Wizards Newsletter

Hello Wickham Families!

As we move into December, we want to extend our sincere appreciation for your patience and flexibility during Monday's unexpected power outage. Even though the electricity was out for a few hours, our students and staff handled the disruption with positivity. Thank you for your understanding and for trusting us to keep students safe and learning during situations like these.

We want to give a big shout-out to our amazing PTO and to all of you, our supportive parents, for participating in our fundraisers and helping make the new preschool swings possible. These swings have quickly become a favorite spot on the playground, and it has been wonderful to see the joy they bring to our preschoolers each day. We are so grateful for the PTO’s continued dedication and for the collective support that helps create enriching experiences for our students.

Your voice matters! As we continue to implement Levels One & Two of High Reliability Schools (HRS), we're capturing feedback from families to improve how our school functions. Share your thoughts and help us create the best environment for our students by clicking the box BELOW!

Cooler Weather Reminder

As temperatures continue to drop, please help your student come prepared for outdoor play:

• 0° (and below) temperature and/or wind chill: Indoor Recess

• 1°–49°: Pants, coat, and appropriate head/hand outerwear.
  Boots and snow pants are required to play in the snow.

• 50°–59°: Long-sleeve shirt or jacket recommended; shorts optional

• 60°+: Jacket optional (student choice)

Please label all outerwear so lost items can be returned easily!

If your family needs help obtaining any winter clothing items, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Student Family Advocate, Jill Winders (winders.jill@iowacityschools.org). She is here to support our families and can assist with securing the items your child needs.

Health & Illness Reminder

As we move into the colder months, it’s important to keep our students and staff healthy! You MUST keep your child home if they are experiencing any of the following:

• Fever (100.4°F) – students should stay home until 24 hours fever-free without medication

• Vomiting or diarrhea – students should stay home until 24 hours symptom-free

If your child becomes sick at school, the office will contact you to pick them up. Following these guidelines helps prevent the spread of illness and keeps everyone healthy during the winter months.

A Message from Nurse Jess

Dear Families,

I’ve received a few questions recently about head lice, so I wanted to share a brief update and

guidance for families. I’m happy to report that we have no lice concerns in the building at this time. However, since lice are common in all communities, I also want to offer some guidance on what you can do at home if you ever have concerns.

These steps come from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the CDC, and ICCSD health guidelines:

• Do regular head checks, especially behind the ears and at the back of the neck.

• Look for live lice or nits attached close to the scalp.

• Use a fine-tooth lice comb if you want a more thorough check.

• Remind children not to share items that touch the head (hats, brushes, headphones, hair accessories).

• If you ever find lice, begin a treatment at home, following label instructions carefully.

What we do at school

• We follow district and health-authority guidance focused on prevention while minimizing unnecessary absences.

• If we were to see a class- or school-wide outbreak, we would notify families - while maintaining individual student privacy.

• Classrooms encourage students to keep personal items separate and avoid sharing anything that touches the head.

• If a student needs a hat for recess, they may borrow from the health office. Borrowed hats are either kept by the student or washed and dried on high heat before reuse.

• Staff alert the health office if a student is scratching frequently so we can do a quick, discreet check.

If you’re ever unsure about what you’re seeing at home or would like help checking, please feel free to reach out. I’m happy to assist anytime.

Thanks for your partnership in keeping lice concerns low at Wickham.

Nurse Jess

--

Warmly,
Emily & Susan
macleod.emily@iowacityschools.org
schepanski.susan@iowacityschools.org

Hello Wickham Families,

We are excited to invite you to our annual Winter Sing-Along. This section is to inform you of all the details for the day of the sing-along and to let you know about our music performances scheduled for later in the year. The sing-along, on December 19th, is truly a sing-along. It is not one of our performances or grade-level concerts for the year. It is a time to come together as a community and enjoy singing together.

The sing-along will begin at 10:30 am on Friday, December 19th. Students and staff will be sitting on the floor of the gym singing several familiar and new-to-us songs of winter. It will last approximately 20 minutes and will be a great way to head into Winter Break!

If you plan on attending the Winter Sing-along, please arrive no earlier than 10:10 AM. You will enter using the outside gym door. There will be limited seating for those who are unable to stand for 20-30 minutes. Others will be asked to sit on the floor or stand. When the sing-along is over, we will ask parents to go out the gym door (same door you entered). If you'd like to take your students home after the sing along, you will meet your child(ren) outside the main office or by Wing 1 for preschool and Kindergarten students.

If you know that you will be attending the sing-along and taking your child/ren home when it is done, please fill out this form so we are aware your child will be leaving following the sing-along.

We know that the parking lot will be VERY BUSY so this year we will again be providing a shuttle bus for your convenience. The bus will run from the parking lot at the Brown Deer Golf Course to Wickham and then from Wickham back to the golf course after the sing-along. The shuttle will begin running at 10:00 am and then immediately after the sing-along. If you are planning on taking your child home after the sing-along they can ride the shuttle back to Brown Deer with you!

It has been another wonderful start to the year at Wickham. We look forward to sharing our music with you!

Grade level performances:

Kindergarten - Friday, May 29th at 1:30 pm

1st/2nd - Thursday, April 23rd at 12:45 (no school on the 24th)

3rd/4th - Friday, May 1st at 1:30

5th grade at their FIFTH GRADE CELEBRATION in June, the exact time and date TBD.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Stiegelmeyer

General Music Teacher

December 9th- 1st Grade Field Trip to the CFI

December 10th- 5th Grade Heartlanders Field Trip

December 15th- 5th Grade Band Trip to West High

December 15th- Holiday Lights at the Lake (Details Below)

December 19th- Winter Sing Along, 2 Hour Early Release at 1 PM

December 22nd - January 2nd- No School, District Closed

January 19th- No School, District Closed

February 5th- Wickham's Got Talent (More details coming)

Linked here is our 2025-2026 District Calendar!

Naomi's Kitchen Fundraiser 🥙🥘🥗

We are excited to announce our partnership with Naomi's Kitchen for our December Fundraiser! Take the night off from cooking and leave the meals to Naomi’s Kitchen. This is a great way to enjoy delicious, prepackaged meals with your family, all while supporting Wickham Elementary PTO.

For every order placed, Naomi's Kitchen will donate $20 to the Wickham Elementary PTO. After the 20th order placed, we will receive $25 per order!

How to Order:

1. Step 1: Go to Naomiskitchen.com

   Step 2: Click on “Order Now!”

   Step 3: Go to the calendar page or scroll down on your phone under "Pick Ups" for Tuesday, December 9. Click on “Click here to order for Wickham Fundraiser”

   Step 4: Choose your Menu & Entrees & Pay online.

Order Deadline:

• Order starting NOW – Naomi’s Kitchen would appreciate early orders to help with preparation.
• The cutoff deadline for orders is Sunday, December 7 @ midnight.

Pick-up Information:

Pick up your order on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 between 12 PM and 6 PM at Naomi’s Kitchen in North Liberty.
Address: 25 E Cherry St., North Liberty, IA 52317Thank you for supporting our school while enjoying a delicious, stress-free dinner!

Wickham's Got Talent - SAVE THE DATE! 🪄🎹🎵🥁🤸🏻‍♀️🤹

Thanks to parent volunteers, planning for the 2025-2026 Wickham’s Got Talent event is underway. We are thrilled that we once again get to showcase our talented Wickham community!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, February 5th and keep an eye out for registration details!

We are in search of a volunteer who would be willing to host (or MC) this event. This person would assist in guiding the schedule, engaging the audience, and managing the overall flow of the evening. Essentially being the "voice filler" in between acts and introducing what's to come next. Please email wickhampto@gmail.com if interested.

The PTO is also excited to announce this event will be FREE to attend. With that being said, all students must be accompanied by an adult. This is NOT a drop off event! We appreciate your attention to this as we continue to strive to be respectful and responsible Wickham Wizards!

Mark your calendars! The 2nd Annual Wickham Holiday Lights at the Lake will take place on Monday, December 15th from from 5:30-8:30 PM!

👋Wickham Elementary teachers and staff will be volunteering at the Holiday Lights at the Lake. We would love to have students support their teachers and a good cause by driving through the lights and saying a big "HI" to your favorite teachers!

💰Donations are $10/car and all proceeds go to the Birdhouse Hospice House of Johnson County.

🔗Please use this link to find more info on the event: https://www.holidaylightsatthelake.com

Looking for information on Securly, our web filtering tool?

Find all the information here www.IowaCitySchools.org/Securly.

It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact:

• Laura Cottrell (Executive Director of Educational Services & Student Success) for programming at cottrell.laura@iowacityschools.org
• Nick Proud (Chief Human Resources Officer) for employment at proud.nick@iowacityschools.org, 2255 N. Dubuque Road, Iowa City, Iowa 52245, (319) 688-1000; or
• If you are unsure how to proceed or would like assistance in discussing your options, you may also contact Janet Abejo-Parker at ombuds@iowacityschools.org or (319) 688-1312