West Chester Area School District
August Newsletter
A QUICK NOTE FROM SUPERINTENDENT SOKOLOWSKI
Dear WCASD Community,
Even though we are still enjoying the last few weeks of summer to the fullest, our schools are buzzing with activity as we prepare for the start of the 2022-23 school year! Teachers and staff are readying their spaces and lessons; school buses are getting tune ups; transition camps are preparing new students; and families are stocking up on school supplies.
In anticipation of our first day of school, I would like to welcome our new families, our returning families, and our students back to school. I also want to welcome back our staff and thank them for all they've done over the summer to make sure our students have a successful year ahead.
As I spent time with parents at the Elementary Listening Sessions this summer and now see our buildings fill with excitement and energy again, I am reminded of the tremendous community that we have here in the WCASD - a community that cares deeply for our students. This sense of caring and community will be our theme, our guide, for this school year as we continue to partner together to achieve the WCASD mission of educating and inspiring all students to achieve their personal best.
As a reminder to all, www.wcasd.net contains back-to-school information as well as student and family resources for the full school year. Be sure to bookmark our site, as well as your school site, and follow us on social media.
See you soon, and have a great first day!
Important Dates:
August: Back to School Month | Children’s Eye Health & Safety Month
August 15: Property & Finance Committee Meeting | 6:30 p.m.
August 15: Combined Education & Pupil Services Committee Meeting | 7:00 p.m.
August 15: Board Goals Work Session | 7:30 p.m.
August 22: School Board Meeting | 7:00 p.m.
August 29: First Day of School!
As the new school year begins, we are thinking of ways we can continue improving our community. Dr. Sokolowski invites our middle and high school families to join him for Fall Listening Sessions! As we did with our elementary school families this summer, we want to hear your feedback and work together to find areas where the district can better serve you, your children, and our school community.
In the coming weeks each middle and high school's principal will email our secondary school families with dates, times, and locations for the Fall Listening Sessions as well as registration links for planning purposes.
The WCASD is offering free memberships to Smart Social’s Very Important Parent (VIP) Program for all parents and guardians of students attending a school in the West Chester Area School District.
Josh Ochs and his team created this program to help parents and guardians understand the numerous social media apps, which ones are safe, which ones to avoid, and how to help their children create a safe and positive digital presence. Through newsletters, live events, and a library of on-demand videos, families learn how to successfully navigate popular social media apps and support their children in becoming capable and aware digital citizens whose social media choices reflect their bright futures.
We hope you will take advantage of this membership opportunity, which is completely free through the WCASD until July 31, 2023. Follow the links below to learn more and sign up today:
- Visit https://smartsocial.com/westchester to create an account.
- Get access to all of the courses and sign-up for live events at https://smartsocial.com/members
Our WCASD Jump Start students have had so much fun this summer all while participating in exciting and engaging learning experiences!
We would like to recognize and thank the Believe & Achieve Foundation for their extremely generous donation to our summer programs. Their continued support of our students has made it possible for Jump Start students to benefit from exceptional field trips and hands-on learning opportunities.
The West Chester Food Cupboard in partnership with WCASD will be distributing healthy and child safe food items free of charge to families in need with school age children. Distribution takes place in the student parking lot of Henderson High School (located on the corner of Montgomery Ave and E. Washington Street - not in the front of the school) on Tuesdays from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. until Thursday, August 25, 2022.
The West Chester Food Cupboard is also available all year to support families in need. If you, or someone you know, is interested in learning more about Food Cupboard services and who can qualify, visit https://westchesterfoodcupboard.org/ or our community bulletin board.
The West Chester Area Education Foundation (WCAEF) is an independent non-profit organization created to attract private resources exclusively for the benefit of students in the West Chester Area School District. The Foundation's mission to supplement creative, meaningful, real-world experiences ensures that each year WCASD students and staff are able to participate in engaging field trips, projects, career exploration and more!
If you are interested in learning more about the Foundation and how you or your business can become involved, click the button below.
Did you know that the WCASD offers a Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program designed to assist Senior Citizens with the burden of Real Estate Taxes? In return for volunteering their services through this program, senior citizens may be entitled to a rebate of property taxes in accordance with the guidelines outlined on our Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program webpage.
Before applying to the program, we encourage those interested to review the attached brochure below and the guidelines on our website.
