The Wolf Howl

There is no other day like the First Day of School in the life of a school! It happens only once a year and after months of planning and preparation. No matter how many first days you have been through, the excitement flows on the First Day of School like on no other day of the year. This is true for students as it is for teachers and all those in the school who support the work of the classroom. We can't wait to have students back with us next week!

I would like to encourage all of our families to follow us on Twitter to get a glimpse of what is happening in our classrooms as we tweet throughout the day @WRMSWolves. Our Facebook page will also have news and updates. Our website is the hub of our communication and has all of our information on it.

I am only a phone call or email away if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

All the best,

Chris Brooks

cbrooks@reyn.org

(614) 501-5601

Please print and complete the EMA and bring to Wolf Walkthrough! Copies will be available at Wolf Walkthrough as well.

Parents and students are invited to come into the school and walk their schedule before the first day of school. You may also bring in the completed EMA form or complete one while you are there. We will also have the school picture order form available. The school and classrooms will not be completely ready for the first day, but this is a non-stress, at your own pace way to become familiar with the school!

There is no set agenda for the Wolf Walkthrough. Come in and tour at your leisure!

Walkthrough times are:

Friday, August 10 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Monday, August 13 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm

We anticipate student schedules to be available on PowerSchool by Friday, August 10. I will email our parents when schedules are live and include PowerSchool log-in instructions. Paper copies of schedules will also be available during the Wolf Walkthrough times. Students will receive a fresh copy of their schedule on their first Staggered Start day.

We will have a staggered start in order to allow students to transition smoothly into the new school year.

• ONLY 5th Grade students will attend school on Thursday, August 16
  
• ONLY 6th Grade students will attend school on Friday, August 17

ALL students will report to school on Monday, August 20

Mark your calendars for Thursday, August 23 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm for the WRMS Meet the Teaching Team Night. At this event, parents will have a chance to meet with and hear in more detail from your child’s teachers about the goals and expectations for this school year.

Bus route information is now available on the Transportation page as well as attached below.

Reynoldsburg City Schools is in its third year where families can apply on-line for your children to receive free and reduced price school meals. Your application will be sent from a secure website directly to Reynoldsburg City Schools. Your personal information remains confidential and secure. Once your application has been received, the district office will determine your eligibility and will send you a letter with the results within 7 business days.

The online application has been designed to make it easy for you to know exactly what information you will need to guide you through the process. The online application must be completed on a laptop or desktop computer. The online application is not mobile friendly.

TO APPLY: Simply go to www.mealapplication.reyn.org. You will have to click the Register link. Once your account is set up, you will need to know the six-digit Student ID number for each child on the application. This ID number is found in Power School under your parent portal log-in. Additionally, many of the students know their ID number and may be able to provide that to you. If you are unable to locate this ID number through one of the methods listed or have any questions about the application process, please feel free to call Carla Smetzer is the Food Service office at 614-501-1211.

Pictures will be on August 20. Forms will be available during Wolf Walkthrough and the first days of school. You may order online at shop.hrimaging.com.

The arrival and dismissal procedures at Waggoner Campus are designed to keep everyone safe. It does become congested on our campus with over 20 busses arriving and with the large number of car riders. PLEASE BE PATIENT AND DRIVE SLOW!!

Please see the map below for instructions.

It is very important that cars dropping off students at WRMS be sure to pull all the way forward in the student drop-off zone. Students are not to be dropped off in the curve in front of the front school entrance. This creates a back-up in the car line AND narrows the space that busses have to pull through.

Please remember that all car traffic is stopped on the campus as bus riders cross the crosswalks to the busses as well as when busses begin to depart.

Our school day is 9:20 am - 3:50 pm.

Students eating breakfast may enter the school at 8:55 am.

Bus riders, car riders and walkers/bikes will begin lining up at their designated location (they will learn that location on the first day!). Teachers will greet students and bring them into the school at 9:05 am.

Our school calendar has been added on our webpage at WRMS Webpage. The calendar is at the bottom of the page. Upcoming events will also be listed at the bottom of each week's Wolf Howl.

Here are some reminders about lunch at WRMS:

• Free & Reduced Lunch: You must apply each year and lunch costs $2.75 until you receive approval for your application. You may apply online at the link below.
  
• Lunch is $2.75.
  
• Menus can be found at the link below. There have been some updates and they look yummy!
  
• You can load money onto your student's account at the link below.
  
• If students pack their lunch, they can put their lunch in their Wolf Pack's lunch tub so they don't have to carry it with them all day.
  
• If you send cash to school for lunch money, please put it in an envelope or plastic baggie with the student's first and last name.
  
• Breakfast is available beginning at 8:55. The cost is $1.00.
  

Please visit RCS's Food Services' website at http://www.reyn.org/breakfastlunch5187.aspx

Our school uses a learning management system called Canvas. Each teacher will have a classroom page on Canvas that will house the classroom calendar of assignment due dates, test/quiz dates and other important information.

All classroom resources will be posted on Canvas. Each student and parent will have an account on Canvas. We will begin distributing account information after school has begun.

Watch for parent Canvas training dates to come soon!

Each student will receive a cubby in their Wolf Pack for his/her books and supplies and a hook to hang their coat. Students are to occupy ONLY the cubby assigned to them. Please help us reiterate that students may not share cubbies.

To promote school safety and provide a healthy and respectful educational environment, all students shall adhere to our dress code. The objective is to provide an appropriate, safe and respectful educational environment while allowing students to dress comfortably, within limits, to facilitate learning.

The District expects students to maintain the type of appearance that is not distracting to students, teachers or the educational process of the schools. The final determination of a student’s adherence to the dress code will be made by the school administration.
Parents/guardians share equal responsibility with their child for the student’s adherence to the dress code policy.

The dress code policy can be found at: http://www.reyn.org/RaiderWear.aspx and it is also attached below.

Waggoner Middle and Waggoner Junior currently have one PTO as the Waggoner Campus. We will be in a transition this year to separate back into each school's own PTO to begin the 2019-2020 school year.

We are in need of a co-vice president and also a secretary!

Our PTO has functioned well but we are interested in going to the next level! If you are interested in helping out, please email me at cbrooks@reyn.org!

If your student needs to take prescription medication or it's necessary for your child to receive non-prescription medication during the school day, please see the Medication Forms page of the district website for more information and to find the forms needed. We will have hard copies in the school office as well.

http://www.reyn.org/MedicationForms1.aspx

Our school is team-based and using National Parks as our theme! Your student will be on one of six teams; Glacier, Denali, Everglades, Rainier, Olympic, and Sequoia. We begin each day in Wolf Packs. For 5th graders, this Wolf Pack travels together for the day to their classes. Then in 6th grade, students begin to change classes throughout the day according to their own schedule. This begins to prepare them for junior high.

Why is WRMS on teams?

We organize in teams at the middle level to foster purposeful learning and to encourage opportunities to build meaningful relationships through smaller learning communities. The team teachers get to know their students really well!

How are team placements created?

The teams are created to to ensure that each team is balanced to reflect the rich diversity of our student body while also balancing class sizes. Initially, a student team placement can create some excitement, some anxiety or maybe disappointment if a friend isn't on the same team. We have found that each student quickly develops a sense of "group identity" with his/her team.

Are all activities team based?

We also include many whole-grade and whole-school activities for students to interact with students from other teams throughout the year.

We will tweet daily with pictures and information about what learning that is happening in our classrooms! Please follow us to to see what is happening at school!

https://twitter.com/WRMSWolves

Another way to stay informed is our Facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/reynWRMS/. Like us!

August 10

• Wolf Walkthrough, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

August 13

• Wolf Walkthrough, 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm

August 16

• 5th Grade First Day of School

August 17

• 6th Grade First Day of School

August 20

• All Students Attend
• Picture Day

August 23

• Meet the Teacher Night, 6:30 - 8:00 pm

August 24

• Raider Spirit Day!

August 31

• OSU and College Spirit Day!

September 3

• No School - Labor Day

At WRMS, we take pride in our engaged, collaborative learning community to empower all students to be learners today and leaders tomorrow.

Chris Brooks, Principal

Office: (614) 501-5601, Cell: (614) 636-2404

Katie Snyder, Assistant Principal

Office: (614) 501-5602, Cell: (614) 434-6599

Stephanie Young, Student Support Specialist

Office: (614) 501-5616

Miranda Wallace, Secretary

Office: (614) 501-5600

Email: cbrooks@reyn.org
Website: www.reyn.org
Location: 340 Waggoner Road, Reynoldsburg, OH, United States
Phone: (614) 501-5600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Waggoner-Road-Middle-School-481957861823398/
Twitter: @WRMSWolves