WPES Community - A Culture of Leadership, Academics, Respect, and Honor

We're incredibly proud of the dedication shown by the faculty and staff at West Point Elementary School (WPES).  Along with our community partners, we act as ambassadors of the Department of Defense to educate, engage, and empower military-connected students. Thank you, West Point families, for your continuous support and partnership of our DoDEA school. Together, we instill a culture of leadership, academics, respect, and honor.     

WPES is rich in its tradition to ensure excellence every day.  Through academics, core values, and skills in leadership, our WPES students are provided opportunities to shape a mindset of balance when meeting challenges and when making effective decisions.   

Events in September started our school year to reinforce our WPES Collective Commitment:  "Together, we are dedicated to creating a positive and supportive school climate where every student can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically".  Our highly-qualified teachers model and practice routines in the classroom and throughout the school to create an environment of independence and positive community within the building.

WPES Open House – Resources in our military-connected community joined forces with WPES on this evening. Parents and students were welcomed and introduced to the many partnership offerings with a shared mission to balance academic, social, and physical well-being. We like to thank you for participating in our event and for sharing your valued information with families of our community.

Patriot Day – First grade students and their teachers led the annual September 11 - Patriot Day Remembrance Walk through the WPES building.  Each student colored a paper-made U.S. flag to silently wave on their walk while modelling exemplary respect and honor.

Training Growth Mindset – DoDEA is committed to providing challenging learning experiences that build on individual strengths and promote growth for all students.  Collaboration in teams is guided by our skillful WPES teachers and trained student leaders. To start the school year, discussions in small and large groups worked to refine listening and sharing time.  Our military-connected students have loads to share in experiences and background knowledge.  The classroom is rich in learning opportunities while embracing the respect for open-minded thinking. 

This month, all students in third through fifth grade received lessons in critical thinking and collaboration.  This coteaching effort involved classroom teachers along with the AAPS (Mrs. Valerie Taplin) and ET (Mrs. Tricia Willis) resource teachers.  Mrs. Taplin summarizes that "asking key questions and providing reasons why the answers to these specific questions are important to know prove to be valuable in solving a problem".  The assignment challenged the students to collaborate, to investigate a case of possible stolen intellectual property, and to create a digital art parody.  Absolute fun while building skills!