Wednesday Weekly - September 9, 2020

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY

September 9, 2020

UPCOMING EVENTS

September 9

Parent Q&A Session with Lisa & Sarah

6 p.m., Zoom

Meeting ID: 725 407 9228

(Use WMS Zoom password, available on Bloomz)

September 15

Back-to-School/Curriculum Night

Toddler at 6 p.m.

9-12 at 6:30 p.m.

Middle School at 7 p.m.

Zoom links will be provided by classroom teachers - watch Bloomz for more information.

September 16

Back-to-School/Curriculum Night

Primary at 6 p.m.

6-9 at 6:30 p.m.

Zoom links will be provided by classroom teacher - watch Bloomz for more information.

October 9 & 12

Parent Conferences for Primary, Elementary & Middle School

Pre-registered child care available for these levels.

Toddler classes will continue as scheduled on these days.

Full Calendar

Dear Families,

Labor Day is behind us, and it is officially the school season. At WMS, we had last week to work out some of our new procedures including the new car line and moving our classrooms outdoors. We learned a lot and made necessary changes. This week, we returned to a more familiar routine.

Over these last six months, we have all discovered that we must continue to learn, shift and adapt to best meet the needs of our community. One of the things we knew, but has been affirmed, is that everyone at WMS works together as a team. Every adult in our building has pitched in to make sure children are safely moved from cars to classrooms. Some have pitched in to help in before-care. Each job to be done belongs to all of us.

Community. It is what shows up most often on every survey and questionnaire about the WMS experience - from parents, students and staff. We are the WMS community, and we will support and help each other as we continue to learn, grow and adapt. Thank you for being part of our community!

Lisa A. Lalama

Head of School

NEWS & NOTES

Drop-off Reminders

Drop-off Safety

We appreciate your consideration for the safety of everyone. Please remember that all students should exit the car from the curb-side only. Be sure to exit your car carefully as others may be driving by at the same time.

Late Drop-off Reminder

Staff will only be outdoors waiting to screen incoming students at the times listed below. If you are late, please pull up to your child's regular drop-off location and call the front desk at 302-475-0555. A staff member will meet you at your drop-off location to perform our daily screening.

Toddler - 7-9

Primary through Middle School Before-Care - 7-8:40

Primary - 8:30-8:45

Elementary - 8:20-8:35

Middle School - 7:50-8:05

Masked-up Mash-up

Yes, we're smiling!

From Primary through Middle School, our students are doing an excellent job keeping their masks on throughout the school day. We are grateful to our families for preparing your children to wear masks to school. Your support helps keep our community safe!

Medication Drop-off

In order to provide medication of any kind to your child during the school day, Nurse Kathy will need an up-to-date Medication Request Form on file for your child.

The form should be printed, signed and returned (along with any required information from your child's doctor) to Nurse Kathy by email.

Along with the link included in this article, the form can also be accessed via Magnus and the Bloomz library. Please email nurse@wmsde.org with any questions.

Policies & Procedures

WMS's COVID-19 policies are based on guidelines from the CDC and Delaware's Office of Child Care Licensing. We continue to monitor those sources for information to adjust our policies and practices as needed.

COVID-19 Testing Events

WMS is strongly recommends that students be tested for COVID-19 monthly (unless your child has symptoms or exposure is suspected). Results should be sent to Nurse Kathy for your child's health records.

Thursday, September 10

Middletown High School - 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Kirk Middle School - 2-7 p.m.

Friday, September 11

Seeds of Greatness Bible Church - New Castle - 2-7 p.m.
Ezion-Mount Carmel UMC - 4-7 p.m. (walk-up)

Saturday, September 12

Dickinson High School - 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Helen Chambers Park - 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (walk-up)

Full list of upcoming test sites: nccde.org/2011/COVID-19-Resources (Please visit this page to confirm that there have been no changes to the schedule above before going to your testing location.)

Spotlight on Outdoor Learning

The outdoor environment provides opportunities for toddlers to develop new gross motor and practical life skills like digging.

Lower Elementary students stitched their own "sit-upons" to use during outdoor activities.

Students in the 9-12 Program are getting to know the WMS woods. Last week, they collected rocks for an upcoming project.

Emergency Alert System Test - Friday at 11 a.m.

WMS will test its emergency communication system (Blackboard Connect) this Friday, September 11, at 11 a.m.

Blackboard Connect is used to alert parents and staff of unexpected school closings/delays and to relay other emergency information. The notifications you receive will be based on your selections when you filled out your Emergency Alert Preferences in the Magnus Health System - options include phone calls, emails and text messages.

Please take note of whether you received test messages at all your designated email addresses and phone numbers. If you do not receive these notifications on Friday, please email alert @wmsde.org.

Back-to-School Photo Contest 2020

Thank you to everyone who shared back-to-school photos with us this year! The Zimmerman family's photo of Henry and Elsie was randomly selected as this year's #WMSbacktoschool photo challenge winner!

Congratulations and welcome to WMS!

The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.

Please send submissions to wednesday-weekly@wmsde.org by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints.

For more information, contact Noel Dietrich, Director of Advancement & Communications.