Teacher Janet Pharr (left) and Principal Wanda Jenkins welcomed new PreK and fourth-grade students who are anticipating their first day of school at W-WES. Pictured are (front, l-r) Darien Todd, Sydney Harper, Caitlyn Harper, (back) Edward Davis, Hunter Newsome, and Dorian Favors. The hallways of WashingtonWilkes Elementary School are empty and quiet today, but tomorrow things at W-WES will look and sound quite different as approximately 360 PreK, fourth-, and fifthgrade students return for the first day of the 2006-2007 school year. Principal Wanda Jenkins and her faculty and staff have been very busy over the past several days working to prepare for the big day Friday.

"When our students and their parents arrive on the first day of school, we want them to know they are walking into a great place to learn. We want them to immediately feel like a part of the W-WES TEAM," stated Mrs. Jenkins.

At W-WES, the letters T-E-A-M stand for Together, Everyone Achieves More, and it has become evident that the TEAM approach has enhanced the elementary school's success rate. This year, WWES, along with all of the schools in Wilkes County, made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) based on their scores from the Spring 2006 administration of the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Since this is the fourth year in a row of AYP for W-WES, the school will once again be recognized as a "Title I Distinguished School" by the Georgia State Department of Education.

Jenkins expressed her thanks to the teachers, students, parents, volunteers, business partners, and the Wilkes County Board of Education for the support extended to the school over the past three years. "This is a great accomplishment for everyone who has contributed to the success of our instructional program. I cannot say enough about the dedicated faculty and staff members at the school, the hard working students who made such excellent test scores, and about the parents who sent these children to school each day ready to learn," Jenkins commented.

This year, the elementary school welcomes two new faculty members to the W-WES team. Susan Chafin has joined the school as a PreK teacher and Barbara Hines has joined the school as a paraprofessional. Although she is not new to the school, Charlotte Waller is already busy at work as the new school secretary. Principal Jenkins said she is pleased to add new personnel and she is equally as proud to retain the "talented and hardworking" faculty and staff members that have chosen to return to WWES year after year. "For a principal, it just does not get any better than this!" Jenkins said.

The W-WES Open House will be held on Thursday, August 3, from 1-3 p.m. Students and their parents can visit their homerooms and tour the school. A more in-depth Open House will be held in conjunction with the first PTG meeting of the school year on Tuesday, August 15, at 7 p.m. PreK parents may visit on that night also, beginning at 6:30 p.m. On that night, parents will meet with the teachers in their classrooms for a closer look at the instruction that takes place during the school day, goals and expectations for success, and the school discipline plan.

The school day will begin at WWES each morning at 7:50 as the students are dismissed from the gym or lunchroom and into their

homerooms. The first instructional segment begins at 8:10. School is dismissed each day at 3:05. The WWES Parent Teacher Group (PTG) meets on the third Tuesday night of selected months. The School Council meets on the second Thursday night of selected months. A number of parent workshops are planned for the coming year for parents of PreK and fourthand fifth-grade students at the school. An active volunteer program is in place at the school, and all interested individuals are encouraged to contact Mrs. Judy Coxwell, Volunteer Coordinator and Media Specialist.

Washington-Wilkes Elementary School invites the public to visit the school at any time. The school's stated motto is, "We are a TEAM, and we will ACHIEVE our goals by putting students first and working together for their success."