Willowville Elementary School

4529 Schoolhouse Road * Batavia, OH 45103 *

January 2015 513-943-6800 513-752-9181 fax

What's Up Willowville?

Dear Willowville Parents and Students,

The Almanac predicts a shivery January! However, whenever we have the opportunity to go outside for

recess, we would like to take students outside to burn off their energy and get some fresh air! We

have had the nasty “flu bug” in our building and have been doing our best to clean desks, tables, chairs

and door knobs. We always encourage hand washing and covering our mouth when coughing or sneezing.

Donations of Clorox/Lysol wipes, Kleenex and hand sanitizer are always welcome!

We have completed our winter DIBELS testing for fluency and accuracy. I’m very pleased that many

of our students made the winter benchmark for their grade level! Please continue to encourage your

child to read every night, either independently or with you. Ask your child about the other resources

they use to increase their reading, vocabulary and comprehension; such as, the fresh reads from our

Reading Street program, pearsonsuccess.net website, starfall.com, MobyMax, and Study Island just to

name a few.

Our Library Stars program will continue through the end of April. It’s easy to participate; register at

the front desk in the Union Township Library, check in each time you visit the library, and every month

we will tally the visits for your child to receive a prize. Additionally, each time you visit the library,

your name is written on a ticket and placed in a grade level container for a chance to win the grand

prize at the end of the school year which will be a $25 gift card to Scholastic Books per grade level.

We are fortunate to bring back a few of the clubs for this school year. I would like to congratulate

our Student Council members for this year; Lucy Hale, Brady Glass, Lilly Hosler, Conner Kasten, Melanie

Burns, Logan Shaw, Trinity Powell, Landyn McEvoy, Charlize Jones, Paxton Dunford, Mallory Henderson,

Koury Warren, Izzy Stone, Nick Keating, Gween Retes, Caleb Reynolds, Abby Miles and Jackson Fite.

All students who ran for Student Council will be part of the whole group meetings and have responsibil-

ities to fulfill. Please see Mrs. Flanigan for all the paperwork. Additionally, our Yearbook and Walk

Clubs will begin soon. Information and details will come home at a later date.

Yearbooks are now on sale for $20. You will not want to miss the memories from the school year!

Thank you Willowville Families for your support!

Sincerely,

Michelle Kennedy

Michelle Kennedy, Principal

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You may contact Mrs. Prewitt by e-mail:

prewitt_k@westcler.org

Important Numbers:

Office 943-6800

24 hour Attendance Line 943-6804

Willowville Fax 752-9181

Health Aide 943-6803

Transportation 752-4020

Registration Office 943-5000

The newsletter, as well as many

important links, is available on the

WV website.

www.westcler.k12.oh.us

Father / Daughter Dance

Watch for more information about

The Father/Daughter dance!

coming home soon!!

The Mitten Tree

Thank you so much

to everyone who donated.

We collected:

150 items

to go to the Batavia YWCA.

THANK YOU!

Marco’s Pizza Day-all day!

January 13th!

Anytime this day when you order

from Marco’s, mention Willowville

and your child’s teacher.

Not only will Willowville receive a

percentage of profit from sales, but

the class with the most

referrals/sales will win a pizza party!

MARCO’S PIZZA CHALLENGE!

Winning classroom for the December challenge………

Mrs. Sears 1st grade class!

Your class will win a pizza party from Marco’s!

YEARBOOKS ARE COMING!!

REMEMBER THE TIMES!

Order online at ybp.lifetouch.com with

order code 2361715

Order forms also available in the office.

$20.00 due by March 6.2015

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO START!

“BE A LIBRARY STAR” IS GOING ON THRU THE END OF

APRIL AT THE UNION TOWNSHIP LIBRARY. PRIZES WILL BE

AWARDED MONTHLY BASED ON THE NUMBER OF TIMES YOU

VISIT THE LIBRARY AND A GRAND PRIZE DRAWING WILL

HAPPEN AT THE END. MAKE SURE YOU ARE STOPPING AT

THE DESK AND GETTING CREDIT FOR YOUR VISITS.

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Mark your calendar.......

Jan. 5- School resumes/ Specials Week

Jan. 12- WV Skate Night 6:30-8:30 Beechmont Rollarena

Jan. 13– Marco’s Pizza Day– All day

Jan. 14- PTO Meeting 6:30pm @ WV

Jan. 14- Market Day Pickup 6:45 @ WV

Jan. 15- Warrior Warehouse during lunches

Jan. 15- End of 2nd quarter

Jan. 16- NO SCHOOL– Professional Day

Jan. 19- NO SCHOOL– MLK Day

Jan. 29- Warrior Warehouse during lunches

Jan. 30- Box top collection

Looking Ahead…….. FEBRUARY IS HEART HEALTHY MONTH!

Feb. 5- Evening Conference Night 4:30– 8:00

Feb. 6– Chuck E Cheese Night

Feb. 10– Evening Conference Night 4:30– 8:00

Feb. 10- Marco’s Pizza Day– All day

Feb. 11- PTO Meeting 6:30pm @ WV

Feb. 11– Market Day Pickup 6:45 @ WV

Feb. 12– Warrior Warehouse during lunches

Feb. 13– NO SCHOOL– Professional Day

Feb. 16- NO SCHOOL– President’s Day

Feb. 17– Skate Night 6:30-8:30 Beechmont Rollarena

Feb. 26– Warrior Warehouse during lunches

March 1-Yearbook sales end

WV SKATE NIGHT!!

January 17th!

6:30-8:30pm

Beechmont Rollarena

Cost is $3.00 admission,

$2.00 skate rental….

OR bring your own

skates!

SNOW DAY OR DELAY??

When Willowville is delayed or closed for weather, you will receive a phone call

from our District Office. You may also call our School Closing Information line at

943-6898, or look on the District Website www.westcler.org under

“announcements”.

On television or on radio, it will be announced as West Clermont Local Schools.

Please do not call the school office or transportation as we need to keep the line

open for emergency information.

District Board

Meetings:

January 8, 2013

7:00 p.m.

at the Civic Center

(Suite 200)

December Student of the Month

KG 3rd

Noah Poynter Billy Hanks

Joseph Reuss Noah Emery

Braudrieck Collins Mason Campbell

1st 4th

Sophie Fahey Trinity Powell

Jayla Maldonado Morgan Myers

Hailey Moore Jackson Wahl

2nd 5th

Kylie Holmer Xander Jump

Jayden Combs Isabel Griner

Bryson Trego Emily Ayers

Congratulations!

2015 Spelling Bee

Congratulations to our 4th/5th grade finalists for the 2015 Spelling Bee!

The finalists will compete on January 9th at 9:30am.

4th grade finalists

Mrs. Flanigan’s room

Gracie McNeal, Mallory Henderson

Ian Keeley, Kaden Bradburn

Devin Annis

Ms. Balmos’ room

Will Fryman, Jackson Miller

Adam Miller, Julia Vernier

Myles Locher

Mrs. Arnold’s room

Landyn McEvoy, Olivia Wroblewski

Trinity Powell, Mitchell McGraw

Jeffrey Morris

5th grade finalists

Ms. Hickey’s room

Nick Keating, Kaden Buckman

Izzy Stone, Marcus Smith

Jackson Pawlowicz

Mrs. Crane’s room

Abby Miles, Kailey Shull

Conrad Hale, Sydney Taylor

Logan West

Mrs. Steven’s room

Joey French, Dylan Castle

Kylee Gillman, Caleb Reynolds

Ben Murray

The West Clermont School District is planning to increase services for the 2015 – 2016 school year.

Earlier this year, several factors improved the overall health of the district’s five-year financial forecast: Employees agreed to salary freezes and benefit concessions; Retirees were replaced with lower salaried employees; An increase in state funding; and, several one time events such as the Medicare settlement, tax appeal settlements, and Tax Increment Finance (TIF) revenue. “The improved forecast allows the district to improve services,” said West Clermont Superinten-dent Keith Kline.

According to Kline, the district will phase in educational programming. “It’s important that we remain conservative and responsible with our resources,” said Kline. “We need time to carefully analyze initiatives that will have a high impact on learning. Some of those will take significant planning and prep time to be ready for the start of school this fall,” he added. “Designing curriculum, staffing, facility usage, necessary equipment, and staff training are critical elements of increasing or changing services to meet the needs of our students and community.”

Phase One initiatives to be implemented in 2015 -16 include summer school, services for gifted students, one additional Arts team at the elementary level, the addition of a technology teacher to each elementary “Arts Team,” and additional transportation services.

According to Kline, summer school is a cost neutral program that will satisfy the need for credit recovery opportunities for students in grades nine through 12. Summer school also provides an opportunity for students in grades eight through 12 to fulfill the required high school physical education credit outside of the regular school day. Additional cost $ - 0.

Schools in Ohio are required to identify gifted students. Two Gifted Intervention Specialists will be hired to facilitate a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, (S.T.E.M.) Center. Though the Center will be housed at Glen Este High School, services will be provided to third through fifth grade students from all over the district, who are identified as gift-ed. Students will be transported from their elementary school, on a rotating basis, for enhanced educational opportuni-ties. “We also plan to use the S.T.E.M. Center as a professional development resource for all elementary school teach-ers,” Kline commented. “Such a resource will benefit all of the elementary students in West Clermont,” he said. Additional cost - $100 thousand.

Currently, the district offers Art, Music, and Physical Education to elementary students on a limited basis. The addition of another “Arts Team” will increase services for every elementary student in West Clermont. As a result of parent input, the district will address the need for 21st century skill development and digital citizenship, by adding one technology teacher to each “Arts Team.” Next year, elementary students will not only experience Art, Music and Physical Education, but also technology classes. Additional cost $332 thousand.

Transportation service is back on the table. An additional $1 million allows the district to bring back full transportation for students in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade. Students in grades nine through 12 will be offered the opportunity to Pay-to-Ride for a nominal fee. The district’s current transportation provider, (Petermann) will offer both services, which will start in the fall of 2015. According to Kline, Petermann needs six months of lead-time to purchase buses, and hire and train drivers.

The important Phase Two initiatives are scheduled for analysis after the state biennial budget is approved in 2015. “We cannot buy everything at once,” said Kline, “Employee compensation, all day-every day Kindergar-ten, and more community access to elementary buildings are on hold until we see what the new biennial budget looks like in late spring.”

Here are a few frequently asked questions and answers. Please share.

Why are you returning K-8 busing and not doing so for high school students? Great question. When we add back busing for students grades 9-12, it must be provided for both West Cler-mont students as well as all parochial students who live in the district. We estimate that would put 1,500 stu-dents on buses at a cost of $2.3 million over a year. While the district is making good strides fiscally, we simp-ly cannot afford to spend that much to transport high school students at this time. While we would love to put every student on a bus, it is not financially responsible for us to do so.

How many students will have transportation now that K-8 busing is coming back? We have estimated that approximately 3,800 additional West Clermont and parochial students will have bus-ing starting with the first day of school in August. The total cost for the return of K-8 service is approximately $1 million.

What does the Pay-to-Ride for 9-12 graders look like? We have been working with Petermann, our bus service, to provide a pay-to-ride service for high school stu-dents who are in need of transportation. Parents would work with Petermann to register their student in late spring so that Petermann can schedule pickup spots and determine a final rate. We do expect the rate to be somewhere around $3.00 a day. More information on this will be sent out by Petermann before this school year ends.

- See more at: http://www.westcler.k12.oh.us/districtNewsArticle.aspx?artID=12109#sthash.wSd6RWqv.dpuf

Santa Breakfast 2014

Willowville Elementary

Walk-A-Thon Prize levels!

Cotton Candy Party DANCE PARTY!

Movie/Popcorn

Skallyw

ag Tag

Hot Chocolate/P.J. Day

Spin the Prize Wheel

LIMO RIDE

FOOT PRINTS

on the wall!