School Messenger

March 25, 2016

Hello, this is Penny Rogers at Washington Center wishing everyone a happy Spring Break. Parents, please check your email for student progress reports that were sent out yesterday. If you do not have access to email and you did not receive a report, please let your child’s teacher know so we can make certain you get one. Also on Thursday we sent home parent surveys for families who have students in fifth, eighth or eleventh grades. Please fill those out and get them back to us by April 13. Feel free to make suggestions as we are always interested in knowing how we can do a better job for our students.

This week we had groups going to Conestee Park, out shopping, bowling and visiting the Children’s Little Theater. We had Berea High School’s teacher cadets here for a tour on Tuesday, and on Thursday, Piper, Gantt and Stansell’s classes released the butterflies they had been cultivating in their classrooms. IEP meetings and testing continued this week, and the Hollis students enjoyed dog therapy on Tuesday. Also, Syble Hendricks, our secretary, has gone home from the hospital following Monday’s surgery and she is recovering well. 

The week we return from Spring Break, we will have other classes out shopping and bowling, and Hollis will have a visit from students from the Fine Arts Center who will be taking pictures of the children there. We plan to frame the pictures and display them in the hallway. Also, Cathy Bush has asked that we let everyone know that the greenhouse will be open for plant sales beginning April 6. She hopes she will have lots of customers.

Monday, April 4, the day we come back to school, will be very special. Students from Beck Academy are going to be on campus to present a check for money they raised for our school during their Spirit Week. They want the money to go toward the nature trail we plan to build and we are very grateful for their support. If you can find your child’s Special Olympics tee shirt --- or in the case of staff members, if you can find your own, we would like you to wear the shirts for the presentation ceremony on Monday. We think this will be lots of fun and we want the students from Beck to know how much we appreciate their thinking of us.

There is still time to register for the April 9th 5K, Walk and Roll that the PTA is sponsoring at Furman. Please plan to attend if possible, and if you would like to be certain of getting a tee shirt, register online by March 26. However, PTA folks will be here at school on Monday, April 4, to take registrations and they have ordered some extra shirts, so late registrants will get shirts as long as they last. 

On Friday, April 8, a couple of hundred Riverside High School students will be on campus meeting the students they will accompany to Special Olympics at Furman on April 20. Our guys love spending time with the Riverside students and we look forward to having them here. 

Looking ahead a little, Senator Mike Fair will be visiting Washington Center classes on April 11 in that he wants to observe the administration of some of the standardized tests we are required to give, and our own Spirit Week will run from April 11-15, culminating in a 26 lap mini-marathon in the gym on Friday, the 15th.

Another important date is April 14th when the PTA will be hosting a “Lunch and Learn” for parents here at the school. The topic will be “Transitioning” and the speaker will talk about services available for young people after graduation from Washington Center.

Again, best wishes for a restful and fun Spring Break. We will plan to see everyone back on April 4.