Monday, November 25th

• Fall Picture Day

Tuesday, November 26th

• First School Clubs Meeting

November 27th - November 29th

• Thanksgiving Break - No School

Wednesday, December 4th

• UNCA Education Day Basketball Game (Whole-school Field Trip)

December 9th - 13th

• Scholastic Book Fair

I hope you've had a restful and joyful weekend! We head into our FIRST full week of school since September. I don't know about you, but we are feeling the "tired" in my house. Your children are working hard and doing great things in school every day. I'm a proud principal, for sure! Let's continue to work together to give our children the best school experience every day.

Here's a letter from our PTO that has a LOT of great updates and information. Please take a moment to read it. Topics include Fun Run update, how to donate to PTO, Winder Wonder Walk, and a few volunteer opportunities.

Our Book Fair will be happening December 9th - 13th. We have two book fairs each year, and the proceeds from this book fair go DIRECTLY back to our school to support the repair of and purchase of books and materials for our library. We'll send more information in the next News from the Nest, but we wanted you to mark your calendars. This is a great way to buy books for holiday gifts!

Additionally, as we prepare for potential school delays or closures due to Winter Weather, please be sure to have a plan for your family in the case of a LATE START (usually a 2-hour delay) or an EARLY DISMISSAL. Make sure your chid's teacher knows the plan as well. Our district might have "remote learning" during winter-weather school cancellations, but this year we will only have "asynchronous" learning, which means they will not need to join in a virtual classroom during the day. More info to come!

We paused on having parents join their children for lunch after we returned from our month-long absence, and now we are ready to welcome parents once again to lunch in our cafeteria. Please remember these expectations:

Lunch with your Child:

Parents are invited to eat with their child in the cafeteria; however, as a courtesy to other students, we ask that you do not bring outside food such as fast food and/or sodas into the school cafeteria. Parents should arrive at school in time to get a visitor’s pass and report to the lunchroom hallway five minutes before the scheduled lunch time. Please always let the teacher know ahead of time if you plan to eat with your child. Please always meet your child and their class in the cafeteria instead of going to the classroom.

You can find links to BCS menus here: https://www.buncombeschools.org/page/menus-and-pricing

Please note that any outside food brought in for special snacks or birthday treats cannot be consumed until the last student has been served lunch. This will be at approximately 12:30 PM.Should you desire to bring in a special snack for your child’s birthday or another event, please coordinate this with your child’s teacher so as not to conflict with our lunchroom policies. In addition, any food brought into the school to be shared with students must be store bought with ingredients listed. Please allow school staff to distribute snacks due to their knowledge and understanding of students’ allergies and dietary needs. Our school also encourages healthy snacks and choices. Please refer to the School Wellness section in this handbook for more information.

Here are some reminders from our previous newsletters:

Holiday Lunch:

We are waiting to hear about our Annual Holiday Luncheon where we invite 3rd and 4th grade families. I will let you know as soon as I know something. Typically we have our spring Holiday Lunch for 2nd grade families.

Reminder about Absences:

I know that many families plan trips throughout the year. Please work to plan trips around school days. Our students have missed so much school, and we rely solely on parents/caregivers to make sure their students are present. Our teachers work so hard to prepare engaging and rigorous lessons. Being absent/missing too much school can cause unnecessary stress for students. If you are planning an extended absence, please email Dawn.Flanigan-Bryson@bcsemail.org (our data manager) so that we can document your trip with the correct paperwork.

• Be sure to follow us on Facebook, AND take a look at our Weaverville Elementary Youtube Channel to see videos of all the awesome things from past years!
• Check out our PTO website AND our PTO Facebook page, too!

Previous Weeks' News from the Nest

Mary

• This google doc is updated daily with resources in our community!

• If you have a student who might be struggling emotionally (or even just needs a check-in from one of our caring staff members), you can reach out to Ms. Wheeless. We have a team of teachers who would love to visit and check in! Email Margery.wheeless@bcsemail.org.

• If you have a question about community assistance and resources for Hurricane Recovery, including what you’ll find at the FEMA center now open at A.C. Reynolds High School, please visit the Hurricane Resources link at BuncombeSchools.org. It’s updated daily. Also, you may reach out to our School Social Worker, AnnMarie McBride, or myself so that we may work to assist you with resources.

• If you or someone you know is asking how they can specifically help Buncombe County Schools, our Buncombe County Schools Foundation is set up to receive donations directly to our school system for Hurricane Helene relief.

Our school needs funding now more than ever, but we want to find the right time to host a fundraising event. Since our mybooster.com platform is on hold, if you know of anyone moved to contribute to our school’s PTO during this time, please encourage them to use our online donation platform found here on our website: https://weavervilleschoolspto.org/contact/

We are currently collecting contributions for the following initiatives. Please indicate one of the below 4 initiatives in the "Which school is this for” and “What's this donation for" line. We THANK YOU for your contribution!

• Both schools, General PTO
  
• Both schools, Minigrant Program
  
• WvES, Weaverville Elementary Staff Appreciation
  
• WPS, Weaverville Primary Staff Appreciation
  

All parents are automatically members of the PTO! Come to a meeting to learn more about how our PTO supports our students, staff and families. We have one of the best PTOs around!

Here's a PTO Letter for November with a lot of information and updates! Be sure to check this out!

Check out our PTO Website for all things Weaverville Schools PTO!

Weaverville Schools PTO has been wonderfully gifted 55 tickets by Asheville Plays to sell to directly benefit our organization! Please consider buying one of these tickets to see this wonderful winter show AND support the PTO! The tickets can be purchased HERE for $18 + processing fee and can be used on any of the dates listed below. Once you purchase the tickets, you simply show your digital receipt that you are emailed to the booth when you arrive at the Winter Walk! Please note that all sales are final, and tickets cannot be returned or exchanged.

For more information about the Winter Wonder Walk visit https://winterwonderwalk.com/

If you do not have your hard copy that was given to parents before the Hurricane Break, then you will need to order online using the information in the Picture/PDF below.

Verb: to state a fact or belief confidently and forcefully. Behave or speak in a confident and forceful manner.

Click here for more PARENT information about our Math Curriculum, Illustrative Math.

• Girls on the Run
• Playground Stage (meets until 4:30)
• Zaniac

Tuesdays -

• Tennis Time
• Disc Golf Club with Ms. .Wheeless

Wednesdays -

• Battle of the Books (4th only) - 7:30 am - 8:15 am (Starts Wednesday, November 6th)
• Girls on the Run
• Chess Club

Thursdays -

• Lego Robotics (4th Grade Only) - You will hear from Ms. Moran

In a previous email, I mentioned that I would let you know about parent/teacher conferences and how that would work this year. As with most things right now, we are having to pivot or shift so that we can keep moving through this school year, only with fewer days to do so.

Parent/teacher conferences are such a valuable use of our time! Typically, teachers are expected to meet with each child's parents/caregivers in a one-on-one meeting during the month of October. Teachers schedule conferences before school, during their planning periods, and after school. It's a lot, but very much worth it. During these conferences, we go over the beginning-of-year assessment results and we talk about how the student is doing so far with work completion, peer relationships, and emotional regulation (or similar topics, as needed). We also discuss whether or not the student is receiving supplemental or intensive academic support here at school (in math and/or reading). We then have "student-led" conferences in February, and we plan to do those this year, as usual.

Because of the hurricane and being out of school for a month, we have shifted our plan a bit. One of our seven habits is to "Think Win-Win." It's my favorite habit, and we use it all the time in education! How can both parties get what we need from this situation? Here's our plan:

One-on-one conferences with some families:

Teachers will be reaching out to meet one-on-one with some families, focusing on families of students who are receiving supplemental academic or social/emotional support. Teachers will not be scheduling one-on-one meetings with every family. These one-on-one conferences will be scheduled via email or phone call, and the teacher will reach out to you.

Group Conferences

Some students' families will be invited to a "group" conference the week of November 18th. Parents/caregivers will have an opportunity to come in and see their child's work and get time to talk to the teacher. Picture 3-5 students and their parents in a classroom, computer and work at their desk, and the teacher circulating and checking in with each family. The student can show their family what they've been working on, and the family can view beginning-of-year assessment results. The teacher is there to answer questions and give more information as needed. Teachers will be choosing an afternoon the week of November 18th and inviting families to sign up for a 30 minute window of time.

All students' parents/caregivers will get an invitation for either a one-on-one conference or a group conference. We hope to have conferences completed by Thanksgiving Break.

While we wish we could meet with every family as we normally do, we also realize that we have fewer days and hours left in this semester. Our teachers and I felt like this was a good "Win-Win." As a parent, I love going to my child's classroom and seeing their work. I love getting a chance to talk to their teacher and hear how they're doing! We want these components to remain, and we hope you'll understand our need to change it up a bit this Fall.

Thank you, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Mary Nichols

Weaverville families, please be on the lookout for Parent-Teacher conference information. During this time you will receive two documents that need your signatures. One of the documents is our Title I Compact, this is a document that is signed during our Open House Event but because of Hurricane Helene these will need to be signed during your parent teacher conference. If you aren’t able to make a parent-teacher conference then this document will be sent home with your child. Please sign and return it back to school!

The second document that you will receive is a Parents Right to Know letter. As a parent and family member of a student at Weaverville Elementary School as part of our beginning of each school year notifications, you have the right to know about the following:

1. Professional qualifications and licensing criteria of the teachers who instruct your child.

2. Information regarding student participation in mandatory state or local testing and affiliated policies.

3. Language instruction and English learner identification protocols and services, and our assurance that such information will be in an understandable language and accessible format.

You will receive a half sheet of paper that states you received this documentation, you will need to sign this sheet and return to the school as well.

Thank you for your continued support of Weaverville Elementary and our school wide Title I program.

• If you need to check your child out early, please check them out BEFORE 1:45 pm. We will not be checking students out the last 30 minutes of the day as this interrupts instruction for all students.
• If you need to make a dismissal change for your student, please call the front office before 12:30 each day.
• Do not enter the car line from Main Street. Please use Yost St. Please respect our school rules that keep others safe.

The Edulog Parent app is AWESOME if you have a student who rides a bus! I use it for my own children. Take a moment to explore it. You can see where the bus is, and this is helpful when your bus is running late (or even if you're running late!).

• For accurate drop off /pick up times, and bus number, sign up for the edulog app. Edulog directions click here.
• Bus # Update: Bus 302 is now Bus 86.

Free Lunch Info from Lisa Payne

Do you want to know more about free lunch? I recommend every parent read through this newsletter (above) from our Child Nutrition department. You can learn how lunches are paid for, and what constitutes a whole lunch. This program depends on participation, so the more students who participate and get “free lunch” (which is at least 3 items) - the longer this program will continue. The document above has good information for parents!

Breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost to all students this school year!

We are pleased to inform you that Buncombe County Schools will be implementing a program available to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programscalled the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

What does this mean for you and your child(ren)?

Great news! All enrolled students at Buncombe County Schools are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to your household each day of the school year. Weaverville Elementary School Parents, there are no action steps for you to take at this time to participate in this program.

K-12 Prepayment will remain active allowing parents and guardians to place money on their students accounts to purchase a la carte items if they would like too. We look forward to serving your students during the 24-25 school year. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact us at Buncombe Schools Nutrition Office, 828 255-5932.

Participation matters! The more students who eat lunch and breakfast at our school increases the likelihood that this program will continue.

The WvES campus will open at 7:15 (9:15 on 2-hour delays) for morning arrival. No students may be dropped off prior to 7:15 AM (9:15 am for 2-hour delays). Students will wait in the cafeteria until they are dismissed to their homerooms at 7:40 AM (9:40 am for 2-hour delays). All students should be in their classrooms and ready to learn by 7:55 AM (9:55 AM for 2-hour delays).

Car Riders:

Please remember that all school traffic should use Yost Street (which is off Merrimon Avenue) when dropping off students and picking up students as car riders. In the morning, cars must use Yost Street to enter our car rider line, and then use Yost again when exiting the car rider line.

Please be respectful and patient. The first weeks of school are always a little bit confusing for everyone, and wait time can be longer. I promise it will improve as we move into the school year.

Students will be dismissed from class at 2:25 pm. Buses will load in the bus lane, and car riders will wait in the gym for their names to be called when their ride arrives.

All parents of car riders must use the car rider line to pick up their child(ren) in the afternoon.

Please view the illustration above to see how the car line works.

Dismissal Car Line Pro Tips:

• Pull all the way forward to the empty space, and a staff member will call for your child to come out.
  
• Please use your car tag each afternoon if you plan to use the car line. This will help the line move swiftly and efficiently.
• Please use YOST ST. to both enter and exit the car line. Use the illustration above for reference.
• If you have someone picking your child up that is not YOU, make sure this person is listed in powerschool as someone who can pick up your child. We will ask for their ID to make sure they are who they say they are. We appreciate your patience and kindness in these circumstances; we definitely want to make sure we're sending kids home with adults who have permission to pick them up!
• If you do not have your car tag with your child's name, we will ask you to come into the office and get one, and we'll ask you to show and ID. We can't do this in the car line because only our office staff have access to that information in powerschool. Please remember that this is a commitment to keeping each child safe. We only want students going home with grownups who are approved for pick-up.
• Please be patient during the first few weeks of school. The car line always take a bit longer in the beginning, but we'll get the hang of it! After a week or so, it's usually about 15 minutes.
  

Walkers:

A few WvES families live next door to the school and they are considered 'walkers'. Parents of 'walkers' may come to the gym door with their green card to collect their child/ren. If you do not walk to campus to pick up your child, this does not apply to you so you must use the car rider line. Please do not park your car and walk to the gym door to collect your child/ren.

ALL parents and visitors to campus must sign in at the office and obtain a visitor sticker (or a volunteer pass if applicable). Please note that you must sign in even if you are only visiting the cafeteria. Your cooperation in helping us to follow Central Office policy and ensuring the safety of all children is expected and appreciated.

If you have an appointment or scheduled time to be at school in the morning, and wish to walk in with your child, please still plan to follow the established procedure of coming to the office, signing the visitor registry, and obtaining a visitor tag.

Visitors will only be allowed to visit a classroom if the visitor has scheduled the visit with the teacher beforehand or if the visitor is a scheduled volunteer.

Safety is one of my top priorities, and I want to be very clear with all of our families about the ways we will keep our students safe on our campus. The following procedures and expectations are in place with safety in mind. Please support our staff and students in keeping our campus safe by following these expectations at all times.

• All visitors must check in each time with no exceptions. You'll get a badge to wear, and you must wear the badge at all times. If you do not have the badge on, our staff will politely ask if we can help you, so please be kind to staff in response.
• Visitors are only allowed to visit a classroom if they have a scheduled appointment with the teacher. We want to protect the instructional time of all students.
• All doors will remain locked at all times.
• Please do not enter the front door unless you have been buzzed in by an adult. It may seem easy to slip in with someone else who is being buzzed in, but please help us keep our safety practices in tact by following this simple request.
• If you are already inside the school, please do not open the front door for others. Please allow our office staff to safely screen each person entering the building.

Please follow this "Multi-visitor Entrance Procedure:"

1. If you have buzzed in and are being screened and you notice another visitor is arriving, please don't hold the door and allow anyone in without being screened first.
2. If the other visitor is 15 feet or less from the door, please buzz in and be screened together.
3. If the visitor is more than 15 feet from the door, please buzz in and ensure the door is closed completely after you enter.

We certainly want to encourage politeness, and we also want our visitors to understand that it is unsafe to hold doors and allow visitors in without being verified by front office staff first. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

School safety is the most important component of our day. We know we must balance safety with having a welcoming school building so that parents and community members can be part of our school. Please help us do this by honoring these safety protocols about entering our building.

Phone: 828-645-3127

Address: 129 South Main St., Weaverville, NC 28787

Email:

Mary Nichols - Principal (Mary.nichols@bcsemail.org)

Whitley Burleson - Administrative Intern (Whitley.burleson@bcsemail.org)

Maggie Wheeless - Counselor (Maggie.wheeless@bcsemail.org)

*Please email both office staff if you have a dismissal change.

Dawn Flanigan-Bryson - Data Manager (dawn.flanigan-bryson@bcsemail.org)

• attendance
• student information/records
• immunizations
• enrollment

Ashley Mendoza - Head Secretary (Ashley.mendoza@bcsemail.org)

• general inquiries
• money questions related to school
• bus questions