Weekly Hoots

Dear Wise Owls Family,

Happy New Year! 🤗 I hope this message finds you well and that you enjoyed a restful and joyful holiday season with your loved ones. As we step into the new year, we are excited about the opportunities and growth that lie ahead for our students, staff, and school community.

The start of a new year is a wonderful time to reflect on our accomplishments and set goals for the future. Here at WES, we remain committed to fostering a positive and enriching learning environment where every student feels supported and empowered to succeed.

As we head into the second half of the school year, I want to encourage everyone to stay focused and motivated. Here are a few reminders to help us all finish the year strong:

1. Attendance Matters: Regular attendance is key to academic success. Please ensure your child is present and punctual every day, ready to learn. If your child is absent, be sure to complete the WES Student Attendance Form.

2. Stay Engaged: Continue to support your child’s learning at home by reviewing homework, discussing what they are learning in school, and maintaining open communication with their teachers. Sign up to join PTO so you are able to stay up-to-date with what's happening in our community! Follow the WES PTO Facebook Page to get reminders for all of the amazing events that we will have this Spring.

3. Set Goals Together: Take time to discuss and set achievable goals with your child for the remainder of the school year. Celebrating small victories along the way can build confidence and motivation.

4. Healthy Routines: Consistent sleep schedules, balanced nutrition, and daily physical activity contribute significantly to a child’s overall well-being and academic performance.

We are incredibly proud of our students’ hard work and dedication thus far, and we are confident that with your continued partnership, they will thrive as they move closer to completing another successful school year.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Whitesville Elementary School. If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s make 2025 a fantastic year of growth, learning, and community together!

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year.

Warm regards,

B. Gantt

#AllforONE!

Our mission is to cultivate a caring community that utilizes a multitude of teaching and learning experiences to prepare children for their next adventure.

1. We believe that everyone deserves to feel safe, valued, and appreciated.
2. We believe that all children deserve a high quality education.
3. We believe in collaboration and making connections.

Staying Safe

Owning Your Actions

Acting Responsibly

Respecting Everyone & Everything

“South Carolina Compulsory Attendance Law requires that a parent or guardian shall require his child to attend regularly a public or private school or kindergarten of this State which has been approved by the State Board of Education, a member school of the South Carolina Independent Schools and Association, a member school of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools, or some similar organization, or a parochial, denominational, or church-related school, or other programs which have been approved by the State Board of Education f rom the school year in which the child is five years of age before September first until the child attains his seventeenth birthday or graduates from high school.”

Please also submit any medical or additional excuses to the front office. We process our attendance forms once per week so you may not immediately see that the note has been accepted.

Tuesday, January 7th

Students return

Wednesday, January 8th

Student Report Cards will be made available {virtually}

Thursday, January 9th

Student Report Cards will be sent home in Thursday Folders

Monday, January 13th

Monday Morning Parliament

Monday, January 20th

Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Schools & Offices will be closed

Friday, January 24th

Tags of Honor Celebration for grades 1, 4, & 5

Monday, January 27th

Tags of Honor Celebration for grades K, 3, & 2

Given our use of space around campus and in an effort to minimize clutter throughout the building, we will no longer hold a Lost & Found on campus.

Please write your children's first and last names on items such as jackets, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc. At the end of each day and week, we will attempt to return all left items to the child's respective teacher.

Items left on or around campus without a student's name will risk being donated in opposed to being held on campus.

Thank you for your support!

Reading is the core of the school day for young children because students need strong reading skills to learn in all other school subjects, such as science, social studies, writing, and math. By the end of third grade, students are expected to be able to read independently and comprehend a variety of grade-level texts based upon South Carolina College- and Career-Ready (SCCCR) Standards.

South Carolina law states, "Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, a student must be retained in the third grade if the student fails to demonstrate reading proficiency at the end of the third grade as indicated by scoring at the lowest achievement level on the state summative reading assessment [SC READY Reading]."

Act 114 (updated Read to Succeed legislation) requires that beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, a student must be retained in the third grade if the student fails to demonstrate reading proficiency by scoring Does Not Meet Expectations on SC READY Reading. A student may be exempt for good cause from the mandatory retention but shall continue to receive instructional support and services and reading intervention appropriate for their age and reading level.

Successful completion of Summer Reading camp is defined more narrowly to include alternate formative assessments or reassessment of SC READY (see note below) and revised cut scores to reflect the requirements of Act 114.

NEW - Formative Alternative Assessment Cut Scores Approved or Summer Reading Camp:
iReady – 489

Mastery View Predictive Assessment and Istation's Indicators of Progress are on the SCDEs approved formative/interim assessment list. However, according to Act 114, they can only double as a Summer Reading Good Cause Exemption if the vendor can provide the equivalent "Approaches" cut score to that of SC Ready. These alternate scores are procured through a formal, research-based linking study. Currently, of our five approved assessments, only MAP, STAR and iReady have procured approved, alternate cut scores via these studies.

Note: Due to the implementation of the 2024 ELA standards and test development, SC READY will not be an option as an assessment at the end of Summer Reading Camp during the 2024-25 school year. We look forward to making it available in the future.

The Third Grade Retention Guidance Document is available here (DOC - Revised September 2024).

If a third-grade student scores Does Not Meet on SC Ready Reading, the school/district should first determine if any of the following Good Cause Exemptions (GCE) apply prior to the end of the school year:

1) Is a student with limited English proficiency and less than two years of instruction in English as a Second Language program;

2) Is a student with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program indicates the use of alternative assessments or alternative reading interventions and students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program or Section 504 Plan reflects that the student has received intensive remediation in reading for more than two years but still does not substantially demonstrate reading proficiency;

3) Is a student who has received two years of reading intervention and was previously retained; and/or

4) Is a student who demonstrates third grade reading proficiency by scoring the equivalent of Approaches Expectations on an approved norm-referenced alternative assessment.

Currently, the approved alternate assessments include MAP, STAR, and iReady. Students must score the equivalent of Approaches Expectations or above on SC Ready Reading on the alternate assessment. The cut scores are as follows:

• iReady - 489

One of the many components of Read to Succeed is third grade summer reading camps. Each district must identify third grade students who are not reading proficiently on grade level and provide them with the opportunity to attend a summer reading camp. During the summer reading camps students will be taught by highly qualified teachers who have experience in working with struggling readers. Students will have the opportunity to receive small group and individual instruction to work on their reading, writing, listening, and researching skills.

In our continuing effort to improve the academic performance of students, our school implements interventions to include Special Education and a program called Response to Intervention (RtI). Both models are designed to provide effective instruction to meet the needs of students using scientific, peer-reviewed, research-based interventions. These programs focus on improving the educational performance of students who are experiencing difficulty in the area of reading.

If you have specific questions pertaining to the information shared in this letter, please contact Lindsey McDaniel, Reading Coach at (843) 899-8880 or mcdaniell@bcsdschools.net.

If there is a change of transportation, a note with a parent/guardian's signature MUST be provided. Any student that tells staff that his or her parent/guardian told them to go home by another means will not be honored. For the safety of our students, a change in transportation must be submitted in writing to the student's teacher AND to the Front Office.

To ensure that our students remain safe while off-campus, we are asking families to purchase a WES School Spirit Shirt. Students will be able to wear their School Spirit Shirt on all of their Field Studies which has our 2024-25 AllforONE! logo and our school's contact information (on the front of the shirt). Also, 100% of the proceeds will go back in our field trip budget to ensure that we can keep costs down for families.

Shirts cost $10

Order your shirt using the link below

*shirts will come white with the blue logo or blue with the white logo

Show your school spirit and support our students by grabbing your WES Car Magnet! Every purchase helps fund exciting programs and activities, enriching your child's school experience. Plus, you are showcasing your WES pride in your community. Join us in making a difference—buy now and roll with school pride!

Car Magnets cost $10.

Friday, March 7th - Boosterthon Fun Run

Thursday, April 10th - Spring Fling (a part of STEAM Night)

Friday, May 23rd - 5th Grade Celebration

Breakfast and lunch will be served on every day. If your student wants to eat breakfast at school, they should arrive to school between 6:50 a.m. - 7:18 a.m. Breakfast will no longer be served after 7:45 a.m.

• Our school's website is found at https://www.bcsdschools.net/o/wes
• WES Facebook page is Whitesville Elementary School Wise Owls
• The Weekly Hoots newsletter will be emailed & texted to families every Sunday evening. Please be sure to have your updated information in PowerSchool.
• Our PTO's website is wiseowlspto.com.
• Our PTO's Facebook page is Whitesville Wise Owls PTO.
• Schoology: Teachers will update their grades weekly.
• Rooms: Our two-way form of communication at WES. Every teacher at WES will use Rooms as a tool for communication.