Waterville Primary Friday Flyer!

Friday, October 16th: End of First Quarter

Monday, October 19th: NO SCHOOL: Professional Development Day for Staff

Monday, October 26th-Friday, October 30th: Red Ribbon Week (more specifics to follow)

Tuesday, October 27th: 3rd Grade ELA OST Testing (approximately 9am-11:15am)

Wednesday, October 28th: 3rd Grade ELA OST Testing (approximately 9am-11:15am)

Friday, October 30th: Classroom Fall/Halloween Parties

Monday, November 2nd: Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences

Tuesday, November 3rd: NO SCHOOL - CONFERENCES

Monday, November 9th: Board of Education Meeting at Central Administrative Office 6:00pm

Monday, November 9th: Waterville Parents Association Meeting 6:30pm in Media Center

Monday, November 16th-Friday, November 20th: District Food Drive

Monday, November 16th: Veterans Day Program @ HS Auditorium @ 6:30pm

Monday, November 23rd: NO SCHOOL: Professional Development Day for Staff

Tuesday, November 24th-Friday, November 27th: NO SCHOOL – FALL BREAK

Monday, December 7th: Board of Education Meeting at Central Administrative Office 8:00am

Hello Waterville Families,

If you are interested in scheduling a conference with any of our Fine Arts teachers, please use the links included below. Please know that these conferences are optional. You do not have to sign up for any of them. However, if you would like the opportunity to meet individually with any of us, we would love to provide this for you!

Mr. Knapp (Physical Education) - Conferences
Mrs. McIntyre (Art) - Conferences
Ms. Knoll (Music) - Conferences

We are looking forward to the opportunity to work together to ensure that we are providing the best possible learning environment for your student!

Sincerely,

Dave Knapp, Jean McIntyre, & Tai Knoll

Anthony Wayne Local Schools is exploring the possibility of offering full-day, every-day kindergarten beginning in the 2027–2028 school year. The district wants to share information, answer questions, and gather community feedback as it considers next steps.

Full-day kindergarten is offered by most Ohio school districts, and Anthony Wayne families have expressed interest in this opportunity. With enrollment declining in recent years, particularly in the primary grades, the district has additional space and capacity to explore offering full-day kindergarten while making effective use of existing resources.

Kindergarten Information and Feedback Sessions

Families and community members are invited to attend one of two Kindergarten Information and Feedback Sessions on Monday, October 19, at the Central Administrative Offices. Sessions will be held at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., with both in-person and livestream options available. Each session will last approximately one hour. Child care will not be provided.

If there is sufficient interest, the district will further explore implementing full-day kindergarten in 2027–2028.

Whether you have a child approaching kindergarten or simply want to share your perspective, we welcome your input as we consider this opportunity for Anthony Wayne students and families.

Waterville Families,

We invite you to join us for our next Waterville Parents Association (WPA) meeting on Monday, November 9 at 6:30 p.m.

We will have two volunteers from the Interact Club in attendance for childcare

WPA meetings are a great opportunity to stay connected, hear updates, and share your ideas to help support our students and school community.

If you would prefer to join via zoom, please reach out to Dawn Bentley at dmpetersen3@gmail.com to request the link

We hope to see you there!

And mark your calendars — our next meeting will be Monday, November 9 at 6:30 p.m.

If you ever have any questions about the WPA or want to learn how to get involved, please reach out to:

• Dawn Bentley – dmpetersen3@gmail.com; (419) 410-5723

• Heidi Borucki – heidi.borucki@gmail.com; (517) 388-5774

We look forward to connecting with you and continuing to make this an AWesome year at Waterville Primary!

Warmest regards,

The Waterville Parents’ Association (WPA)

Waterville Primary crushed our goal! Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, we officially surpassed our Generals March fundraising goal and spent this week celebrating in style. All students were rewarded with an epic, energy-filled 24K recess packed with bubbles, dancing, great music, yard games, and the crowd-favorite giant parachute. Adding to the excitement, our top fundraisers earned the ultimate reward, stepping up to lead our school as Principal for the Day.

Thank you again to everyone for your incredible support of our school!

Thank you families for an OUTSTANDING Fall Book Fair! Your support means the world to us

Did you know, when you shop the book fair…

Our school gets 50% of the profit!

That profit allows us to quickly and easily purchase books to restock the book vending machine, as well as purchase books for reading prizes!

You help support our school library by rounding up at the checkout—Mrs. Kistner uses those Share the Fair funds to purchase new titles!

Your support allows us to book not just a fall fair, but winter as well…which means our third fair in May is Buy One Get One Free!

You can add new books to your child’s classroom by shopping their teacher’s bin!

And most importantly…

You show your kids that you value reading and spending time with them

Anthony Wayne Local Schools is hiring regular and substitute school bus drivers! Join us for a Transportation Open House on Wednesday, October 28, from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at 6320 Industrial Parkway in Whitehouse. Stop by to meet the transportation team, get behind the wheel of a school bus, receive application assistance, and interview immediately. Contracted and substitute positions are available with competitive pay. Learn more at www.AnthonyWayneSchools.org/Careers.

We are excited for our upcoming Halloween and Fall Harvest celebration on Friday, October 30th!

Students and staff are encouraged to wear simple, comfortable, and school-friendly costumes for the entire day. To ensure a safe, fun, and inclusive environment for all of our learners, please adhere to the following costume guidelines:

• 🚫 No Weapons: Absolutely no fake weapons or props of any kind (swords, blasters, knives, etc.).
• 🚫 No Scary Masks: Full-face scary masks are not permitted.
• 🚫 No Full Face Paint: Please avoid excessive face paint, heavy makeup, or extreme hair coloring.

🕒 Celebration Schedule & Parades

• 10:30 AM – Morning Kindergarten Parade: AM Kindergarten students will have their own special costume parade through the school and outside on the playground. (A separate email with details will be sent directly to AM Kindergarten families.)
• 2:15 PM – School wide Afternoon Parade: The main parade will begin outside, immediately followed by our classroom parties.

👥 Parent & Volunteer Information

• Spectators: We warmly encourage parents and families to enjoy the fun by watching our outdoor afternoon parade! Please review our Outdoor Parade Route Map ahead of time.
• Thank You: A massive thank you to everyone helping to plan our classroom parties, sending in donations, or volunteering your time and energy. We appreciate your partnership in making this a wonderful day for our students!

Primary Schools Lunch Menu:

Pay online for school meals with MySchoolBucks for fast, easy, and secure digital deposits to your child's cafeteria account. You can make payments using a credit or debit card, set up recurring payments, see your child's purchases and more via the MySchoolBucks website or mobile app. Start using MySchoolBucks.

If your family meets certain income eligibility and other specific guidelines, your children may qualify for free meals or for reduced-price meals at school. Information about the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program is available on the Anthony Wayne Local Schools Website.

We will only be offering free breakfast to students who qualify for free or reduced price meals this school year.

We are very eager to partner with you for another successful school year. We cannot wait to have our students back here at school with us! Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions! See you all soon!

MySchoolBucks Flyer

Anthony Wayne Kindergarten-4th Grade school fees are $50.00 per student. You can pay your child’s fees online at MySchoolBucks. Electronic payment of school fees is our preferred method of payment. If electronic payment is not possible, you can pay by check or cash (checks payable to Anthony Wayne Local Schools). Thank you!!

Anthony Wayne Local School uses Bright Arrow's InstantConnect for its mass notification system for sharing information via email, phone and text. While most communications from the District will be sent via email, emergency notifications and school delays and closings will continue to be sent via phone call and text message.

Text Messages

Federal law requires users to opt-in to receive text messages. You may change your preferences at any time.

Subscribe to receive text messages from Anthony Wayne Local Schools by texting YES to 79041.

You may unsubscribe from receiving text messages by texting STOP to 79041. NOTE: If you unsubscribe, you will NOT receive any emergency or school closing/delay text messages from AWLS.

Text messages are only sent to parents/guardians and staff members of Anthony Wayne Local Schools. The texting feature is not available to community members.

If your student will be riding a bus (including CDC, Something Special, and Hope), you should have seen/completed forms during online registration through Final Forms. If you did not, or are unsure, please use the links below to request busing through our Transportation department.

Transportation Forms & Links

Transportation to location other than home address

Restarting School Transportation

Welcome to the eighth year of Purple Star Generals, our age-appropriate peer support group for military-connected students. This group connects students with shared experiences and allows them to teach their peers and community about the United States Military through service-oriented projects.

If your child is military-connected and wants to join this leadership group, please complete the Purple Star Generals Membership Google Form.

This month our second grade students collected dental care items to send to our deployed soldiers. Our Purple Star Generals created cards and positive messages to send with the items!

At Waterville Primary, we know that preparing students for the future means teaching them rigorous academics and essential 21st-century skills. That is why our entire district is proud to focus on our Portrait of a General—a collective vision that details the core competencies our students need to thrive in an ever-changing world: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, a learner's mindset, empathy, and adaptability.

This vision was locally developed but is globally positioned. We are incredibly grateful to the 50 community stakeholders, Anthony Wayne Local Schools staff, administrators, and board members who partnered with Battelle for Kids over four intensive meetings to build this enduring framework. From our kindergartners to our graduating seniors, this work ensures every student is ready for whichever path they choose.

🏆 This Month's Focus: Adaptability & Flexibility

This month, we are shining a spotlight on students who outstandingly demonstrate Adaptability & Flexibility.

A GENERAL demonstrates awareness and a willingness to change course and acts by reflecting on options while keeping her/his ultimate goal in mind.

Whether it is adjusting to a new routine, finding a creative solution when a plan changes, or looking at a problem from a fresh angle, our recognized students are showing true leadership. Thank you to our families and staff for playing such an important role in making the Portrait of a General a reality for every student!

It is important that we have accurate contact information for parents/guardians and emergency contacts. If email addresses or phone numbers change during the school year, please update your child’s FinalForms account. This will help ensure we can reach you.

The importance of helping a child learn to commit to something long term, persevering when faced with obstacles, and the willingness to keep trying- even when a task or goal is challenging, is our continued focus at Waterville Primary. Grit and growth mindset is not an “edu-fad” but dispositions we will encourage and intentionally teach all of our students, through different classroom activities, assignments, literature, role models, real world examples, and conversations about the topic.

We really need your help again this year with continuing to provide examples of our very own students and ways that they have shown commitment to an activity or goal. You all did a great job recognizing our gritty students and staff last school year and we need to continue to recognize some new students as the school year begins.

Our “Waterville’s Great Wall of Grit” bulletin board remains hanging in the hallway across from the kitchen. This display showcases our gritty students and staff that have been nominated by other individuals as examples of strivers-students who have an enduring passion and take action to achieve a goal. We will continue to spotlight our students and staff who have both determination and direction.

At the end of this Friday Flyer you will find a nomination form to complete if you would like to nominate a student or staff member here at Waterville Primary that you feel exemplifies Grit. Please turn them into the school office once completed and make sure to check out the “Great Wall of Grit” next time you are here in the school.

ABSENCE, LATE ARRIVAL, AND EARLY DISMISSAL REPORTING

All absences, anticipated late arrivals, and early dismissals are reported by emailing WAattendance@anthonywayneschools.org before the school day begins at 8:45am.

Email is encouraged, as it is the most efficient way to track absences and communicate without disruption. In the event that you're unable to email, a phone call to 419-878-2436 can be made at any time and left as a voicemail. If you notify the school of an early dismissal after 8:45, you should anticipate a delay in the pick-up process and plan accordingly.

DISMISSAL/TRANSPORTATION REPORTING INFORMATION

Student transportation is expected to be as consistent as possible. ANY change to your student’s regular end-of-day transportation plan must be reported at the start of the day by sending a note with your student or by emailing ashiffert@anthonywayneschools.org as well as your student's teacher.

We understand that last-minute changes may occur due to unforeseen circumstances, but ask that you use discretion before requesting a change, and communicate in advance whenever possible. No matter how small of a change you perceive the late notification to be (biker instead of car rider, front door instead of back door, going home with a friend, etc) - it is a disruption to the classroom to communicate this with the teacher. For student safety, non-emergency changes may not be permitted after 3pm.

Did you know that Waterville Primary is one of very few STEAM-designated elementary schools in Ohio?! We are always looking to increase opportunities for lessons centered around STEAM. We are always interested in developing professional growth opportunities with community leaders, employers, and resources to enhance student learning.

At Waterville Primary, our first-grade and fourth-grade "recycling buddies" team up every week to manage our school-wide recycling program. This meaningful partnership perfectly reflects our STEAM culture and deep focus on environmental conservation by transforming a daily responsibility into a hands-on lesson in sustainability and teamwork. By working together, our oldest and youngest students not only reduce our school's ecological footprint but also build strong leadership skills, showing that big changes start with collaborative, community-minded actions.

Our fourth graders are diving into hands-on innovation during our after-school Lego Club! Each week, students face a fast-paced design challenge where they must use critical problem-solving and close collaboration in small groups to build a unique Lego solution within just one hour. This week, our young engineers put their teamwork to the test by creating intricate fall mazes, carefully designing paths and obstacles to successfully guide a moving marble from start to finish.

Our team is always looking to extend learning standards into the professional workforce. Ensuring our students are college and career-ready is fueled by our connections and collaborations with local businesses and professionals in STEAM-related fields. If you work in a field where STEAM principles are a critical part of your team's success, we would love to hear from you and how our students can learn more!

As a STEAM-designated school, our staff is committed to putting the newest technology trends in the hands of our students. Coding and programming are also a part of modern literacy and it's important to help students understand how it can be positively used to shape their world. All STEAM lessons foster critical thinking skills and characteristics featured by our Portrait of General competencies. In addition, all students use a universal design process to help align our project-based learning with our district's core values and the steps necessary for successful problem-based navigation. Our mission is to allow students to explore STEAM-related areas while building healthy peer relationships through collaboration and teamwork.

Waterville Primary STEAM Programming Highlights:

• 3D Printers & Doodle Pens
• Tinkercad and Coding Opportunities
• Sphero Bolt Kits
• Career Exploration
• Ozobots
• Snap Circuits
• Project Prairie & Toledo Zoo Partnership
• Land Lab & Community Partnerships
• Composting / Recycling Efforts
• Air Monitoring and Data Collection with GLOBE and Purple Air
• TAB - Art Instructional Practices
• Lego Club
• Lego Spike Kits (Prime and Essential)
• Operation Chick Quest
• Equitable Access to 21st Century Technology
• Fully Equipped Makerspace Lab

Waterville Primary will be continuing our presence on Twitter with the handle @AWLSWA. This medium is used for both sharing daily activities and any potential alerts for our building. If you do not have a Twitter account you can still get updates via a Fast Follow feature that sends tweets to phones via SMS text messages. Here is all it takes to sign up to receive SMS text messages from the Waterville Twitter account when a tweet is posted:

On the phone to receive the messages, simply create a new text message to phone number 40404. Next, the message to be sent should read: follow @awlswa

That’s all there is to it! Any student or parent that follows this procedure will receive any Waterville school Twitter messages to their phone as an SMS text message.

To turn off text messages, you would send a message to 40404 that reads: off @awlswa

Flyer Central

Visit Flyer Central for camps, activities, and events for kids and families:

www.AnthonyWayneSchools.org/FlyerCentral