WEDNESDAY WEEKLY
October 16, 2019
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 17
Flu Shots*
7:30-9:30 a.m.- Adults only
3-5 p.m. - Adults and children ages 4 and up (with adult)
*for those who registered

*Parent Education:
8:30 a.m.-noon
*Earn co-op hours if you attend!

4:30-6:30 p.m.
Ivy Gables Senior Living
Look for the WMS car!

October 22
7 p.m.
Archmere Academy
*Recommended for ages 10 and up

October 24-25
Parent-Teacher Conferences
No classes for all levels except Toddler;  child care available

October 29
Picture Re-Take Day

October 31
Halloween Parades
Primary - 9:15 a.m.
Elementary - 11:15 a.m.

Partners in Educating Children
One of the things that defines WMS is its community and partnership with parents. Next week, families of Primary through middle school students will be attending the first parent-teacher conferences of the 2019-20 school year. Conference time is truly a time for teamwork, a time when parents and teachers come together on behalf of students. It allows them to continue to build their relationships, whether they began this year or in the previous year or two. 

Whether it is your first or 10th conference, you may wonder what to expect. At WMS, the October conference’s theme is “getting to know you.” More aptly, we focus on sharing what we have learned about your child so far, along with learning what you, the expert in your child’s life, know and can contribute to this picture. You can expect to hear about your child's adjustment to the school year and how he or she has adapted to the classroom, whether it is a new room or the same room as last year. You will hear about your child's development from last year and since September. For some students, it is important that they learn to say goodbye at the door and enter the classroom without a fuss. Others are learning where to put their belongings, how to write their names or how improve their public speaking skills. Each child is developing on a continuum of learning, and the teachers are experts in that development. They are there for your child, to help him or her learn and grow in every way. 

As children enter kindergarten and move through their elementary and middle school years, teachers will be sharing assessment results in academic areas such as reading, spelling/word study, math and writing. You will learn more about your child’s strengths and challenges in these areas and the plan for the next few months. The wonder of WMS is that each child in the school moves at his or her own pace. For example, two children may be working on understanding multiplication, but each may follow a different path in that work because no two children develop in exactly the same time frame. Teachers will help them focus on the individual work that they need to do to progress. 

What can you expect? You can expect that the teachers have information to share about all aspects of your child’s learning - social, emotional and academic. You can expect that they will advise you about the path of your child's learning, whether he or she is acquiring skills in a typical manner, and the plan moving forward to meet his or her individual needs. You can expect to see samples of work. Most of all, you can expect an eagerness to learn even more about your child and to collaborate to work on his or her behalf. We look forward to spending time with you next week, answering your questions and learning more about your child, and continuing to build our partnership with your family.
NEWS & NOTES
Trunk or Treat at Ivy Gables - Oct. 17

Join WMS middle-schoolers tomorrow, October 17, between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. at this year's Trunk or Treat event at the Ivy Gables Senior Living center. All are welcome for trick-or-treating, games, prizes, face painting and more. Look for the WMS car!
"Angst" Screening at Archmere Academy - Oct. 22

Next Tuesday, October 22 at 7 p.m. , Archmere Academy is hosting a free screening of the documentary  "Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety," recommended for ages 10 and up. Following the movie, there will be a question and answer opportunity. No registration is required.
WMS Students Complete Summer Reading Challenge
 
This summer several WMS students participated in New Castle County's Summer Reading Challenge - a program that encourages children and families to read, log the number of hours they read, and visit their local libraries during the summer months. Congratulations to the following students for completing the Summer Reading Challenge!

  • Samantha Bargren
  • Caroline Lober
  • Charlotte Pachowka
  • Aarav Patel
  • Eli Pogue
  • Audrey Richardson
  • Emma Grace Townsend
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

Start your preschooler on the path to reading with the New Castle County Libraries' 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten (1KBB4K) program. As you may hear from our WMS Toddler and Primary teachers, reading to your children helps them understand letter sounds and build their vocabulary, which are important skills to help them prepare to learn to read.

Visit your local New Castle County library or register online to start tracking your books. For every 100 books you log, your child will receive a sticker or stamp. When you complete the program, celebrate at the library with a tote bag, free book and emergent reader activities.
Box Tops Are Going Digital

Box Tops for Education, which has helped schools earn more than $913 million since 1996, is a great way to help WMS earn extra cash. Box Tops recently converted to a digital system, which allows you to scan receipts through the Box Tops app (available for iPhone and Android devices) and instantly add cash to WMS's earnings online. 

If you still have clipped-out Box Tops, the program will continue to honor the old Box Tops until they expire. Bring any Box Tops you clip to the front desk and we will submit them to earn cash for WMS.
DAIS Symposium: Conquer With Confidence - Oct. 29

When: Tuesday, October 29
6:30-8:30 p.m. 
Where: Saint Edmond's Academy, 2120 Veale Rd.

The Delaware Association of Independent Schools invites students, parents and young alumni from area’s independent schools to a free symposium about finding confidence and purpose .

Keynote speaker Grace Killelea will discuss how to thrive after challenges and learn to use failure as an opportunity. Speakers from Glenmede and University of Delaware Career Services will share experiences and tips to help students enter college with confidence, clarity and purpose.
TODAY'S LEARNERS
All About Humans: Lower Elementary Students as Amateur Anthropologists
Two weeks ago, the 6-9 students ventured into the WMS woods and imagined what it was like to live as a hunter-gatherer. They were challenged to identify items in nature that they might use for food, shelter, entertainment and more. Using tools from the modern world (iPads!), they documented their anthropological findings through a series of short documentaries .

As part of their focus this year on human innovation, Lower Elementary students have been exploring Maria Montessori's lesson about the fundamental needs of humans - the idea that every culture across time and space has had certain material (food, shelter, water, safety) and spiritual needs (art, music, family, love, play). 
 
Through Montessori's Third Great Lesson , the Coming of Humans, students talked about how humans evolved from hunters-gatherers to farmers to our modern world. Last week, they visited Ashland Nature Center to learn about how the local Lenni Lenape Native American tribe used animals and plants for medicine, food, shelter, and even toys and games. Students compared the information they learned about the Lenape to some of the hypotheses they made in their documentaries. 

Complementing their anthropological work in the classroom, the 6-9 students have also been focused on humans and human innovation in specials classes including art, Maker (STEAM) Studio and Spanish.

  • In art class with Laurie Muhlbauer, students are learning about their bones, and studying and drawing skeletons.
  • In the Maker Studio with Paula Sharpe, they have been working in groups to research different Native American tribes and studying their habitats. Using materials they collected in the WMS woods, they have been constructing model homes in the style of the Cherokee, Iroquois, Ojibwa, Shawnee, Ute and Wampanoag tribes.
  • In Spanish class with Ana Brown, students have been learning Spanish vocabulary words for different parts of the human body.

In the weeks ahead, they will explore the development of simple machines and industry, visit the Hagley Museum to learn about early factories, and later learn about modern-day economic systems and international trade.
The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community. 

Please send submissions to  wednesday-weekly@wmsde.org  by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints. 

For more information, contact Noel Dietrich , Director of Advancement & Communications.
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