Inside WGSD

We started off the year by asking students and teachers to answer this question: "What inspires you?" Watch their responses here.

Thanks for making the first few days a great experience for students! See more back to school content on our ParentSquare post here.

You only have one week left to complete open enrollment and make your benefits selections. Open Enrollment sessions are an opportunity for you to get answers to your questions and/or concerns as well as make changes to your benefits.

There will be in-person Open Enrollment Q&A sessions and three virtual sessions via zoom. Please click on the Open Enrollment link to view the schedule. All other dates and times will be open for assistance if you are unable to attend the scheduled in-person and/or virtual meetings. Please contact LaNita Harrison at harrison.lanita@wgmail.org to schedule an appointment.

We utilize Empyrean as our benefits enrollment system. Access the enrollment system here. Log on to http://compass.empyreanbenefits.com/CSDTRUST to enroll or make changes to your benefits. If you do not want to make any changes, you should at least check your life insurance beneficiaries to make sure they are current and accurate. Also, please use this opportunity to look at your account and send me any updated personal information (i.e. address, phone number, email address, etc.).

Please note if you have a flex spending account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA), you are required to elect the amount of money you would like to deposit into the plan annually. Please contact LaNita Harrison at harrison.lanita@wgmail.org if you have any questions or concerns.

For an overview of our benefits, click here.

For a video overview of our benefits, click here.

Our new employee website is now live (webster.k12.mo.us/inside) - be sure to bookmark it! This is where you can get all your work calendars, benefits information, newsletters and more.

You can use your Webster Google account to login by clicking the 'Login with Google' button below the login space.

This WGSD Cares employee recognition program recognizes any team member who does their part inspiring others with a smile.

Do you want to recognize a special colleague? Nominate them below. All nominees will receive a brand new WGSD lapel pin and they could be featured in an upcoming issue of Inside WGSD and district social media.

Nominate someone deserving today!

Beginning on September 1, your school email account (wgmail.org) will require the use of multi-factor authentication or “MFA”. MFA is a technology safeguard to protect accounts from unauthorized access. Some other names for MFA are two-factor authentication (2FA) or 2-step verification (2SV).

Learn more.

The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is based on an all- hazards approach as opposed to individual scenarios. The premise is simple - there are five specific actions available during an incident. The SRP is based on the following actions: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter.

Notifications

In addition, we have begun to use the Raptor Emergency Alert system to rapidly alert staff of incidents in our schools and buildings. The system also allows leaders to effectively manage drills and instantly notify first responders of potential incidents. The district is able to utilize Raptor due to state funding.

More information on keeping our students and staff safe can be found here.

By now you have heard about ParentSquare, the all-in-one communications platform in our district. This unified communications platform is designed to keep staff informed as well as parents and guardians. ParentSquare allows us to to:

ParentSquare is not just for parents, it's for all employees as well. All teachers and staff should have received a signup email. We will resend this a few more times. Signup is not required to receive communication from us.

Learn more about ParentSquare here.

Do you want to update your email signature with our district's purpose? Use the image below!

Just download the photo here and set it as your Gmail signature. Follow these instructions on how to setup a signature in Gmail.

Want to step it up a notch? Be sure to make the image a link and point to our Facebook page pointing to our "What inspires you?" video!

Aug 24 Board of Education Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Service Center

Aug 31 WGHS Activities Fair and Selma Street Dance, 5 p.m., WGHS

Sept 4 No School (Labor Day)

Sept 9 Family BBQ, 11 a.m., Ivory Crockett Park

This week's background photo is of Hixson Middle School at sunrise on the first day of school.

If you have a group photo of your school staff or department that you would like to be featured in an upcoming staff newsletter, email connect@wgmail.org.