Dear Journey Families,

As I write this, the floors are getting waxed, paint is being touched up, and boxes full of curriculum and materials are stacked along every wall! In just a few weeks, we will be ready to welcome your children- can't wait to have them back in the building again!

As we prepare for another wonderful year at Journey, please make sure to read through all of the emails and announcements that will be coming your way. We will be sharing detailed information about Meet the Teacher Night, Kindergarten Orientation Week, arrival and dismissal, etc. and don't want you to miss any important communication. Please also remember to log in using our new Focus student information system which will be the WSD's one stop shop for all things school-related. If you still need it, information on Focus can be found using this link. And, if you hope to volunteer in the classroom, chaperone field day, or participate in events like Field Day, it's not too early to start working on the process to become an approved volunteer in the district. If you've already gone through the approval process, please note that the volunteer registration form does need to be completed every year so that we can run a current background check.

In partnership,

Emily Dittmer

August 2- The Parent Portal Opens, teacher assignments will be available to view

August 2- Teacher Welcome letters are emailed home

August 9- Teacher Assignments sent

August 14- Meet the Teacher Night 5-7pm

August 19- First Day of School

• The Wentzville School District has transitioned to a new student information system called “Focus” this school year. Please check out this link to update your contact/emergency information in Focus, register kindergarteners/new students, and to access Focus tutorials. Eventually, families will be able to use Focus for student attendance, grades, report cards, cafeteria balances, and required forms. Consider adding the Wentzville Schools Focus app and Wentzville School District app to your phone!

Here is the link to Journey School Supply Lists. Please note lists vary by grade.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bV8J55h3SeRibu-x5omAlaOdwqWk1dxMUuduUNmI6e8/edit#heading=h.qjt002gmkjup

If your child will need to take prescription or non-prescription medication during the school day, please visit Nurse Paula on Meet the Teacher Night. Here is a link to the forms that must be filled out annually in order for us to administer medication at school. If you have any questions regarding medication or health services, our nurse’s email is paulamorrisey@wsdr4.org

Please see the attached PDF about accessing your student's Google account.

Visitors:

• Eat lunch with your child
• Attend a class party
• Attend assemblies
• Be a guest speaker

How can you participate as a visitor?

Visitors can show up on the day of the event/activity/lunch and check in to our buildings using Raptor, a visitor management system designed to assist with building security. Part of keeping students and staff safe is knowing who is in our building at all times.

• When you arrive in a WSD building as a visitor, you will be asked to scan your ID and complete the management system’s check-in process.
• Raptor will screen the information against sex offender databases and locally customized lists of banned or potentially threatening individuals, instantly alert school officials to a threatening presence, and maintain a searchable log of all visitors.
• Once approved, you will get a customized visitor badge to wear while in the building.

Thank you for your support of our enhanced school safety protocols!

Volunteers:

• Work with students individually or in small groups under the supervision of the teacher or staff member
• Work inside the school, assisting staff with projects (PTA/PTO Officers, etc.)
• Work/organize field day activities
• Be a room parent, organize class parties
• Attend field trips - work with students individually or in small groups under the supervision of the teacher or staff member

How can you participate as a volunteer?

• Volunteers must register with the Family Care Safety Registry (FCSR). It provides a more extensive background check than our Raptor system, and is needed for volunteers who spend more individual time with students than our visitors.
• One-time, lifetime fee of $15.25. It is the responsibility of the volunteer to cover this one-time, lifetime fee. The online registration process can be found at FCSR-BSEES - MO.gov. (NOTE: This registration process CANNOT be completed on a mobile browser/device.)
• Once FCSR online registration is complete, you must submit a paper WSD Volunteer Registration Form A and B to the school office. When you arrive in a WSD building to turn in your forms, you will be asked to scan your ID and complete the Raptor visitor management system’s process as part of your volunteer registration. If you send your forms in to school with your child, or send them to the school office via email, please include a copy of your valid personal ID.
• Your approved volunteer status is accessible district-wide; you only need to turn in your forms to one WSD school.
  
• A new WSD Volunteer Registration form will be required each school year to run a current background screening if you would like to participate in volunteer opportunities.

Please note, the wait time for the FCSR Registration to be processed and for the District to be notified can be up to four weeks. We recommend completing this process as early as possible.

For complete information on volunteering in WSD schools, please visit the District website.

Summer Reading Program

Summer is the perfect time to get your students reading as it helps curb not only the “summer slide”, but also keeps them engaged in productive fun! To get them extra motivated to read this summer students will be able to participate in one or both of the summer reading programs offered at Journey!

Every year at Journey students are given the opportunity to complete a Summer Reading BINGO. These BINGO sheets (K-2 sheet, 3-5 sheet) have students participating in reading, STEM activities, acts of service, and outdoor fun! If a student completes five activities in a row, they will receive a prize from the prize chest and twenty house points. If they complete ten activities they will earn a prize bundle, fifty house points, and an entry to our grand prize drawing. Complete all twenty five activities and students will receive the prize bundle, a mini stuffed animal, a free book,100 house points and six entries to our grand prize drawing! Bonus entries to our drawing are given for every picture of you completing a BINGO item that you tag @MrsBlecherWSD on Twitter or send to Mrs. Blecher via her email: christineblecher@wsdr4.org.

If you would like to know how to access any of the services mentioned in the BINGO check out this sheet for more information. (Note there is an additional link within the document explaining our partnership with the Saint Charles City-County Library and SORA) Students can begin on their board on Friday May 31st and will need to be turned in at Meet the Teacher, August 14th, night or by the end of the second week of school.

We have an incredible public library and they too are also offering a summer reading program. Students that participate will receive prizes from the public library for completing tasks on their boards. Check out their website for more information!

Any student that completes the public library summer reading program will also be entered in a drawing to win a bonus prize of $20 to our first book fair of the year.

Show Me Award and Mark Twain Award Information

If you noticed on your BINGO sheet there is a box for your student to read either a Show Me nominee (for incoming Kindergarten-third grade students) or a Mark Twain Nominee (for incoming 4th-5th grade students). These books will be on display at the public library, but here is a link to the list of all the state award nominees as well. We highly encourage our incoming 4th and 5th grade students to read Mark Twain Award nominees as not only can they earn their way to our Mark Twain awards party, but we also need them to join our Battle of the Books team in the fall. We would love to have more than 10 students commit to the team so that we can continue our participation in our district competition. So please encourage them to both read and join us this fall. Here is more information on the Mark Twain nominees, how to earn our party, and what Battle of the Books is and how to join.

House Leader Information

House Leader and Intern Application to share on Facebook

Emily Dittmer-Principal

emilydittmer@wsdr4.org

Liz Herbert-Assistant Principal

elizabethherbert@wsdr4.org

Journey Elementary

2000 Interstate Drive

Wentzville, MO 63385

636-445-5190