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!

Dear WIS Family,

On Monday, December 16th, Dunebrook will present a Body Safety Program to our students. This program is designed to help children respond to bullying, cyberbullying, and child abuse. Please review the parent opt-out form below. If you do not want your child to attend the program, complete the form and return it to the main office or email me.

Mr. Longacre

slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us

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

5th Grade 93.6537%

6th Grade 92.9297%

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.

Family Friendly Schools Survey for DSC Families

In keeping with our Core Values, Duneland School Corporation is committed to fostering partnerships to improve the quality of life in our community. One of our most important partnerships is with our families. As we strive to continue to build upon and strengthen our family partnerships, DSC is applying for renewal from the Indiana Department of Education as an IDOE “Family Friendly Schools” corporation. In doing so, we will continue to “focus on addressing students' academic, physical, emotional, and social needs while providing the needed resources and fostering the active involvement of their families through schools and the community.” (Indiana Department of Education Family Friendly Schools Handbook)

Please help us as we continue to support our students and community by completing the IDOE online survey by December 20, 2024

Your ongoing support in educating the children of our community is greatly appreciated!

SURVEY LINKS AND INSTRUCTIONS:

Survey Links:

• 2025-2026 Family Friendly Survey Questions for Families

• 2025-2026 Family Friendly Survey Questions for Families-Spanish

School Name: choose your school from the drop-down list

School Corporation: 6470 Duneland School Corporation

School Liaison Name: MICHELLE PALKO

School Liaison email: mpalko@duneland.k12.in.us

School Codes for your convenience:

6928 - Bailly Elementary School

6819 - Brummitt Elementary School

6817 - Jackson Elementary School

6823 - Liberty Elementary School

6941 - Newton Yost Elementary School

6821 - Liberty Intermediate School

6927 - Westchester Intermediate School

6925 - Chesterton Senior High School

6926- Northwest Indiana Online School (Trojan Virtual Academy)

Clothing /Shoe Donation for Nursing Office

The nursing office of Westchester is in need of clothing for students who may need a change of clothes during the school day due to unexpected circumstances. Please consider donating a garment or two of your child’s gently used clothing that they have outgrown. We are in greatest need of girls leggings and boys elastic waist pants in varying sizes. Other items we like to keep in stock are T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and shoes. Any donation would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to contact the Westchester nursing office any time during the school day at 219-983-3710 (WIS) or 219-983-3780 (WMS).

Most Appreciative,

Tina Sosby, R.N. & Abby Demeter, R.N.

Dear Parent/Guardians,

Starting November 6, 2024 through the month of January 2025 the Health Services at WIMS will be conducting Vision Screenings of 5th grade students , according to Indiana Law are required to have their vision checked.

We are asking that if your student wears glasses that they have them on their person daily so that there will be no delay in getting their testing completed. If you have any questions, please contact WIS School Nurse, Tina Sosby, R.N. at 219-983-3710 or via email at

tsosby@duneland.K12.in.us.

Do you have a nose? Is it sometimes runny? Well, here's the solution: Tissue! As the weather begins to change, we've noticed that some of our WIS kiddos also have noses that are runny. Parents, if you have any spare tissue boxes, please consider sending one or two to Westchester with your child to give to her or his 1st period teacher. The students -- and their noses -- thank you.

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.

Language Arts

• This week, we continue reading Hello Universe. As the novel starts to make unique and startling connections, be sure to ask your student about the story! We will continue to work on finding the main idea and supporting details in short texts, and take a CSA on Friday. Honors ELA - This week we will be finishing working in groups on the Hello Universe final project. The groups will be creating either a public service announcement, trailer, or news broadcast relating to the novel. There will be a CSA about main idea on Friday.

Math

• Students are continuing to work on multiplying decimals this week. There will be a CSA by the end of the week on this standard. Honors classes will be multiplying decimals and working on adding and subtracting integers (positive and negative numbers). They will take the same CSA on multiplying decimals by the end of the week. All students have required Get More Math points due by Friday afternoon. We give time in class for students to work on this but also expect some work to happen independently and outside of class time.

Social Studies

• After the Pilgrim simulation last week, we are ready to begin learning about the original 13 colonies. We will be looking at each colonial region through text, video, and maps.

Science

• We will spend the week learning about adaptations. This will be the last topic of the unit. Students will take the CSA next week.

Language Arts

• This week students will read a text and respond to questions relating to the author's purpose and perspective.

Math

• Welcome back! We hope everyone had a wonderful break. This week in the wonderful world of numbers (and letters) . . . we continue our quest to master all things algebra. Students are focusing on understanding and solving one-step equations with a single variable. Students need to continue working on the new vocabulary: terms, like terms, variable, coefficient, and constant. Also it is extremely important that students study their notes and complete the IXL assignments in ILEARN Checkpoint 2. With only 3 weeks left in this quarter, we will be working to complete our algebra concepts: expressions, equations, and inequalities. Indiana 6th Grade Math Standards: 6.A.1 - 6.A.6

Social Studies

• Our focus will be on Europe during the Middle Ages. Students will be looking at the structure of the feudal system that was widely used during this time period. We will also look at the changes in society from the Roman Empire to the various kingdoms that dominated this time. A common formative assessment will be administered on Friday December 6.

Science

• Hope we are well rested after our break. We are starting a new unit about the phases of the moon. We will be doing a nearpod activity at the beginning of the week. Our hands-on activity will be creating the phases with Oreos. The end of the week will consist of a phases of the moon gizmo and a moon phase webquest. In the module, there is a variety of study materials for the students to study throughout the week. Our CSA will be on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. ESS.1-1: I can describe a model and design a model of how Earth’s rotation, revolution, tilt, and interaction with the sun and moon cause seasons, tides, changes in daylight hours, eclipses, and phases of the moon.

PE

• This week in PE we will be starting our bowling unit. Students will learn the basic rules of scoring. On Friday we will have cosmic bowling at WIS!

Art

• This week in art we will continue with our Kandinsky projects. Students will add their own elements to their artwork creating a balanced composition. Later in the week students will add color to their artwork by painting their projects.

Music

• This week in music we will begin composing melodies. Students will work in groups combining rhythm and pitch and learn about the basic tendencies that melodies follow. On Wednesday students will have a Note Identification quiz for the treble and bass clef.

PLTW

• This week in PLTW, the 5th grade students will be building a testbed to test out robotics sensors. The 6th grade students will begin using the Micro:bits to learn computer programming.

Media

• This week 5th graders will continue digital citizenship modules with a focus on expressing gratitude in communication. Sixth graders will continue digital technology modules this week and get a chance to view sample tech conference projects assembled and presented by students at VCU.

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.). Students will need to use their school-issued iPad earphones for Exact Path lessons and select ILEARN testing sessions. 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.

Welcome to our 2024 Winter Baseball Camp!

The Holiday Baseball Camp consists of 3 days of baseball activities for $50.

DECEMBER 26-27-28

• Grades 3-5 11am-12:30PM
• Grades 6-8 1:00 – 2:30 PM
  • Day One = Defense (IF, OF, P/C Drills)
  • Day Two= Offense (Tee Work, Soft Toss, Short Toss, Batting Practice, and our most important TWO STRIKE APPROACH**)
  • Day Three = FUN! TROJAN OBSTACLE COURSE and the World Series Wiffle Ball Tourney

  
  

  Link to Sign Up:

  https://forms.gle/ooCiW3hWxBjERhVu7

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://www.duneland.k12.in.us/Domain/14
Location: 1050 South 5th Street, Chesterton, IN, USA
Phone: (219) 983-3710
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westchesterintermediate/