Timberwolf Times - April 15, 2024

Welcome Back to School - 2023-2024

"It's A Great Day to be a Timberwolf""

Dear Timberwolves,

Please note that the Lockdown drill scheduled for April 17 has been moved to Monday, April 15, 2024.

The week of April 15, 2024 we will celebrate and recognize Military Child/Military Family with some special events and an optional spirit week:

• Monday - Wear Red, White, and Blue
• Tuesday -Hats off to our Military - students/staff can wear hats today
• Wednesday -Purple Up Day - Wear Purple (representing all the colors of the different branches)
• Thursday -Wear your favorite shirt or sweatshirt featuring your favorite branch of service
• Friday - R.E.D> - Remember Everyone Deployed by wearing Red

Our Advisory Council/PTO meeting will take place in person at 6:30pm in the Art Room on April 18, 2024. . Delegate Lovejoy and Board of County Supervisor, Tom Gordy are both scheduled to attend

April 18, 2024 - DJ Wood will play tunes in our cafeteria during lunch today to celebrate a great ending to the 3rd quarter of school.

Transfer requests can be made for students in grades 1 through 5 between January 2, 2024- April 30, 2024 Kindergarten transfer requests can be made starting from the first day of Kindergarten registration through 30 days after the kindergarten student registers. Please contact your child's school for more information.

We truly do Everything Better Together as a Community of Leaders and Learners Achieving Excellence.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Dr. Andrew Buchheit

Principal

#TimberwolvesROCK

“At T. Clay Wood, Everyone Belongs”

Wednesday, April 24th is the STEAM Extravaganza from 5:30-7:30pm! It will be a great night of fun with special presenters showing their love of STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math)! There will be critters, face painting, math games, PE activities, art activities, experiments, root beer floats, and MUCH MORE! We will also have TONS of door prizes that students can enter to win! No need to get dinner, the parking lot will have 7 food trucks (with a portion of sales going to the PTO)! Bring your family and friends for this great time!

Kindergarten Registration is now open for the 2024-2025 school year. Please register your rising kindergarten students using the below link as soon as possible.

If you have neighbors and friends who have rising kindergarten students for next school year, please let them know as well.
We look forward to meeting all our new Kindergarten Timberwolf Pups.

https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/student_services/registration__new_students_and_transfers_/kindergarten_registration/index

Student Placement for 2024-2025

We are beginning to look at student placement for the 2024-2025 school year.

Placement of students is an important decision and we consider it very carefully.

If you have information that you feel is significant for us to be aware of regarding your child’s placement, we would like to know about it.

These letters are OPTIONAL and we do NOT expect or require anyone to send placement input. This is just optional for those families that feel there is some additional information which they would like to share with us.

It is very important to note, however, that we cannot accept any specific teacher requests or any requests to have students placed with other students. (The only exception would be siblings).

When placing students, we look at individual learning styles, class make up and how classroom teachers can support individual learning needs.

I can assure you that all our teachers are excellent educators and are dedicated to doing their best for all of their students.I know your children will be happy, safe, and successful in any one of our teacher’s classrooms.

However, please share information, which you feel would assist the placement committee as we develop our class lists, regarding your child’s:

· learning style,

· academic strengths or weaknesses,

· organizational skills/work habits,

· how you feel your child learns best

· PLEASE DO NOT List any specific teachers or students with whom you want your child placed.

You may share this information with me by emailing me at buchhear@pwcs.edu or mailing a letter to my attention. If you are moving out of our school ☹ - please let me know as well. THANK YOU!

If there are students with whom you feel your child should NOT be placed with, you may include this as well. Please do NOT include names of students with whom you would like your child placed.

I cannot accept letters asking to place your students with specific students or specific teachers.

I will share each letter with the current classroom teacher as well since their input will also be a significant part of the placement decisions.

I can accept letters of input between April 1, 2024 thru April 23 2024

5th grade Timberwolf Families,

We are once again offering the opportunity to order yard signs for your rising 6th grade students. They can be delivered to your door or you can choose to pick them up from the company. This year you can also get a generic sign if you do not want to put your child's name on the yard sign. These are optional.

Here is the link - https://orionpros.com/shop/ols/products/t-clay-wood-2022

The TCW 2023/2024 Yearbooks are officially on sale! The cost of each book is $25, and they will be delivered to your student's classroom during the last week of school. The deadline to order is April 31, 2024.

Please click the link below to order today!

https://link.entourageyearbooks.com/my/TCW2024

April 1 - April 17, 2024 PWCS will conduct their annual Division Wide Satisfaction Survey with 4th and 5th grades.

April 15, 2024 (NOTE CHANGE OF DATE TO APRIL 15- We will practice our required Lock Down Drill. We are required to practice one lock down drill during the first 20 days of every school year. All PWCS schools shall also conduct one additional drill after the first 60 days of the school year and one during the 2nd semester of school.

Throughout the school year we will practice a variety of drills in order to make sure all our staff and students know what to do in case of a real emergency. We will practice fire drills, additional lock down drills, tornado drills, earthquake drills as well as other types of drills.

We explain these drills as a way for us all to know what we need to do in case of a fire or emergency and as an extra layer of protection and security similar to homes which have more than one lock on their front door and to make sure all students and teachers are always safe at school. If your students has any concerns with any of these drills, please let your child's teacher and/or one of our school counselors know so they can follow up with your child.

Please understand that Prince William County Public Schools requires each school to participate in these drills for the safety and protection of all our students, staff, and visitors.

I have included the link to the PWCS Crisis and Emergency Information Webpage which provides additional information – https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/risk_management___security_services/crisis_preparedness/index

As well as the link to PWCS Regulation 401.01-2 Crisis Management Readiness - https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/pwcs/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BKF3TF08698D

The safety of our students and staff is always our highest priority.

Thank you for your support.

April 18, 2024. DJ Wood will be celebrating the end of the 3rd quarter with our students during their lunch time. He has performed a couple of times for our students last year and this year.

April 23, 2024 - We will hold our annual I Can Assembly. The focus will be on reminding students that they can if they work hard, try their best, and persevere.

April 24- May 5 - 4th and 5th grade will be giving input through the Leader in Me MRA Survey. If you would like to opt your student out of the survey, please let your child's teacher know. The Measurable Results Assessment (MRA) is a powerful tool that supports positive growth through focused, empowered action. Staff, Families, and Students (only 4th and 5th) will be given the opportunity to complete the survey.

May 3, 2024 - The PTO has arranged for a Reptile Assembly. Students will have an opportunity to see a wide variety of reptiles -including snakes.

If you do not want your student to participate in any of these activities or assemblies please let your child's teacher know.

Social Media Reminders: T. Clay Wood ES only puts up photos or videos on the Official T. Clay Wood Social Media Sites - on the T. Clay Wood Facebook, X(Twitter), Instagram, and You Tube.

You will see the following Notice on our Official Site -

“This PWCS social media account has been approved by the PWCS Communications Department.”

Social Media sites have to be approved annually by the PWCS Communication Department. Regulation 790-3 , Section B of the Attachment provides further information as well as information about Opt-Out. When filling out the Back to School Packet, information is included that discusses and references this regulation.

Today, Friday, April 19, 2024 report cards will be available to parents of K-5 students to view in ParentVUE in a PDF format in the Documents Tab.

Here are the steps on how to review Report Cards.

Accessing Student Report Cards through ParentVUE

To access student report cards, through ParentVue, please follow these steps:

1. Log into the ParentVUE app or the ParentVUE website using your ParentVUE UserID and password.
2. Once logged into ParentVUE, click the Documents button on the left side of the screen.
3. If you need assistance with accessing your ParentVue account, please reach out to our Administrative Assistant, Mrs. Baker at BakerKL@PWCS.EDU
4. If you have any questions about attendance, please follow up with Mrs. Kanakasabapathy at KanakaV@pwcs.edu
5. If you have questions about any grades, please follow up with your child's classroom teacher or encore teacher.

DOCUMENTS

Documents

• Wear Patriotic Colors - RED, White, and Blue
• LOCKDOWN DRILL (Moved from April 17 to April 15 today)

Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - Day 6

• Hats of to Military Families - wear your favorite HAT

Wednesday, April 17, 2024- Day 1

• Purple Up Day - Purple is a blending of all the colors of the different branches of the military - wear purple to support our military families.
• 2nd grade - Life with Native Americans - in person
  
• 4th grade - Virtual - Jamestown.
• 3rd grade field trip

Thursday, April 18, 2024 - Day 2

• - Wear your favorite branch of service
  
• DJ Wood -at Lunch Time - Celebrating successful ending of 3rd 9 weeks.
• 6:30pm - Advisory Council/PTO in person meeting in the Art Room.

Friday, April 19, 2024 -Day 3

• R.E.D - Remember Everyone Deployed -by wearing Red
• Spring Bus Evacuation Drill

Our 2023-2024 PTO BOARD

President - Kate Case

VP - Kelsey Fisher

Treasurer - Beth Feliciano-Rivera

Asst Treasurer - Cooper Waterman

Secretary - Sandra Oviedo

Director - Amelia Hunter

Teacher Director - Tiana Marshall

Upcoming Dates:

Moving forward we have decided to merge the Advisory Council meetings with the PTO meetings to offer families one combined meeting to get all the information they need for happenings at the school and in the community. Due to this change, some of our meeting dates have changed. Please see the schedule posted for new meeting dates. We hope you'll be able to join us!

Email tclaywoodpto@gmail.com for more information!

PTO Membership is still open!

Membership (tclaywoodpto.com)

As always, keep an eye on our T Clay Wood PTO facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/timberwolvesrock) and our website (https://www.tclaywoodpto.com/) for up to date information

*Every Tuesday - Every Tuesday during the school year Gainesville Papa Johns will give you 40% off your order and donate 10% back to the PTO!

PWCS has a late bus link for buses that will be late 15 minutes or more - https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/transportation/bus_delays

You can also sign up for the Here Comes the Bus App at - https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/transportation/here_comes_the_bus

For more information about buses - please see the Transportation Website -

https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/transportation/index

We are reminding all our School Community to treat our school staff, our students, and one another with civility. Our students are always watching!

In case of inclement weather when school is closed, PWCS will provide live virtual (Synchronized) instruction to all students through ZOOM. PWCS Expectation is that all students participate. Attendance will be taken. Students must keep their cameras on to be counted as present. Instruction will take place between 9am - 2pm with 1 hour for lunch and recess time.

Prior to late fall/early winter, please make sure you are able to access the internet. Any family needing assistance with home internet should contact their school during the first month of school to receive a school-issued take-home “hotspot.” If you are not able to access the internet, please reach out to Mr. Taylor at taylorbi@pwcs.edu or 703.594.3990.

At T. Clay Wood Elementary School, we love to have visitors and volunteers every day. To help ensure the safety of our students, visitors to Prince William County Schools are expected to report promptly to the school’s main office when entering school buildings. Visitors and volunteers will be asked to provide a valid government issued photo identification. There are no exceptions. Every visitor to our school must bring with them a photo id. Visitors will then be issued a temporary identification badge. We will not permit any visitor or volunteer into the building without this identification. Our main goal is to ensure the safety and security of our students and staff at school.

If a situation occurs which makes it necessary for your child’s transportation home to change, please send in a note with your child in the morning giving clear directions as to how your child should go home at the end of the day. Only a parent/guardian can change their child’s transportation plan for any given day. A note from the parent must be received by the office AND the teacher before noon that day indicating the change. This is for the safety of the children and will alleviate any confusion at the end of the day.

Changing Dismissal Routine – Parents, if you are changing your child’s dismissal, you must send an email/note to the office or notify the office by 3:30 pm. The teacher and bus driver cannot accept a change if a student just tells him or her about the change without a note. In these cases, students are sent home the original way. In addition, please try to avoid changing dismissal procedures in the middle of the day and please send all dismissal changes to our office by calling our office at 703.594.3990 or sending a note in the morning. Emails sent to the teacher in the middle of the day may be missed if there is a substitute that day or if the teacher is not able to check his or her email.

3:30 pm - If you must pick your student up early, please arrive before 3:30 pm. We will not be able to call students to the office after 3:30 pm until all car riders are picked up. Students called for dismissal after 3:30 pm will be sent to the car rider area and will be brought up after all car riders are dismissed with the supervising teachers. This way we can reduce interruptions to the classrooms, provide continual supervision for all our students and give our focus in the office to dismissing students. Parents coming in after 3:30 pm will be asked to wait in the vestibule outside of the office and once their students are brought up to come in and sign their students out.

2023-2024 – Calendar link: https://www.pwcs.edu/calendars/school_calendar/index

You can also subscribe to the PWCS Calendar. To learn how, you can go to this PWCS Site and then follow the directions - How to Subscribe to the PWCS School Calendar

Code of Behavior link: https://www.pwcs.edu/about_us/code_of_behavior/index

Link to Family Life Education objectives and Opt out - https://www.pwcs.edu/academics___programs/science___family_life_education/family_life_education

Please take a moment to view our 2023-2024 T. Clay Wood Continuous Improvement Plan by clicking this link: T. Clay Wood 2023-2024 Continuous Improvement Plan

We have three Academic Goals this year - Increase Reading, Math, and Science Achievement Rates for all students at T. Clay Wood to at least 85% or higher.

We also are focused at increasing student satisfaction rates to 90% or higher and increasing number of active business partnerships at T. Clay Wood.

A Prince William County School of Excellence

“A Community of Leaders and Learners Achieving Excellence”

10600 Kettle Run Road; Nokesville, VA 20181

Andrew Buchheit, Principal - buchhear@pwcs.edu

Melissa Yuditsky, Assistant Principal yuditsml@pwcs..edu

“A Community of Leaders and Learners Achieving Excellence”

School hours: 9:20 am – 4:00 pm

(Office hours: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.)

SCHOOL SCHEDULE

Doors Open: 9:10 a.m.

Students tardy after: 9:20 a.m.

Dismissal: 4:00 p.m.

School Phone Number: 703.594.3990

School Fax Number: 703.594.2653

Attendance Email: cwes-timberwolf-attendance@pwcs.edu

Attendance Phone Line:– 703.594.3992

Motto: “I seek to make a POSITIVE DIFFERENCE AT SCHOOL”

Website: http://tclaywoodes.schools.pwcs.edu

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TClayWoodES

Twitter @TClayWoodElem

Instagram: tclaywoodelementary

Email: buchhear@pwcs.edu
Website: http://tclaywoodes.schools.pwcs.edu
Location: 10600 Kettle Run Road, Nokesville, VA, USA
Phone: 703.594.3990
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TClayWoodES
Twitter: @TClayWoodElem