WIS Weekly

• Who needs support at home, in school, and in the community? ... Every Child!
• Who needs our guidance, attention, and patience today and every day? ... Every Child!
• Who will shape the future of our world tomorrow and in the years to come? ... Every Child!

WIS Family,

This is a reminder that ILEARN testing will take place the mornings of Tuesday, April 22 through Friday, April 25. Please help set your child up for success by doing the following:

Ensure their iPad is fully charged each morning.

Make sure they bring their earbuds or headphones.

Encourage a good night’s sleep and healthy breakfast each day.

Remind them to bring a book to read quietly if they finish early.

Please avoid scheduling appointments in the morning during testing days if possible.

We appreciate your support as we work to give students the best testing environment possible.

Respectfully,

Mr. Longacre

slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us

We are striving to achieve a 96% attendance rate this year at WIS.

5th Grade 93.4168%

6th Grade 93.0107%

When needing to report a student absence, parents/guardians should call (219-983-3710) or email (mkowalecki@duneland.k12.in.us) the attendance secretary in the WIS office by 9:00 am on the day of the absence. If the school sends a student home early, then no notification is required.

Immunization requirements prior to the start of 6th grade

The State of Indiana requires 6th grade students to be immunized with Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine) and Meningitis vaccine. The Tdap and Meningitis vaccines must be received after the student turns 11 years of age and not before, to be considered valid.

On Thursday, February 20th 2025, your student was sent home with an envelope containing a letter indicating what immunizations your child needs before 6th grade and a copy of the most current immunization record the school has on file for your child. In the letter coming home, the vaccinations your student needs are highlighted and written in. Please make your appointment with your physician or health department as soon as possible to get started on this process.

If your student is 11 years old and has already received these immunizations please turn them in or email a scanned copy to the school nurse. You do not not need to wait until next school year.

Please contact Mrs. Sosby, WIMS School Nurse at 219-983-3710 or email tsosby@duneland.K12.in.us with any questions or concerns covered in this message.

We are excited to announce that this year’s yearbook will include both Westchester Intermediate School (WIS) and Westchester Middle School (WMS). Yearbooks are available for $30.00, and you can order directly through this link: Order Yearbooks Here.

Sixth grade students will have the opportunity to participate in both WIS intramural sports and Westchester Middle School athletics. If your child wants to participate in middle school sports, they must have a current physical on file, dated after 4/1/24. Sixth grade students can ONLY participate in Middle School Cross Country, Westling, and Track and Field. This fall, students can participate in Middle School Cross Country. Mr. Rich Gross rgross@duneland.k12.in.us is the athletic director for Westchester Campus. Please reach out to Mr. Gross with any questions.

The Buddy Bag program is designed to help fight childhood hunger. Buddy Bags are kid-friendly sacks of food that are sent home with students on Fridays to ensure they have enough to eat on the weekend. In each bag, students get a shelf-stable breakfast, lunch, dinner, fruit cup, applesauce, sweet snack, and salty snack. Each student who participates in the Buddy Bag program receives meals for both Saturday & Sunday.

Teacher Appreciation Week is Coming!
Help Westchester PTO show our amazing teachers and staff just how much we value everything they do for our kids!

This year, we’re planning a special week full of love, treats, and surprises—and we need YOUR help to make it happen!

Want to contribute?
Donate your time or resources through our Sign Up Genius
Send supplies and snacks directly from our Amazon Wish List

Email questions and/or suggestions to westchesterpto2@gmail.com

Language Arts

• We will be taking the ILearn this week, with ELA tests on Tuesday and Wednesday. Please help students remember to charge their ipads each night, get a good night's sleep, and eat a good breakfast. In class, students will be working on a project in class to wrap up the novel Hoot. Honors ELA - Last week, students finished reading The Egypt Game. This week, students will be working on a diorama in class with their book clubs. We will be taking the ILearn this week, with ELA tests on Tuesday and Wednesday. Please help students remember to charge their ipads each night, get a good night's sleep, and eat a good breakfast.

Math

• This week students are doing different activities and mixed reviews. Students will be working in small groups and getting the differentiated instruction needed to help fill in gaps from earlier this year. Students are still responsible for weekly Get More Math points, IXL skill completion and daily spiral review homework. The assigned IXLs can be found in the class modules.

Social Studies

• During class this week, we will focus on reviewing for the ILearn test. The social studies ILearn will be taken on Friday. Please help students remember to charge their ipads each night, get a good night's sleep, and eat a good breakfast.

Science

• Last week we spent time reviewing for the upcoming math ILEARN. This week we will spend some time helping the students review for their Social Studies ILEARN. Once ILEARN is completed, we will focus on Health.

Language Arts

• We have worked so hard all year for this week. All students are ready. ELA will take the ILearn test on Tuesday and Wednesday. Please talk to your child about what strategies they will be using.

Math

• It’s testing time! This week we will be taking the ILEARN (Indiana's Learning Evaluation and Assessment Readiness Network) test. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we will continue with our review during class time. Thursday will be the MATH test which consists of two parts. Students should come to school with fully charged iPads and ready to work. We are both nervous and excited about this week. Students have been well prepared. We are sure to ROCK this assessment!

Social Studies

• Students will take the ILEARN test this week. Our focus will be on reviewing the Bill of Rights and additional amendments to the Constitution. A review of the political processes in the United States will also be a focus of our studies this week.

Science

• Students will be taking the ILearn science test on Friday of this week. To prepare for the standardized test, students should get plenty of rest, eat a good breakfast, and come to school ready to try their best. Ipads also need to be charged to 100%. In the classroom, we will be reviewing key standards by practicing questions, doing activities, and working in groups to strengthen our understanding. We’ll also go over strategies for reading carefully, highlighting key ideas, drawing out what is being asked, and checking our work. Remember students, you got this!!!

PE

• In PE this week, we will be playing Gaga Ball. Wednesday is our last day for this rotation. On Thursday, all classes rotate related arts.

Art

• This week in art students will dive into the artwork of Edvard Munch’s, The Scream. 5th and 6th grade students will create their own original parodies based upon the famous 20th century work of art.

Music

• This is the week of our Related Arts rotation. Classes are shortened due to iLearn testing. 5th grade students will present their Songwriting Projects. 6th grade students will be wrapping up their layering unit and completing our end-of-rotation survey. Classes rotate on Thursday. The new rotation will begin with boomwhacker and drumming activities followed by Karaoke Friday. Karaoke Friday Theme: Disney

Media

• The last RA rotation begins on Thursday of this week. New students will receive orientation to digital citizenship (5th) and digital technology (6th) modules. Current students who are ending their rotation this week will be provided a catch-up day to complete any unfinished modules.

PLTW

• Since classes will be shortened due to ILEARN testing, the 5th and 6th graders will have choices for what to complete during PLTW. The choices will include coding activities and building activities to reinforce what was learned over the past 4 weeks. The new rotation will begin on Thursday and those students will be introduced to what will be covered for the next 4 weeks. The PLTW routines and expectations will be reviewed.

Our Trojan Cafe has a new look! We have a new serving area with 2 lines to serve our students. We will also have new trays available for our students to use during lunch.

Please help your student memorize their student identification number, as they will need to know this number in order to purchase their lunch.

Here are the meal prices for the 2024-25 school year.

Elementary Breakfast Price: $1.45

Elementary Lunch Price: $2.55

Intermediate/Middle/High Breakfast Price: $1.60

Intermediate/Middle/High lunch Price: $2.95

• iPads are the property of Duneland Schools. Students should keep the devices in operable condition.
• Students should refrain from downloading apps, pics, etc. that are not permitted under school and/or corporation policy.
  
• Students are required to bring their charged iPads to class.
• Our Intermediate curriculum is designed to utilize iPads for lessons, remediation, and enrichment activities.

5th and 6th grade students are not allowed to use their personal communication devices (cell phones and smart watches) during the instructional day. Items used for communication should be stored in lockers to be kept safe throughout the day. If students need to contact a parent/guardian during the day, they are welcome to do so from the office. Classrooms also have phone access. Similarly, students are not permitted to wear personal earbuds with bluetooth capabilities attached to their phones (e.g. Air Pods, etc.). The only time audio ear pieces are permitted are for teacher-assigned classwork and medically-approved needs.

Westchester is committed to supporting students' use of technology. To get your problems solved as fast as possible, choose one of the following methods:

1. Open a new Incident IQ online:
   1. AV number is typically located on a sticker on the back/bottom of the device
2. Open a Incident IQ ticket by sending an email to: helpdesk@duneland.k12.in.us
   1. Please be sure to include email address, student or staff name, and a description of the problem
3. Contact Westchester's tech aide (Ms. Bennett) in WIS Library/Media at 219-983-3710 or fbennett@duneland.k12.in.us.

Dear Families,

We are excited to announce that we have adopted a new form of school-to-home communication at called ParentSquare for the 2025-2026 school year. This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection with [school or district name]. It provides a safe way for district administrators, school principals, teachers, staff, and parents to:

• Send and receive school and class information

• Share pictures and files

• See calendar items

• Sign up to volunteer

• Schedule parent-teacher conferences

• and much more . . . all in one centralized place!

Parents—Getting Started Video

All district and school, grade level and classroom information will now be sent to your computer or phone via email and/or text. For even more convenience, download the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices).

Have questions? Click the question mark in the top right corner of the desktop version or the Help tab on the app (tap the triple bar icon at the top left) to find answers to most of your questions.

Something to Smile About Scholarship - The KTG Family Scholarship

The "Something to Smile About" Scholarship aims to support Duneland students aged 10-18 who need braces but face financial challenges in obtaining them.

Initiated through the collaboration of a local family and orthodontist, this scholarship provides an opportunity for parents or guardians to ensure their child receives professional orthodontic care, ultimately enhancing their confidence and promoting a positive self-image through a healthy smile.

General Eligibility Requirements:

• Your child is between 10 and 18 years old.

• Your total family income is 200% of the poverty level or less.

• Your child receives regular dental care and has good oral hygiene.

• Your child is not currently in orthodontic treatment or in between phases of treatment.

• Your child has not received previous orthodontic treatment.

• The family contribution is $500.

Downloadable Something to Smile About Application

DUNELAND TRANSPORTATION

Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2024-2025 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.

TRACK STUDENT'S BUS WITH MYSTOP APP

The Duneland School Corporation Department of Transportation has now made My Stop available to our families.

My Stop is a web-based application which will allow parents to access live bus GPS information using a smartphone, tablet, or computer and securely view the current location of your child’s bus on routes. The system also provides the bus’s estimated time of arrival at your child’s bus stop.

Please read the attached letter to parents for more information on how to use My Stop to track your child's bus.

To make an appointment please call 219-763-8112. Let NorthShore know you are a Duneland School student or staff member and that you would like to make an appointment at the Duneland School Clinic located at the old CMS.

WIS Mission:

WIS provides a safe and engaging environment where students are empowered to explore their talents, build on their curiosity, embrace high expectations, and become responsible, caring citizens.

WIS Vision:

WIS inspires learners to become independent, critical thinkers collaborating in an environment where responsibility, adaptability, and reflection are modeled and developed.

Email: slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us
Website: https://wis.duneland.k12.in.us/
Location: 1050 South 5th Street, Chesterton, IN, USA
Phone: (219) 983-3710
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westchesterintermediate/