West Chester Area School District
February Newsletter
A NOTE FROM SUBSTITUTE SUPERINTENDENT DR. KALIA REYNOLDS
Dear WCASD Community,
February is the “I love” month! The start of this month is a great reminder for us to pause and consider all of the things and people that we love. This focus will help us to see through a different lens, a lens of gratitude and appreciation.
This is also the perfect time for me to share how much I love our WCASD community! I love our community of learners, our deep commitment to doing what’s best for all students, our partnership with our families, and I love how you’ve embraced me in this new role. Thank you all for being an integral part of what makes us great and for sharing your love with us!
Not only is February the “I love” month, it’s also the second month of the new year. While we are accustomed to setting goals and priorities in January, this month offers an opportunity to check-in on our progress and review how we’re being intentional about making small steps to accomplish key priorities. As a district, we are taking this time to check-in on the major goals outlined in our WCASD Comprehensive Plan. We are taking stock of where we are so that we can celebrate what we have already accomplished and understand the areas where we need to press forward.
I hope you will join me this month in continuing to see, smile, and succeed!
To make sure that you don’t miss a moment of the WCASD events and activities, check out the list of upcoming events in our Celebrate the Arts Flyer.
Important Dates:
February: Black History Month | Career and Technical Education Month
February 2: School Board 101 | 6:00 p.m.
February 6-10: National School Counseling Week
February 13: Pupil Services Committee Meeting | 6:30 p.m.
February 13: Education Committee Meeting | 7:00 p.m.
February 14: Valentine's Day
February 15: Kindergarten 101 | 6:30 p.m. - Virtual
February 15: High School Course Selection Night | 6:30 p.m. at Each High School
February 16: WCAEF Business Breakfast Round Table
February 17: Half-Day Dismissal for All Students, Afternoon Teacher Inservice
February 20: Presidents' Day | Offices and Schools Closed
February 21: Property & Finance Committee Meeting | 6:30 p.m.
February 22: Middle School 101 | Virtual
February 27: School Board Meeting | 7:00 p.m.
Last month, Henderson High School received its charter and designation as a Key Club group through the Kiwanis club. The Key Club is an international service organization whose core values are leadership, character-building, caring and inclusivity.
Congratulations to these student members on being sworn in and receiving their Key Club pins!
Thank you, Aiden and Brooklyn, for your wonderful report on all of the events, activities, and learning experiences taking place at Penn Wood Elementary School. Note, neither Aiden nor Brooklyn have seen a real bear in the wild, but they love their Penn Wood Bear Mascot!
In recognition of School Director Appreciation Month, our WCASD School Directors received a special piece of artwork from our East, Henderson, and Rustin High School students as well as a personal thank you note. Thank you again to our School Board!
Exton Elementary School
Exton Elementary students and staff spent MLK Day of Service supporting the Fostering Hope Supply Closet, which assists foster families in Southeastern PA.
Students sorted and packed the donations, made pillows, and wrote inspirational messages to share with the children in foster care.
East High School
Glen Acres Elementary School
Students from Mrs. Brickus' first through third grade classes read My Freedom Story by Sheyann Webb-Christburg to their furry classroom friends, Candy and Butch. Sheyann, the author was the youngest person to march alongside Dr. King, in seeking voting equality.
Mary C. Howse
As their Day of Service project, MCH focused on collecting cereal.
Why cereal? One of the most needed items at the Chester County Food Bank is actually cereal! MCH collected over 400 boxes, and on Monday, 5th-grade student volunteers came in to help pack up the cereal and write positive notes on the boxes.
Rustin High School
The Rustin High School Black Student Union spent the day at the Melton Center in West Chester. Students assisted by organizing donations dropped off by community members, reading with elementary students in the New Directions program at the Melton Center, and building positive relationships in the West Chester Community.
The West Chester East Girls Basketball Team held their 7th Annual PINK Game this month. Over $1,000 was raised to donate to Unite for Her; a nonprofit organization focused on supporting the health and wellness of those with breast and ovarian cancer.
The team hosted halftime shooting contests, raffled gift baskets, and held a bake sale during the game to fundraise for the cause!
The energy, or Benergy, at Fugett Middle School was incredible recently as students and staff heard from speaker, Ben Hartranft!
Ben is an adult with Autism who shares his education, work and life experience through public speaking to encourage Autism acceptance and awareness. Our students especially loved hearing about his work in roller coaster parks and with the Philadelphia Eagles!
The WCASD course selection process has officially begun for the 2023-24 school year! Course selection and information nights offer families insight into the course selection and transition process and provide an opportunity to receive answers to important questions about the coming year.
We also like invite families to attend information sessions on Wednesday, February 15, at each of our high schools for high school course selection and a Middle School 101 Parent Information Night on Wednesday, February 22.
Visit our website for access to our online course guides, the secondary course selection launch video, resource guides and more helpful information.
As we continue further into the winter weather season, please remember that in the event of inclement weather the WCASD will communicate any weather impacts via email, call, text, our website and on social media.
Additionally, you can access our Frequently Asked Questions regarding Flexible Instruction Days (FID) at: www.wcasd.net/FID.
Miss West Chester University, Julie Stinson, spent a morning at East Goshen talking to kindergarteners about her leadership positions on campus, participating in community service, and supporting her platform – Inspire Through the Arts: Music and Arts Education. Students enjoyed some fun music and asked great questions!
The students in this video are from the House of Hope Charity Concert, which is a 13-year tradition at West Chester East High School. Each year, they raise thousands of dollars for Home of the Sparrow, a local non-profit that helps women facing homeless in Chester County, through a concert that features student musicians.
They are inviting fellow WCASD students to audition for House of Hope! This is a great opportunity to expand opportunities for performance and appreciation of student musicians while also supporting a great cause. If your child loves music, performing, and making new friends, they should consider auditioning for this wonderful cause!
Auditions will be on February 7, 8, and 9, in the West Chester East High School Orchestra Room. Please reach out to ehshouseofhope@gmail.com with any questions!
5th graders from all four of Fugett Middle School's elementary feeder schools (East Goshen, Exton, Fern Hill, and Glen Acres) visited the middle school to learn about the music opportunities available to them. Hosted by the Music Department, the visit include a tour of the 6th grade wing, music and art wing, a video presenting the four music class options, and performances from the Fugett Orchestra, Jazz Band, Chorale, and 6th Grade Chorus.
What a musical and magical way to learn, get excited for middle school, and make new friends!
While we don’t want to rush all of the great things happening this spring, we also know that the next school year will be here in the blink of an eye!
Now is a great time to get started on the kindergarten registration process so that you and your family receive important information, event invitations, and get a sense of your child’s school all before they even walk in the building. Our elementary schools will be hosting orientation sessions and assessing incoming students from late May to early June.
To complete registration quickly and easily, gather the following documents before starting a new registration:
Birth certificate
Immunization records
Two proofs of residency – one must be the mortgage statement, lease or deed and the second can be a current utility bill, cable bill, etc.
Please note that the nurse's office will need the latest physical and dental exam, though these items can be turned in after registration.
The WCASD is offering free memberships to Smart Social’s Very Important Parent (VIP) Program for all parents and guardians of students attending a school in the West Chester Area School District.
Josh Ochs and his team created this program to help parents and guardians understand the numerous social media apps, which ones are safe, which ones to avoid, and how to help their children create a safe and positive digital presence. Through newsletters, live events, and a library of on-demand videos, families learn how to successfully navigate popular social media apps and support their children in becoming capable and aware digital citizens whose social media choices reflect their bright futures.
We hope you will take advantage of this membership opportunity, which is completely free through the WCASD until July 31, 2023. Follow the links below to learn more and sign up today:
- Visit https://smartsocial.com/westchester to create an account.
- Get access to all of the courses and sign-up for live events at https://smartsocial.com/members
The West Chester Area Education Foundation (WCAEF) is an independent non-profit organization created to attract private resources exclusively for the benefit of students in the West Chester Area School District. The Foundation's mission to supplement creative, meaningful, real-world experiences ensures that each year WCASD students and staff are able to participate in engaging field trips, projects, career exploration and more!
If you are interested in learning more about the Foundation and how you or your business can become involved, click the button below.
At various times throughout the year, community members may request a review of instructional materials or books related to the WCASD. When this occurs, the Superintendent can create a committee to review the material in question. Parents and community members are an important part of the committee and review process.
If you would be interested and willing to serve on review committee if the need should arise, we encourage you to complete a brief interest form by clicking the blue button.
Did you know that the WCASD offers a Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program designed to assist Senior Citizens with the burden of Real Estate Taxes? In return for volunteering their services through this program, senior citizens may be entitled to a rebate of property taxes in accordance with the guidelines outlined on our Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program webpage.
Before applying to the program, we encourage those interested to review the attached brochure below and the guidelines on our website.
