Wilder Elementary School

Dear Families,

Thank you for attending Open House! It was great to see all of you again and meet new families! Our current enrollment at Wilder is 180 students! The first week at school was wonderful, and the teachers are working hard to build relationships and teach the expectations and daily routines. We appreciate your partnership with your child's education!

Just a reminder to all that Door #1 will open at 7:40 a.m. for those students who eat breakfast. If you arrive before 7:40 a.m. and plan to have your child wait in the car, we ask that you park on the street (and let your child out of the car from CURBSIDE ONLY). Staff need to be able to get into the parking lot, so cars should not block the parking spots. Students who arrive before 7:40 a.m. must wait against the brick wall by Door#1. A staff member will open the door at 7:40 a.m. for students to enter. When the weather becomes below zero, children should wait in the car to remain warm until 7:40 a.m. Remember breakfast is served from 7:40 a.m. -8:20 a.m.

Also, starting next week, we ask that our families who enter the building drop their students off at the set of double doors by the office. Students know where their backpacks go now and should be able to do that step independently. The reason for this connects to our building security plan. We allow our families to help their child(ren) the first few days to ease them back into the school routine.

For the first six weeks of school, the staff will teach the students the expectations for behavior in different locations at Wilder. During the first week of school, students learned the hallway expectations. As a staff, we strive to teach the expectations similarly to provide consistency for our students.

Our HOUSE meetings will begin September 19th! Our new students and kindergarten friends will find out which house they will join! It is always exciting to kick off our HOUSE meetings. Our HOUSE meetings focus on building strong character traits. After reviewing student survey results from last year, we noticed our students reported having low self-efficacy. We will develop lessons that support their self-efficacy growth!

This is a friendly reminder that we do not have school on Monday, Sept. 4th, due to the holiday.

Our annual Title 1 Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 26th at 8:30 a.m. During our Title 1 meetings, you learn more about our school data and ways the Title funds support our school. We hope to see you at the meeting!

Please have a safe Labor Day weekend!

Leslie Bjelde

Principal

Please take note of these important upcoming dates!

SEPTEMBER

Monday, September 4 - Labor Day - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, September 12 - PTO Meeting 6:00-7:00 pm in the Wilder Library

Wednesday, September 20 - Early Dismissal - SCHOOL OUT at 1:30 pm

Monday, September 25 - Picture Day (Caulfield's)

Tuesday, September 26 - Title I Meeting - 8:30 am

Friday, September 29 - RED Event - 2:30 pm

OCTOBER

Wednesday, October 4 - Early Dismissal - SCHOOL OUT at 1:30 pm

Tuesday, October 10 - PTO Meeting 6:00-7:00 pm in the Wilder Library

Thursday, October 12 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4:00-7:00pm

Friday, October 13 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, October 17- Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4:00-7:00 pm

Wednesday, October 18 - Professional Development - NO SCHOOL

Thursday, October 19- Administrator Convention Day - NO SCHOOL

Friday, October 20 - Administrator Convention Day - NO SCHOOL

Friday, October 27 - RED Event - 2:30 pm

Please note that staff is not present in the building for supervision of students until 7:40 am. Therefore, please do not drop off your student(s) before that time. THANK YOU!

The Wilder Elementary School PTO would like to welcome you to a new year at our school. For those of you who are unfamiliar with us, we are a volunteer organization made up of parents, teachers, administrators, and other support staff who are all dedicated to the successful education of our children. The Wilder PTO works hard to help make the school year both enjoyable and exciting for students, teachers, and parents by providing support for educational and recreational needs; to promote open communication between administration, teachers, and parents/guardians, and to encourage Wilder school spirit and pride.

We are looking forward to meeting families, parents/guardians, and grandparents that would like to get involved with our PTO this school year. Everything we do is based on volunteers and we are looking to you to help make a difference in the lives of our children. Every parent/guardian is already a member of the PTO and we encourage you to get involved!

Please join us at our first meeting of the 2023-24 school year on Tuesday, September 12th from 6:00pm – 7:00pm. We will meet in the Library at Wilder with free pizza and childcare provided!

We will be discussing our fall coupon book fundraiser and planning activities for the coming year. We'd love to meet you and hear your ideas!

President: Whitney Miller (Keagen – Grade 3)

Vice President: Amanda Vingelen (Sophia – Grade 4)

Secretary: Sonja Brandt (Julia – Grade 2)

Treasurer: Tim Prescott (Emily – Grade 4)

Wilder Social Media: Cindy Prescott (Emily – Grade 4)

PTO Members: All parents/guardians, teachers, and staff of Wilder Elementary

Contact: wilderelementarypto@gmail.com or Wilder PTO on Facebook

Please watch for a light purple form coming home from SafeKids that provides some information regarding helmets as well as the option to purchase a bike helmet or multi-sport helmet if you are interested.

If ordering, please return the form before Monday, September 11!! Note: Forms submitted after that date will not be able to be filled. THANK YOU!!

Grand Forks Public Schools has determined a number of early release days to allow for teacher collaboration time. Wilder Elementary School is committed to providing the instruction and support needed for all students to achieve high levels of academic success. This collaboration schedule and what we do during this valuable time is vital to that commitment.

2023-2024 EARLY RELEASE WEDNESDAYS - 1:30 pm

September 20

October 4

November 1 and 15

December 6 and 20

January 17 and 31

February 28

March 20

April 10 and 24

May 8 and 22

On early release Wednesdays, students who are walking home or being picked up will dismiss from Door #4 promptly at 1:30 pm. Please plan accordingly.

Students enrolled in ENCORE's Early Out Club will report to their designated attendance location at Wilder at 1:30 pm.

Early Out Club will dismiss at 3:00 pm. Parents (of children not also enrolled in Encore) are to come to Door #1 (parking lot door) and sign their child out.

First Bell: 8:20 am -- Use Door #4 (if not having breakfast at school)

School Begins: 8:25 am

Breakfast: Served from 7:40-8:15 am -- Use Door #1

School Dismissal Time: 3:00 pm -- Students will be dismissed through Door #4

Wilder Elementary School is a peanut-free and tree nut-free school. We follow district guidelines regarding food items being brought to school from home. In order to meet those expectations, we ask you to please cooperate by following our routines for any food items brought into the building.

Did you know snacks must be sent to school in their original packaging so the ingredient list can be read? The teacher is then able to identify if the product is peanut free.

• Fruits and vegetables are the best options. If you check ingredient labels to be certain items are not processed in a facility that also produces peanuts, you may send these items as a snack in their originally packaging:

cheese sticks, yogurt, applesauce, pretzels, popcorn, fruit cups,

Goldfish crackers, graham crackers, raisins, dried fruit

The items listed above meet our Wellness Policy guidelines. Please refrain from sending fruit snacks to school for snack.

• Cold lunches brought to school need to follow the same guidelines. No peanut products or tree nut products are allowed at school. What makes this difficult is that so many packaged "convenient" snacks are made in facilities that also produce peanut items. The nutrition label for packaged food items cannot say that it was "made in a facility that produces peanut or tree nut products."

• Birthday food treats for classroom sharing are not allowed. Non-food items such as stickers, pencils, or a classroom book or a game are an alternative, if you wish.

We sincerely appreciate your efforts to abide by these guidelines.

Now that our students know where their classroom is located and understand the routine of hanging up their backpacks, we ask that all families say their goodbyes to their child at the door or from their vehicle. If you need to enter the school for other reasons, please follow our Visitor Procedures by checking into the office and a staff member will bring you to the desired location.

From previous newsletter to share with others who may pick up your child one day:

Our students' safety as they arrive and dismiss from school is very important to us. Please note the following expectations to ensure that we are working together to keep kids safe at these busy times of day:

Before School:

• Students not eating breakfast should be dropped off near door #4 on the East side of the school as close to 8:20 as possible. We do not want students sitting outside for a long period of time during poor weather conditions. Students are not to arrive early or play on the unsupervised playground. They may stand nicely in a line outside door #4. Drop off your child along North 4th St.

• Students eating breakfast may not enter the school until 7:40 AM. Please have your child wait in the car with you until 7:40. Students enter through the main entrance in the parking lot, directly in front of the door.

• We encourage participation in the breakfast program. If your child will not be eating breakfast at school, but needs to be safely dropped off earlier than 8:20, please contact the office. We have limited space, beyond serving breakfast participants.

After School:

• Pick up your child along N. 4th Street. Students are dismissed through Door #4. Parents are expected to promptly meet their children outside at dismissal time. Each grade level will be lined up on the grassy area near the sidewalk along N. 4th St. They will be in order from building to fence: Grade K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

• If you or your child need to cross the street to get to or return to your car, use the crosswalk. Playing on the playground is not an option, unless a parent is there to supervise.

• Students enrolled in Encore, the after school program on site, will not begin until Monday, August 30.

• In order for safe habits to be established, it is especially important that parents help their children follow our pick up and drop off routines and procedures.

If your child is going to be late or absent from school, please inform the school office at 746-2320 before 8:25 am. Communication between home and school ensures student safety. If the school does not hear from you, the office will call to make sure your child is safe.

If you are taking your child out of school early for any reason, come to the office to sign them out. Please let your child's teacher know ahead of time if possible. Daily attendance is very important. If your child is not in school, he/she is missing out on very important learning. Tardies and early pick ups result in lost instruction as well.

The ND Department of Health & Human Service's SEAL!ND program will be coming to Wilder this year to help keep our student's teeth healthy! Please check out the attached flyer for more information and watch for the Consent Form that will be sent home with your student.

Safe Kids is geared to help keep kids safe at HOME, at SCHOOL, at PLAY, and ON the WAY. Please see the September Safe Kids newsletter attached below for some great information about Pedestrian and Motorist Safety.

Email: afiala210@mygfschools.org
Website: https://www.gfschools.org/Domain/1087
Location: 1009 North 3rd Street
Phone: (701) 746-2320