Hello Wildcat Families!

Thank you to all who participated in our Wildcats Give Back Extravaganza!! We collected loads of Halloween candy and personal hygiene items for the Coatesville VA. Mrs. Wilson delivered these items personally to the VA and they were very grateful for the contributions. The Thanksgiving food collection was equally successful in collecting items for the St. Agnes Day Room. The generosity of our WTE community is overwhelming!

In this newsletter you will find two additional ways to give back during this holiday season. One opportunity is through our CHOP fundraiser and the other is through the WTE Giving Tree. Please know that although your generosity is greatly appreciated, there is no expectation to participate in any or all of these philanthropic events. We are also providing students with opportunities to participate that don't involve financial donations.

With parent-teacher conferences this week, the students have a half-day on Monday and Tuesday. Dismissal on half-days is at noon. Please be sure to indicate any changes to your child's regular dismissal in the Pick-Up Patrol app on these days. If you are having difficulty with the PUP app, please contact the office to notify us of the change. School is closed 11/23 - 11/25 for Thanksgiving.

Important Dates Coming Up:

11/21 - Half-Day for Students/Parent Conferences in the afternoon/Book Fair

11/22 - Half-Day for Students/Parent Conferences in the afternoon and evening/Book Fair

11/23 - No School for Students/Parent Conferences in the morning

11/24-11/25 - No School for Students & Staff

11/30 - End of 1st trimester

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Dr. Cruice

Congratulations to Mrs. Juliano and our 5th grade chorus on three successful concerts!! The food-themed concert tied in with our food collection drive for the St. Agnes Day Room made the concert that much more special. The students looked great in their costumes and their singing was terrific. Thank you Mrs. Juliano for your hard work and leadership which created a fun event for all!

For many people holidays can be very difficult. With the help of our school community, we would like to bring the joy of the holidays to our students and families. On Monday, 11/21, we will begin our Giving Tree Fundraiser. Our Giving Tree is located in the front lobby and families and staff are invited to participate if able. By selecting an ornament, you will be helping our disadvantaged families celebrate the season. Feel free to select an ornament from the tree on your way out of parent-teacher conferences. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

The Scholastic book fair will continue to be open during parent-teacher conferences for any parents/guardians that are still hoping to shop or purchase books. More information can be found here. https://www.scholastic.com/bf/westtownthornburyeschool1

On December 2nd, we will be having a schoolwide pajama day, in support of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. All students will be invited to wear pajamas and bring in an optional donation to help raise money for the children and families cared for at CHOP. Donations can be made through the link or QR code below. Please see the attached letter for more information. Thank you in advance for your generosity and thank you to first grade teacher, Mrs. Shopf, for organizing this event.

Thank you to our 40 veteran guests that allowed us to recognize and honor them for their sacrifices and service to our country during our Veterans Day assembly on November 11th. After refreshments in the cafeteria with their student hosts, the veterans were led by our boy scouts and girl scouts through the halls down to the gym. As they processed, the kindergarten classes lined the halls and waved flags in honor of our guests. During the assembly each grade performed a patriotic song for the veterans and each veteran was honored individually. After the assembly the veterans were led back to the cafeteria by our 3rd grade Brownie troop where they took a group picture and said their goodbyes. Thank you to Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Barcusky, Mrs. Dempsey, Mrs. Poulos, Mrs. Lepka, Mr. Davis, Mrs. Juliano and Mrs. Shaw for their help in preparing and participating in the event. Finally, thank you to Dana Gaffney and Lauren Coffey for capturing the morning with pictures and creating a video that can be viewed via the link below.

Congratulations to all of our power paw winners pictured below from the last two weeks. These students were selected by their teachers for best representing what it means to be a wildcat by going above and beyond to be safe, respectful, responsible and kind. Great job students!

The Special Education and Pupil Services department will be holding four evening sessions this year for parents. Please see the attached flyers for details. One flyer lists all four sessions and the other is for our first session on October 20th.

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.