WMS Friday Forecast

This week, all sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students had the opportunity to participate in the Kane County Judges presentation on digital safety. Judge Betsy Flood and Judge Julie Yetter came to Wredling Middle School to share their courtroom experiences with our Redhawks. The goal of the presentation is to educate students about the use of social media and electronics to prevent them from using it in a way that requires them to appear in Court. “I have seen the devastating results that can occur as a result of one bad decision of a young person,” says Judge Clint Hull. “If we can get these students to think, ‘Wow, that could happen to me’ or ‘I didn’t realize that could really happen because of just forwarding a picture or a text’ then we have begun to make at least a dent in the way young people communicate today."

Kane County Judges have presented “Worries of the World Wide Web” over fifty times to schools throughout Kane County speaking to over 20,000 students. The IJA launched the statewide program in January of 2017. For further information about the program, write the Illinois Judges Association at 321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604, call (312) 431-1283 or email the association at info@ija.org.

Get ready to unplug! Wredling will be observing National Day of Unplugging. Our teachers will be minimizing their technology to the bare minimum, while our RedHawk students will be unplugged all day!

On Monday of this week, our student information system (eSchool, HAC) was down for the majority of the day. This outage interfered with our ability to look up student information, parent contact information, etc. Though we were ultimately able to access student schedules via third-party software. During this time we discovered how dependent we have become on technology in so many facets of our lives.

We also discovered that many students do not have an emergency phone number memorized. This weekend would be a good time to help your middle schooler memorize one (or more) important phone numbers. For students who struggle with memorization, you may wish to find a place in their planner or backpack to write these numbers down. You never know when this information can come in handy.

Technology is great when it works but having an "old school" backup plan is always a good option.

The annual D303 Fiddle Fest is approaching! This fun event is set for Friday, February 28th at St Charles East High School. Participating students should arrive at 4:45 for our 5 pm for rehearsal.

Is your orchestra student participating? Please click on the link for the Google Form below and fill it out so there can be an accurate count for concert set up and for the pizza dinner:

Online Fiddle Fest Registration Link!

We are hoping to break the attendance record this year so we hope to see every WMS Orchestra Musician fiddlin'!

Please remember the cost of the pizza is $5. Your child should bring $5 cash to Fiddle Fest if they are eating the pizza.

The Fiddle Fest concert will be at 7 pm in St Charles East Main Gym. Come hear a great performance from hundreds of D303 string musicians!

We have recently had a few thefts from lockers. After investigating we have found two things:

1) that students are not locking their lockers, or
2) that they have given their locker combinations to other students

It is imperative for the lockers to be locked at all times and for them not to share their combination.

Please talk to your child this weekend about keeping their things secure.

Just a reminder to parents that students may only use a D303 lock that they can buy in the office for $5. All other locks will be cut off and replaced with a D303 lock and $5 will be charged to the student's PushCoin account. Students have been warned about this many times.

Families who wish to submit Middle School Transfer requests may do so beginning February 3. The request form will be available on the District 303 website through February 28. Families must complete a separate form for each student they want transferred. Requests are granted based on space available so siblings are not guaranteed placement. A written decision will be communicated to families before spring break.

Once the request is approved, a student may remain at that middle school throughout his or her middle school career, as long as the student resides in District 303.

Families of students granted permission to attend a school outside of their assigned attendance are responsible for their own transportation.

Students will return to their assigned attendance area high school regardless of the middle school attended.

Do you have a student you would like us to
highlight in our RedHawk Spotlight?
Please email their story and a couple of photos
to Tim Loversky for consideration.

Our first student in the RedHawk Spotlight is featured below!

We will regularly feature our Social Emotional Learning information in our Friday Forecast. See the article at the top of this newsletter about helping teenagers deal with stress! This is out SEL information for this week.

Our Wredling RedHawks hosted a great game tonight vs the Thompson Thunder. Members of the St. Charles East Boys Basketball team were in attendance to cheer on both teams. Their presence was much appreciated! Ultimately the win went to our Lady RedHawks - Congratulations!!! Maybe our RedHawks and the Thunder can show the same spirit & support to the High Schools!

There are a few tickets left for the 25th annual gala on February 22, 2020. You can still support the foundation even if you can’t attend. In addition to bidding on some fantastic baskets, anyone can buy e-raffle tickets for a chance to win $500 cash or $500 in D303 fees! The best part is, all the proceeds go right back into D303 schools! For more information: https://e.givesmart.com/events/eYs/i/

March 19, 2020
Wake Up Call
Haines Building Gymnasium
6:30-8:00 p.m

Wake Up Call is a three-part drug and alcohol prevention presentation. The first part of the presentation focuses on current trends such as vaping, marijuana, alcohol and prescription pills. Next, attendees are walked through a life-size teen bedroom with more than 20 “red flags” that can signal drug or alcohol use. The bedroom identifies spots where drugs can be hidden, household items that can be used as drug paraphernalia and ways teens try to cover up drug and alcohol use. Lastly, attendees will learn practical prevention strategies to prevent substance abuse and where to go for help if they are concerned.

CLICK ON THE GOOGLE FORM BELOW TO REGISTER

District 303 Parent University presents our second annual book study when we read "The Whole Brain Child" by Dr. Dan Siegel.

In this pioneering, practical book, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist and author of the bestselling book Mindsight, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson demystify the meltdowns and aggravation, explaining the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. Conversations will be based upon the book as well as supplemental workbook activities.

Study sessions will be offered during both morning and evening times at the following locations:

• Baker Community Center (101 S. 2nd Street, St. Charles)
• Fox Ridge in the LRC (1905 Tyler Road, St. Charles)

Join us for the book study sessions on the following dates:

February 13, 2020

9:15-10:30 a.m. at Baker Community Center

6:30-7:45 p.m. at Fox Ridge in the LRC

February 27, 2020

9:15-10:30 a.m. at Baker Community Center

6:30-7:45 p.m. at Fox Ridge in the LRC

March 12, 2020

9:15-10:30 a.m. at Baker Community Center

6:30-7:45 p.m. at Fox Ridge in the LRC

District 303 participates in the annual Illinois 5Essentials Survey that collects feedback from our students, teachers, and parents. Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will enable you to share your thoughts on important elements of school effectiveness. All responses are confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.

The Parent Survey is currently open and will remain so through February 14, 2020.

To take the survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the

appropriate survey. Make sure you enter Kane County in the box for county even if

your home or your child’s school is in DuPage County. This will allow you to correctly

select your child’s school.

Contact us on Twitter @WredlingD303

#WredlingLearns

Website: wredling.d303.org
Location: 1200 Dunham Road, St. Charles, IL, USA
Phone: (331)228-3700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wredling-Middle-School-537757163011275/
Twitter: @WredlingD303