Wickliffe Elementary’s Fall Mum Sale benefiting the PTO is still open! The Wickliffe PTO sponsors wonderful programs for our students, teachers, and community every year. This year's fundraising will support teacher grants and appreciation, and amenities for the new school building.

Our Mum Sale through Foertmeyer & Sons Greenhouse is online this year!  Follow these steps to place a Mumkin or mum order:

1. Visit www.fundraiseit.org

2. Click the online shopping button under the parents tab.

3. Enter your student’s last name, first name, and Wickliffe (for the fundraising group)

4. If you need help, check out this video.

The mum sale runs through Thursday, September 22, with pickup on Thursday, October 1 (location and time TBD). Check out the fundraising catalog (also sent home in your student’s supply bag), and then visit www.fundraiseit.org to place your order today!

Questions? Please email Marta Ackley at martaroberson@hotmail.com

Fall Spirit Wear designs are here! We have four new designs available in tanks, Ts, and sweatshirts. Act fast -- the sale is only open until midnight on Wednesday, September 23. This sale is preorder only and once it closes, these designs won't be available again. Orders will be available for pickup or delivery by October 15.

Check out the merchandise and place your order here: Awesome-Company-Wickliffe-SpiritWear-Fall2020

Check out our Spirit Wear Store for new merchandise, including Graduation Year t-shirts, masks for the entire family, and Wickliffe yard signs! 

Please become a member of the Wickliffe PTO! Our hope is that every Wickliffe family will join the PTO this year. By joining the PTO, you are opting-in to: access the school directory to help connect with other families in your child's class communications on the many programs and activities the PTO provides throughout the year for our awesome Wickliffe families, teachers, staff, and students an easy way to contribute to the PTO fundraising efforts - the fee is $25 per family for the year.

Joining the PTO is NOT a commitment to volunteer (although you are always welcome) or to attend PTO meetings (if you do, we would love to hear from you).

To join, please complete the PTO Membership form: 2020/2021 PTO Membership Form

If the $25 fee is a barrier to your family joining, let us know by contacting us at wickliffepto@gmail.com and we have you covered. 

The teachers have been so touched by our gesture of snacks and drinks as little "thank yous" and a quick pick me up, over the first week of remote learning that we want to keep it going, while our teachers are diligently teaching our children remotely!

If you would like to contribute prepackaged food and drinks, our amazing teachers really appreciate them. Favorites include: sweets and salty snacks (e.g. candy and chips), and for drinks - soda, San Pellegrino flavored water, La Croix, cold brew coffee. Really, anything that you'd like to donate. Please drop your items to Kelley Swiney's porch at 3942 Newhall Rd.

This fall we will be offering several groups. All children (Online Academy and Hybrid) are invited to participate. Permission slips and starting dates will be forthcoming. If you have a child who you think would benefit from one of these opportunities, please let us know.

• Super Sibs: Siblings of children with special needs have unique needs themselves.  Their sister or brother with special needs will get a bigger share of attention.  While having a sib with special needs presents challenges, it also comes with opportunities. Kids who grow up with a sibling with special health or developmental needs may have more of a chance to develop many prosocial skills. This group is designed to create connections between peers who understand what it means to be a Super Sib!
• Healing Hearts: As parents and caregivers,  we can’t protect our children from the pain of loss, but we can help them feel safe. By allowing and encouraging them to express their feelings, we can help them build healthy coping skills to process the loss they experienced. These tools will serve them well now and in the future. This group is designed for children who have experienced the death of a loved one and could benefit from being in a supportive group with peers who are on the same journey.

In addition, there will be a group designed for the Online Academy students only.

• Online Academy MeetUp in the Park: THIS THURSDAY Thank you to all the parents and children who participated in our Zooms to brainstorm ways to keep our Online Academy kids connected to each other and their Wickliffe Family. We will be providing both face-to-face (socially-distanced and masked) and onlines opportunities throughout the year.

Weather permitting, we will meet from 12:00-12:45, Thursday, September 17th @ Fancyburg Park. Please bring:

• A towel or blanket to sit on
• A mask and hand sanitizer  
• Lunch and a drink
• A small rock to decorate
• Sharpie or paints/paint brushes  (if you have them)

Please RSVP to Dr. Kassoy at fkassoy@uaschools.org so she can contact you if the plans are altered due to inclement weather.

This next week will be a time of transition for many of our students. As we know, some children navigate change easily, while others do not. Please feel free to reach out to us if we can help smooth out some of the bumps for your child.

In addition, I would like to share an article that was written by two doctors at MassGeneral for Children in Boston. It provides helpful tips and language for talking to your children about quarantine. I hope that this information is helpful should you need it.

https://www.massgeneral.org/children/coronavirus/how-to-discuss-quarantine-with-your-children

We are looking forward to seeing your children this week as we begin hybrid.

Until next week,

Felice, Brittany and Rebecca (my two fabulous interns)