Wildcat Weekly

We hope you enjoyed today’s Name That Tune activity and that it brought a little fun and connection to your day. Thank you for leaning in, participating, and bringing your positive energy! I appreciate each of you and the heart you bring to our school every day. Your commitment to our students and to one another continues to make Widewater a place where people feel seen, supported, and valued. Wishing you a wonderful weekend. Take time to rest, recharge, and do something that brings you joy.

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day – September 17: Constitution Day and Citizenship Day commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787, and celebrates the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Schools are expected to recognize the day through educational programming and classroom activities that explore the Constitution and its lasting impact. Resources are available in the Constitution Day and Citizenship Day Toolkit on the VDOE history and social science webpage.

A quick reminder that testing for grades 1–5 concludes on Tuesday, and WIN (reading only) begins on Monday. Please ensure all testing is completed on time. Additionally please be sure students are prepared to transition promptly to their WIN groups. Thank you for your attention to these important matters.

A quick reminder as we work to keep our classrooms clean and free of pests: please avoid leaving food, especially fruit, out in your rooms. Fruit and other uncovered items attract bugs and unwanted critters, which quickly become a building‑wide issue. Please be diligent about keeping all food stored in sealed containers. This small step makes a big difference in maintaining a healthy environment for everyone.

The link for shout-out submissions can also be found on the Dashboard under Wildcat Celebrations.

Stafford County Public Schools will utilize the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) for the 2026–2027 school year. The DESSA is a strength‑based tool that helps us identify students’ social‑emotional skills and highlight areas for continued growth. Teachers are asked to complete the DESSA‑Mini for each student during the fall administration window. The DESSA asks teachers to assess how often a student has demonstrated specific life skills in the past month by rating each student using the DESSA mini. A list of questions is available for you to preview.

The DESSA‑Mini must be completed between September 14 and October 23. Please plan accordingly, as the window closes on October 23.

Training Opportunities

Teachers will have three opportunities to receive DESSA training:

• September 29 at 3:30 PM

• October 12 – During the division PD day

A parent notification letter will be sent home today from Central Office. Please direct any family questions to Mrs. Goldberger, Ms. Stokes, or Mrs. Mays, who will serve as our primary contacts for DESSA implementation.

Thank you in advance for your attention to these requirements and for your commitment to supporting students’ social‑emotional development.

Links for the Section 504 Training have been updated. These courses are one-time only. If you took it last year, you do not need to take it again.

• 504 Foundations for Educators 2026-27

• Course for all staff

• Introduction to Section 504 (2026-27)

• Intro course for all staff

• It's a prerequisite for all Synergy courses

To ensure student safety during any club sessions held when the nurse or school administrators are not on site, all staff who plan to lead a club must be fully CPR certified and complete the Medication Administration Training for Coaches, Field Trips, and Extracurricular Sponsors.

Additionally, each grade level is also responsible for having at least one team member complete this medical training for field trips. The required medical training can be found in Perform, under section 11709.

Annual training is required for all contracted staff. These trainings will be delivered through the 2026-27 Required Annual Trainings playlist in the TalentED Professional Learning platform and should be completed by September 15, 2026. The playlist of courses as follows:

• Course #11889 : OSHA Safety Training: Building a Safer and Healthier Environment

• Course #EI26TNL-K12-bbp : Bloodborne Pathogens

• Course # EI26TNL-K12-3 : 2026-2027 Seizure First Aid

• Course #EI26TNL-K12-18 : FERPA Fundamentals for Protecting Student Privacy

• Course #EI26TNL-K12-25 : Cybersecurity-Phishing and Email Safety

All staff received an email on July 15 to communicate this expectation along with step by step directions to complete a playlist.

Staff Only Spirit Store:

• Spirit wear available at cost

• shipped directly to WES at no cost to you

• password protected

Staff only spirit store

Password: WWESstaffOnly

Community Spirit Store:

• community fundraising store
• paid shipping to the location of your choosing

This information is available to you on Dashboard under the Principal's Pad.

Please sign up to bring something to The Last Blast of Summer!

PTO held their first meeting on Thursday, September 3rd.

Our Papa John's Delivery Night will be held on Wednesday, September 30th! Mark your calendars and sign up here for our annual Papa John's Night!

Teacher involvement for this event will be that each grade level and/or department will have a booth/themed game. Please use this link HERE to sign up your team for the FALL FESTIVAL!

The PTO has also suggested having "room parents" or classroom parent leaders.

The role of the classroom parent leader would be to help support our teachers, communicate PTO updates/events/volunteer help directly to parents, and build a wonderful community for our students and teachers. The chosen classroom parent leader will be required to attend PTO meetings, along with helping to get parent volunteers for events from their child’s classroom. They will be required to communicate to all parents in their child's classroom using a classroom directory in which we will ask parents to fill out an interest form should they want to be included. The classroom parent leader will also assist with Teacher Appreciation: Help organize and coordinate teacher appreciation week/end of the year surprises. The classroom parent leader will also communicate to the teacher and volunteer as needed or help to find other parents who are available to help within the classroom at the teachers request.

The next PTO meeting will be held on Thursday, December 3rd at 5pm in the WES library. You may also attend virtually.