May 1, 2020

Dear WREC Family,
 
I hope that this communication finds everyone in your home healthy and continuing to make the best of what is surely a trying time.  I continue to be very grateful for all of those people who are on the “front lines” of this pandemic.  With the Reading Hospital and multiple other medical facilities located within our school district, I realize that many of our parents, grandparents, and other family members are those front-line people, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank them for all they are doing.

Personally, this week was the first time I learned of somebody that I knew who had contracted the COVID-19 virus and passed away.  That person was my fifth-grade homeroom teacher at WREC, Mrs. Ruth Rosenstock.  She was a great lady and a great teacher. I remember her having very high expectations for her students (both academically and behaviorally…), but being the kind of teacher that came across as nurturing, rather than “mean”.  She lived a very long and happy life following her retirement from our school district over thirty years ago.  As I was walking around WREC this week and passed her old classroom, now Mrs. Kline’s room, I did pause and think of some special experiences with her during that 1980-81 school year.  Mrs. Rosenstock was a class act.
 
As noted in my communication last week, we wrapped up the third marking period this past Thursday, April 30th, and have now entered the fourth quarter of this school year.  We extended the third quarter for over a month so that our students, parents and teachers would be able to transition to working from home.  Our teachers have worked diligently to have all students make up any third quarter missing assignments and we accepted all late third quarter work with no penalty up through this week.  We will be issuing third quarter report cards and mailing them home.

The fourth quarter began on Friday, May 1st.  All assignments and schoolwork from that point forward will count towards fourth quarter grades. Students should be logging in to their Schoology accounts daily to check on posted assignments from their teachers, submit assignments, and read messages from their teachers.  Students are also expected to attend daily scheduled Webex online classes with their teachers.   If students are still having problems accessing their Webex account, I encourage you to go to the Webex information posted on our district website at: URL:  https://www.wyoarea.org/departments/information_technology/virtual_learning_-_webex
We will continue to help you work through any technical/logistical issues with the ultimate goal of every school day having all WREC students engaged in learning and actively working with their teachers.  Parents can monitor their student’s 4th quarter grades, submission of assignments and attendance at scheduled Webex class sessions via the Home Access Center on our district’ website.  

As always, if you have any additional questions, please email me at [email protected], or call me at my extension listed below.  We are currently working to set up a schedule for students to return to WREC this month to pick up personal items, return library books, clean out desks, lockers, etc.  Details concerning that will come out later this month.
 
Stay healthy!
 
Corbett Babb, Ed.D.
Principal
West Reading Elementary Center
(610) 374-0739   ext. 5211