Wattles Park Parent Connection

Welcome to a new school year!

We are excited about having children back in the building at Wattles Park Elementary! We are excited for a new school year that provides us with the opportunity to partner with you in your child’s education. Our amazing teachers and staff at Wattles Park have been working hard to create an environment that is a wonderful place to grow and learn. We are dedicated to providing the very best instruction to help all of our students grow and learn at high levels. “Learn, Grow, Shine” is our theme for this year, and we are confident that the 2024-2025 school year will be incredible! Please visit our district's Back to School site to find important information such as school calendars and bus route information.

Meet the Teacher Night Thursday, August 15th 6-8PM

Our teachers first day back in the building is Thursday morning with several meetings planned. Classroom decorations and bulletin boards might not be in place, but teachers will be there to greet you and show you around the classroom. Here is the schedule for the evening:

6:00-6:10-Title 1 Night Presentation, KG and 1st grade in the cafeteria, 2nd and 3rd grades in the gymnasium, 4th grade in the library.

6:10-7:15-Meet the Teacher in their classrooms, if you do not know your child's teacher, please stop by the office.

7:15-8:00-Meet the whole staff on the playground.

*Mrs. Asher's class will hold a seperate Meet the Teacher Night on Monday, August 12th from 6-7pm. Mrs. Asher will be at a conference in Grand Rapids from August 14-16.

Required Forms Available at Meet the Teacher Night

• Free/Reduced Lunch Form – this information is confidential and is used not only for lunch purposes but also helps determine the amount of funding our school receives for intervention programs. We appreciate you taking the time to fill out this important form.
• Medical Information Form – this form is very important. It contains information vital to your child’s health and allows our school nurse to administer some very basic health treatment, when necessary.
• Bus Transfer Form – this only needs to be returned if your child is getting on or off the

bus some place other than your home stop.

• Parent Volunteer Form – every adult that would like to volunteer in a classroom or join us on a field trip must fill out this form each school year. This information is strictly confidential.

Included below is some important information about the first few weeks of

school.

First Day of School-August 19th

Arrival Car Riders

Kindergarten and 1st Grade

At 8:40AM, the classroom teachers will be at the playground gate to greet their students and walk them into the building. Parents are encouraged to say good-bye at that location.

2nd Grade

Students in 2nd grade arriving in cars should be walked by parents beginning at 8:40AM to the back entrance door(back parking lot) near the cafeteria.

3rd and 4th Grade

Students in 3rd and 4th grade arriving in cars will line-up beginning at 8:40AM at the door entrance at the end of the 3rd and 4th grade wing.

Please do not drop your child off before 8:40AM, because doors are not supervised by school staff until that time.

Families with multiple children can drop off all children at the youngest child's location.

Dismissal Car Riders

Kindergarten & 1st

Classroom teachers will bring students to the playground gate at 3:45PM to match students to the adult picking them up. Parents should stand outside the blue circle, so that teachers can more easily recognize parents.

2nd Grade

Car riders will be released to parents from the exterior classroom door in the back parking lot at 3:45PM.

3rd and 4th Grade

Car riders will be released to parents at the end door of the 3rd and 4th grade wing at 3:45PM.

Siblings being picked up by car will go to the youngest siblings dismissal area to be picked up at that location.

Bus Riders

If your child is normally a bus rider, please send a note to school if you are picking them up

that day. All students that are on a bus route are assumed to be riding the bus

home unless they come with a note that day. Kindergarten students will be given a

backpack tag at Meet the Teacher Night(or the 1st day of school) that indicates their regular after school dismissal plan. During the first week of school, bus departure is typically delayed, therefore your child may be at their designated stop 15-20 minutes later than normal.

Parent Handbook

The parent handbook is located on the Wattles Park website wpe.harpercreek.net.

Calendar

The district calendar can be found at harpercreek.net or at the link below. This calendar

gives important information about school holiday breaks and professional development

days through the school year.

2024-2025 District Calendar

Visiting Wattles Park Elementary

Any adult coming to any school building in Harper Creek will be required to present their driver’s license to the school secretary before entering the school building. A visitor badge will be printed that must be worn while that person is in the building. This extra step of security is to keep our children safe while at school.

One initiative that we are working together with parents is to improve our school's attendance rate. Since the pandemic, the number of chronically absent students(10 or more days in a school year) has tripled when compared to before the pandemic. We want to reverse this trend to get more students to off the chronically absent list. Research is clear that strudents that miss less than 10 days of school in a year perform better than students that are absent more often. If you having trouble bringing your child to school, please call the Operation Concern line(269-441-5855) and ask for someone to call you back to discuss your situation. We have some exciting plans to promote better attendance for the upcoming school year. Watch for upcoming newsletters with more announcements regarding attendance.

Email: swanb@harpercreek.net
Website: wpe.harpercreek.net
Location: 132 S Wattles Rd, Battle Creek, MI, USA
Phone: (269) 441-5850