Fair for 3rd-5th grades. We can't wait to see what our students want to be when they grow up!

Are you passionate about creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for students, parents, and visitors? Do you love helping others and being the first friendly face, they see when they step into our school? If so, we’d love to have you as part of our Welcome Desk Volunteer Team!

Here is signup genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FAFAD28A4F5C52-welcome1

April 1 - April 17, 2024 PWCS will conduct their annual Division Wide Satisfaction Survey with 4th and 5th grades.

April 8, 2024 - Link Up Assembly. This is a fun, energetic, interactive school assembly program that mixes music, video and activities to introduce elementary students to Rachel Scott and her challenge to reach out to others with deliberate acts of kindness. Link-Up focuses on the following five challenges: Be Kind, Accept and Include Others, Choose Positive Influences , Dream Big, Set Goals, Keep A Journal and Start a Chain Reaction of kindness. Here is a link with more information: https://rachelschallenge.org/our-programs/rc-live/ If you have any questions, please reach out to our school counselor, Mrs. Amy Cunningham who arranged it to bring this assembly to our school.

April 17, 2024 - We will practice our required Lock Down Drill.

April 18, 2024. DJ Wood will be celebrating the end of the 3rd quarter with our students during their lunch time. He has performed a couple of times for our students last year and this year.

April 23, 2024 - We will hold our annual I Can Assembly. The focus will be on reminding students that they can if they work hard, try their best, and persevere.

May 3, 2024 - The PTO has arranged for a Reptile Assembly. Students will have an opportunity to see a wide variety of reptiles -including snakes.

If you do not want your student to participate in any of these activities or assemblies please let your child's teacher know.

Social Media Reminders: T. Clay Wood ES only puts up photos or videos on the Official T. Clay Wood Social Media Sites - on the T. Clay Wood Facebook, X(Twitter), Instagram, and You Tube.

You will see the following Notice on our Official Site -

“This PWCS social media account has been approved by the PWCS Communications Department.”

Social Media sites have to be approved annually by the PWCS Communication Department. Regulation 790-3 , Section B of the Attachment provides further information as well as information about Opt-Out. When filling out the Back to School Packet, information is included that discusses and references this regulation.

Our Service Leadership Crew is collecting for Boxes for Basics:

Our Boxes of Basics clothing drive will run from March 11th through April 5th.

We will be collecting gently used clothing and NEW socks, underwear and shoes of all sizes.

There is a specific need for boys' pants in all sizes and girls' pajamas in sizes 6-16.

We will be collecting new and gently used clothing and new socks, underwear and shoes for Boxes of Basics between March 11th to April 5th and there will be a container outside the front office to drop -off items. They accept infant sizes all the way up to size 16 kids and are currently particularly in need of boys pants in all sizes and girls pajamas in sizes 6-16. Boxes of Basics is a local organization that provides full wardrobes with clothing, pajamas, socks, underwear and shoes for local children in need. Many PWCS school social workers and school counselors make referrals for our students and Boxes of Basics has provided wardrobes for some of our Timberwolves.

Clothing Drive Poster Boxes of Basics.pdf

Need a Receipt QR Code Boxes of Basics.pdf

If you have any questions, please contact mchughkh@pwcs.edu."

Thank you for your support and for helping the people in need.

Service Leadership - Box for Basics - March 11- April 5, 2024

FUTURE READY WEEK - APRIL 1 - APRIL 5

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 - Day 4

2nd grade Field Trip - check with your classroom teacher.

College Wear Day

Wednesday, April 3, 2024- Day 5

2nd grade Field Trip - check with your classroom teacher.

1st grade level Concert; 6:30pm

Thursday, April 4, 2024 - Day 6

Mrs. Schumann's class field trip

Friday, April 5, 2024 -Day 1

Career Dress Up Day

3rd-5th grade Career Expo - PE 2

• 12:00-12:30 Watson, Van Gelder, Schumann
• 12:35-1:05 E. Abram, K. Abram, Fonner
• 1:10-1:40 Darno, Taylor, Fightmaster
• 1:45-2:15 Cortash, Browning, Aracich
• 2:20-2:50 Curry, Sanfilippo
• 2:55 - 3:25 Smith, Warren, West

Fire Drill - 3:15pm

Our 2023-2024 PTO BOARD

President - Kate Case

VP - Kelsey Fisher

Treasurer - Beth Feliciano-Rivera

Asst Treasurer - Cooper Waterman

Secretary - Sandra Oviedo

Director - Amelia Hunter

Teacher Director - Tiana Marshall

Upcoming Dates:

Moving forward we have decided to merge the Advisory Council meetings with the PTO meetings to offer families one combined meeting to get all the information they need for happenings at the school and in the community. Due to this change, some of our meeting dates have changed. Please see the schedule posted for new meeting dates. We hope you'll be able to join us!

Email tclaywoodpto@gmail.com for more information!

PTO Membership is still open!

Membership (tclaywoodpto.com)

As always, keep an eye on our T Clay Wood PTO facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/timberwolvesrock) and our website (https://www.tclaywoodpto.com/) for up to date information

*Every Tuesday - Every Tuesday during the school year Gainesville Papa Johns will give you 40% off your order and donate 10% back to the PTO!

PWCS has a late bus link for buses that will be late 15 minutes or more - https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/transportation/bus_delays

You can also sign up for the Here Comes the Bus App at - https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/transportation/here_comes_the_bus

For more information about buses - please the Transportation Website -

https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/transportation/index

We are reminding all our School Community to treat our school staff, our students, and one another with civility. Our students are always watching!

In case of inclement weather when school is closed, PWCS will provide live virtual (Synchronized) instruction to all students through ZOOM. PWCS Expectation is that all students participate. Attendance will be taken. Students must keep their cameras on to be counted as present. Instruction will take place between 9am - 2pm with 1 hour for lunch and recess time.

Prior to late fall/early winter, please make sure you are able to access the internet. Any family needing assistance with home internet should contact their school during the first month of school to receive a school-issued take-home “hotspot.” If you are not able to access the internet, please reach out to Mr. Taylor at taylorbi@pwcs.edu or 703.594.3990.

At T. Clay Wood Elementary School, we love to have visitors and volunteers every day. To help ensure the safety of our students, visitors to Prince William County Schools are expected to report promptly to the school’s main office when entering school buildings. Visitors and volunteers will be asked to provide a valid government issued photo identification. There are no exceptions. Every visitor to our school must bring with them a photo id. Visitors will then be issued a temporary identification badge. We will not permit any visitor or volunteer into the building without this identification. Our main goal is to ensure the safety and security of our students and staff at school.

If a situation occurs which makes it necessary for your child’s transportation home to change, please send in a note with your child in the morning giving clear directions as to how your child should go home at the end of the day. Only a parent/guardian can change their child’s transportation plan for any given day. A note from the parent must be received by the office AND the teacher before noon that day indicating the change. This is for the safety of the children and will alleviate any confusion at the end of the day.

Changing Dismissal Routine – Parents, if you are changing your child’s dismissal, you must send an email/note to the office or notify the office by 3:30 pm. The teacher and bus driver cannot accept a change if a student just tells him or her about the change without a note. In these cases, students are sent home the original way. In addition, please try to avoid changing dismissal procedures in the middle of the day and please send all dismissal changes to our office by calling our office at 703.594.3990 or sending a note in the morning. Emails sent to the teacher in the middle of the day may be missed if there is a substitute that day or if the teacher is not able to check his or her email.

3:30 pm - If you must pick your student up early, please arrive before 3:30 pm. We will not be able to call students to the office after 3:30 pm until all car riders are picked up. Students called for dismissal after 3:30 pm will be sent to the car rider area and will be brought up after all car riders are dismissed with the supervising teachers. This way we can reduce interruptions to the classrooms, provide continual supervision for all our students and give our focus in the office to dismissing students. Parents coming in after 3:30 pm will be asked to wait in the vestibule outside of the office and once their students are brought up to come in and sign their students out.

2023-2024 – Calendar link: https://www.pwcs.edu/calendars/school_calendar/index

You can also subscribe to the PWCS Calendar. To learn how, you can go to this PWCS Site and then follow the directions - How to Subscribe to the PWCS School Calendar

Code of Behavior link: https://www.pwcs.edu/about_us/code_of_behavior/index

Link to Family Life Education objectives and Opt out - https://www.pwcs.edu/academics___programs/science___family_life_education/family_life_education

Please take a moment to view our 2023-2024 T. Clay Wood Continuous Improvement Plan by clicking this link: T. Clay Wood 2023-2024 Continuous Improvement Plan

We have three Academic Goals this year - Increase Reading, Math, and Science Achievement Rates for all students at T. Clay Wood to at least 85% or higher.

We also are focused at increasing student satisfaction rates to 90% or higher and increasing number of active business partnerships at T. Clay Wood.

A Prince William County School of Excellence

“A Community of Leaders and Learners Achieving Excellence”

10600 Kettle Run Road; Nokesville, VA 20181

Andrew Buchheit, Principal - buchhear@pwcs.edu

Melissa Yuditsky, Assistant Principal yuditsml@pwcs..edu

“A Community of Leaders and Learners Achieving Excellence”

School hours: 9:20 am – 4:00 pm

(Office hours: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.)

SCHOOL SCHEDULE

Doors Open: 9:10 a.m.

Students tardy after: 9:20 a.m.

Dismissal: 4:00 p.m.

School Phone Number: 703.594.3990

School Fax Number: 703.594.2653

Attendance Email: cwes-timberwolf-attendance@pwcs.edu

Attendance Phone Line:– 703.594.3992

Motto: “I seek to make a POSITIVE DIFFERENCE AT SCHOOL”

Website: http://tclaywoodes.schools.pwcs.edu

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

Twitter @TClayWoodElem

Instagram: tclaywoodelementary

Email: buchhear@pwcs.edu
Website: http://tclaywoodes.schools.pwcs.edu
Location: 10600 Kettle Run Road, Nokesville, VA, USA
Phone: 703.594.3990
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TClayWoodES
Twitter: @TClayWoodElem