Updates for Elementary Families

WMAES Mum Fundraiser 

WMAES Mum Sale Pickup

Thank you to everyone who supported our mum fundraiser! Orders have now closed, and mum pickup will take place on Tuesday, September 22, during student pickup.

Please keep these reminders in mind:

• Online orders require a digital receipt at pickup. Please have your emailed receipt ready.

• If you are picking up an online order for a friend or family member, please have them forward their receipt to you before pickup.

• A limited number of additional mums will be available for purchase that day.

Questions may be directed to parentteam@wma-es.com.

Thank you for helping the WMAES Parent Team provide valuable resources for our students, teachers, and classrooms!

WMAES Parent Team

Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences

We look forward to connecting with you to discuss your child’s progress and how we can work together to support a successful school year! Families may choose from the following conference options:

• Virtual conferences: Wednesday, October 7, from 5:00–7:00 PM via Google Meet.

• In-person conferences: Thursday, October 8, from 5:00–7:00 PM at school.

Information about reserving your conference time through My Conference Time will be shared the week of September 28.

Please also mark your calendar: there will be no school for students on Friday, October 9.

Thank you for your continued partnership!

Dollar No Uniform Day Friday, September 25

Students may bring a $1 donation and wear school-appropriate, non-uniform clothing of their choice. Donations help support student activities, field trips, and many student resources throughout the year.

Participation is entirely optional. Students who do not participate may wear their regular WMAES uniform.

Fall Assessments: Supporting Student Growth

In the coming weeks, students will complete NWEA MAP Growth and Acadience assessments. These assessments provide teachers with helpful information about what students already know, the skills they are ready to learn next, and where additional support or enrichment may be beneficial.

• NWEA MAP Growth is a computer-adaptive assessment in reading and math. Questions adjust based on each student’s responses, allowing students to demonstrate what they know at their individual level.

• Acadience Reading consists of brief assessments of important foundational reading skills. Depending on a student’s grade level, these may include phonemic awareness, decoding, reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.

Both assessments are administered in the fall, winter, and spring. This allows us to identify students’ strengths and needs, measure growth over time, and determine whether instruction and additional support are working.

These are not pass-or-fail tests, and MAP Growth results are never used as a grade. Each result is one piece of information considered alongside classroom work, teacher observations, and other assessments. Teachers use this information to:

• Plan whole-group and small-group instruction

• Set meaningful learning goals with students

• Provide targeted support or intervention

• Offer appropriate enrichment and challenge

• Monitor progress and adjust instruction throughout the year

Families can help by encouraging students to do their best. A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and reassurance that the assessments help teachers support their learning are the best preparation.

Resources for Families

• NWEA Family Toolkit

• Family Guide to MAP Growth

• About Acadience Reading

We look forward to sharing your child’s results and explaining how they will inform our instruction as we work to meet the needs of every student.

Sync the WMAES Calendar with your Phone or Device

Important dates for the coming school year have been added to our school calendar on AddEvent—including breaks, early release days, family events, and more! We encourage all families to follow the calendar to stay informed and organized throughout the year.

You can follow the calendar by clicking “Follow Calendar” above this post or by visiting:
https://www.addevent.com/calendar/MF615307

Our calendar is hosted through AddEvent and is fully compatible with:

• Apple Calendar (iPhone, iPad, Mac)

• Google Calendar (Android devices and Gmail accounts)

• Outlook

• Office 365

• Yahoo Calendar

• Any calendar app that supports iCal or .ics feeds

Once added, all events will sync directly to your personal calendar—and any updates we make will automatically be reflected on your end. It’s a simple, reliable way to stay connected and never miss an important date! 

We’re pleased to share that our uniform provider has all WMAES uniform apparel available for online ordering—with free shipping to your home!

Just click the link below and click “Shop Now”—then navigate to the Uniform category to explore all that’s available. We’re especially excited to let you know that several new, lower-cost uniform t-shirt options have been added for your convenience.

Shop Now: https://wmaesapparel.secure-decoration.com/

As a reminder, here are our uniform policy guidelines:

Uniform requirements include:

• A WMAES uniform top

• Solid color pants or shorts, or solid jeans or jean shorts

• Closed-toe shoes

Please note:

• The WMAES top must be the outermost layer

• All clothing must be free of writing, adornments, and rips/tears/holes

• Uniforms with the old logo will be fully grandfathered in. Students may continue wearing their previous uniform items. 

Thank you for partnering with us and for your continued support of our uniform policy!

PBIS AT WMAES

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS, is our schoolwide approach to creating a safe, positive, and successful learning environment. Just as we teach academic skills, we intentionally teach, model, practice, and reinforce the behaviors students need to succeed in classrooms and throughout our school.

At WMAES, our shared expectations are represented by SOAR:

S — Be Safe
O — Own Your Behavior
A — Act Responsibly
R — Be Respectful

When staff members see students demonstrating SOAR, they provide positive recognition and award digital Eagle Bucks through PBIS Rewards. Students can use their Eagle Bucks during school store opportunities, while additional classroom and schoolwide recognitions help us celebrate their positive choices and growth.

PBIS is more than a reward system. It gives students clear expectations, provides adults with consistent language, strengthens relationships, and ensures that students know their positive choices are noticed. Together, we help every WMAES Eagle learn to SOAR!

CONNECTING WITH THE PBIS REWARDS FAMILY APP 

Information for connecting to the PBIS Rewards Family App will be sent home by your child’s teacher. This information will include the unique QR code or link needed to connect securely to your child’s account.

For families, the app provides a window into the positive choices your child is making at school. When a staff member recognizes your child for demonstrating SOAR—being safe, owning their behavior, acting responsibly, or being respectful—the recognition and Eagle Bucks can be recorded in PBIS Rewards.

Once connected, families can view their child’s Eagle Bucks balance, see details about positive recognitions, and follow how Eagle Bucks are used through our school store. This creates opportunities to celebrate successes and continue positive conversations about SOAR at home.

At WMAES, PBIS Rewards is primarily a tool for recognizing, reinforcing, and celebrating the behaviors we want to see more often. We hope the Family App helps you stay connected to the many great things your child is doing each day!

Stay Connected with WMAES!

Please take a moment to add our school’s phone number to your contact list: 616-791-7454. This helps ensure that you recognize calls coming from West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science.

We also kindly ask that you make sure your phone is set to allow calls from the school. It’s important that we’re able to reach an adult family member during the school day if needed.

We are pleased to continue our efforts in supporting our students through our assistance programs. Our resources have expanded this school year, and we want to ensure you are aware of the benefits available to our entire community.

Our new counseling service, the School Assistance Program (SAP), is offered through Pine Rest, a professional mental health service. This program provides five free, confidential counseling sessions per episode of care and is available 24/7 to anyone in the student’s household.

To access this service, simply call 800.442.0809, press 1, and follow the prompts. Be sure to mention, “I have an SAP with West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science.”

To learn more about all the benefits provided by this program, please watch the introduction video. Click the link below or paste the URL into any browser:

SAP Video – Password: SAPOrientation
URL: https://vimeo.com/video/956870695?share=copy

Please note that all services provided through the SAP are 100% confidential. We hope this resource can support you and your family whenever needed.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.