Letter from the Principal

Dear WES families,

It was so wonderful to see so many of you at Open House last week. The building was full of smiling faces, positive energy, and just a few first-day nerves—we are so excited to begin this new school year together!

As we get ready for the first day, we encourage families to begin practicing school-night routines now to help students transition smoothly. Students may bring their school supplies on the first day, or families are welcome to drop them off at the office ahead of time.

A few important reminders:

• All visitors must check in at the office before entering classroom wings.

• On the first day of school, we ask families not to walk students to their classrooms. This helps us begin building independence right from the start. Rest assured, staff will be stationed throughout the building to guide students and help them find their classrooms.

• Families are welcome to take first-day photos outside before drop-off.

• If your child will have a change in their regular dismissal plan, please call the main office first thing Tuesday morning (Wednesday for PreK & Kindergarten students).

• Pack a couple of snacks for your child each day along with a water bottle.

We are looking forward to welcoming all of our students back this week and can’t wait for a year filled with learning, growth, and new opportunities!

If your child is in need of a backpack, please let your teacher know, or contact the office.

A big shoutout to our PTO and families for stocking the teacher's room with snacks!

Respectfully,

Mrs. LeSieur- Principal

Mr. Stinson- Assistant Principal

Please make sure you review the family handbook.

The school board has approved a new policy regarding cell phone use. Students are not permitted to use their phones during the school day. Please help reinforce this message with your child.

Recently, we have seen students using cell phones to contact parents when feeling unwell without first visiting the nurse, or simply for entertainment while waiting in the pick-up room.

Going forward, any student using a phone during the school day will have it confiscated. The phone will be returned at dismissal, and a parent/guardian will be contacted.

Please review two excerpts from the policy:

Students are prohibited from using privately-owned electronic devices including but not limited to cell phones, smart phones, smart watches, smart glasses, I-Pods, MP3 players, handheld computers/PDAs, and electronic games at school or during school activities.

The use of a cell phone or other electronic device in any manner that violates School Board policy or school rules is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to harassment, cheating and violations of the student code of conduct. If a School Board policy or school rule is violated, the teacher or school administrator may confiscate the device for the remainder of the school day. Student cell phones and other electronic devices may be subject to search if there is reasonable suspicion of a violation.

Each student will bring this permission slip home in their take home folder. Please complete this and return to school ASAP.

The mobile app does not display a full page of the typical ParentVUE app at once, so you will likely need to scroll/slide the screen around to view all of the contents on any given page when on mobile. Typically the teachers are listed to the far right of the list in line with the classes they teach, so you would most likely need to slide to that side to see the teachers listed.

Alternatively, because there are these display differences, we do recommend given the computer version of ParentVUE a try at https://me-wat.edupoint.com/Frameset_PXP.aspx?P=Login_Parent_PXP.aspx to better view all of the ParentVUE pages.

If you are a family whose child will never ride the bus and you will be picking up your child(ren) at the end of each school day, please complete the form below. Dismissal cards will be created and sent home on the first day of school. If additional cards are needed please contact our main office. Also, please come prepared with a driver's license or alternate identification in case it is needed. If you have more than one child with us, please submit separate forms.

As soon as you fill out the form, we will begin preparing dismissal cards. It is important to have these prepared ahead of time as it helps our dismissal process go much smoother.

In order to facilitate as smooth and orderly end of day dismissal as possible for students being pick up by family members, we are asking for your help in doing the following:

1. Call the school no later than 2:15 if your child who typically rides the bus is being picked up so that we have time to add them to our supplemental list, distribute it to staff, and have your child ready for the end of the day. We ask that you please go through the office and office staff will notify the classroom teacher.
2. Please do your best to arrive at school no earlier than 2:40 PM. Early arrival creates an unnecessary line of traffic in the parking lot and beyond. Students are called at approximately 2:55 with a goal of starting to load students by 3:00. It is not necessary to be on campus any earlier. Reducing the number of vehicles arriving early will be helpful in supporting a better flow of traffic.
3. In order to facilitate a smooth and orderly end of day dismissal, any early dismissal through the office needs to take place no later than 2:30 PM unless it is an emergency situation. Main office dismissals after 2:30 PM can cause a delay in our end of day process.

We appreciate. your attention to this. We are very proud with how quickly we have gotten students dismissed during the first 6 days of school. Each day we are getting better.

When arriving in the afternoon to pick up your child, please use all three lanes. As you enter, you may pull into any lane, as they all merge into the loop that circles around the greenhouse. Cars will take turns from each lane to enter the loop. Using all available lanes helps us fit as many vehicles into the parking lot as possible and prevents traffic from backing up onto Rt. 5. Students will exit the building and watch for their vehicle; however, they will not load until the vehicle has passed the building and reached the peninsula.

We participated in the Maine Department of Education's summer "Read to Ride" program. Please find the document linked below. The goal was to read for 500 minutes!

All passports will be due to the office by September 26th! I can't wait to see how many students participate this year. Please make sure your child's name is on the form.

If you plan to volunteer at any point this school year, you need to complete a volunteer form. The sooner you complete this and send it to the office, the sooner you can be an approved volunteer. This needs to be completed each year.

Student drop off will begin at 8:30 AM with buses expected to unload between 8:30 and 8:45 AM. Students being dropped off by parents or guardians will be considered tardy as of 8:45 AM. Please be aware that students may not be dropped off prior to 8:30 AM as supervision is not available.

Our student day will begin at 8:45 AM and end with student bus dismissal at 3:15 PM (3:00 for parent pickup).

Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, RSU 57 will be implementing a new transportation routing software called BusRight. The BusRight app will allow you to, in real-time, follow your child’s bus route to and from school, receive notifications when the bus begins and ends its route, view the expected arrival time at your child’s designated bus stop, and receive communications from the Transportation Department related to schedule changes or route cancellations.

Invitations to the app will be sent to your email on Monday, August 18 from support@busright.com with the subject “You’re Invited to BusRight”. Your invite will contain a unique link to create an account with BusRight. If you expect to receive an invitation to access your student(s) bus information and do not, check your junk/spam folder as it likely will be received there.

Ahead of the invitation email, you will want to download the mobile app to your smartphone:

Click here for the iOS mobile app
Click here for the Android mobile app

Once logged into the mobile app, you will see your student(s) listed, the assigned bus number, the AM/PM bus stop location, and the scheduled pick up and drop off times. The mobile app will be the only method by which you can view bus assignment information and how any future bus cancellation or alert will be sent to parents.

The district will launch live bus route tracking on the first morning of the new school year, Tuesday, September 2. Please be aware that all buses may run behind their normal schedule as drivers adjust to new routes and students begin their ridership. We anticipate that routes will stabilize by the end of the first week of school.

We’re working closely with the BusRight team to perfect the system and, in the meantime, ask for your patience and understanding as we continue to make improvements. Once launched, if you log in to the system and observe the bus appears to be offline it does not mean the bus route is not in operation - it is most likely the result of one of the following reasons:

• The bus route has completed its run and is back at the bus lot and not turned on.

• The GPS Tracking system on the vehicle is not online due to technical issues.

• If the route does not show as an option on your route list, you may not be assigned to the stop in the BusRight system - you can contact the Transportation Department at transportation@rsu57.org.

Questions about your child's bus stop or route should be directed to the Transportation Department at transportation@rsu57.org.
Questions or issues regarding the use of the BusRight app and account access should be directed to support@busright.com.

Click here for a guide to the BusRight Parent App

Are you interested in connecting with other parents? Please take a look at the opportunities that MACE has.

The upcoming school year planned absence form is open and ready for families to complete if you have a planned vacation this upcoming school year.

If you are planning a family trip, please complete the form, THREE DAYS IN ADVANCE, linked below indicating all of the information regarding your child's absence. This form is linked to the WES website and can be filled out at any time.

If your child is sick or has a doctor's appointment, please do not fill out this form. Please, call the office to notify our administrative assistants of your child's absence.

The school calendar for next school year can be found on the district website. Click on the green button below to access the link.

If you are looking for a part time job, we are in need of substitutes across the districts. Please apply online.

The dental clinic will be visiting WES at the end of the month, date TBD. If you would like like to sign your child up for a cleaning, please fill out the form. The sooner we get forms, the sooner the date will be scheduled.

If you need a printed copy, please contact the office or your child's teacher.

RSU 57 has partnered with Maine Youth Thriving to provide 3 free workshops for the education community. We are hoping to see families, early childhood professionals working with students who serve 3-5 year old students, and RSU 57 staff. The workshops are part of our grant supported K transition work.

CEUS are available to all interested.

Childcare and food potential based on interest provided by registrants.

See attached flyer below and the registration link provided by RSU 57 Adult Education.

Registration link: https://massabesic.coursestorm.com/category/maine-youth-thriving

People can sign up for 1 or 2 or all 3 workshops via the link or the QR code on the flyer.

PTO has started planning annual events. Mark your calendar with these September dates:

September 19: Family Movie Night

September 29-October 3- Scholastic Book fair

• October 2- after school book fair hours 3:30-7:00 pm

• October 2: Ice Cream Social, 6-7 pm

September 2: First Day of School, grades 1-5

September 3: First Day of School, PreK & K

September 9: PTO Meeting, 6pm, WES Cafe

September 10: ERD

September 19: PTO Family Movie Night

September 24: ERD

September 25: Picture Day

September 29-October 3: Scholastic Book Fair

October 2: After School Family Book Fair Hours, 3:30-7:00 pm

October 2: Math Family Night, 6:00-7:00 pm

October 2: 5th Grade Ice Cream Social

October 8: 5th Grade Parent Meeting, 6pm, room 53

November 13 and 20: Parent Teacher Conferences, times TBD

March 10: Weather at Your School, 5:40am-7:00am

Email: kerrilesieur@rsu57.org
Website: https://waterboro.rsu57.org/
Location: 340 Sokokis Trail, East Waterboro, ME, USA
Phone: 207-247-6126