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Elementary Update
Katie Baldersto LoriCousino Elementary n Preschool DirDirector ector ELEMENTARY
The 2021-22 school year was an exciting one for Wesley Prep! We were grateful to bring back some of our treasured traditions that were put on hold for two years, such as gathering in chapel to worship together each morning. Our first chapel gathering was such a special moment, with many of us moved to tears realizing how much we had missed the sense of community and belonging that comes with our sacred tradition of beginning our day together in worship. 2021-22broughtthereturnofin-personevents! We hosted Open House and Spooktacular in person and wrapped up the first semester by ringing in the Christmas season with Lessons and Carols. Our sports and robotics programs were also going strong during the fall semester. Our students exhibited grit and resilience as they started the year in masks, but by the spring semester, we were able to go mask-free! Seeing everyone ' s smiling faces truly made all the difference. We hosted Grandparents ' Day, Night at the Museum, class parties, A Little Night Music, Seussical, the Art Show, Alice in Wonderland, Panther Pride Day, Mother ' s Day Tea, our upper-grade camps and trips, and 6th-grade graduation. The past few years
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taughtustosavoreverymoment,andwedidjustthatallyear!Wearesogratefultospendourdaysin thejoy-filledhallsandclassroomsofWesleyPrep!
In addition to the joy of gathering in person, we had a year filled with rich learning at every level. Our assessment data shows our students continue to perform well above national grade level averages. Our most recent Iowa Assessment and CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) results indicate that our third through sixth-grade students are performingmorethantwoyearsabovetheircurrentgradelevel, as shown by
thegraphsonpage15. HatsofftotheClassof2022!Studentsandparentsundergoarigorousprocessduringtheirsixth-grade
year to determine each student' s best school choice for 7th grade. Sixth grade is a year of researching schools, visiting campuses, completing applications, writing essays, taking entrance exams, and participating in interviews. We are proud to say that our students received multiple offers to attend a variety of excellent schools including Christ the King, Cistercian, Dallas Lutheran, Dealey, The Episcopal School of Dallas, Good Shepherd, Greenhill, Hockaday, Lakehill, Parish, St. Marks, St. Monica, St. Rita, and Sudie L. Williams. We are so proud of our graduates! Not only did our students perform well this year, but our school performed well, too! Accreditation Success! Every five years, Wesley Prep undergoes an accreditation review, and this year was our year to become reaccredited. Reaccreditation is a year-long process of submitting documentation to show the accrediting organization, Cognia, that we meet or exceed their standards in theareasoflearning,leadership,andresourcemanagement. Along with submitting documentation, we survey all stakeholders, and the review team interviews parents, students, board members, and staff members. Iamproudtosaywepassedourreviewwithflyingcolors!
HighlightsfromtheCogniaaccreditationreviewcanbefoundonpage14.
Update
KatieThanks Bto aldthe erstonsuccess of fundraising and the generosity of donors, we could purchase materials to Preschool Director enhance our instruction for we work to meet the needs all ages and in various subject areas. These and expand the resources of our students. purchases will be a huge help as
Supplementalreadingcurriculummaterials focusing on TheScienceofReading to enhance and round out our balanced literacy instruction in kindergarten through second grade.
Thehiringofapart-timereadingspecialist to provide additional support for our students as needed.
Supplemental math curriculum materials from the Big Ideas Math program for our upper-grade students.
The addition of the Typing.comkeyboardingprogram for fourth, fifth, and sixth grades to complement the KeyboardingWithoutTearsprogram used in kindergarten through third grade.
The addition of materials to our roboticsandSTEMprogramsto enhance our students’ understanding of the engineeringanddesignprocess.
We are profoundly grateful for our generous donors who enable us to continue offering our students a
rich, engaging, and challenging curriculum. We cannot look ahead and prepare for the future without recognizing the support and leadership it has taken to become the incredible school we are. Thanks to Linda Altick’s 45 years of leadership, in collaboration with our Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and parents, we can continue offering children a strong academic and spiritual foundation in a setting filled with joy and love! Thank you, Miss Linda, for creating this beautiful place! Because of your commitment over the years, we are poised to embrace the future! We will continue the tradition of developing joyful leaders empowered by academics and integrity.
