Northern Heights Elementary School

WCCS Families, With winter break here, I want to remind you that the safety and well-being of our school community continue to be a top priority. The holidays are a time when some students may need additional support. During the break, the reporting feature for STOPit, our anonymous reporting system will be shut off. Students will continue to have access to the app for local resources and the Crisis Text Line services during the break. The reporting feature will come back into service on January 5. -Lyle Kuhmichel Director of District Safety and Student Services

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.

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

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

Hey, Eagles! Remember to be you this summer. There is only one you! As a reminder with STOPit App, you can connect with local resources and anonymously text with trained counselors. Learn more about STOPit on our page wccsonline.com/page/stopit. #SummerBreak #SummerEncouragment #ExperienceWCCS #StudentSuccess

All Skyward SMS 2.0 systems will be down beginning Friday, June 21st at 6:00 p.m. and continuing until 7:00 p.m. Saturday, June 22nd, while our host is installing the latest updates. Please refrain from making eFunds payments during this time as well as they may not be properly recorded.

Happy Last Day, Eagles! Have a great summer! What are your summer plans? Share what you're most excited for in the comments! #ExperienceWCCS #BetterTogether

Whitley County Consolidated Schools Board of School Trustees approved an updated school calendar for the 2024-2025 year to reflect five additional professional development (or teacher only) days for our staff. The additional staff-only days were added through a 1003 waiver approved by the State. Students attend 5 fewer days during the school year but still exceed state guidelines for the number of required instructional minutes for the school year. The change in calendar provides WCCS staff professional development opportunities to advance district strategic plan pillars of Comprehensive Student Experience, Employee Experience and Organizational Excellence. Find the calendar on the WCCS App or online at wccsonline.com.

Soar with the Eagles Cross Country Camp registration is now open! See images for more information and registration form.