• 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,

I want to take a moment to highlight the importance of regular attendance and its significant impact on your child's academic success.

Attendance matters. It may seem like missing one or two days of school isn't significant, but when we examine the cumulative effects over time, the numbers speak for themselves:

• Missing 1 day every 2 weeks equates to 20 days per year, which amounts to 4 weeks of missed instruction annually. Over the course of 13 years of schooling, this adds up to nearly 1.5 years of missed education.
  

• Missing 1 day per week accumulates to 40 days per year, which translates to 8 weeks of missed instruction annually. Over 13 years, this totals over 2.5 years of missed schooling.

• Missing 2 days per week results in 80 days per year, or 16 weeks of missed instruction annually. Over the span of 13 years, this amounts to over 5 years of missed education.

• Missing 3 days per week leads to 120 days per year, or 24 weeks of missed instruction annually. Over the course of 13 years, this accumulates to nearly 8 years of missed schooling.

As you know, regular attendance is crucial for your child's academic progress and overall well-being. Each day of school offers valuable learning opportunities and helps your child stay on track with their educational goals.

We appreciate your partnership in ensuring that your child attends school regularly and punctually. If you have any concerns or questions regarding attendance, please don't hesitate 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 93.4067%

6th Grade 92.8992%

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.

Help us celebrate DSC Child Nutrition staff during National Nutrition Month. Take this time to thank the Child Nutrition Associates at WIS for all they do in keeping our students nourished.

With any breakfast purchased this week at WIS, you will get your name put in to a drawing for a chance to win a watch!

Language Arts

• Last week, we started reading the novel Hoot and completed a CSA over informative writing. This week, we will dive deeper into Hoot. There is an online text version included in the module for students to access at home. Honors ELA : Last week, we finished reading Johnny Tremain. This week, we will be taking the final book test on Tuesday. In addition, all assignments that go along with the novel are due. We will also be taking a CSA over informative writing.

Math

• Students will begin working with dividing fractions this week and next. Students will continue to work on spiral review through daily homework sheets. Get More Math is another great way for students to keep new skills sharp!

Social Studies

• Last week, students took the CSA over the making of the Constitution and founding of the US. This week, we will be learning about the three branches of government. We'll take a CFA over that information on Thursday/Friday.

Science

• Last week, students presented their space bot designs to their peers! We had a lot of creative designs and missions! At the end of the week students took the Earth and Universe CSA. This will be the last CSA of the 3rd quarter. This week, we began the unit over Earth’s Systems. We will be learning about the biosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere. This will be our last science unit. Once this unit is completed, we will move on to Health.

Language Arts

• This week students will read and analyze a wide variety of stories from Greek mythology. They will continue to answer questions that pertain to the priority standards that we have learned this year. Tuesday is our iLearn Checkpoint #3.

Math

• This week in the wonderful world of numbers . . .We will continue working in Geometry. Our focus will be on perimeter and area including area of composite shapes. We will also be working with volume. Students will be expected to use the specific formulas/algorithms for calculating perimeter, area, and volume. This week we will take the second opportunity ILEARN for checkpoint one: number sense, decimals, fractions, rational numbers, order of operations, and integers.

Social Studies

• Students will be spending this week wrapping up our Unit on the Organization of the United States Government. Time will be spent reviewing the parts of the Constitution, the checks and balances system, the three branches, and processes for electing the President and members of Congress. A common summative assessment will be administered this week.

Science

• This week, students will explore how energy moves through an ecosystem by creating their own food pyramid, food chain, and food web using organisms from a chosen habitat.Students will create a food pyramid that organizes organisms into trophic levels: producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers and shows the flow of energy and how it decreases 10% for each level. Students will draw or describe a simple food chain showing how energy flows from one organism to another (e.g., grass → rabbit → fox). They will use arrows to show the direction of energy transfer. Students will create a food web using a different ecosystem by showing how multiple food chains are connected in an ecosystem.

PE

• This week in PE, we will be finishing our Basketball unit and moving towards our Pickleball unit. We will start with some lead-up games and finish the week with full Pickleball Games.

Art

• This week in art students will finish working on our Pagoda backgrounds and begin working on the drawings of their individual Pagoda buildings. Students will select to create a Chinese and Japanese Pagoda.

Music

• 5th grade students will continue our performance rotation and have our first playing test on their recorders this week. If a 5th grader is interested in joining band next school year, but missed the Instrument Selection night last week, please reach out to Mr. Christensen. 6th graders will begin learning about chords and shifting hand positions on piano.

PLTW

• In 5th grade, students will learn how to program sensors on the VEX VR website. 6th graders will explore conductivity and will create a program for a target game using the Microbits.

Media

• 5th and 6th graders will continue working on digital citizenship and digital technology, respectively. On Wednesday the classes will take a brief respite from their modules by participating in the JLG bookmark contest celebrating a favorite novel or story. A link with details can be found on the Library Media Canvas page.

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.). Students will need to use their school-issued iPad earphones for Exact Path lessons and select ILEARN testing sessions. 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.

Since the Skyward migration has been completed, the mobile app should automatically pull the new URL. Parents who are not getting the new URL, should remove the current account from the Skyward app and add the account back.

You can verify that the app is using the new URL by performing the following steps in the app:
1. Accounts--Edit
2. Click District. Review the URL under "Connection will be attempted using:"

You can delete the existing connection by performing the following steps in the app:
1. Accounts--Edit
2. Delete

DSC's new Skyward uses the following link: https://skyward.iscorp.com/scripts/wsisa.dll/WService=wsedudunelandscin/seplog01.w

Online registration is now open for State Park Little League Baseball 2025. New or Returning players may register by clicking the State Park Little League logo at the left.

Online registration for 2025 Liberty Rec. Baseball and Softball. Register by clicking the Liberty Rec. Baseball and Softball logo at the left.

Do you want to earn money but still be home with your family?

Does the cost of childcare hinder your plans to work?

Does your child participate in the many afterschool opportunities?

Would you like to spend quality time with your kids during spring, summer and winter breaks?

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/