Windermere Weekly Parent Update
9.16.22
Like I did last year, each week, I will introduce our teams to you who are at Windermere. It’s important we take time to introduce ourselves to our families! Included above, is work we did at a staff meeting recently. Part of our district strategic plan is continued work on our: Values, Beliefs and Outcomes (VBOs). We talked about what this looks like, sounds like and feels like to each of our respective teams at Windermere. Thanks for getting to know us! Above is our elementary explorations team. As I also shared in an update previously, Exploration time began 3 weeks ago. Our students love this time and our teacher appreciate the time to focus on how to best support our students academically to grow each child this year.
As I shared in last week’s update, we had our first Hawk Huddle today! My heart is bursting. We have 40 Hawk Huddles this year. Each Huddle is comprised of kindergarten through fifth graders. The groups remain the same each year, and as our fifth graders graduate we welcome our kindergarten Hawks to the group. Did you know a HUDDLE is really a group of Hawks? Today, we talked about the many connections we have to each other. We learned that we have so many similiarites and differences, too! What a great way to end our week. I will update you prior to and after each huddle so that you may talk to your child about what we are doing. We want each child at Windermere to have multiple connections with students from other grade levels, and adults in our building.
I wish each of you a great weekend! Enjoy the sunshine.
Julie
Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar:
Wednesday, September 21 - 1:00 Early Dismissal
Thursday, October 13 - Picture Retake
Friday, October 14 - Windermere Fall Family Night with the UAHS Marching Band! 5-7 p.m.
Monday, October 17 - NO SCHOOL Students
Tuesday, October 25 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thursday, October 27 - 11:05 Early Dismissal
Thursday, October 27 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
Monday, October 31 - Harvest Parade and Class Parties 1:30
Start with Hello!
One way we are celebrating our District commitment to student and staff well-being is by celebrating Start with Hello during the week of September 19-23, 2022. Start with Hello is a week dedicated to making new social connections by engaging in conversation with one another to create a sense of belonging among young people. Start with Hello gives us an opportunity to practice engaging in conversation with one another and celebrating the importance of inclusive connections.
In our school community, you may notice or hear your student talking about our butterfly mural and working with Mrs. Hemmelgarn on a digital activity with the intent to provide opportunities to connect with other students and feel a part of our school community.
We hope you enjoy this celebration of Start with Hello in our school community.
School Counselor Update: Here, you can find more about classroom lessons and small group sign-up opportunities as well as other parenting resources.
Thank you PTO!!!! Our amazing PTO purchased 12 more student adirondack chairs for our outdoor classroom. We love this space and are so thankful for having it to use with our students. What a gift you have given us…..the space itself AND all of the furniture as well!
Thank you Jan Verhoff, Abbey Short & PTO: We ?? our office space so much! With the help of PTO and Jan Verhoff’s talent, the office was spruced up to welcome our families and students. Thank you Jan for donating your time and talent and making it feel so inviting. Thank you Abbey for the amazing artwork behind Ms. Maria's desk. Thank you PTO! (The artwork behind the sofa is from the fifth grade class of 2019. Isn't it beautiful?)
School Picture MakeUp Day: is Thursday, Oct. 13th. You can order photo packages online at shop.hrimaging.com and enter Windermere in the search box.
Lost and Found: Please remind your students to check our lost and found table, located beside the office. All items not claimed will be donated later this fall.
DEI (Diversity, Equality & Inclusion): Our charge: is to develop staff, student & community mindsets around culture, identity and learning to promote awareness and acceptance. If you are interested in being a part of this group, we would LOVE to have you! Our first meeting will be on Monday, 9/19 at 3 p.m. in our Maker’s Space to start planning for our Windermere Family Cultures and Traditions Night on Thursday, November 10th at 7 p.m.. Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested in being a part of this committee.
Student Absences: Please email [email protected] along with your student’s teacher in the event of an illness, appointment, etc. For planned absences (vacation, out of town, etc), please fill out the planned absence form at least a week in advance. You can find a planned absence form here.
Destination Imagination:
Are you interested in managing a Destination Imagination team? Attend an informational meeting September 22 at 4:00 in room 211 at Windermere Elementary School. For more information, contact Christina Balderaz at [email protected].
Digital Citizenship Resource
If students are using tech devices and interacting online, instruction on digital citizenship is a “must.” A great resource worth exploring is Google’s Be Internet Awesome curriculum, a free collection of lessons that have received ISTE’s Seal of Alignment. There are classroom resources and resources for families.
The lesson plans focus on five fundamental ideas:
Social-emotional survey for grades 3-12
Upper Arlington Schools will engage in the Panorama social-emotional survey for students in grades 3-12. We have been participating in this twice annual survey for two years now, and are impressed with the feedback from students and the quality of feedback the reports provided. Panorama aligns with the well-being priority in our strategic plan and provides valuable feedback to inform our work and meet student needs.
As a school, our students will be engaging in the Panorama survey during a day the week of September 26. You may read more information about the survey here. While we ask that all of our students participate, as with all surveys, Panorama is voluntary. If you wish to opt your child out of the Panorama survey, simply email the school counselor before September 22, and we will honor that request.
AN UPDATE FROM THE PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION (PTO):
Restaurant Night:
Friday, September 23 from 10:30am-9:00pm. Eat at the BIBIBOP restaurant (1836 W. Henderson) and mention the Windermere PTO. Our school will receive 20% of sales. For online orders, use code: BIBIFUNDRAISER
Fall Family Night:
Friday, October 14 from 5:00pm - 7:00pm. We are excited for another fall Windermere celebration with games, inflatables, the annual scarecrow contest, crafts, pizza, and music by DJ Hemmelgarn. This event is sponsored by the PTO and will be free for all students and families. (Food trucks - including Kona Ice - will also be on site and will be available for purchase.) Spiritwear will be available for sale (credit cards only). If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Amanda Endicott ([email protected]) or Michelle Evans ([email protected]).
Field Trip Fees, Birthday Book Club, and PTO Dues:
Please visit our PTO website to donate today! Email the PTO if you aren’t sure if you’ve paid.
Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on current happenings!
Instagram: windermerehawks_pto
Facebook: Windermere PTO
Have a great weekend -
Emily Adams & Sarah Henderson
PTO Co-Presidents