September 22, 2016

8th Challenge Kick-Off Assembly

All WCS 8th graders will attend an 8th Grade Kick-Off on Wednesday, Sept. 28th from 8:10-9:10 in the auditorium.    Former WCS students will share their projects as examples and students will reflect on their project goals for the year.  Parents are welcome to attend!

Williston Annual Fund

All in-state Swift House field trips are funded through The Williston Annual Fund.  This fund is organized by the Williston FAP.  Instead of asking for payment for each trip we take, we ask that parents donate once a year to the fund.  These trips include our campout, the Flynn, and our end of the year picnic at Sandbar State Park.  To learn more about the fund, click here.  To donate, please click here.  Thank you!

School Pictures

Wednesday, September 28th

School photos are taking place on Wednesday, September 28th at the times listed below.  Please send in the order forms,even if you are not ordering pictures.  Thank you.

10:50: Ms. Donnelly and Mr. Hunt
11:10: Ms. Skapof and Ms. Laberge

Curriculum Night

Thank you to those who were able to attend Curriculum Night last Thursday.  Parents heard an overview of our new district-wide standards-based assessment program and PLP requirements in the auditorium.   You can see that presentation here.

In Swift House we reviewed our communications systems, technology policies and parent involvement.  We have submitted our application to the School Board for the Washington DC trip in June and will soon start reaching out to parents for fundraising activities such as bottle drives and "Fun Nights." Click on the image below to view our slide show.

Sovereign States Project

7/8 graders are creating a fictitious "sovereign state" in SS. Components of the project include a name for their "Sovereign State", designing a flag, and including information about geography, government, population, a map, and protective services for their "state's" citizens!

Demi and Shelby planning

Melaina and Olivia in progress

Jonas works on his drawing

Gus and Sedira plan our their state

Some finished projects:

Amelia and Aria

Shane and Manny

Google Classroom Parent Notifications

All parents have been invited to Google Classroom as guardians, meaning you can receive a weekly or daily summary of assignments posted.  However, numerous parents have not received the invitation via e-mail.  Please check your spam folders if you have not received an e-mail from Google Classroom.

We have also since learned that parents need a Google Account (but not G-Mail) in order to accept the invitation.  Please see the details below:

 Do I need a Gmail address to be invited? No! You can use your current email address to receive an invitation. You will need to create a Google Account to accept the invitation, but you can do so with your existing email address. Learn more about invitations for Classroom guardian email summaries.

 Do I need a Google Account to receive email summaries? For security reasons, you need a Google Account to receive email summaries from Classroom. You don’t need Gmail to create the account—you can create a Google Account with your current email address. A Google Account allows you to set the frequency of your emails, update your locale, and view all students connected to your account. Learn more about invitations for Classroom guardian email summaries.

So, those parents with Comcast, Yahoo, MSN, or other email addresses beside gmail.com will need to follow the steps above. It's a security measure. Read more at the link to FAQs for this feature. (there are FAQs for teachers as well as for parents)

Of course, you may choose not to receive notifications.  We will certainly continue our weekly Greensheets to communicate work completion.  In case you'd like one more option. you can download the Google Classroom App onto a smartphone or tablet.  Have your son or daughter log in once and you will have ongoing access to their live classroom feeds.