Welcome (back), fearless Coyotes, to the 2025-2026 school year! We can’t wait to dive into another year of adventure, achievement, and awesomeness. It’s bound to be our best year ever.

We are thrilled to unveil new courses, introduce new staff members, and share exciting new activities! We have some really cool changes to reveal, but we remain a small, mighty, and connected community committed to our shared values of learning, service, excellence, intellectual curiosity, responsibility, investment and team play.

Please enjoy this first WYNK of the year—it’s packed with important information. Take some time to read through it, and remember that we’re all here to help you every step of the way.

Ready to make this year legendary? Let's go, Coyotes!

Love,

Ms. W

Alexa Warden, Director
wardenac@gwcommunityschool.com

CLASS SCHEDULES

Class schedules will be available on students’ CoyoteWeb accounts beginning Monday, August 25th. They have also been sent to individual families via email. If your child was given a choice, please confirm your course selection if you have not yet already done so. Allow us a few days to update CoyoteWeb with any changes you send.
The first publishing of schedules often results in a ripple effect of changes. All students will receive a printed copy of their current schedule on the first day of school.
Students will have an opportunity to meet with Ms. Warden during the first two weeks of school to discuss any changes needed.
The Add/Drop date for first quarter is Tuesday, September 16th. Changes can be made to students’ schedules during this time without grade penalty. See Advisor for a blue Add/Drop schedule change form.
If you’re not familiar with CoyoteWeb - more information is available under the ‘Technology’ section below.
8th Period Electives and Clubs (Afterschool) will be introduced to students the first week of school and will commence the third week of school. Watch for the Friday WYNK Newsletter to include elective and club offerings closer to that time.
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FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL SCHEDULE

FIRST DAYS:
- School will begin in Advisory at 9:15 am for the first week of school. Students may arrive at school at 9:00 am.
- School will end at 3:15 pm for the first week of school.
- Orientation will take place during advisory and 7th periods the first week of school.
- Beginning Wednesday, September 3rd- PE, Hiking Club, and Basketball will be available at Audrey Moore RECenter for all students. More info below.
- Beginning Monday, September 8th - Afterschool electives and clubs may be available for optional 8th period which begins at 3:15 pm.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: All students will participate in Student Orientation beginning at 9:15 am on Monday, August 25th.
BRING (AT A MINIMUM):
GYM/PE: GWCS will not be using Audrey Moore RECenter for PE until Wednesday, September 3rd. First week of school - no PE requirement / no Gym.
PICK UP TIME: The school day will end at 3:15 pm the first week of school. Beginning Monday, September 8th - 8th Period electives and clubs will begin at 3:15 pm for interested students. Pick up time will vary depending on the activity. Look forward to future WYNKs which will provide details about electives and clubs. As always, the GWCS Calendar is the best source for up-to-date club and elective info.

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GWCS FORMS

EMERGENCY FORM: Please complete and return the 2024-2025 Emergency Form to the basket on the front desk by Wednesday, August 28th. It is very important that we have this completed form without delay.
HEALTH FORM: All students are required to have on record a Virginia School Entrance Health Form (or similar immunization record). (You can check student’s CoyoteWeb account to see whether or not we have their immunization on file.)
MAT MEDICATION FORM: If it is necessary for a student to take medication prescribed by a physician during school hours or during a school-sponsored trip, please have your physician complete the MAT Physicians Medication Consent form (one for each prescription) and provide GWCS medications in the original prescription container. Medications will be administered during the school day by Mr. Mallonee.
PARENT-STUDENT HANDBOOK: It is important that parents and students take the time to read the entire Parent-Student Handbook, and complete the GWCS Parent Student Handbook Agreement. This needs to be printed, signed and returned to the basket on the front desk by Wednesday, August 28th.
COMMUNITY SERVICE: All GWCS students are expected to complete a minimum of 30 hours of community service each school year. There are many opportunities to earn community service hours through school-sponsored activities. However, students may also complete their hours at any institution, facility, or program that is approved by Ms. Warden.

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GWCS RESOURCES & INFORMATION

GWCS PARENT PORTAL: On the GWCS website is a password protected Parent Portal which has a plethora of information and is your go-to-place when looking for school forms or information. Almost everything mentioned here can be found on the GWCS Parent Portal. And the password is... gwcscoyotes
GWCS CALENDAR: GWCS has an online Google calendar linked on the website which is updated daily. Click on an event for more details and easily add events or holidays to your own personal calendar, if you’d like. The School Year Calendar-at-a-Glance (found below the calendar) includes all of the school holidays and some of the year’s events. We recommend referring to the online Google calendar for the most up-to-date information.
WYNK NEWSLETTER: Most Fridays during the school year, everyone in the current GWCS community receives an email with a link to the WYNK - the GWCS Newsletter. WYNK stands for "What You Need to Know". What you are reading here is the first newsletter of the 2025-2026 school year. Traditionally, the newsletter will provide families with a list of the following week's activities followed by accolades and announcements. The WYNK newsletter is published on the GWCS website (under the Resources tab).
FAMILY ROSTER: The GWCS Family Roster is available on CoyoteWeb. This roster includes all of the students’ and parents’ names as well as addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Although we like having student cell phones on file, we do not publish them in our Family Roster. Please feel free to use this roster to contact other GWCS families and arrange carpools. Look over your info and inform GWCS of any changes or updates to your family contact information. (How-To: Parent Access to CoyoteWeb & Roster)
GWCS FACULTY: A list of all the GWCS teachers and staff with their contact information is available on the Faculty/Staff section of our website as well. We encourage you to email your child’s Advisor and teachers with any questions, concerns or, the always welcomed words of appreciation!
PE at AUDREY MOORE RECENTER: GWCS staff and students begin their day at Audrey Moore RECenter which is just one mile east of GWCS on Braddock Road. All students participate in hiking, personal fitness or basketball practice Monday – Friday! A FCPA Pass is required for Personal Fitness and Basketball. (15% discount on membership pass from 9/1-30) Hiking uses the outdoor trails around the RECenter and a FCPA Pass is not required.
COYOTE HOWL: The Coyote Howl is our version of the school “bell schedule”. Please refer to this when scheduling appointments so that there is the least amount of class disruption as possible. It includes 1st & 8th periods which are currently scheduled to begin on September 9th.
SCHOOL SPIRIT APPAREL by Rokkitwear! Order GWCS gear such as t-shirts, polos, button-downs, sweatshirts, jackets, hats, shorts, pants, warm-ups, backpacks, scarves, blankets... you name it - they've got it in every style and size imaginable. Find the style that suits you and get your coyote on!
SCHOOL SUPPLIES: In addition to this supply list, students will receive a course syllabus from each of their teachers the first week of school. Included in each syllabus will be a list of supplies needed for their class.
- BINDER: For the first week of school students should have a binder or pocket folder with notebook paper and writing utensils.
- LAPTOP: Most of students’ classwork and assignments will be delivered and returned electronically through Microsoft Teams. Therefore, the most important school supply to bring to school every day is a laptop (fully charged) and a power cord. It’s important to have a system in place so that the occasional assignments, documents, flyers and permission forms that do get printed don’t end up in a crinkled ball at the bottom of the backpack.

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GWCS TECHNOLOGY

Minimum Requirements for Student Laptops:

LAPTOP PREP & CHECKLIST: GWCS students and parents/guardians should work together to get their student laptop up and running for the school year. Please make sure that you have turned your computer on since last year, and that permissions are granted for students to be able to download apps on both their phones and laptops during Orientation. Orientation will include a Technology training sessions so that all students are familiar and prepared for this year.

COYOTEWEB 2.0: CoyoteWeb is the GWCS academic portal which provides students and parents access to students’ schedules, weekly status reports, attendance, and more. Student login is their GWCS email address. Returning students' passwords were not changed from last year. New students will receive their password along with the Microsoft login info from their Advisor on the first day of school. Email Ms. Graham if student cannot remember their CoyoteWeb password. (Click Here for parent access instructions.)

MICROSOFT OFFICE 365: GWCS provides students with a Microsoft Office 365 for Business account which includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher, OneDrive Cloud Storage, Teams, Outlook Email, and much more. Families are welcome to take advantage of the five free downloads to any of your compatible devices. It is highly recommended that students download all Microsoft 365 software apps to their computer and smartphone and bookmark the login pages.