The Wheatland News

• Kansas Education Systems Accreditation
• Warrior Dash

The KESA model is a system for accrediting school districts annually. Accreditation is based on KESA compliance areas. Below are the fundamentals, structures, lead indicators, and measures of progress.

The district has chosen to target Quality Instruction with a focus on professional learning and collaboration this year. A key to this process is having Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings. In the PLCs, staff meet to brainstorm on how to best meet student needs and review data, among other things.

The KESA timeline has already started with various meetings, including community stakeholders and school staff, and ends with the district submitting the information to the State Department of Education in May.

The district values the input and support of those serving on the KESA team, and we are excited about supporting staff in the area of professional learning and collaboration.

Warrior Dash

The WES PTO is holding the annual Warrior Dash on October 3rd. Please find the schedule for each grade level in this newsletter. Parents are welcome to come and watch! Please observe from the parking lot on the east side. Students began to raise funds for the dash recently. Students enjoy the dash each year as they get to RUN IN THE HALLWAYS. Whether a donation is made of one dollar or one hundred dollars, your donation will go directly to support resources for WES students. GO WARRIORS!!

Fall is here! October brings so many exciting events from football to Halloween, all great opportunities to have fun with your family. October is also Drug Awareness Month and Bullying Prevention Month.

In counseling classes this month, we will focus on drug awareness, celebrate Red Ribbon week October 27-31 (watch for more information from our Student Council), and we will also discuss bullying prevention and awareness. Additionally, we will begin our Safer, Smarter Kids lessons.

One of my roles is to facilitate small groups to support students. I’ve attached a parent survey for you to complete that will help determine some areas of need with our students. I can’t promise I’ll get to every group, but your input certainly helps me to support as many students as possible. I hope you’ll take a moment to complete this survey.

I’m excited to tell you that I’m working with our Student Council to create a Veteran’s Day assembly to be held on November 11th from 2:00-2:30pm. All Veterans are invited so we can show them our appreciation and celebrate their service. Please watch for more details on our Facebook page, website, and from your classroom teacher.

Here are some resources for discussing drugs and bullying with your kids:

• Talking to Children and Teens About Substance Use
• Bullying Basics: What to Know, What to Do
• Needs Assessment Survey

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Wheatland!

• Sign up to volunteer at bit.ly/wesbfvolunteer25
• Learn more and set up an eWallet at our Book Fair Homepage bit.ly/wesbf2025

Book Fair Hours

• October 13-16: 8:45am-4:00pm
• Family Nights
• October 14: 4:00-8:00pm
• October 16: 4:00-6:00pm

StuCo members will make posters to advertise Red Ribbon Week (Oct. 27 - 31). This year’s national motto is “Life is a puzzle, solve it drug free.”

StuCo will also be collecting Halloween Candy to donate to deployed troops. You can send any unwanted candy to school Nov. 3 - 7.

Meeting Date: 4th Grade members only - October 15th

First Student, which provides the district’s transportation service, has rolled out a new, improved FirstView App. This new app will allow enhanced, real-time tracking capabilities for all transportation services. If you have the FirstView Classic app on your phone, please delete it and download the FirstView 1.0 app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You will need to use code D5F5F to access Andover’s information. If you have Transportation issues you can call First Student at (316) 247-1926.

New Meal Account System

Our system is now live for accepting online Child Nutrition Program Applications and meal account deposits.

Child Nutrition Program - Online Application Now Available through the Meal Magic Family Portal

• Link: https://usd385.familyportal.cloud/
• Click on Apply for Benefits and follow the prompts in order to complete the application
• Questions on applications may be directed to Bonnie Scarth at 316-218-4603 or scarthbonnie@usd385.org.

The Meal Magic Family Portal is also the gateway to parent/guardian access to student meal accounts. Click on My Account then “I need to register as a Family Portal user” to begin your account set up. Please read the instructions and watch the how-to videos to familiarize yourself with the software. Once setup is complete, the following actions are available in the portal.

• Meal account deposit(s)
• Student account balances and transactions
• Ability to transfer funds between student accounts
• Notification options
• Student purchase settings
• Please note that online meal account transactions will have a 4% software processing fee to cover the third-party processing cost.

We are also accepting meal account deposits by cash or check in the WES office. Please clearly label your food service deposits by student ID with the amount to be deposited per student. Checks should be made out to USD 385. When processed, these payments will be reflected in your Meal Magic portal.

If your student will be absent for any reason, you must notify the WES Office. Please email Claire at pruettc@usd385.org or call the office at (316) 218-4820 to report any absence. Simply notifying your student's teacher does not mean the message is received in the office and your student may be marked incorrectly. If your student will be absent for 4 or more days in a row, you must fill out a Pre-Planned Extended Absence Form and return it to your child's teacher.

Report cards for the 1st Quarter will be available to view in your PowerSchool Parent Portal on Thursday, October 23.

If you need to make a change to your child's method of transportation after school, you must notify the office no later than 3:00PM. If possible, please try to keep changes to a minimum. Frequent changes cause confusion for students. If the office has not received notification of a change, your child will be sent home via the method they usually take. Additionally, if you are signing out your child at the end of the day, please do not pick up your student after 3:15PM if at all possible.

Upcoming PTO Events:

• Oct. 3 - Warrior Dash
• Oct 16 - Starlite Drive-In Night for students who raised $150+ (Time TBD)
• Oct 21 - Chicken N Pickle Giveback Night, 6-8pm