Wheeling Elementary

Greetings Wheeling Families,

Wheeling is off to a good start for the 2008-09 school year. Many exciting things are going on. We have opened the C-Wing Building (formerly Quest) which now houses our third and fourth grade classes. We welcome over 100 new families to Wheeling and 7 new teachers. I ask all of the Wheeling family to keep safety as our number one priority. With an increase of almost 150 students, we must all do our part to keep each and every student safe. Please be sure to follow the appropriate drop-off and pick-up procedures. We ask all parents picking up students to park along Alaska Pl. Our staff members are helping them to the crosswalk, and we ask all children and adults to cross at the crosswalks.

We also welcome our new pre-school students. There are two sessions: 8-10:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Each student must be signed in and signed out with the pre-school facilitator.

As we enter the second month of school, I’d like to remind you of ways you can support your child:

• Read to your child daily; have them read to you.
• Establish high standards for your students. Know the teachers’ expectations and support them at home.
• Check to be sure homework is being completed. Communicate with the teacher often.
• Attendance at school is critical. Be sure your student is here and on time.

Once again, I would like to encourage all families to become involved in your child’s education at Wheeling. See our newsletter and our website for upcoming events. We had a great turnout at Back to School Night. All participating families should have received the Parent Compact and we ask you that you return the signature page to your child’s teacher.

Our staff has been working hard setting goals for our School Improvement Plan. I invite everyone to attend the PTO / Accountability Meeting which will be on Monday, Sep. 8, at 6:15 p.m. We will be reviewing our plan and asking for your input.

With a new school year comes new challenges. I hope your have all had the opportunity to read Mr. Barry’s challenges. He has challenged each student to read 25 books this year. His challenge to parents is to volunteer 20 hours at your child’s school. We encourage and invite parents to become actively involved at Wheeling.

Other news to know:
We continue to pursue authorization of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Progra. See the IB Coordinator’s Corner in the Sep. newsletter for updates.

You may have heard discussion around a new gym for Wheeling. Yes, this will become a reality if the bond passes in the election in November.

Jan Lotter
Principal