Mrs. Gina Pleak

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2008-2009 school year. The staff is ready to work hard each and every day to make WES the best place for students to learn.

During this school year, there are some changes to the normal daily routine as well as using new assessments to guide instruction. The biggest change students will notice is having recess before lunch. Research shows that there are many benefits to having recess before lunch. Schools have reported greater nutritional consumption, less food thrown away as children are not in a hurry to get outside to play, less stomach aches during recess, and better lunch and classroom behaviors.

WES has also received a grant from the Indiana Department of Education to use an on-line assessment program for grades 3-5. It will be given four times/year in the ISTEP+ tested subject areas (English/Language Arts (3-5), Math (3-5), Science (4), and Social Studies (5).) The test results will predict how students will do on ISTEP+ and which standards they have and have not mastered.

In grades K-2, DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment will be administered to students at least three times/year. It is an assessment instrument that measures how successfully a child is progressing in the critical skills that underlie success in early reading. It assesses several early reading skills and uses the child's status in these areas to predict how likely it is that he will read fluently.

For this to be another successful school year, we need staff, parents and community members to work together to promote the importance of learning. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. The school office number is 765-525-6505, and my e-mail is gpleak@ses.k12.in.us. I hope you have a wonderful school year and look forward to seeing you at WES events.

Working, Excelling, Succeeding