Fred Wild Families!
We are thrilled to announce our new principal, Miss. Patricia Smith. Miss Smith has been a teacher in Highlands County for 17 years and spent the past four years as the assistant principal at Lake Placid Elementary. She has a heart for our school community and is passionate about student success. We are excited for her to bring her wealth of experience to Fred Wild.
FWE families, we are delaying releasing walkers until the storm is over. If you are able, plan to pick up your walkers from the parent pick up line.
FWE is so excited to start the school year and welcome students back to campus. We want to give huge thanks to Zach's Pizza and Hobby Hill Florist for helping to fuel and treat our teachers during pre week💙🐾🍕💐
The first day of school is Tuesday, August 11th. We can't wait to see all of our students! This day only, Kindergarteners can be walked to their classroom. See the flyer for more information. 3 days and counting!
The School Board of Highlands County is excited to launch Highlands PLUS, a brand-new way for non-enrolled and non-traditional students in our community to access high-quality district courses. Students can take as little as one course or several. Courses can be taken in person or virtually through Highlands Virtual School (HVS)! Please note that course availability varies by school.
Whether your student is looking to explore a new passion or get ahead, we offer incredible courses in:
🔬 STEM
🎨 Fine Arts
💼 Career & Technical Education (CTE)
📚 Core Academics (Math, Reading, Science, Social Studies—including Honors!)
💻 Virtual Learning
We are an authorized StepUp for Students provider! We accept payments directly through the EMA portal as well as direct pay options. This program is specifically designed for non-traditional students who may be utilizing the FTC or FES school choice scholarships.
Access to a district Chromebook is fully included in your course enrollment price. Accidental Chromebook damage is covered by paying an annual $10 use fee.
Note: Highlands PLUS is for non-enrolled students, meaning SBHC acts as a contracted service provider. Participants are not enrolled as full-time public school students.
👉 Ready to customize your child's education? Log into your StepUp EMA portal or visit our district website at https://www2.highlands.k12.fl.us/plus to explore courses and begin enrollment today!
#HighlandsPLUS #StepUpForStudents #SchoolChoice
Whether your student is looking to explore a new passion or get ahead, we offer incredible courses in:
🔬 STEM
🎨 Fine Arts
💼 Career & Technical Education (CTE)
📚 Core Academics (Math, Reading, Science, Social Studies—including Honors!)
💻 Virtual Learning
We are an authorized StepUp for Students provider! We accept payments directly through the EMA portal as well as direct pay options. This program is specifically designed for non-traditional students who may be utilizing the FTC or FES school choice scholarships.
Access to a district Chromebook is fully included in your course enrollment price. Accidental Chromebook damage is covered by paying an annual $10 use fee.
Note: Highlands PLUS is for non-enrolled students, meaning SBHC acts as a contracted service provider. Participants are not enrolled as full-time public school students.
👉 Ready to customize your child's education? Log into your StepUp EMA portal or visit our district website at https://www2.highlands.k12.fl.us/plus to explore courses and begin enrollment today!
#HighlandsPLUS #StepUpForStudents #SchoolChoice
August is just around the corner! We can't wait to see all of our Wildcat families! Orientation is Tuesday, August 4th from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. Hope to see you there! 💙🐾
Here at Fred Wild, we are gearing up for a great school year! We can't wait to see our Wildcat students and families! See below for the supply lists for each of our grade levels!
⭐ May's Word of the Month: Responsible Decision-Making ⭐
This month, we are focusing on Responsible Decision-Making: Thinking about all options and outcomes to make the best choice.
Parents, here are some tips to help reinforce this skill at home:
👉 DESCRIBE BEING RESPONSIBLE
Take a moment to describe specific ways your child can practice being responsible.
EXAMPLE: Children can practice making responsible decisions by picking up toys after they are finished playing.
👉 CHAT ABOUT IT
Start a conversation by asking your child these questions:
Describe a decision you made today.
What were the choices you considered?
What were the possible outcomes?
What was the final outcome?
Do you think that was a responsible decision?
From the Desk of Mrs. Spencer
FWE Guidance Resource Teacher and Resiliency Coach
#MayWordOfTheMonth #ResponsibleDecisionMaking #ParentingTips #FWEfamily
This month, we are focusing on Responsible Decision-Making: Thinking about all options and outcomes to make the best choice.
Parents, here are some tips to help reinforce this skill at home:
👉 DESCRIBE BEING RESPONSIBLE
Take a moment to describe specific ways your child can practice being responsible.
EXAMPLE: Children can practice making responsible decisions by picking up toys after they are finished playing.
👉 CHAT ABOUT IT
Start a conversation by asking your child these questions:
Describe a decision you made today.
What were the choices you considered?
What were the possible outcomes?
What was the final outcome?
Do you think that was a responsible decision?
From the Desk of Mrs. Spencer
FWE Guidance Resource Teacher and Resiliency Coach
#MayWordOfTheMonth #ResponsibleDecisionMaking #ParentingTips #FWEfamily
🎓 5th Grade Awards Ceremony & Light Breakfast 🎓
We are excited to celebrate our 5th-grade Wildcats and their accomplishments!
📅 Date: Tuesday, May 19
🐾 Grade: 5th Grade
📍 Location: School Cafeteria
🥐 Light Breakfast: Served before the ceremony
📩 Invitations:
Students receiving an award will bring home a personal invitation. This helps us plan for seating and ensures a smooth celebration for those being recognized.
Important Reminders:
Please arrive 20 minutes early to allow time for check-in
A government-issued ID is required for entry
No purses or bags permitted
We look forward to celebrating our 5th-grade Wildcats!
We are excited to celebrate our 5th-grade Wildcats and their accomplishments!
📅 Date: Tuesday, May 19
🐾 Grade: 5th Grade
📍 Location: School Cafeteria
🥐 Light Breakfast: Served before the ceremony
📩 Invitations:
Students receiving an award will bring home a personal invitation. This helps us plan for seating and ensures a smooth celebration for those being recognized.
Important Reminders:
Please arrive 20 minutes early to allow time for check-in
A government-issued ID is required for entry
No purses or bags permitted
We look forward to celebrating our 5th-grade Wildcats!
🎓 Quarter 4 & End-of-Year Awards Ceremony 🎓
We are excited to celebrate our students’ achievements!
📅 Date: May 18
🐾 Grades: Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
📍 Location: School Cafeteria
📩 Invitations:
Students receiving an award will bring home a personal invitation. This helps us plan for seating and ensures a smooth ceremony for those being recognized.
Important Reminders:
Please arrive 20 minutes early to allow time for check-in
A government-issued ID is required for entry
No purses or bags permitted
We look forward to celebrating our Wildcats and their accomplishments!
We are excited to celebrate our students’ achievements!
📅 Date: May 18
🐾 Grades: Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
📍 Location: School Cafeteria
📩 Invitations:
Students receiving an award will bring home a personal invitation. This helps us plan for seating and ensures a smooth ceremony for those being recognized.
Important Reminders:
Please arrive 20 minutes early to allow time for check-in
A government-issued ID is required for entry
No purses or bags permitted
We look forward to celebrating our Wildcats and their accomplishments!
🗓️ April’s Character Words: A Recap
During April, FWE students focused on:
🔹 WORK ETHIC: We leaned into the idea that work inherently strengthens our character. We prioritized being reliable, dedicated, productive, and cooperative.
🔹 HONESTY: We valued the quality of being sincere and remained committed to living free of untruthfulness.
It was a month of incredible growth. Let's carry these lessons into May! 🚀
During April, FWE students focused on:
🔹 WORK ETHIC: We leaned into the idea that work inherently strengthens our character. We prioritized being reliable, dedicated, productive, and cooperative.
🔹 HONESTY: We valued the quality of being sincere and remained committed to living free of untruthfulness.
It was a month of incredible growth. Let's carry these lessons into May! 🚀
Please take a moment to complete our Title I Parent survey. If you have students at different schools in our district, please complete the survey for each of those schools as well. You can find the survey here: https://sbhcschools.org/TitleISurvey
SWISH! 🏀
Check out these superstars! 🌟 These students are our Top AR Point Winners for the week of March 2nd–6th.
They brought their A-game to the "court" and crushed their reading goals for our March Madness challenge! Help us give them a huge round of applause in the comments! 👏👏📚
#MarchMadness #ARStars #ReadingChampions #TopScorers
Check out these superstars! 🌟 These students are our Top AR Point Winners for the week of March 2nd–6th.
They brought their A-game to the "court" and crushed their reading goals for our March Madness challenge! Help us give them a huge round of applause in the comments! 👏👏📚
#MarchMadness #ARStars #ReadingChampions #TopScorers
We are so proud of our Wildcat students who participated in the Special Stars Track and Field Event yesterday! It was an incredible display of determination, enthusiasm, and sportsmanship. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event such a special experience for our students. Way to go, Wildcats! 🐾🏆
Florida Prepaid Open Enrollment is here! Lock in future college costs at today’s rates. New options include 1-year plans and payments as low as $29/month. 🎓
Secure your child’s future today: https://www2.highlands.k12.fl.us/flprepaid
Secure your child’s future today: https://www2.highlands.k12.fl.us/flprepaid
March Madness Reading Tournament: Let the Games Begin!
Get ready to slam dunk into a great book! We are thrilled to announce that our March Madness Reading Tournament is officially kicking off. From March 2nd to March 30th, our students will be competing in a bracket-style challenge to see which readers and classes come out on top.
Our goal is to foster a love for literacy and show students that reading can be just as exciting as a final-four buzzer-beater!
📖 How to "Score" at Home
To help your student move up the bracket, encourage them to read every day. Here are a few ways to keep the momentum going:
The "Fast Break" Read: Set a timer for 15 minutes of uninterrupted independent reading.
Team Play (Buddy Reading): Read a chapter aloud with your child, alternating pages or characters.
Scout the Competition: Visit the local library to find new titles that might be featured in our tournament.
Get ready to slam dunk into a great book! We are thrilled to announce that our March Madness Reading Tournament is officially kicking off. From March 2nd to March 30th, our students will be competing in a bracket-style challenge to see which readers and classes come out on top.
Our goal is to foster a love for literacy and show students that reading can be just as exciting as a final-four buzzer-beater!
📖 How to "Score" at Home
To help your student move up the bracket, encourage them to read every day. Here are a few ways to keep the momentum going:
The "Fast Break" Read: Set a timer for 15 minutes of uninterrupted independent reading.
Team Play (Buddy Reading): Read a chapter aloud with your child, alternating pages or characters.
Scout the Competition: Visit the local library to find new titles that might be featured in our tournament.
🐊 TOMORROW is Rock the Crocs Day!
Don't forget! Tomorrow is an Early Release Day, which means students and staff can wear their Crocs to school!
Cost: Just $1 🪙
When: Tomorrow (Early Release Day)
Why: To support our Literacy Committee!
Pick out your favorite pair, grab a dollar, and we'll see you in the morning! 🐾
#RockTheCrocs #EarlyRelease #SchoolSpirit
Don't forget! Tomorrow is an Early Release Day, which means students and staff can wear their Crocs to school!
Cost: Just $1 🪙
When: Tomorrow (Early Release Day)
Why: To support our Literacy Committee!
Pick out your favorite pair, grab a dollar, and we'll see you in the morning! 🐾
#RockTheCrocs #EarlyRelease #SchoolSpirit
🎬🍿 Wildcats Family Movie Night
🎥 Elio | 📅 Feb 26 | 🎟 $7
🪑 Bring a chair or blanket 🐾
📱 Scan the QR code to pay
🐾 December 2025 Student, Staff & Teacher of the Month 🐾
We are proud to recognize our Student, Staff, and Teacher of the Month for December 2025. The character trait for the month was Charity, and these Wildcats exemplified generosity, kindness, and service to others.
👏 Staff Member of the Month: Ms. Luz Duncan
🍎 Teacher of the Month: Mrs. Kathryn Waters
Congratulations to all of our Wildcats for living out this important character trait and helping make our school a caring and supportive community.
💙🐾
We are proud to recognize our Student, Staff, and Teacher of the Month for December 2025. The character trait for the month was Charity, and these Wildcats exemplified generosity, kindness, and service to others.
👏 Staff Member of the Month: Ms. Luz Duncan
🍎 Teacher of the Month: Mrs. Kathryn Waters
Congratulations to all of our Wildcats for living out this important character trait and helping make our school a caring and supportive community.
💙🐾
