The first day of school is filled with excitement, nervousness and bit of anxiety. This is even more amplified as our students begin the school year at a new school! Please support your student for the first day by helping them know these TWO important things:

1. First Hour Teacher - This is the class students will begin each school day. Our staff will do a great job supporting students through transitioning from class to class and navigating their schedule, but we can use assistance getting them started on day one! Please help support our students by making sure they know their First Hour teacher. If you are unable to print their schedule, please have them write the name and room number of their First Hour teacher and bring it with them to school.
2. Transportation Home - We want to ensure our students get home properly. Please clearly communicate with your student if he or she will be a walker, a car rider, or a bus rider.

Residency verification is required for all ISD students, virtual and in-person. If you uploaded documents during the online registration process and received a confirmation email from the ISD, you do not need to bring those documents to the school. If you did not prove residency during registration, please bring the documentation listed below to the Chrisman office or email them to: wcbears@isdschools.org

In person residency verification continues each day from 8am to 3pm.

Acceptable residency verification must meet the following requirements:

An electric or gas bill from the current address (no more than 30 days old)

AND one of the following:

Copy of Mortgage Payment, Deed of Trust, or Housing Contract

Copy of Rental Agreement,

Copy of Lease Agreement,

Copy of Jackson County Paid Personal Property Tax Receipt

Families needing to renew their residency affidavit should do so at the Independence Admissions Office, located at 201 N. Forest Ave. You must have the residency affidavit, two required homeowner proofs of residency and the parent/guardian proof of residency at that address. They will assist you with verifying your documents and notarizing your affidavit document on a walk-in basis Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you have any questions, please call 816-521-5588.

https://www.isdschools.org/admissions/

Each year, we have a significant portion of our student population take advantage of our Independence School District Transportation. This is a great service to each of our families and we ask each of our parent's support in ensuring that our students meet riding expectations. We ask that our families please review the following expectations with their students prior to the first day of school.

• Follow the bus driver’s directions

• Provide full and correct name when requested by the driver

• Be at the bus stop five minutes before your assigned stop time

• Line up in a single line at the side of the road with no pushing or shoving

• Sit on your seat, not on knees or backpacks

• Keep the aisle clear. Keep hands feet and other items to yourself on the bus.

• No food, drinks, gum or candy on the bus

• Students are expected to help keep the bus clean and not destroy transportation equipment

• Damage resulting from misbehavior shall be paid for by the student

• Suspension from the bus will occur and continue until all damage is paid for

• Students will show consideration for other students and the bus driver

• No profanity or other abusive language. No physical or verbal bullying

• Students are required to board and exit the bus at their assigned stop

What: Back to School Dance

Date: August 21, 2023

Where: WCHS Atrium

Who: WCHS Students -- Must be present the first day to attend

Cost: $5.00 at the door

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 (rides must be present by 9:00 PM)

Additional Information

Students must be present on the first day of school to attend the dance. Students must wear the bracelet that was given to them at school this day.

This is a dance for WC in-person students only. Guests from other schools are not permitted.

A photographer from Strawbridge Studios will be at our school on 8/25/2023 to photograph students for school pictures.

This link will allow parents to sign up to receive updates via email regarding their child's school portraits. These updates include promotions, additional deals and the ability to order more pictures at a later time. When entering student information, parents should be sure to enter the student's name as it is on file at the school.

All students grades 9-12 will need to have their picture taken for PowerSchool, yearbook, and school ID purposes even if you choose not to purchase a portrait package from Strawbridge.

The Independence School District uses the MySchoolBucks payment system for school meals, activities, fees and obligations at www.MySchoolBucks.com. You can add your students using their school name and student ID. MySchoolBucks allows you to make payments for all of your students, even if they attend different schools within the district.

For cafeteria purchases, students will continue to use their student ID number. You can use MySchoolBucks to receive low balance alerts, set up automatic payments, and set daily/weekly spending limits. Cash and check payments will also be accepted at our schools in August. If your student has qualified for free or reduced meal prices, this information is noted in the system and the meal will be processed as it is for all other students.

Parking permits are required for parking on school property. The cost of a parking permit is $30.00 for the full year or $15.00 for the second semester only.

• Parking permits can be purchased in the "Student Store" section on www.MySchoolBucks.com
• A completed application must be submitted to the activities office before a permit will be issued. You can find the application here.

Please visit the ISD High School Student Handbook for all parking guidelines.

Student Medication:

Medication must be brought directly to the health office by a parent or guardian. All medication is kept in the health office and no medication will be dispensed without written parental permission, including over-the-counter medication. No medication of any kind may be carried by a student at school, on school transportation or at school sponsored activities. Students are not to carry or have in their locker any type of prescription, vitamin, over the-counter medication, pills, sugar pills, or anything resembling pills, drugs or medication.

ISD Student Illness Guidelines:

Please review the ISD guidelines regarding student illness and exemption from school.

ISD Illness Guidelines

There is an annual Activity Participation Fee for all MSHSAA sponsored activities for high school participants that is mandated by the Independence School Board. The activity participation fee is a required annual fee due for all students participating in MSHSAA related activities including sports, band, choir, orchestra, scholar bowl, forensics & debate, cheer, and dance. The activity participation fee must be paid prior to the first game or contest event. This fee includes a Student Activity Pass that can be used at all ISD home athletic games for the school year (student activity passes do not include entry to tournaments, districts, sectionals, play-off games, plays or productions). Appeals for reduction or waiver may be made with the athletic office.

*Please note -- Cheer, dance, band, choir, and orchestra may require additional fees.

Admission prices for regular-season home games are:

• $5 for adults

• $3 for students (K-12) – BACKPACKS ARE NOT ALLOWED
  * High school students are required to bring their School IDs;
  * Middle School students must be accompanied by a parent and have a School ID

• Senior Citizens (55+) are free to ISD games.
  * Please note, other school districts set their own Senior Citizen policies.

• ISD employees and 1 guest can get in free to conference games with their ISD badge.

Admission prices for away games and tournaments are set by the host school; and pricing for State playoff games are set by MSHSAA — no passes (including student activity passes or district ID badges) are allowed for these games.

Student Athletic Passes are available for purchase on MySchoolBucks.com for $25 and are good for regular season home games. Students participating in athletics/activities who have paid their activity participation fee will also receive an athletic pass.

Family Athletic Passes are available for purchase for $50. The family pass contains 20 punches which can be used at the card-holder’s discretion for in-district (Chrisman, Truman & Van Horn) home games. Passes are not valid for away games, at tournaments, post-season games or non-athletic activities (i.e. plays, musicals, etc).

William Chrisman is excited to have received Gold Recognition for the 5th year in a row for utilizing Positive Behavior Supports. Chrisman staff and students will utilize this matrix to clarify school expectations for all.

Important information related to dates for the 2023-2024 school year can be found here.

2023-2024 School Year Student Calendar

August 21: First Day of School (Monday)

August 24: Open House

August 25: School Pictures

August 28: School in Session (Monday)

Here is a list of the seven Mondays in session for the 2023-2024 school year.

August: 21, 28

November: 6, 20

January: 8

March: 25

May: 20

Days with No School to Schedule Appointments

One of the most important ways a family can support their student's growth and learning is to make sure they are in attendance each day at school. There is absolutely no substitute for the quality of learning that takes place in a classroom led by an expert teacher with peers to collaborate with and share in the learning. There are many unpredictable events in life that can result in missing school, from simple sickness to family emergencies. It is important for our students' learning to make sure that for those events that are within our control, we are planning in ways that keep their attendance high and without interruption.

As a way to partner with families and help them with careful planning, here are the days that students are out of session for the 2023-2024 school year:

September: 4, 11, 18, 25

October: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

November: 7, 13, 27

December: 4, 1, 18, 25-29

January: 1, 2, 3, 15, 22, 29

February: 5, 12, 19, 26

March: 4, 11*, 18, 29

April: 1, 8*, 15, 22, 29*

May: 6, 13, 23*, 24*

*Potential make-up days for inclement weather