For Students and Teachers

Weber School District provides every student and teacher with a Microsoft Office 365 account. This account allows students and teachers to access the popular Microsoft Office Suite from any computer connected to the internet. Each account includes:

• Online versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, & OneNote
• 30 gigabytes of online storage with OneDrive
• Software downloads of the latest version of Office for PC & Mac (up to 5 computers)
• Phone & Tablet Office apps for Windows, Android and iOS devices

Login to your Office365 account by going to portal.office.com.

1. Go to the following address to login: “portal.office.com”
2. Login with your wsdstudent email address and password ()
3. Once you are logged in you can create new documents online or download a version of Microsoft Office for your computer

Go to a computer lab Login to a computer with your WSD username/password 

Push: CTRL-ALT-DEL and click on Change Password

Type in an old password and new password twice

For more on school readiness, visit attendanceworks.org and reachoutandread.org

Did You Know?

• Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
• Missing 10 percent (or about 18 days) can make it harder to learn to read.
• Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks.
• Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
• Absences can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Start building this habit in preschool so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Good attendance will help children do well in high school, college, and at work.

Help Your Child Succeed in School:

Build the Habit of Good Attendance Early
School success goes hand in hand with good attendance!

What You Can Do

• Set a regular bed time and morning routine.
• Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
• Find out what day school starts and make sure your child has the required shots.
• Introduce your child to her teachers and classmates before school starts to help her transition.
• Don’t let your child stay home unless she is truly sick. Keep in mind complaints of a stomach ache or headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home.
• If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors, or other parents for advice on how to make her feel comfortable and excited about learning.
• Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor, or another parent.
• Avoid medical appointments and extended trips when school is in session.

When Do Absences Become a Problem?

Chronic Absence - 18 or more days
Warning Signs - 10 to 17 days
Good Attendance - 9 or fewer absences
Note: These numbers assume a 180-day school year.

©2011 Reach Out and Read, Inc. All rights reserved. ATT1PG_09/11

Sign the AUP

Weber School District is committed to ensuring a safe environment for student and employee computer usage. The Appropriate Use Policy (AUP) governs the usage of the computers in the district. Everyone using a district computer is required to abide by the rules set forth in the AUP.

Key Points of the Appropriate Use Policy

1. Your use of the computer should be appropriate to your role in Weber School District. In other words, your use of technology should be consistent with the educational and support responsibilities of your job (i.e. Teacher, Administrator and Classified Employee).
2. It is both an AUP violation and a Class B misdemeanor to intentionally and knowingly access pornography from any Weber School District computer including laptops.
3. All Weber School District web activity and email communication is filtered and logged. Consequently, Weber District users of computers and computer services should have no expectation of privacy in their use of these technologies.
4. All Students will be monitored and supervised as they use WSD technology, including computers and computer labs.
5. Violations of the AUP are handled aggressively and may result in suspension from school for students, and job actions (including possible termination) for staff, as circumstances warrant.
6. Employees must exercise reasonable care to safeguard access to their computer(s) from other individuals including students. Passwords must be kept secure and changed as needed. Students must not be allowed to use the computer assigned for teacher use.

Appropriate Use Policy

The Appropriate Use Policy is the agreement between the district, the students, and the staff, and determines which computer activities are appropriate. Usage of the computers should always be appropriate to one's role in the district. Failure to adhere to the Appropriate Use Policy will result in disciplinary action.

Read the Appropriate Use Policy

Suggested AUP Summary for K-3 Students

This document was written to help teachers, administrators, and parents explain the Appropriate Use Policy to students from Kindergarten to 3rd Grade. You may use this as a template and signature form for creating your own elementary school AUP form, if you wish to do so.

Read This Document

Suggested AUP Summary for 4-6 Students

This document was written to help teachers, administrators, and parents explain the Appropriate Use Policy to students from 4th Grade to 6th Grade. You may use this as a template and signature form for creating your own elementary school AUP form, if you wish to do so.

Read This Document

To better understand the facts about Utah's Core Standards here are some links that provide valuable information.

• http://www.corestandards.org/
• http://schoolboard.utah.gov/

What are the best methods for me to receive timely WSD notifications?

Currently, the preferred methods for getting WSD notifications are to visit the main wsd.net web site, as well as your school web site. Other options include checking our district Twitter account or Facebook page. Please keep in mind that our Facebook page is not monitored 24/7, so any messages you send may not be responded to immediately.

We also offer the ability to sign up for email and text alerts. However, due to the volume of message that are being sent out, these two options are not as timely.

To sign up to follow our Twitter account, text “follow @wsdnotification” to 40404.

Email Notifications

To receive email notifications, a parent must be registered at weber.powerschool.com.

Note: Each parent must have their own PowerSchool account.

Remind

This system is used for school, classroom, and emergency messages

 School and District Websites

The notification message will also be displayed on all school and district web pages. Visit any of the sites to see the WSD Notification Message.

Facebook

WSD Notification messages can also be viewed by following the Weber School District Facebook page.

What are the best methods for me to receive timely WSD notifications?

Currently, the preferred methods for getting WSD notifications are to visit the main wsd.net web site, as well as your school web site. Other options include checking our district Twitter account or Facebook page. Please keep in mind that our Facebook page is not monitored 24/7, so any messages you send may not be responded to immediately.

We also offer the ability to sign up for email and text alerts. However, due to the volume of message that are being sent out, these two options are not as timely.

To sign up to follow our Twitter account, text “follow @wsdnotification” to 40404.

Email Notifications

To receive email notifications, a parent must be registered at weber.powerschool.com.

Note: Each parent must have their own PowerSchool account.

Remind

This system is used for school, classroom, and emergency messages

 School and District Websites

The notification message will also be displayed on all school and district web pages. Visit any of the sites to see the WSD Notification Message.

Facebook

WSD Notification messages can also be viewed by following the Weber School District Facebook page.

On Wednesday March 2, 2016, Weber School District partnered with the Weber County Sheriff's Office, Pleasant View Police Department, Roy City Police Department, and the Utah Highway Patrol to conduct the largest safety drill in the district to date. The three-staged lockdown, evacuation, and reunification exercise was conducted at Kanesville Elementary in West Haven.

Gone are the days when the only drills teachers and administration needed to worry about involved earthquakes and fire. As a district we must now be prepared to protect the safety of our students in a variety of situations. Weber School District is committed to being prepared to protect, evacuate, and reunite the children with their parents and loved ones in the event of a natural disaster or tragedy.

Principal Scott Zellmer initiated discussion of drill that would involve transporting students from the school. Unlike most other schools in the District, Kanesville has the distinction of being geographically located in an area without surrounding schools, parks, or other public spaces that are suitable for an evacuation of this magnitude. In preparation for the drill, the Weber County Sheriff's Office suggested use of the Weber County Fairgrounds as an evacuation site due to its relatively close approximation to Kanesville and the fact that its layout was easily secured by law enforcement.

Lockdown, evacuation, and reunification drills have all been conducted separately prior to Wednesday's drill, but this was the first time the District has conducted all three drills concurrently. Planning for the drill was a months-long process that required a small army of volunteers and cooperation with multiple agencies. The day began at 9:00 with teachers receiving the signal to begin the lockdown with “locks, lights, out of sight”. Classrooms were individually cleared by law enforcement and children were escorted onto waiting buses, walking hand-in-hand. Streets along the evacuation route were closed to traffic, and a police escort accompanied the buses to the Fairgrounds where the children were taken into the Exhibit Hall. Parents were notified via email and text of their student's location and given the “all clear” to begin arriving at the Fairgrounds for reunification. Upon arrival, parents filled out information cards and were asked to present their identification. Once checked in, they were sent to a waiting area until their children were brought to the reunification table. At that point, identification was again verified and students were reunited and sent home with their parents. The cooperation of parents in the process was appreciated very much.

Nate Taggart, Weber School District's Spokesperson and Safety Specialist stated that it is everyone's hope that we never have to use this protocol, but emphasized the importance of being prepared for such an event. Overall, the process was very smooth and well executed with few issues. Many lessons were learned, and ideas for expediting evacuation and reunification were shared. Input received from law enforcement, parents, and school officials has been invaluable in helping us to streamline the process; however, the most important feedback we received was from the students themselves. The children felt protected and secure knowing that procedures were in place to ensure their safety. They even reported having a lot of fun watching movies and playing games while they waited for their parents to arrive. But perhaps most fun of all, they received their very own police escort!

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In the new Common Core State Standards Initiative, college and career-readiness standards have been incorporated into the K-12 standards which will enable educators to better prepare students for the 21^st century. The Utah State Board of Education gave permission for school districts to take time to implement training of the core to educators. The WSD Board of Education granted a full school day for the purpose of training, planning, collaboration and application of the new core. On September 30, elementary and secondary educators gathered together in several different locations across the district for general and subject-specific training and teacher development. The focus of the day was centered on speaking, listening, writing and comprehension of informational text across all curricular areas. Teachers have indicated that the Common Core training day was valuable and impactful. We are currently in the process of gathering more data from educators to help determine the level of effectiveness of the training and how to improve similar trainings in the future. We appreciate the members of the WSD Board of Education for their support in allowing educators this valuable opportunity for planning and preparation, collaboration with colleagues and opportunities for growth and learning.

I have had the pleasure on numerous occasions to speak to University students within their educational departments throughout the State of Utah.  Without exception, the overriding concern they share is the availability of employment opportunities.  Many, many times I have been asked if we ever hire new teachers.   It has been interesting to watch their reactions when I inform them that we have hired well over one hundred new teachers for the past three years. They then mention they have heard rumors that we have imposed a hiring freeze.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is accurate that prior to these years, we have hired slightly more teachers, but the demand for new teachers is still great.  This past year we also hired over one hundred classified employees.

"Weber School District is committed to provide educational experiences which motivate each student to become a lifelong learner, attain academic and personal potential, and enter the workforce with the necessary skills." This mission statement is our number one priority but it is noteworthy that in addition to providing academic excellence,  we are also the second largest employer in Weber County, the first being the IRS.  We have over thirty-three hundred caring employees that contribute a great deal to the community and economy of Weber County.

Thanks to all.