WIS Weekly

• Who needs support at home, in school, and in the community? ... Every Child!
• Who needs our guidance, attention, and patience today and every day? ... Every Child!
• Who will shape the future of our world tomorrow and in the years to come? ... Every Child!

WIS Family,

As we approach the ILEARN testing window, I want to make sure you feel informed and supported so that your child is set up for success. ILEARN is Indiana’s statewide assessment used to measure students’ knowledge and skills in English/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

Here is the testing schedule for Westchester Intermediate School:

Tuesday, April 22
ELA CAT

Wednesday, April 23

ELA PT

Thursday, April 24

Math CAT and Math PT

Friday, April 25

Social Studies - 5th Grade Only

Science CAT and Science Computer Science - 6th Grade Only

Monday, April 28 – Friday, May 9
Testing window continues; make-up testing will take place as needed

What does CAT and PT mean in ILEARN testing?

• CAT (Computer-Adaptive Test):
  This portion of the test adjusts the difficulty level based on the student’s responses. As questions are answered – either correctly or incorrectly – the test is designed to scaffold each successive question to find the student’s current level of ability. This helps provide a more accurate picture of each student’s capabilities.

• PT (Performance Task):
  The performance task asks students to apply their knowledge in a more in-depth way. For example, students may read multiple samples for the purpose of writing an essay or solving a multi-step math problem. The section of the testing is designed to assess critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Reminders for Students:

• iPads should be fully charged each day

• Students must bring wired earbuds or headphones (Bluetooth devices are not allowed)

• Smartwatches and other electronic devices may not be worn during testing

• Students are encouraged to bring a book to read quietly once they finish testing
  
  

How You Can Help at Home:

• Make sure your child gets a full night’s sleep before each testing day

• Provide a healthy breakfast to help with focus and energy

• Encourage your child to stay calm and do their best

• Remind them that it's okay to take their time, read carefully, and double-check their answers

Thank you for your partnership and support. If you have any questions about testing or your child’s schedule, feel free to reach out to me.

Respectfully,

Mr. Longacre

slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us

We are striving to achieve a 96% attendance rate this year at WIS.

5th Grade 93.3881%

6th Grade 92.9494%

When needing to report a student absence, parents/guardians should call (219-983-3710) or email (mkowalecki@duneland.k12.in.us) the attendance secretary in the WIS office by 9:00 am on the day of the absence. If the school sends a student home early, then no notification is required.

Immunization requirements prior to the start of 6th grade

The State of Indiana requires 6th grade students to be immunized with Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine) and Meningitis vaccine. The Tdap and Meningitis vaccines must be received after the student turns 11 years of age and not before, to be considered valid.

On Thursday, February 20th 2025, your student was sent home with an envelope containing a letter indicating what immunizations your child needs before 6th grade and a copy of the most current immunization record the school has on file for your child. In the letter coming home, the vaccinations your student needs are highlighted and written in. Please make your appointment with your physician or health department as soon as possible to get started on this process.

If your student is 11 years old and has already received these immunizations please turn them in or email a scanned copy to the school nurse. You do not not need to wait until next school year.

Please contact Mrs. Sosby, WIMS School Nurse at 219-983-3710 or email tsosby@duneland.K12.in.us with any questions or concerns covered in this message.

We are excited to announce that this year’s yearbook will include both Westchester Intermediate School (WIS) and Westchester Middle School (WMS). Yearbooks are available for $30.00, and you can order directly through this link: Order Yearbooks Here.

Sixth grade students will have the opportunity to participate in both WIS intramural sports and Westchester Middle School athletics. If your child wants to participate in middle school sports, they must have a current physical on file, dated after 4/1/24. Sixth grade students can ONLY participate in Middle School Cross Country, Westling, and Track and Field. This fall, students can participate in Middle School Cross Country. Mr. Rich Gross rgross@duneland.k12.in.us is the athletic director for Westchester Campus. Please reach out to Mr. Gross with any questions.

For many years Westchester has earned the Purple Star designation from the State of Indiana for honoring those who have served our country. Following the same theme of honor, Westchester has also continually recognized the importance of starting the school day with the Pledge of Allegiance and displaying the American Flag proudly. Volunteering for flag duty this year were two 6th graders, Galvin Ellis and Jaxson Ballas. The students belong to Boy Scout Troop 988 and have been in charge of raising and lowering Old Glory for the entire 2024-25 school year. Both boys learned the flag protocol in Scouting and have been a part of the organization since Kindergarten.

Language Arts

• Last week in class, students learned about how the economy works. This week, we will be reviewing the last two lessons. We will be taking a CSA on Thursday/Friday. Honors ELA - Last week, students shared their Egypt Game props. There was so much creativity on display! This week, we will finish reading The Egypt Game and take our end of book test. On Friday, students will be given an in-class project assignment. Be sure to ask about it over the weekend. StoryWorks is due on Friday.

Math

• This week students are doing different activities and mixed reviews. Students will be working in small groups and getting the differentiated instruction needed to help fill in gaps from earlier this year. Students are still responsible for weekly Get More Math points, IXL skill completion and daily spiral review homework. The assigned IXLs can be found in the class modules.

Social Studies

• Last week in class, students learned about how the economy works. This week, we will be reviewing the last two lessons. We will be taking a CSA on Thursday/Friday.

Science

• Last week the students took the second attempt on the ILEARN Checkpoint 1 assessment. It was great to see student growth! This week we will spend one more week reviewing math skills for the upcoming official ILEARN test.

Language Arts

• Students will continue to review priority standards in preparation for next week’s ILearn test. We are very excited to see how your child performs.

Math

• This week in the wonderful world of numbers (and testing - ugh!) We will spend the week fine tuning our math skills. We have now completed all 6 checkpoint opportunities for ILEARN. We will take the summative ILEARN test beginning the week of April 21st. Math ILEARN will be on April 24th. We are confident our students will do their personal best. iPads need to be charged nightly.

Social Studies

• Students will be continuing with the amendments to the Constitution. We will focus on the right to vote. Our focus will be on the 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments to the Constitution. A formative assessment will be given on Friday.

Science

• Students will continue to review priority standards in science to prepare for the science ILearn test on April 25th. We will be doing a variety of activities to help prepare the students. We will be going over waves, moon phases and eclipses for this week. Looking forward to the students showcasing their knowledge of science.

PE

• In PE this week, we will be finishing our baseball/softball unit. We will have the mile run on Thursday (weather permitting)! And finish the week with a fun game.

Art

• In Art this week, we will be finishing our ipad digital artwork using the sketchbook app, turning found objects from our environment into original spacecrafts.

Music

• 5th grade will continue their songwriting project using Garagband. They will learn how to layer sounds to follow consistent patterns and set up sections to make it fit the structure of their song. 6th grade will continue their exploration of layering sounds using Garageband. They will use information learned all school year about rhythm, pitch, melody, and harmony to begin their final project. Karaoke Friday Theme: The Wheel of Karaoke

Media

• After successfully ending last week with an ILEARN refresher exercise in Jeopardy format, students will return back to digital citizenship and digital technology exercises in BrainPOP. Micro:bit will also be incorporated into the curriculum for 6th on Tuesday and Thursday.

PLTW

• This week, both 5th and 6th graders will be taking a virtual field trip to explore STEM careers with Amazon Music. In addition to the field trip, 5th graders will tackle an engineering design challenge, where they’ll design and test ramp racers using VEX pieces. 6th graders will complete a Microbit engineering challenge, creating a target game that uses conductivity.

Our Trojan Cafe has a new look! We have a new serving area with 2 lines to serve our students. We will also have new trays available for our students to use during lunch.

Please help your student memorize their student identification number, as they will need to know this number in order to purchase their lunch.

Here are the meal prices for the 2024-25 school year.

Elementary Breakfast Price: $1.45

Elementary Lunch Price: $2.55

Intermediate/Middle/High Breakfast Price: $1.60

Intermediate/Middle/High lunch Price: $2.95

• iPads are the property of Duneland Schools. Students should keep the devices in operable condition.
• Students should refrain from downloading apps, pics, etc. that are not permitted under school and/or corporation policy.
  
• Students are required to bring their charged iPads to class.
• Our Intermediate curriculum is designed to utilize iPads for lessons, remediation, and enrichment activities.

5th and 6th grade students are not allowed to use their personal communication devices (cell phones and smart watches) during the instructional day. Items used for communication should be stored in lockers to be kept safe throughout the day. If students need to contact a parent/guardian during the day, they are welcome to do so from the office. Classrooms also have phone access. Similarly, students are not permitted to wear personal earbuds with bluetooth capabilities attached to their phones (e.g. Air Pods, etc.). The only time audio ear pieces are permitted are for teacher-assigned classwork and medically-approved needs.

Westchester is committed to supporting students' use of technology. To get your problems solved as fast as possible, choose one of the following methods:

1. Open a new Incident IQ online:
   1. AV number is typically located on a sticker on the back/bottom of the device
2. Open a Incident IQ ticket by sending an email to: helpdesk@duneland.k12.in.us
   1. Please be sure to include email address, student or staff name, and a description of the problem
3. Contact Westchester's tech aide (Ms. Bennett) in WIS Library/Media at 219-983-3710 or fbennett@duneland.k12.in.us.

Dear Families,

We are excited to announce that we have adopted a new form of school-to-home communication at called ParentSquare for the 2025-2026 school year. This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection with [school or district name]. It provides a safe way for district administrators, school principals, teachers, staff, and parents to:

• Send and receive school and class information

• Share pictures and files

• See calendar items

• Sign up to volunteer

• Schedule parent-teacher conferences

• and much more . . . all in one centralized place!

Parents—Getting Started Video

All district and school, grade level and classroom information will now be sent to your computer or phone via email and/or text. For even more convenience, download the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices).

Have questions? Click the question mark in the top right corner of the desktop version or the Help tab on the app (tap the triple bar icon at the top left) to find answers to most of your questions.

Summer School Registration Opens Monday

Registration for DSC 2025 Summer School programs will open up on Monday, March 17. New this year is the ability for parents to register for summer school via the Skyward Family Access. For directions on how to register your child please follow the links below based on the current grade level of your student.

Instructions for Grades K-7 - Registration Open March 17 - April 15

Instructions for Grades 8-12 - Registration Open March 17 - May 2

Note: Students in grades 8-12 who are interested in taking PE should review the additional information on the Flex PE Credit and reduced diploma requirements prior to registering.

Grades PreK-7 Summer School will take place at Liberty Elementary School from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in Session 1 Only. Grades 8-12 Summer School will take place at Chesterton High School from 7:30 a.m. - 12:55 pm for both Session 1 and 2.

Separate invitations will be provided for families interested in KinderCamp, our Pre Kindergarten Program.

Need Skyward Support? If you need support in registering for summer school within the Skyward Arena Scheduling please call your child’s school and the Skyward/Office Administrative Assistant can provide support.

Should you have any questions about summer school programming please contact the following:

Grades PreK-7 - Call the Department of Teaching & Learning at 219-983-3656

Grades 8-12 - Contact the CHS Counseling Office at 219-983-3730

Something to Smile About Scholarship - The KTG Family Scholarship

The "Something to Smile About" Scholarship aims to support Duneland students aged 10-18 who need braces but face financial challenges in obtaining them.

Initiated through the collaboration of a local family and orthodontist, this scholarship provides an opportunity for parents or guardians to ensure their child receives professional orthodontic care, ultimately enhancing their confidence and promoting a positive self-image through a healthy smile.

General Eligibility Requirements:

• Your child is between 10 and 18 years old.

• Your total family income is 200% of the poverty level or less.

• Your child receives regular dental care and has good oral hygiene.

• Your child is not currently in orthodontic treatment or in between phases of treatment.

• Your child has not received previous orthodontic treatment.

• The family contribution is $500.

Downloadable Something to Smile About Application

DUNELAND TRANSPORTATION

Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2024-2025 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.

TRACK STUDENT'S BUS WITH MYSTOP APP

The Duneland School Corporation Department of Transportation has now made My Stop available to our families.

My Stop is a web-based application which will allow parents to access live bus GPS information using a smartphone, tablet, or computer and securely view the current location of your child’s bus on routes. The system also provides the bus’s estimated time of arrival at your child’s bus stop.

Please read the attached letter to parents for more information on how to use My Stop to track your child's bus.

To make an appointment please call 219-763-8112. Let NorthShore know you are a Duneland School student or staff member and that you would like to make an appointment at the Duneland School Clinic located at the old CMS.

WIS Mission:

WIS provides a safe and engaging environment where students are empowered to explore their talents, build on their curiosity, embrace high expectations, and become responsible, caring citizens.

WIS Vision:

WIS inspires learners to become independent, critical thinkers collaborating in an environment where responsibility, adaptability, and reflection are modeled and developed.

Email: slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us
Website: https://wis.duneland.k12.in.us/
Location: 1050 South 5th Street, Chesterton, IN, USA
Phone: (219) 983-3710
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westchesterintermediate/