It’s a Great Day to be a Tiger!
We are off to a fantastic start and looking forward to all of the things we will accomplish in the 2021-2022 school year. All of us at WMCSD hope that families in our community are doing well. We thank you for your support of the protocols we have put in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We are continuing to wear masks, distance ourselves at least 3 feet when possible, and wash our hands frequently. Both schools and all offices are also continuing to use ABM’s Enhanced Cleaning services to sanitize and disinfect our facilities. We are so thankful that we are able to have face-to-face traditional school days and certainly do not take that for granted.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING Students are taking diagnostic tests in our online programs to determine their strengths and areas for growth. Teachers will use the data collected to develop creative lesson plans and learning opportunities that will allow students to master the appropriate standards required at each grade level and to learn about all kinds of things that interest them and will help them be productive throughout their lives.
After-school tutoring will begin in the next few weeks. This tutoring is made available using federal funding in response to the national crisis due to COVID-19. For schools, these funds are called Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.
OPERATIONS We are thankful that we have been able to safely start our athletic seasons of volleyball, football, and cross country. Please visit our district website for schedules and come out and support our student athletes. Masks are required at indoor events.
In transportation news, we are proud to be able to purchase some new buses. We have received one new bus and have two others ordered. We are also getting quotes for a new bus for students with special needs. ESSER funds have allowed us to replace aging buses in our fleet. We still need bus drivers. If you would like to find out more about driving a bus for WMCSD, please call the Transportation Office at (662) 283-3731.
COMMUNICATIONS We use several communication programs to help us stay in constant contact with parents. We have an all-call system called AIM that allows us to call groups of people or the entire district at one time with a recorded message. We make great use of the district’s website and app for iPhone and Android devices by Apptegy. These are fantastic tools that let us send messages and post news and information to our website and Facebook and Twitter accounts all at the same time. We would love to have you follow us on Facebook and Twitter. SchoolStatus is also used by teachers and administrators to call, text, and/or email parents with important information or school news.
We have multiple ways for parents to contact us through SchoolStatus, school emails, the district’s email hotline tigertalk@winonaschools.net, and the most common way is through telephone calls to the main office.
HEALTH AND SAFETY According to guidance from the Mississippi State Department of Health, students and staff who are vaccinated and do not have symptoms associated with COVID-19 do not have to quarantine. Students and staff who have been infected within the last 90 days also do not have to quarantine. When we have to make decisions about excluding students and staff from the school setting, we need to have vaccination and previous infection information immediately available.
We are requesting that our parents inform their child’s school nurse if their child is fully vaccinated from COVID-19 or has been infected within the last 90 days. Parents may send a copy of the vaccination card to school with the child or may scan and email a copy of the card to tigertalk@winonaschools.net. For proof of infection within the last 90 days, the school nurse needs documentation from your child’s medical provider. Parents may send that with their child or scan and email it to us at the email address listed above.
Reminder: If your child develops symptoms, keep them at home and contact your medical provider. If your child has a positive COVID test, please inform the school by contacting the school nurse’s office at the number listed below. Please note that we are unable to accept results from home test kits; only results from a licensed healthcare provider or pharmacist will be accepted.
Winona Elementary (Grades PreK-6) 283-4129 - Nurse Felisha Pitt
Winona Secondary (Grades 7-12) 283-1244 - Nurse Skyla McIntyre
You can access the WMCSD Safe Return Plan 2021-2022 on the district website at winonamontgomerycsd.com or directly by going to https://5il.co/vpu7. We are so thankful for your support because it has allowed us to have school full-time and face-to-face with our Tigers.
TECHNOLOGY We are so proud to have been chosen by the Mississippi Department of Education to receive a digital learning coach at each school to “help build the capacity of teachers and administrators to use education technology to improve student outcomes.” Four to six teachers will be chosen at each school to receive individualized coaching support throughout the school year. The technology coaches will not only work with those selected teachers individually, but will also support the entire school with digital learning plans and professional development for all teachers.
Stay healthy and choose joy! We are TIGERStrong!