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Windermere Weekly Family Update 5-20-22

Windermere Weekly Parent Update

5.20.22




“We have a wonderful school, a school that’s awesomely cool!  We stand up proud and shout out loud, HOORAY for Windermere. “


As I have now watched the most amazing fifth grade musical, “SUMMER CAMP,”  three times I am reminded of our Hawk song.  The first two lines summarize the Windermere community perfectly!  Our fifth graders did such an unbelievable job of working hard, collaborating, and most importantly having fun (Mrs. D’s #1 rule!).  The musical is an annual tradition at Windermere and on May 27 the UAHS seniors return to their respective elementary schools to reminisce.  One of their all time favorite memories from their time at UA/Windermere is always the fifth grade musical.  Mrs. D, you are truly a blessing to our school and community.  Thank you!  And, to the fifth grade students, teachers and parents….you have so much to celebrate and be proud of with your hard work these past couple of months in putting together the best gift….and that is a fantastic memory of this musical that will last a lifetime.   We definitely have a wonderful school that is definitely AWESOMELY cool!  (It is definitely something our k-4 students look forward to experiencing in fifth grade!  They all got to see the performance this week.)



I shared the graphic above a few times at the beginning of the year in our updates.  I am sharing this again with you, so that you may see what our staff have focused on this year at Windermere during staff meetings, professional development days and in grade level team meetings.  And, to revisit the last song in the fifth grade musical, ultimately our goal is for every student, family and staff member to feel as though they belong here at Windermere.  The sense of belonging is the foundation to all we do, which ultimately is what allows us to challenge and support every student every step of the way.


This week has been so much fun listening to and seeing all of our students, teachers and many parents who are in the building helping to wrap up a memorable school year.  Have a great weekend.  


Julie


Upcoming Dates

5.27.22 - Windermere Field Day 

5.29.22 - UAHS Commencement 9:30 am

5.30.22 - NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

6.1.22 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL - 1:00 Dismissal

8.5.22 - First through fifth grade teacher names shared via email

8.8 & 9.22 - Kindergarten Screening at Windermere

8.10.22 - Kindergarten teacher names shared via email

8.16.22 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL for first through fifth grade (incoming kindergarten students will get their staggered start day when class lists are shared via email) 



Drug safety presentation for elementary school parents and guardians

Join school resource officers from the Upper Arlington Division of Police for this presentation on Wednesday, May 25 at 7 p.m. geared toward families of young children in the Upper Arlington community. Topics will include: current drug trends among youth, safe and responsible storage of prescription medication, and UAPD's drug safety lessons for elementary students. A Q&A session will follow the presentation if time permits.


This event is presented in collaboration with Upper Arlington Schools and The Stand Project.

 

Federal program providing free meals for all students ending

Due to the pandemic, the federal government has been providing universal free school meals for students.  This program has allowed Upper Arlington Schools and other school districts to provide free lunches to all students since the spring of 2020.


This federal waiver program is set to expire on June 30, 2022.  This means that beginning next school year, free or reduced-price meals will be available only to the families that qualify based upon financial need.  All other students will be charged for meals and snacks purchased through the school cafeteria.


Please watch your email this summer for more information from the district on:

  • Need-based applications for the free and reduced-price lunch program;

  • Prices for meals, snacks and drinks in Upper Arlington school cafeterias;

  • Instructions for adding money to your student’s lunch account via SPS EZPay; and

  • And information on lunch availability for students with a zero or negative account balance.


UA Virtual Travel Night for middle school and high school families

Upper Arlington students will be offered several international educational travel opportunities in 2023.  Please click here to register for an informational Zoom meeting at 6:30 p.m. on  May 25 to learn more about these opportunities.  Can’t make the meeting but want more information? RSVP and select “No but send info.”

 

From the Clinic: We have seen a slight uptick in reports of positive cases of COVID-19 over the last week in our community. We do have test kits available for pick up at school if desired.

 


Windermere Senior Reception:  If you have a senior, please make sure they come back to Windermere so we may celebrate our Hawks.  Once a Hawk, always a Hawk!  This will be held in our Eyrie on Friday, May 27 from 3-4 p.m.





UAHS Athletics youth summer camps

Upper Arlington High School coaches and players are offering several camps this summer for elementary and middle school students! Please see this flyer for a list of these opportunities. 


Syntero Summer Group: As part of our partnership with Syntero, Syntero is excited to offer FREE, in personal and virtual, prevention groups services this summer for students. Prevention services can benefit all students! The goal is to foster healthy, adaptive coping skills to more effectively manage life stressors. Registration opens Monday, May 9th at 12pm. Registration link and group information can be found on this flyer.  If you have any questions please email Larysa Gilbert at [email protected]


Lost and Found: Is overflowing! Please have your students check for any lost items. Everything will be donated at the end of the year.


A Message from the Heydlauff Library Media Center

Wow!  What a first year we've had in the library media center!  We LOVE our new space at the heart of the building!  Students are reading, reading, reading and enjoying our collaborative space.  We find new and fun ways to use the space every week.  As we wrap up our first year in the library, it is time to call in all of our books.  Notices of checked out materials were sent out to students and families on Friday.  Please check in with your reader on any books that are checked out to them and return promptly.  If the book cannot be located, please email Mrs. Hartmus ([email protected]), our media center clerk, to make a plan for replacement.  She can guide you through that process.  Keep reading this summer by using our fabulous public library and all of the services they have to offer.  Their youth librarians will be visiting on May 31st with all grade levels to share with them how to participate in their summer reading club! 



Windermere Community Sensory Garden

We are so excited to begin the planting of our Windermere Community Sensory Garden in our raised garden beds outside of the Eyrie! Student Council will be planting this next week! We have been building up to this moment through our Town Hall meetings and school-wide activities which have focused on well-being: Caring for Ourselves, Caring for Others. The goal of this garden is to help students have respite and a place to feel calm and peaceful.  This will be an important place in our school community and we need some help maintaining it over the summer. This would just involve some watering and simple weeding. Anyone can participate and help out! You're welcome to come with friends and family and make it part of giving back to the community! Please email Katie O'Keefe at [email protected] if you are interested in helping! Thank you for considering!






Summer Academy — New Courses & Availability

In an effort to serve as many families as possible, our Summer Academy is offering new courses at the elementary and middle school levels, as well as reopening many course registrations with remaining available places.


Registration links for any courses with availability will be posted on the Summer Academy page on Monday, May 23 at 4 p.m. Registration will close on Friday, May 27 at 4 p.m. You can click here for full course descriptions. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.




 

PTO Update

 

 

Just one more full week of school left to go! Thank you to all of the parent volunteers that are working so hard on end-of-year celebrations and activities. We appreciate all of your hard work helping create such special memories for our Hawks!  As the PTO winds down for this year, please know that we are already gearing up for next school year. If you are interested in chairing or volunteering on a specific committee or just helping out in general, please reach out to us at [email protected]. Click here for a list of PTO committees.

 

Wednesday, May 25th - Celebrate the last full week of school and support our PTO with some Rita's Italian Ice (Henderson Road)! Don't forget to mention Windermere Elementary when you order and 20% of sales will help support our PTO!

 

 

Go Hawks!

Jen Mascho and Stephanie Tozbikian 

PTO Co-Presidents