Wiggin Street Parent Update

Dear Wiggin Street Families,

We hope all had a nice Thanksgiving weekend! This week we have focused on showing kindness, having empathy, and showing appreciation when you are thankful for what someone else has done for you. Thank you for sharing such thoughtful children with Wiggin Street each day!

If for some reason you did not receive this Parent Update through text or email, you will want to sign up for our district's new communication system, Instant Connect. Directions are provided below within this update.

Lastly, we have lots planned before winter break. Make sure to look at our Upcoming Events for information regarding the Kindergarten Gingerbread Man Play, Grades 3-5 Winter Program, and holiday parties.

Have a wonderful weekend!

With Warm Regards,

Christy Grandstaff

The Holiday Shop is set for next Friday, Dec 10th! Parents can join their kids for shopping from 8:30-9:00am, and students will be shopping with their class in groups from 9:00-11:50. All students will be bringing home an envelope on Monday, December 6th, with a list attached for students to indicate who they will be shopping for. The envelope can be returned to school with cash prior to Friday. Any students that will not be shopping will still have the opportunity to make an ornament. These are provided by FOWS. Due to drying times, Ornaments will not coming home till Monday Dec. 13th. Happy Shopping!

Next FOW meeting is Dec. 7th @ 5:00 pm. We also have a Zoom option at https://zoom.us/j/98908022169, and the sound should be much better than last month:)

Run, run, as fast as you can to see our Kindergarten classes perform "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" play! Students should arrive at 6:00 pm on Dec. 14th to get into their costumes. Parents are welcome at that time to proceed to the gym with the performance beginning at 6:15 pm.

Wiggin Street Elementary 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are preparing a winter program for December 16th! (The Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders will prepare a performance in the spring.) Students will walk to and from Rosse Hall the day of the program for rehearsal. Please have your child dress for the weather.

LOCATION/TIME: 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students report at 6:30pm. The program will begin at 7:00pm. The program will be at Rosse Hall on the campus of Kenyon College.

ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL: Students and families can enter through the Rosse Hall entrance or through the side doors closer to Brandi Recital Hall. Students will meet in Brandi Recital Hall (in the same building as Rosse Hall) and check in with their teacher. Homeroom teachers will sign students out to 1 adult after the performance.

GUIDELINES:

Only two guests per student will be allowed to attend. Plan to sign in. This allows for social distancing in the theatre. Guests should plan to be seated by a volunteer to ensure the safest spacing.

Masks are required for attendance. Students will have the option to remove their masks for the singing portion of their grade level performance (less than 10 minutes).

ATTIRE: All students should dress in nice clothes the evening of the program.

5th graders should wear nice dark clothes, if possible (navy blue, black,etc). Why? It’s a surprise!

Looking forward to a celebration of the season with you!

Mrs. Suzy Springer, Wiggin Street Elementary Music Teacher

Our school will be joining in the fun and celebrating this day by wearing our favorite Ugly Sweater! Students are invited to participate on this day that coincides with our Holiday parties.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, with the support of American Electric Power, is providing every Ohio first-grade student with a Child ID Kit. These kits allow parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian. If ever needed, the kit will give authorities vital information to assist their efforts to locate a missing child.

The Child ID Kits will be coming home with first grade students next week.

Congratulations to Mrs. Brenneman's class for winning the Pizza Party for donating the most "cans"! Also, Logan Miller had the greatest donation and was offered the opportunity to be on the LIVE broadcast with other schools' winners on the day of the Drive and received a goody bag.

Dec. 10 Winning students are interviewed LIVE @ Knox Memorial

Thank you to all that donated, and congratulations, Logan!!!

Mount Vernon City Schools will begin transitioning from KnoxAlerts to Instant Connect. Instant Connect is a communications system that will allow us to send voice communication, text, and email to our district families. We will be using this software as our notification system for attendance, important district news, alerts, and school closings.

The first step started last year as parents of MVCSD students began receiving messages from Instant Connect through absence notifications and district COVID notifications. Parent contact information was being pulled directly from the Student Information Systems. At the start of each school year parents log in to the Parent Portal and update the contact information on the student’s emergency medical form. The emergency medical form is the location where phone numbers and email addresses are imported into our system.

The second step in the integration, involved having MVCSD faculty and staff register for an Instant Connect Portal account to manage their district communications.

The third step in the rollout is allowing all parents, community members and students to register their own Instant Connect Portal account in order to receive communications from Mount Vernon City Schools. Please read the registration instructions on setting up your Instant Connect portal. Then, select the 'Instant Connect Portal Account Registration Link' below for registration.

Instant Connect Portal Account Registration Link

Parents of Mount Vernon City School students will continue to receive information and alerts from Instant Connect as their contact information imports through our student information system. However, if parents desire to customize their communications from MVCSD, setting up an Instant Connect Portal account is highly recommended. Parents would have the ability to receive specific building alerts and notifications of their choice.

Thrive Kids with Coach Hannah

We’ve started a new skill this week at Thrive Kids, the wall ball! We will work each week to advance this skill and help the kids to grow stronger in their movements. We will also focus on what it means to be a learner while also being a leader and how they can transfer these skills to their classroom and other activities!

December Schedule:

Thursday 12/9

Thursday 12/16

See you next week at 8:15am!

Please remember that students will go outside on days where the temperature with wind chill accounted for is at or above 20°f. Be sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather each day. Coats, hats, and gloves are necessary at this time of the year. Boots are required for playing in the snow. If you need assistance with winter outerwear for your child, please contact our school, and we will happily find warm clothes for them.

We have an abundance of coats after a few warmer days. Please have your child check the Lost and Found for missing items. Also, please label all clothing, lunchboxes, water bottles, etc. We will try to get it to the owner before making donations.

As grocery and online shopping pickup over the holiday season, Friends of Wiggin Street School (FOWS) would like to inform teachers and parents of two easy ways to earn cash-back rewards for the school. Below are instructions provided by Kroger and Amazon on how to sign-up for their charitable rewards programs.

Kroger Community Rewards

Create a digital account, link your card to the organization "Friends of Wiggin Street School” and cash rewards are sent directly to this charitable organization at no added cost to you

https://www.kroger.com/i/community/community-rewards

AmazonSmile

To use AmazonSmile, simply go to smile.amazon.com on your web browser or activate AmazonSmile in the Amazon Shopping app on your iOS or Android phone within the Settings or Programs & Features menu. On your web browser, you can add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping with AmazonSmile.

https://smile.amazon.com

December

7 FOW PTO Meeting, 5:00

10 Holiday Shop (parents may shop with kids from 8:30-9:00 am)

13 Gingerbread Man Play Dress Rehearsal (performance for students)

14 Gingerbread Man Play 6:15 pm (students arrive @ 6:00)

16 Winter Performance Dress Rehearsal (Warm clothing to walk to Rosse Hall)

16 Winter Performance @ Rosse Hall; 7:00 pm (Staff: 6-6:15; Students: 6:30)

17 Holiday Parties

18- Jan. 2 Winter Break

Email: cgrandstaff@mvcsd.us
Website: mvcsd.us
Location: 207 Wiggin St, Gambier, OH, USA
Phone: (740) 427-4262
Twitter: @LCGrandstaff