Early Dismissal Car Riders: Please plan to pick your child up before 12:45 pm. We do not have staff who will be on duty to supervise students who are not picked up.

Early Dismissal Bus Riders: Please make sure you (or another trusted adult) will be at your child's bus stop waiting for your child if they require an adult to be there. We typically have many students who are brought back to school and sometimes have to wait hours for a grown-up to get them. Please remember to make plans for early dismissal.

Thursday, February 20th

• Early Release (Students dismissed at 12:25 pm - all students will eat lunch before dismissal).

Friday, February 21st

• Optional Teacher Work Day - No School for Students

Week of February 24th - 28th

• Bus Ridership Count Week

Wednesday, February 26th

• 2nd Grade W/W Showcase - 1:00 - 2:25

Thursday, February 27th

• 3rd Grade W/W Showcase - 1:00 - 2:25

• 4th Grade W/W Showcase - 1:00 - 2:25

March 3rd-7th

• Read Across America Week (see flyer for details)

Buncombe County Schools Calendars

Dear Families,

What a joy it was to share a meal with so many of you at our recent Gratitude Meal! The energy in the room was truly special, and it warmed my heart to see so many families connecting and enjoying each other's company. A huge thank you to everyone, including our many volunteers and our Child Nutrition Team, who came out and made it such a resounding success. Your presence and support mean the world to us at WvES. We hope you enjoyed the food and the fellowship as much as we did!

Speaking of heartwarming, our students have been hard at work preparing for our upcoming Wit and Wisdom Showcase! Each grade level has a different date (see below). All showcases start at 1:00, with an arrival time no earlier than 12:45. This is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the incredible learning happening in our classrooms. After our time in the gym hearing our students sing, you'll go to your child's room for student-led conferences. This event truly highlights the diverse talents and hard work of our students, and we can't wait to share it with you.

Student-led conferences will provide a unique opportunity for your child to share their learning journey with you directly. They'll be showcasing their work, discussing their goals, and reflecting on their progress. We believe this format empowers students to take ownership of their learning and fosters important communication skills.

We look forward to seeing you at the Wit and Wisdom Showcase and student-led conferences! As always, thank you for your continued support.

Wit & Wisdom Showcase Dates:

• 2nd Grade - February 26th
• 3rd Grade - February 27th
• 4th Grade - February 28th

All events start at 1pm in the gym. Family can arrive no earlier than 12:45 pm.

Have a wonderful week. Thank you for all you do to support our school community!

-Mary Nichols

Weaverville Schools PTO:

Please be sure to read the most recent PTO newsletter information below. You'll find information about upcoming board openings, our spring fundraiser, and ways to donate!

As Always...

• Be sure to follow us on Facebook, AND take a look at our Weaverville Elementary Youtube Channel to see videos of all the awesome things from past years!
• Check out our PTO website AND our PTO Facebook page, too!

Previous Weeks' News from the Nest

At this time, the Weaverville Schools PTO, in partnership with the schools, have made the decision to refocus our efforts on Fun Run for the Fall of 2025. However, in celebration of our community, we will be hosting a spring “Pick a Date to Donate” fundraiser that will launch in March, so please stay tuned for more information on how you can support that campaign!

Our PTO is a 501c3 organization that supports both Weaverville Primary and Elementary School and accepts donations year round! If you know of someone moved to give, please consider our online platform.

Your contribution is tax deductible and will go to fund initiatives within these wonderful schools! Please check out our website for more information!

https://weavervilleschoolspto.org/

Our PTO has been very fortunate to have wonderful volunteers who step up and help serve in these much needed board positions! We will be voting in May on the following upcoming PTO Board Vacancies. If you or someone you know are interested, please reach out! We’d love to have you! weavervilleschoolspto@gmail.com

• Vice President

• Co President

• Secretary

We are also looking for a volunteer who is interested in and familiar with web page design to help continue to host our website! Any Word Press guru’s out there, please let us know your interest! weavervilleschoolspto@gmail.com

• Thursday, March 13, 1 pm – Weaverville Primary School Library

• Thursday, April 10, 8:15 am – Weaverville Elementary School Library

• Thursday, May 15, 1 pm – Weaverville Primary School Library

Click here for more PARENT information about our Math Curriculum, Illustrative Math.

NCDPI Parent Resource Handbook - Math and ELA

Monday:

Playground Stage*, Zaniacs*, Melty Beads Masters with Ms. Seimer

Tuesday:

Tennis with Ms. Moran, Green Screen Club with Mr. Martin

Wednesday:

Chess with Dr. Dunkel

Thursday:

Frisbee Games with Coach Morgan

WvES Classes begin the week of February 3rd.

*Not a WvES Class, so cost and registration process are different.

This year, families and community members have often asked if we need supplies at our school. While we are so lucky to have EVERYTHING we need, the fact is that we are trying to operate as normal with fewer dollars. Below is a list of supplies you can donate if you'd like to help off-set some operational costs for our school. This is completely voluntary! We always appreciate what our families do to support our whole school community.

• Copy Paper (multiple sizes of packages!)
  
• Color Copy Paper (one color per ream)
  
• White Card Stock
  
• Chart Paper
  
• Unlined
• Lined
• Fine point dry erase markers
  
• 4 pack
• 12 pack
• Laminator sheets for personal laminators.
  

**We are only accepting new/unused items at this time.

Weaverville Families:

Each morning, more and more students are late for school. Each student must sign in individually, typing in either their name or their lunch number. Sometimes there are over twenty students waiting in line. Fridays are definitely the most difficult. Our front office is often supporting parents who have come by, students with medical needs, and answering phones.

Not only is it important for students to start each day on time, but it's also important that students arrive on time so that we can operate our school and front office efficiently and effectively, each morning, as planned. Having this many students waiting in a line requires another adult to sign them in because if they must type all the information in on their own, it can cause a long wait for a long line of students. They end up missing even more classroom time.

Parents, please be prepared to walk your student in from now on if they are late. You will need to park and walk them in, and you will need to help them sign in. This has actually been our policy/practice, but we have neglected to really enforce it this year.

Thank you for understanding and for making sure your child arrives to school on time each day.

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.

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.

Free Lunch Info from Lisa Payne

Do you want to know more about free lunch? I recommend every parent read through this newsletter (above) from our Child Nutrition department. You can learn how lunches are paid for, and what constitutes a whole lunch. This program depends on participation, so the more students who participate and get “free lunch” (which is at least 3 items) - the longer this program will continue. The document above has good information for parents!

Breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost to all students this school year!

We are pleased to inform you that Buncombe County Schools will be implementing a program available to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programscalled the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

What does this mean for you and your child(ren)?

Great news! All enrolled students at Buncombe County Schools are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to your household each day of the school year. Weaverville Elementary School Parents, there are no action steps for you to take at this time to participate in this program.

K-12 Prepayment will remain active allowing parents and guardians to place money on their students accounts to purchase a la carte items if they would like too. We look forward to serving your students during the 24-25 school year. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact us at Buncombe Schools Nutrition Office, 828 255-5932.

Participation matters! The more students who eat lunch and breakfast at our school increases the likelihood that this program will continue.

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.

Phone: 828-645-3127

Address: 129 South Main St., Weaverville, NC 28787

Email:

Mary Nichols - Principal (Mary.nichols@bcsemail.org)

Whitley Burleson - Administrative Intern (Whitley.burleson@bcsemail.org)

Maggie Wheeless - Counselor (Margery.Wheeless@bcsemail.org)

*Please email both office staff if you have a dismissal change.

Dawn Flanigan-Bryson - Data Manager (dawn.flanigan-bryson@bcsemail.org)

• attendance
• student information/records
• immunizations
• enrollment

Dawn Flanigan-Bryson - Head Secretary (dawn.flanigan-bryson@bcsemail.org)

• general inquiries
• money questions related to school
• bus questions