Our School

Watson's mission is a single statement; “Building real relationships, strong character, and a college/career ready foundation for future leaders.” We build relationships with our students first and foremost. We work to build learners with strong character who are ready for college or careers later in life. 

Although we understand that cell phones are useful tools for parent/student communication, we must maintain an academic environment within the building. It is our strong recommendation that students keep their cell phones in their lockers during the school day. Cell phones should not be heard or seen in the building during the school day. Students using cell phones are only permitted to use them before and after school while they are outside of the building.

Personal devices such as tablets, personal computers are not allowed at Watson. Watson shall not be responsible for loss, theft or destruction of electronic personal devices brought onto school property.

Please contact the front office at 719-391-3256, before 9 a.m., to report your student's absence or tardiness. If we have not heard from a parent or guardian regarding an absence, attendance calls will be made beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Attendance Reminders:

• If we do not hear from you regarding your student's absence or tardiness he/she will be marked unexcused.
• If no notice is given within two weeks of the absence, the absence will be unexcused and the student may receive consequences per the Watson Discipline Guidelines. 
• If your student was absent due to an appointment, we highly recommend you bring a copy of the doctor's note so we can document that on your student's attendance record.

Widefield School District offers access to school computers in order to enrich student learning. They should not bring personal devices or phones to school.  Watson is a 1:1 device school. Students must login to computer with their WSD3 Google username and passwords in order to use computers. 

To use the computers, students must adhere to the following Acceptable Use Policy:

The Internet has links to material which may not be considered appropriate for reading or viewing in a school setting. When using Watson’s computers, students must avoid these areas. They must also agree not to vandalize any computer system or software. Students must understand that the software they use while on the Internet tracks all “surfing” conducted on these computers. Students must also understand that computer access privileges may be revoked, and school disciplinary action and/or appropriate legal action may be taken if they do not use the Internet in a responsible manner. Students must stay on task and topic, which will avoid wasting valuable on-line time.

The Widefield School District desires for your student to have an information rich education. We believe this requires all students to have access to the Internet at school. Our board policy regarding the Internet has changed to reflect this philosophy. Under the new Board Policy JS-Student Use of Internet Electronic Communication, we no longer require parent permission before we will let your student access the Internet at school on a school owned device.  Instead, we expect that students will use the Internet unless you as the parent/guardian explicitly and annually submit the Annual Internet Opt-Out Form (See Board Policy JS-E) and return it to your student’s school.

Use the resources below to help keep our students safe while online.
Internet Safety Documents and Age/Grade appropriate topics regarding Internet safety and digital citizenship.
iSafe

Before school, 6th grade students should report the large field on the west side of the building (near the softball field). 7th & 8th grade students should report to the courtyard on the east side of the building. 

Students are required to go to their specified entry doors for admittance at 7:18 a.m. 

Exceptions: Late arrivals-go to the office through the front doors

Note: Students should not arrive at Watson any earlier than 7:00 a.m.

When students are dismissed at the end of the day, they are allowed to exit through the appropriate door depending on their pickup arrangements. Exiting through the front doors at dismissal is not permitted for safety reasons.

Students who walk home may not leave school grounds by way of the west parking lot. Students going to the west of Watson and staying on the Watson side of Fontaine must exit through the Northwest gate, and students who cross Fontaine must use the stoplight at Dartmouth.

Teachers can always be reached through their district emails, through Remind or by calling 391-3255. Please set up an appointment with the teacher to meet.

 

Our school year is set up on quarters for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. Report cards are issued four (4) times per year (every nine weeks). In an attempt to keep our students and parents informed, Watson issues mid-term/progress reports during the fourth week of each quarter.

Grades can always be viewed by logging into the Infinite Campus Student Portal.

Watson uses a standard grading system for scholastic performance. The following grading marks are used:

A - Superior work 
B - Above Average work 
C - Average work 
D - Below Average work 
F - Failing work 
I - Incomplete work 
NM – No mark 
Certain work must be made up one week after the end of the grading period, or the incomplete grade will become a grade of F.

All registration is done online. Register your student here.

Reporting an Absence or Tardy: Please contact the front office at 719-391-3256, before 9:00 a.m., to report your student's absence or tardiness. All attendance calls will be made beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Attendance Reminders:

• If we do not hear from you regarding your student's absence or tardiness he/she will be marked unexcused.
• Unexcused absences and tardies may be referred to an administrator for disciplinary action per the Watson Discipline Guidelines.
• If your student was absent due to an appointment, we highly recommend you bring a copy of the doctor's note so we can document that on your student's attendance record.

A student needing to be absent from school for a known period of time of one day or more shall:

• Present a written parental request to the administration in advance of the absence.
• Present the pre-arranged absence form from the office to the teachers for assignments that will be missed.
• It is recommended that all class work be completed prior to missing school. Otherwise, all work must be turned in upon the student's return. Prearranged absences at the end of a semester and at the end of the school year are not recommended. 
   

• If you need to pick up your student during school hours, we highly recommend that you contact the office 10 minutes prior to your arrival time. This will allow the office to have your student waiting at the office with minimal disruption to the classroom.
• If you do not contact the office prior to your arrival to pick up your student, please know that it may take a little longer to arrange your pick up because we will send a pass for your student.

You may bring in items for your student during the school day for delivery to your student's classroom. We kindly ask that you refrain from pulling your student from class for you to give them the items they need as to not disrupt instruction.

If you have moved, changed phone numbers or want to change emergency contacts, please stop by the front office or log into your Infinite Campus parent portal to update your information. It is extremely important that we have the most up-to-date and accurate information on your student to help us better serve you.

• Homework requests will only be done after your student has missed 3 days consecutively with the expectation that the work be completed upon the student's return to school.
• If a homework request is necessary, we recommend that the request be made first thing in the morning, before 8:00 a.m.
• We highly recommend that all students check their teacher's websites or Schoology page before requesting homework as many teachers post work on those pages.
• Once homework is requested, it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to pick up all work at the front office. If the request was made before 8:00 a.m., the homework is usually available by 3:00 p.m. the same day.
• Work that is not picked up will be delivered back to the individual teachers and future requests for homework may be denied.

All visitors to Watson Junior High School will be required to follow the procedure detailed below for entry to the building.

1. Identify yourself and your student
2. State clearly the purpose of your visit
3. Show proper identification

Access will only be approved if visitors are identified and confirmed through our Infinite Campus student information database. In order to prevent delays or denial of access to your school, it is important that your child's IC information and emergency contacts are current and accurate.

If approved for entry, you may be asked to sign in and wear a visitor's badge while in the building.

We recommend that you make any arrangements for after school transportation and/or activities prior to the school day. However, if you need to get a message to your child please call before 2:30 PM to give us ample time to deliver the message. Our number is (719) 391-3255. 

Please read about the function of our Health Office here at Watson. We have a school nurse on staff but she is not at Watson full time as she supports two buildings. We do however, have a full-time Health Tech and two back-up Health Techs. 

Our Health Techs are here to assist students with minor health and very basic first aid issues.

Health Techs are able to:

• take temperatures 
• provide ice
• provide band aids
• give a student a moment to rest 
• assist students in contacting parents/guardians should they need to go home
• respond to emergencies.
• health Techs may also dispense medication under very controlled conditions, with detailed and specific instructions signed by a physician

Although they complete required district training every year, they are not licensed healthcare professionals; and as such are limited in what they can do for students. Health Techs cannot diagnose issues/illness or provide wraps, splints, antibiotic ointment, Vaseline, Chapstick, lotion or over-the-counter medications of any kind.

 If your student is sick please keep them home. Our health techs don’t have the qualifications or capability to make any sort of diagnosis, so if they’re not feeling well, please consult your physician.

Should you have questions or need further clarification please call our main office at 719-391-3255.

• If you need computer help, please contact Mrs. Garrett
  • Phone: (719) 391-3269
  • Email: garrettl@wsd3.org
  • Location: Watson Library
• If you need further technical support any computer help, please contact our Student Tech Support:  
  • Phone: (719) 391-3285
  • Email: student-helpdesk@wsd3.org 
  • Location: S.A. Wilson Center, 930 Leta Drive - Technician available from 7AM to 3PM M-F
• If you need help with Infinite Campus, please contact our Infinite Campus Support Line
  • Phone: (719) 391-3011
  • Email: ichelpdesk@wsd3.org

FORMS

• In order to receive a device from Watson, the Student Device Agreement needs to be filled out by a parent/guardian, all previous equipment must be returned, and any fees must be paid.

• Once you have received a device from Watson, please fill out the Student Device Receipt. You should fill this out and document the condition of your device at the time of check out in case there is anything wrong with the device.

 

Google

Your student Google account gives you access to email, drive, and school-appropriate apps that can make your life as a student turn into the life of a learner. You can share assignments with other students, parents, and teachers, as well as collaborate in real-time. The research tool also makes it easier to find good sources, prove you used them, and cite where they came from. Login information is below:

• Google Username: lastnamefirstname-100@wsd3.org
  • Example: Carl Smith
  • Google Username: SmithCarl-100@wsd3.org
• Google Password: each Google password is unique and can be found in your Infinite Campus portal using the directions below

All usernames and passwords for district apps (Google, Renaissance, AD) can be found in Infinite Campus.

Infinite Campus Login information:

• Username: Student ID Number (this is your lunch number)
• Password: lowercase initials and 6 digit date of birth
  • Example for IC password: Carl Smith January, 27, 2006 = cs012706
    • If this doesn’t work, try your 8 digit birthday January 27, 2006= cs01272006

If you need further support with finding passwords, please contact the Student Tech Help Support line at (719) 391-3285 or email student-helpdesk@wsd3.org

 

Infinite Campus for Students

• Infinite Campus Portal

If you still need help with Infinite Campus, please contact our Infinite Campus Support Line:

• Phone: (719) 391-3011
• Email: ichelpdesk@wsd3.org

You can also use the Infinite Campus app on your phone or tablet. Search for "Widefield" as our district and use the same login as above.

Infinite Campus Parent Portal 

Infinite Campus Parent Portal is a great tool to keep track of your student's grades and attendance.

If you need help getting into your Infinite Campus Parent Portal, please call (719) 391-3011.

SCHOOLOGY Help

Watson utilizes Schoology in many classes. Teachers often set up their assignments in Schoology. If you need help, click on a link below:

• Logging into Schoology and Accessing Conferences
• Finding Assignments, Make-up Work & Missing Assignments in Schoology

If you still need assistance, please contact our Student Tech Support:  

• Phone: (719) 391-3285
• Email: student-helpdesk@wsd3.org 
• Location: S.A. Wilson Center, 930 Leta Drive - Technician available from 7AM to 3PM M-F

WHY USE REMIND?

You are your child’s first teacher. Student success depends on the support of networks that include parents, teachers, and other key stakeholders in their school communities. To strengthen these partnerships, teachers are using Remind to bring learning home. Remind is a free, safe messaging app that keeps families up to date with what’s happening in the classroom. Teachers can send messages to an entire class, smaller groups, or individuals. These quick, simple messages can help you and your student stay informed about:

• Homework assignments
• Field trip updates
• Schedule changes
• Personalized support or feedback
• And more! Remind is safe

REMIND IS SAFE

• Personal contact information stays private.
• Phone numbers aren’t exchanged between teachers, students, and parents.
• Messages can’t be edited or deleted, so a complete message history is always available to access and download.
• Everyone has the ability to report users who violate Remind’s Community Guidelines.
• Students under the age of 13 need to enter a parent or guardian’s email address before using Remind.
• They can only receive messages from their teachers.

SETTING UP REMIND

Here is a video demo to see how Remind works.

For assistance or support: reach out to rmd.me/help or email support@remindhq.com

When parents download the app, push notifications are turned on and text and email Remind messages are automatically disabled - so they do not receive duplicates. 

Parents can manage all of their notifications from their phone using the Remind app. First, make sure they are logged into the app on their phone. Second, click on the three vertical dots in the upper right of the screen. Next, click on Account. Then, click on the gear in the top right and choose “Notification.” There, they can choose any combination of Push notifications (for the app) email, and text. At least one needs to be turned on.

Prevent accidents before they happen.

• Keep your device in a protective sleeve.
•  Keep food and drink away from the device.
• Keep small children and pets away from the device.
• Keep it off of the floor.
• When carrying your laptop around, keep it in the sleeve AND be sure to keep your hands on it. (Don’t pile it on top of your books. It will slide off.)
• NEVER pick up your device by the screen or press too hard on the screen. It is NOT a touch screen, so try to avoid touching the screen altogether.

Use your laptop in a safe place

• Clean your hands before use.
• Work in a clean area.
• Don’t block the computer vents.
• Do not put items on top of your device.
• Do not expose the laptop to extreme heat or cold.

Keeping your device safe

• Turn your device off every couple of days.
• Gently plug in and remove items from your device.
• Do not leave your device in your car.

Cleaning your device

• Once a week, spray a microfiber cloth with a mild cleaning solution. Wipe device. NEVER spray your device.
• Wipe down the screen with a damp cloth. (Glass cleaner works well.) The cloth should have very little moisture in it.
• Using chemicals on the screen will leave it streaky and may damage the screen.
• Do NOT use harsh chemicals like Goof Off, Goo Gone, or even alcohol.

Care for your power cord

• Do not swing it around.
• Be careful winding it up.
• The tiny cords inside will break if treated roughly and then your charger will no longer work.

Returning your device

• Clean it following the directions listed above.
• Return the device with your power cord.

Please take care of your computers. They are district property and are subject to fees if damaged.