Back-to-School Information ( 2009-2010 School Year)

Walla Walla Public Schools Back-to-School Information ( 2009-2010 School Year)

SCHOOL OPENS - Tuesday, August 25, 2009

2009-2010 No School Days

Kids Day at Fair - Sept. 4

Labor Day - Sept. 7

Learning Improvement Day - Sept. 18

Veterans Day - Nov. 11

Fall Conferences - Nov. 23 & 24

Thanksgiving Break - Nov. 25-27

Winter Break - Dec. 21- Jan. 1

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Jan. 18

Presidents Day - Feb. 15

Spring Conferences - March 4 & 5

Spring Vacation - March 29 - Apr. 2

No School Day - May 7

Memorial Day - May 27

HOW TO REGISTER FOR SCHOOL - Students may register year-round (except mid-June to mid-August) at their attendance area school. District boundary maps detailing your attendance areas are available at all Walla Walla Public Schools, the district office and online at www.wwps.org. Attendance area is based on street address.

Elementary School: Students entering kindergarten must be five years old on or before August 31.

What is needed:

- birth certificate or hospital birth record

- list of immunizations

 Secondary School

What is needed:

- list of immunizations

- withdrawal sheet or report card from the previous school

ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN - Prospective kindergartners should register at their attendance area elementary schools. Registration is typically the third week of March. Please see the district's website and local newspapers for specific dates. District boundary maps detailing your attendance area are available at all Walla Walla Public Schools, the district office and online: www.wwps.org. Attendance area is based on street address.

 ELEMENTARY & KINDERGARTEN ENROLLMENT - Elementary school offices reopen for business Monday, August 17, 2009. Parents who did not register their elementary school children may register them beginning on that date.

ATTENDANCE AREA SCHOOLS - Students living within the attendance boundaries of a school are given preference to attend that school. If students in an attendance area fill that school to its capacity, open enrollment and transfer requests from outside the district into the school may be denied.

OPEN ENROLLMENT - Parents/guardians of students who reside within the Walla Walla Public Schools district may request open enrollment to another school within the district provided that: the school has the attendance capacity and programs to meet the student's needs; and the parent/guardian provides transportation to the school of choice for the student. Open enrollment forms are available at the student's attendance area school (K-8). Application for open enrollment must be requested annually on a first-come, first-served basis. A designated open enrollment period is scheduled approximately the third week of March to help establish placement priorities. Open enrollment procedures are available at your attendance area school.

Keeping our schools safe - Walla Walla Public Schools meets the requirements of SAFE SCHOOLS RCW 28A.320.125. Each school has a comprehensive safe schools plan. Each building principal is certified on the use of the Washington incident command system. Each school provides for permitting the facility to be used as a community asset in the event of a communitywide emergency that is not related to school operations.

The school district annually reviews the safe school plan, and a number of other related matters; including inventory, hazardous materials, updating school mapping, identifying all staff trained on the nation's incident management system or incident command systems, evacuation procedures, and notification of staff on emergency procedures. The district files annual reports on these reviews with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Each school completes monthly safety drills, including a drill for lockdowns, shelter-in-place, and six fire drills. Schools also consider drills for earthquakes, tsunamis, or other high risk events. All drills are documented. Safety is of the utmost importance to us. It is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that our children and visitors are safe. In the event of a disaster, we will make every attempt to keep your child at school. We may send home safety information or ask you to particpate in trainings or surveys. Your eyes and ears help us! Please cooperate and model appropriate behaviors so that the children know that this is a top priority.

E-NEWS - Electronic Newsletter - It's simple! Just go to the News and Events area on the district website (www.wwps.org) and sign up! We'll e-mail you school closure announcements, news briefs and more -- directly to the computer of your choice.

BOUNDARY MAP - ONLINE AT WWW.WWPS.ORG - Last November, school board members approved boundary revisions culminating nearly two years of study. The changes take effect Fall 2009. The new boundaries will increase Edison Elementary enrollment for the new school, maintain neighborhood schools, and balance enrollment in all district elementary schools.

The boundary revisions also created a middle school feeder school model:

Feeder School Model:

Pioneer Middle School

- Edison, Berney, Green Park

 Garrison Middle School

- Blue Ridge , Prospect Pt, Sharpstein

TRANSPORTATION - All qualified students living outside a one mile radius or more from their school may ride a school bus. Transportation funding is supplied by the State of Washington and Walla Walla Public Schools . Parents are asked to review bus safety rules (provided at the beginning of the school year) with their children, and remind them that they must maintain good self-discipline. This helps ensure each child enjoys a safe ride to and from school or other activities. Please remember, bus riding is a privilege.

NOTE: Prior arrangements must be made with the principal if a child is to be transported to a destination other than the regular bus stop or if parents will be transporting the child on a temporary or permanent basis.

Online Bus Routes: http://www.wwps.org/support/transportation/busroutes.htm

FOOD SERVICES - All schools offer students nourishing meals. Our professional culinary staff take pride in serving Walla Walla youth. Each day our staff prepares breakfast and lunch for students at all grade levels. We continually receive superior inspection reports for cleanliness, quality and service. We strive to keep our meal prices to a minimum and our free and reduced-price meal program is available to eligible families. We provide a prepay meal deposit account for each student. Families may send cash or checks to the cafeteria daily, weekly, monthly, or annually.

Students may then access these funds by account number or finger scanner. We also provide a pay on-line program for credit and debit cards. Charging is only permitted in emergency situations at the elementary and middle school grade levels. Balances must be paid as soon as possible. There is no charging allowed at the high school.

Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program: Parents whose family income falls within specified guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture may apply for free or reduced-price meals for their children. Applications are mailed in early August to every Walla Walla School District family and a second application is sent home with your child on the first day of school . It is important to send money or a sack lunch with your students until you have received notice that your application has been approved.

Families eligible for free or reduced-price meals may be eligible for other services such as health services. For more information, contact Food Services Director Pam Milleson, 527-3016.

New Pay Online Program: Meal prices, menus, Free & Reduced Applications and the NEW Pay On-line program information are posted on the district's website at http://www.wwps.org/support/food_services.htm.

IMMUNIZATION - Washington State law requires that each child attending school be adequately immunized according to a schedule determined by the Washington State Board of Health. Registration and attendance are contingent upon either adequate immunization or exemption from immunization. The 2009-2010 vaccination schedule requirements are available at: http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/Immunize/schools/vaccine.htm

PLEASE NOTE: Immunization requirements for school attendance may be different than those requirements during an outbreak of actual vaccine preventable disease at school. The local County Health Department determines when an outbreak is occurring and determines any additional requirements needed during the outbreak.

For this reason, it is very important to continue reporting the dates of your child's immunizations since you completed the original CIS form when you registered your child. Dates can be reported to your child's school office.

Special Education - If your child has a mental, physical, or developmental impairment or disability that has a major impact on learning, seeing, hearing, breathing, speaking, working, and caring for oneself or performing manual tasks, s/he may be eligible for special education, related services and/or specialized educational accommodations. For more information, or to make your youngster a focus of concern, please contact the Special Programs Department at 364 South Park, 527-3000. The eligible age range is from birth to 21 years.

For additional information regarding school programs, contact the school in your service area, or phone the district office, 527-3000.

HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS - Fall Sports 2009

Fall sports registration for WWHS will be:

• Date: Tuesday, August 11
• Time: 5:00 - 6:00 PM (volleyball, girls' soccer, cross country, girls' swim) / 6:00 PM -- 7:30 PM (football, trainers, cheer)
• Location: Wa-Hi main gym

Students will need the following to be able to participate in the registration process:

• Medical Releases for Athletic participation
• Proof of appropriate insurance for their sport (either home or school)
• Current Physical (a physical completed within the past 24 months)
• Athletic Activity Contract
• Purchase ASB Card ($25.00)
• Pay the sports fee ($30.00)
• All additional forms in the Athletic registration packet

** All forms must be signed by parent/guardian and student **

Students with incomplete packets or unsigned forms can not register

***Athletic registration packets are available at the Wa-Hi main office**

First Fall sports practices will start on:

• Wednesday August 19 th  football
• Monday August 24 th  all other Fall sports

There will be a mandatory Parent Meeting for the parents of all students participating in Fall sports on Thursday, August 27 th at 7:00 PM in the Wa-Hi main gym.

SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS - The Walla Walla School Board meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month in the district board room at 364 South Park Street . Special and study sessions are scheduled as needed.