September Newsletter

I am so excited for this new school year and to get to meet all the students! I hope that everyone had a great summer!

• Please make sure your child knows how they are getting to and from school. That will help us to make sure we get every kid to school and home safely tomorrow.

• Doors open at 8:35 am for students to begin entering the building. Please do not drop your child off earlier than 8:35 am. We will have staff members throughout the building to help make sure every kid gets to their room safely.

• Here are links for our lunch menu.

• We have a few new faces this year at Washington Heights -

• Ms. Wagner - Kindergarten

• Mr. Sheffer - 4th grade

• Ms. Garling - Music

• Mrs. Bennett - Learning Support

• Ms. Fetter - Long Term Sub for Mrs. Fulmer

• Mrs. Bingaman - Library

• Mrs. Creek - Phys Ed

• Should you be interested in volunteering this year, you might want to call our office to make sure you are up to date on all your clearances. Some good information on volunteering is located here on our District website.

• Don’t forget to follow us on X and Instagram: @WH_Eagles

As we begin the 2024-2025 school year, I’m looking forward to an amazing year. Our staff has been working very hard to get ready. I am sure both parents and students are nervous and excited, all at the same time. Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year. It is a fresh start for everyone. It is an opportunity to create a new identity for some and for others to build on past successes. Every school opening day, I think of a quote by Joe DiMaggio, “You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you’re a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen.”

Here are some important dates for September and October:

• September 2 - NO SCHOOL
• September 3 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
• September 4 - Title I DAC - 5:30 pm
• September 4 - Back to School Night - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
• September 16 - PTO Family Picnic - 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
• September 16 - PTO Meeting - 7:00 pm (Library)
• September 19 - FALL PICTURE DAY
• September 27 - REMOTE LEARNING DAY
• October 7 - PTO Meeting - 6:30 pm (Library)
• October 14 - REMOTE LEARNING DAY
• October 15-18 - Book Fair
• October 16 - PTO Book Bingo
• October 22 - Fall Picture Retakes
• October 31 - Fall Parties - 2:30 pm
• November 1 - NO SCHOOL

Please note that doors here at Washington Heights don't open until 8:35 am and dismissal starts at 3:35 pm.

That's right, every student eats for free this year at West Shore. This is made possible by Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Lunch Program, which allows schools in low-income areas to provide meals at no cost to families.

Every school year, a variety of supportive opportunities are available for students based on household income. These include, but are not limited to: fee waivers for participation in after-school activities, e-rate funds that offset the cost of access to technology resources, along with additional state and federal grant funding for programs and resources to support students. Historically, the District used the Free and Reduced Meal Application to gather this data, but because the District is participating in CEP (free meals for all students) we need to use a separate application.

If you think you qualify for supports, please check out this link for more information.

If you are intending on picking your student up from school at the end of the day, just a reminder that you need to fill out the Carpool Dismissal Form. This must be completed annually and parents can't use the same number from last year, as new numbers are issued each year.

Our Back to School Night will be held on September 4, from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm. This is an important night where parents/guardians can meet their child's teacher and ask any questions they might have about the school year. We hope to see many of you there!

Your student might come home next week talking about Eagle Bucks. This is our money system we are using this year to incentivise students to follow our school and classroom rules. Much like the soar tickets last year, students can save these up and purchase items from our school store. We wanted to make sure parents knew about this so you can ask your students things like, "how many Eagle Bucks do you have" and "what do you think you're going to spend it on".

Mark your calendars, our PTO will be hosting a Welcome Back picnic on Monday, September 16 from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Sign up genius to come on a later date so be on the lookout for that.