Sparks Tribune delivered to 5th graders

Mr. Kent Lauer, the Editor & Publisher of the Sparks Tribune made a surprise visit to Mr. Midcalf's 5th grade class today.

The 5th graders wrote persuasive letters to the editor of the Sparks Tribune asking him to please consider donating some newspapers to our 5th grade classrooms. 

Mr. Lauer was so impressed with the letters he received yesterday, that he arrived at our school today with a pile of this week's Sparks Tribune. 

The students were grateful to spend almost 45 minutes interviewing Mr. Lauer, asking questions such as "how long does it take to publish a paper from start to finish" to "is it hard to keep coming up with ideas to write about?"

Mr. Midcalf and his students spent part of the afternoon reading the newspaper and learning about the layout, the different parts of a paper and finding all kinds of great information about the City of Sparks and The Battleborn State of Nevada.

Even though technology has changed the way we get most of our news today, reading the Sparks Tribune from an actually newspaper may be the beginning 

of a wonderful habit for many of these students. 

Thank you Sparks Tribune and Mr. Kent Lauer for supporting the readers and writers in 5th grade at Whitehead ES! 

Art lesson helps 6th graders follow directions

6th graders learn how to draw a whale by following step by step directions. 

A 6th grade art lesson helped students to experience how important it is to follow little directions in order to complete a big picture. What a great life lesson ! 

Check out artforkidshub.com for more drawing lessons. 

1st day of school at JWES

Mrs.Shivers first graders visit Mrs.Malan our clinical aide in the office health clinic. 

4th graders line up to meet their teachers as parents look on. 

Ms.Grow meets her Kindergarteners and their families one on one this week to help the youngest students transition into school and be ready to start on Monday Aug. 17th.  

Mrs.Gilkey helps the students during lunchtime on the 1st day. 

1st and 2nd grade parents and family members wait for the 3:00 dismissal with anticipation of a good day , and cameras ready. 

Great turnout for PFA Back to School BBQ

Whitehead families and teachers join together for a BBQ put on by our awesome PFA ( Parent Faculty Assoc.).

The hotdogs and hamburgers sold out but there was more than enough ice for the biggest hit of the night .50 cent snow cones! 

It's so exciting though it can be a little scary to meet your Kindergarten teacher up close and personal.

Mr. Ramos our PE teacher enjoyed a snow cone. 

Mrs.Myers our new resource teacher greets at parent.  

Smiles, laughter and hugs welcome in a new school year at Whitehead !

 

Classrooms looking like new again after flood

The 11 classrooms that were flooded in. flash flood on June 30 are looking brand new and will be ready for our students arrival in Monday. They have brand new carpet, floor trimming, light blue painted walls and every home room will start this year with an Activeboard at the front of the room! This large "iPad on the wall" will help to enhance teaching and learning and student engagement because it allows teachers to access the world through the internet right from there in the classroom. 

This week moving crews are cleaning and disinfecting every piece of furniture as they move it back into the classrooms. 

One month ago we were filled with mud and water it a lot of hard work has taken place at Whitehead and we are looking new and ready for a new school year! 

An interactive board is like a huge touch screen, computer screen on the wall. 

 

WCSD Area Superintendents welcome principals

Zone 4 Area Superintendent Mr. Troy Parks announcing his school administrators at Monday's Kick Off meeting for all district leaders.

 This year in every WCSD school we will focus on 4 Fundamentals :

1. Core curriculum and Instruction

2. Inclusive practice

3. Climate and Engagement 

4. Multi-Tiered System of Support

Whitehead students sell lemonade stand for cancer

Whitehead students sold lemonade in their neighborhood this week to help raise money for cancer. They also had a surprise visitor when a Sparks Police Officer and the local news stopped by as part of the #copslovelemonadestands national movement. 

Well done Whales ! 

Check out the news story at :

#CopsLoveLemonadeStands Movement Heads to Sparks http://www.ktvn.com/story/29611574/copslovelemonadestands-movement-heads-to-sparks

EDUCATION Flooding causes $400K in school

Article in the RGJ

Flooding causes $400K in school damages   Trevon Milliard, RGJ

Jason Bean/RGJ

Washoe County School District employees distribute sand bags after a flash flood.Jason Bean/RGJ

Water is pumped away from Whitehead Elementary School after a flash flood made its way into the building.

Flash flooding from a recent thunderstorm caused about $400,000 in damage at three Sparks public schools, according to Washoe County School District officials still cleaning and making repairs two weeks later. "This storm was a hundred-year event," said chief facilities management officer Chris Cobb on Tuesday, thankful it's summer break for Whitehead and Moss elementary schools and Reed High School. "We're lucky." Insurance will cover most damages after the district pays a deductible estimated at $75,000 to $100,000, Cobb said. Whitehead had the most damage, with cleanup and repair costs estimated at $300,000. Water made its way inside the school near Vista Boulevard and Los Altos Parkway. Reed and Moss only received exterior damage.

On the evening of June 30, rushing floodwater hit the east side of Whitehead, breaching doorways and window frames and leaving a quarter-inch layer of silt and mud in 12 classrooms, several hallways, a multipurpose room and part of the library, Cobb said.

Jason Bean/RGJ

Dryers are seen in emptied classrooms after a flash flood hit Whitehead Elementary School.

Crews are replacing classroom carpets, which were original to the school built in 1986, and floor tiles in nearby bathrooms.

Foot-high strips of saturated drywall will be cut away, which will release any remaining moisture and prevent mold growth. Rooms will need to be repainted.

Reed High School had mud and debris in the southeast parking lot and near its tennis courts. The school is near Baring and Sparks boulevards.

Sediment from a hill above Moss Elementary School, at Primio Way and D'Andrea Parkway, washed over a third of the playground and field.

The field is jointly used as a city park, and Sparks has helped in the cleanup, Cobb said.

The district hired a local contractor to help with the work, shooting for everything to be done at all three schools by July 27.

"This has been around the clock," Cobb said of the cleanup and repairs to be completed in time for teachers and staff returning to prepare for the school year starting Aug. 10.

The flooding was like none in memorable history for the school district, but it could have been worse. School could have been in session, said John Mayer, president of the Washoe County School Board, which was briefed Tuesday on damages. "It could've been really disastrous," he said.

Jason Bean/RGJ

A drenched and closed playground is seen after a flash flood inundated Whitehead Elementary.

Eat at Red Robin help WhiteheadES

Hi Whitehead Family do you eat at Red Robin ? Please help our school raise money all year long with Burgers for Better Schools™! It’s free to join and easy to participate. 

All you have to do is become a Red Robin Royalty member, select our school, and Red Robin will donate 1% of all purchases you make at participating locations. 

Learn more at redrobin.com/betterschools 

Thank you, Mrs.Dominguez, Principal

Whitehead Whales clean up from the flash flood

On the evening of June 30th a thunderstorm caused a flash flood in the Whitehead neighborhood.

The  playground became a muddy lake in minutes and the driveway was covered with mud and debris. 

About 10 areas inside the school building took on water and/or mud. 

Some classroom floors were completely covered. 

While others where wet under the windows and near the doors. 

Thanks to our wonderful staff and their family members who were willing to volunteer late into the night to quickly move furniture out of the effected rooms. So many helping hands resulted in the clean up work crews being able to get started on the water clean up within just a few hours of the storm and then they worked through the night. 

The next day ...

The next morning the water was being pumped off the playground, while sand bags were being placed outside the doors and windows. The weather report shows more thunderstorms over the next few days so we want to be proactive. 

The hot temperatures are also helping to dry up the mud filled playgrounds. 

We have a clean up plan in place and teams of workers from WCSD and from ServProwill be in our building these next few weeks everyday putting in new carpet, replacing floor board and sanitizing every area to ensure that we will have a clean safe building and playground, ready to start our school year as planned on Monday, August 10th.

The GREAT NEWS in all this is that we have 8 brand new Activeboards , purchased with our April 2015 Jog A Thon fundraiser $, that arrived just a few hours before the rainstorm. They were all completely dry and not damaged in any way . Yahoo ! Looking forward to getting those installed in every home room this summer so that all of our students and teachers will have access to even more educational technology. 

Happy July 4th weekend ! 

Whitehead Citizens of the Year 2014-15

Each class in K-6th grade chooses one student citizen of the year to receive the award. The award is based on the schoo wide Whale Behaviors. Congratulations to our citizens of this school year. You are great role models and make our school a better place each day. 

Jog A Thon 2015

Thank you to all of our donors, volunteers, teachers and runners. We raised over $8000 this year. This money will allow us to increase the educational technology in all of our classrooms. The day was filled with beautiful weather and a whole lot of running ! Way to go whales !