Since the end of the last school year the Wayne School District staff has been working to get the school ready for this school year. Along with carpeting throughout the district, there is a new floor in Loa Elementary cafeteria/gym, upgraded boy’s bathrooms at the middle school and the front entrance in the high school has been refreshed. The teachers have been working all summer with their curriculum so they will be prepared for their classes. For the last few days excitement filled the air as our teachers readied their rooms in anticipation of soon to be arriving students. Loa elementary and the middle school have had Back-to-School nights so that the teachers and principals could meet with their parents and talk about the new things that are to come. 

Finally, the day arrived and the students filled the hallways as they were greeted by their teachers and school staff. Each principal met with the students to discuss the changes in their schools and to introduce their new and old staff members. The high school staff sang a rap song to the students with this year’s school theme of “No Limits.” The idea is that the students should not set limits on themselves or on their future. We have outstanding teachers in Wayne School District and each of them is committed to providing the students with a profound experience this year. Our goal is that each student learns their rigorous curriculum in a positive and supportive environment that they will fondly remember the remainder if their lives. Parents, teachers, students and community members all play a critical part in the success of our school systems. Our School Board, District and School staff want to thank the community for their tremendous support in our joint effort to teach our kids. 

Hanksville Elementary will start an exciting new chapter this coming year! Over the past few years HES student body has been shrinking and this year it is so small, that we will have one teacher, Mrs. Wilkins for K - 5 grades. We plan to organize in a way that the students will get the curriculum they need. We will still have a secretary, instructional aides including a music and preschool program, a school lunch program and a custodian/maintenance person.

Many schools, large and small, are working with a "blended" curriculum to provide "personalized learning" for each student. Our fifth graders are ready to work in a blended learning environment, which for our school next year will mean, that they will receive instruction from their teacher by means of face to face and virtual or online instruction. Then Mrs. Wilkins will be able to teach younger grades and still work with the older students when they are ready for independent work and questions or extra time to understand the concepts. Our instructional aides will continue to work under the direction of the teacher, meeting students' academic needs.

Personalized learning, with students taking more responsibility for their learning, will be advanced. Students will have opportunities to track their achievements, set goals and express their understanding with a variety of learning styles.

Our school has been working with students to nurture their science, technology, engineering, and math skills. We call this STEM; adding art component it is STEAM. When we will cultivate an interest in the natural and social sciences in elementary, the chances of STEM success in high school and beyond can be greatly improved. Students learn to work together on projects; they create, build and analyze what works, what doesn't, and how to improve.

We ask that parents and community members who have an interest in areas that include science, engineering, arts, technology, or social studies to volunteer their expertise or even just an interest to bring the students a richer experience.

We look forward to a stimulating and edifying year!!

Utah is currently in an information technology renaissance. Major technology corporations are moving to Utah and providing 10s of thousands of jobs. Companies are moving to Utah because it provides a workforce that is hard working, ethical and skilled. Wayne School District wants to prepare our students to take advantage of the opportunities that the high-tech industries provide.

In June teachers from the school district offered a 4-day coding camp to students in grades 4-9. At the camp students learned basic programming by using a gaming program called Scratch (scratch.mit.edu). They also used coding to program Sphero and Lego robots. Camp started with the students giving directions for a treasure hunt. Basically, they learned how to write a set of instructions like computer code.

Each day of the coding camp the students were given a new activity. The activity consisted of writing a set of instructions in code in Scratch. The programing code was for a new game. Each day the activities increased in difficulty. In addition, during the week obstacle courses and mazes were created for the Sphero robots. The activity for the Lego robots consisted of the students programming the robots so that they could complete a picture scavenger hunt. Students were engaged and had fun learning. We want to thank Debbie James and Stephanie Williams for their efforts in teaching this camp. Also, a big thanks to Andrea Peterson for setting up that camp and helping with her technical expertise.

It is time to signup for preschool for the 2018-2019 school year. All kids who will be four years old by Sept. 1, 2018 are eligible to attend preschool. Kids who will be three years old by Sept. 1 need to go through a screening process to determine eligibility. Please see the flyer below for more information.