Hello Wildcat Families!

We have had a fantastic opening to the school year! Having students and staff back in the building brings a level of excitement that cannot be matched. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out for our back to school nights, especially those who came multiple times! Your involvement in your child's education does not go overlooked and it lays the foundation for a successful school year. This time of year is always busy, so please take a moment read over the details below and let me know if you have questions.

Kind regards,

Dr. Cruice

Picture day at WTE is Tuesday, September 13th. Students received a form from their teacher with ordering information. All students will have their picture taken on the 13th so that these pictures can be used in the 2022-23 yearbook.

• Tuesday, September 13th- Picture Day
• Thursday, September 22nd- PTO Meeting (7:00pm)
• Monday, September 26th- No School for Students (Teacher In-service)

It's hard to believe that this September 11th marked twenty-one years since the terrorist attacks against our great country in 2001. Thinking about the lives lost and those that were forever impacted by the loss of loved ones provides us with the opportunity to count our blessings and be grateful for the freedoms that we are afforded every single day. In remembrance of these fallen heroes, we had a school-wide moment of silence on Friday, September 9th. In addition, teachers were provided with age appropriate resources to pay tribute and educate our students on the historical impact of these devastating events.

Below are the dates for our fall season in A.S. Sports. The Boys will meet on Wednesdays (except for 10/4) and the Girls will meet on Thursdays. 4th & 5th grade will alternate the weeks that they attend. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Davis at jdavis@wcasd.net.

• 9/21 5th grade Boys
• 9/22 5th grade Girls
• 9/28 4th grade Boys
• 9/29 4th grade Girls
• *10/4 5th grade Boys
• 10/6 5th grade Girls
• 10/12 4th grade Boys
• 10/13 4th grade Girls
• 10/19 5th grade Boys
• 10/20 5th grade Girls
• 10/26 4th grade Boys
• 10/27 4th grade Girls

Per the WCASD policy on the use of smart watches, cell phones and other personal technology devices, these devices must be turned off and put away in their backpacks upon arrival to school. Students are not permitted to use these devices during the school day to text, call, record, take pictures, etc as to minimize disruptions to the learning environment. Students found to be in possession of these devices will be asked to turn them in to their teacher and returned to the student at the end of the day. Thank you for your support with this at home! The link to school board policy 237 for additional information can be found below.

Thank you to those of you who already registered for our new dismissal program, Pick Up Patrol (PUP). PUP will allow you to easily report your child's absence from school without the need to call Safe Arrival Line, and it will allow you to communicate a change in plans for your child's dismissal on any given day. The first step is to register through the link that was emailed to you. For those of you that have not registered yet, I will send out another link following this newsletter so that you will have the opportunity to do so. Check out the flyer and the PUP video below for an overview of the program.

All back to school paperwork was due August 26th. If you have not done so already, please complete the necessary documents online through the Parent Portal ASAP. If you have questions or difficulty signing into your parent portal account, please contact parentportal@wcasd.net.

WCASD Back to School Website: https://www.wcasd.net/domain/2091

Thanks to the dedication and passion of our amazing parents, we are very fortunate to have an extremely active PTO at WTE. Please visit our PTO Page to learn more about the PTO and for information on signing up for the PTBoard where you will be able to access the student directory, volunteer opportunities, and much more.

All parents are invited to attend the first PTO meeting of the year on September 22nd at 7:00 p.m. in the library at WTE. Also, check out the information below for our first fundraisers of the year, Mabel's Labels and Mums!

If you plan to drop your child off at school, drop off begins at 8:30 AM at the back hall entrance by the soccer field on the lower lot. Drop-off ends sharply at 9:00. After 9:00, students will need to enter at the main entrance. Please help us by dropping off your child prior to 9:00 at the drop off location. More detailed instructions for drop of logistics to follow.

Dismissal is at 3:40 so the busses will not depart WTE prior to that. In order to get the buses into the school lot, we begin parent pick up at 3:30. Parent pick-up occurs at the same location as morning drop-off on the lower lot by the back soccer field. For a variety of safety reasons, please do not come to school prior to 3:00. The pick-up line begins at the flag pole. Please do not pull all the way up to the gate as there may be students outside. Staff will be there to help direct traffic once we open the gate.

Grade levels will eat together in the lunchroom. Students may bring or buy lunch. Please note that breakfast (served 8:30 to 9:00 each day) and lunch are no longer free to all students. Students wishing to purchase food will do so from their account. Parents may load money to their child’s account through PayPal in Parent Portal Instructions for funding child's lunch acct. When making purchases, students will enter their student ID number, which can be found in Parent Portal. It might be a good idea to practice that with your child prior to school starting. 2022/23 menus will be updated prior to the start of school at this site: WCASD Meal Menus. Visual of our keypad: Lunchroom Keypad for practice

The National School Lunch Program application for the 2022-23 school year is now available online. For information regarding the program, visit the WCASD website at https://www.wcasd.net/Page/6842. Contact our school caseworker with any questions or for assistance with the application.

WTE Caseworker: Mrs. Beata Starr - bstarr@wcasd.net

• Apply for the NSLP online at https://www.schoolcafe.com
  

  Aplicar en linea en https://www.schoolcafe.com

  
  

  
  

The West Chester Area School District has a tradition of offering high-quality extra-curricular programs for students. To support the costs of these programs, an Activity Fee is applied to extra-curricular programs supervised by a contracted coach, advisor, or director. This yearly fee allows a student to participate in one or multiple funded activities, and the maximum amount a family may pay per year is $250. At the elementary level, the activities that require payment of an activity fee for the year are intramurals, chorus, orchestra, and band. Please see the attached letter for additional details and payment information. Payment should not be made until your son or daughter is rostered for the given activity during the school year.

Over the course of the school year, we hope to have many opportunities for parents to volunteer in our school. In order to do so, volunteers must have current clearances on file in the WTE office. Clearances can take some time to get back so please take the time now to get your clearances and submit them to Kelly Patterson (kpatterson1@wcasd.net) in the front office. Information on how to obtain clearances can be found on the district website.

PA State school health mandated immunization, physical and dental requirements for 22-23 school year:

1. All students are required to be up to date with PA state mandated immunizations within the first 5 days of school in order to avoid being excluded from school.
2. All kindergarten students and any student registering for the first time to WTE must submit updated physical and dental examination report to the school nurse within the first 60 days of school in order to avoid being excluded from school. Reports can be dated in/after September 2021.

**Kindergarten through 5th grade students must receive:

• 4 dtap (diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis) with the last dose given after the child’s 4th birthday
• 4 IPV (polio) with the last dose given after the child’s 4th birthday
• 3 Hepatitis B
• 2 Varicella (chicken pox)
• 2 MMR (measles/mumps/rubella)

If you have questions about these requirements, please contact Mrs. Wallace at kwallace@wcasd.net.

If you registered your child(ren) through WCASD portal and did not upload all or part of the above PA state school health mandates, please send the information to our school nurse, Mrs. Kellie Wallace at the above email address as soon as possible.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this very important notice.