Wasmer Weekly Update

WELCOME, Wasmer Wildcat Families!

I am beyond honored to serve as the principal at Wasmer. For those of you I haven't quite met yet, I am Hannah Luber. My favorite title is mom! You may see my daughter, Brooklyn, at many of our family events. We had a great summer making memories with family and at the pool. This will be my 11th year in education and all of my experience has taken place in Grand Island Public Schools at Starr Elementary. I have taught 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grades, all of which hold a special place in my heart. Over the course of the last few years, I have had the opportunity to grow as a leader, which led me to Wasmer!! The Wildcat family has already welcomed me with open arms. I look very much forward to the growth, learning, laughter, and JOY that will take place this 2025-2026 school year.

My personal vision statement is: Serve with vulnerability and clear purpose, grounding layered support to grow impactful student outcomes.

I invite all of you on this journey with us as we work alongside your student. It takes a village and we are a TEAM!

Most of our Building Leadership Team (BLT) had the absolutely amazing opportunity to attend Model Schools Conference in Washington, DC with several other GIPS educators. While we were at the conference, we learned new instructional and engagement strategies, absorbed information from national keynote speakers on building and improving the culture in a building, and most importantly, used what we knew about our students to make plans for this to be the best school year yet. Our team looks forward to sharing our new knowledge with staff this week! We even snuck in a National Monument Tour...it was amazing!

This last week, we welcomed our incoming kindergarten students into the building for a glimpse of what kindergarten will look like. These students worked hard to learn school and classroom expectations, worked on academic skills, practiced gluing, and got to play with one another during centers and on the playground. We know this kindergarten class is going to be the best addition to our Wildcat family! We also have quite a few role models already. Way to go, kindergarten! **Shout out to the staff members who made this possible for our students!

In addition to our kindergarten class and any new students, we also have new staff members. Below are the list and assignments for our new Wildcat staff members. Please be sure to say "hi" and help me in showing each one just how special Wasmer is!

• Shelly Billington - Technology Assistant

• Havyn Hayes - Custodian

• Jordyn Hite - Speech Language Pathologist (M/W afternoons)

• Bradi Lohman - Paraeducator

• Taryn Randall - 1st Grade

• Amy Stockton - Special Education Para (1/2 day)

• Kyleigh VanWormer - 2nd Grade

• Ali Vincent - Special Education Teacher

• Kellee Vodehnal - Reading Interventionist

• Briana Weekley - Special Education Para

• Katie Zuelow - 4th Grade

Wednesday, August 13th:

• First day of school for KINDERGARTEN students - 2.00pm dismissal
• Fueling Our Ride: Back to School Open House (1st-5th graders) This is the time to get important information from me and for your student to meet their teacher. Great opportunity to learn more about (Parent Teacher Association) PTA! Open house is 5.00-6.00pm.

Thursday, August 14th:

• First day of school for 1st-5th graders - 2.00pm dismissal

Friday, August 15th:

• 2.00pm dismissal for 1st-5th graders, NO SCHOOL FOR KINDERGARTEN
• Kindergarten Open House from 4.00-5.00pm. This is a time for you to meet your student's kindergarten teacher.

Friday, August 18th:

• All students will have a 3.05pm dismissal

Wednesday, September 3rd:

• First Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting! We will be planning our vision for the upcoming school year! 6.30-7.30pm.

Monday, September 8th:

• Picture Day!

English Calendar

Spanish Calendar

Please email Miss Luber hluber@gips.org or Mrs. Westerby jhwesterby@gips.org if you would like to take advantage of free school supplies this school year! You can also call the school 308-385-5920 if you would like us to put together a book bag of school supplies for your student and then you may come pick them up!

Grades have different lists of recommended items for school supplies. Supplies are not a requirement to attend school and again, we have them for free if you reach out! See links below for the list:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

• Kindergarten, First Grade, & Second Grade
• Third, Fourth, & Fifth Grades

• Please drop your student off at the front doors. If you wish to park, please use the stalls and obey state laws regarding school zones, crosswalks, and crossing guards.
• Free breakfast is served at 7:30 am every morning in the cafeteria until 7.55. If you student arrives after 7.55, they may get a grab-and-go breakfast to eat in the classroom until 8.15am.
• Students not eating breakfast will go to the gym until announcements at 7.55.
• Please have your student to school by 7.55 to ensure they have enough time to get either eat and put their backpacks away.
• Any students who are not in the classroom by 8.00am are marked tardy on Synergy.

• Please see the map below to know where to locate your student during dismissal.
• Please pull into one of the stalls and come to a complete stop. Your student will come to you. It is also acceptable to pull up to the curb outside of crosswalk areas. Please know that students may not be picked up in the middle of the street. All cars must be in a stall or pulled up adjacent to the curb, where your student can enter the car directly from the curbside.
• Please communicate clearly with your student his/her after school plan for pick-up on a daily basis to avoid confusion as to whether they are walking or whom they are riding home with.
• We ask older students to pick up their younger siblings on the south side of the building and then walk home or find their ride.