WCS Transition

June 1, 2026

4th-5th

Agenda

• Welcome
• Staff Overview
• What’s Special about WCS?
• Developmental Milestones
• Emotional Milestones
• Thinking and Learning
• 5th Grade Transition
• WCS Student/Parent Handbook
• Parent Support at Home
• Final Thoughts
• Questions

​

​

​

Admin Team Introductions

Staff Name Position

​

B.J. Martin Principal

Nadine Herard Assistant Principal/504 Coordinator

Kaite Carmody Director of Special Education

Nathan Cooper Director of Social Studies & World Language (5-12)

Jonathan Gilbert Director of English Language Arts (5-12)

Kristi Damboise Director of Mathematics and Business (5-12)

Karalyn Gauvin Director of Science (5-12)

Susan Kalil Director of Fine Arts (K-12)

Colleen DesRuisseaux Director of School Counseling (K-12)

Dr. Jen Maio Director of Assessment & Accountability (K-12)

​

​

​

​

5th Grade Teams

Support Team

Unified Arts Teachers

What’s Special about WCS?

• Outdoor Classroom
• Outdoor Dining
• DJ Martin Friday
• Wellness Center
• Breakfast Club
• Lunch with Mrs. Herard
• 2 Unified Arts Classes Each Day
• Flex Seating
• PBIS Weekly Incentive
• Optional Seating in Cafe

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Social/Emotional

• Technology - Access to so much information & each other
• Varying levels of maturity
• May have a crush or pretend to have crushes to fit in with peers
• Hormones have hit or are approaching
• Insecurity, mood swings and struggle with self-esteem
• Test limits and push boundaries by negotiating rules
• May test out new attitudes, clothing styles, and mannerisms while figuring out where/how to fit in

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Counseling & Wellness Center

• Our goal is to be proactive and preventative, by establishing skills and reinforcing skills already learned
• Promote independence
• Provide individual and group counseling
• Whole class lessons
• Wellness Center: A space for all students!
• Reset space
• Social lunch groups
• Test or Homework make-up
• One Trusted Adult
• “Handle with Care”

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Therapy Dog-Marvel

After School Clubs

• Robotics
• Games
• Ski
• Math Olympiads
• Student Council
• Intramurals/Floor Hockey
• Select Chorus
• Destination Imagination

• Bowling
• Band/Orchestra
• Drama
• Homework Club
• Jr. Book Beat
• Stride Club

5th Grade Transition

​

​

• Two person teams
• Earlier start time and bus pick up
• Transition between classes without a teacher
• Two unified arts classes per day
• Summative assessment retakes available
• Parent-teacher conferences-meet with your student’s homeroom teacher in the fall and the other team teacher in the spring.
• Ready Set Go

Grading

• Move to numerical grades
• Grades/Report Cards available on Powerschool
• Grades do not automatically go in the same day as an assessment. Longer assessments such as writing and projects take more time to grade.
• Student can retake summative assessments-see handbook for details.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Grading -

Based on Standard Categories

​

• Each course has 2 to 6 standards.
• Each standard is weighted based on focus areas.
• One common standard is practice/homework, which is weighted 5% to 10%.

​

• Note: UA’s grade solely on Meets (M) and Exceeds (E) Needs Improvement (N).

​

Example of Assessment

Schoology - Student LMS

(Learning Management System)

• Teacher’s Contact Information
• Also available for parents in MyPowerHub
• Class Agenda (day/week/month)
• Agenda is subject to change
• Curriculum Overview & Assignments
• Digital Textbooks and Course Content
• Availability depends on course
• Support Links & Resources

PowerSchool/MyPowerHub

https://windhamsd.guardian.powerschool.com/

Powerschool - Student/Parent Portal contains

• Assignments/Grades
• Newsfeed/Newsletters
• Registration Verification & Field Trip Forms
• Report Cards/Progress Reports (online)
• Absence/Tardy Attendance History
• PowerSchool Login Help Request Form

Powerschool & MyPowerHub Resources

​

Overview of PowerSchool’s MyPowerHub

​

MyPowerHub Overview Video Link

​

Powerschool & MyPowerHub Additional Resources

District/School Websites’

Parent Resource Center https://www.windhamsd.org/resources/parents/parent_technology_resource_center

PowerSchool’s in-app Help Center

MyPowerHub Resource links

in the Navigation Menu

Powerschool & MyPowerHub Also Available as a Mobile App

PowerSchool Mobile is available in both Apple and Google Play App Stores.

Our District Code is:

W M M B

​

Enable Face ID

for simple, secure logins.

Executive Functioning

• Use colored folders and notebooks to organize classroom materials
• Create a calendar at home with due dates and dates of upcoming assessments
• Study a little each night for assessments
• Prepare belongings the night before since school starts earlier at WCS
• Use Agenda
• Clean out Go Folder weekly with your child

The Wildcat Way

To Start Your Day

• Go Folder
• Chromebook/Device
• Homework
• Water Bottle
• Lunch & Snacks
• Jacket/Sweatshirt
• Gym Sneakers
• Do you know your end of the day dismissal plan?
• Band Instrument
• Which day do you have band this week?

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Pick-Up Patrol Information

Daily cutoff is 1:20 pm

• Please be sure to update your student’s Default Plan at the beginning of the school year to reflect your student’s typical dismissal plan. This is very important for the office to know where your student should be heading daily.
• Late Arrival/Early Dismissal - These two options are available directly under your student’s name when you open Pickup Patrol
• Use “Late Arrival” if your student is tardy and “Early Dismissal” if you need to dismiss your student before the regular end of the school day. There is also a “Leave and Return” option available if your student will be leaving and returning in the same day.
• Plan Changes - There are many options in the Plan Changes Drop Down menu. Use this option to report your student Absent, any Bus Change, Car Dismissal at the end of the day, or staying for an After-school Club/Activity.

​

Raptor Sign-in/Sign-out

• Sign In - If your student is tardy, you must walk your student to the door, ring the bell and let us know they have arrived.
• If your student is in PickUp Patrol as Late Arrival, you can ring the bell to let us know they have arrived. We will let the student in to sign themselves in on Raptor and you can be on your way.
• If your student is not in PickUp Patrol, you will need to enter the building to sign them in on the clipboard in the foyer. Your student will proceed into the main office to sign in on Raptor.
• Sign Out - If your student is leaving before the end of the school day, please enter them in PickUp Patrol as “Early Dismissal”. Please ring the bell to enter the building with your Identification. You will sign your student out electronically on Raptor while we check your ID and call your student down.
• Visitors/Volunteers - Visitors and volunteers will also use our Raptor system to sign in and out of the building.

​

Parent Support at Home

• Create a nightly routine and study environment
• Provide support as needed when completing assignments
• Prioritize assignments
• Use student daily agenda and check Schoology and PowerSchool
• Set up charging plan and routine for bringing chromebook to and from school
• Use the Wildcat Way to Start Your Day form to remind your student about what to bring to school each day.
• Encourage your child to self advocate
• Communicate with your child’s teacher sooner than later

Student Discipline

• Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS)
• PBIS Tickets
• Upstander Tickets
• School Assemblies
• After-School Detention-Admin
• Lunch Detentions-classroom teacher or admin
• See WCS Student Handbook for more information regarding student discipline

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

WCS Reminders

• Identification is ALWAYS required for student pick up.
• At the beginning of the year, please enter your child’s default plan to indicate their typical end of day routine. For instance, Bus 11, car pickup etc.
• Daily changes to your child’s attendance such as absences, tardies, dismissals and a specified end of day after school activity should be entered into Pick-up Patrol before 1:20 pm.
• Please list all contacts in PowerSchool who may be picking up your child throughout the school year.

​

​

WCS Reminders

• Students are on time to school when they are in their seats at 7:38 a.m. After that time they are considered tardy. Parents MUST walk their child in when they are tardy. If they are in Pick Up Patrol, you may send your student inside. If your child is not in Pick Up Patrol, please come into the office to sign your child in.

​

• If you receive a call from WCS please be sure to check your voicemail prior to calling the school. The front office and the nurse’s office will always leave you a message. Students occasionally will call home from the classroom and we have no information about why they called home.

​

​

​

​

​

WCS Reminders

• Please do not hold the door for anyone behind you. Anyone entering the building must be buzzed in by office personnel only.
• Cell phones are not to be used during the school day. Students may bring them with them, but they must remain in their bags and on silent.
• Students may not text parents and parents may not text students during the school day.
• Pick up line is fast….after the year gets rolling all students are dismissed and gone within 10-15 minutes. No need to line up early.
• The cut-off time to enter changes into Pick Up Patrol is 1:20 PM

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Join Our Social Media

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Questions

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​