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,

As we continue to settle into the school year, I’d like to encourage you to check Skyward regularly for your child’s grades. While Canvas provides valuable insight into their progress, Skyward is the official platform where the grades that appear on report cards are recorded.

Additionally, as we review student data, including fall NWEA test results, classroom performance, and other assessments such as the CSAs, you may receive a call from us to discuss the possibility of moving your child to a more advanced or more supported class. Our goal is always to ensure each student is placed in an environment where each child can thrive academically.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for partnering with us in your child’s success.

As always, please reach out to me anytime.

Mr. Longacre

slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us

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

5th Grade 94.9966%

6th Grade 94.5231%

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.

Say Something Anonymous Reporting System FAQ

What is the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System?

It is an age-appropriate, evidence-informed program that trains youth and adults to recognize warning signs and threats of potential violence and to tell a trusted adult or use the anonymous reporting system via app, website, or telephone hotline. This empowers students, parents, staff, and community members to securely share safety concerns, helping school administrators and law enforcement members to prevent violence, suicide, bullying, self-harm, and other dangerous behaviors. Duneland School Corporation has been working with Sandy Hook Promise as we launch this program in our schools. All grade 5-12 schools will adopt this program this year.

How does the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System work?

Students and staff can submit a tip about concerning or threatening behaviors through the app, website, or a telephone call, 24/7/365. Every submission goes directly to a trained crisis counselor. The trained counselor vets the tip, gathers details, then shares the information and next steps with the school team and law enforcement (as needed). The team steps in to address the threat and provide solutions. Every District and school team has a trained Say Something response staff that includes administrators and law enforcement personnel.

Say Something is proven to prevent school shootings, suicides, and gun threats, as well as help reduce other acts of violence and victimization like bullying/cyberbullying, self-harm like cutting, drug use, and more.

How does the system work?

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System can be used to report threatening or harmful

behavior, harassment, and more. Students can anonymously report a concern through

the Say Something Anonymous Reporting app, website or through a phone call. Students can also share screenshots of social media posts that are concerning. Highly trained crisis counselors immediately take action to ensure student safety and work to get the help and support students need.

What happens to the tip if the individual reporting is threatening to hurt themselves?

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System’s National Crisis Center and local Say Something team members are specifically trained to recognize mental and emotional disturbances and effectively manage crisis situations. Law enforcement will be utilized in life threatening situations.

Do I have to use the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System? Does my student?

Using the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is completely voluntary.

Who is running this program?

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is offered at no cost to schools by Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), a national nonprofit that was founded and is led by family members whose loved ones were killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in 2012. SHP has trained more than 14 million educators, parents, and students nationwide to recognize the warning signs of potential violence and the importance of sharing school safety concerns with a trusted adult.

How much are we paying for this program?

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is provided at no cost by Sandy Hook Promise, thanks to the charitable donations of their national grassroots network and philanthropic partners.

What about privacy?

All data from our school community within the Say Something Anonymous Reporting

System is owned by the district.

Do you have further questions?

Please reach out to Mr. Longacre slongacre@duneland.k12.in.us or Mr. Hernandez mhernandez@duneland.k12.in.us

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.

Homecoming Parade participation call-out: The CHS Homecoming Parade will take place at 5:00 PM on Friday, September 27th. Participants will begin lining up at 4:00 PM in the South parking lot of the former Chesterton Middle School campus (specific directions to come).

Any school/community groups and organizations interested in participating in the annual CHS Homecoming Parade should complete this Google Form by Thursday, September 19th. Please direct any questions to CHS Assistant Principal Adam Tenbarge at atenbarge@duneland.k12.in.us, or call the CHS Assistant Principals' office at 219-983-3730.

Parade Route, Homecoming Royalty: The CHS homecoming parade will leave the South lot traveling east on Porter Avenue to S Calumet Road, Calumet Ave to Broadway, Broadway to S 6th Street, and ends back to the former CMS campus. The parade will be followed by the CHS home game against Portage at 7:30 PM. Homecoming Royalty will be crowned at halftime of the football game.

Language Arts

• We've hit the height of the action in Swindle (feel free to ask your student where the Babe Ruth card was hidden....), and are heading toward a resolution this week! We will be completing our plot mountain, and looking for themes in the novel, as well. Honors ELA - Last week we journeyed with Odysseus through the Land of the Dead. Luckily, we made it out, and this week we'll see if our hero can make it home. We will also continue to chart the steps of the Hero's Journey, and look for themes in the novel.

Math

• Last week, students took their first test (CSA) on whole number multiplication. Students who scored below a 70% will work with staff on remediation and will have a chance to retake this assessment and improve their grade. Many of the mistakes we noticed were with basic math facts. A way to support your student is by practicing basic math facts. If you need suggestions on how to do this, please contact your student’s math teacher. This week, we are starting to look at dividing whole numbers. Yes, this will include multiple digit long division! We will be learning a few ways to solve these problems so do not be surprised if it does not all look familiar. We will be learning the standard algorithm (old school long division) as we progress. As always, Get More Math and IXL Math path are great ways for students to get extra practice at home.

Social Studies

• This week, students will have the opportunity to retake last week's CSA. We'll then begin our next lesson in the text, looking at the first people to live in North America, and the land on which they lived.

Science

• Last week the students tested out their engineering skills by creating a catapult prototype. The students had to design, create, test, and modify their catapult. At the end of the week, the students competed against one another to see which catapult could launch a bean the furthest. There was a lot of creativity and fun! This week the students will continue following the Engineering Design Process and participate in a challenge that will require them to create a foil boat that will hold the most washers.

Language Arts

• This week we are moving on to our next priority standard- 6.RC.1: Analyze what a text says explicitly as well as draw inferences from the text through citing textual evidence. Please ask your child to see their RACE response feedback in Canvas if you would like a better understanding of how they are scored.

Math

• This week in the wonderful world of numbers . . .6th graders will continue to work on the following skills and concepts: divisibility rules, prime and composite numbers, GCF, LCM, and fractions. Students will begin working on fraction operations starting with addition and subtraction. Indiana Academic Standards: 6.NS.6, 6.NS.7, and 6.C.2

Social Studies

• This week in Social Studies we will be finishing up researching the different Ancient American Civilizations. We will be discussing some of the cultural achievements and history of the Aztecs. A common formative assessment on the Maya, Inca, and Aztec will be administered on Wednesday. Finally the students will be working on a persuasive writing assignment in order to convince someone to sponsor their trip to the New World visiting either the Aztec or Inca civilizations.

Science

• This week in science students will be working on RACED responses. We will be doing our responses for our ping pong travel lab which was done last week. Students will be using the engineer design process to build a bridge out of paper to see how many books their bridge can hold. Students will then write a RACED response for this lab. The end of the week will be reviewing for the engineer design process CSA which will be Monday next week. Indiana Academic Standards: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, and MS-ETS1-4

PE

• ALL RELATED ARTS CLASSES WILL ROTATE ON WEDNESDAY!! In PE this week, we will finish our Frisbee unit on Monday and play a fun game on Tuesday. On Wednesday after we rotate, we will be learning routines and procedures and playing 9 square in the air.

Art

• In Art this week, students will complete our Up- Close Animal Painting projects. On Wednesday, after we rotated to our new related art classes, students will focus on the expectations and procedures of the art room.

Music

• Music classes will wrap up our rhythm unit on Tuesday. On Wednesday we begin the new 4.5 week rotation. New music students will learn classroom procedures and begin exploring the question, “What is music?” ALL Music students should bring a charged iPad to class each day.

PLTW

• In PLTW this week, the 5th graders will explore programming robots in a virtual setting and the 6th graders will finish and share their Micro:bit game board designs with other students. On Wednesday, students will rotate to their new related arts class and we will begin to review the routines and expectations in PLTW.

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.

1. Chesterton Girls Basketball Winter League at Chesterton High School

• Girls in grades 2nd-6th
  
• Registration is open now until September 26th.
• Player Evaluations on October 6th, League begins November 17th
• Register at www.chestertongirlsbasketball.org

2. Chesterton Girls Basketball Middle School Winter League (Club1 League)

• Girls in grades 7th/8th
• Registration opens Monday, September 16th
• League begins Nov. 10th and runs for 4 weeks at area schools.
• Register at www.chestertongirlsbasketball.org

3. Chesterton Girls Basketball Fall Girls Hoops & Handles Skills Academy

• Girls in grades K-8th
• Registration opens Friday, September 13th
• Ball Handling, Shooting, Offensive and Defensive concepts
• Register will open on www.chestertongirlsbasketball.org

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.

The Chesterton High School Girls Basketball program is hosting a trivia night fundraiser on Saturday, October 5th, in the Chesterton High School cafeteria. Join the Trojans for a night of trivia, food, basket raffles, music, and fun! Bring an entire trivia team with costumes and compete for prizes. Or, you can also purchase individual trivia seat tickets as well. To purchase trivia tickets, make a donation, or if you own or work at a business that is interested in being a winter season sponsor, please visit www.chestertongirlsbasketball.org. We are a 501c3 Not-For-Profit Group and all transactions have no processing fees and receipts are issued immediately for tax purposes. If you have any questions, please contact Chesterton High School Head Coach Candy Wilson at chestertongirlsbbchs@gmail.com.

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/