Watertown High School 825 Endeavour Drive Watertown, WI 53098 920 262 7500 (Phone) 920 262 7545 (Fax) Dear Parents and Students: I hope you are enjoying the summer! Summer School has just concluded, the building is now being cleaned, and preparations for the start of the school year continue in earnest. It won t be long before we are back at it! The main purpose of our summer newsletter is to provide you with information about the student registration process for the 2018 2019 school year. There are a lot of exciting changes underway at the Watertown Unified School District. One of the many changes this year is our online registration process. In order to improve the registration process and reduce the amount of time that people have to wait on registration day, we are collecting basic demographic information and collecting fees online. Online Skyward Registration will be available from August 1 through August 20. Everyone is required to go through the Online Skyward Registration process which can be completed from your home. Online Registration can be found via Skyward Family Access on the left hand side. If you don t have access to a computer and internet connection at home, computers will be available at Watertown High School on Thursday, August 16 th from 2 p.m. 8 p.m. and Monday, August 20 th from 7 a.m. 2 p.m. Online registration requires the full web based version of Skyward Family Access. It is not possible to register online through the Skyward mobile app. You will be given the opportunity online to pay fees and add money to your student s lunch account with a credit card, near the end of the registration process. Paying by credit card will result in a convenience fee of $2.65 per $100 (online or in person) or $1.00 fee for paying by check (online only). You may pay with cash or check at WHS on the registration days. BEFORE you proceed through the Online Registration Process you will need to obtain your Family ID. The Family ID is needed during the efunds account registration process. To find this, click on the Student Info Tab on the left side of the screen. In your student information, select the "View Student's Family" link. The Family ID is located on the right side of the window. Picture Dates: Network Photography will be at WHS to take student pictures on Thursday, September 6 th and Friday, September 7 th from 7:15 a.m. 2:30 p.m. in the WHS Fieldhouse. Please make every effort to have your student attend during the specified dates and times listed. It is still important that your student has their picture taken to secure a student ID card. Picture make up day will take place on Friday, October 12 th from 7:15 a.m. 11 a.m. You may order and pay for pictures using the following link: https://goo.gl/w6dhrx. Picture order envelopes will also be available at the Back to School Fair on Monday, August 27. Your student MUST bring the paid receipt or the picture envelope when they have their picture taken on September 6 th or 7 th. Yearbooks: The 2018 2019 yearbooks maybe purchased online through the Herff Jones website: https://goo.gl/4wskfp. There is also a shortcut on the WHS webpage. This is the only way to purchase a yearbook for this school year.
Parking Information: All parking information will be collected online via the Skyward Registration Process. Parents will need to enter the following information into the online form: student driver s license number, car make, model, year, color, current insurance vendor and policy number. Parents will need to add the parking fee of $75 to the checkout process when completing the registration. The parking fee must be paid in full. Parking hang tags can be picked up at the bookkeeping window starting on Thursday, August 23 after the completion of the registration process and fee payment. Student Schedules & Locker Information: Student schedules and locker information will be available on Skyward Family Access starting on August 1 st. Students should be advised that schedules may change before the beginning of the school year! Free/Reduced Price School Meal Forms: On Skyward Family Access, parents will find the 2018 Free and Reduced Price School Meal form. Forms can be turned in to any of the district schools. A new form must be completed each school year. Senior Graduation Information: Senior yearbook photos will need to be uploaded directly to the Herff Jones website: www.hjeshare.com and the school code is 825. Hard copy photos and emailed senior photos will not be accepted. Parents are reminded to double check their senior s name in Skyward as that name will be used for the yearbook and their diploma. If you want a middle name on your student s diploma, please make sure it is updated in Skyward. Homecoming T Shirts: Families will be able to purchase 2018 Homecoming t shirts when completing the Skyward Registration process. The Homecoming theme will be decades and each class will have a different decade. More details will be shared via the Skyward Message Center when they become available. Student Insurance: Parents interested in purchasing student insurance should visit the Student Assurance Services website: https://goo.gl/hxkfih. Freshman Orientation Day: On Monday, August 27 th, WHS will host an afternoon orientation for all incoming freshman students. The Freshman Experience will begin at 3 p.m. in the WHS Auditorium. The event will provide incoming freshmen with an opportunity to prepare for the transition to high school through sessions designed to introduce students to life as a WHS student. During the event, incoming freshmen will have an opportunity to get to know their classmates, explore the building, meet WHS faculty, ask questions of current WHS students, run through a mock schedule, and learn more about co curricular offerings. The event provides the perfect opportunity to jump start your student s experience at WHS and includes a cookout dinner with WHS faculty! The event will conclude at 6 p.m. If you have not signed up for the event, please complete the following survey link: https://goo.gl/r6gjfh. Back to School Fair: Please mark your calendars for our Back to School Fair on Monday, August 27 th from 6 p.m. 7 p.m. in the WHS Fieldhouse. The purpose of this informal event is to provide our families the opportunity to meet faculty and learn more about the curricular and co curricular offerings available at WHS. We have numerous new faculty and a wealth of co curricular opportunities available for your students. All faculty will be in attendance. Feel free to stop by any time between 6 p.m. 7 p.m.
Academic Awards: This year s Academic Award/180 Degree Program Award winners will be recognized on Monday, August 27 th at 6:30 p.m. in the WHS Auditorium. Invites will be mailed home to students who will be honored. First Day of School: The first day of school will be a full day for all students on Tuesday, September 4 th. ELT Modifications for 2018 19 At the request of the WHS Faculty, there will be some modifications to the format of our Extended Learning Time (ELT) starting this fall. Past practice has dictated that students be assigned to a staff member that the student may or may not have had for classes. As a result, there were times when our time was not used as effectively as it could be, nor was there a demonstrated relationship between all students and the assigned staff member. Moving forward, students will report to one of their assigned teachers for ELT. On Monday, students will report back to their first period teacher for ELT, on Tuesday to their second period teacher, etc. This format will guarantee students the opportunity to have additional face to face time with each of their respective teachers. In addition, we have added ELT to the schedule for Wednesday to accommodate this change. The revised bell schedule can be found later in this newsletter. Please note that we will continue to allow students to move to see other teachers as needed. Moreover, we will continue the process of Senior Release and Honors ELT. More information regarding each of these programs will be made available the first week of the school year. Early Release Wednesday s: Our school day will continue to start at 7:45 a.m. and dismiss students at 3:15 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. WUSD will continue with the early release on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Buses will now depart immediately after school on Wednesday s at 2:10 p.m. While we fully expect that the majority of the students will leave WHS following the 2 p.m. dismissal each Wednesday, we understand that may not be possible, nor practical, for all students. Consequently, we have a plan of supervision for students who need to remain at WHS as follows: 1. Supervised areas will include the commons, as well as the Media Center and Computer Lab for those interested in having a quiet place to study. 2. We will monitor the number of students who remain after school, as well as their interests, and make modifications to our after school offerings as needed. 3. Please note that supervised areas will conclude at 3:15 p.m. Skyward Communication: Please be sure to check Skyward messages on a regular basis for communication coming from WHS. I routinely send out information on a weekly basis that highlights upcoming events and other items on a need to know basis. Calendar Issues: There are a couple of deviations to the District Calendar that we want our families to be aware of. Our trimesters end on the following dates: November 30, 2018, March 1, 2019 and June 6, 2019. Please note that WHS students are dismissed at 11:30 a.m. on each of these days. In addition, WHS will have a regular day of classes on Monday, January 21, 2019. This date is listed as a no school day for students, but this applies ONLY to students in grades K 8. Grading Changes: The WHS Faculty spent much of this past school year discussing grading and investigating research associated with best practices in grading and assessment. It is our desire to use grading practices that provide feedback to students and parents that accurately reflects what students know and are able to do relative to established learning targets.
Throughout the learning process, emphasis is placed on the development of skills and content knowledge rather than on the accumulation of points and grades. Formative feedback provides opportunities for students to respond to that feedback with additional learning opportunities and support as deemed reasonable and appropriate by the classroom teacher. At the culmination of a term, emphasis is placed on the achievement and mastery of instructional standards as the primary factor in determining final grades. Letter grades will reflect student mastery through a variety of assessments including, but not limited to, in class assignments and activities, research projects, authentic performance assessments, quizzes, tests, essays, simulations and examinations. To that end, the following practices supported by Board Policy #5220 will be implemented starting this fall in all WHS classes: 1. Extra Credit Extra credit will no longer be offered. The use of extra credit to raise a grade can result in a misrepresentation of what a student knows and is able to do. Instead, students will be provided the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and knowledge through multiple assessments and/or retesting. 2. Grade Formation No more than 20% of a grade shall be formative, with the balance of the grade coming from summative sources. Teachers who teach like courses will determine the value of formative assessment and communicate that information with students on the first day of classes. For clarification, formative assessment is essentially practice homework, classwork, journals, rough drafts, observations, quizzes, etc. Summative assessment is the game. Tests, exams, final papers, final skill demonstrations, presentations, etc. 3. Summative Assessment Retakes Providing retakes on summative assessments recognizes the fact that students learn at different rates and that we all can have a bad day. Students can earn the opportunity to retake a summative assessment when a student: a. Completes additional learning opportunities as determined by the teacher (ie. ELT) b. The student completes all formative assessments for that unit. c. The student completes a Retake Request Form, including parent/guardian signature. d. The retake may involve a full reassessment or focusing only on standards not mastered. e. Some students may request full retakes to improve grades, and this is acceptable. f. Timing of retakes will be established by the teacher. g. Retakes may not apply to all types of summative assessments including, but not limited to, long term, multi step assessments such as a research paper, projects, presentations, and the assessment of specific skills such as reading. h. Retake opportunities are not available for trimester exams. 4. Late Work Accepting late work allows us to provide accurate feedback to students about what they know or don t know. It also acknowledges the fact that students are busy and Life happens. Late work shall be accepted under the following conditions: a. Late work will be accepted after the due date and up to the deadline date and may be subject to a maximum 10% deduction. b. The due date (when something should be completed by) and deadline date (absolute latest it will be accepted) will be established by the teacher. c. Formative work submitted after the deadline date may result in a 0 at the discretion of the teacher. Report Cards: In an effort to be both fiscally responsible and environmentally friendly, WHS does not routinely mail hard copies of report cards home. This would include the conclusion of the grading periods and progress report grades. All grades can be viewed in Skyward. We will, however, mail home copies of the report card to graduating seniors at the conclusion of trimester 3 at the end of the school year. If you do not have internet access at home, please contact the Student Services Office so hard copies can be sent to you.
Attendance: Not surprisingly, school attendance has been found to be the main drive in course success. In fact, course attendance is eight times more predictive of course failure in the freshman year than 8 th grade assessment data. In our trimester schedule, school attendance becomes even more important. Consider the following research conducted by the University of Chicago: College ready students have average attendance rates of 98%, meaning they miss less than one week over the course of the entire school year. Each week of absences in ninth grade is associated with a more than 20 percentage point decline in the probability of graduating high school. (The numbers are not appreciably better for older students.) As you can see, attendance can have a significant impact on school success. The same holds true for employment you are not employable if you are frequently absent! Clearly, there are times when attending school is not possible (ie. Illness, family emergency, etc.). We simply are encouraging you to use discretion when considering removing your child from school and want you to understand the potential impact. By the time you received this letter, August will have arrived. We look forward to our building being filled with the energy and enthusiasm of our students in the very near future! Sincerely, William Loss Watertown High School Principal Upcoming Events September 24: Financial Aid Night October 6: Homecoming Dance September 30: Homecoming Week October 12: Picture Re take day