WIS Weekly

• Who needs support at home, in school, and in the community? ... Every Child!
• Who needs our guidance, attention, and patience today and every day? ... Every Child!
• Who will shape the future of our world tomorrow and in the years to come? ... Every Child!

WIS Family,

Some children love talking about school. With others, it’s like pulling teeth to get them to share even a few details about their day - especially if something’s upsetting them, like the end of a friendship or struggling in a class.

If your child is on the quieter side or very private, there are ways to ask questions that will open up a conversation instead of shutting one down. Here are some key things to keep in mind:

1. Ask open-ended questions. If you ask a question that can be answered with one word-yes or no- that’s what you’ll get: a one-word answer. Try asking open-ended questions instead.
   Example: “What was the best thing you did at school today?”

2. Start with a factual observation. Children often have a hard time answering questions that seem to come out of the blue. Making an observation gives your child something to relate to.
   Example: “As a fifth grader, I know you have a lot more teachers this year. What’s that like?”

3. Share something about yourself. When someone tells you about themselves, it’s natural to want to reciprocate. Share something with your child and see what you get back.
   Example: “We always played kickball at recess. What do you and your friends like to do?”

As always, please reach out to me anytime.

Mr. Longacre

slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us

For WIS students whose parents are divorced or are going through a divorce, Mrs. Hurst will be running a group one day a week during lunch & recess for 6 weeks. The goal of the group is to help students learn social & emotional skills to help them better adjust to the divorce. Also, to let students know that they are not alone and the divorce is not their fault. The 6th graders will meet on Tuesdays during lunch/recess and the 5th graders will meet on Wednesdays during lunch/recess. If you would like your student to participate, please fill out the form below by Monday, September 30th. If you have any questions, Mrs. Hurst can be reached at (219) 983-3710 ext.4042 or mhurst@duneland.k12.in.us

The first SAVE Promise Club meeting will be on Friday, October 4th before school from 8:15 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. SAVE stands for students against violence everywhere. The goal of the SAVE Promise Club is to make our school more welcoming and inclusive. We do this by hosting a quarterly new student lunch, making cards and delivering mugs of candy to students & staff who have lost a loved one, and planning school wide activities. The club will meet the first Friday of each month before school at 8:15 a.m. SAVE Promise Club members also do some activities during Trojan Time and lunch/recess. If you have any questions about the club, please contact Mrs. Hurst at (219) 983-3710 ext. 4042 or mhurst@duneland.k12.in.us.

If your student would like to join the SAVE Promise Club, please fill out the form below:

We are striving to achieve a 96% attendance rate this year at WIS.

5th Grade 94.932%

6th Grade 94.2593%

When needing to report a student absence, parents/guardians should call (219-983-3710) or email (mkowalecki@duneland.k12.in.us) the attendance secretary in the WIS office by 9:00 am on the day of the absence. If the school sends a student home early, then no notification is required.

Say Something Anonymous Reporting System FAQ

What is the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System?

It is an age-appropriate, evidence-informed program that trains youth and adults to recognize warning signs and threats of potential violence and to tell a trusted adult or use the anonymous reporting system via app, website, or telephone hotline. This empowers students, parents, staff, and community members to securely share safety concerns, helping school administrators and law enforcement members to prevent violence, suicide, bullying, self-harm, and other dangerous behaviors. Duneland School Corporation has been working with Sandy Hook Promise as we launch this program in our schools. All grade 5-12 schools will adopt this program this year.

How does the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System work?

Students and staff can submit a tip about concerning or threatening behaviors through the app, website, or a telephone call, 24/7/365. Every submission goes directly to a trained crisis counselor. The trained counselor vets the tip, gathers details, then shares the information and next steps with the school team and law enforcement (as needed). The team steps in to address the threat and provide solutions. Every District and school team has a trained Say Something response staff that includes administrators and law enforcement personnel.

Say Something is proven to prevent school shootings, suicides, and gun threats, as well as help reduce other acts of violence and victimization like bullying/cyberbullying, self-harm like cutting, drug use, and more.

How does the system work?

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System can be used to report threatening or harmful

behavior, harassment, and more. Students can anonymously report a concern through

the Say Something Anonymous Reporting app, website or through a phone call. Students can also share screenshots of social media posts that are concerning. Highly trained crisis counselors immediately take action to ensure student safety and work to get the help and support students need.

What happens to the tip if the individual reporting is threatening to hurt themselves?

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System’s National Crisis Center and local Say Something team members are specifically trained to recognize mental and emotional disturbances and effectively manage crisis situations. Law enforcement will be utilized in life threatening situations.

Do I have to use the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System? Does my student?

Using the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is completely voluntary.

Who is running this program?

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is offered at no cost to schools by Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), a national nonprofit that was founded and is led by family members whose loved ones were killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in 2012. SHP has trained more than 14 million educators, parents, and students nationwide to recognize the warning signs of potential violence and the importance of sharing school safety concerns with a trusted adult.

How much are we paying for this program?

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is provided at no cost by Sandy Hook Promise, thanks to the charitable donations of their national grassroots network and philanthropic partners.

What about privacy?

All data from our school community within the Say Something Anonymous Reporting

System is owned by the district.

Do you have further questions?

Please reach out to Mr. Longacre slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us or Mr. Hernandez mhernandez@duneland.k12.in.us

We are excited to announce that this year’s yearbook will include both Westchester Intermediate School (WIS) and Westchester Middle School (WMS). Yearbooks are available for $30.00, and you can order directly through this link: Order Yearbooks Here.

Sixth grade students will have the opportunity to participate in both WIS intramural sports and Westchester Middle School athletics. If your child wants to participate in middle school sports, they must have a current physical on file, dated after 4/1/24. Sixth grade students can ONLY participate in Middle School Cross Country, Westling, and Track and Field. This fall, students can participate in Middle School Cross Country. Mr. Rich Gross rgross@duneland.k12.in.us is the athletic director for Westchester Campus. Please reach out to Mr. Gross with any questions.

Language Arts

• Students spent last week focused on inferring events in a text. In addition, we read the stories Morning on the Lake and The Raft, and worked to compare and contrast the texts, both with a theme regarding family. Honors ELA - After completing the first half of The Odyssey, students spent a week diving into various other Greek myths. Groups worked together to read and analyze a myth, then share with their classmates. Students then worked together to do a dramatic reading of the short play The Mighty Hercules.

Math

• This week in math we are finishing our unit on long division. Students have been practicing the steps for long division for quite some time and there will be a CSA (test) by the end of the week. We will also be giving students who scored below 70% on the multiplication test a chance to retake the test and improve their grade. These students have been working in resource and Title as well as in the classroom on whole number multiplication practice. Please note: Students are assigned homework, or independent practice, almost every day! Feel free to ask you student to show what we are working on. Even if they have completed the practice, they can show you their work and how they did. Examples and notes for the daily lessons can be found in Canvas. Working on Get More Math and their IXL Assessment Path are other ways students can be more successful in 5th grade math.

Social Studies

• Last week, students read about the seven native geographic regions. The main focus was on ways that native people adapted to the environments in which they lived, and how they used the resources available to them.

Science

• Last week, we began our physical science unit. Students learned about the states of matter and the properties we use to describe them. Last week’s lab had the students testing out absorbency of different paper towels. The students tested out the schools brand, a generic brand, and Bounty. Please encourage your student to share his/her results. This week, we will learn about matter and the physical changes it can go through.

Language Arts

• This week students will organize and write their first narrative for sixth grade. The stories will use components from Dahl’s memoir. All information will be in the Canvas module.

Math

• This week in the wonderful world of numbers (fractions) . We wrap up our study of fraction operations. Students should be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions fluently. Our next area of study is combining what we already know in order to convert fractions to decimals. We will then add converting to percentages. We are continuing to prepare for the ILEARN checkpoint. This will take place in mid October. This checkpoint will provide feedback on the skills we have taught so far.

Social Studies

• This week in Social Studies we will be continuing to look at Ancient Greece. Our focus will be on the influence of Ancient Greek democracy. We will also spend time looking at the contributions in art, literature, and language of the Ancient Greeks. A common formative assessment will be administered on Friday.

Science

• This week in science, students will be starting to learn about gravity and inertia. The beginning of the week will be learning the vocabulary with discussion, readings, and demonstrations about black holes, inertia, gravity and how planets stay in orbit. The end of the week, the students will be performing an experiment where they will show three Newton’s Laws and then write about the results to tie in how they demonstrated Newton’s Laws. MS-ESS1-2

PE

• In PE this week, we will be finishing our Soccer Unit and moving towards Fitness Testing. This week, we will be testing the sit & reach, pull-ups, and sit-ups.

Art

• This week in art, students will complete their Day and Night/ Warm and Cool Color Name design project. Students will use colored pencils and markers to create a unique color scheme for their design. Students will complete a self- assessment of their work upon completion.

Music

• This week in music students will begin to explore organization of sounds to express an emotion or tell a story. 5th graders will be using classroom instruments/sound sets while 6th graders will be utilizing the Garageband app. All students should have their iPad for music class. Wired headphones/earbuds are recommended.

PLTW

• This week in PLTW, the 5th graders will research different types of robots and will begin to build a testbed with a VEX Robotics kit to learn about how different sensors work. The 6th graders will be introduced to the Micro:bit and will practice writing algorithms and using flowcharts.

Media

• Discussion and activities this week will continue with our exploration of communication and digital citizenship by examining binary languages.

Our Trojan Cafe has a new look! We have a new serving area with 2 lines to serve our students. We will also have new trays available for our students to use during lunch.

Please help your student memorize their student identification number, as they will need to know this number in order to purchase their lunch.

Here are the meal prices for the 2024-25 school year.

Elementary Breakfast Price: $1.45

Elementary Lunch Price: $2.55

Intermediate/Middle/High Breakfast Price: $1.60

Intermediate/Middle/High lunch Price: $2.95

• iPads are the property of Duneland Schools. Students should keep the devices in operable condition.
• Students should refrain from downloading apps, pics, etc. that are not permitted under school and/or corporation policy.
  
• Students are required to bring their charged iPads to class.
• Our Intermediate curriculum is designed to utilize iPads for lessons, remediation, and enrichment activities.

5th and 6th grade students are not allowed to use their personal communication devices (cell phones and smart watches) during the instructional day. Items used for communication should be stored in lockers to be kept safe throughout the day. If students need to contact a parent/guardian during the day, they are welcome to do so from the office. Classrooms also have phone access. Similarly, students are not permitted to wear personal earbuds with bluetooth capabilities attached to their phones (e.g. Air Pods, etc.). Students will need to use their school-issued iPad earphones for Exact Path lessons and select ILEARN testing sessions. The only time audio ear pieces are permitted are for teacher-assigned classwork and medically-approved needs.

Westchester is committed to supporting students' use of technology. To get your problems solved as fast as possible, choose one of the following methods:

1. Open a new Incident IQ online:
   1. AV number is typically located on a sticker on the back/bottom of the device
2. Open a Incident IQ ticket by sending an email to: helpdesk@duneland.k12.in.us
   1. Please be sure to include email address, student or staff name, and a description of the problem
3. Contact Westchester's tech aide (Ms. Bennett) in WIS Library/Media at 219-983-3710 or fbennett@duneland.k12.in.us.

DUNELAND TRANSPORTATION

Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2024-2025 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.

TRACK STUDENT'S BUS WITH MYSTOP APP

The Duneland School Corporation Department of Transportation has now made My Stop available to our families.

My Stop is a web-based application which will allow parents to access live bus GPS information using a smartphone, tablet, or computer and securely view the current location of your child’s bus on routes. The system also provides the bus’s estimated time of arrival at your child’s bus stop.

Please read the attached letter to parents for more information on how to use My Stop to track your child's bus.

To make an appointment please call 219-763-8112. Let NorthShore know you are a Duneland School student or staff member and that you would like to make an appointment at the Duneland School Clinic located at the old CMS.

The Chesterton High School Girls Basketball program is hosting a trivia night fundraiser on Saturday, October 5th, in the Chesterton High School cafeteria. Join the Trojans for a night of trivia, food, basket raffles, music, and fun! Bring an entire trivia team with costumes and compete for prizes. Or, you can also purchase individual trivia seat tickets as well. To purchase trivia tickets, make a donation, or if you own or work at a business that is interested in being a winter season sponsor, please visit www.chestertongirlsbasketball.org. We are a 501c3 Not-For-Profit Group and all transactions have no processing fees and receipts are issued immediately for tax purposes. If you have any questions, please contact Chesterton High School Head Coach Candy Wilson at chestertongirlsbbchs@gmail.com.

WIS Mission:

WIS provides a safe and engaging environment where students are empowered to explore their talents, build on their curiosity, embrace high expectations, and become responsible, caring citizens.

WIS Vision:

WIS inspires learners to become independent, critical thinkers collaborating in an environment where responsibility, adaptability, and reflection are modeled and developed.

Email: slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.duneland.k12.in.us/Domain/14
Location: 1050 South 5th Street, Chesterton, IN, USA
Phone: (219) 983-3710
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westchesterintermediate/