Worthington Hills Families,
What a fantastic week at Worthington Hills! Students had a blast at our Free Book Fair, picking out books for themselves—and even a few for siblings! We love seeing our Hawkeyes excited to read and continue learning at home.
We also had several exciting adventures: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders enjoyed field trips, and our 3rd graders were inspired by the WKHS Peace Ambassadors. Our 4th and 5th graders participated in the always-popular annual Dog Walk—it was a huge hit!
This week, we also had the joy of celebrating our amazing volunteers. Mr. Manchester was named our Volunteer of the Year! Not only does he drive one of our buses, but he also gives his time each week to work with multiple students in our Ready for Reading program. In addition, we honored all of our Ready for Reading volunteers at a special reception to thank them for the time, care, and energy they give to support our students. We are so grateful!
It’s been a meaningful, memory-filled week, and we’re excited to make the most of the final stretch of the school year together!
Make it a great weekend!
Warmly,
Tiena Miller
Principal
Cell Phone/Smart Watch Reminders
As technology continues to become more present in our student’s lives, Worthington Schools has been seeking to better understand the impacts of technology in our classrooms. All schools in Ohio are required to adopt a policy regarding cell phone use by July 2025. Superintendent Dr. Bowers recently presented student, community, and staff feedback regarding cell phone use in our schools and Worthington’s progress toward defining a cell phone policy which you can view here.
Based on this feedback, we are adjusting our technology practices at the elementary level. Students at our elementary schools have always been asked to silence cell phones and are required to keep them in their bookbags during the school day. Now, this practice will also apply to smartwatches and other wearable technology.
This change supports a more focused and distraction-free classroom environment while still allowing students to access technology for communication to and from school. We understand that many families find value in features like location tracking, and this adjustment allows for these needs to be met without interrupting the school day. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to create the best learning experience for all our students!
Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Worthington Connects is a community-driven organization dedicated to supporting local families in need year-round. We partner closely with schools to identify families who could benefit from assistance and rely on generous donations from the community to make our efforts possible. Every contribution helps us provide meaningful support to those in need.
If you would like to donate or get involved, please visit https://www.worthingtonconnects.org Families seeking assistance are encouraged to reach out to their school counselors, who work with us to connect resources to those who need them most. Together, we can make a lasting impact in our Worthington community!
Direct donation: https://www.worthingtonconnects.org/giving-page-3
Important Reminder Regarding Food Allergies
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
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:
