Hello Wildcat families, and Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable break. It's always nice to have some down time, connect with family and friends, and have time to get to all the things that are difficult to squeeze in during regular weeks.

That said, we're excited to have kids back tomorrow for the 3rd Quarter!

We have some new (all returning, really) faces at Western Valley Elementary this quarter. Ms. Vanessa Lopez will be taking over Mr. Palomares's class in 2nd grade. Ms. Lopez worked with Mr. Palomares for the first semester, learning from his many years of experience when he started the year with us as a long-term sub. We look forward to seeing Mr. Palomares around campus as a substitute teacher, and are excited to have Ms. Lopez take over the class! Ms. Hastings will be helping us out in the class Ms. Castillo taught, until we can find the right teacher to replace Ms. Castillo. We will miss her, but wish Ms. Castillo all the best in her new adventure. Ms. Hastings is a retired teacher who is familiar with our school and our students, and has helped us out in the past. We look forward to welcoming Ms. Hastings back to WVE! Our long-time lead custodian, Mr. Nijaz, retired in December, after 19 years at Western Valley. Our amazing Wildcat students and staff gave him a sendoff to remember, and we appreciate his many years with us. Mr. Joshua Reyes is our new lead custodian, who was able to learn from Mr. Nijaz the last week in December. Mr. Joshua worked for FESD for many years, in the facilities department, most recently as lead groundskeeper. We're happy to have Mr. Joshua join our Wildcat staff!

We have many events and several large assessments coming up this quarter, so be sure to check out all of the newsletter and keep checking Dojo for updates.

This week, we have our 2nd Quarter Awards Assemblies for all grade levels, and we will include a reminder to students about our PAW expectations of being Safe, Respectful, and Responsible. Families are welcome to join us for the assemblies, either in person or virtually. We also have our December Student of the Month breakfast on Friday!

Have a great afternoon,

Jennifer Quirk

At WVE, we guide learners to reflect, communicate, and grow, to strengthen ourselves and our community.

WVE engages learners in a growth mindset to reach their potential while being accountable to their role within the community.

WVE is a place where everyone believes students can learn and grow as individuals. Effort is valued, teaching is intentional, progress is shared, and ideas are welcomed.

In December, our students collected 2,336 items for the Food Pantry! That's 1,000 items more than last year! Thank you everyone for your participation and generosity. The FESD Food Pantry is located at Fowler Elementary School, and is available to anyone in the district who is in need of a little help. Please reach out to Ana Maria Hernandez, our district liaison, for more information. amhernandez@fesd.org

Congratulations to our WVE Spelling Bee winners! These students will be going on to the District Spelling Bee on Jan 22. Good luck, boys!

1st place, Nisael Zazueta

2nd place, Anthony Tolayo

3rd place, Enzo Ortiz

We give many different tests at school, each of which gives us different information on where our students are, and how we can best help them. It can get a little confusing, so here's a quick 'Cheat Sheet" that explains them.

*Would you like to sell items at the Carnival? Crafts, homemade items?

*Do you have a food truck you'd like to have attend?

*Do you have a business you would like to promote?

Tables are $25 to rent the space for the event

Reach out to the PTO, administration, or front office for details!

We're looking for rentals for 4 or 5 lights, so we can keep our carnival going past sunset! Do you have lights you would be willing to lend or rent to the school? Let us know!

***Please note that payment must be received by the Friday before, or the order is not considered complete and will not be put on the marquee!***

As we head into cooler mornings and days, and kids are wearing sweatshirts, please remind your child that they may wear the hood up while outside, but not in the classrooms. Logo-free is best, but if it can't be helped, please be sure your child's sweatshirt is appropriate for elementary school. We'll have them turn it inside out if not.

Also, we're starting to find many sweatshirts and jackets on the playgrounds when the kids get hot. PLEASE put your child's name on the tag of their sweatshirts or jackets so we can return them to your student if they forget them outside.

Don't forget, our PTO has some uniform sweatshirts available for sale!

Water refill stations are all around campus when they run out. Sending your child with a water bottle ensures they are never without a quick drink of water! We do not have disposable cups for water, and the drinking fountains are mostly in classrooms, so their own water bottle is best!

And don't forget to write their name on their water bottle!

We had some parent volunteers last year for making copies, Book Fair, field trips, and in the cafeteria to help students open packaging and keeping tables clean. It was a HUGE help! We would like to extend the invitation again this year. If you are interested in volunteering at school,

please fill out this form.

https://forms.gle/dwDkf4kz3My2vBV19

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Our students will all receive free lunch this year (no lunch applications needed), but we do need families to please complete the income eligibility form as well- this helps to pay for our Reading Intervention services, after school tutoring and clubs, summer school, Instructional Assistants, and so much more!

https://linqconnect.com/public/income-form/new?identifier=TARLF2

Our arrival and dismissal procedure will be similar this school year. For the safety of your children, please only use the parking lot and 63rd Ave to park and walk WITH YOUR CHILD to the crosswalk. Children may not be dropped off in the parking lot or along 63rd Ave to walk by themselves. It is simply not safe for them.

As a reminder, the drop-off area is along the fire lane curb, and the parking lot is ONLY for families who want to park and walk up their student. Students MAY NOT be dropped off in the parking lot. This creates an unsafe situation for children, which of course, no one wants. We will have signs up as reminders, but please be safe, and drop off children only in the designated areas.

**For the parent pick-up area, we will have grade levels wait under the shade structure (as best as will safely fit). A change this year is with older siblings meeting younger kids. They will NOT meet them in the classroom this year. Instead, upper grade siblings will meet their younger siblings outside, and will wait with them under the shade structure. This allows students to exit more quickly, and to meet up with the parent or guardian who is picking them up.

Use your Dashboard card for a faster Parent Pick Up! Ask your teacher or the front office for one.

Kids get breakfast in the classroom starting at 7:55, and we are into the start of instruction by 8:10 every day, so arrival any later than that means students are missing important learning time. And it adds up!

Students may now wear a WVE Spirit Shirt on Thursdays with uniform pants.

Order your Spirit Shirt now! You can pay cash or Zelle to jreeser@fesd.org

Dollar Dress Down Day (formerly known as Buck-a-Jeans Day) = Hosted once a month as a PTO fundraiser, students may pay $1 and wear a non-uniform outfit. You can purchase the Annual Pass for this for $10, and you don't have to dig around for $1 each of these days.

Spirit Shirt Thursday (new this year) = Every Thursday, students may wear a WVE Spirit Shirt and uniform bottoms. This free event is to drum up our Wildcat spirit, and to be a fun way to show our school pride!

Free Dress Down Days (these are for special occasions) = Fall Picture Day, a pass earned by a grown-up when they attend a PTO meeting, Curriculum Night, or other school event that we advertise parents coming to campus.

All students who ride the bus have been issued a bus ID, and those IDs have been zip tied to their backpacks to prevent loss. They will scan on and off the bus each time. The first bus ID is free, broken or lost replacements will cost $5.

If your child will need to take medication at school, please bring it (in the prescription bottle/box) to the Health Office. Children may not bring medication to school themselves. This includes even cough drops. When in doubt, DO NOT send medicine to school with your child!

Also, if your child has a Chronic Illness, and may miss school often due to an illness or condition, ask the office or Mrs Reyes about a Chronic Health Form.

Learn a new skill, or continue to grow in a field you've worked in before! Keep the same work schedule as your kids!

Check out some other openings around the district here- https://fowler.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

Our office is open 7:30am-4pm Mon-Fri.

Our administration & office staff are happy to help!

*1/8 & 1/9 2nd Q Awards Assemblies

*1/10 December Student of the Month Breakfast

*1/14 Governing Board meeting @ 4pm, District Office

*1/16 Raising Cane's dinner night out fundraiser

*1/17 100th Day of School

*1/20 No School, Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day

*1/22 FESD Spelling Bee

*1/22 District Benchmark testing

*1/31 Dollar Dress Down Day

*1/31 PTO Meeting @ 8:15

*2/11 Governing Board meeting @ 4pm, District Office

*2/18-2/21 AZELLA testing

*2/21 WVE Carnival! 4:30-7:30pm

*2/25 Spring Bookfair begins

*3/3 Read Across America Week

*3/7 Early Dismissal for parent/teacher conferences

*3/10-3/14 No school, Spring Break