WZES Family Newsletter

September, 2024

Hello, Bulldog Families!

It is already September, and our first quarter progress reports are coming up very soon. If you missed meeting with your teacher(s) on Open House, a parent conference can be scheduled to make plans for a successful school year.

If you are changing afternoon transportation, please use this link before 3:15 p.m. It is also available on the WZES website. This form helps us ensure your child's safety with any changes.

https://wzes.pasco.k12.fl.us/mform/view.php?id=18826

Mrs. Twardosz, Ms. Purcell, Mrs. Allen

Upcoming Events

September 10 ~ Texas Roadhouse Fundraiser

September 11 ~ Lunch and Learn - 3rd Grade Reading

September 13 ~ All Pro Dad

September 16 ~ Build-A-Buddy Fundraiser begins...

September 20 ~ Health Screenings; Progress Reports published to Parent Portal

September 23 ~ Gallup Student Poll opens

Texas Roadhouse Fundraiser

Birthday Marquis Fundraiser

Complete this form to have a birthday shout-out!

Please submit this form two weeks in advance of when you want the message displayed. You can pay the fee online in your child's MyStudent Account or in the front office of the school. Last minute requests may not be able to be displayed.

If your child's birthday falls on a weekend, your child's name will be displayed the week prior on the Marquee.

The money earned from the Birthday Marquee goes toward students and staff recognition.

There are several ways you can pay for the birthday marquee:
The easiest way is to Log into your MyStudent Parent Portal account and choose “Pay Student Fees.” This will take you to Student Quick Pay sign in page, which can also be accessed directly by going to studentquickpay.com If you have connected your Parent Portal account when you log in you will see a tile that you can choose to pay for the Birthday Marquee. If you don’t see West Zephyrhills Elementary fees you may still need to connect your account. Log out of Student Quick Pay and follow the tile under the Student Quick Pay sign-in that says Activate Parent Account.
You may also pay with cash in the front office during office hours.

All Pro Dad

Our first meeting is Friday, September 13th at 9:00 a.m.

We are excited to have another year of All Pro Dads. All Pro Dad Chapters provide an opportunity for dads to spend quality time with their children before school to strengthen their relationship. One day a month, other dads and their kids meet together and walk through different topics that invoke meaningful conversations.

Behavior Expectations

We know that providing a safe and secure learning environment for our students is essential to their success. We need your support to reinforce the student rules of conduct. It is important that students understand we are committed to providing a quality education in a safe setting for all students. Please review the Student Code of Conduct

Cafeteria and Classroom Expectations

Two locations that we are working on improving this month are the cafeteria and the classroom. We are focused on respect and responsibility for all actions at school. Thank you for your help in reinforcing these positive behaviors.

Cell Phone Policy

For all Pasco County Schools ~ Grades Pre-K through 5:

Students in grades Pre-K through 5 who bring WCDs (wireless communication devices) to school must ensure that they remain on silent mode and completely out of view for the entire school day. Students must put their cell phones on silent and their smartwatches in their bookbags once they arrive on campus each day. Please discuss that cell phones MUST be on SILENT and put away during the ENTIRE school day- no exceptions. Refer to pg. 32 of the Student Code of Conduct for more details and corrective actions/confiscation of device procedures.

Race to Read Challenge

Important Arrival and Dismissal Information

School Buses

Bus passes are posted in myStudent. The Transportation Call Center is open for bus pass questions during normal business hours. The phone number is (813) 320-2562.

Student Drop Off and Pick Up Car Line

The car dismissal tag should be displayed in the front window. Students will not be loaded without a dismissal tag. Parents without a tag must drive up to the front office parking and go inside the office to show identification for pickup. The car line begins on 14th Avenue and has been going more quickly.

Walker Gate

The walker gate must be used for walkers only. Safety is the most critical priority. We must check walker tags and connect the student with the correct adult for pickup. Students will not be dismissed without a walker dismissal tag. Self-walker tags are available in the office.

Where's the Bus?

Pasco County Schools

Pasco County Schools Website

pasco.k12.fl.us

Science Instructional Materials

The Pasco County School District is participating in a full-scale K-12 adoption of Science instructional materials aligned to the Florida’s State Academic Standards for Science. Pasco County Schools invites interested parents/guardians to be part of the narrowing team, which serves to review and narrow the materials submitted by publishers during the adoption process. To submit your interest for an opportunity to serve on the narrowing team, please complete this form. There is an 8-10 evening commitment for this work. A detailed list of courses to be reviewed, dates, and times of narrowing team commitments are available on the instructional materials adoption website. The deadline to submit your interest is September 20, 2024. Parents/guardians selected through the randomized screening process will be notified by October 7 via email. We appreciate your partnership in this very important work.

Success Starts with Great Attendance

Dress Code

Parent Portal

It is very important that you have access to your child's Parent Portal. This is where you will be able to view your child's Progress Reports and Report Cards, test results, and bus passes.

If you need help creating or logging in to your account, please see the resources available at https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/parents.

Free Breakfast and Lunch

Cafeteria Menu

Have complete access to your school's cafeteria menu right from your computer or smartphone. Click this link, or download the mobile app, to view/print your Café's Menu, monitor food allergies, and calculate critical nutritional information such as counting carbohydrates.

MealViewer allows you to customize your food service experience by allowing you to mark your favorite entrees and it will notify you when it's on the menu so you don't miss it! Once you create a User Profile account the site will store your school(s), allergen information, and favorite entrees. You can save multiple schools to your account if you have more than one child attending different grade levels. By saving allergens to your profile, parents and students will be alerted when an allergen is present on the menu. This cuts down on uncertainty and potentially dangerous situations for each of our students.

Family Engagement Tips

Respect and Civility Statement

The education of a child happens only through a partnership between the student, School and District personnel, parent(s) or guardian(s), and the community. Partnership is an active state that includes sharing responsibilities, having meaningful communication, and welcoming participation. People will not always agree, and that can make partnerships difficult. Partnerships are most powerful when we agree on how to disagree. All stakeholders must remain civil in their discourse. The purpose of this policy is to provide rules of conduct for students, employees, parents, and visiting members of the public which permit and encourage effective communication between all stakeholders, while at the same time enabling the Board to identify and deal with those behaviors that are inappropriate and disruptive to the operation of a school or other District facility. It is not the intent of the Board to deprive any person of his/her right to freedom of expression, and nothing contained in this policy is intended to restrict or chill an individual's free speech rights as determined by the forum in which the speech occurs. Public participation at school board meetings shall continue to be governed by Board Policy 0169.1 - Public Participation at School Board Meetings.

(F.S. 1001.41(2), 1006.145, 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq., 29 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 29 U.S.C. 794 et seq., 41 U.S.C. 1983, Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000 et seq., 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq)