Bear Cub Bulletin

October is shaping up to be a busy and exciting month for our Bear Cub family! We have lots happening across our school, and we’re excited to keep our families connected, informed, and involved.

Get ready to Roar for a Cause as our Boosterthon Fun Run & Fundraiser kicks off on October 12th! We can’t wait to see our Bear Cubs having fun, getting active, and working together to support our school during this PTO Fundraiser.

We’re also asking families to share their voice by completing our Fall PBIS Survey. Your feedback helps us continue creating a positive, supportive, and welcoming school environment for every Bear Cub. Be sure to also check out our Fall i-Ready Inform Data to see how our students are growing and learning!

We’ll be celebrating the amazing people who help make our school shine with Custodian Appreciation Day on Monday, October 19th! Be sure to help us show our custodial team just how much we appreciate all they do for our school each day. If you would like to contribute sweet or salty treats to show Vickie, Abbigail, and Jocelyn your appreciation, you can drop them off on the 19th by 9:00.

Looking for even more ways to connect and support your family? Visit our Family Friendly Committee website for helpful information, resources, and opportunities to get involved. And don’t forget to explore our Game Cabinet, where families can check out games and resources to take home and enjoy together!

Thank you for being such an important part of our Bear Cub family. We’re looking forward to a wonderful October filled with learning, connection, celebration, and lots of Bear Cub spirit! 🐻🍂

Wishing you a safe and restful Fall Break! Keep reading the Bear Cub Bulletin to find links, specific details, and additional resources to support your student.

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• Boosterthon Kickoff Assembly on Monday, October 12th
• Sign up to Support our Boosterthon Fun Run at mybooster.com
• Fall Break: October 5th-9th
• October SBDM Meeting on Wednesday, October 14th at 3:15 in the Library or on Google Meet
• October PTO Meeting on Wednesday, October 14th at 6:00 at Los Altos
• Fall Picture Day on Thursday, October 15th
• PTO Snack Shack on Friday, October 16th
• End of the 1st Nine Weeks on Friday, October 16th
• Bully Prevention Week: October 19th-23rd
• Unity Day (Bully Prevention) on Wednesday, October 21st (Wear Orange)
• Lunch Visitor Day on Friday, October 23rd
• Report Cards Printed and Available on Parent Portal in IC on Friday, October 23rd
• Boosterthon Fun Run on Friday, October 23rd
• Family Friendly Committee on Monday, October 26th at 5:15 at WES Library
• Lunch Visitor Day on Thursday, October 29th
• October Dojo Celebration at AdventureServe on Friday, October 30th (Students may wear school appropriate costumes)
• Family Conference Day on Monday, November 2nd (No School for Students)
• Staff Development Day on Tuesday, November 3rd (No School for Students)
• 5th Grade E-Fair on Friday, November 6th

October is a time for schools, families, and communities to come together to promote kindness, acceptance, inclusion, and belonging. As a district, we are proud to participate in Unity Day on October 21st by coming together and wearing orange!

Started by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center in October 2011, Unity Day is the signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month. It is an opportunity for all of us to send a visible message that we stand together to build a community where every student feels welcomed, valued, and included.

The call to action is simple: Wear and share the color orange! 🧡

Wearing orange can be a meaningful conversation starter and a way to show support for students who have experienced bullying, while reminding everyone that we each have a role to play in creating a kind and inclusive school community.

Join us on October 21st and WEAR ORANGE as a district! Together, we can make kindness, acceptance, and inclusion visible throughout our schools and community. 🧡

It’s time for our annual pumpkin (or gourd) decorating contest featuring your favorite book characters! This is a fun, creative way for families to celebrate reading together.

Important Dates:

• Pumpkin Drop-Off in Library: Monday, October 26 – Wednesday, October 28
  (Families may drop off pumpkins in the library if student is unable to carry pumpkin)
  
  

• Voting: Thursday, October 29, beginning at 8:00 a.m.
  (Pumpkins dropped off on Thursday will be displayed, but not voted on.)
  
  

• Winners Announced: Friday, October 30
  
  

• Pumpkin Pick-Up: Friday, October 30 (Pumpkins must be taken home. Unclaimed pumpkins will be discarded.)

Contest Rules:

• Participation is optional. All students may vote, even if they don’t enter.
  
  

• Pumpkins must represent a book character.
  
  

• If available, bring the book to display with your pumpkin.
  
  

• No carving, please. Carved pumpkins rot quickly.
  
  

• Decorating supplies may include paint, markers, fabric, paper, pipe cleaners, craft items, or even artificial pumpkins.
  
  

• Projects should be student-led, with optional family support.
  
  

• Do not write your name on the pumpkin. Entries will be numbered at drop-off.

Judging & Prizes:

• Students and staff will vote for their favorite pumpkin in each grade level.
  
  

• Each grade will have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.
  
  

• Winners receive a $5 Scoops and Slices gift card, thanks to our generous PTO!

Pumpkin Decorating Contest Entry Form

Thank you to all of our families who joined us for Wilmore 101! We appreciate you taking the time to connect with our school community and learn more about how we can partner together to support your child.

We’ve gathered several helpful resources to keep you connected throughout the school year, including information about:

• 📚 Title I at WES and the supports and resources available to our students and families
• 🏫 Grade-level communication and ways to stay connected with your child’s teachers and team
• 📅 School events and activities happening throughout the year (Check out the Caregiver Toolkit)
• 💙 Our Caregiver Calendar, which includes important dates and opportunities for families
• 🍎 Lunch Visitor dates for the school year so you can plan ahead for opportunities to have lunch with your child

We encourage you to explore these resources and check back regularly for updates. Strong family-school partnerships make a difference, and we are grateful for the many ways our Wilmore families support our students and school community.

Thank you for being an important part of WES! We look forward to continuing to learn, grow, and celebrate together throughout the year!

We are excited to share our fall i-Ready Inform data with families! Students will take the i-Ready Inform assessment three times each year in both reading and math. These assessments give us valuable information about what students know, what they are ready to learn next, and where they may need additional support.

Wilmore Fall iReady Inform Data

Throughout the year, students will use their results to set learning goals, monitor their own progress, and celebrate their growth. Teachers will also use the data to help guide instruction and provide students with the support and challenge they need.

We look forward to partnering with families as we help students understand their data, take ownership of their learning, and grow throughout the school year!

For the safety of all students, all afternoon transportation changes must be made by 1:00 p.m. each day.

This gives our staff the time needed to write, deliver, and communicate transportation changes with the teachers and staff members who support your child. It also allows teachers time to check for last-minute changes as they prepare students for dismissal.

Please send all afternoon transportation changes in writing by email or through ParentSquare to:

Kayla Brown
Angie Johnson

We appreciate your help in following this procedure. Giving our staff adequate time to communicate and verify transportation changes is an important safety measure that helps ensure every child gets home safely.

We are excited to share our Family Friendly Google Site with you! We recently submitted our application to the Prichard Committee and are hopeful that Wilmore Elementary will become an official Family Friendly School.

Our goal is to continue building strong partnerships between our families and our school community. Our Family Friendly Site is a great place to learn more about the many opportunities available to families at Wilmore, including ways to connect, get involved, support student learning, and be an active part of our school community.

We invite you to take a few minutes to explore the site and discover the many ways we can partner together to support our students. Family engagement makes a difference, and we are grateful to have you as part of the Wilmore family!

We’re proud to celebrate our Student Advisory Council members for sharing their voices, ideas, and leadership with our school community! These students help make a difference by representing their peers, offering thoughtful perspectives, and helping us build an even stronger school community. Thank you to our student leaders for stepping up, speaking out, and showing what it means to be a Bear Cub! These students were nominated by a staff member and will represent their peers this school year by working as a branch of our leadership team.

Your feedback matters! We invite all families to complete our Fall PBIS Family Perception Survey. Your perspective helps us understand how our families experience our school and how well we are creating a safe, supportive, and productive learning environment for every student.

We will invite families to complete this survey three times throughout the school year so we can listen, reflect, and make adjustments based on your feedback.

Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts. Your voice helps us make Wilmore a better place for every student and family!

Family Perception Survey

4th and 5th Grade Families!

Gifted Auditions

The District Gifted and Talented program will begin screening students in grades 4-8 in the area of Visual and Performing Arts. If your child is interested in the audition process to be identified in the area of Art, Music, Dance, or Drama, please read the information in the linked document. Any questions can be emailed to: rhiannon.minke@jessamine.kyschools.us

Monday, October 19th is Custodian Appreciation Day, and we want to celebrate the amazing people who work hard every day to keep our school clean, safe, and welcoming!

We’ll be showering our custodial team with sweet and salty treats as a small way to show our appreciation for all they do for our school community.

Want to help us celebrate? Treat donations can be delivered to the front office by 9:00 a.m. on Monday, October 19th.

Thank you for helping us show our custodians just how much they are appreciated! 💙

1. Attached is the PTO October calendar of events and our monthly newsletter

2. Boosterthon (our largest fundraiser all year) will be kicking off once we get back to school on the 12th. However, the website is live and we can begin signing up and collecting donations now. To register, go to www.mybooster.com to get your students signed up and fundraising. *I would love to see all of us register before going into break*

3. Next PTO meeting is Wednesday, October 14th at Los Altos from 6-7pm (adults only), this will be a fun night to meet and eat in a more casual setting :)

4. Sign up links for upcoming events:

Dudes at the Door - October 30th (this was so fun and a huge hit! I have attached the group picture of all the dudes from our first event last week :))

Snack Shack - October 16th

Please reach out with any questions. We are excited to kick off Boosterthon when we return and look forward to making this the most successful event yet! The PTO appreciates your support and I look forward to sharing more about our wins from September at the next meeting.

We believe that sharing school data with families helps us work together to support our students. Each month, we will share a snapshot of our Office Discipline Referral (ODR) /PBIS Data to help our school community understand behavior trends and celebrate areas of growth.

Our September data gives us an opportunity to look at patterns, identify where students may need additional support, and continue teaching and reinforcing the behaviors that help everyone learn and feel successful at school.

September PBIS Data (2026)

Thank you for partnering with us as we use data to strengthen our schoolwide expectations and create a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment for every student.

It’s time! You can sign up your student for our Bear Club Fun Run! Our goal is to raise $15,000 for digital marquee, murals around school, replace broken slide, teacher needs and technology. Signing up is easy and comes with a fun prize for your student!

⭐️ Sign Up On MyBooster.com ⭐️

Thank you for being a part of our Wilmore Elementary community and helping us make a difference for our students. We are grateful for your support! Follow our social pages for fun progress updates in the coming weeks.

Our school is working toward a BIG goal and Great Wolf Lodge wants to celebrate with us! Registered families will have the chance to earn some awesome rewards. Log in to mybooster.com today and share your student’s donation page with your whole pack. Just for receiving their first donation, students can earn their very own Wolf Ears!

Key Dates to Remember:

🎉 Fundraiser Kickoff in school – 10/12/2026

👟 Event Day – 10/23/2026

*Need help signing up? View video instructions.

Nightly Challenges

Celebrate Howl-o-ween with us.

Have a tail-wagging good time at Howl-o-ween on October 24 at Lake Mingo Park! Whether your pup is dressed to impress in costume or just rocking their natural fur, they’re invited to enjoy a come-and-go stroll through festive community booths and collect dog-friendly treats. All friendly dogs are welcome — costumes are encouraged but not required.

Brought to you by the Jessamine County Public Library, Jessamine County Animal Care and Control, and Nicholasville/Jessamine County Parks and Recreation.

Get the details

Our Family Friendly Committee has heard from many families who would love more opportunities to connect with one another—whether it’s arranging playdates, coordinating classroom gifts, or simply getting to know other Bear Cub families.

To help make those connections easier, we’re putting together a Parent/Caregiver Directory!

If you’d like to be included, simply add your information using the link below. You are in control of what information you share—we will only include the information you choose to provide.

We hope this directory will be a simple way to help our school community grow even stronger and give families more opportunities to connect beyond the school day.

Want to be included? Add your information here:
WES Family Directory

Thank you for helping us build a connected, welcoming community of Bear Cubs and their families! 🐻❤️

Jessamine County Public Library has invited Jessamine County Schools students to participate in an online book club! This free opportunity is open to students in grades 3–5. Each participant will receive a copy of the book "A Horse Named Sky" by Rosanne Parry to keep.

To participate, a parent or guardian must complete the registration form. Once registered, books and the Google Classroom code will be delivered directly to participating students.

The book club will begin on September 21. Each week, students will visit the club’s Google Classroom to find assigned reading and discussion questions. Students are encouraged to respond to the questions and engage with one or two classmates by replying to their posts. There will be one in person meeting after school in the WES library (date to be determined).

To celebrate the experience, all book club members and their families will be invited to a wrap-up party at Justin's Place on November 7. More information will be sent soon for the wrap up party.

Registration Form: Book Club Registration Form

The Family Learning Game Cabinet gives WES families the opportunity to borrow educational games and resources to enjoy together at home. Each resource provides opportunities to practice important Reading, Math, vocabulary, number sense, problem-solving, and communication skills—all while having fun!

A few important reminders:
• Games may be checked out for up to ONE MONTH.
• Games must be picked up and returned in person at Wilmore Elementary.
• Please return the game with all pieces, cards, boards, and directions.
• If your family needs additional time, please contact the person managing the cabinet before the due date.
• Please treat each resource with care so another WES family can enjoy it!

Family Learning Cabinet Check-Out Form

We are excited to welcome our families to school on the advertised days each month for Lunch Visitors! We love creating these special opportunities for our Bear Cubs to enjoy lunch with the important people in their lives.

As always, student safety is our top priority. To help us maintain a safe and secure environment, please keep the following expectations in mind:

• All visitors must check in at the front office and present a valid ID before entering the building.
• During lunch visits, students should sit with their visiting family member in the designated lunch visitor area.
• Families are invited to eat with their own student(s) only. Please do not invite or have other students join you in the lunch visitor area unless they are also accompanied by their own approved visitor.
• These procedures provide an additional layer of protection and help us maintain a safe environment for all of our Bear Cubs.

October Lunch Visitors Days:

Friday, October 23rd

Thursday, October 29th

Help us make check-in quicker!
If you complete the RSVP in advance, we will have your visitor sticker printed and ready for you when you arrive. You will still need to show your ID so we can verify your identity and check you into the building, but completing the RSVP ahead of time will help make the process more efficient.

🍎 Lunch Times

Kindergarten: 11:10–11:40
1st Grade: 11:20–11:50
2nd Grade: 11:40–12:10
3rd Grade: 11:50–12:20
4th Grade: 12:30–1:00
5th Grade: 12:15–12:45

Thank you for partnering with us to make these special lunch experiences both fun and safe for our Bear Cubs! We look forward to seeing you at lunch! 🐻

At Wilmore Elementary, we are excited to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15th–October 15th!

This month is an opportunity for our Bear Cubs to learn about and celebrate the rich cultures, histories, traditions, languages, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities. Throughout the month, our students will explore stories, people, music, art, geography, and traditions from a variety of Hispanic and Latino cultures.

We also know that Hispanic and Latino cultures are wonderfully diverse, representing many different countries, communities, languages, and experiences. We look forward to helping our students appreciate that diversity and learn from one another.

Families can join us at home by reading a book by a Hispanic or Latino author, exploring a Spanish-speaking country, listening to music from different cultures, trying a new recipe, or talking together about family traditions and stories.

We are grateful for the many cultures and experiences that make our Bear Cub community stronger! 🐻💚💛

We would love to invite you to join us for a Caregiver Book Club throughout the school year! This year, we will be reading and discussing The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt.

📚 Our Kick-Off

Thursday, October 15th
6:00 p.m.
Wilmore Elementary Library

Our first gathering will be an opportunity to introduce the book, connect with other caregivers, and begin a conversation about the ideas Haidt shares.

About the Book

The Anxious Generation explores the significant changes in childhood that have occurred as young people have moved from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood. Haidt examines the rise in anxiety and other challenges among young people and explores how smartphones, social media, reduced opportunities for independent play, and changes in childhood experiences may be contributing factors.

The book also offers practical ideas for families, schools, and communities to help children build healthier relationships with technology while creating more opportunities for connection, independence, play, and real-world experiences.

Why Read It as an Elementary Caregiver?

While much of the conversation around smartphones and social media focuses on middle and high school students, we believe these are important conversations to begin before our children reach those ages. Elementary school is an opportunity to establish healthy habits, boundaries, and expectations around technology before children have greater access to devices and social media.

Reading this book together will give us an opportunity to:

• Think proactively about technology and our children's development.

• Discuss age-appropriate boundaries around phones, gaming, and digital media.

• Learn from one another's experiences as caregivers.

• Consider how families and schools can work together to support children's well-being.

• Build a shared understanding of the challenges our children may face as they grow up in an increasingly digital world.

Interested in Joining Us?

If you are interested in participating in our Caregiver Learning Community, please complete the short interest form below. This will help us plan for our first gathering and keep you informed about upcoming meeting dates, discussion topics, and other opportunities to connect.

Not a reader? That’s okay! You do not have to read the book to participate. We will use The Anxious Generation as a starting point for our conversations, but we will also discuss key topics from the book and listen to selected excerpts together during our gatherings. Our goal is to create a welcoming space where all caregivers can learn, ask questions, share experiences, and connect with one another.

Whether you read every page, listen to an excerpt, or simply come ready to talk and learn, we would love to have you join us!

Complete the Interest Form Here

We hope you’ll join us as we learn from the book, learn from one another, and explore ways we can support our children together.

We look forward to seeing you on October 15th!

We’re excited to share several resources designed to help families better understand what students are learning and find simple ways to support learning at home. These resources provide helpful information about academic standards, student assessment, and reading development.

📚 KAS Family Guides
The Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) Family Guides help families become familiar with the concepts and skills students are expected to learn at each grade level. The guides include an overview of standards in reading and writing, mathematics, science, and social studies, along with suggestions for reinforcing learning at home. Guides are available for grades K–8 and high school, including Spanish versions for Spanish-speaking families.

📊 A Family’s Guide to Understanding Student Assessment
This guide helps families understand how different types of assessments support student learning. It provides information about formative, diagnostic, interim, and summative assessments and gives families and educators common language for talking about student progress and assessment.

📖 Read At Home Plan Family Guide
The Read At Home Plan Family Guide provides ideas for learning experiences families can do with children at home to strengthen reading skills. It includes information about the Read to Succeed Act, Reading Improvement Plans, and the important role families play in supporting reading success. Families will also find a glossary of literacy terms and practical tips for reading at home. Activities are organized around the five essential components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

We encourage families to explore these resources and use the ideas that best fit your child and your family. They can be valuable tools for understanding what your child is learning and finding ways to support their success at home.

Introducing the Bear Cub Weekly Blueprint! 🐻💚

We are excited to introduce the Bear Cub Weekly Blueprint, a new way to help our families stay connected and informed about everything happening at Wilmore Elementary!

The Bear Cub Weekly Blueprint is our living weekly guide designed to provide families with a quick and easy overview of what’s happening at WES. Each week, you’ll find important dates, upcoming events, school reminders, helpful links, meeting agendas, and other resources—all in one convenient location.

Just like a blueprint helps guide the way, the Bear Cub Weekly Blueprint provides a clear picture of what’s ahead so families can plan, prepare, and stay connected throughout the school year.

We encourage families to check the Bear Cub Weekly Blueprint regularly for the most up-to-date information and opportunities to engage with our Wilmore community. We will continue to post events on ParentSquare, Dojo, Facebook, and Instagram. This is just another option to view the information that we share.

The Bear Cub Weekly Blueprint: Your guide to what’s happening at Wilmore Elementary! 🐾

The Safety Tipline, Online Prevention or S.T.O.P Tipline is designed for use as an "online" reporting/prevention tool. If students, parents or community members know of an unsafe situation in school (bullying, weapons, drugs or alcohol, etc.), they can anonymously pass on that information to school personnel by using this basic email format.

Students are taught about how to use and access the STOP Tipline during guidance lessons with our counselors throughout the school year. During our recent Kentucky Center for Safe Schools assessment, we learned that students and staff are well informed about the STOP Tipline, but our caregivers were unaware. We wanted to share this link and information with you so that you can report concerns or support your child with reporting if they have safety concerns about our school community or campus.

Access the STOP Tipline on our school's website by scrolling to the bottom section, "Assistance".

Check out the Wilmore Elementary PTO website. Here you can find details about events and opportunities to get involved in our school community.

Email: monica.thompson@jessamine.kyschools.us
Website: https://www.jessamine.k12.ky.us/9/Home
Location: 150 Campground Lane, Wilmore, KY, USA
Phone: (859)858-3134
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilmoreElementarySchool

Mission Statement:

The mission of Wilmore Elementary School is to create a safe, personalized learning environment that embraces the whole child, focuses on continuous growth, and prepares our students to positively contribute to our families, our communities, and our world.

Vision Statement:

The core purpose of WES is to create a personalized learning environment for each student, where teachers collaborate to use research-driven, high-impact practices paired with rigorous curriculum to ensure high levels of growth and learning for all.