The Wise Owl 🦉 Newsletter

A new tradition was established by the WAAS Drama Club in the Spring of 2025 with the introduction of “The Joseph Coat.” In theater culture, the Joseph Coat is awarded after each production to a cast member who best exemplifies passion, hard work, and a love of theater. The recipient then adds a meaningful piece of fabric to the coat, representing their personal connection to the production. After the following show, the coat is passed on to the next honoree, allowing the tradition to live on. Congratulations to 8th Grader Lucy Yokubaitis on receiving this award this Fall, representing her dedicated performance, passion, and leadership in WAAS Drama! Way to go Lucy, we are very proud of you!

We enjoyed a very competitive and lively Nest Bingo competition last Friday! The Burrowing Owls earned a last second victory and gained 70 points for their Nest. The Great Horned Owls and Barn Owls tied for 2nd Place, earning 35 pts each. Great Horned remains in the lead for the Nest Cup through two events, but the scoreboard has tightened. Remember students you can also earn points through good deeds and acts of kindness each day!

Nest Scoreboard 10/9/26

We are excited to continue our conversations around the positive, productive use of technology for our students through our new Owl Book Club. Owl Book Club has a fun, family centered structure in which families will attend our first meeting and receive a copy of our read for this year, The Amazing Generation. They will then read it together as a family over the months following and come back for the next meeting to discuss the reading as a group. Food will be served at each event :) Please use the link below to sign up and see the graphic below for additional details.

Book Club # 1- Tuesday, November 3rd 5:30-6:30 pm

Book Club # 2- Tuesday, January 26th- 5:30-7:00 pm

Owl Book Club Sign Up

Below is the link to our Quarter 2 Helpers (Student Jobs). Our Q1 Helpers will help training the new helpers on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Q2 Helpers 2026

This upcoming Spring and Summer WAAS is once again excited to offer an optional online NCVPS Computer Science Course to interested current 7th and 8th Grade students. This Honors Python Programming class will allow participating students to earn an additional high school credit and complete their high school requirement for Computer Science, while building a strong foundation in coding.

If you have interest in this course, please review the detailed FAQ below. Students considering the course should have room in their schedule to complete about one hour of additional work outside of school each night. The class is asynchronous with an online instructor. Mr. Benfield will provide the students support with the course as needed, and in the Spring offers a weekly study hall to assist the students. If you/ your student would like to register for the Spring course, please complete the course registration form below by Tuesday, December 1st. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Fischetti. Summer registration will take place in April, 2027.

FAQ- Honors Python Programming

Spring Course Registration Form

Lost and Found Gallery

On Tuesday, October 27th WAAS will be hosting an informational session for North Carolina School of Science and Math from 5:15-6:15 pm. All WAAS families and alumni are invited to attend! Mr. Rob Andrews will provide an overview of the school, the admissions process, and outcomes for students who attend.

NCSSM is a popular consideration for WAAS graduates for their Junior and Senior of High School. NCSSM is ranked as the No. 1 public high school in America. As part of the University of North Carolina System, NCSSM is a public, two-year residential high school where talented juniors and seniors live on campus in a supportive, close-knit learning community to capitalize on their potential, grow as leaders, and discover limitless possibilities. Students who attend on campus and graduate from NCSSM are offered scholarships to 4 year universities in North Carolina. Online classes are also offered.

This week Owl Outreach sprang into action to organize a supply drive for The Good Shepherd Homeless Shelter. See the flyer and posters around school for more details. Please consider donating to this drive across the Month of October. The last day of the drive is on October 30th--feel free to bring supplies to Student-Led Conferences that day!

WAAS will host our 2nd Annual Student Led Conference Event on Friday, October 30th! On this Teacher Workday students and parents are asked to visit at their designated time to be a part of the Student Led Conference experience. Participation is expected for all students. We anticipate conferences will take about 40 minutes in total.

Please see the detailed information in the infographic below, along with a copy of our Student Guide and assigned times by student/ grade level. Our teachers will spend time discussing the student led conference expectations for their class over the month ahead.

Student Guide

Assigned Conference Times

WAAS Picture Day is Tuesday, October 20th! Picture day will follow the expectations of a “Friday Dress Down” Day. 4th-7th grades may wear their choice of attire for Picture Day, but are encouraged to “Dress to Impress”.

8th graders should wear their planned formal graduation attire. Students will be provided an opportunity to change after their picture if they would like to. Our picture day schedule is below, and ordering information will shared closer to the event.

Picture Day Schedule 2026

Maximizing Student Success at WAAS

This Huddle is especially helpful for new WAAS parents and families, but all families are welcome! It’s a great opportunity to reconnect with our Back-to-School message, WAAS learning philosophy, and our “Playbook for Success” as we wrap up the first quarter and look ahead to the rest of the school year.

Tuesday, October 27th- 6:30- 7:30 pm

Wednesday, October 28th- 8:00- 9:00 am

Post-WAAS High School Options
This Huddle is primarily designed for parents of current 8th graders as they weigh their high school options. However, families with younger students who want to begin looking ahead to the high school years are also welcome to attend.

Thursday, November 5th- 8:00-9:00 am