Wildwood Middle's Notable News

Wildwood Community,

My name is Jason Lievanos, the Principal of Wildwood Middle School. I want to welcome you to the 25-26 school year. Staff have been buzzing about preparing to welcome students and the excitement for an incredible year continues to rise!

Our school continues to focus creating an environment where everyone can be educated and enjoy the day by promoting belonging, empowering our students and staff, ensuring dignity and encouraging innovation.

Parents, the amount of growth physically, emotionally and cognitively children go through in their 6 years of elementary occurs for our middle school students in half the time. This extreme growth comes with many ups and downs, like a rollercoaster… and us parents are on board for the ride! Know that the ride is well worth it because you’ll see your child ascend peaks of success and push through challenging valleys. The ride may be wild for some, a cruise for others, yet we will reach our destination together.

Students, I am so very excited to see you connect with one another and take advantage of the opportunities middle school provides you. Education allows you to be aware of opportunities and provides you the skills and knowledge to open that door of opportunity and walk through it. Education takes you to incredible new worlds if you’re committed to the process. Alongside learning, community connections with staff and other young adults turns this school into a safe place. We hope that as the year rolls on you feel Wildwood is another place you can call home.

A bit about me, I’m a father of four amazing daughters. My wife, Angela, is an incredible wife and mother who rounds out my household of 5 ladies to 2 guys, including our Chocolate Lab named Ocho. I’m originally from Orange County, CA and feel so very fortunate to live and serve in the St. Louis area because of the values, community focus and opportunities afforded to us all. Truly, we are blessed.

Below is basic information about our day to day procedures and other helpful information for you to peruse.

Enjoy the weekend and be excited because the BEST is yet to come!

Dr. Jason Lievanos

Principal, Wildwood Middle School

Helpful Resources...

Building Bell Schedule (NEW School Start Time 7:40 NOT 7:47)

Wildwood Middle A day/ B day calendar

WMS Student and Parent Handbook

Middle School Lunch Menu

Transportation

Link to Previous Principal Message: secure.smore.com/n/7j612-wildwood-middle-s-notable-news

First day of school pics at the Marquee- For safety and efficiency of drop/pick up process, NO STUDENT PICTURES AT THE MARQUEE will be allowed. Please take pictures AFTER school, not during drop-off or pick up. The west side of the marquee has our Welcome back message for pics.

Chromebooks: Charge them, fully in a common space like a living or family room, not the student's bedroom. Parents, it is critically important that you review with your student how to care for the device and charger to minimize wear and tear. Be sure to have your Chromebook fully charged for the first day and leave your charger at home. Finally, students, please be sure to update your Chromebooks by following these steps.

How to update Chromebook OS

1. Login to Chromebook

2. Click the oval in the lower right corner.

3. Click Settings .

4. Click on the 3 bars in upper left corner/ Settings

5. Pick About Chrome OS.

6. Click Check for Updates on the right of the screen

7. If your Chromebook finds a software update, it will start to download automatically.

8. Once update is complete click on RESTART

Morning student drop-off and end-of-school dismissal pick-up vehicles should enter the school’s east entrance across from Big Chief, proceeding north until arriving to the parent pick up loop. Please follow all speed limits and signs when entering our building area.

Morning Drop-Off (7:15-7:40)/ Afternoon Pick-Up (2:39-2:50)

• Turn into the entrance across from Big Chief Restaurant and enter the pick up lane.

• Drop students off anywhere between the signs in order to keep the line moving.

• For their safety, do not drop students off until you get to the signs along the pick up loop.

• After the student is picked up, turn right out of the circle and exit through the same entrance.

• The Map shows how you enter the Drop Off / Pick Up loop. Blue is entering, and Green is exiting.

After School Activities

• Pull into the parking spots that face the building or enter into the parent drop-off area

• Students will exit from the front of the building and walk to their cars.

First day of school pics at the Marquee- For safety and efficiency of drop/pick up process, NO STUDENT PICTURES AT THE MARQUEE will be allowed. Please take pictures AFTER school, not during drop-off or pick up. The west side of the marquee has our Welcome back message for pics.

Breakfast and lunch can be purchased at our Wildwood Cafeteria using food accounts. Accounts can be filled by bringing cash or checks to the School Cafeteria made out to Wildwood Middle School or R.S.D or by credit/debit card by logging into MySchool Bucks online. Additional information regarding accounts and the lunch menu can be found online: rsdmo.org/departments/child-nutrition/lunch-menus

The Wildwood PTO welcomes you to our school! We work to support our students and staff in a variety of ways so that they’re able to go beyond, creating experiences for our kids and supporting them as they journey on through Wildwood Middle School.

A major fundraiser is Back-the-Pack! It’s the easiest fundraiser ever- no need to sell or deliver items with 100% of the proceeds going to Wildwood Middle. Thank you for your consideration! You can donate with Venmo, paypal, credit card, apple pay etc. givebutter.com/2025BTP

Interested in purchasing a Buzz Book or Chromebook cover?

Buzz Books: https://givebutter.com/BB2526

ChromeBooks: https://givebutter.com/Chrome2526

Together, we’re better… please consider coming to a PTO meeting or volunteering for PTO events. It’s a great way to gain insight into the school and get connected with our school community. More info can be found on the PTO Facebook page…

Follow Wildwood Middle School PTO on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/156147812295247

Have a great start to the year!

Katie Berger and the PTO Team

pto.president.wms@gmail.com

Look at all the ways PTO supports Timberwolf students and staff:

• Purchased new hallway furniture and wall flair

• Purchased new entryway wall mural and Office Furniture

• Purchased Weight Room Equipment for NEW Workout Room

• Provided Back-to-School Breakfast for 80 Staff

• Purchased T-Shirts for all of 6th Grade

• Provided Fall and Spring Conference Dinners

• Paid for International Guest Speaker Keith Hawkins

• Funded Teacher Grants

• Funded 8th Grade Celebration Breakfast and Dance

• Funded Glory of Missouri Charter Bus

• Funded Medieval Days Expenses

• Funded Red Ribbon Week Expenses

• Funded Staff Startup Expenses

• Funded Supplies for Grade Level Team Banners

• Funded Staff Appreciation Week Meals and Treats

• Provided Student Financial Aid

• Purchased Gym Wall Padding with Custom WMS Logo

• Thank you for supporting WMS!

• *All donations are tax deductible.

Academic Lab and Advisory provide teachers and students opportunities for academic help, extensions and time to organize themselves throughout the busy week. Students will be guided by staff on where to go and what to do during this time.

Weekly Schedule:

Monday- Advisory

Tuesday- Academic Lab (Ac Lab)

Wednesday- Advisory

Thursday-Academic Lab (Ac Lab)

Friday- Advisory

Who will my child have for these times? Teachers will show students how to view their Advisory & Ac Lab teachers through Infinite Campus when school begins.

As we prepare for the new school year, we want to inform you about an important update to our district policy as it relates to cell phones and personal devices. While Rockwood had already successfully piloted and had a practice in place that phones should not be seen or heard during instructional time, a new state law, Missouri Senate Bill 68, expands these regulations in all Missouri schools.

At its July 17 meeting, the Board of Education voted to approve a new policy that aligns with this state law. This means that personal devices will not be seen or heard from the start to the end of the school day.

As a result, outside of a school-designated emergency, student personal devices must remain off and out of sight during the entire school day. This updated policy will help minimize distractions and foster an even more focused learning environment for all our students.

Exceptions

The new law - and Rockwood’s policy - allows for exceptions where it is permissible for students to use their cell phones at school:

• There is an emergency at school. Emergencies are defined as serious, unexpected and dangerous situations that require immediate action, including, but not limited to, an immediate safety threat to the school, fire, tornado, earthquake, an evacuation of school grounds or a medical emergency.

• Health-related purposes, such as monitoring a medical device.

• A specific educational purpose as approved or directed by faculty or staff.

This applies to smart watches, other personal devices

Electronic personal communications devices are defined by the law and Rockwood policy as any portable device that is used to initiate, receive, store or view communication, information, images or data electronically. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, tablets and smart watches. Students are expected to only use their smartwatch for the purpose of keeping time and not for communication purposes during school hours.

Consequences for policy violations

We recognize that students will be adjusting to these new expectations in the first days of school. As with any policy, students will be subject to disciplinary action and may have their personal devices confiscated if they violate the policy and the law. Those consequences will be clearly communicated in this year’s updated Student Discipline and Consequences Handbook. You can help us support them by having conversations now about what will be expected.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us implement this new expanded policy and adhere to the new Missouri statute. If you need to reach your child during the school day, we ask that you contact them via email. If you need to excuse your child from school, please follow our normal procedures by contacting the school office.

Working together, we can empower our students to develop healthier and more purposeful technology habits.

8- Talk like a pirate day 🏴‍☠️

Building Bell Schedule (NEW School Start Time 7:40 NOT 7:47)

Wildwood Middle A day/ B day calendar

WMS Student and Parent Handbook

Middle School Lunch Menu

Transportation

Link to Previous Principal Message: secure.smore.com/n/7j612-wildwood-middle-s-notable-news

The Rockwood School District participates in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. This allows families the opportunity to apply for Free and Reduced Price Meal Benefits. Link: rsdmo.org/departments/child-nutrition/free-and-reduced-meals

Breakfast and lunch can be purchased at our Wildwood Cafeteria using food accounts. Accounts can be filled by bringing cash or checks to the School Cafeteria made out to Wildwood Middle School or R.S.D or by credit/debit card by logging into MySchool Bucks online. Additional information regarding accounts and the lunch menu can be found online: rsdmo.org/departments/child-nutrition

ParentSquare: Rockwood uses ParentSquare for district and school communication, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent, using their preferred email address and phone number. We encourage parents to access their accounts so they can download the mobile app and update their preferences on when and how they are notified. By default, if parents don’t access their account, they will receive a daily digest of messages from the school and district via email each evening. Click here for more information about ParentSquare.