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!
