December 21, 2023

December 22 - January 5

The staff at Wacousta wishes everyone a joyful and restful holiday season.  We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday, January 8th.  Be Safe, Be Kind.  See everyone in 2024!

The Student Council had another fantastic success with it's Giving Tree project.  Thank you to everyone who supported this effort.  The Student Council adopted a family and created a Giving Tree with items needed to fill the missing parts and pieces for the family to enjoy a holiday celebration.  From food items to share a holiday meal, to personalized gifts for the family members, all of the Giving Tree items were donated thanks to your generosity.  Bravo students and families who supported this effort!!

There were plenty of classroom projects, special visitors, music, classroom parties, giving projects, and "last times" for celebrating the end of the year.  We had Grinch Day, Cozy Feet Day, Christmas Clothing Day, Pajama Day.  There was a sing-a-long in the morning on Wednesday in the gym, followed by the Beagle Middle School Choir that came in the afternoon and sang songs in each classroom.  Wacousta Alumni from the Middle School Choir payed a special visit to Mrs. Fox's room.  The classrooms and halls were filled with decorations.  Each classroom teacher had a party with parent participation.  Oh, it's been a joyous week for everyone.  BUT, during the a.m. sing-a-long Mr. Groves also notified all of the students that this year was the last sing-a-long in the gym in the current school building.  AND, that it was the last sing-a-long for four of our beloved staff members: Chris Chapman, TA, Karen Bedard, 1st Gr. Teacher, Laurie Rademacher, Food Coordinator, and Mrs. Zerbe, our fearless and relentless Secretary.  There were smiles and tears around the gym at this realization.  Time will be marching into the New Year while we are on break, and we will continue to march towards entering our new building, and the impending changes next year.  Take care of yourselves over the holiday season, stay safe, stay healthy.  ~From the Wacousta Elementary Staff

We have student's getting dropped off in the morning before we have staff available to supervise them.   Student safety is our number one priority.  Students may not be dropped off prior to 8:40 a.m. when we can accommodate supervision each day.

Thank you to everyone who volunteers for our lunch time help!  You are so greatly appreciated during this busy time of the day.  If you haven't had a chance to volunteer previously, we are still in great need of support each day.  Please consider donating a few hours of time.  You can sign-up using this link.  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084DAEA629A4F85-lunch#/

Please continue to collect Box Tops for Education! This program is completely online now. To get the app please go to www.Boxtops4education.com

You can follow the Wacousta Elementary School PTIA on Facebook and email us at ptiawacousta@gmail.com

When calling in for any of the following reasons please identify your student by first and last name, grade, and teacher.

School Arrival:  Students may not be dropped off prior to 8:40 a.m. since we do not have supervision available. If your student will be getting breakfast it is important that they arrive at the drop off time and go directly to the cafeteria.  Arriving late, makes them late for class start time at 9:00.

School Dismissal:  School ends at 3:55 p.m.  All students should be picked up no later than 4:05 p.m. If you are picking up your child at the end of the day and want to meet them at parent pick up, please do not get in the parent pick up line.  We ask that you park in a parking spot and walk to meet your child.  ALSO, PLEASE DO NOT GO PAST THE CONES TO COLLECT YOUR CHILD.  WE HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE STUDENTS.  If you remain in your vehicle, please continue to move up in line and we'll get your student(s) to you. ~Thank you very much for your cooperation!

Half-day dismissal:  Is at 12:10 p.m.

Late Arrivals:  If you know your child is going to be arriving late, please call or email the school office to let us know.  It is also helpful to let us know if they need a school lunch and which option they'd prefer.  We'll make sure to get that ordered for them.

Parent Pick-Up:  If you are planning to  pick-up your child after school, or change from parent pick-up to riding the bus, please call the school office no later than 2:30 p.m.  We distribute the pick-up list to teachers and staff at this time and are unable to accommodate last minute changes.

Absences:  If your student will be absent or becomes ill and cannot attend school, please call the office and let us know your students name, teacher, reason for absence and symptoms if ill.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Illness Reminder: We ask that your child be 24 hours free of fever, vomiting or diarrhea before you send them back to school after they have been out sick.  We appreciate your cooperation with this!

To report a positive Covid case, please complete the Covid Reporting Form.

All medication needs to be brought to school by a parent/guardian.  This includes all over the counter medication (cough drops, Tylenol, etc).  Prescription and over the counter medications require a doctors order for the school to administer them, that includes creams or lotions. You will find medication documents at this link: medication and health information Click on School Health Information and Forms.

Due to the number of life-threatening allergies we have in our building, we respectfully request that you do not send in any type of food for birthday treats.  Mr. Groves celebrates each child by announcing their name during the morning announcements and he personally presents them with a birthday pencil.

If you so choose, you are welcome to bring in a non-edible treat for your child's classmates but they may not include any type of gum or candy.  Some parents choose to send in something small like a pencil or stickers, but that is up to each family.  It is definitely your choice and we understand that not all families are able to do something like this.

We also request that you do not send birthday invitations to school.  If you would like an address list, we will have School Directories available in the near future for $1.00.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Is your student missing their jacket, hat, gloves, water bottle, lunch box?  Our lost and found table and coat rack are beginning to fill up again.  Please stop in before the Thanksgiving break to reclaim items your student may have misplaced.

Future forecast? COLD and SNOW.  Please make sure your student wears a jacket, has a hat, gloves, boots, snow pants, so they are prepared for the changing weather. Please also check your students backpack for appropriate extra clothing.  Shorts and short sleeved shirt days have expired.

If you are in need of assistance with clothing and outwear please contact the office.

Thanks for your support and cooperation in keeping our kiddos warm and dry with the changing weather.