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Williamsburg Parent Update

February 7, 2025

Dear Williamsburg Parents,

It has been a pleasure meeting with many of you during this week's Parent Mentor Conferences. I’ve been especially impressed by students who are taking the lead—self-assessing their progress and asking thoughtful questions about how they can improve. It’s inspiring to see them, especially those new to Williamsburg, actively self-advocating and taking ownership of their education.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on our school’s beginnings. Since Williamsburg was founded in 2008, its vision has been carried forward by incredible mentors, staff, parents, and students. Together, we’ve shaped the unique “Burger Culture” we have today—built on our core mission of preparing students for meaningful lives as principled leaders. A key part of this mission is helping students connect with our student motto: Becoming Who We Are. We believe every student possesses both greatness and goodness, and like Socrates, we aim to “draw out what is already within them” through interactive classrooms, engaging assignments, and a supportive student culture.

As parents, you play an essential role in this journey. No one knows your student better, no one loves them more, and no one has a greater influence on their growth. To support you, we encourage you to revisit our WA Parent-Student Handbook, especially the Parent Commitments (p. 15) and Parent Resources (p. 39) sections. These sections offer valuable insights for guiding your student’s success at Williamsburg.

Thank you for being part of our community and for partnering with us in your child’s education. We’re grateful for you!

Warmly,

Ross Gilbert 

Headmaster, Williamsburg Academy 

Announcements

New World Language Courses: Exciting news! Starting next school year, we will offer new live World Language courses: Spanish 1, French 1, and Japanese 1 & 2. Learning a new language not only enhances communication skills, but also fosters cultural understanding and opens doors to diverse opportunities. Registration opens on February 18—be sure to sign up for these new courses.

STAR Progress Check Results Available Now: If your student completed STAR testing in January, their updated score is now available on their Renaissance dashboard. If they didn’t test in January, their August score will still be displayed. Follow these steps to access their results:

  1. Go to the Renaissance Welcome Portal, select “I’m a Student," and enter our school Renaissance ID (rp-83ca) if prompted.
  2. Enter the same username and password your student used to complete their progress check. Login help is available in this document under the “Instructions” section.
  3. On the Renaissance dashboard, scroll down to the Parents and Guardians section and select "Get Email Updates".
  4. Click on "Progress" in the top right corner. The Star Unified Scores will be at the bottom of this page. You can find how to understand these scores and their implications in this document.

Upcoming Events

Weekly (Monday through Thursday): Pomodoro Study Lab (Check the WA Hub for the Zoom links)

Session 1—1:00-2:30 PM MT
Session 2—2:30-4:00 PM MT

Weekly (Monday through Thursday): Drop-in Math and Language Arts Tutoring—2:30-4:30 PM MT (Check the WA Hub for the Zoom link)

Weekly (Friday): “Burger” Catch-Up Day—9:00 AM-12:00 PM MT (Check the WA Hub for the Zoom link)

February 17: President’s Day—No Live Classes, Offices Closed

February 18: Registration Opens for the 2025-26 School Year

February 22: LAU & Williamsburg Winter Formal (Hosted by LAU)—7:00-9:30 PM MT

 

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