WPCS April 2018 Newsletter

White Pine Charter School Newsletter

Cougars are Willing, Positive, Connected, and Significant

____________________________________________________

Success for Every Student

April 2018 Vol. 05

Administrative Update
We are all trying to understand the world that we live in especially based on the events this year involving student safety. I am excited to let everyone know that we are contracting with a local company to have controlled access to our building and greater surveillance inside and outside of the building.

In the coming weeks, there will be new cameras installed that will focus on playground area and the parking lot. Also, after a certain point in the morning, the school will be locked and anyone who wishes to be admitted will ring the office from the door ringer located on the outside. This will put the person in direct contact with the front office. We will be able to talk with whomever is at the door and will also have video surveillance of the person who wishes to enter.

Please be patient as we put into practice items that will increase the safety and security for our students.

The Board of Directors is also looking at different policies and procedures to protect our students while in attendance at school.

We are so grateful to the parents, staff members, and community members who have shared their concerns about the safety of our students. We will continue to implement new strategies and procedures to keep WPCS students safe.

Parent Connection

Spring into Reading!

Saturday, April 14th is our Spring Barnes Noble Book Fair! Each year, Barnes and Noble graciously allows us to hold two book fairs. A portion of sales is given to our school. We use this money to keep our library updated with the latest and greatest books for our WPCS Cougars. It also helps replace books that have been worn out from so much reading!

How can you help? It's easy! Come to Barnes and Noble on April 14th. If you make a purchase, ANY purchase just mention White Pine Charter School and a percentage of your purchase comes to us in the form of a B&N gift card. You can also volunteer! These hours count towards your volunteer hours for the year.

If you are willing to help please text or call:

Elena Brower 208-709-1007

Amy Bowman 208-813-4486

Message from our PFA

Thank you again to all those who supported our recent Read-a-thon. The new letters for the outside of the building will be installed by the middle of month.

ValYou Cards

We still have several ValYou Cards available and need to get them sold! Please tell your friends and neighbors. They are $20 each and include three cards with deals on the front and back, as well as several key tags with local deals as well. You can purchase these through either Mrs. Buddenbohm or Mrs. Attebury at the front desk.

Box Top Collection

The is our last Box Top Collection for the year and the funds collected for this collection period will be a part of the bi-annual payment that we will receive in December. We will be running it the same as the last two collection periods with Kindergarten - First, Second - Third, Fourth - Fifth grades all competing against one another. Middle school students will again be competing against one another to earn Principal for the Day. This will be our chair, Heather Talbot's, last time running our Box Top Collection as she has asked to be replaced for next year. So if you happen to see her, please be sure to thank her for all of her amazing work counting and submitting all our Box Tops for the past couple of years.

Spirit/Popcorn Friday

This was our last Popcorn Friday for the year. We have had such great success for the year and hope to continue next year.

White Pine Clean Up/Yard Sale

On April 21st we will be having our monthly family event. From 9-11 am, we will be cleaning up the school yard and holding a yard sale to raise money for our teachers. If you plan on coming to help in the yard, please be sure to bring a pair of work gloves and a shovel as we are hoping to get rid of some weeds and dead brush.

Also, if you have anything you were looking at donating or getting rid of and did not want to hold your own yard sale, please consider donating it to ours. We will begin collecting donation items on April 16th in the gym.

Volunteer Opportunities

We are looking for people who would like to help us with our faculty appreciation week the first full week in May. If this is something you would be interested in helping with, please send us an email at [email protected]

The PFA Board elections for the 2018-2019 school will be held May 4th. If you or anyone you know would be interested in being on the PFA board, please contact us via email.

Positive Behavior Supports and Interventions

What is an O.R.F.?

O.R.F. stands for office referral form. Students often call them the "yellow forms." If a student is not following the school wide expectations of willing, positive, connected, or significant, teachers follow a behavior flowchart to manage behaviors. If behaviors persist after a warning or conference, students are referred to the office to meet with administration. Referrals come in the form of the above picture or can be sent electronically.

There are various levels of student behaviors, but most meetings include a coaching moment. Mr. Clarke and Mr. Graham take time to review the behavior and remind students what is expected of them. If there is repeated behavior or it is a major infraction parents are involved to help teach and reinforce.

Consequences are also part of the process. If there is repeated behavior, students may help the custodian during lunch time or lose a privilege etc. The most important part of this system is data collection. When a student is referred to the office, the information is put into a database. This data is used to determine if a child needs extra supports or if current supports are working.

White Pine Charter School does not believe in "bad kids." We believe in poor choices or behavior that occur for a variety of reasons. If you have any further questions about the O.R.F. system feel free to email Mr. Graham at [email protected].

Capturing Cougars in Action

Monthly Events

April 14 - Barnes and Noble Book Fair

April 17 - White Pine Charter School Lottery

April 20 - Mix It Up Challenge (during lunch)

April 23 - Kindergarten Roundup

April 25 - Administrative Assistants' Day

Our funding is

based on student attendance

When you make appointments that could take your child away from school, please schedule them for after 1 p.m. We lose funding if students leave before 1 p.m. Also, please plan vacations when school is out of session. We want to secure as much funding as possible to invest in your children!

Office Info

Please check in at the front office before heading to a classroom. F or the safety of your children, a ll adults must have a visitor badge. When bringing your students in late, please make sure to sign them in before taking them to class. Otherwise, they may be marked absent.

Dress Code Reminder

Please make sure your child is coming to school in dress code. Our policies and resources are listed on the school website. We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have.