News from the Nest

We've had a great few weeks here at Weaverville Elementary! We have loved seeing parents visiting for parent-teacher conferences. If you haven't met with your child's teacher yet, please reach out to them to get something scheduled.

I'd like to address an ongoing concern with our dismissal that is making it difficult for our teachers to continue instruction at the end of the day. We have quite a few families who are checking students out during the last 30 minutes of the day, or they are calling school during the last hour of the day to change dismissal for their child. I want to take some time to share with you how these two things affect our instructional plans for students.

When you arrive during the last 30 minutes of the day to pick up your child, we have to call the teacher's classroom to send the child to the office. The teacher has to stop instruction and make sure your child gets their items to go home for the day. This can sometimes happen multiple times in an afternoon for some teachers. Our teachers are working hard to ensure your child receives great instruction every day, but these daily interruptions make it very hard to teach until the end of the day. Starting this week, we will not be checking students out between 1:45 and 2:25 pm. If you would like to check your child out early for an appointment, please check them out before 1:45 pm or wait to pick them up after dismissal.

Additionally, quite a few parents are calling late into the afternoon to make dismissal changes for their child. Our teachers pick up transportation notes after their lunch each day, but after that, we must call the room to let them know about dismissal changes for one of their students. We can not depend on teachers to read their emails because they are actively teaching at the end of the day. Sometimes we have to call a teacher multiple times at the end of the day to let them know about several transportation changes for several students in their classroom - each change is sometimes a separate phone call. Please make these requests for dismissal changes before 12:30 each day.

Please help us protect this time at the end of the day. All of our instructional time is important, but this last hour of the day seems to be the most interrupted. We are so fortunate to have amazing teachers who are passionate about teaching students what they need to know, and I know we can work together to make this part of the day more focused on student learning.

Thanks for taking time to read this request and to support our efforts to protect instructional time.

Mary Nichols

Previous Weeks' News from the Nest

• Thursday, October 26th - 4th Grade Field Trip to Emerald Village
  
• Tuesday, October 31st -
• Early Dismissal (12:25 pm). All students served lunch.
• End of first 9 weeks
• School-wide Clubs Day
• Thursday, November 9th - PTO Meeting - 8:15 am @ WvES Media Center
• Friday, November 10th - Veteran's Day Holiday (No School)
• Monday, November 20th - School Health Fair (2nd Grade Vision & 3rd Grade Hearing & Vision)
• Wednesday, November 22nd - Friday, November 24th - Thanksgiving Break
• Friday, December 1st - Make-up Picture Day

District Calendars

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- English

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Romanian

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Russian

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Spanish

Ms. Wheeless is starting small-group counseling services, and she'd like to share more about this level of support. Please read her info graphic for more information!

Students will be allowed to wear halloween costumes on Halloween. We are asking for $1 donation to Eblen Charities if your child wears a costume. Please do not send children in costumes with masks or play-weapons.

Want to help with PTO's October Staff Appreciation?

Sign up Here: Here's a sign-up for Staff Trick-or-Treat! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4AA9A82DA5FE3-45273351-halloween#/

Our PTO was graciously donated tickets for the Haunted Trail in Asheville. If you have been looking for some family friendly fun during this holiday season, consider purchasing these tickets from our PTO! Here's the link to purchase tickets: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084BAFAD23A5FEC52-44743207-halloween#/. You can pick them up at WvES after you purchase them.

Did you know that if a student picks 3 items from our lunch line, it counts as a lunch? I share this because participation in our "everyone eats school lunch free" can affect how long we have access to FREE lunch for ALL students. We want as many students as possible to participate. 3 Items can look a lot of different ways. If your child brings their lunch, they can get a free fruit and milk, as well as another item, to add to their meal from home. Encourage your child to take advantage of these free items in our lunch line!

Remember, ALL students eat free!

Students can donate $1 or more ANY day, but for dress-up days, we ask students to donate $1 for each dress-up day they participate in. We hang our pumpkins in the cafeteria for all to see!

It is already time to start working on the 2023-2024 yearbook! The 4th-grade students have a special place in the yearbook for their baby photos every year. It is always fun to try to guess who everyone is! Please email your favorite baby photo and your child’s name to karen.adair@bcsemail.org by November 10th.

If you cannot send a photo via email, please drop off a photo to your child’s teacher and we can scan and return the photo to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Ms. Adair!

Thank you!

We'll keep our Weaverville Schools PTO Messages in this section of the News from the Nest each week!

Please take a moment to read our student device guides (translated into different languages). As we head into winter and students might have to take devices home/off campus, it's important for parents to know what the student is responsible for. Here's a link to the guides. I also like to tell parents and students some of the following interesting facts:

• If students type anything inappropriate, even in the search bar, the device will take a screenshot and send to me.
• If students type anything about violence or weapons into their screen, in a chat or in the search bar on any website, the device will take a screenshot and send to me.
• If the device breaks because of neglect or misuse, then the family is responsible for paying for the repair. We'll send the invoice in the students' folder, but we'll try to find out more about how the device was damaged before we do so.

If you'd like to volunteer for Fun Run before or during the event (or both!), you can sign up here:

Fun Run Volunteer Sign-up

If you'd like to volunteer for a PTO Committee, sign up here:

PTO Committee Sign-up

Becoming a volunteer requires an application and a background check. We have two levels of volunteers. A "Level 1" volunteer can volunteer in our building, but can not be alone with students. A "Level 2" volunteer might work more closely with students, for example in a reading or math group, or supervising students on a field trip. If you want to attend field trips with your child, or if you want to volunteer in our school during the school day, a volunteer background check is required. The button above has all the information you need to guide you through the process.

If you have been an approved volunteer before, please know that you must update your application annually. You should get a reminder email to update your information each year.

Ms. Ashley Mendoza has access to our list of approved volunteers. Ashley.Mendoza@bcsemail.org.

We had some awesome help with our greenhouse last year! It's time for some touch-ups. Our garden club will start doing some projects in there this year, and we'd love some help getting it cleaned up again. The garden beds around the greenhouse also need some help.

We also have a beautiful butterfly garden. This garden has specific instructions for maintaining its status as a butterfly garden. If you're interested in learning more about how you can help maintain this space as a volunteer, please email Erin Kimmel and Mrs. Nichols will follow up with more information.

If you're interested - sign-up here!

• August:
• What does the Science of Reading mean for parents?
• September:
• Expert Answers to Family Questions About Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Fluency
• October:
• What does the Science of Reading mean for parents - https://sites.google.com/dawsonesc.com/risearkansas/family-resources
• Expert Answers to Family Questions About Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Fluency - https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-sos-with-experts/phonemic-awareness-phonics-fluency#readslowly
• Expert Answers to Family Questions About Vocabulary and Comprehension - https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-sos-with-experts/vocabulary-comprehension

• Please do not enter our car line from Main St. in the mornings or in the afternoons. Please use Yost St.
• Please do not check your child out between 1:45-2:25 so that we can have a safe and calm dismissal for students each day.
• Please always let us know in writing if there is a transportation change for your child.
• Please let us know by 12:30pm if you are changing your child's regular dismissal procedure.

Don't forget that our students, staff, and visitors have access to masks all day long. We have regular 3-ply masks and KN95 masks available. Masks are available in the front office, and we have reminders at hand-sanitizing stations that you can get a mask in the front office.

If a student requests a KN95 mask, we must have parent permission since it is considered a respirator. Parents must complete the Voluntary Respirator Use Form and sign and return. Here is a link to the form. If a student requests a KN95 mask, and we do not already have the form on file, we will email it to parent/guardians for you to sign.

Ingles:

As we start another school year, remember it's time to link your Ingles Advantage Card to Weaverville Elementary School. This must be done each year to ensure the benefits from your card will support our school! Ingles Tools for Schools makes a huge difference in our school. Thanks for your support.

https://www.ingles-markets.com/tools-for-schools-link

Other Ways to Support WvES While You Shop:

• Publix: www.plublix.com/partners
• Amazon Smiles: www.smile.amazon.com
• Box Tops: www.boxtops4education.com
• Harris Teeter - www.tie.harristeeter.com

The information below are parts of our Student & Families Handbook. It's important that our families know all the procedures and safety expectations. I'll leave these in our News from the Nest for a few weeks

ALL parents and visitors to campus must sign in at the office and obtain a visitor sticker (or a volunteer pass if applicable). Please note that you must sign in even if you are only visiting the cafeteria. Your cooperation in helping us to follow Central Office policy and ensuring the safety of all children is expected and appreciated.

If you have an appointment or scheduled time to be at school in the morning, and wish to walk in with your child, please still plan to follow the established procedure of coming to the office, signing the visitor registry, and obtaining a visitor tag.

Visitors will only be allowed to visit a classroom if the visitor has scheduled the visit with the teacher beforehand or if the visitor is a scheduled volunteer.

Students must be in attendance for more than half a day (11:30 a.m.) to be counted present for the day. On a two hour delay, the half day mark is considered 12:15. On a three hour delay, the half day mark is considered 12:45. Students arriving at school after 7:55 AM must report to the office and to sign in. Tardies will only be excused if accompanied by a medical (doctor or dentist) statement or if excused by the principal. These notes/statements should be presented to the office staff when signing in. Upon returning to school from an absence, students must bring their teacher a parent note or medical statement (doctor or dentist) giving the reason for the absence.

Our day starts promptly at 7:55 am. Please work together as a family to have your child arrive on time, with time to get settled in their classroom, and ready to learn at 7:55 am. If your child plans to eat breakfast at school, please do your best to have them arrive with time to eat before lessons begin at 7:55 am.

Check your child's grades, attendance, and more! Email powerschoolteam@bcsemail.org and our BCS staff will email you a link, login, and password for your account. If you email this week, please be patient as they respond to many requests, especially right before school starts.

You can also manage your contact information through parent portal.

Email Dawn.Flanigan-Bryson@bcsemail.org, WvES Data Manager, to check your Powerschool settings and contact information.

Safety is one of my top priorities, and I want to be very clear with all of our families about the ways we will keep our students safe on our campus. The following procedures and expectations are in place with safety in mind. Please support our staff and students in keeping our campus safe by following these expectations at all times.

• All visitors must check in each time with no exceptions. You'll get a badge to wear, and you must wear the badge at all times. If you do not have the badge on, our staff will politely ask if we can help you, so please be kind to staff in response.
• Visitors are only allowed to visit a classroom if they have a scheduled appointment with the teacher. We want to protect the instructional time of all students.
• All doors will remain locked at all times.
• Please do not enter the front door unless you have been buzzed in by an adult. It may seem easy to slip in with someone else who is being buzzed in, but please help us keep our safety practices in tact by following this simple request.
• If you are already inside the school, please do not open the front door for others. Please allow our office staff to safely screen each person entering the building.

Please follow this "Multi-visitor Entrance Procedure:"

1. If you have buzzed in and are being screened and you notice another visitor is arriving, please don't hold the door and allow anyone in without being screened first.
2. If the other visitor is 15 feet or less from the door, please buzz in and be screened together.
3. If the visitor is more than 15 feet from the door, please buzz in and ensure the door is closed completely after you enter.

We certainly want to encourage politeness, and we also want our visitors to understand that it is unsafe to hold doors and allow visitors in without being verified by front office staff first. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

School safety is the most important component of our day. We know we must balance safety with having a welcoming school building so that parents and community members can be part of our school. Please help us do this by honoring these safety protocols about entering our building.

Parents are invited to eat with their child in the cafeteria; however, as a courtesy to other students, we ask that you do not bring outside food such as fast food and/or sodas into the school cafeteria. Parents should arrive at school in time to get a visitor’s pass and report to the lunchroom hallway five minutes before the scheduled lunch time. Please always let the teacher know ahead of time if you plan to eat with your child.

Parents are invited to have lunch with their child at the end of September. Please wait for an announcement from the principal that parents/family can come to school to have lunch with their child.

A monthly menu will be posted in the classroom and the daily menu will be read during morning announcements. Occasionally there will be a menu change due to late deliveries or snow days.

You can find links to BCS menus here: https://www.buncombeschools.org/page/menus-and-pricing

Please note that any outside food brought in for special snacks or birthday treats cannot be consumed until the last student has been served lunch. This will be at approximately 12:30 PM. Should you desire to bring in a special snack for your child’s birthday or another event, please coordinate this with your child’s teacher so as not to conflict with our lunchroom policies. In addition, any food brought into the school to be shared with students must be store bought with ingredients listed. Please allow school staff to distribute snacks due to their knowledge and understanding of students’ allergies and dietary needs. Our school also encourages healthy snacks and choices. Please refer to the School Wellness section in this handbook for more information.

• Free/Reduced Lunch Application: www.lunchapplication.com
• Please do not check your child out between 1:55-2:55 so that we can have a safe and calm dismissal for students each day.
• Please always let us know in writing if there is a transportation change for your child.
• Please let us know by 1:00 pm if you are changing your child's regular dismissal procedure.

Phone: 828-645-3127

Address: 129 South Main St., Weaverville, NC 28787

Email:

Mary Nichols - Principal (Mary.nichols@bcsemail.org)

*Please email both office staff if you have a dismissal change.

Dawn Flanigan-Bryson - Data Manager (dawn.flanigan-bryson@bcsemail.org)

• attendance
• student information/records
• immunizations
• enrollment

Ashley Mendoza - Head Secretary (Ashley.mendoza@bcsemail.org)

• general inquiries
• money questions related to school
• bus questions