Witt Elementary School

Reminder: No school for students on Thursday, August 6th due to Election Day.

Recordatorio: No hay clases para los estudiantes el jueves 6 de agosto debido al día de las elecciones.

Grade level parent meetings begin next week. We hope to see you there!

Kindergarten: August 10, 5-6PM
First Grade: August 4, 5:30
Second Grade: August 6, 5:30
Third Grade: August 3, 4:30-6:30, Drop-In
Fourth Grade: August 3, 5:00
Fifth Grade: August 3, 5:00

Treat Bags ✅️
Two Excited Teachers ✅️
What's missing? YOU!
Kindergarten teachers are looking forward to the drop-in visits from some of the littlest cubs 🐯 tomorrow morning.

Parents/Guardians,
Welcome back or simply welcome! I hope you and yours had an enjoyable summer and your students are ready to go back to school. This is an exciting time and our Team is ready and anxious to welcome back your students and kick off the new school year.

Last year was an excellent year. This was our 5 th straight year of improvement in student achievement in both English Language Arts and Math across the district, and we are excited to keep building on that success for every student. As we being another exciting school year, I want to share a few important updates and reminders that
will help us work together to provide every student with a safe, positive, and successful school experience.

𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲
Safety of our students and staff remains our top priority. We continue to assess the safety and security of our schools and in coordination with our administrators make adjustments to improve safety.
Additionally, we now have RAPTOR hardware for each of our schools, except Miller Boyd, for visitor entry and will have it fully operational in schools within a month. And, with great support from the Sheriff’s Department and County Government, we continue to have an SRO in every school and two in those elementary schools with two buildings. We take every threat seriously and will work diligently
with local law enforcement until a threat is neutralized or proven to not be credible. Please encourage your student that if they see something, say something. We need their help to ensure the safety of everyone.

𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐀𝐈)
We have selected MagicSchool as the district’s AI platform. MagicSchool is specifically designed for use in schools. Our Team has written an AI Handbook to outline our priorities and guidelines for how we intend to utilize AI. If after reading the Handbook you have questions, please reach out to your administrator.

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬
The student Personal Communication Device Policy has not changed, and it will be enforced starting day one. Please ensure your student is aware of the policy.

𝐓𝐇𝐂 𝐕𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬
Our policy has not changed and THC Vapes remain a Zero Tolerance Offense. Please ensure your student is aware of the policy.

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲
Last year, we had a number of incidences of students violating the Acceptable Use Policy. The agreement limits what students can do with the computers, and it is designed to protect our students. As a result of what we saw last year, we have taken additional steps this year to better protect our students and our network. I want families to understand that students who violate the terms in the Acceptable Use Policy should expect appropriate disciplinary actions in accordance with district policy.

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
The law now mandates that all parents/guardians will be notified by the end of the day if students must be relocated because of a student’s disruptive behavior. As such, you will get messages and notes from the schools if we encounter these scenarios.

Limiting Screen Time for K-5 Students
A new state law requires school districts to adopt a policy that explains how technology will be used in kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms with the goal of limiting unnecessary student screen time. As we refine our approach, we are placing a much greater emphasis on meaningful, teacher led instruction, hands on learning, collaborative activities, and purposeful use of technology when it enhances student learning.
Additionally, kindergarten and first grade classrooms will no longer be one-to-one, meaning each student will not be assigned an individual device. This change not only reduces costs for the district but also aligns with both the intent of the new law and our commitment to providing developmentally appropriate learning experiences for our youngest students.

𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
A new law mandates instruction of K-12 students on Human Trafficking. We are still developing exactly what we will instruct on this sensitive subject, particularly with our younger students. We will advise you before we cover this topic in class, so you are aware beforehand and do not get completely surprised by a question.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥
We continue our efforts to improve communications. During the budget process, I committed to fielding a District Communication Tool. The intent is to have a common district tool for all schools and all activities (sports, clubs, teachers,…). The goal is to make it easier for you to communicate with us and easier for our Team to communicate with you. Due to a variety of factors, it will be another 2 to 3 months before we get this operational across the district. We will keep you informed and give you updates as we move forward.

𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Thank you! Last year, I asked you to help in improving student attendance because every day in school contributes to student success, and you delivered. District attendance improved last year. I hope we continue this trend in the coming year. Our attendance policy will have some minor changes to meet new state law requirements. Those changes deal with truancy tracking and transfer students. That policy is under revision and should be finalized after the next school board meeting. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the current policy.

𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝
I strongly encourage you to get involved and engaged in the activities of your student’s school. Your engagement will demonstrate the importance of education of your students. Do not hesitate to contact the School’s Administrator and Teachers with any issues. We want and welcome your engagement. We want to work together to get all students the best education possible. If you reach out to me or one of the Assistant Superintendents, the first question you should expect is “Have you talked to the school?” If the answer is no, you should expect us to steer you back to the school. The Administrators and Teachers are much more closely aligned and better informed of any concerns or issues and will have the best insight to handle situations at the lowest possible level and handle those as quickly as possible.

Again, Welcome Back! We are excited to get the new school year started and look forward to working for and with you as we “Shape Hamblen County’s Future One Student At A Time”.

Very Respectfully,
Arnie

It’s almost that time! We can’t wait to see everyone! We have missed you.

We would like to introduce our new crossing guard, Marie Howe! Welcome to the family!

We spy our new fifth grade teacher at the mall’s Back to School Night! (And a former student-turned-teacher, too—we see you Miss Livesay!)