Fire
and Lock Down Drills
At
the start of the year, we promised to let families know when the
first few fire drills and lock down drills would occur, especially
since we are required to report eleven drills a year now. On
September 4th,
we conducted a fire drill at 10:00 am. Students were told of the
drill at 7:45 am in the all purpose room and again at 8:00 am during
morning announcements. This allowed teachers adequate time to talk
with their students about safety, alternate routes, and procedures
during morning meeting. After the fire drill, the teachers were asked
to debrief with their classes to talk about what happened, how to
improve the process, and for the youngsters, to talk about our
students' feelings and concerns, in an effort to make it less scary
and more routine. This same procedure will be followed when we do
our first lock down drill of the year, which is scheduled for Friday,
September 13th
in the morning. Don’t hesitate to ask your children how things
went on September 4th
and again on 13th.
Looking
for Feedback
There
are many changes at our school this year from starting the new school
year on a Monday, to keeping the building locked 100% of the school
day, to our K-4 classical music lunchroom, to the way we now do
parent pick-up and more. By next week, we will have lived with
the changes for nearly three weeks, enough time to know how well
things are going and if we need to tweak the process. Look for
a survey called Changes
in the New School Year FY 14.
I will send it out electronically on September 12th and in hard
copy to every family on September 13th,
with Friday Notices. I need the survey returned to me by
Monday, September 16th as the School Board and I will review the data
at our monthly meeting that very night. Please be honest and
tell us how you feel about these changes, as we promise to review ALL
input carefully!
Don't hesitate to ask your children their
thoughts about the changes because their opinions matter greatly to
this school, too!
No
School on September 27th
There
will be no school on Friday, September 27th as it is a WSSU Inservice
Day for teachers.
Next
School Board Meeting
The
next WS School Board Meeting will be held on September 16th at 6:30
pm in the all purpose room. All meetings are open to the public
unless otherwise planned and announced as an executive session.
Volunteer
Opportunity: We need you!
Parent
and community volunteers will bring an exciting nature education
program to all K-4 students, monthly during the school year! NO
EXPERIENCE is required to volunteer! Each month, adults will meet on
a Wednesday morning from 8:45-10:45 am to learn
about the topic of the month. They will do the activities, games, and
explorations under the leadership of a professional naturalist
educator. Then, they will pair up and bring the program to students
in a K-4 class. This will happen monthly through the school year
(except in Dec and June). Time commitment is about 4-5 hours total
each month (2 to attend the training, 1-1.5 to prepare your lesson
with your teammate, and 1.5 in class with the kids. This is a
FUN way to volunteer and make a meaningful difference in your child's
education. The first training workshop is WED, SEPT. 11,
8:45-10:45 am. If you are interested or have questions about the
program, please call or email Susan Hindinger, nature program
volunteer coordinator, at 263-5924 or shindinger@tds.net.
Welcome To New
Faculty and Staff
Dr. David Baker,
Superintendent of the WSSU, (our interim from last year)
Dr. Nicole Saginor,
Curriculum Coordinator for the WSSU, (part time)
Joseph Jones, Library
Media Teacher, part time, (.6 FTE)
Brenda Sheere, Art
Teacher, part time, (.4 FTE)
Stacey Knight, Special
Education Paraprofessional
Kelly
Harriman, Athletic Director
We are still looking for a
bus driver and an assistant AD. Call the school for more
information.
Lunch Routine to
Reduce Noise and Enjoy for Grades K-4
When students in grades
K-4 enter the cafeteria now soft, classical music is playing. For the
first 5-10 minutes, students are in lunch line, finding a seat and
start eating as they listen to the calming, sweet music. When
everyone is seated and their meal has begun, each table is praised by
an adult on duty and told they may now whisper talk to tablemates for
5-10 minutes. If whisper talk is a success, then each table can go on
to restaurant voices (regular talking voice - no shouting or loud
noises). If a reminder is needed, then only that table needs to all
go back to a whisper talk. Each table is responsible for dining and
talking politely in a restaurant voice. Clear expectations and
consistency are key in making this change work for all involved. We
want this new system to be relaxing and enjoyable. Every moment of
the school day can be a great learning opportunity to help students
think about themselves and about others. Loud voices and noises can
be overwhelming and bothersome to many students. Lunch is a time to
learn the necessary social skills and expected behaviors that allow
everyone relax and
enjoy their lunch! So far, this is working very well and we are even
considering putting in some fun rewards for our model citizens, like
a game table for students who finish lunch early or a VIP table with
tablecloth and a centerpiece, inviting family members in to dine with
us, and asking adult supervisors to be waiters. We’ll keep you
posted as this new idea progresses!
Special
Thanks to Special People
**If
you come to WS, you will see that a garden fairy or two has visited
us! The flower beds are trimmed and weeded and they look
fabulous! We have THREE community volunteers who quietly came
to school and did this work as a service to our wonderful school:
Thank
you, Diana Day and Jim and Ginger Wimberg, for this back-breaking
work that you happily did for us..... because you care. It
means so much to us!
**Mr.
Peter Berger has volunteered to work countless hours this summer to
rewrite the FY 14 Student/Parent Handbook. This is no easy
feat, as the pagination alone is enough to drive a person crazy:
Thank
you, Mr. Berger, for your hard work and commitment to this school!!
Open
House
Open
House will be from 6:00 to 7:00 pm on Tuesday, September 24, 2013
October
5th
Car Show
The
WS PTA is sponsoring a car show to benefit the 8th grade trip to
Boston this spring. The car show will be held at
the school from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, October 5, 2013.
There is no admission fee but donations are welcome.
Beautiful antique cars,
hot rods, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, music, raffles, grilled
foods, baked goods, awards and door prizes will make this a wonderful
event for the entire family. Hope to see you there!
Fire
Drill
We
held the first fire drill of the school year on September 4th.
We have 229 students enrolled in our school and we were able to
evacuate this building in 1
minute and 27 seconds. The
students left the school quickly and orderly, in single file, facing
forward, and not a peep could be heard. They evacuated to the
area near the soccer field. Before we reached two minutes into the
drill, teachers had taken attendance and all students were accounted
for. Everyone was so impressed by the students’ calm demeanor and
their expert demonstration of preparedness. Congratulations,
WS!
Walk
to School Day
Walk
to School Day is October 9, 2013. We will be meeting at the former
Café De Sol parking lot, now the closed Ascutney Diner, (and for
oldies, The Top Hat), at 7:35 am.
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