WES Weekly Update

October 7 - WES WEDNESDAY (wear WES colors, WES cares shirt or other spirit wear)

October 9 - Apple Crunch Day

October 13 - PTO Meeting, 6:00pm

October 13 - WES Night at Swarthmore Pizza (PTO fundraiser), 4-9pm

October 24 - WES PTO Pancake Breakfast and Halloween Carnival

October 30 - Halloween Parade and Classroom Parties

November 3 - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS - Teacher In-Service Day

November 5 - 📸Picture Re-take Day📸

WES Families,

It was an awesome end to last week, with unseasonably warm weather and a celebratory weekend. On the afternoon of Friday, October 2nd, our students and staff got their heart rates pumping when each grade level participated in our WES♥️PEASE Fun Run in the bus circle and parking lot; walking, jogging, and running, as a way to get active and celebrate our school’s representation in the Delco 10 Miler race held on Sunday, October 4th. Through the collection of pocket change and some dollar bills, we raised over $150 on Friday, and more importantly, got a whole lot of healthy steps in! It primed the weekend event held Sunday morning, where we had a very high level of attendance and participation, raising more than $6,700 towards the inclusive playground fundraising campaign project, bringing our current total to more than $30,000 already. A big thank you to the dedicated core team of volunteers, spearheaded by Ms. Lauren Bannon, and Fun Run event coordinators Mrs. Sue Gaur and Mrs. Melissa Haebel. It was something quite amazing to witness!

The 1st grade Weather Station had its capacity tested last weekend, as the first phase of recently completed tools was fully utilized during the rainstorm of the last weekend in September. The Weather Station includes a Raccoon weathervane (windvane), a thermometer, a rain gauge, and log books.. A few other tools and instruments are to be added, including an Anemometer (wind speed gauge), and a set of compasses. This project was a collaborative effort of our first grade team, our building substitute and retired science educator, Ms. Maje Gerner, and our district carpenter, Mr. Bob Scales. See below of the picture of Mrs. Kaplan holding the rain gauge, which collected 9 inches of rain (through the funneled top) last weekend. Our students were thrilled to check it out last Monday!

Please see the letter correspondence below from the Office of Teaching and Learning about the NWEA MAP assessments and the Arts & Letters assessments. This information is provided to bring further clarity on how to interpret assessment results, and to understand their use primarily as a tool for measurement of growth and not a finite measurement of ability. If you ever have any questions, we encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher, myself, or Mr. Anthony Gabriele, our Director of Curriculum and Instruction with questions.

Enjoy the weather today and have a wonderful week!

Mr. Krall

Principal

The Weather Station collected around 9 inches of rain on the weekend of September 26th and 27th! This collaborative science tool came together with the help of our first grade team, our district carpenter, Mr. Bob Scales, and our longtime WES Building Sub, Ms. Maje Gerner. It also includes a weather vane and a thermometer!

Families, please see the attached letter with information regarding the fall NWEA MAP assessment. The letter includes some basic information around the MAP assessment, and an anticipated window of time of when results will be sent home to families once the assessment window closes and score reports are generated across all schools and grades from 3 to 8.

Families, please see the attached letter with information regarding the ELA Curriculum Arts & Letters assessments, used in grades K-5. It underscores the importance of growth throughout the year, and shares how to best interpret results. It should not be viewed as a "final grade," but part of the process of supporting and monitoring growth. Please click on the PDF below to access.

Last week, we honored our September Principal’s Pack students and added an additional 30 students to “The Pack,” receiving a certificate, a sticker and a new Blue and Gold WES Pencil! Thank you to our hard working students for being a positive example for their peers and consistently being safe, respectful, responsible and helpful!

The newest Pack members for September are: Nolan Warzecha-Lindren, Sammy Leonard, Gloria Wolcott, Spencer Hall, Cameron Peifer, Darius Repici, Kai Hashimoto, Nikolas Evans, Nolan Stetler, Keira Morgan, Freddie Kaufer, Josie Roalf, Oriane Schaffner, Max Pursley, Fiona Jillard, Oscar Egan, Leila Phillips, Ani Rao, Jack Orlansky, Nyla Owens, David Bonner, Connor Nolan, Edward Allan, Luna Schwartzengraber, Ellie Hoagland, Ellie Bradley, Mabel Panossian, Aubrey Hwang, Eva Ordonez, Rowan O'Brien

Show your school spirit on WES Wednesdays by wearing your blue WES CARES t-shirt, WES spirit wear or our school colors. WES Wednesday is this Wednesday, October 7!

The schedule for the remainder of the year will be:

November 4

December 2

January 6

February 3

March 3

April 7

May 5

June 2

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who came out to support our runners and our WES ♥️ Pease fair on Sunday! We raised more than $6,700 and could not be more grateful for the love and support of our WES family and community!

Please see below for some upcoming fundraising opportunities as we continue to work toward our goal to transform our playground into a more inclusive and accessible space where every child can play, connect, and belong. With continued community support, we can create updated play structures and an accessible surface that allows children of all abilities to play side-by-side.

How can you help? Donate, share our fundraising link, spread the word or join us at an upcoming event!

Upcoming events:

📅: October 11, 2026: SHHS Football Car Wash (50% of proceeds go to WES ♥️ Pease)

📅 January 4, 2027: Play for Pease Night at Oasis Family Fun Center

Together, we can build more than a playground—we can build a place where every child belongs! For additional information, please contact Lauren Bannon.

As the elementary schools across the district are navigating to the use of the Schoology platform, there are some family resources that can help with accessing information in Schoology. Please see the parent navigation document and app access resource to support community engagement and provide greater transparency into learning outcomes.

If your child loves music and you want to help support our WSSD music program and its dedicated teachers, join the WSMA for its fall meeting. We will gather at 7 p.m. in the Strath Haven Middle School auditorium on Monday, October 5. All are welcome!

Click here to read the WSMA e-newsletter.

To get all the news from WSMA, sign up to receive the e-news directly! Click here to sign up.

CLICK THE BUTTONS BELOW for more information and guidance.

WSSD's visitor management system, Navigate 360, requires all visitors to scan their driver's license for their first visit to the building. All visitors should report directly to the main office and produce a valid, government-issued ID to receive a visitor badge. Upon exiting the building, please check out with the main office and dispose of your visitor badge in the trash.

Our school district is committed to providing a safe learning environment for all and we thank you for your cooperation!

The parent and community volunteers that we host at WES are a huge part of our school's success, and we value everyone that is willing to offer their time and talents. However, the school and district adhere to a strict and comprehensive volunteer clearance policy that is mandatory for all volunteers. They are required for anyone volunteering to work with our students or be present in our school; whether that is in school, on a field trip, or at an athletic event/practice, etc. Everyone who is volunteering with our students or in a school is required to obtain volunteer clearances.

We urge parents and guardians to complete the process for clearances at the beginning of the year, as the collection and submission of clearances is a process that can take some time. Clearances are submitted directly to WSSD's Central Offices (online via the PowerSchool parent portal) and not to our school building. Once completed and cleared, they are valid for 5 years.

You will not be permitted to volunteer without valid clearances on file with the school district.

Click the button below to learn how to obtain and submit volunteer clearances.

For information regarding 2026-2027 Food Service updates, pricing for lunch, or accessing the free and reduced lunch form applications, please visit the Food Services page of our site by clicking on the button below.

Please feel free to reach out to Kate Rittler, Director of Food and Nutrition, with any questions! krittler@wssd.org, 610-892-3470 ext. 2151 or visit the WSSD Food Services website.

SNAP changes related to the H.R. 1 law may reduce the number of students directly certified for free meals. Families who lose SNAP benefits may not realize that they need to complete a school meal application because their children were automatically approved in previous years through direct certification. School food Authorities are urged to promote the completion of school meal applications for the 2026-2027 School Year, to connect eligible students to school meal benefits and subsequently, Summer EBT.

Please click HERE for the WSSD WES Free and Reduced Lunch Application.

PeachJar is our community digital flyer system that brings important information about events and programs directly to our families! Click on the image to see the latest community flyers.

Including: The need to hire BUS DRIVERS and BUS AIDES!

Get ready for one of WES’s favorite fall traditions! Join us Saturday, October 24 from 9:00 AM–12:00 PM for the annual Halloween Carnival & Pancake Breakfast. Come in costume and enjoy Trunk-or-Treat, the Haunted Hallway, pumpkin decorating, carnival games, a photo booth, Sensory Room, Sweetest Seat, prizes and more! The Halloween Carnival is also an important fundraiser supporting WES 5th grade activities, including field trips and graduation. Buy tickets and Sign Up Here!

Join us Saturday, October 24 from 9:00 AM–12:00 PM for one of our favorite WES traditions! We need volunteers to flip pancakes, work the food line and cashier, plus food and coffee donations. You may even spot some WES teachers behind the griddle! Donations are due 10/23. Tickets can be purchased through the Halloween Carnival link or with cash/Zeffy the day of. We can’t wait for a sweet morning together! Sign up to volunteer here.

On Friday, October 9th, WES will celebrate our annual Apple Crunch Day to commemorate the beginning of fall with healthy eating traditions! Throughout the day, students will have the opportunity to taste a variety of apples from a local orchard. Following the tasting, each class will vote on their favorite type of apple to find WES’ favorite apple of 2026! It’s a fun and exciting day for all, but we can’t do it without help from our WES families! We need apple slicers to pre-slice apples as well as classroom volunteers to deliver apples and join in the fun.

CLEARANCES ARE REQUIRED TO VOLUNTEER. Please consider signing up with the link below to help the day’s success!

The 2026-27 WES Student Directory is available to order here. This helpful resource has all of the important information in one place - including the calendar of events, class lists and contact information for teachers and families. Once published this fall, print copies will be delivered to your WES student's backpack. Digital access to the Directory Spot app will be sent to the email(s) provided. Thank you for staying connected with the WES community and supporting this fundraiser for the WES PTO!

WES Night at Swarthmore Pizza is here to solve your dinner dilemma! Eat in, take out, or order delivery from Swarthmore Pizza on Tuesday, October 13th between 4pm and 9pm. A portion of the proceeds goes back to support our school - be sure to mention WES Night!

Monthly WES PTO meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 PM in the library. All are welcomed to attend!

Visit their website weskidspto.com for more information.