Petey's Post
January 15th, 2024 Edition
Gifted Testing Window
Did you know teachers, parents, and other staff members may nominate a student for gifted services? While nominations can be made ANY time, gifted testing is offered only TWICE per year, during the testing windows. Students may test ONE time per year in grades 4-8, IF the student's data supports the need.
Click HERE to submit a nomination for gifted/ gifted testing. The Testing Form Completion Due Date is January 26th.
Additional Information:
The Testing Window is Jan. 29 - Feb. 9
Testing is for new-to-district 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who have never been screened with the Iowa or CogAT.
It is also available for 4th or 5th graders who show a need for gifted services but may not have performed well on the 3rd grade universal screening.
K-2 students are screened through a different early identification process, and they must be performing 1-2 years above that of their peers.
Parent nominations will be reviewed with homeroom teachers prior to adding students to the testing roster.
Testing invites will be sent to parents whose students are selected for testing.
No test prep materials will be provided. Students will take the CogAT and/or Iowa assessments and this may be shared with parents.
PreK Application
Families of children who will be 4 years old by August 31, 2024 can now apply for Pre-K services for next school year. The Universal Application will allow families to submit one application to determine eligibility for one of three different services: WCPSS Title I Pre-K, NC Pre-K, or Telamon Head Start. The deadline is June 16, 2024. Applications are not first come, first served.
ACCESS Testing
ACCESS 2.0 is a state and federally mandated test for all students who have been identified as multilingual learners (ML). This assessment of English language proficiency is given annually. The test will include items in listening, reading, writing, and speaking to determine students’ level of English proficiency. Students will participate in practice lessons for preparation January 16th-18th with Ms. Gail Irvin and Ms. Lisa Smith, BRES ML teachers. Students will complete ACCESS testing individually (Kindergarten) or in small groups (Grades 1-5) between January 22 and February 9. The subtests are completed in 2-4 days for each group of students.
Morning Car Rider Drop-off
For the safety of our students and staff, we would like to share these reminders for our morning car rider drop-off.
Please remain in a single file line. The outside lane next to the sidewalk is our safe zone for student movement.
Please pull up as far as possible before letting students exit their vehicles. Staff will assist with directing drivers.
Please release students from their vehicles when staff members motion that is is safe for them to do so.
WCPSS Transportation Survey
WCPSS is partnering with researchers at NC State University to learn more about families’ preferences for transportation services. Parents are being asked to complete this short, anonymous survey, whether their child currently receives district transportation services or not. Results of this survey will be analyzed by researchers and shared with district leaders to support future policy and planning.