Mary Raber Montessori School

Kicking Off Teacher Appreciation Week with Gratitude! A huge THANK YOU to Gary and Heather Parrett from Big G’s Sports Café for donating two delicious breakfast casseroles to the incredible staff at Mary Raber Montessori School! What a perfect way to start our week! Our staff pour so much into the lives of our students every day, and it’s heartwarming to see community members like the Parretts give back. This generous gesture is just one example of how they continue to support and uplift those around them. Thank you, Gary and Heather, for your kindness and thank you to the Mary Raber staff for all that you do! #TeacherAppreciationWeek #WCCSExperience#MaryRaberMontessori

It's that time of the year, we encourage all parents/guardians to complete online registration! Spring registration is open until May 30, 2025. Registration helps us create class sizes, transportation routes, staff support and more! Registration must be completed in a browser and cannot be completed through the Skyward App. We've created step-by-step instructions to get started! https://www.wccsonline.com/o/wccs/page/registration-returning-students

As a reminder, schools and the administrative office are closed on Friday, April 18, 2025. View the calendar: wccsonline.com/documents/school-year-calendars/2024-2025/559892

We celebrate our WCCS librarians, media specialists and their assistants today for National School Librarian Day! Our school libraries are a place for books, media, technology, homework resources and so much more! Thank you for all you do! #WCCSExperience #NationalSchoolLibrarianDay

Today, we celebrate the incredible paraprofessionals across Whitley County Consolidated Schools who support, inspire, and make a difference in our students' lives every single day! Our paraprofessionals are heroes in our classrooms providing individual attention, supporting students with special needs, helping teachers, and creating a positive learning environment. Your dedication, patience, and compassion do not go unnoticed! To our amazing paraprofessionals: THANK YOU for being essential members of our school family. You truly make a profound impact on our students' educational journeys. Thank you, WCCS Paraprofessionals: Ms. Amstutz Ms. Barrell Mr. Beck Ms. Corkwell Ms. Frankart Ms. Grahovac Ms. Gresley Ms. Harper Ms. Henry Ms. Herron Mr. Hicks Mr. Hopkins Ms. Mosher Ms. Renbarger Ms. Rugg Ms. Schrader Ms. Shoda Ms. Snyder Mr. Sittler Ms. Stump Ms. Trumbull Ms. Wagoner Ms. Wiggins Ms. Wilderman Ms. Yager Ms. Zickafoose Instructional Assistants: Ms. Shew Ms. Leighty Ms. Bedwell Ms. Tucker Ms. Baker Ms. Priest Ms. Reed Ms. Wilderman Ms. Thomas Ms. Henry Ms. Sowders Ms. Walters Ms. Schlosser Ms. Slagal Ms. Tinsley Ms. Helton Ms. Schneider Ms. Gavin Ms. Kanning Ms. Hoopingarner Ms. Bergman Ms. Geiger Ms. Schuman Ms. Wolter Ms. Barrera Ms. Moore Ms. Presley Ms. Johnson Ms. Wyatt Ms. Gates Ms. Halferty NOW HIRING! Love working with students and in a collaborative setting? We want you! We currently have open paraprofessional positions across our district. Join our team and make a difference in students' lives. Apply today at wccsonline.com and click the "Employment Opportunities" button. #ParaprofessionalAppreciationDay #Hiring #WCCSExperience #WCCSRelationshipBuilders

Reminder: Teacher Only Day Thursday, March 20, 2025. View our school calendar at wccsonline.com.

Today is National Maintenance Worker Appreciation Day! We're celebrating Chet Burch and Chad Ralston! They are the district maintenance technicians and help keep our buildings running day-to-day! “Chad and Chet are worth their weight in gold. They are given multiple projects, working together to create a beautiful space. One of the projects they have finished is the eSports room at ISMS. They both have their own sets of skills, and they learn from each other. These fellows have put their heart and soul into their work, which shows. As a corporation, we are very blessed to have these two guys on our team,” said Vicky Borders, WCCS Corporation Custodial Trainer. Read more about Chet and Chad and their work here: https://www.wccsonline.com/article/2069985 #EverydayEagles #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #WCCSExperience

As a reminder, there is no school on Friday, February 14 and on Monday, February 17. These are included as snow make-up days in our calendar. View our school calendar at wccsonline.com. There is a quick link at the top of the page. Enjoy your long weekend, eagles!

Happy National School Counseling Week! Our buildings have been celebrating this week to bring attention to the unique contribution of school counselors. Presented by the American School Counselor Association, National School Counseling Week is celebrated the first full week in February. WCCS extends appreciation to our school counselors and student support staff who help our students thrive in a variety of different ways. Consider how you can show appreciation for your school counselor this week. Maybe it's a quick note or a simple high-five, anything to let them know they're valued. #WCCSExperience #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #SchoolCounselingWeek

Remember, there is no school on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. Feb. 4 is a Professional Development Day for our staff. View our school year calendar at wccsonline.com/documents/school-year-calendars/332185

Last Friday, Whitley County Consolidated Schools' entire third-grade class experienced the excitement and wonder of the Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne—a cherished community tradition that has delighted local students for more than half a century. Thanks to the generous Shriners and Whitley County Shrine Club, every third-grade student received a free tickets to the spectacular event. This long-standing tradition allows children to enjoy a memorable day of entertainment at no cost to their families. "The Shriners are all about kids. We have hospitals for children but we care about all kids. We're grateful to be able to do it,” said Joe Simon, the Shrine Circus coordinator for Whitley County. Third-grade students are even escorted by police to the Fort Wayne Coliseum for the event. “This is so fun for our students. They love when the Shriners ride our bus over and spend the day with us. It’s great to get our students into the community too. Often students want their parents to go to another performance. It’s a trip they talk about for years; we still hear from former students about how fun the circus is,” said Jacqueline Snoddy, Coesse Third Grade Teacher. The circus outing provides more than just entertainment. It offers students a unique educational experience outside the classroom, exposing them to performances and exciting acts that spark imagination and create lasting memories. This incredible gesture by the local Shrine Club demonstrates their commitment to the community and children's experiences. For 72 years, they have been bringing joy to students throughout the region with circus tickets, embodying the organization's mission of supporting youth. The smiles, laughter, and wide-eyed wonder of our third graders serve as a testament to the Shriners' ongoing dedication to making childhood special. #ExperienceWCCS #ShrineCircus Thank you, WCCS Transportation for the photos!

Montessori families or those with interest, there is an informational parent meeting on Tuesday, January 21 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Mary Raber Montessori Elementary. The Montessori Application will open January 22, 2025 for the 2025-2026 school year. This is only an application and does not guarantee your acceptance into the program. Please view more at https://www.wccsonline.com/o/mrms #MontessoriEducation #MRES #WCCSRelationshipBuilders

WCCS Families, With winter break here, I want to remind you that the safety and well-being of our school community continue to be a top priority. The holidays are a time when some students may need additional support. During the break, the reporting feature for STOPit, our anonymous reporting system will be shut off. Students will continue to have access to the app for local resources and the Crisis Text Line services during the break. The reporting feature will come back into service on January 5. -Lyle Kuhmichel Director of District Safety and Student Services

Columbia City High School students from Eagle Tech Academy invite all WCCS elementary families to join them for a FREE Book Fair with Princess Belle and Santa! Hosted on Dec. 12 from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Peabody Public Library elementary students and their families are invited to meet Belle, take photos with Santa, and refresh their home libraries with community -donated books. *Flyer created by students* #ExperienceWCCS

Welcome back, Eagles! As a reminder, there are no students tomorrow, December 3. This is a scheduled professional development day for all of our staff.

All WCCS Skyward SMS 2.0 systems will be down beginning Friday, October 11th at 6:00 p.m. and continuing until 7:00 p.m. Saturday, October 12th, while our host is installing the latest updates. Please refrain from making eFunds payments during this time, as well, because they may not be properly recorded.

Columbia City High School Fine Arts presents Beauty and the Beast! Tickets are on sale now. Friday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 9 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Purchase Tickets here: https://cur8.com/18800/project/125271?fbclid=IwY2xjawFfj71leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHRA8Vp6eWFon14dczXek4GJvNMEVxA-ScR4D_vAheyFuisQtZdTOPbx35Q_aem_1gLvr9Yb0eFEqAaL2tMnZw Tickets are $10 each and a show you won't want to miss. Bring your princess and beasts to a Tea Party with Mrs. Potts following the 2 p.m. show on Saturday! #ExperienceWCCS #BeautyandtheBeast

Following yesterday's threat, Whitley County Consolidated Schools wants to thank our Whitley County Sheriff Department and Columbia City Police Department, along with the Indiana State Police, for their organized response and communication with our WCCS administration in resolving this incident. Our relationship with the police department stood up to the test of a threat, thank you. Secondly, we know communication to our families can seem vague. Student and staff safety is our highest priority. We want to assure you we take all threats about our school and students very seriously and we act on them quickly. We share the details as soon as we can. Due to the nature of the threat, confidentiality has been upheld. WCCS is taking necessary disciplinary action for the student(s) involved. Parents, please speak with your child(ren) about their role in school safety. It is crucial that if a student sees something, or hears something, they need to say something. From the police, the investigation would have gone smoother if the initial social media post hadn’t been shared and re-routed so many times. When students know something, they should report the incident to either a staff member, police, or other authoritative figure, instead of sharing the post with their peers. This way authorities can begin the investigation and determine the severity and legitimacy of the threat. Students can also use the anonymous tip line of STOPit via wccsonline.com/page/stopit or the mobile app. STOPit allows students and family members the power to help end harmful and inappropriate behavior they see online through social media, hear of incidents, and other means. STOPit can be used to report bullying, cyberbullying, discrimination, harassment, violence, threats, weapons, alcohol or drug-related issues, mental health struggles like suicidal ideations, or any other concerns. This is a community that cares deeply for our students and their safety. We want you to know that while this incident did cause fear and concern, our systems worked the way they were supposed to and we saw clear evidence of our ongoing training and preparedness for crisis response. As a reminder, official communication comes through the WCCS app (Whitley County Consolidated Schools in Google Play or App Store), Whitley County Consolidated Schools Facebook, WCCSonline.com, and email notifications, or as a phone call. Parents should verify their Skyward accounts are accurate. We know communication is a personal preference and continue to work to build transparent systems that work for all. Please know that we will continue to build on what we learned yesterday and today, what went well and what can be improved.

Friday, Sept. 13 | The Columbia City Police have identified the source of the initial post. There is no threat to student safety. There will be increased police presence today, however, we know the threat was not credible. Thank you CC Police Department for your investigation and support of our student and staff safety.

We are once again introducing our new teachers! Welcome to WCCS! #WCCSRelationshipBuilders #ExperienceWCCS