October 15, 2021

Upcoming Events

Evening of Classics
Tuesday, October 19
7:00 p.m.
Fine Arts Center
Evening of Classics is a music recital put on by Wheaton Academy students each fall. This year’s recital features eleven pieces with over twenty-five students performing solos, duets, and ensembles, both vocal and instrumental. All are welcome, and admission is free of charge.

Student-Teacher-Parent Conferences
Wednesday & Thursday, October 20 & 21
11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
It’s that time of year again for student-teacher-parent conferences, and this is a very important part of our partnership with you as parents. Conferences will take place Wednesday, October 20, and Thursday, October 21. There will be no school on both conference days, as students are encouraged to attend the conferences. Because there were 450 students in attendance at the Sonny Acres service project during Homecoming week, there will be no Off-Campus Learning Day that was previously scheduled for October 20.

Parents will schedule conferences online through MyConferenceTime.com. This allows parents to schedule and manage their own conference times. To schedule conferences, you will need a list of your student’s teachers. 

We are committed to ensuring that you have the opportunity to meet with your student’s teachers. If for some reason the times available don’t work for you or slots are filled, you can contact your student’s teacher to set up either a phone call or a face-to-face conference with you and your student.

Items to note: 

  • Online scheduling is open and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, October 18.
  • Scheduling only allows for one 10-minute conference per student, per teacher.
  • Students need to be present at conferences.

To Schedule Conferences:

  1. Click  here to go to Wheaton Academy’s families page.
  2. Scroll down to Seasonal Resources and click on the Conferences tab. This will take you to the Conference sign-up.
  3. Carefully read the instructions at the top of the page.
  4. Click on Register for Multiple Conferences.
  5. Follow the step-by-step online instructions to create a schedule for each student based on the available time slots for the teachers you selected. 
    • Enter the number of students you will be registering and press continue.
    • Enter the name(s) of your student(s).
    • If your student is unable to participate in conferences, please make note of this in the COMMENTS section so the teacher can plan accordingly.
    • Select Continue.
    • Select all the teachers you would like to meet with and select Find Schedules with Common Dates.
    • Select which day you would like to schedule conferences.
    • Select the times for each teacher.
    • Do the same for the 2nd day if needed.
  1. You will receive an email with your conference schedule and the location of your conferences.  If you do not receive an email, check your spam folder.
  2. IMPORTANT:  Please print and bring the confirmation email with you on conference day(s).  We are unable to print out your schedule for you.
  3. Your confirmation email will have a link to view, edit or cancel your conference registration.
  4. If you are unable to find a conference time that works for you and your student, please contact the teacher directly to schedule time outside of the Wednesday and Thursday conference times. 
  5. Please remember to bring a mask and be mindful of social distancing.
  6. If you have questions regarding conference scheduling, contact Gina Churchill at gchurchill@wheatonacademy.org.

Get to Know Wheaton Academy
Tuesday, November 9
7:00 p.m.
Middle school students and their parents are invited to Get to Know Wheaton Academy on November 9 at 7:00 p.m. This evening will provide an opportunity for families to learn about our school’s commitment to academics, spiritual life, co-curricular activities, and college readiness, as well as experience the community, connection, and culture that Wheaton Academy offers our students and families.

Our time together will include:  

  • Opening Welcome from Mrs. Hockett, Principal  
  • Individual Family Tours  
  • Meet and Greet with Coaches, Teachers, Program Leaders   

Join us and discover what it’s like to be a Wheaton Academy Warrior.  Questions? Please contact Amy Burdett, Admissions Coordinator, or Amy Hogan, Director of Admissions.

General News

Conference Dinners
Our conference days are October 20 and 21. If you would like to contribute to our faculty dinners on those days, please contact Jim Holtrop.  Those willing may provide a pot of soup, a large salad, bread, or dessert for Wednesday night or a monetary gift towards a catered dinner for Thursday. Thanks so much for helping out. Our teachers really missed your amazing soups last year!!

Sponsor a Faculty/Staff Member for our Appreciation Events!
The Wheaton Academy Appreciation team is seeking your help. There is still time to sponsor a faculty/staff member from our school! Click here for full details and to sign-up. You may contact Sally Strzalka with any questions.

Covid Update
As we mentioned earlier this year, we will be providing periodic updates (every few weeks) on Covid cases at Wheaton Academy.  Until this week, we averaged 2-3 Covid cases per week.  However, in the last week, we have had 39 Covid cases.  As we navigate this sudden increase, we believe that too many students are coming to school sick.  We ask that you do all you can to ensure that students who are sick stay at home until symptoms subside.  Should your son or daughter experience symptoms related to Covid-19, we recommend they get tested to confirm.  We would also ask you to remind students to always have a mask with them, so that mask requests from the front office are a rare exception.  Thanks for your partnership as we continue to face this challenge.

Mock Trial
Mock Trial will be hosting an informational meeting for all students interested in participating on Wednesday, October 27. We will meet during lunch in room 202. Ice cream will be provided to prepare you for the sweetness of an opening statement, objecting to leading questions, or cross-examining a witness!

Academic Behavioral Grades
Academic Behavioral Grades have been posted in OnCampus. Faculty give students academic behavior grades twice each term in the following categories: Student Engagement, Student Academic Habits, and Student Timeliness. In October and March, these academic behavior grades are reported to give you an indication of the habits and behaviors in each of the student’s classes, whereas in December and June, the grades are listed on the report card so you can have a sense of the student’s content learning as well as habits and behaviors.  The purpose of these academic behavior grades is to clearly communicate with you about your child’s progress in the classroom relative to key habits and skills that are strong predictors of a student’s success in college. Consequently, we want to draw your attention to your student’s behavior grades.

When students have 1s and 2s, we are concerned and want to make certain these grades become a catalyst for the student to grow and improve. Conferences are on October 20 & 21, and we would encourage you to take the opportunity to schedule a conference with your student’s teachers to discuss his/her behavioral grades. Conference sign-ups will open on Wednesday, October 13, and close on October 18 at 11:59 p.m. Instructions for signing up are in the WA Weekly.

To view your student’s behavioral grades:

  1. Login to OnCampus
  2. Click on your student’s name in the top left-hand corner
  3. On the Progress Tab, you will click on Report Cards and then Academic Progress to view the behavioral grades

For further assistance in connecting with teachers or viewing your student’s behavioral grades, please contact Student Services.

Senior Pictures
On October 22, Prestige will be in the Atrium after school for the final session of senior pictures. Please call them for an appointment if you are interested in having them take your student’s senior pictures.

College Corner

FAFSA registration reminder
Parents of seniors – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, aka the FAFSA, is the single most important thing you and your students can do to get money to help pay for college. It’s the only way they can apply for federal or state financial aid. The FAFSA will determine their eligibility for grants, scholarships, work-study programs, and federal student loans.  Registration for the class of 2022 opened on October 1.  If you have any questions, please contact Bart Gregersen or Kermit Ellison in student services.

PSAT Make-Up Test
If students were absent for the PSAT Administration on Wednesday, October 13, they will have an opportunity to test on Tuesday, October 26. Freshmen will take the PSAT 8/9, and Sophomores and Juniors will take the PSAT NMSQT. Juniors taking the test on October 26 will be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship program. Students are not required to take the makeup test if they are worried about missing class time.

The start time of the test will be 8:00 a.m. The end time of the test will vary – it is possible students will be able to attend afternoon classes. Students should plan to bring a lunch with them this day as the test time will overlap with the school’s lunch hour. Students will find their testing location the morning of the 26th posted outside the Student Services office.

Please complete this survey by Tuesday, October 19 to allow us to reserve your student a spot for the makeup test date. If everyone could respond with either a yes or no, this will help us solidify our plans for the day.

Feel free to reach out to Gina Churchill with questions at gchurchill@wheatonacademy.org.

ACT Group Class
Registration for the next ACT Small Group Class is now open! We will cover tips and strategies for all areas of the ACT as well as go over effective ways to practice at home. There will be homework between each class.

Cost: $410 (materials provided)
Place: Wheaton Academy Room 125
Dates: Tuesdays (6:00-8:00 p.m.) October 26, November 2, 9, 16, 30, and December 7.
Spots are limited, so don’t delay! (Your payment is your registration.) Register at wa-tutoring.org/payments.

Questions? Email Cheryl Koslosky at ckoslosky@wa-institute.org

Athletics

The next sports season is fast approaching!!  This is a friendly reminder to the parents of students who are interested in participating in Boys/Girls Basketball or Wrestling this coming November.  You must have an updated Physical and Athletic Packet completed and uploaded onto Magnus in order for your child to try out on November 8. 

Basketball– Boys and Girls-  Tryouts begin after school on Monday, November 8,  in the Warrior Dome. 
Wrestling- Tryouts begin after school on November 8 in the Wrestling room.