WPS Newsletter

January 2- No School

January 5- No School-Teacher Work Day

January 6- School Resumes

January 12- (MAKE UP) Grades 5-12 Christmas Concert 7:00pm

January 19- Snow Make-Up Day

January 23- Snowball-Grades 8-11

January 23- Miner of the Month-2:45

This past semester has absolutely flown by. Anthony Sester, school counseling intern, and I have met with over 60 students regularly, completed over 100 classroom lessons, mediated for many conflicts, took 2 field trips for career exploration, and ran four college and career fairs on top of all the other roles of the school counselor. The amount of prevention that can happen with a full-time school counselor and three days a week of a school counseling intern is phenomenal. I am happy to say that Anthony will be staying with us for the rest of the school year until his graduation!

Secondary School

Academic advising has been happening as the new semester begins. In the spring semester, individual meetings with every high school student will happen to ensure 4-year plans are completed with graduation and state scholarship requirements in mind. This also lays the groundwork for individual career counseling, which is vital for our Wilton students to be successful after their time at Wilton Public School. The counseling program wants to help prepare all students for the real world while encouraging each student to still be themselves because success looks different for everyone!

With our snow days, we have gotten a bit behind on Mining into Careers. However, 7th - 12th graders are now invited, which has increased participation heavily. Our next event is a career in nursing!

The semester is wrapping up, which means the college and career fairs are as well. One thing I learned last year is that the spring is very difficult between the weather, activities, and testing schedules. Thus, the college and career fairs will specifically be a fall feature.

Sophomores will be taking the PreACT at the end of January. This is scheduled for Wednesday, January 28th.

Juniors have completed the ASVAB! I am hoping to get another scheduled for a makeup in case anyone is not happy with their score or missed that day. If this does not happen before the end of the school year, I will make sure these students test with the class below them the next school year.

Juniors will be taking the ACT on February 25! Study materials are free on their RUReady account. All students have been shown how to access these!

Elementary School

The past months’ lessons consisted of problem-solving, empathy, effort, and what being a good student looks like! I love months like this, where we see the combination of academic skills and social-emotional skills that will one day pertain to career skills. A school counselor’s realm revolves around these 3 areas, which means we find these lessons extremely fulfilling ourselves.

This month's movie feature is The Polar Express. Here are the discussion questions:

• “What was one moment in the movie when a character showed courage? How do you feel when you try something new?”
• “The movie talks about believing in things you can’t always see. What does belief mean to you — and why might it be important?”
• “Who was kind in the story? How did that kindness make things better for someone else?”
• “How did the main character feel at the beginning of the train ride? Did their feelings change by the end?”

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I want to take a moment to clarify how we will handle our recent snow day and any future weather-related closures.

The snow day we had on Wednesday, December 18 will be made up on Monday, January 19. School will be in session on that day.

Looking ahead, if we have additional snow days this winter, Wilton Public Schools will shift to virtual learning rather than adding more make-up days to the calendar. This approach allows us to keep students learning while also maintaining flexibility for families.

On a virtual learning day:

• High school teachers will post content and assignments for students to complete.

• Elementary teachers will provide a choice board with learning activities shared by your child’s teacher.

If a virtual learning day is needed, we will communicate expectations clearly so families know what to expect.

Thank you for your continued support and flexibility during the winter months. As always, student safety remains our top priority.

Sincerely,

Mr. Jordan