December 10th, 2023

NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS

STEM Catapults

Mrs. Fritz's message

Dear Wonderful Wilmot Parents,

Thank you for working with us to complete mid year benchmark testing on Friday. We’ll continue to gather data between now and the start of winter break. When teachers return to work on January 3rd for professional development and planning, one of the things we will be doing is analyzing all of the data we collected to determine our next steps instructionally. Students return to school on Monday, January 8th.

Believe it or not, kids can lose skills over winter break, particularly in reading. It’s a busy time of year, but if your schedule allows, please make time for your child to read, to do Lexia if they are in kindergarten-3rd grade and have access to that program, and/or to do MAP Accelerator if they are in 3rd-5th grade. Just a couple hours a week can help keep them from losing ground academically and keep their skills fresh.

This week is packed with several events, particularly for our older students. On Tuesday our beginning band and orchestra students have their winter concert at 7:00 pm at Evergreen Middle School. On Wednesday, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students have a rehearsal for the winter program at EHS from 5:00-6:45. Then on Thursday is the actual winter program at EHS from 5:30-6:30. Please see below for more information. We realize it is difficult for families to have so many evening events, especially when your child is involved in afterschool activities. We appreciate your patience and assure you that we will try to limit after school commitments after this week.

Enroll Jeffco for the 24-25 school year is now open for round one registration! We really appreciate when you complete enrollment early so we can more accurately predict our budget and plan appropriately for staffing. Please see the additional information below and reach out to Ms. Carrie in the office if you have questions or encounter difficulties. I’m excited to share that Wilmot will be offering a half-day option for our preschoolers in the upcoming year! Thank you for talking to friends and neighbors about Wilmot. Anyone interested in scheduling a personalized tour to learn more about our special community can contact Ms. Carrie in the office.

Lastly, please spread the word that Wilmot is hiring! We have two positions that support 1-2 individual students in the classroom, as well as a kindergarten para position. Each of these positions is between 6 and 7 hours per day and eligible for paid benefits. Ideally, we would like to interview for these positions before winter break so we can welcome new staff in January. Please see the information and links below to find out more and apply to join our amazing school community!

I’m looking forward to seeing you at school!

Stephany Fritz

Principal, Wilmot Elementary

Field trips

3rd Grade Field Trip: Thursday, December 14th - Denver Aquarium

Kinder and 5th Grade Field Trip: Friday, December 15th - Hammonds Candy Factory

Hyggelight fundraiser

Thank you to everyone who purchased candles during our Hyggelight Fundraiser. We were able to raise $575.50 and Hyggelight is matching that for a total of $1,125.00 toward our new laminator! We are so grateful to our community and the Hileman family for helping with this large, unexpected expense.

Orders were delivered to the school on Friday and are ready for pick-up now. If you had placed an order, please stop by the office to pick up your beautiful candles prior to Winter Break.

We are excited to share what makes Wilmot such a special place to learn and grow with our community.

If you have an incoming kindergartener or know of families within our community that are looking for a supportive group of educators that "Feels Like Family", we would love to meet with them.

Enroll Jeffco opened to all families last Tuesday, December 5th. Jeffco asks that all returning families take a moment to fill out their intent to re-enroll during this enrollment window as well.

Thanks for being such an important part of what makes Wilmot great!

PTA Reflections Winners

Please join us in congratulating our 2023- 2024 Jeffco Reflections Winners! Out of 21 student entries, 17 advanced to the Jeffco show and 12 students were recognized by Jeffco, 8 of those students are going on to the ColoradoPTA Reflections competition! We have winners in each of the 6 categories!

Thank you to all students who participated! The work of all of our student entries can be viewed here- 2023-24 Wilmot Reflections video.

The Jeffco Reflections Show will be on view this week- Monday 12/11- Friday 12/15 at Red Rocks Community College (during regular hours).

community action team

The Wilmot community Action Team, the CATs, would like to thank everyone for your generosity in supporting our annual coat drive for Coats for Colorado! The CATs counted and loaded 66 more coats, for a total of 109 coats! Woohoo! These wonderful coats will keep so many people warm and happy this winter. Your donations will really make a difference! Thank you!

Work at wilmot!

Wilmot is currently hiring three student support positions on our team. If you are looking for an opportunity to work with kids and have the same schedule as your students, we would love to meet with you.

Applications can be found on the Jeffco Jobs Board linked HERE (https://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/employment/jobs)

Kindergarten Paraprofessional (6 hrs./day)
- Position # 00033609
- Job ID# 26050
Individual Student Support Para-Educator (7 hrs./day)
- Position # 00057912
- Job ID # 25975
Individual Student Support Para-Educator (6 hrs./day)
- Position # 00056324
- Job ID # 26106

Google Classroom Link https://classroom.google.com/c/NjIyODQxNDQ2Mzk0?cjc=ikk265l

winter music program

Wilmot 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade students have been busy preparing for their Winter Program THIS Thursday, December 14th. The Winter Program Information was sent home with students and is also here in this linked flyer. Make sure to attend the rehearsal on December 13th at EHS. We can't wait to see you there!

Due to dress rehearsal and performance this week, we will NOT have Warblers practice on Tuesday afternoon.

beginning band and orchestra

The Beginning Band & Orchestra Concert will be this Tuesday, December 12th at 7:00pm. The concert will take place at Evergreen Middle School.

Unit 4 Family Letters

K-5 IM Family Resources

Sixth

Accelerated 6th

Math Resources & information

Jeffco Public Schools has adopted a new math resource for our kindergarten through 12th grade students. For many years, children in the United States have lagged behind children in other countries in math achievement. Research about the way other countries teach math has given us a window into why. Countries that consistently outperform the US emphasize conceptual understanding over rote memorization. In addition, struggling is not seen as a failure, but a path to deeper understanding. Illustrative Math grew out of what researchers learned about how other countries successfully teach mathematics. We understand that making this shift feels uncomfortable to parents (and teachers) who themselves learned math through memorization and repetition, but we believe this is a worthwhile change that will lead to deeper understanding and better outcomes for our children. To help parents better understand the change and support their children, we've included several online resources here. The videos are especially helpful! Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have additional questions or for more links to grade-specific resources.

NEW Sessions Starting now: Robotics and STEAM Club

Watch dogs

Thank you so much to the amazing parents and grandparents volunteering as Watch DOGS! However, Wilmot Watch Dogs cannot rely on just a small group of parents/grandparents to fulfill these duties.

Please pass the word along to other Wilmot parents/grandparents that Wilmot Watch Dogs needs help! It's an easy and fun way to be involved with helping at the school. There's no set commitment, you can pick up a shift whenever, and it helps to schedule out in advance so you can plan your morning/afternoon around that shift, it's only about 15-20 minutes of your time.

The December sign-up genius is up to get your shifts scheduled. If you still haven't gotten your first Watch Dog shift this year it's never too late to get a shift, help out for a few minutes and have some fun greeting students!

Contact Chase Courington at chase.courington@gmail.com to get started!

Find what is lost!

Our lost and found bins are overflowing! Please take a moment when you are in the building to look through all of our items. The lost and found is located down near the cafeteria. Small items and jewelry are kept in the office. All items not claimed prior to Winter Break will be donated.

jeffco Panorama survey

Panorama Education is a company who conducts student and family surveys in schools and districts across the country. Wilmot will be giving students the Panorama student survey in the coming months as part of Jeffco Public Schools.

Content. The Panorama student survey gathers information on the following:

School Belonging
School Climate
School Engagement
School Teacher-Student Relationships
School Rigorous Expectations
School Safety
Math Identity

You may review the survey questions by visiting this link.

The results are compiled into aggregate-level school climate reports. These reports are used by district leaders and school staff to help maintain the positive aspects of our schools and to address individual student needs.

It is Voluntary. Your child does not have to take the student survey. Students who participate only have to answer the questions they want to answer and they may stop taking the survey at any time.

It is Confidential. No students will be identified in any public reports or publications. Individual student information (name, student number, school and grade) will be uploaded into the Panorama system. District staff will have access to the data file. Responses are confidential and identifiable. Individual student data may be shared with school staff to provide instructional and social emotional support.

Timing: The survey will be administered January 16 - February 23, 2024. It will take about 30-45 minutes.

Opt - Out: If you do not want your child to participate in the survey, you may contact Mrs. Fritz and stephany.fritz@jeffco.k12.co.us by January 8th.