Little Turtle Elementary School

Columbia City High School students from Eagle Tech Academy invite all WCCS elementary families to join them for a FREE Book Fair with Princess Belle and Santa! Hosted on Dec. 12 from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Peabody Public Library elementary students and their families are invited to meet Belle, take photos with Santa, and refresh their home libraries with community -donated books. *Flyer created by students* #ExperienceWCCS

Welcome back, Eagles! As a reminder, there are no students tomorrow, December 3. This is a scheduled professional development day for all of our staff.

This morning, we hosted our inaugural Veterans Day Parade! All of our students and staff celebrated our community veterans with signs, songs and cheering of thanks! Thank you, Veterans! Happy Veterans Day!

Little Turtle Elementary will have our first annual Veterans Day Car Parade to honor Veterans and all of our Armed Forces. This Parade is to honor Veterans and all members of our Armed Forces. It will be a backward parade of sorts, all Veterans and any service men and women will drive their cars around our marked "parade route" No Veterans are getting out of their cars, just driving though, as we cheer you on and celebrate you! The parade is on Monday, November 11 at 9:00-10:00 am. We want students to try to invite someone in the military. That’s where we need your help! We need to know who those special people are. If you know or can invite someone in the United States Armed Forces, past or present, please ask them to come! We want to honor as many as we can. Please contact Brandi Duncan at Little Turtle Elementary with any questions. Brandi Duncan Music Teacher

All WCCS Skyward SMS 2.0 systems will be down beginning Friday, October 11th at 6:00 p.m. and continuing until 7:00 p.m. Saturday, October 12th, while our host is installing the latest updates. Please refrain from making eFunds payments during this time, as well, because they may not be properly recorded.

Columbia City High School Fine Arts presents Beauty and the Beast! Tickets are on sale now. Friday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 9 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Purchase Tickets here: https://cur8.com/18800/project/125271?fbclid=IwY2xjawFfj71leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHRA8Vp6eWFon14dczXek4GJvNMEVxA-ScR4D_vAheyFuisQtZdTOPbx35Q_aem_1gLvr9Yb0eFEqAaL2tMnZw Tickets are $10 each and a show you won't want to miss. Bring your princess and beasts to a Tea Party with Mrs. Potts following the 2 p.m. show on Saturday! #ExperienceWCCS #BeautyandtheBeast

Following yesterday's threat, Whitley County Consolidated Schools wants to thank our Whitley County Sheriff Department and Columbia City Police Department, along with the Indiana State Police, for their organized response and communication with our WCCS administration in resolving this incident. Our relationship with the police department stood up to the test of a threat, thank you. Secondly, we know communication to our families can seem vague. Student and staff safety is our highest priority. We want to assure you we take all threats about our school and students very seriously and we act on them quickly. We share the details as soon as we can. Due to the nature of the threat, confidentiality has been upheld. WCCS is taking necessary disciplinary action for the student(s) involved. Parents, please speak with your child(ren) about their role in school safety. It is crucial that if a student sees something, or hears something, they need to say something. From the police, the investigation would have gone smoother if the initial social media post hadn’t been shared and re-routed so many times. When students know something, they should report the incident to either a staff member, police, or other authoritative figure, instead of sharing the post with their peers. This way authorities can begin the investigation and determine the severity and legitimacy of the threat. Students can also use the anonymous tip line of STOPit via wccsonline.com/page/stopit or the mobile app. STOPit allows students and family members the power to help end harmful and inappropriate behavior they see online through social media, hear of incidents, and other means. STOPit can be used to report bullying, cyberbullying, discrimination, harassment, violence, threats, weapons, alcohol or drug-related issues, mental health struggles like suicidal ideations, or any other concerns. This is a community that cares deeply for our students and their safety. We want you to know that while this incident did cause fear and concern, our systems worked the way they were supposed to and we saw clear evidence of our ongoing training and preparedness for crisis response. As a reminder, official communication comes through the WCCS app (Whitley County Consolidated Schools in Google Play or App Store), Whitley County Consolidated Schools Facebook, WCCSonline.com, and email notifications, or as a phone call. Parents should verify their Skyward accounts are accurate. We know communication is a personal preference and continue to work to build transparent systems that work for all. Please know that we will continue to build on what we learned yesterday and today, what went well and what can be improved.

Friday, Sept. 13 | The Columbia City Police have identified the source of the initial post. There is no threat to student safety. There will be increased police presence today, however, we know the threat was not credible. Thank you CC Police Department for your investigation and support of our student and staff safety.

Remember, all WCCS students get FREE breakfast this year! As part of a pilot program for the 2024/25 school year, each morning, WCCS students can join us for a nutritious breakfast free of charge. Breakfast is available after the morning bus drop-off.

We are once again introducing our new teachers! Welcome to WCCS! #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #ExperienceWCCS

A WCCS Connection is coming to your mailbox soon! Each quarter WCCS publishes a newsletter for our community to see some of our highlights and our updates. View the latest issue: https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/2777/WCCS/4709892/WCCS_Connection_Summer_2024.pdf What do you like most about the publication? What would you like to see? Let us know in the comments.

We are once again introducing our new teachers! Welcome to WCCS! #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #ExperienceWCCS

During last night's board meeting, our 2023-2024 Teachers of the Year and Exemplary Staff of the Year were recognized and awarded their plaques. Teacher of the Year finalists were: Alissa Roberts, Columbia City High School; Amy Shearer, Indian Springs Middle School; and Erin Fudge, WCCS Elementary Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Fudge was named WCCS Teacher of the Year. Jill Lickey, Tanya Yager and Steve Corbin were Exemplary Employee finalists. Steve Corbin was named WCCS Exemplary Employee of the Year and works in our transportation department. Thank you, City Automall and Kasey Shirey for your partnership to award the finalists. The public presentation takes place this Friday during the home football game! Also recognized and awarded was Bob Schneider (light blue shirt) who was recognized by EduStaff as the Substitute Teacher of the Year. Presenting his award was Blair Baumgartner, Indiana District Manager for EduStaff. Thank you, WCCS teachers and staff for all you do! #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #BetterTogether

We are once again introducing our new teachers! Welcome to WCCS! #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #ExperienceWCCS

We are once again introducing our new teachers! Welcome to WCCS! #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #ExperienceWCCS

We are once again introducing our new teachers! Welcome to WCCS! #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #ExperienceWCCS

Meet the teachers and walk through the building on August 12 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Open Houses are a great opportunity for your child(ren) and families to meet the teachers and the classrooms for the year. Ask questions and be fully ready for back to school with the Open House opportunity. #ExperienceWCCS #BacktoSchool

WCCS School Nutrition is excited to announce Free Breakfast for all K-12 students as part of a pilot program for the 2024/25 school year. Each morning, WCCS students can join us for a nutritious breakfast free of charge. Breakfast is available after the morning bus drop-off.

School Supply Lists are Available! It's never too soon to begin shopping for the school year. Our first day is August 16. Find school supply lists here: .wccsonline.com/page/supplies-overview

WCCS is hiring! Our focus today is Elementary Teachers, but you can view all of our career opportunities here: applitrack.com/r8esc/onlineapp/default.aspx?choosedistrict=true&applitrackclient=37410 Long-term substitute posting is available, too! #ExperienceWCCS #Hiring #Education #WCCS