2-Hour Delay: Friday, December 20, 2014

Wawasee Schools are on a two-hour delay today, Friday, December 20, 2014.

2 Hour School Delay

Wawasee Community Schools will begin Monday, December 16, with a 2 hour delay due to drifting snow.

Activities Canceled

Saturday, December 14: All activities for Wawasee Community Schools are canceled due to the weather.

Wawasee High School Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wawasee High School will still hold parent/teacher conferences tonight (Monday, September 30) from 3:15 pm - 7 pm.

Fog Delay

Monday, September 30: Wawasee Community Schools are CLOSED due to dense fog.

Fog Delay on August 29, 2013

Wawasee Community Schools will be delayed for 2 hours on Thursday, August 29, 2013 due to dense fog.

Trauma Information Resource for Parents

Due to the events that have occurred this week and over the course of this school year, we wanted to share this resource with you which was shared with us by one of our mental health therapists.

Traumatic events can overwhelm a child and his or her capacity to cope. Wawasee Community School Corporation recognizes the pervasiveness of trauma and is committed to providing trauma informed support services in order to meet our students' emotional needs as well as managing their physical symptoms.

The following website has helpful information for you as parents as you pursue conversations with your child about the events of this year.

Trauma Institute/Child Trauma Institute - Trauma Information for Parents

www.childtrauma.com

WCSC Bus Accident

Four Wawasee Community School Corporation school buses were involved in an accident after school today. The buses were transporting home Wawasee High School and Wawasee Middle School students.

Some students were transported to a hospital either by bus or ambulance, and a bus driver was air lifted from Wawasee Middle School. The rest of the students were transported by bus to Wawasee Middle School where health care workers checked on them, and a staging area was set up for parents to pick up their students.  At this time, we do not know the extent of students' injuries.

Students' possessions were taken off of the buses and will be kept in a secure area and then returned to students or parents on Thursday. If your student was involved in the accident, please feel free to contact your student's school tomorrow if you have additional questions.  

Wawasee High School Named 4-Star School

Wawasee Community School Corporation is pleased to announce that Wawasee High School has been named an Indiana Four Star School for 2013.  We congratulate the efforts of students, staff members, administrators, and parents on this achievement!

The following is a May 13, 2013, press release from the Indiana Department of Education:

Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz Announces 4-Star Schools for 2013

Indianapolis - Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz announced Indiana's 4 Star schools for 2013 today. In order to achieve this designation, a school must be in the top 25th percentile of schools in ISTEP+ testing results. A total of 313 schools received the award throughout the state.

Superintendent Ritz congratulated these schools today. "I am honored to name these schools as our Four Star Schools for this year," said Ritz. "Winning this award required excellent work by teachers, administrators, students and parents throughout the year and on behalf of the entire Indiana Department of Education I send them my sincere congratulations."

A complete list of the schools that received the award is listed below.

FourStarSchools 2011_2012.pdf

ISTEP+ Grades 3-8 Issues

Wawasee Community School Corporation has been participating in the required ISTEP+ Multiple-Choice Assessments for students in grades 3-8.  Students are taking the assessments online per the Indiana Department of Education’s direction.

Due to issues on the side of the assessment provider CTB McGraw-Hill, students across the state of Indiana have experienced connectivity issues.  Many Wawasee students experienced those issues on Monday, and testing was suspended on Monday afternoon.

This morning, the Indiana Department of Education sent out a communication stating they believed the issues had been resolved and asked schools to resume testing.  They also extended the assessment window to go through May 15, 2013.

At the beginning of the day today, the testing went well.  However, around 11:00 a.m., connectivity issues occurred again.  Here at Wawasee, we again made the decision to stop testing for the rest of the day.

The Indiana Department of Education sent out a press release around noon today with a statement from Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz,

“I am greatly disappointed to learn that Indiana schools had their ISTEP+ testing interrupted for a second consecutive day.  Like all Hoosier parents, students and teachers, I find these interruptions frustrating and unacceptable...Because of these errors, I have instructed the Department of Education to suspend testing for the remainder of the day.  This decision was not made lightly, but was done to minimize further disruptions for our schools.  All of our students deserve to take a test that is valid, accurate and reliable.”

  

The entire press release can be found at http://www.doe.in.gov/. 

Not all grade levels at Wawasee have started testing.  No third graders in the district have started the online assessments. Some fourth and fifth graders at North Webster School and Syracuse School have started the assessments.  At Milford School, some fourth, seventh and eighth graders have started testing.  Wawasee Middle School has been having sixth and seventh graders taking the assessments so far.  Schools are documenting issues that students have had while testing.  Students and staff members have been very flexible in difficult circumstances, and we commend them for that!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your student’s principal.  

2 Hour Delay

Monday, April 29 - Wawasee Schools are delayed two hours due to dense fog. 

5K Run-Walk for Junior Achievement Serving Wawasee

Junior Achievement Serving Wawasee will be holding a 5K Run-Walk on Saturday morning, May 18, 2013, at Lakeside Fitness in Syracuse. Pre-registrations must be received by May 10, 2013, in order to receive a t-shirt, but you can also register the morning of the run-walk. If you are interested in participating and supporting Junior Achievement in Wawasee Schools, registration information can be found at registration form.

April 18 Cancelations

EVENT CANCELATIONS FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 18:
Milford School, North Webster Elementary, Syracuse Elementary: All after-school activities are canceled. Latchkey programs will remain open.

Wawasee Middle School - All after-school activities are canceled.

Wawasee High School - All away games and the band concert are canceled. A decision will be made regarding practices later today. 

Key Club Congratulations!

Wawasee Community Schools congratulate the Key Club at Wawasee High School for their recent outstanding success at the Indiana District Convention. They placed first in the Key Club video competition and first in the Single Service Award for the Stuff the Bus project. The club received an Honorable Mention for Club Achievement and received the Distinguished Faculty Advisor award.

Congratulations to Key Club members Aaron Becker, Andrew Busse, Gabe Camarena, Jessica Camarena, Sara Christner, Brittany Eryman, Brooke Fick, Alyssa Ford, Kamryn Foy, Lexy Greene, Kyra Hackworth, Nick Hise, Riley Johnston, Ally Kuhn, Jordan Kuhn, Katie Kuhn, Brooke Miller, Patrick Navarro, Jon Ruiz, Abby Sommers, Kyle Weber, and Sponsor Traci Henn.

CLOSED

Monday, March 25: Wawasee Schools are CLOSED. 

Snow Make Up Days

April 22nd will be the snow make-up day for February 22nd school closing.

May 31st will be the snow make-up day for the March 6th school closing.

June 3 will be the snow make-up day for the March 18th school closing. 

June 4 will be the snow make-up day for the March 25th school closing.

Monday, March 18: Wawasee Schools are CLOSED.

Wednesday, March 13: Wawasee Schools are delayed TWO hours with no SMART Start due to icy road conditions. 

Closed

Wednesday, March 6:Wawasee Schools are CLOSED.

2-Hour Delay

Wednesday, February 27: 2-Hour Delay with no SMART Start due to weather and road conditions.

School Closed

Friday, February 22: Wawasee Schools are CLOSED due to weather conditions.

The notification website www.weareclosedtoday.com is experiencing technical difficulties this morning causing the delay notifications not to be dispatched. We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused. 

The Children of Our Community and School Safety

The recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, changed the thinking about student safety forever.  A lone gunman had no real link to the school.  He got into a facility with good security measures in place.  His victims were young and randomly selected.  It causes us to say “What if?”

School people worry about parents locked in custody battles, former employees looking for revenge, or a student trying to right an alleged wrong.  Sandy Hook was truly senseless violence.

Nationally, debates about guns and mental health continue.  Locally, we have to deal with student safety issues on two levels.  One is checking our present safety procedures and making certain that they are as effective as possible.  The other issue is discussing any new measures to implement in such a way that it does not bring greater anxiety to children, their parents, and our community.

Please know that we are keeping our doors locked, both outside and inside the schools, during the school day.  We check out visitors before allowing them to enter.  Our security camera systems at all Wawasee Schools have been totally upgraded in the past year.  We have school safety committees at each building, have up-to-date emergency plans, and meet with local law enforcement officers.  Wawasee, through the Kosciusko County Sheriff Department, has an onsite school resource officer.  I assure you that we are taking school safety seriously.

Our future plans are not finalized yet.  The state and federal governments are considering funding toward more school resource officers.  We are monitoring those discussions.  Wawasee is considering such things placing barriers to keep vehicles away from our exterior doors, expanding our security camera and lighting systems, and holding more training with law enforcement, emergency personnel, and school staff members.

Our security at Wawasee was good before the senseless acts in Connecticut.  It’s better now.

No School

Wawasee Community Schools will not be in session on Monday, February 11, 2013. This was a built in snow make-up day that was not needed.

2-Hour Delay

Wednesday, February 6: Wawasee Schools are delayed TWO Hours with no SMART Start.

Tuesday, February 5: Wawasee Schools are delayed 2 hours. 

All community members are encouraged to attend!

Monday, January 28: Wawasee Schools are under a 2-hour delay.

2-Hour Delay

Tuesday, January 22, 2013: Wawasee Community Schools will be delayed two hours due to extreme cold temperatures and negative wind chills.

Junior Parent Night

There will be an informational meeting for parents of high school college-bound juniors at 7:00 pm, Monday, January 21, 2013 in the high school auditorium. The information will cover such topics as selecting colleges, applying to colleges, when to take the SAT, scholarships, diploma requirements and much more information that will be beneficial to the continued success of your student. A representative from Grace College will be present to discuss the college application process from an admissions standpoint.

Senior FAFSA Meeting

Wawasee High School Guidance Department is sponsoring a college financial aid night for seniors and their parents. The session will provide information about important deadlines, the applications process and financial aid programs. The meeting will be held Monday, January 21 at 6:30 pm in the Wawasee High School Lecture Room. Step-by-step instructions for filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) will be given. Parents and their senior students are encouraged to attend together.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wawasee High School will be conducting parent/teacher conferences on Monday, January 14, from 3:15 pm to 7:00 pm at the high school.

FREE FLUMIST CLINIC

Parkview is offering a free Flumist Clinic for healthy children ages 2-18 years old who:

- Have Hoosier Healthwise/Medicaid
- Insurance does not pay for vaccines
- No health insurance

The Flumist Clinic will be held in Warsaw at the K21 Health Services Pavilion on Monday, January 14, from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm.