Whelan Weekend Update

January 27, 2023

Friday, January 27, 2023

*Remember, this “Smore” platform offers readers the ability to choose languages to translate the content into! (Here’s how to do that on a computer, and here's how to do it on your phone!)*

Arrival Reminders!

While we LOVE seeing so many students waiting eagerly for the doors to open in the morning, we do need to remind you all that we DO NOT have staff available to monitor students before 8:20. Students who arrive before that are expected to wait calmly - it is not safe for kids to be playing around our entrances at that time, and we would appreciate your help in reinforcing that expectation. Thank you!

Dismissal Parking

We have had a number of Dismissals the past couple weeks where cars have double-parked, blocking both the visitor spots in front of the Kindergarten Playground and any emergency access to our Front Circle. THIS CANNOT HAPPEN. Caregivers who are driving to school to meet children at their Dismissal Door must park either on Newhall & Sargent Streets OR in a legal parking spot in our Front or Back lots. (There are often open spots in the back lot at our Dismissal time because many SBA staff leave after their students are dismissed.)

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January All School Morning Meeting!

We held our January All School Morning Meeting over Zoom on Wednesday - it ended with what was quite possibly the best Zoom Dance Party we've seen this year, by the way!

This month's theme is "Being Responsible," and in Wednesday's meeting:

Mr. Stanley and Ms. Shanley shared updates about our school-wide Lexia and ST Math progress
Ms. Paone - our December Staff Spout-Out recipient - announced our January Staff Spout-Out winner (???)
We watched a video about Responsibility
Mr. Pelletier read the book "A Little Spot of Responsibility"
We announced our FIRST Student Spout-Out winners!

Whelan Core Values

Next Friday's Weekend Update will include a survey for families to help us identify the Core Values that we feel are most important for learners here at Whelan to develop while they are here with us. The goal is to create a short, concrete list of the Core Values - that fit into the phrase: "Learners at Whelan are ___________" - that frame everything our Community of Learners does here at Whelan.

The survey will simply ask you to choose 6 Values from a list, and we hope ALL of you will participate and share your thoughts!!!

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Winter Concert & Art Show Reminder!

We're excited to welcome families in to school for our Whelan Winter Concerts AND Art Shows! The Concerts will take place in the Auditorium, and student Art will be displayed in the Lobby and Cafeteria for families to see before and after attending your children's concerts.

WEDNESDAY, February 8th - Grades K & 1

9:00 - Kindergarten
9:30 - Grade 1

THURSDAY, February 9th - Grades 2, 3 & 4

9:00 - Grade 2
9:30 - Grade 3
10:00 - Grade 4

Grade 5 will have a more comprehensive Concert and Art Show connected to their Moving-On ceremony in the Spring!

Whelan PTA Updates!

Thursday, February 16th - PTA Bingo Night!

We have started planning for our first Whelan PTA Bingo Event, which will take place on Thursday, February 16th from 5-7pm in our cafeteria! We'll share more info as that date gets closer, but please be sure to put it in your calendars!

Whelan PTA Amazon Smile

If you have an Amazon Account that you use to shop, you can use this link to connect your account to the Whelan PTA through Amazon Smile - Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to our PTA!

Whelan January Calendar!

Check it out here!

Whelan Uniform Ordering

Old School Apparel has updated their Whelan Uniform options with our new Logo - please check out the uniform options they have available for order through their website.

We are also working with Old School Apparel to add a "Spirit Wear" section to their Whelan-specific online shop - stay tuned for more information about what that could look like!