WSTA NEWS

I hope you all enjoy this Winter/Spring edition of WSTA News. We are ending our third quarter and the end of the school year will be here before you know it. This newsletter contains a lot of important information to review as we approach the the fourth grading period. Please mark your calendars, take notes, and plan accordingly.

Before we get to the news, on behalf of the WSTA staff, I would like to wish Ms. Browne well as she prepares to leave WSTA. Her last day serving our families will be this Friday. We wish her the best as she begins her new journey.

Congratulations are in order for Ms. Lanelle Sutton for being selected as the 2025 WSTA Teacher of the Year! Ms. Sutton is a veteran educator with over 25 years of teaching experience. While currently teaching 7th grade ELA and Social Studies, Ms. Sutton is also assisting this semester in 6th grade as well. We thank her for all she does to make WSTA great and wish her well as she enters the district competition.

Place your orders now for your WSTA SWAG. You may order your long-sleeve and/or short-sleeve shirt now to show your WSTA pride. The sale ends on Wednesday, March 12th.

Place your orders as follows.

Mrs. Ruhl will receipt 11th & 12th

Mrs. Coates will receipt 8th, 9th & 10th and WSTA staff

Ms. Sutton will receipt 7th

Ms. Wolfe will receipt 6th

The third grading period will end on Friday, March 14th. All students should have received an interim progress report from their teachers in February. If you have any questions about your child's progress, please contact the teachers. Report cards are tentatively scheduled to go home on Friday, March 21st.

Originally, March 17th was a Staff Workday. Due to the February closures caused by icy weather, this day has now been converted to a regular student day. Please plan accordingly.

Next week, we will begin to transition our middle school classes to the modular unit. This new space for our students will get a test drive this week when we administer the ACT. More information will be shared with specific grade levels next week.

Below you will find the presentation that is currently displaying for students in our entryway. You will find yearbook information, our fall Honor Roll and Principal's Lists, and additional upcoming events for March and April. Enjoy!

We are currently working now to finalize our spring exam schedule. Please mark your calendars for the dates below.

• Exams for high school students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) Courses will take place from May 5th - May 16th. Please note the AP Exams do not count towards a students final grade in the class. However passing the AP exam (with a score of 3, 4, or 5) will result in college credit. Students enrolled in AP Courses will still take a final exam that counts for 20% of their final grade.
• End of Grade Testing for students in grades 6 - 8 will take place from May 23rd - June 6th.
• Final exams and End of Course Tests for high school students will be administered June 2nd - June 6th. High school final exams count for 20% of a students final grade.

A more detailed testing plan will be shared with families when it is available.

The National Anthem is played on base at 4:30 pm and then we begin the dismissal process with student drivers, walkers and bike riders. Our dismissal time is officially 4:40 pm and all students are dismissed by that time. We kindly ask if you are signing a student out early, this should be done by 4:20 pm. After that time, parents should report to the car rider lot on Cannon St. Additionally, if your student is a car rider, please make every effort to be on campus by 4:50 pm.

The responsibility to appropriately supervise our students and keep them safe is one we do not take lightly. In order to do our jobs effectively, it is imperative that students follow our directions all day, every day. It is best when students hear the same message from those that are responsible for them. We need parents to support the directions we give students and to follow them as well. Our children are watching. When you come to the car rider line, please be patient and drive at a reasonable speed so as not to jeopardize the safety of others. Pick your children up from the designated spaces so they can be properly monitored until you arrive. The library is not a place for students to go to avoid following our procedures. Please do not encourage this behavior. We have a process that has been agreed on by the base for ALL parents of afternoon car riders to pick students up from a designated place. ALL PARENTS should park in the lot of Cannon St. to pick up your children. The WSTA staff has worked this plan out to a science and the entire process takes less than 10 minutes...from the time car riders are released to the last car leaves. Whenever directions are not clear or are different for some students, it makes things more difficult for those of us tasked with keeping all of our students safe. Please do not ask your children to walk to meet you in other parking lots. The safety and supervision of all of our students is our goal. I hope it is your goal as well. Thank you for your support.

All students enrolled in Wayne County Public Schools must comply with the behavioral expectations as outlined in WCPS Board Policy 4300. This code applies to any student who is on school property, who is in attendance at school or at any school-sponsored activity, or whose conduct at any time, place, or cyberspace, on or off campus, has or is reasonably expected to have a direct and immediate impact on the orderly and efficient operation of the schools or the safety of individuals in the school environment.

Additionally, students enrolled at WSTA have an extra layer when it comes to expected behavior because of the nature of our school and the federal installation on which we exist. Parents, please take the time to review the Student Code of Conduct again with your child as we move through the remainder of the school year.

Please take a minute to review the cell phone policy with your child. Students are permitted to possess such devices on school property so long as the devices are not activated, used, displayed or visible during the instructional day or as otherwise directed by school rules or school personnel. This means students should not be carrying around their cell phones in their pockets or going to the bathroom to make calls or send text message.

Parents who need to reach their child during the school day due to an emergency or other valid reason should call the school’s main office rather than attempting to contact their child on his/her cellular phone or other electronic devices.

If a student is seen on their phone, their phone is to be confiscated by the staff member and turned into the office. We reset our consequences at the beginning of the semester. Please review them below with your child.

• 1st offense: Confiscation, Administrative Conference with Student, and Parent Notification

• 2nd Offense: Confiscation and Parent will have to pick up from school

• 3rd Offense: 1 day of ISS

• 4th Offense: 1 day of OSS

• 5th Offense: 2 days of OSS

Parents and student are asked to review the Dress Code Policy from Wayne County Public Schools. It is Board Policy 4305. A few frequent issues we have with dress code are below. Please take the time to read the entire policy.

• Shorts, skirts, and dresses must be fingertip length or reaching mid-thigh.

• Shirts, tops, and dresses must cover the top of the shoulder with at least a two-inch wide strap.

• No sagging pants allowed.

• There will be no hats, hoods or headgear inside the building.

• Pajama pants should not be worn to school.

Here are a few reminders about the school attendance policy. Students should attend school as scheduled in the school calendar unless absent for lawful reasons.

• Students should be on time and remain until dismissed.

• Period attendance is taken each day.

• A student must be present for ½ the class in order to be marked present for the class.

• A written excuse is needed if a student is absent, tardy or leaves early.

• Students have 3 days to submit notes for absences and/or tardies.

Students with more than 6 unexcused absences in a semester course are in jeopardy of not receiving credit for the course.

An absence may be excused for the following reasons:

• Personal illness or injury

• Isolation ordered by the local health officer

• Death in the immediate family

• Medical or dental appointment

• Attendance at court proceedings if party or subpoenaed

• Educational opportunity (prior principal approval needed)

• Pregnancy and related conditions

Thursday, March 13, 2025

• ACT - All Juniors

Friday, March 14, 2025

• End of 3rd Grading Period

Monday, March 17, 2025

• Regular Student Day

Friday, March 21, 2025

• Report Card Day

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

• UNC-W Field Trip - Juniors

April 7 - 11, 2025

• Purple-Up Spirit Week

Friday, April 11, 2025

• Purple-Up Day
• Progress Reports

April 18 - 25, 2025

• Spring Break

Friday, May 2, 2025

• Wings Over Wayne

Saturday, May 10, 2025

• Prom Day

Monday, May 26, 2025

• Memorial Day Holiday

Monday, June 9, 2025

• Graduation Day