Principal’s Prowl
Kristen Sebek
Weddington Elementary School
3927 Twelve Mile Creek Road, Matthews, NC 28104
W: wdes.k12.nc.us T: 704.849.7238
Dear Weddington Wildcat Families,Welcome to February! It is difficult to believe we are already more than half way through our school year! This is the stretch of the school year when it seems like Spring Break is decades away! It is also the time of year when teachers begin to think about the end of the school year. The Weddington staff continues to dedicate an extensive amount of time planning in their Professional Learning Communities to ensure instructional plans are high level and meeting the differentiated learning needs of all students. They disaggregate student achievement data and collaborate on strategies to ensure small group and one on one instruction focuses on students’ strengths and areas of need. As we advance through the school year, we encourage all parents to contact your child’s teacher with your questions and concerns. Communication between school and home is an essential component of student success and we welcome parent – teacher conferences. We also encourage you to develop a consistent nightly routine at home to ensure all teacher communication and student homework is reviewed. With your continued partnership, our wonderful Wildcats will continue to achieve success and be well prepared for the 21st Century.
Thank you for all you do to ensure Weddington Elementary is the best it can be!
Warmest Regards,
Kristen Sebek
FROM OUR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Dear Wildcat families,
Thank you to each of you for a fantastic return to school following the holiday break! Students have been working hard and achieving great things! I wanted to take a moment to highlight a special group of employees that deserve our support and recognition: Our BUS DRIVERS!!! This past week we had the privilege of honoring our drivers during “Love the Bus Week” with the provision of a breakfast and snack for our drivers. We encourage each of you to continue to show appreciation to our drivers who work hard each day to ensure our students arrive home safely!
Here are a few important reminders of bus safety rules to review with your child(ren) to ensure safety on buses at all times:
· Use appropriate language and keep all body parts to yourself.
· Respect the driver and other students while on the bus.
· Remain seated at all times during the bus ride.
· Eating or drinking (except bottled water) is not permitted on the bus.
· Profanity or fighting is not permitted on the school bus (Code of Conduct #2, #3, #4, #10, and #11).
· Bullying is not permitted on the bus or other vehicle as part of any school activity or while waiting at the bus stop (Code of Conduct #12).
Thank you again for all your support! We look forward to a wonderful spring at WDES!!!
Sincerely,
Emily Kraftson
FROM OUR GUIDANCE COUNSELOR
Dear Wildcat Families,
The 4th and 5th grade students just finished up their six weeks of Guidance class. We covered topics such as peer pressure, respect, gratitude, goal setting, and being unique. Our older wildcats do a wonderful job of listening to each other, interacting through role play, sharing stories and even giving each other sound advice. I encourage you to engage your children in conversations about our discussions in Guidance class each week! Starting in March we will begin our last series of Guidance classes for the year and we will focus on responsibility, persistence, friendship and the transition to middle school for our 5th graders. As always, thank you for sharing your children with me!
Laurie Harper
School Counselor
FROM NURSE WHITE
We are in the midst of the cold and flu season as well as illnesses related to allergies and occasionally strep throat. I would like to remind you of our school guidelines so that we can work together to keep the children healthy in their classrooms.
The following guidelines are endorsed by our School Health Medical Consultant, Dr. Nancy Bizzel, to assist parents and staff. Please make sure your contact information is up to date so that we can contact you in a timely manner if your child is ill.
Fever Oral temperature of 100.6, unless flu like symptoms of dry cough and body aches; then temperature of 100. Students should be fever free without medication for 24 hours before returning to school.
Vomiting Vomiting with signs of illness like fever. Students should be able to eat at least 2 solid meals without nausea or vomiting to return to school.
Diarrhea Diarrhea accompanied by a fever or 2 or more loose stools in a row.
Congestion Occasionally your child will be very congested due to a cold or allergies without fever. We do not normally send students home for this condition, but if the drainage is continuous, if they have uncontrolled cough, or it is impacting their ability to concentrate, we will need to send them home.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation; keeping your student home during illness helps to keep everyone healthy.
CURRICULUM CORNER
The first half of our school year is behind us and a lot of amazing things have been happening in our classrooms. This year we have continued with the Readers and Writers Workshop model. We have found that this model allows for maximum differentiation and high level of engagement. Our students are continuing to work on writing about their reading. This is an important skill as it requires students to delve into their reading and communicate their thoughts in a more succinct manner that includes using details from the text. This is a tall order for students at every grade level. To assist at home, have your child talk to you about their reading and find proof in the text that supports their thinking. For informational texts, talk to your child about the interesting things they learned and ask them questions that require them to think beyond what they are reading, an application to real world situations of what they just learned.
In Math, we continue to see our kids increase their problem solving abilities and communicate their thinking at high levels. This year, UCPS has implemented a new instructional model that has pushed our students’ thinking to a whole new level. Students are asked to solve a problem with a partner at the start of the lesson. They are encouraged to use manipulatives and model drawings throughout the entire lesson. The visual models help students understand why algorithms work as they are introduced to them in 4th and 5th grades. It is important students understand how numbers work before learning these algorithms. In the real world, we manipulate numbers in situational contexts. The ability to state and use algorithms and compute numbers out of context are a thing of the past. This new instructional model requires our students to think about what the problem is asking and how to solve it in an authentic context. It requires students to think outside of the box, using what they know about how numbers work. As parents, you can support this higher level of thinking in math by asking your child his/her process for achieving the answer in a homework problem. Their process of problem solving may astound you!
Karen Dillon
District Instructional Content Facilitator
Union County Public Schools
Principal and Assistant Principal Lunch Bunch
This month, Mrs. Kraftson and I are excited to announce we will be starting a student lunch bunch! One time per month, one student from each classroom will be chosen to each lunch with either Mrs. Kraftson or me. Students will receive a personal invitation to the lunch and also receive a book of their choice as a keepsake. We are thrilled to be able to spend this time with our sweet students!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR JANUARY TERRIFIC KID WINNERS!!
The Weddington Terrific Kid winners are chosen by their teacher and peers for displaying respect to their peers and teachers. We are so proud of our Terrific Kids! Kindergarten: Boyce – Ty Johnston, Hubbard – Max Dorton, Leon – Grayson Hancock, Privette – Blake Dunn, Rogers - Sadhvi Thanigai, Shuford – Charley Frey, First Grade: Alvarez – Christopher Bestwick, Lunzmann – Lola Boothe, Murray – Anthony Garcia, Recher – Caiden Thomas, Stefano – George Tidwell, Second Grade: Jackson – Parker Kelly, Katon – Gracie Ann Jackson, Martin – Joella Thomas, Prestopino - Diego Rivadeneyra-Vega, Stoner - Gabriel Hancock, Wallon - Connor Privette, Third Grade: Bailey – Aubrey Gingerich, Keil – Namish Chopra, Holton – Kelsey Mayers , Shockley – Allisun Mervich, Chambers – Marcy Abrahim, Fourth Grade: Carballo – Talan Sciortini , Schottland – Hari Manchi, Schrock – Riley Swierski, Waltower – Elle Ann Anderson, White – David Tipton, Fifth Grade: Bryan – Arthur Decker, Carter – Kyle Frunzi, Fogartie – Morgan Kilbourne , Gaskin – Katie Garcia, Morgan – Emma Goode , Reep – Katie Kudela
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