Buncombe County is once again in the path of a partial solar eclipse, which will happen when we return to school on Monday, April 8. With so many eyes interested in what’s happening in the skies,we want to remind everyone to exercise caution. At school, we will be reminding our students to not look at the sun during the eclipse. More information about safety during the eclipse is available on the school system's website.

• Tuesday, April 9th - Spring Pictures & Class Picture Day (Information & Order Form) - Class Pictures are $10
• Monday, April 15th -19th - District Art Show at the Asheville Mall
• Tuesday, April 16th: K-8 All-County Art Exhibition: FAMILY NIGHT 5-7pm
• Tuesday, April 16th - 8:00-8:30 am Coffee & Conversations at NWR Intermediate (for rising 5th grade families)
• Tuesday, April 23rd - Early Dismissal at 12:25 pm
• Monday, April 22nd - 26th - Book Fair!
• Friday, April 26th - Leadership Day! 10:30 - Opening Ceremony, 11:50 - Lunch on the Playground!
• *Testing Dates for 3rd and 4th Grade EOGs* - Please do not plan to be out or take trips on these days. Testing is always the last ten days of a school year.
• Wednesday, May 29th - Reading EOG for 3rd & 4th graders
• Friday, May 31st - Math EOG for 3rd & 4th graders

District Calendars

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- English

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Romanian

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Russian

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Spanish

I also want to make sure that you have marked your calendar for our annual Leadership Day! This year's Leadership Day will look a bit different in that we are ensuring that every student has a job to do! You can imagine that this will be quite a task, so check in with your child about their job in the coming weeks.

Here's a little more about how the morning will work:

We'll have an Opening Ceremony at 10:30 am. Not all students will be in the Opening Ceremony because some of them will be on their hallways or in other locations, ready for their job that happens afterwards. Our Opening Ceremony will be streamed on our WvES Live Youtube Channel. After the Opening Ceremony, parents will go to three different stations, spending about 15 minutes at each station. We'll wrap up around 11:30 or 11:45, and we'll head to the playground for a picnic lunch. Students can eat lunch from our cafeteria, or you can bring a picnic lunch for you and your child/ren. You can bring camping chairs and picnic blankets if you'd like!

You might have also heard your child talking about our service project. Each class is working on a way to collect donations for children in foster care, specifically an overnight bag and overnight items that a child might need if they have to move homes. Each class is working on a way to get these things donated. Our service project is a way for students to experience leadership through service to their community. All items will be donated to "Children's Hope Alliance" a local non-profit that supports foster families.

Here are some things to be aware of for Leadership Day:

• If it rains, we will not have the picnic lunch, and unfortunately, we won't be able to have parents join their children for lunch indoors since there won't be enough room.
• Please plan to carpool with friends or family members. We have such limited parking, and we want to respect our neighbors around the school. If it rains, we will not be able to open the field for additional parking.

I hope you've all had a great Spring Break! Spring Break always marks the final spring to the finish line of another school year. Our teachers and staff find that this is the part of the year where our students make the most growth! Like the final few minutes of a basketball game, it seems like more happens in these final weeks that can sometimes happen all year! It's so important that each child arrives to school on time and ready to learn. Please work extra hard these last 9-weeks to make sure your child arrives on time each day. Starting the day with the rest of their classmates really sets our children up for the most success.

Also, our PTO board is taking nominations and looking for those interested in serving on the PTO!

Please check out this Interest Form and Committee Sign-up for next year:

• Board Interest Form - Upcoming Board nominations and elections were discussed! If you, or anyone you know is interested in considering one of our upcoming board vacancies, please use this link to submit your interest!
• PTO Committee Sign-up - Weaverville Schools PTO has a variety of opportunities to become involved with the schools. If you'd like to learn more and/or become a volunteer for one of engaging committees, sign up using the link!
• Complete your volunteer application here!

Title 1 Surveys

Please complete the Title 1 Parent/Caregiver Survey for this year! Our school uses this information to help make decisions about money, resources, staffing, and programming. Your input is valuable!

https://forms.gle/3XAWuJjQJftsRRhV6 - English

https://forms.gle/KHjs2QFQ7ur7FfcE7 - Spanish

https://forms.gle/DfCmLmoyrsHJ5Pvo7 - Russian

Saturday Mini-Camps:

Additionally, BCS is hosting several Saturday "mini-camps" for 4th - 8th graders, and the flyer is below. If you are interested, here's the link to register your student: bit.ly/MakeStudentsBCS. The last 4 camps have a registration deadline of April 8th. If you've already registered, we'll be sending permissions home this week, and you'll need to bring those to the site of the Saturday Camp in order for your child to participate.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Mary Nichols

Previous Weeks' News from the Nest

Please remember the following requests:

• If you need to check your child out early, please check them out BEFORE 1:45 pm. We will not be checking students out the last 30 minutes of the day as this interrupts instruction.
• If you need to make a dismissal change for your student, please call the front office before 12:30 each day.
• Do not enter the car line from Main Street. Please use Yost St. Please respect our school rules that keep others safe.

• Friday, April 19th - NWR Counselors will visit WvES and present to our 4th grade classes about what to expect at NWR Intermediate

• Wednesday, April 24th - WvES 4th graders will take a field trip to NWR to tour the school and learn about 5th grade.

• **DATE CHANGE** - Monday, April 29, 6:00-7:00pm - Family Night at NWR! Here from Mrs. Sellers (principal) and see the school!

Weaverville Schools PTO is a 501c3 organization whose primary goal is to support both Weaverville Elementary School and Weaverville Primary School through a variety of fundraising, volunteer, and community centric events! We love our schools!

· Feb: HERE
· Mar: HERE – Upcoming Board nominations and elections were discussed!

Upcoming Meetings:

• Thursday, April 18th – 8:15 am Weaverville Primary School – Board Nominations
• Thursday, May 9th – 8:15 am Weaverville Elementary School
  

Campus Beautification Days (10:30 am – 11:30 am both schools!):

April 20th

May 18th

June 1st (Tentative - Final clean up before Summer)

Staff Appreciation Events:

If you are interested in helping donate to the next staff appreciation events, please sign up using the links below!

Weaverville Primary: Staff Appreciation Day will be on March 25th. Please see the Signup Genius below: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4AA9A82DA5FE3-48459591-march

Weaverville Elementary School: Staff Appreciation Day will be on March 29th. Please see the Signup Genius below: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4AA9A82DA5FE3-48563189-march

Book Fair: Weaverville Elementary School: April 22-26th

Weaverville Schools PTO has a variety of opportunities to become involved with the schools. If you'd like to learn more and/or become a volunteer for one of engaging committees, sign up here*!

PTO Committee Sign-up*

*Please note that being a volunteer through PTO requires approval through the standard school system approval process, please read below for more information on that!

Weaverville Schools PTO has a variety of opportunities to become involved with the schools. If you'd like to learn more and/or become a volunteer for one of engaging committees, sign up here*!

This year’s spring event will transition from a tradition in person event to a Raffle Basket and Dine Out

fundraising event!

If you are interested in participating as a business or restaurant or helping as a

volunteer, please connect with us HERE! We appreciate your interest! More information will be forthcoming soon!

Community focused:

• Raffle Baskets will be local business based - Drawn on Field Day May 31
  
• Dine Out will be local restaurant based - Targeting May 30
  

Volunteers will be used to:

• Connect with local business and restaurants
  
• Raffle Basket creation
  
• Collection of purchased tickets
  

"Make Your Mark" Saturday mini-camps begin March 16 and will be held at each BCS middle school (except Cane Creek). They will include fun project-based activities and field trips in partnership with local agencies. Register here: bit.ly/MakeStudentsBCS. You can register for the last 4 dates by April 8th.

Any student in Grades 4 through 8 may attend at no cost with lunch provided. Sign up with the QR code on the attached flyer. Email questions to info@constructiveld.org.

Marque su Huella - 6 mini-campamentos sabatinos

Estudiantes de las escuelas del condado de Buncombe de los grados 4 a 8

¡Admisión Gratuita!

¡Almuerzo Incluido!

Haga Tecnología Musical, Juegos de Mesa y Más

Excursiones

Estos 6 sábados de 9am a 12pm

• 16 de marzo, 23 de marzo, 13 de abril, 20 de abril, 27 de abril, 4 de mayo

Los campamentos se llevarán a cabo en cada una de estas escuelas.

• AC Reynolds Middle, CD Owen Middle, CA Erwin Middle, Enka Middle, North Buncombe Middle, Valley Springs Middle

Más detalles antes del 1 de marzo- Envíe sus preguntas por correo electrónico a Info@ConstructiveLD.org

¿Interesado? Inscríbase utilizando el código QR en la parte delantera del folleto o en bit.ly/MakeStudentsBCS

Here it is! The 10th anniversary production of the Weaverwood Film & Drama Club- “Freeze Force 2: Trial of the Time Drake”.

We made the original Freeze Force 6 years ago and to celebrate our 10th anniversary, we brought back some familiar faces for this one!

Hope you enjoy it.

Mr. Martin

Being on time is important. Parents and students, please work together to arrive to school on time. We have had upwards of thirty students in our office waiting to check in each morning. Our front office staff spend the first hour of the day checking students in, answering phone calls, making sure students have access to our breakfast, etc. All students should arrive in time to start class at 7:55. Please plan so that your child gets to start the day with their peers. Starting behind schedule is so hard on our students, especially if it is a frequent occurrence. Arriving on time also instills good habits that will help them later on in life.

• Please do not enter our car line from Main St. in the mornings or in the afternoons. Please use Yost St. This keeps children and families safe.
• Please do not check your child out between 1:45-2:25 so that we can have a safe and calm dismissal for students each day.
• Please always let us know in writing if there is a transportation change for your child.
• Please let us know by 12:30pm if you are changing your child's regular dismissal procedure.

Did you know that if a student picks 3 items from our lunch line, it counts as a lunch? I share this because participation in our "everyone eats school lunch free" can affect how long we have access to FREE lunch for ALL students. We want as many students as possible to participate. 3 Items can look a lot of different ways. If your child brings their lunch, they can get a free fruit and milk, as well as another item, to add to their meal from home. Encourage your child to take advantage of these free items in our lunch line!

Remember, ALL students eat free!

• August:
• What does the Science of Reading mean for parents?
• September:
• Expert Answers to Family Questions About Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Fluency
• October:
• What does the Science of Reading mean for parents - https://sites.google.com/dawsonesc.com/risearkansas/family-resources
• Expert Answers to Family Questions About Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Fluency - https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-sos-with-experts/phonemic-awareness-phonics-fluency#readslowly
• Expert Answers to Family Questions About Vocabulary and Comprehension - https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-sos-with-experts/vocabulary-comprehension
• December: Tips for Supporting Reading Skills at Home

• https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/practiceguide/wwc_fr_tips_022118.pdf

  
  

Don't forget that our students, staff, and visitors have access to masks all day long. We have regular 3-ply masks and KN95 masks available. Masks are available in the front office, and we have reminders at hand-sanitizing stations that you can get a mask in the front office.

If a student requests a KN95 mask, we must have parent permission since it is considered a respirator. Parents must complete the Voluntary Respirator Use Form and sign and return. Here is a link to the form. If a student requests a KN95 mask, and we do not already have the form on file, we will email it to parent/guardians for you to sign.

Ingles:

As we start another school year, remember it's time to link your Ingles Advantage Card to Weaverville Elementary School. This must be done each year to ensure the benefits from your card will support our school! Ingles Tools for Schools makes a huge difference in our school. Thanks for your support.

https://www.ingles-markets.com/tools-for-schools-link

Other Ways to Support WvES While You Shop:

• Publix: www.plublix.com/partners
• Amazon Smiles: www.smile.amazon.com
• Box Tops: www.boxtops4education.com
• Harris Teeter - www.tie.harristeeter.com

The information below are parts of our Student & Families Handbook. It's important that our families know all the procedures and safety expectations. I'll leave these in our News from the Nest for a few weeks

ALL parents and visitors to campus must sign in at the office and obtain a visitor sticker (or a volunteer pass if applicable). Please note that you must sign in even if you are only visiting the cafeteria. Your cooperation in helping us to follow Central Office policy and ensuring the safety of all children is expected and appreciated.

If you have an appointment or scheduled time to be at school in the morning, and wish to walk in with your child, please still plan to follow the established procedure of coming to the office, signing the visitor registry, and obtaining a visitor tag.

Visitors will only be allowed to visit a classroom if the visitor has scheduled the visit with the teacher beforehand or if the visitor is a scheduled volunteer.

Students must be in attendance for more than half a day (11:30 a.m.) to be counted present for the day. On a two hour delay, the half day mark is considered 12:15. On a three hour delay, the half day mark is considered 12:45. Students arriving at school after 7:55 AM must report to the office and to sign in. Tardies will only be excused if accompanied by a medical (doctor or dentist) statement or if excused by the principal. These notes/statements should be presented to the office staff when signing in. Upon returning to school from an absence, students must bring their teacher a parent note or medical statement (doctor or dentist) giving the reason for the absence.

Our day starts promptly at 7:55 am. Please work together as a family to have your child arrive on time, with time to get settled in their classroom, and ready to learn at 7:55 am. If your child plans to eat breakfast at school, please do your best to have them arrive with time to eat before lessons begin at 7:55 am.

Check your child's grades, attendance, and more! Email powerschoolteam@bcsemail.org and our BCS staff will email you a link, login, and password for your account. If you email this week, please be patient as they respond to many requests, especially right before school starts.

You can also manage your contact information through parent portal.

Email Dawn.Flanigan-Bryson@bcsemail.org, WvES Data Manager, to check your Powerschool settings and contact information.

Safety is one of my top priorities, and I want to be very clear with all of our families about the ways we will keep our students safe on our campus. The following procedures and expectations are in place with safety in mind. Please support our staff and students in keeping our campus safe by following these expectations at all times.

• All visitors must check in each time with no exceptions. You'll get a badge to wear, and you must wear the badge at all times. If you do not have the badge on, our staff will politely ask if we can help you, so please be kind to staff in response.
• Visitors are only allowed to visit a classroom if they have a scheduled appointment with the teacher. We want to protect the instructional time of all students.
• All doors will remain locked at all times.
• Please do not enter the front door unless you have been buzzed in by an adult. It may seem easy to slip in with someone else who is being buzzed in, but please help us keep our safety practices in tact by following this simple request.
• If you are already inside the school, please do not open the front door for others. Please allow our office staff to safely screen each person entering the building.

Please follow this "Multi-visitor Entrance Procedure:"

1. If you have buzzed in and are being screened and you notice another visitor is arriving, please don't hold the door and allow anyone in without being screened first.
2. If the other visitor is 15 feet or less from the door, please buzz in and be screened together.
3. If the visitor is more than 15 feet from the door, please buzz in and ensure the door is closed completely after you enter.

We certainly want to encourage politeness, and we also want our visitors to understand that it is unsafe to hold doors and allow visitors in without being verified by front office staff first. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

School safety is the most important component of our day. We know we must balance safety with having a welcoming school building so that parents and community members can be part of our school. Please help us do this by honoring these safety protocols about entering our building.

Parents are invited to eat with their child in the cafeteria; however, as a courtesy to other students, we ask that you do not bring outside food such as fast food and/or sodas into the school cafeteria. Parents should arrive at school in time to get a visitor’s pass and report to the lunchroom hallway five minutes before the scheduled lunch time. Please always let the teacher know ahead of time if you plan to eat with your child.

Parents are invited to have lunch with their child at the end of September. Please wait for an announcement from the principal that parents/family can come to school to have lunch with their child.

A monthly menu will be posted in the classroom and the daily menu will be read during morning announcements. Occasionally there will be a menu change due to late deliveries or snow days.

You can find links to BCS menus here: https://www.buncombeschools.org/page/menus-and-pricing

Please note that any outside food brought in for special snacks or birthday treats cannot be consumed until the last student has been served lunch. This will be at approximately 12:30 PM. Should you desire to bring in a special snack for your child’s birthday or another event, please coordinate this with your child’s teacher so as not to conflict with our lunchroom policies. In addition, any food brought into the school to be shared with students must be store bought with ingredients listed. Please allow school staff to distribute snacks due to their knowledge and understanding of students’ allergies and dietary needs. Our school also encourages healthy snacks and choices. Please refer to the School Wellness section in this handbook for more information.

Phone: 828-645-3127

Address: 129 South Main St., Weaverville, NC 28787

Email:

Mary Nichols - Principal (Mary.nichols@bcsemail.org)

*Please email both office staff if you have a dismissal change.

Dawn Flanigan-Bryson - Data Manager (dawn.flanigan-bryson@bcsemail.org)

• attendance
• student information/records
• immunizations
• enrollment

Ashley Mendoza - Head Secretary (Ashley.mendoza@bcsemail.org)

• general inquiries
• money questions related to school
• bus questions