Monday, November 18, 2013

Updates 11/18/13


Wonderful World of Wiley Updates
Snowflake Gift Drive
As in years past, Wiley will be providing assistance so that all Wiley students may enjoy the holiday season.  Through the Snowflake Student Gift Drive, toys or gift cards will be collected for Wiley students who would benefit from a holiday giving program. We think this will be a fun and meaningful way to help others in our Wiley community, so we hope you (and your child) will be able to participate.

If you would like to help with this effort, please:
  1. Come by the main office between Wednesday, November 20 and Friday, Dec. 6 to select a special snowflake. Each snowflake will contain information about what to buy for a student (based upon receiving parent’s preference).
  2. Buy the gift(s) or gift card.
  3. Wrap your gifts (include gift receipts if possible) and put a note on the outside of the package listing the item(s) inside.  Return them to the main office  December 6 - 10 (at drop off or pick up time) with your snowflake attached.
A couple of notes:
*Students will need a parent with them in order to take a snowflake.
*The snowflakes will not have actual students’ names on them (to protect confidentiality) but instead will have a number and Ms. Williams will have the “key.”
*There will be a sign-out sheet so that we know who has signed up for which child.

Requests from families are high this year.  
Thank you so much for helping with this worthwhile project!  

Upcoming Important Dates
Piccola Italia & Ten Thousand Village Night, Nov. 19th (% of sales go to PTA)
Digital Learning PTA Night, Nov. 21, 7:00pm
Fall Make-Up Pictures, Nov. 25
Thanksgiving Holiday, Nov. 27-29
Winter Food Drive begins Dec. 2
Preliminary Spelling Bee Test, Dec. 4 (only for students who have entered)
PTA Executive Board Meeting, Dec. 5 6:30pm
Wiley Band Holiday Concert, Dec. 12, 7:00pm
Winter Break, Dec. 23-Jan. 1

Wiley PTA Updates


Join in supporting our teachers through the Phantom Fundraiser

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I know you are reflecting on how fortunate you are to be a part of the Wiley community. We have low teacher turnover (even with frozen salaries and increasing work demands, great results from testing with every grade level exceeding national expectations for progress, and fabulous, international cultural arts events throughout the year. You, grandparents, aunts and uncles may be wondering how you can support Wiley and these achievements. You can do so by donating to Phantom. Phantom supports teacher grants, cultural arts events, the talent show, international night and teacher thanks among many other items at the school.

Here's what your donation can cover:
·         $15 covers the cost for one child to attend PTA events (cultural arts, international night, talent show) during the year
·         $50 covers 1/3 of the cost of running the talent show
·         $75 covers the cost of eight students to attend cultural arts performances during the year like Wire Man and Hobey Ford Puppets
·         $100 covers a portion of a teacher grant for training or new programs in their classroom
·         $150 covers half of a teacher appreciation event like winter thanks
·         $250 supports a supply grant for one teacher so that our teachers can afford items like new books, technology subscriptions and basic classroom supplies without using their own money.

Full- or half-sponsorships of cultural arts events are also an option. If you would like to be a named sponsor for one of the upcoming events, reach out to vp.waysandmeans@wileypta.org to discuss the required donation.

The Phantom is currently our only major fundraiser--it allows Wiley teachers additional resources / allows students who otherwise might not be exposed to cultural events to experience them at school. Please donate or consider an additional donation to push us closer to our goal.

To donate, send a check or cash in your child's folder. Write checks to "Wiley PTA" and put "Phantom Fundraiser" in the subject line. If you'd prefer to pay by credit card, you can do so via PayPal: http://tinyurl.com/WileyPhantom
Contact Phantom Co-Chair Heather Davis Bauer:phantom@wileypta.org with any questions.

Wiley Wear Store Open Friday!
It's time to order your fall Wiley Wear!  Check out our new Wiley Logo, cool tie dye shirts, great quality hoodies and long sleeve t-shirts brought to you by BaySix.   We have lots of color choices and are even offering the Wiley name in silver sparkles (yes, I said SPARKLES)!!!  There is something for everyone on your holiday list.  A portion of the sales goes to the Wiley PTA. 

The Wiley Wear store will be open on Friday, November 22nd, outside the media center from 8:45 - 9:30 am.  Come visit to place your order or to check out sizes. You can also print a copy of the attached order form and return it with a check or cash to your child’s teacher.

Draft Wiley Directory
The draft 2013-2014 Wiley Family Electronic Directory is attached for your review.  Please review your child’s information and verify that it is correct.  If you child’s information is missing and you’d like to be included in the printed version please complete the online survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WileyDirectoryInputForm.

If you need to make corrections please send an email to directory@wileypta.org 

Just a friendly reminder that the information in this directory is confidential and for Wiley Use Only.  The information is NOT to be shared with third parties or used to solicit anyone in our Wiley community. Our parents trust us with their personal information, and we honor that privacy.

District 6 Board Advisory Council Updates   
The District 6 BAC met on November 7 for what turned out to be a very  
informative meeting.  Here are some highlights:

1.  The School Board will be focusing on grading in the new year. They anticipate parents will have a lot to say once they receive the report cards.  Christine Kushner, our Board rep, has asked parents to send her their comments to help guide the Board's discussion (ckushner@wcpss.net).  Alternatively, send any comments to me and I will collate them and get them to Christine.

2.  Jim Merrill, our new superintendent, spoke to us about his priorities for the upcoming years. He is working on developing a community-based strategic plan and envisions the following priorities:
a) K-2 readiness:  ensuring these children have the foundation they  
need to succeed throughout their school career
b)  improved high school graduation rates
c)  provision of tools/support to help teachers with the Common Core

3.  Finally, we learned about Powerschool, the state's new education software program. Despite its promise, the implementation is proving challenging.  Bugs in the software are keeping many teachers from entering grades in the system as required, hence the delay in report cards.  My takeaway, be patient and let's all SUPPORT our teachers through this.

Let me know if you have any questions,

Meredith Nelson advocacy@wileypta.org