Orders can be placed online at www.epipacks.com using school code WYL015.  Order forms with payment can be returned to school by May 4.  Please contact Diana Dana with any questions that you may have. 

Smith Elementary has partnered with Hartman Elementary for this years Relay for Life event.  We have several fundraisers taking place that your students are able to participate in.  For more information on any of the fundraisers, please contact Ashley Hopson.

"Kiss the Pig" - Students are able to put change in buckets located by the front door, choosing who they would like to see kiss a pig.  They can place money in Mr. Winn's, Mrs. Morton's, or Mrs. Saldivar's jar through March 6.

"Stomp our Cancer" - Students can purchase a footprint (in the library) for $1. Their name will be written on the footprint and will be hung on the glass doors as you enter the building.

Luminaries - Parents can purchase luminaries (white paper bags to be illuminated with a candle inside) for $10 in honor or in memory of a loved one. These will be placed around the walking track on the night of the event (April 27 at Schaffer Stadium)

Spirit Nights at local restaurants- turn in your receipt to benefit our team

Chick-Fil-A - Feb. 23 & March 26 – 5:00-7:30

Dickey’s – Feb. 28  – all day

Sonic – TBA - St. Paul and Lavon locations – Come let Smith teachers be your carhop

Smith Elementary will be having a garage sale on March 24, from 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM.  We will be selling parking spots for $10 a piece.  Please contact Ashley Hopson at ashley.hopson@wylieisd.net for more information.  All parking spots need to be reserved by Friday, March 16.  Please return this form along with your money to reserve your spot(s).

Wylie ISD fourth grade teachers at Smith Elementary took their classrooms on the road to Austin with Education in Action’s “Proud to be Texan” experiential learning day program, 11/17/2011. Students visited the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and the Texas State Capitol and experienced what they are learning in fourth grade Texas History.

On the way to Austin students discussed why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage and participated in activities and games in preparation for their visit. In Austin the students visited the State Capitol where their legislators, The Honorable Florence Shapiro, State Senator, District 8 and The Honorable Jodie Laubenberg, State Representative, District 89, office. Students saw first-hand where Texas laws are made as they toured the State Capitol including the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. At the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum students explored exhibits about Texas’s earliest inhabitants, the Texas Revolution and events that created our Lone Star identity. The students’ visit to the museum concluded at the multi-sensory Texas Spirit Theater with the Star of Destiny where they saw and experienced the history of our great state including a gusher exploding from an East Texas oil derrick and the takeoff of Saturn V as seen from Mission Control at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Education in Action’s programs are based on the understanding that the most effective way for students to learn is through experience,” stated Jennifer Pasteur, Education in Action’s Executive Director. “Student activities during Education in Action’s ‘Proud to be Texan’ programs reinforce and supplement fourth grade Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills learning objectives with a focus on why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage.”

"Education in Action, the premier organization for experiential learning travel programs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, makes it easy for teachers to take their 3rd, 4th or 5th grade classrooms on organized, fun and meaningful site-based learning experiences. Education in Action handles all details, from round-trip charter bus transportation and program reservations, to a pre-program training session for all participating adults and TEKS-based program curriculum, so teachers can focus on their students and making connections between the experience and what students are learning in the classroom.

Education in Action is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering educated and involved Texans. For more information about Education in Action or Education in Action’s programs, call 817-562-4957, email information@educationinaction.org or visit www.educationinaction.org.

Beginning in November, Wylie ISD will implement a new visitor registry system to ensure that all campuses maintain a safe environment for students and employees.  The new Raptor System, created by Raptor Technologies, serves as a visitor identification program that will enable campus authorities to have a heightened awareness of who is attempting to gain access to the campus, as well as to track visitors and volunteers who visit their campus repeatedly.  More importantly, this system tracks and compares names of all Registered Sexual Offenders (RSO) in the United States and alerts law enforcement and district/campus administration when and if an RSO attempts to enter the building.

The Raptor System has been in place at Wylie High School, Burnett Junior High and Groves Elementary School throughout the fall and will take effect on all other Wylie ISD campuses as soon as installation is complete.  Please be aware that after November 2011 anyone visiting a Wylie ISD campus will be required to show a valid ID to the designated person in the office.  

“This is just one more tool to help reassure our parents, students and staff that Wylie campuses are as safe as possible,” said Wylie ISD Superintendent Dr. David Vinson.  “The Raptor system is designed to make sure we are not letting someone on our campuses who should not be there.”

State law allows public schools to require that all visitors present a picture identification card.  Upon entering any Wylie ISD campus a visitor will proceed to a registration desk in the front office.  A staff member will take the ID (usually a person’s driver’s license) and scan it into the Raptor system.  The ID is compared to the RSO database, along with any “private alert” information entered by campus administration (such as information pertaining to parental custodial issues).  Once completed, a visitor’s badge will be issued with the person’s name and photo, the date, the time, and the destination within the building for the visit.  Visitors without a valid driver’s license will be escorted to and from the desired location in the building.  When the visitor leaves the building, an entry will be made that the person has left the building.

The best form of photo I.D. is a driver’s license. It must be a photo I.D. to allow the name badge being printed to show that this is the person who came to the office and registered. Remember that the idea is to run them through the software that will connect to a database of registered sex offenders. For individuals that do not have a driver’s license, they can use photo I.D. obtained from the Texas Department of Transportation or a Mexican Consulate Card.

A copy of the letter being send home can be found here.

As some of you may have heard, we have been able to create what we call "immersion tubs" for our teachers and students at Smith to use.  These tubs are used to set the scene in the classroom and help engage students in learning.  Our students have been able to take trips to the beach as well as dine in a fancy restaurant.  We would love to be able to create more immersion tubs for our teachers to utilize, but we need your help.  Below you will find the links to 4 different sign up sheets for 4 new tubs.  Anything that you can contribute will be greatly appreciated! 

Chef

Doctor

Gardening

*The password to each of the Sign up sheets is Bulldogs

Wylie ISD is proud to announce that Kellye Morton has been selected to lead Smith Elementary School as the Bulldog’s new principal.  Morton, who has been with the Wylie ISD since 2001, replaces Scott Winn who is moving to central administration.  Pending Board approval, Morton will take office next week.

“I look forward to carrying on the traditions and high expectations for learning already established at Smith,” said Morton.  “Smith students, staff and parents have established a culture of success and I am very excited about being a bulldog.”

Mrs. Morton joined Wylie ISD in 2001 after beginning her educational career in Coppell ISD.  She served as a math teacher and department leader at Harrison Intermediate from 2001-2003 before moving to McMillan Junior High for one year.  She was promoted to assistant principal serving at Davis Elementary in from 2004-2008.  She was in her fourth year as AP at Whitt Elementary.

“While we cannot replace Scott Winn, we know Kellye will be a great leader,” said Wylie ISD Superintendent Dr. David Vinson.  “Mrs. Morton has a successful record of educational and administrative leadership.  We are fortunate in Wylie ISD to have a great pool of talented teachers and administrators.”

Please click here to view the school supply list for the upcoming school year.