Water is On at Wawasee High School

The water is back on at Wawasee High School. Service was shut off last week due to a construction project. Water is running again after passing tests for purity.

Water Line Installation

Water service to the Wawasee High School campus will be shut off from December 20-24 for installation of a new water line. There will be no working, drinking, toilet, or shower facilities at the high school, Academy, CTE, or central office facilities. Practices will be scheduled through the athletic director. Any staff member working in the building during those days may use restrooms in the transportation/maintenance facility on Kern Road. It is anticipated that water service will resume, with appropriate water testing conducted, before Monday, December 27. Thank you for your cooperation.

Snow Make-up Day

Wawasee Community Schools will be in session on Friday, January 21, 2011. That date is a snow make-up day for December 13.

We are Closed Today Issues

The www.weareclosedtoday.com site didn't work reliably with last week's school delays. It didn't work well today either! The problem isn't with Wawasee. We've asked www.weareclosedtoday.com to fix things at their end so that you receive texts and e-mails in a timely manner.

Syracuse Elementary Music Program Rescheduled

The Syracuse Elementary School music program set for Monday evening has been rescheduled for Tuesday evening.

Monday, December 13,2010 - School Closing

Wawasee Community Schools will close on Monday, December 13, due to drifting snow.

School Delay - Monday, December 13, 2010

Wawasee Community Schools will delay the start of school 2-hours on Monday, December 13, due to drifting snow.

2-hour School Delay - Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Wawasee Community Schools will delay the start of school 2 hours on Tuesday, December 7, due to snow on roads.

2 Hour Delay

Tuesday, December 7: Wawasee Community Schools will be delayed two hours with alternate kindergarten schedule due to the weather and road conditions.

Receiving Delay & Cancellation Emails/Texts

This is a reminder that Wawasee Community School Corporation is using weareclosedtoday.com for reporting school closings and delays. This is a service designed by the Northern Indiana Educational Services Center that "provides a state of the art way to notify local news media and community members" when we need to close, delay, or dismiss early. In addition to local news media being notified, anyone may go to http://www.weareclosedtoday.com/, enter his or her zip code, choose a radius, and see all the delays or closings within that area.

Community members can also sign up to receive emails and/or text messages when WCSC closes, delays, or dismisses early. We have found that those emails and text messages are received within a very short time frame from when WCSC contacts the service. Click on Community Members and then Register Free to sign up.

Once you have created an account, you can click on Account Info and then Notification Methods from the navigation menu. Once this screen has been displayed, you will be allowed to enter up to three different email addresses to which you would like to receive notifications. Your SMS/text messaging email address, if you wish to receive a text message on your cell phone, is your cell phone number (without hyphens or spaces) and your cell phone provider's SMS/text messaging email address. The most common providers' addresses follow:

• US Cellular: Your cell phone number@email.uscc.net
• AT&T Wireless: Your cell phone number@txt.att.net
• Alltel: Your cell phone number@message.alltel.com
• Verizon Wireless: Your cell phone number@vtext.com
• Centennial Wireless: Your cell phone number@myblue.com
• Sprint: Your cell phone number@messaging.sprintpcs.com
  

After you have selected your notification methods, you can click on Account Info and then Select Organizations from the navigation menu. Then click on School Districts. Once this screen has been displayed, you will be allowed to drag an organization from the left hand box to the right hand box. Any organization listed in this right hand box will be the only ones for which you will receive future notifications.

We will continue to post delays and cancellations on our website and here on The Wawascene.

Cancelations for Monday, December 6

The Milford/WMS Boy's basketball game for Monday, December 6th, has been canceled due to inclement weather.

North Webster's music program for Monday, December 6th, has been postponed. Due to uncertain weather conditions, we are listing two possible scenarios for rescheduling the program.

1. If school is in session on Tuesday, December 7, we will have the program at 7:00 p.m. in the gym. If school is not in session on Tuesday, we will not have the program that evening.
2. The program will be on Wednesday, December 8 at 7:00 p.m. in the case of a Tuesday cancelation.

2 Hour Delay

All Wawasee Community Schools are under a 2-hour delay today. Following the delay, all schools will be in session.

2-hour School Delay - Monday, December 6, 2010

Wawasee Community Schools will be delayed for 2 hours on Monday, December 6, due to poor road conditions.

Wawasee Community School Corporation board member Dallas Winchester passed away on November 25, 2010. The obituary is attached. He was the longest-serving of present board members, with 10 years of experience. Working to keep the Wawasee eduacational program, along with facilities and buses, in great condition for students was a priority for Dallas. He served the school district as board president for several years. Dallas will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Libby, and their family.

Mishler Funeral Home in Milford is in charge of service arrangements.

http://www.mishlerfuneralhomes.com/index.cfm

Sunday Facility Use

Wawasee School facilities are unavailable on Sundays. This is an energy savings directive passed by the school board as part of budget reductions and in response to community values and wishes. Exceptions may be granted by the superintendent. Thanks for your assistance as we move forward to save money, be more ''green'', and keep Sunday for families.

WHS Construction

Picture in your mind the back (south side) of Wawasee High School. Near the kitchen and boiler room entrances is a low dock area beside the school for unloading shipments. When heavy rains fall, the boiler room equipment gets covered with water. It is not a good situation!

We've worked with engineers and the Town of Syracuse on a solution, which begins this week. A large drain will run from the WHS dock area around the corner of the building and between the football field and auxiliary gym. The drain line will cross the parking lot, heading north, and pick up some excess water from the lot with drains. Finally, the line crosses between the soccer and baseball fields before emptying near the softball field retention pond.

Installing the drain line will make a mess for several weeks. Parking and access to Kern Road will be affected at times. Sometimes you have to mess things up to make it better. This drain line is one of those times. Thanks for bearing with our digging as we make our WHS mechanical and electrical equipment safe from future floods.

P.S. Construction of a small addition at the southwest corner of WHS has begun. A construction fence now blocks access to the southwest parking lot (Door 15 where the CTE office & athletic training room is located). Parking for basketball games will be on the north (Door 6/athletic) lot and east (Door 1/front) lot for this season only.

Teacher Workday

Classes will not be in session for students on Thursday, November 11. It is a Teacher Workday due to the end of the first trimester.

Wawasee Middle School Pool Closed for Repairs

The Wawasee Middle School pool will be down for approximately three weeks due to unexpected repairs to the pool filter system. School day activities have been rescheduled for later into the school year. Adult Open Swim (in the morning) is postponed until the WMS pool opens.

For the next few weeks, the pool schedule at Wawasee High School is as follows:

Physical Education classes - Will be in the pool daily Periods 2 & 4
Adult Education classes - Tuesday & Thursday evenings (until Nov. 30th) 6:30 p.m. -8:00 p.m.
WHS Girls Swim Team - Mon. thru Fri. 3:30 p.m. -5:30 p.m. & Sat. 8:00 a.m. -Noon.
Age Group Swim - Mon., Wed., & Fri. 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. & Sat. 8:00 a.m. - Noon.

Wawasee Girls Diving Team will travel to NorthWood High School for practice from 3:45 p.m.-5:30 p.m. until the WMS pool reopens. Minibus departure will be at WHS door #7 at 3:15 p.m. daily and will return to door #7 at 6:10 p.m.

Locker rooms for swimming are: Girls-Pool West, Boys-Pool South

If there are questions, please contact Wawasee High School.

Wawasee High School - The Water is Good

Two positive water tests have been conducted since last Friday's water pipe repair at Wawasee High School. All sinks, drinking fountains, showers, and other water fixtures are ready for school on Monday. Thanks to those who worked during the weekend to get everything set for the students and staff.

WHS Boil Advisory and School Bus Update

On Thursday, October 14, a pickup truck side swiped one of our school buses on Indiana 13 south of Syracuse. No students were riding on the bus, and the bus driver did not suffer injuries. The pick up driver was extracted from the vehicle and taken by ambulance for emergency medical care. Our driver's quick actions averted a more serious accident. Thanks to those school employees and emergency personnel who responded quickly to the accident.

Wawasee High School is currently under a Boil Order. On Thursday, October 14, the water main serving Wawasee High School developed a leak. Currently, Wawasee High School has water, but you cannot drink it. The water is fine for other uses. Both the career/technical building and the Academy are without water at this time. Portable toilets are set in both locations. It is anticipated that the water for those buildings will be back on early this morning, after repairs have been completed.

WHS and other buildings on campus have 4,000 bottles of water, in addition to larger bottles to be used in the kitchen and cafeteria.

We'll also have bottled water available for tonight's home football game vs. Goshen. The restrooms at the football field are operational.

Two water tests, Friday and Saturday, must be conducted before we're allowed to drink the water at WHS. Until that time, WHS will remain under a Boil Order.

Under the Boil Notice, any water intended for consumption or full body contact will need to be boiled for 5 minutes. The reason for boiling the water is to remove possible contamination due to the loss of water pressure. The water will be fit to consume and use after laboratory analysis proves that the water is safe. Once the water is proven safe, the boil order notice will be rescinded.

Thanks to all of those who have worked to make school possible at WHS today.

Trick-or-Treat for Teachers

What: Trick-or-Treat for Teachers
When: Saturday, October 30, 6:00 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
Where: Milford Community
(All collected/donated items need to be taken to the Milford 1st Bretheren Church that evening)

The 4R Teachers program is asking for the Milford Community to help out collecting school supplies for the teachers at Milford School. We are looking for volunteers to trick-or-treat for the supplies or have school supply items at your home for the trick-or-treaters to get. If you are intersted in trick-or-treating, please contact Stephanie Brown, jsbrown05@hotmail.com, and I will provide a bag to use for 'treats'. Area businesses can also make montetary donations to purchase supplies. The items we are collecting are: markers, dry erase markers, glue and glue sticks, colored pencils, and sticky notes. We will, of course, take other items as well.

Stephanie Brown
4R Teachers Coordinator
jsbrown05@hotmail.com

Meet the Candidates

The Wawasee Community Education Association is hosting a "Meet the Candidates Night" on Monday, October 18th at 6:45 P.M. The public forum to introduce School Board Candidates will be held in the Wawasee Middle School Lecture Room.

The public is encouraged to attend. School Board candidates will be answering a series of questions that were compiled by members of the Wawasee Community Education Association. At the end of this time there will be an opportunity for the public to ask any additional questions.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Terri Johnson, WCEA President
Milford School
(574) 658-9444
tjohnson@wawasee.k12.in.us

Cindy Brady
Syracuse Elementary
(574) 457-4484
cbrady@wawasee.k12.in.us

Boomerang Backpacks

Syracuse Elementary is once again participating in the Boomerang Backpack program.

Boomerang Backpacks has one mission: To nourish low-income elementary students on weekends by providing backpacks full of food, and to inspire high school students to experience community service through project-based learning and student internships.

The Boomerang Backpack program is a free weekend food distribution program that provides students enrolled in free/reduced lunch programs a backpack filled with healthy foods for the weekend. The Boomerang Backpack program's motto is "Helping to fight childhood hunger one Boomerang Backpack at a time." The Boomerang Backpack program also provides community service opportunites for at risk youth enrolled in alternative learning options and work based learning experiences for special needs children.

The results of this program are expected to increase attendance on Fridays, as this is when the backpacks are handed out, and improved achievement on Mondays from a weekend filled of nourishment. And of course, nourishing the students.

You can partner with Boomerang Backpacks by volunteering your time, individual donation, or corporate partnerships. Find out what you can do today by visiting http://www.boomerangbackpacks.org/.

Individual donations may be sent to:

Syracuse PTO
c/o Syracuse Elementary
502 W. Brooklyn St.
Syracuse, IN 46567

Thank you!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences:

WHS: Monday, October 4 - 3:15 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
WMS: Thursday, October 7 - 3:30 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.
NW/SES/Milford: Thursday, October 7 - 3:15 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Thank You!

Wawasee hosted a vaccination clinic September 21st and almost 500 students attended from Wawasee School Corporation and surrounding schools. We want to thank parents that brought students and waited in line for vaccinations. We appreciate your help in our efforts to meet 2010-11 Indiana requirements for school attendance.

Wawasee Health Service Department Staff
Allene Dewart, LPN
Jane Venderly, RN
Myra Alexander, RN
Robin Huffman, RN
Pam Rensberger, RN

Immunization Clinic

An immunization clinic will be held at the following locations:

September 21: Wawasee High School from 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
September 28: Tippy Valley High School from 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Please see the Press Release from the Kosciusko County Health Department for more information.

Boomerang Backpack

The Boomerang Backpack Program is again taking place at Syracuse Elementary.

Boomerang Backpacks is a free weekend food distribution program that provides students who are eligible for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program with a backpack filled with healthy food for the weekend. It also provides leadership, business skills, and community service opportunities to high school students who assist with the program.

For more information please contact:
Connie Geer - WCS Boomerang Backpack Coordinator
cbgeer@mchsi.com
(574) 457-5593

If you would like to make a donation, please send checks to:
Boomerang Backpacks
4616 E Dupont Rd
Fort Wayne, IN 46825
(Please indicate that your donation is for Wawasee Community Schools)

If you have a child at Syracuse Elementary who is eligible, please contact:
Jim Garner - Principal
jgarner@wawasee.k12.in.us
(574) 457-4484

Immunization Clinic

Wawasee Schools will have an immunization clinic at Wawasee High School on September 21, 2010, from 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Please see the press release from the Kosciusko County Health Department.

2009-2010 Academy Accomplishments

The Wawasee Academy accomplished many great things during the 2009-2010 school year. Among the most notable were:

232 credits earned by 106 students
9 students earned GEDs
9 students earned diplomas
Assisted at least 17 students in earning diplomas by awarding their final credit(s)

We are proud and looking forward to another year of success stories.

Registration and Online Registration

Online registration will work much like the process did when you went to the school for registration. There will be forms to fill out, forms to pick up with information, and fees to pay. When our process is finalized, you will be able to complete the entire process online, including the payment. At this time, we are still negotiating our online payment contract. We want to make sure that the online payment company and procedures we use are correct the first time. We hope to have it finished soon, but it may not be available when online registration first opens on July 26.

The online process will work in the following way:

First you will go to our corporation website (http://www.wawasee.k12.in.us/). On the page you will find a link to the Online Registration site. On that site are documents for each school building in folders. You should go to each folder and view or download all of the relevant documents for your student(s). Some of these documents may require you to print a copy and fill it out to turn into the office of the school your student attends. In addition, the forms and information for bus assignments, bus rules, free and reduced lunches, school insurance, and online payments will be available in the Central Office folder.

Once, you have collected the forms and information you need, you will log in to your Harmony Web Portal account to finish the registration process. From there you will be able to make demographic changes and complete the information we need in our student management database for your student.

Finally, when the online payment option is available, it will appear as a link in the Harmony Web Portal. You will then be able to make fee payments and lunch deposits online. Currently, you will need to bring in completed forms and make payments at your student's school.

There will be regular registration days at each school again this year when parents can come in and register, or drop off forms, text book rental fees (K-8), and lunch deposits. High school parents will be notified when they can pay text book rental fees.

Registration Dates are:

Syracuse, North Webster, & Milford Schools: Thursday, August 5, and Monday, August 9, from noon to 7:00 P.M.

Wawasee Middle and Wawasee High School: Monday, August 9, and Tuesday, August 10, from noon to 7:00 P.M.

Elementary Textbook Rental Fees are as follows:

Kindergarten - $88.95
First Grade - $114.40
Second Grade - $119.50
Third Grade - $127.75
Fourth Grade - $102.25
Fifth Grade - $99.30

ISTEP+ Results for Spring 2010

On Wednesday, June 16, 2010, the Indiana Department of Education released the Spring 2010 ISTEP+ results. Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett said that "81 percent percent of public schools increased the percentage of students passing both the English/language arts and Mathematics portions of the ISTEP+." Wawasee Community School Corporation and its schools are a part of that 81 percent.

As a corporation, we are generally pleased with the results, yet we understand we need to continue to improve in all areas. Our teachers, students, and administrators have worked hard, and the instructional coaches have been an asset to our teachers to improve instruction.

WCSC students in grades 3-8 went from 70.88% of its students passing English/Language Arts in spring 2009 to 75.76% of its students passing in spring 2010. In math, the corporation students increased from 76.82% passing to 81.63% passing. The percent of students passing both English/Language Arts and math improved from 65.2% passing to 70.9% passing.

To look at results by grade level and by school, you can go to the ISTEP+ results on the Indiana Department of Education website.

A little over 2 percent of the WCSC student pupulation in grades 3-8 took the new Indiana Modified Achievement Standards Test (IMAST), but we will not receive the results of that assessment until late August or early September.

Interesting Article

Charter schools are being pushed as a salvation for regular public schools, yet they do not perform well. Please read the attached article from Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/13/understanding-charter-schools.html

Retirements

Wawasee Community School Corporation honored the corporation's retirees at the June 8, 2010, school board meeting. The retirees are:

Carolyn Baker, Milford School PE Teacher, 32 1/2 yrs WCSC experience, 34 1/2 yrs total experience
J. Francis Denton, WMS Science Teacher, 21 yrs WCSC experience, 44 yrs total experience
Tamara Hess, WMS Language Arts Teacher, 19 yrs WCSC experience, 22 yrs total experience
Karen Hoffert, 2nd grade NWES Teacher, 22 yrs WCSC experience, 22 yrs total experience
Mary Elizabeth Hoffman, NWES PE Teacher, 31 yrs WCSC experience, 33 yrs total experience
Stephen Hunsberger, WHS Guidance Counselor, 22 yrs WCSC experience, 43 yrs total experience
Cheryll Martin, WHS Math Teacher, 18 yrs WCSC experience, 22 yrs total experience
Patricia Mikel, Corporation High Ability, 21 1/2 yrs WCSC experience, 26 1/2 yrs total experience
Elaine Miller, SES Guidance Counselor, 19 yrs WCSC experience, 33 yrs total experience
Edward Parks, WMS Assistant Principal, 9 yrs WCSC experience, 36 yrs total experience
Cynthia Pierce, NWES Guidance Counselor, 15 yrs WCSC experience, 29 yrs total experience
Judy Setlak*, WMS PE Teacher, 18 1/2 yrs WCSC experience, 22 1/12 yrs total experience
*Also worked as a paraprofessional for 1 1/2 years.
Ellen Steven, WHS Principal, 6 yrs WCSC experience, 31 yrs total experience
M. Kristine Ummel, NWES 4th Grade Teacher, 33 yrs WCSC experience, 37 yrs total experience

Wawasee Community Schools wish to thank each of the retirees for their many years of dedicated service and wish them the best with their future endeavors.

Wawasee High School Welcomes New Principal

Wawasee Community School Corporation is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Donald E. Harman as principal of Wawasee High School. He has been the principal of Delta Middle School for the past eight years as well as having held other administrative positions at the middle school, junior/senior high school, and the high school level.

Mr. Harman has bachelor's and master's degrees in science from Purdue University. He qualified for his secondary administration license through Ball State University.

Wawasee Community School Corporation is very excited about the prospects of working with someone of Mr. Harman's caliber. His extensive background and training will be an outstanding complement to our current administrative staff.

A native of the Warsaw area, Mr. Harman hails from a background of educators. Wawasee Community Schools is pleased to welcome the Harman family back to this area.

Highlights of Master Teacher Contract

A new contract between the Wawasee Community Educators Association and the Wawasee Community School Corporation was approved in April.

Highlights of the agreement include:

• The contract is in effect from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.
• The agreement is for a 0% salary increase for 2010-11.
• Salary and up to two language items will be negotiated annually.
• Parent-Teacher conference language was included for 2010-11.

In addition, a retirement incentive plan for teachers was adopted by the school board.

In these trying economic times, both the teachers and school board worked well together to find common ground for a new contract.

Update on Budget Reductions

On Tuesday, May 18, 2010, the Wawasee Board of School Trustees voted on budget reductions for the 2010-2011 school year. This budget reduction PowerPoint shows the reductions that have been put in place.

Budget Reductions Update

The following PowerPoint contains information that is currently under consideration for budget reductions for the 2010-2011 school year. This PowerPoint is updated from ones previously posted. Your comments are appreciated.

Budget Reductions PowerPoint April 2010

No School on Monday, April 26, 2010

There is no school on Monday, April 26, 2010, for Wawasee Community Schools. This was a scheduled snow make up day that was not needed.

ISTEP+ multiple-choice testing for grades 3-8 begins on Tuesday, April 27, 2010.

Budget Reduction Measures 2010 PowerPoint

The following PowerPoint was shared with the Wawasee Board of School Trustees at their March 9, 2010, board meeting.

PowerPoint of Budget Reduction Measures 2010

More Information About Budget Reductions

Thanks for the suggestion in the budget reduction posting about answering rumors and questions.
Someone asked about a breakdown of employees by building. I don't have that information this weekend. We will work to make that information available.
Comments were made about transferring money from other tax funds to general fund. The short answer is that we can't. We are not able to transfer funds from capital projects, transportation, bus replacement, or debt payment funds, which you pay as property tax, into general fund. The state pays general fund to us from sales and income tax. (We can move a small percentage of capital project funding into general fund to help with utilities and property insurance.) These rules are set by the state, and we obey them.
Several new laws were proposed this legislative session allowing schools more flexibility in transferring between various funds. Those proposals are being held up by politics in Indianapolis. In any event, we didn't make this years' budget for Wawasee with extra money to transfer around if given the opportunity.
Wawasee established a Rainy Day fund long ago. I grew when certain facility projects didn't cost as much as estimated. The extra money went into Rainy Day fund. By the end of this summer, we will have spent over $800,000 from Rainy Day during the past three years. If we have no budget cuts and spend 1.3 million from the fund each of the next two years, the Rainy Day fund would be gone. Future needs for a cushion would remain, with nothing available for 5, or 25, years down the road.
Our budget reduction proposals have no plans for children to walk to school, to cut extra-curricular opportunities or sports, or to put 30 children in an elementary classroom. We'll continue to study options to save money with minimal disruption to programs and opportunities for the children of the Wawasee community.
I am asking the school board to approve a study of our district to look at good efficiencies we may be missing.
Blog questions were asked about why Milford seemed to take the hardest hit with reductions. The answer is that Milford has the lowest seniority elementary teachers in the school district. They are reduced first. WCSC is a large district with three elementary schools. If teachers are needed from elsewhere, they may be transferred from other buildings. Elementary teachers are being discussed because we didn't have secondary teachers on the reduction list. We already knew about some secondary teacher retirements, so some reductions could already be made, if needed. The reduction list is subject to change as we move through the process, with retirements known and decisions made, over the next several months.
Why would WCSC consider facility work when economic times are tough? That is a good question. The big answer is that the high school is 42 years old and needs a new roof, good and energy efficient heating units in 1/2 of the building, safety items addressed, and other items on our future building list. We can take advantage of zero/low interest through the federal stimulus program, without changing our tax rate. We'll be providing construction jobs, which turn around and help pay for our schools. Also, construction costs have gone backwards the past couple of years. The energy savings will pay off now and in the future, safer schools are better for all of us, and a new shop area has been needed for a long time.
Overall, WCSC is looking at our economic situation with the goals of minimizing reduction of services to the students and layoffs to employees. All employee groups share in cuts. Classified employee hour reductions will equal 5% of total classified hours, teacher reductions equal 2% of total teachers, and administrator reductions equal 14% of total administrators.

Thanks, again, for taking the opportunity to forward budget reduction ideas on the blog. This is a difficult process for everyone. I appreciate the way you are saying things in a nice way, even though you may not like what is happening. That says something good about Wawasee.

Waiver for Loss of Instructional Time at WHS

The Indiana Department of Education has granted Wawasee Community School Corporation a waiver regarding the loss of instructional time for Wawasee High School's canceled day on February 26, 2010, due to the loss of power.

That day will not have to be made up.

School Delay - Friday, March 5, 2010

Wawasee Community Schools will 2-hour delay on Friday due to late arriving fog in areas of the school district.

Request for Public Input for Budget Reductions

Wawasee Community Schools is seeking input from the community for ways the school corporation can reduce the budget to meet the new funding formula from the State of Indiana. Parents and community members are invited to post constructive ideas on how the budget can be reduced with a minimal impact on student learning.

Comments are to be limited to 200 words. If you have additional comments, please e-mail them to TEdington@wawasee.k12.in.us. Suggestions will be accepted from March 2nd to March 17th.

There will also be time for public comments on March 9th at the beginning of the school board meeting. The meeting will be held at Wawasee High School in the lecture room and will start at 5 p.m.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Due to electrical problems, Wawasee High School is closed today, Friday, February 26, 2010. All other Wawasee schools are open today.

As long as power is restored during the day, the following will take place:

• the Career/Technical Open House from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Career/Technical Building on the high school campus
• the boys' basketball game at home against Tippy Valley at 6:15 p.m.

Changes in Immunization Requirements for Students

The following is information from our schools' nurses explaining changes in immunization requirements for students for the 2010-2011 school year:

During the 2009 legislative session, Indiana Code 20-34-4-2 was revised, requiring the Indiana State Department of Health to “adopt rules under IC4-22-2 to require school age children to receive additional immunizations against the following: Meningitis, Varicella (Chicken Pox), and Pertussis” (Whooping Cough). Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the pertussis bacteria. Pertussis causes severe coughing fits. The pertussis booster (Tdap) is combined with tetanus toxoid.

Changes to the school immunization requirements for school year 2010-2011 are as follows:

a. All preschool and kindergarten students will be required to have 2 doses of varicella vaccine, given on or after the first birthday and separated by 3 months. For children entering preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade, a signed statement by a healthcare provider, including date of disease, is required to document history of chickenpox.

b. All kindergarten students will be required to have 4 doses of polio vaccine, one of the required doses given on or after the fourth birthday, and at least 6 months after the previous dose.

c. All 6th - 12th grade students will be required to have 2 doses of varicella vaccine, given on or after the first birthday, and separated by age-appropriate intervals as defined by the CDC, or a history of chicken pox disease.

d. All 6th -12th grade students will be required to have 1 dose of tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) given on or after the 10th birthday.

e. All 6th -12th grade students will be required to have 1 dose of meningitis vaccine (MCV4)

These vaccines are available free at the Kosciusko County Immunization Clinic, located in the K21 Health Pavilion, 1515 Provident Drive, Suite 160, Warsaw. Hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8:30 to 12:00pm and 1:15pm to 3:30 pm. Evening clinic hours are the 1st Monday of each month, 6:00pm-8:00pm. And at the Syracuse clinic at Lakeland Youth Center on the 2nd Thursday of each month, 2:00pm to 3:30pm. Varicella vaccine is not available at the Syracuse Clinic. No appointment is necessary. Take a copy of your child's immunization record with you.

The following websites have additional resources for families to obtain information about vaccines:

The Indiana Department of Health http://www.in.gov/isdh

The Centers for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines

Your assistance in vaccinating your student to meet the new Indiana State requirements is very appreciated. Please contact the school nurse in your students building with any updated vaccination dates.

Wawasee Community School Health Service Staff:
Allene Dewart, LPN - Milford School, 574-658-9444
Jane Venderly, RN - Syracuse Elementary, 574-457-4484
Pam Rensberger, RN - North Webster Elementary, 574-834-7644
Robin Huffman, RN - Wawasee Middle School, 574-457-8830
Myra Alexander, RN - Wawasee High School, 574-457-3147

February 11, 2010 School Delay

Wawasee Community Schools will delay the start of school on Thursday, February 11, for 2 hours due to road ice.

February 15, 2010 Snow Make-Up Day

Wawasee Community Schools will be in session on Monday, February 15, 2010. The day is a make-up day for Wednesday, February 10, when classes were canceled due to snow.

February 10, 2010 School Closing

Wawasee Community Schools will be closed on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 due to blowing and drifting snow.

2/9/2010: Wawasee Dismissing Students Early

Due to weather conditions, Wawasee Community Schools are dismissing students at 1 p.m. (1:20 p.m. at Wawasee Middle School) today, Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

All after school activities are canceled.

Wawasee varsity girls' basketball sectional game against Northwood at West Noble High School is now scheduled for Thursday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m.

Clarification for Monday, February 15, 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010, is a snow make-up day for the Wawasee Community School Corporation. If school is canceled any day during the week of and including February 9, 10, 11, and 12, classes will be in session on Monday, February 15.

Weather alerts have been issued for a possible snow storm this week. We wanted to clear up any questions about the use of Monday's make-up day. We will all keep an eye on the weather as we attempt to get in our required school days this winter.

Indiana's Cash for College Campaign

Indiana has initiated a Cash for College campaign made possible by the federal College Access Challenge Grant. According to information released by the Indiana Department of Education, "the campaign promotes practical, grade-specific steps for Hoosier students, all leading up to the state's March 10th deadline for filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)."

Information can be found at LearnMoreIndiana.org/CashforCollege. The website has information on College Goal Sunday on February 21, a free statewide event at 37 sites across Indiana to get help and file the FAFSA (http://www.collegegoalsunday.org/); on FAFSA Fridays on February 12 and 19 where you can get free information and chant online with financial aid experts; and on student goal setting for college for elementary, middle, and high school students.

School Delay - Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Wawasee Community Schools will begin Tuesday, January 19, with a 2-hour delay due to road ice.

Citizens' Checklist to Respond to Lower State Tuition Support Funding

On January 15, 2010, the Indiana State Board of Education sent the information below to superintendents, school board members, principals, and Indiana educators regarding the lowering of funding of state tuition support. For Wawasee Community School Corporation, this cut is in the amount of over one million dollars. The final amount is yet to be determined as Wawasee has not received final information from the state.

"On January 8, 2010, the State Board of Education formally adopted the attached Citizens’ Checklist to be utilized by local school communities as they move to make adjustments to respond to lower state tuition support funding as a result of the State’s declining revenues.

"The Citizens’ Checklist outlines a series of adjustments that all stakeholders in K-12 education should consider, discuss and implement in order to avoid or minimize any reduction in teaching staff that affects classroom instruction and learning.

"The checklist itemizes 22 adjustments and considerations in four broad categories that include monetary adjustments, program adjustments, adjustments that reduce the cost of staff without affecting instruction, and community reporting and accountability. Conversations at the local level should include participation of school board members, the district’s leadership team, teachers’ association, and the community.

"By distributing the Citizens’ Checklist throughout the local community, it is the intent of the State Board and Department of Education to stimulate meaningful and transparent dialogue that will be held in an open forum so that positive action can be taken and obstructions to solutions can be identified and addressed. Conducting open forums will allow local communities to find adjustments that do not affect student learning.

"The State Board and Department intend that the Citizens’ Checklist be a resource tool that all local school communities incorporate in the decision making process and that all local media use to track and inform the public of decisions, actions and impacts.

"It is understood that school boards, the district’s leadership team and teacher associations will retain the flexibility and autonomy to make monetary, programmatic, administrative and other decisions based on the district’s and school’s fiscal position but in the best interest of its students."

No School - Monday, Janauary 18, 2010

Wawasee Community School Corporation will not be in session on Monday, January 18, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

School Delay on Friday, January 8

Wawasee Community Schools will delay 2 hours on Friday, January 8, due to snow covered roads.

January 7 Early Dismissal

Wawasee Community Schools will dismiss students on Thursday, Janauary 7, at 2:00 pm due to road conditions.

Hints for weareclosedtoday.com

In the November 24th blog entry "Notification Reminder for School Delays and Cancellations," directions were given for signing up for emails and texts from weareclosedtoday.com.

A couple of comments on the blog indicate that some are having problems with using the weareclosedtoday.com website, so we wanted to give some helpful hints for using the website.

If you are just checking the weareclosedtoday.com website to see if Wawasee Schools are delayed or canceled, you need to look on the left side of the website under Check Status and put in Syracuse's zip code 46567 or your zip code. You then need to choose a distance. If you are using your own zip code, please make sure you use a distance that would include the town of Syracuse. When you click on Display Results, you will get a list of school corporations who are using weareclosedtoday.com and are within the distance of the zip code you have chosen that have made the decision to delay or cancel for the day.

If you have signed up for an account and for text messages and emails and are not receiving those, please do the following:

Login into the website; click on Account Info (upper right hand side) and choose Notification Methods. Make sure you have given a valid email address. If you have also given cell phone information in order to receive texts (following the November 24th instructions), make sure you have checked the box behind Is Cell Phone? for the cell phone information given. Make sure you have chosen a mile radius under Display Mile Radius and that you have chosen No under Disable Notifications.

Double-check under Account Info and Select Organizations and School Districts to see that you have dragged Wawasee Community School Corporation into the right hand side under Notification School Districts.

Hopefully, this will help those of you having difficulty getting emails and/or texts.

January 5, 2010 School Delay

The Wawasee Community School Corporation will have a two-hour delay on Tuesday, January 5, 2010, due to drifting snow.