The Wheatland News

• Staffing
• PTO Family Fun Night
• Arrival at School
• Wait Until 8th Pledge

WES has a paraprofessional opening. Are you looking to make a difference in children’s lives? If so, this might be just for you! If you are interested or know someone who may be interested in joining our team, they can contact Mrs. Clausing at clausinj@usd385.org to get more details.

PTO FAMILY FUN NIGHT

The PTO Family Fun Night is right around the corner. If you are able to make it, we would love to see you from 6:00-8:00pm for games and lots of fun. The basket drawing will be around 8:00 p.m. to wrap up the evening. You can go to the PTO page on the WES website under the Parent Resources tab to find contact information if you have questions, or refer to the PTO Weekly Warrior Newsletter. Please plan on attending and having a GREAT time! It is focused on food, games, and good times. A special thank you to all those involved in organizing it. It is a big undertaking, and your help is valued.

ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL

Spring is here, and your help and cooperation are needed! At car drop-off in the mornings, we have students walking and arriving early on bikes and scooters, and cars dropping off and leaving early. We need your help to keep everyone safe. Please understand this is not about one car dropping early or one child riding their bike and arriving early. We are managing this for a building of over 400 students, so everyone's cooperation is needed. Supervisors exit the building at 8:30. Students should not arrive or exit cars before this time. If you are following the procedure, THANK YOU. Your help is so very much appreciated. If you have questions about the procedures, please find detailed instructions HERE.

WAIT UNTIL 8TH PLEDGE

If you have not heard of this, you can go to www.waituntil8th.org to learn more. Here is a little information from the website about waiting until 8th grade to give your child a smartphone:

“The Wait Until 8th pledge empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least 8th grade. By banding together, this will decrease the pressure felt by kids and parents alike over the kids having a smartphone.

Smartphones are distracting and potentially dangerous for children yet are widespread…because of unrealistic social pressure and expectations to have one.

These devices are quickly changing childhood for children. Playing outdoors, spending time with friends, reading books and hanging out with family is happening a lot less to make room for hours of snap chatting, instagramming, and catching up on YouTube.

Parents feel powerless in this uphill battle and need community support to help delay the ever-evolving presence of the smartphone in the classroom, social arena and family dinner table. Let’s band together to wait until at least eighth grade before children are allowed to have a smartphone.

Every major carrier makes a basic phone that just calls and texts without a data plan if you believe your child will need to get in touch with you before 8th grade. The Wait Until 8th Pledge is encouraging parents to delay the smartphone. If you would like your child to have a basic phone that just calls and texts or a two-way calling watch, you still can sign the pledge! The basic phone and two-way calling watch avoid many of the distractions and dangers of the smartphone. Childhood is too short to waste on a smartphone. Take the pledge today!”

Apr. 1-28 - StuCo Food Drive for the Andover Food Bank

Apr. 1 - WES Chess (Spring Play Session), 3:45-4:30 in the library

Apr. 2 - 2nd Gr. Culture Fair & Park Field Trip, 9:00am-1:00pm

Apr. 3 - No School (Conference Credit Day)

Apr. 8 - District Site Council, 5:00-6:00pm at District Office

Apr. 10 - 2nd Gr. Cowtown Field Trip, 9:00am-2:00pm

Apr. 10 - PTO Family Fun Night! 6:00-8:00pm

Apr. 14 - 1st Gr. Music Concert, 6:00pm at Andover High School

Apr. 15 - WES Chess (Spring Play Session), 3:45-4:30pm in the library

Apr. 20 - 3rd-5th Gr. William Allen White Reward Party, 1:45-4:45pm at AMC Northrock

Apr. 21 - PTO Meeting (Elections), 7:00pm in the library

Apr. 22 - WES Chess (Spring Play Session), 3:45-4:30pm in the library

Apr. 23 - Spring 5th Gr. Quiz Bowl Competition, 9:45-10:45am

Apr. 24 - NO SCHOOL FOR KINDERGARTEN!

Apr. 24 - Kindergarten Visitation Day for 26-27 Incoming Kindergartners, 9:00-11:00am or 1:00-3:00pm

Apr. 24 - 1st Gr. Exploration Place Field Trip, 9:00am-2:00pm

Apr. 27 - No School (Professional Learning Day)

Apr. 28 - 5th Gr. Visit to Andover Middle School, 10:00-11:00am

Apr. 29 - 3rd Gr. to Kansas Kids Fitness Day at Trojan Stadium, 9:10-11:45am

Apr. 29 - 5th Gr. StuCo Meeting, 3:45-4:30pm

Apr. 30 - 5th Gr. Zoo Field Trip, 9:00am-2:00pm

Apr. 30 - Kindergarten Music Concert, 2:45pm in the Wheatland Gym

Spring has officially arrived with the blooming of trees, flowers and plants that make most of us sneeze and wheeze. In April, counseling classes will be on pause because of state testing. When we meet again at the end of the month, lessons will cover one of my favorite character traits: perseverance. This is one of the hardest character traits to “teach” but has a huge impact on everyone. There are some great role models; people who have persevered through the hardest of times, biggest failures, and against all odds. People like Vincent Van Gogh, Nelsen Mandela, Albert Einstein, J.K. Rowling, Michael Jordan, me…you, and so many more! We’ve all experienced trials, heard the word “no”, learned to change the negative self-talk to positive, and because we were determined, we succeeded. As our future leaders grow and learn, perseverance will play a vital role in their lives as well. There are some inspiring tales that you can share as you talk with your student about perseverance. I hope you’ll share your story with your child of how you persevered to succeed.

We will also cover “size of problem and size of response” in counseling class. This provides a unique opportunity to share specific instances of issues/problems with students and then teach them appropriate responses to those issues. If you have any questions, or need some resources, please reach out. I’m here to help.

The following books are meant to be shared with your child:

• Big Problems, Little Problems by Ben Feller
• The Problem with Problems by Rachel Rooney
• What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada

Please remember to pick up any medications from the health office before the end of the school year. Non-emergency meds will be disposed of at the end of the school year if they are not picked up. Thank you!

Moving?

If you will be moving this summer or your child will attend a different school next year, please let Claire know as soon as possible so the proper withdrawal process can be completed in May.

Incoming Kindergarten Students

The Intent to Register Form is open! If your child is on our kindergarten list, you should have received an email from Claire with the Registration requirements. Invitations for our Kindergarten Visitation Day were emailed to parents on Monday, March 30. Students were assigned to either the 9:00-11:00am session or the 1:00-3:00pm session. If you have any questions about Kindergarten Registration, please email Claire at pruettc@usd385.org.

New Students

If you have a student who will be new to Wheatland next year, please fill out the Intent to Register Form! If you have friends or neighbors who will be enrolling a child at WES next year, please share this information with them.

Current WES Students

Parents do not need to do anything for their current Wheatland students until Online Registration opens on Tuesday, July 14. You will receive an email when is it ready to be filled out.

StuCo will be collecting pantry and hygiene items for the Andover Food Bank from April 1st to April 28th. Please make sure items are non-perishable and un-expired. Parents can look at the Andover United Methodist Church website for current needs and opportunities to volunteer time if they desire. Everyone thinks about giving during the holidays but the food bank gets pretty bare in the Spring and Summer. Our record has been 900 pounds of food, lets see if we can beat that this year!

Meeting Date: 5th Grade members only - April 29th

First Student, which provides the district’s transportation service, has rolled out a new, improved FirstView App. This new app will allow enhanced, real-time tracking capabilities for all transportation services. If you have the FirstView Classic app on your phone, please delete it and download the FirstView 1.0 app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You will need to use code D5F5F to access Andover’s information. If you have Transportation issues you can call First Student at (316) 247-1926.

If your student will be absent for any reason, you must notify the WES Office. Please email Claire at pruettc@usd385.org or call the office at (316) 218-4820 to report any absence. Simply notifying your student's teacher does not mean the message is received in the office and your student may be marked incorrectly. If your student will be absent for 4 or more days in a row, you must fill out a Pre-Planned Extended Absence Form and return it to your child's teacher.

If you need to make a change to your child's method of transportation after school, you must notify the office no later than 3:00PM. If possible, please try to keep changes to a minimum. Frequent changes cause confusion for students. If the office has not received notification of a change, your child will be sent home via the method they usually take. Additionally, if you are signing out your child at the end of the day, please do not pick up your student after 3:15PM if at all possible.

Upcoming PTO Events:

• Friday, April 10 - Family Fun Night, 6:00-8:00pm
• Tuesday, April 21 - PTO Meeting (Elections), 7:00pm in the library