The Morgan Messenger

May 7, 2024- SOL Reading Retake for eligible students

May 9, 2024- State Math SOL Test

May 10, 2024- PBIS Bouncy House Effort Reward

May 14, 2024- State Science SOL Test

May 17, 2024-PBIS Effort Reward

May 21, 2024- Spring Band Concert-6:00 PM

May 27, 2024- No School- Memorial Day Holiday

May 30, 2024- Early Dismissal and LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

Good evening:

What a great weekend for Apple Blossom, overall, and we hope you enjoyed all that you chose to be a part of this year.

SOL preliminary reports were sent home with students on Thursday. Some students' reports did not print and we will work on getting these to students this week. If your child scored a 375-399, they will be retaking the test on Tuesday unless the parent has expressed a desire to not have their child participate. Phone calls were made to parents of these students last week. Official results will not be available until June. We will also have the math SOL on Thursday. Our students and teachers have been working as small units for the past two weeks to prepare and the sessions have been well received by our kids.

The Student Advisory Committee is promoting a school-wide service project for the end of the school year. The students are working to help the Winchester SPCA be stocked with needed supplies. We know that, as always, the organization needs DRY cat and dog food, preferably Purina One which is best for most animals. Donated items may be brought to the front office, or ordered through the link provided in a special notice provided in this edition. The project will take place May 6-17, 2024.

The students are also planning the 6th grade Farewell Activity for the end of the school year. They will advise the administration as to which snacks and fun they would prefer for their send off to middle school.

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6-10. We will be celebrating our teacher and teacher assistants each day with a special "thank you." The work of the DMIS staff to provide an excellent educational opportunity for children has been stellar! Many guests throughout the school year have remarked about the high quality of work delivered by our staff and this includes principals and leaders in our division. Thank you to the PTO for contributing items to celebrate our staff!

Also, this week is National School Nurse's Appreciation Week. We are very fortunate to have Ms. Emily Ely as our school nurse. She has daily attended to the needs of our students, and at time staff, with the care and knowledge needed to serve our school in the best way possible.

Thank you, Ms. Ely!

Once again, we see much improvement in our school drop-off and pick-up. This is simply because of the parents choosing to follow procedures and thinking of the safety of children and those parents in the rear view mirror needing to get to work or other destinations. Thank you for your willingness to make the process the best it can be at this time.

Please remember that many positive reward activities are planned for this last five-weeks of school. Participation will be based upon effort... be present, do your best, be your best always and everywhere! This is Pride! We want every student to take place in all that we will be offering for fun and joy!

Please remember to call the school to discuss any concerns or if you have questions.

Have a wonderful week!

Helpful Links

• May Intramurals link: https://bit.ly/3UIlpAo
• Absence/Attendance Note to the Attendance Clerk: https://bit.ly/3Sr7jCr

The DMIS Student Advisory Committee has elected to focus on the Winchester SPCA for a school-wide service project. With the emphasis being dry cat and dog food, additional items of need are provided at the following link: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2I15GP931415T/ref=cm_go_nav_hz?

Thank you for any and all donations. Items may be brought to the school or taken to the SPCA.

Free Online Tutoring with Varsity Tutors

WPS students in grades 1-12 can now use Varsity Tutors at NO COST!

Features include 24/7 On-Demand Tutor Chat; Live Group Classes in Academics, SAT & ACT Test Prep, Career Readiness and Celebrity-Led StarCourse Classes; On-Demand Essay Review and Practice Tests & Personalized Learning Plans. To access Varsity Tutors, simply log into Classlink, select “Varsity Tutors” and enter the Varsity Tutors portal. Students can explore the Learning Lab and search for activities and support they want to use. Instructions & Info: https://bit.ly/ALLINWIN

• The Readiness Fair will be back this summer. We will be offering physicals and vaccines for the LAST time prior to school starting. This event is for ALL students new to Winchester.

The school zone camera program is now fully active at three locations (Cork Street @ Daniel Morgan, Meadow Branch Avenue @ John Kerr, and Amherst Street @ James Wood). Soon, we will be adding school bus stop arm cameras on high priority routes based on data analysis. Please be very mindful of speed in these areas and in the drop-off and pick-up loops.

Please review this flier to access vaccine opportunities. Vaccines provided at Frederick/Winchester Health Department Back to School Vaccines VDH

Rising 7th Graders (current 6th)-Please view this link: Rising 7th.

It's time to register for Preschool and Kindergarten!

Do you have a child who will be 4 or 5 by September 30? Everything you need to know about registration is on our registration website: bit.ly/WPSregistration2024

-Registration and eligibility events start soon! Physicals and vaccinations will be offered as listed on the registration website.

-You must bring your required documents, including birth certificate, TWO proofs of residency, physical exam, immunization record, and income verification for PreK only

-We will be using a new system for online registration and an email address is required to register

We can't wait to welcome your student and family to Winchester Public Schools!

Chronic Absenteeism- Students missing 10% or more of the total days in attendance are considered chronically absent. This percentage is measured by the state. While we saw great improvement last year, we have more work to do and attend to individual school attendance weekly. Please know that unexcused absences may accumulate and lead to involvement from our Attendance Team which will result in a meeting at the school. Again, please call when your child is absent so that he/she may be counted as excused.

WPS Excused and Unexcused absences and attendance information may be found at the following link: https://www.wps.k12.va.us/Page/10601

PBIS-Students are earning daily points to purchase rewards.

Regrouping for ELA, Science, and Math- ELA. Science, and Math Regrouping of Students- As noted in previous communications, students K-8 participate in regrouping for math and English. Students maintain the teacher of record for Tier 1 instruction and are moved to appropriate groups for the second half of class. This second half is referred to as Differentiation /Intervention. Students needing enrichment move into more accelerated groupings and those needing direct instruction or interventions for specific units move to classrooms providing more assistance with curricular concepts. Students are regrouped based upon collected data throughout the units. This process answers the question, "What are you doing that is different to meet the needs of my child?"

Please find the PTO meeting notes at the following link: https://bit.ly/3Z7uK5z

The email for the PTO is: dmpto@wps.k12.va.us

The PTO is in need of volunteers to help with concessions, spirit wear and other fundraising sales items at DMMS athletic events. Please check out the Sign-Up Genius to find a date/time that may work for you! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050A45AEA72AA7FC1-dmptoconcessions?useFullSite=true#/

PTO Facebook page! Please like and follow us for up to date information!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550544237802

At the following link, https://bit.ly/47QyA72, please find school breakfast and lunch menus, nutrition information, and My School Bucks program to add money to student cafeteria accounts.

• Parents who pull in to the Visitor/Guest Parking lot will now have access to more spaces as staff will not be parking in two rows of the visitor's parking lot. Please do not park around the perimeter of the lot or enter staff parking areas in the morning or afternoon. Parking lots are not for student drop-off in the morning or pick-up in the afternoon. Thank you very much for helping to keep our students and staff safe!
• Drop-Off- Please know that drop-off time is 8:00 AM. We have no supervision outside until that time and students should remain in cars until a staff member is present at the car loop. Thank you so much for helping us to keep our students safe! Please note the increase in car traffic on inclement weather days. Adjustments have been made to the intermediate and school car loops which have greatly helped the flow of traffic on Purcell and in these loops. Please follow the directions of staff at the loop to keep traffic moving and students safe throughout the drop-off and pick-up process. Also, thank you for not using parking lots as student drop-off locations. Students and staff walk and run across these areas frequently in the morning and afternoon.
• Parent Appointments- Please call the front office (540-667-7171) to make an appointment with principals or send an email. We want to be available to our parents. We are in meetings, teacher observations, and serving in duties throughout the day and don't want our parents to come to the school when no one is available. Of course, in emergency situations, our office staff will summon an administrator.