Worthington Hills Weekly Update

Worthington Hills Families,

Thank you to all of the families who supported Hawkeye Hero Day! From volunteers to donations, to making sure your kiddo was on time to school today - THANK YOU! I hope you hear me say this often (not sure I can ever say it often enough) but our PTA is simply AMAZING! Shout out to Dr. Nicole Bernal for her work on this event along with our PTA Board and everyone who helped with this day. Students had FUN during the activities and there were smiles and laughter all around.

At last count we made our goal of $27,000 and raised $31,224.49 for our school! Your efforts in supporting the students and staff of Worthington Hills is exceptional. We are so lucky to have such super generous community. Thank you for ALL you do!

Please be sure you have signed up for Parent/Teacher Conferences!

Make it a great weekend!

Warmly,

Tiena Miller

Principal

tmiller1@wscloud.org

The Hawkeye Hero Assembly Day and giveaways will be on October 1st. Prizes this year will include OSU football tickets, Crew tickets, Blue Jackets tickets, ZipZone Adventure Park entries, and more!

Every year a parent or guardian must confirm or update your child’s emergency information, give permission for field trips, tech usage and the release of directory information. This process is also how you can make changes to other information on the data sheets.

Please log into “Portal Login” and update your emergency data information for your family. If you have any problems logging in, you can use the password recovery link. And as always, feel free to reach out to us.

Your quick attention to this matter is greatly appreciated!!

In October we will hold our Parent Teacher Conferences. This is a chance to meet with your child's homeroom teacher to hear about their academic and social emotional progress so far this year. Our goal is to meet with 100% of our families. I know we can do it!

This year, we are using a new platform to streamline Parent/Teacher Conference sign up for you - it's called, PTCfast.

Tips for using PTCfast:

If you have multiple children, you can click on the box next to all of the teachers of your children - so that you can see all of those teachers schedules side by side, making it easier to better manage your time!

• Third Grade- sign up with your child's homeroom teacher only. The other teacher will join in!

• Fourth Grade - please only schedule one conference with your child's homeroom teacher. Teachers have collaborated and will be able share about subjects they don't teach as well.

• Fifth Grade (Ms. Miranda & Mrs. Weiser) - please only schedule one conference with your child's homeroom teacher. Teachers have collaborated and will be able share about subjects they don't teach as well.

• Fifth Grade (Ms. Bailey & Mrs. Freeman) - Please sign up for whichever teacher you have the most questions/concerns. If you have no questions or concerns please sign up with your child's homeroom teacher. If you have already been contacted by us about conferences, no need to sign up on PTCfast

PTCfast Schedule Link

If you have any questions about signing up or need assistance please email Mrs. Neville at eneville@wscloud.org or call 614-450-4700.

In an effort to increase student safety during dismissal, we are asking all adults waiting for walkers in the afternoon to wait behind the blue line that is painted on the ground out front.

We appreciate your cooperation as we work daily to keep students safe!

A portion of every sale will be donated to the Worthington PTA Council (PTAC).

PTAC is comprised of representatives from parent groups of each school in the Worthington School District.

*NEW THIS YEAR: SPONSOR A BUS DRIVER*

You can buy a tee for a Worthington Bus Driver! Worthington PTAC also receives a $5 donation from the sale of each Bus Driver tee.

The sale is open until Thursday, 10/3/24.

Orders will be complete the week of 10/21/24.

PTAC Spirit Wear Link

The yearbook art contest starts Monday, September 30 and ends on October 13th. Students can come to the office and a worksheet to submit their work on!

The safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community are always our top priorities in Worthington Schools. Research and experience show that when students and staff are well-prepared through knowledge and practice, they can respond effectively to emergency situations. This is why we continuously engage in safety routines, drills, and learning to support the safety of everyone in our schools.

Historically, our schools have participated in several important safety drills:

• Fire Drills: These drills teach students and staff how to report fire hazards and safely evacuate the building using multiple exits.

• Weather Drills: These drills help everyone stay calm and safe during weather-related events, such as tornadoes, by identifying and using sheltered spaces within the building.

• Lock-Down Drills: These drills prepare us for situations where free movement within the school is restricted due to external disturbances or unauthorized visitors. They involve securing the school perimeter, classrooms, and common areas to keep everyone safe.

• Rally-Point Drills: These drills focus on safely exiting the building in cases of emergencies like a gas leak or unsafe visitor, and moving to a predetermined safe space away from the school.

In addition to these drills, Ohio law requires public schools to conduct a "Full Scale" Safety Drill every three years. This comprehensive drill combines elements of the previously practiced drills and includes a controlled classroom lockdown, as well as a simulated evacuation to move students away from the building in the event of danger.

Staff has been trained in the ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) emergency response model, which includes additional countermeasures during a lockdown to facilitate a safe evacuation to a Rally Point. In the event of an emergency requiring relocation, students would be transported to a designated "reunification" location, with the Worthington Education Center (WEC) being our primary consideration.

In October, we will provide instructions and practice opportunities for students across our schools to prepare for a Full Scale Safety Drill. By being well-prepared for unplanned interruptions, we aim to build confidence and ensure the ultimate safety of our students. We know that when students feel safe and understand safety protocols, they can better focus on their learning.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in keeping our schools safe.

The PTA needs your help. Please consider volunteering for the following:

Library Volunteering:

Mrs. Steele needs help shelving books on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for an hour, at most.

Please sign up here:

https://bit.ly/wheslibraryvolunteer2425

Please contact Karli Hill (karli.hill22@gmail.com) with any questions related to Library volunteering.

Worthington Hills Elementary is looking for volunteers to build reading skills with kindergarten students. Even if you only have 30 minutes a week, our kindergarten students would love to welcome you! Read below for more information and click HERE or on the flyer to register. Following registration, a program coordinator from our school will be in touch with more information.

This serves as a reminder that there may be some students in your child’s school who have peanut and/or tree nut allergies. As the safety of our children is paramount to all, we need your support to make our cafeteria “nut free”. A child with a nut allergy can suffer a serious reaction merely by touching a food containing a peanut or tree nut. Therefore, we ask that you adhere to the following safety guidelines:

• Please do not send in any peanuts, peanut butter or foods containing peanuts or peanut butter to be eaten during lunch.

• Read ingredient labels carefully to ensure that the snacks sent in with your child are peanut and tree nut-free.

Please do not hesitate to contact our Health Office Assistant, Liz Martin, RN @ lmartin@wscloud.org or our School Nurse, Beth Laflumboise RN @ elaflumboise@wscloud.org with any questions or concerns about food allergies. They can also be reached at 614-450-4015.

If your child has a change in dismissal - we need to know! Please use the form below or email your child's teacher and our office staff so we can ensure they are where they need to be at dismissal.

Erin Neville - eneville@wscloud.org

Linda Watts - lwatts@wscloud.org

Lori Kallas - lkallas@wscloud.org

Dismissal Changes Form

Here are some guidelines for when to keep your child home from school:

The protocol for management of communicable disease in Worthington City Schools is based upon the Ohio Department of Health’s guidelines and recommendations. Your child is too ill to go to school if any of the following symptoms are present:

● Temperature of 100 F or above by mouth (Student must stay home until fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication. In most cases this means the student will miss the following school day. Please understand fevers can reoccur within a 24 hour time period and this policy is in the best interest of all students.)

● Vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours (Student must stay home for 24 hours to ensure these symptoms are gone before returning to school.)

● Shortness of breath or increased wheezing during normal activity

● Has a cough that interrupts normal activity

● Pain from an earache, headache, sore throat or recent injury

● Has yellow or green drainage from nose or eye(s)

● Rash over body or localized to one area of the body (A student who shows signs of a communicable disease exhibiting as a rash may return to school once the rash is gone or a doctor’s note is presented stating the student may return to school.)

● Fatigue that requires bed rest (common with flu-like symptoms)

● Signs of conjunctivitis such as red, crusty or swollen eyes (Student may return once symptoms have been treated and are gone or a doctor’s note is presented stating the student may return to school .)

If your child is ill, please do not send them to school to be checked by the school nurse. Such exposure may be harmful to the child as well as to the children with whom they come in contact. Please report all contagious diseases to the school office in order that the proper steps may be taken within the school to prevent the spread of disease. If your child becomes ill, or is injured at school, you will be called and expected to come to school to pick-up the child. We will be guided by information on the “Health Services” portion of your student’s Online Registration Summary. You are asked to supply that information on or before the start of school. If there are ever any changes to this information during the school year, please notify the school office immediately and make those changes online.

Please click here to learn about lice protocols. Please note that Worthington Hills appropriately handles lice cases as outlined in the link above. For more information on head lice visit:

ODH Brochure

CDC

KidsHealth.org

Arrival occurs between 7:55am and 8:10am. The tardy bell rings at 8:10am and classes will begin promptly at 8:10 am

Dismissal is at 2:50 pm

Want information about PTA meetings and other PTA sponsored events?

• Sign up at Givebacks, the hub for all PTA things. There is no fee to sign up to receive information on events, meetings, and volunteer opportunities. The link to sign up is https://wohills.givebacks.com/join/fc83d8
• Join our Facebook Group. You can find it by searching for Worthington Hills PTA or click on the link below. Please make sure to answer the questions for approval. https://www.facebook.com/groups/141468395941390
• Check out our PTA page on the school district page, or click on the link below. There you will find meeting minutes, who your board members are, and how to get in touch with us. https://hills.worthington.k12.oh.us/studentsparents/departments

Looking for ways to support the PTA?

• Become a voting member of the PTA. Your donation of $10 allows you to have a vote at the PTA meeting as well as give to the PTA fund for school programming, school events, and curriculum needs. Click on the link below to become a voting member: https://wohills.givebacks.com/store
• Attend the monthly PTA meetings. Your input is crucial to the success of our school community. See ways to access the calendar above.

• Volunteer at PTA events. Volunteers are what make our PTA such a success. See links above for upcoming volunteer opportunities.
• Join one of our many committees to help plan PTA events for students and staff.
• Email Janet Glazier (jglazier928@gmail.com) for a list of committees.

How do I contact the PTA committee chairs or the board?

Please send an email to worthingtonhillspta@gmail.com, or jglazier928@gmail.com.

10/1 - Hawkeye Hero Prize Assembly

10/1 - Ready for Reading Training @ 3:30 in the library

10/14 - 10/17 - Parent Teacher Conference week

10/18 - No School (In Lieu of Parent/Teacher Conferences)

10/23 - Picture make up day

10/23 - PTA Meeting @ 6:30 pm

10/31 - Halloween Parties & Parade (more info. to come!)

11/5 - No School (Teacher Work Day)

11/27 - 11/29 - No school (Thanksgiving Break)