Updates 2/25/13

Updates 2/25/13

There are a lot of good things going on the spring! Check out some of it here:

Kudos to our Team 
This past Saturday, a team of 4 Wiley students participated in the African American History Quiz Bowl at East Millbrook Middle School. They were challenged in buzzer beater questioning and completed a timed written test. The competition was tight and our team did awesome! Way to go Noah, Phoenix, Ekartha, and Sam! Additionally, I would like to recognize two Wiley parents that were involved in the Quiz Bowl. Dwight Coleman was the event organizer and Jessica Whitaker presented the Living Legend award!

National Magnet Recognition
Congratulations to the entire Wiley community on our National Magnet School of Excellence Award. This award is given to the top magnet schools in the country and puts us in the running for the very best magnet school! That award will be given in May in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This award is not possible without continuous dedication from teachers, kids, parents, and the community. To each of you, THANK YOU for making this award happen for Wiley International Magnet Elementary School!

Gotta Keep Readin’! Is THIS week!!!

March 1^st is Read Across America Day! We have many fun events planned for this day to get Wiley students excited about reading. Please send your child to school that day dressed as his or her favorite book character. The Wiley staff will also be dressed as their favorite book character!

March 1^st is also the kick-off day for Wiley’s 2013 reading incentive program called Gotta Keep Readin’! Students grades K-5 are invited to participate in the Gotta Keep Readin’ program, and each grade level has its own age-appropriate goal. The program offers students fifteen different reading activities to choose from in their afterschool time. Each time students engage in an activity, they record their time spent and have an adult initial their sheet. In this way, students work toward their time goals. Students can give their completed reading logs to Ms. Molloy on or before April 12. If they complete their time goal, they will be invited to attend a Library Party! Ms. McMahon attached the reading log and the activity board to her Monday email this week. You can also download these forms from Ms. Molloy and Ms. Brownell’s websites: Ms. Molloy's Website and

Mrs. Brownell's Website

Ms. Molloy will have hard copies of these forms in the media center, as well. We hope you will encourage your child to participate in Read Across America Day and Gotta Keep Readin’. If you have questions, please contact Ms. Molloy or Mrs. Brownell.

Spring Pictures 

Spring individual and Class Pictures are coming up March 13. Ordering information will come home today in the Monday folder.

Running Club 

Running Club is back for its spring season! 

Practice Dates are 4:00pm to 5:00pm on Thursdays March 7th , March 21st, April 11th, April 25th, May 9th, and May 23rd. The members (and any other runners in the Wiley community) are invited to run in the Run for Our Heroes race. 

Run for Our Heroes 5K 

Saturday April 27th 

http://runforourheroes.org/

Science and Curriculum Night is coming!

The Wiley PTA and Staff have combined efforts to plan an awesome interactive, family focused night to explore science, math, reading, and writing. There will be local scientists, the YMCA, and Wiley teachers with hands-on activities for kids and parents alike! Save the date for March 26, 6pm to 7:30pm. We are looking forward to learning through doing with you!

PTA Healthy Lifestyles Committee Update

The PTA Healthy Lifestyles Committee is exploring the possibility of beginning a tasting garden at Wiley. We are looking for Wiley community members who might be interested in helping with such a project.  Advocates for Health in Action will hold a seminar at Marbles Museum on March 9 from 8:30-1:00 entitled "Dig In:  Weaving Edible Landscapes--Community Gardens and Urban Ag--Into the Fabric of Our Community."  Kristine Flora of the Healthy Lifestyles Committee will be attending this seminar. Please let her know if you would like to join her, or if you are not able to attend but are interested in the possibility of creating a garden at Wiley.  Kristine's email is krisflora@yahoo.com.  You can visit http://www.advocatesforhealthinaction.org/eat-healthy/community-gardens/dig-in/  to learn more about the seminar.

Dr. Cecconi-Roberts Website
Dr. Cecconi-Roberts, Wiley's Academically-Intellectually Gifted teacher, has posted a Blackboard website for parents and students. It can be found HERE. 

Upcoming Events
Now through March 8: Books Are Magic book drive
March 8: Chuck Davis and the African American Dance Ensemble artist in residence day 
March 13: Spring Pictures
March 15: Early Release
March 26: Family Curriculum Night
March 28-April 5: Spring Break

Have a great week!!

Updates 2/19/13

Updates 2/19/13

Gotta Keep Readin’!

March 1^st is Read Across America Day! We have many fun events planned for this day to get Wiley students excited about reading:

·        Students can come to school that day dressed as their favorite book character

·        The entire school will “stop, drop & read” from 9:15-9:30 am

·        The Cat in the Hat will visit classrooms and give out prizes

March 1^st is also the kick-off day for Wiley’s 2013 reading incentive program called Gotta Keep Readin’! Students grades K-5 are invited to participate in the Gotta Keep Readin’ program, and each grade level will have its own age-appropriate goal. The program offers students fifteen different reading activities to choose from in their afterschool time. We will send out the activity log next Monday so you can get an idea of how it will work. Each time students engage in an activity, they record their time spent and have an adult initial their sheet. In this way, students work toward their time goals. Students can give their completed time logs to the school librarian on or before April 12. If they complete their time goal, they will be invited to attend a Library Party! We hope you will encourage your child to participate in Read Across America Day and Gotta Keep Readin’, and we will be sending out more information soon. If you have questions at that time, please contact Ms. Molloy or Mrs. Brownell. -Info provided by Ms. Molloy and Mrs. Brownell

Books Are Magic Donations Needed

Keep the book donations coming! We had a great start and need to keep up the trend. Please donate gently used books to the containers outside the office. All books will go to Wiley kids and extras to other local children.

Pull, not Push

Monday, I presented a seminar on Global Education at Meredith College. I shared this TED Talk to emphasize that global education is about skills and attitudes of global thinkers. At Wiley, we work to build these traits through our global matrix. You may remember its elements are: Investigate the World, Recognize Perspectives, Communicate Ideas, and Take Action. Can you find these in the TED Talk?

Updates 2/11/13

Updates 2/11/13

Talent, Talent, Talent!
The best description of Thursday night's talent show is exceptional. Wiley kids never cease to amaze me each day with their perseverance, creativity, and enthusiasm. The Talent Show is a fascinating look into their courage, determination, and artistic gifts! This year was absolutely no different! The students shined! We could not have had the show without the following parents: Scott Andrews, Tom Hubschman, Tonya Debnam, and Dawson Roark. Thank you for your dedication to Wiley.

Also, don't forget to bookmark www.wileypta.org for frequent updates and pictures published by the PTA, including from the Talent Show!

Lockdown Drill Update
Friday's lockdown drill went very well. The security staff that helped conduct it were very positive with feedback on how effectively the students and staff followed procedure. The next drill will not be announced in advance.

Early Release and Teacher Workday
This coming Friday, February 15th is our Early Release with a 1:15pm dismissal. The following Monday, February 18th is a Teacher Workday with no school for students.

Books Are Magic Donations Start Today
Donate you gently loved books starting today. There will be collection boxes outside the office.

Updates 2/4/13

Updates 2/4/13

Good morning, Wiley Family!
As I logged in to post this week's blog, we had our 7,000th page view!! Thanks for checking in with the Wiley World.

It's Spirit Week
Don't forget that this week is Spirit Week.
Monday is Dress for Success Day
Tuesday is Hat Day
Wednesday is Crazy Mis-Match Day
Thursday is Pajama Day and the Annual Talent Show
Friday is Wiley Wear Day

Books Are Magic Drive
Next week begins our second Books Are Magic book drive. Last year more than 60 Wiley kids received 12 new and slightly used books each. My office was redesigned as a Wiley book store and the students came in to 'shop' for any books they wanted after their teachers had also shopped for them. The shopping days were two of the most joyful days of my career. Watching Wiley families share the world through books with joyous Wiley kids was powerful for all involved. Please go through your home, find those books, and donate beginning next Monday, the 11th.

From Kathy Foglia and Lea Roark, the Wiley parent coordinators for Books Are Magic:

We are excited to partner with Books Are Magic again this year for a book drive here at Wiley! We will be collecting gently used books in the bins in front of the office between Feb. 11 and March 8. Please see the attached flyer for more details. If you have any questions about this drive, please contact Kathy Foglia at kathyfoglia@nc.rr.com or Lea Roark at lea@713communications.com.

Parent Support for Safety Procedures
(Repeat Post) Ensuring safety of all students and staff at Wiley is an obvious, but critical task. We cannot do that without your help. While we have clear expectations and procedures for staff and students, we also have them for campus visitors-including you as a parent. Please note the following expectations with which we need your help:
-Always sign in at the office and wear your Visitor Sticker while you are on campus. This includes when you come for lunch. Please understand that staff will remind you of this procedure and they are following expectations of them.
-If you walk your student in at arrival and plan to stay to volunteer, sign in in the office.
-During the morning hours, remain outside until the 8:45am bell unless you are there for a scheduled conference with a staff member. We cannot provide adequate supervision before 8:45am, so please do not drop students off prior to this time (5th grade Safety Patrol members can arrive at 8:40am).
-Always enter the building at the main (back) office door or ring the bell at the front door. Do not knock or encourage staff or students to open a locked door for you.
-Follow staff direction and procedures at dismissal, even when you are in a hurry. We know you may be inconvenienced, but we are responsible for accurate dismissal of all students. Your need may interfere with another child's dismissal and that could impede safety. Staff have a variety of custodial-parent guidelines to remember, student needs, changes to routine, etc. to think about during dismissal. It is extremely helpful and safe when you follow procedure. This includes: do not pick up students by walking up to the carpool hallway and use the only Wiley designated dismissal types/locations (carpool, walkers, YMCA).
-Alert staff if you notice anything out of the ordinary.

National Digital Learning Day
Wiley students will be participating in Digital Learning Day on Wednesday, February 6th.  This is a nationally recognized day and schools across North Carolina and all over the US will be participating. Digital Learning Day started with the Alliance for Excellent Education led by Bob Wise, former Governor of West Virginia.  NCPDI, NCTIES, and NCSLMA are partnering together to participate in this effort.  NCDPI states "this national campaign is designed to celebrate innovative teaching and highlight practices that make learning more personalized and engaging for students and explore how digital learning can provide all students with the opportunities they deserve – to build the skills needed to succeed in college, career, and life. Through this campaign, we hope to build momentum for a wave of innovation that changes policies, shifts attitudes, and supports wide-scale adoption of these promising instructional practices." As a parent, you are welcome to participate by logging on to the Digital Learning Day parent site.  It provides suggestions and videos on how to spread the word and talk to your child. You can take a quiz to see where you stand in protecting your child online. Additionally, you can offer to share how technology has impacted your career with your child or your child's classroom.  Email your child's teacher if you are interested.  Finally, if you have a twitter account, we encourage you to follow the national recognition by using hashtag #DLDay or following Twitter user @DLDay2013. (written by Mrs. Sadie Hoover, Wiley's Technology Facilitator)

Upcoming Dates
Week of February 4: Wiley Spirit Week
February 7: Talent Show, 6pm
February 8: Lockdown Drill (see last week's blog post for more information)
February 11: Books Are Magic Book Drive Begins
February 15: Early Release Day, 1:15 dismissal
February 18: Teacher Workday, No School for Students

Have a great week! We'll see you at the Talent Show!