Windermere Weekly Parent Update
9.3.21
What a GREAT full week we have had at Windermere! As you know this week was Windermere Way week. Each day teachers talked with students about what showing the Windermere Way looks like, sounds like and feels like in all parts of a student’s day. We culminated the week today with a huge celebration, all day, working on team building activities to learn more about being respectful, responsible and ready to learn. Thank you to the many volunteers who helped today. What a fun, memorable day to set the tone for the year. A special thank you to Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Myers, our amazing PE teachers who planned and organized the great activities! What fun and great reminders! STRENGTH IN TEAM!!! And, thank you to Mrs. O’Keefe, our school counselor, who helped to organize this week/day for each of our classrooms. We love you all and appreciate you! We know how important our sense of community is in our classrooms, grade levels and in the building. This is the foundation to optimal learning. We will continue to revisit the Windermere Way all year so that our entire learning community develops the Windermere Way as a habit. Lastly, make sure you ask your child(ren) about our special guests at this morning’s and afternoon’s webinars to kick off and wrap up our day! Thank you Coach Myers (The Ohio State University’s very own Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach) for joining us and sharing your wisdom. You were a highlight to our day. And, thank you, Dr. Imhoff for joining us this afternoon. We are so fortunate to have you as our leader.
Each week, I will highlight a different team at Windermere. As part of our professional development before school began, we did a grounding activity tied to our strategic plan. As grade level teams and as a building, we each defined our values, beliefs and outcomes (VBOs). Our VBOs are: Strength in Team, Start with Heart & Contagious Drive. Each week, you will meet different teams to learn about their VBOs and how they are applying them to their team/students. Below is our kindergarten team. From left to right: Ms. Wiseman, Mrs. Lanphear, Mrs. Hartman & Mrs. Trainor.
I hope you have a terrific long weekend. Happy Labor Day! Enjoy the sunshine. We can’t wait to see you Tuesday morning.
Julie
Upcoming Dates:
9.5.21: Golden Bear Bash
9.6.21: Labor Day, No School for Students or Staff
9.22.21: Early Release at 1 p.m. for Students
9.22.21: PTO Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Eyrie
10.8.21: PTO Windemere Fall Family Night (UAHS Marching Band Playing on Playground starting at 5:10 p.m.) 5-7 p.m.
Update on Lunch at Windermere: We continue to monitor COVID-19 data and to review our mitigation measures in partnership with the experts on the district’s Medical Advisory Team. Beginning Tuesday, September 7, all of the elementary schools will adjust lunch procedures to ensure three feet of distancing between students while eating. In order to accomplish this, we will be utilizing our current cafeteria space as well as additional areas in the building. In all of these spaces, we will continue to have assigned tables and seats, and all students will be supervised. At Windermere, we will utilize our art room during lunch to provide this additional space. The goal of this is to reduce the number of students who would need to quarantine due to an exposure at lunchtime. Again, we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 data for our schools and our community and update our mitigation measures accordingly.
Update on Playground: Hip, hip, hooray! We are SO excited that 500 yards of mulch was laid yesterday and this morning and our playground is officially OPEN as of Monday for full play on our beautiful equipment. We are beyond excited to have this space for play during the day.
Visitors: The district welcomes and encourages visits to school by parents, other adult residents, and interested educators. District policy 9150 provides additional details related to school visitors. Visitors are required to complete SchoolSAFEid when entering the building.
Volunteers: The district recognizes certain programs and activities can be enhanced through the use of volunteers who have particular knowledge or skills that will be helpful to members of the professional staff responsible for those programs and activities. Most volunteer services are conducted under the supervision of a staff member and thus requires the completion of SchoolSAFEid at the building.
In some cases, where a volunteer may, on a regular basis, and without supervision of a staff member, the volunteer will be required to complete a full BCI/FBI background check and be approved by the board of education. Volunteers are approved seasonally and/or annually depending on the need. If service is continual, the BCI/FBI background check is valid for five years. Volunteers may also be asked to secure a Pupil Activity Permit through the Ohio Department of Education. You can obtain a BCI/FBI check at our Central Office. The fee is $X. We kindly ask that volunteers are vaccinated.
Your child’s teacher will let you know when they are ready for parent volunteers in the classroom.
A HUGE THANK YOU: Ms. Liz, Ms. Kathy and Ms. Karen are just AWESOME! If you haven’t met them, please take time to get to know them. They are such an important part of our school. We love them and know how invaluable they are to our school. In an upcoming update, you will get to meet them, as one of our teams. A special thank you, that is way overdue, to our custodial staff for getting our building ready for all of us. They ALWAYS go above and beyond. And, for that we are forever grateful for these three MVPs!! Thank you!
Flyer Connection: Many of you ask about outside opportunities. I am LINKING HERE our district’s page called Flyer Connection. This page shares opportunities happening in our community for your reference that are not affiliated with the district, but opportunities you may like for your child(ren).
iPad Operating Systems Need to be Updated at Home
It has become more apparent that many of our district apps, programs and applications require the iPad operating system to be current in order for them to work. Please follow these instructions to check your student’s iPad and update the iOS at home this weekend. The iPad should be up to iOS 14.7
Settings>General>Software Update
Canvas seem to eat up storage space on your student’s iPad?
Ask the student to delete the Canvas app, then download it again and sign in. This app tends to keep copies of everything locally, and continually grows as you use it. Deleting the app will not have any impact on submitted work, but will clear out the storage on the iPad.
iPad Protection Plan Fee - Closing Window for Payment on September 3
The $25 protection plan fee must be paid through SPSEZPay.com by Sept. 3.
If the fee is not paid by September 3 and an incident occurs, families will be responsible for the full cost of the repair or replacement. Prices that could be incurred if the protection plan fee is not paid are outlined here:
Windermere PTO Update
9.3.21
What a great week our Hawks have had learning and celebrating the Windermere Way this week! A special thank you to all of the parents who were able to volunteer today to help with all of the fun activities. If you are interested in more volunteer opportunities with the PTO, please take a minute to fill out this form. There are so many ways to get involved and no matter your time constraints, we have a spot for you! It’s a great way to get involved with our school community!
Our Windermere PTO Membership Drive is in FULL SWING!
Some programs that the PTO supports each year:
Supplemental classroom resources
Author Visits
Back to School events
Fall Family Night
KidFest
Restaurant Nights
School-wide activities & events
Teacher Appreciation Luncheons throughout the year
Windermere’s Family Read Aloud
Access to our online school directory
To continue to support our school community, we count on your membership! Pay your dues online here!
PTO family membership dues are $25.00 and classroom extracurriculars (field trip) fees are $20.00/child for grades K-4th and 5th grade is $35/child.
PLEASE PAY YOUR PTO DUES BY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH!
WINDERMERE PTO DIRECTORY
While you’re at it, go to our PTO directory and update your family's information. This is a great way for room parents to communicate directly with you and also allows for our Hawks to get in contact with a friend.
The FALL MUM SALE started this week and runs through September 19th
You should have received a catalog in your child’s backpack this week - all sales will be completed online again this year. Please reach out to PTO ([email protected]) or Sarah McCaig ([email protected]) with any questions.
Calling all ROOM PARENTS!
If you are interested in signing up as a room parent for your child’s class, please sign up here. Please contact Emily Adams ([email protected] grades K-2nd) or Abbey Short ([email protected] grades 3rd-5th) with any questions!
WALKING WEDNESDAY starts next week!
Get ready to start walking with your fellow Hawks to school on September 8th! If you are interested in volunteering for a walking route, please contact Jen Lauer ([email protected]).
https://uawindermerepto.org/programs/walking-wednesday/
FALL FAMILY NIGHT is coming up fast!
Save the Date - Friday, October 8th! If you would like to volunteer, please contact Amanda Endicott ([email protected]) or Michelle Evans ([email protected])
Go Hawks!
Stephanie Tozbikian & Jen Mascho
PTO Co-Presidents