Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and relaxation. As we dive into the new year, we are excited to introduce our Advocacy Theme for January: Growth Mindset.

What is a Growth Mindset? A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and perseverance. It's about embracing challenges, learning from criticism, and understanding that effort is the path to mastery.

Skills Students Will Learn: In the upcoming weeks, your child will engage in various activities and discussions across different classes that aim to cultivate a growth mindset. Here's a glimpse of the skills they will be focusing on:

1. Resilience: Students will learn to bounce back from setbacks, viewing challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable obstacles.

   Perseverance: Embracing the idea that success often involves sustained effort, students will be encouraged to stay committed to their goals, even when faced with difficulties.

   Adaptability: Developing the ability to adapt to new situations and learn from experiences will be a key focus, fostering a mindset that values continuous learning.

   Embracing Feedback: Students will be taught to see feedback as constructive, using it to refine their skills and enhance their understanding, rather than viewing it as criticism.

Extending Growth Mindset to Personal Lives: It's essential to emphasize that the principles of a growth mindset extend beyond the classroom. Encourage your child to apply these concepts in their daily lives:

1. Goal Setting: Help your child set realistic goals and work with them to develop a plan to achieve those goals. Celebrate progress along the way, reinforcing the idea that improvement comes with effort.

   Positive Self-Talk: Encourage your child to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Remind them that their abilities are not fixed and that they can improve with dedication and hard work.

   Embracing Challenges: Teach your child to see challenges as opportunities for growth. Encourage them to approach new experiences with enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.

We believe that fostering a growth mindset will not only enhance your child's academic journey but will also contribute to their overall personal development. If you have any questions or would like to further discuss how to support your child in embracing a growth mindset, please don't hesitate to reach out.

• • Students must have cash, a check, or voucher to enter the shop during shopping times (lunch time or after school with a parent) 
  • Student purchases will be bagged and stapled shut 
  • After School (M-Th) - Students must be with their parent/guardian.  
  • NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES  

As we step into the beautiful month of November, we are thrilled to share with you our social-emotional focus for the month: Gratitude. This month, our students will be taking part in a variety of activities designed to foster happiness and togetherness during their advocacy sessions. 

Gratitude is a wonderful and powerful emotion that reminds us to appreciate the small and big things in our lives. It has been shown to boost well-being, promote a positive outlook, and strengthen our connections with others. We believe that teaching our students the art of gratitude is an important part of their overall education. 

Throughout November, our students will engage in books, videos, and activities that encourage them to reflect on what they are thankful for and to express their appreciation. These activities will not only deepen their sense of gratitude but also help build a strong sense of community within our school. 

We invite you to join us in this month of gratitude by having conversations with your children about what they are thankful for. Encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings, both at home and at school. We look forward to witnessing the positive impact of this focus on happiness and togetherness throughout our school. 

Students will go outside for recess if the temperature is higher than 20 degrees and if it is not actively snowing/raining. With that in mind, please send your students to school on cold days with warm winter clothing items. A waterproof down jacket, layers, beanies, gloves, wool socks, and scarves are a great way to set your student up for success. We also recommend putting their name in the tag of their jackets to help prevent lost jackets. If your student needs winter items, there are a few locations that sell them nearby:

• Precious Child
• Clothes to Kids of Denver
• Goodwill
• Arc Thrift Stores
• Costco
• Walmart

How It Works:

• Every Wednesday is “Zero Waste Wednesday” here at Westgate. What this means is that if students have a lunch that doesn’t use any waste AT ALL (i.e. nothing to throw away, like baggies, cans, plastic cups, paper lunch bags, etc), then their name will be entered into a raffle. Ten raffle winners will receive recognition over the intercom on Fridays for being the Zero Heroes of the week.

*students who have school lunch will qualify if they accurately sort their lunch into the appropriate trash and recycling AND have a reusable water bottle for the day*

• Bonus Recognition: If there is an entire classroom that has zero waste lunch one day, let me know and the entire class will receive recognition automatically. I will keep track of the number of days your entire class has done this.
• Extra Bonus Recognition: The class with the most days with all Zero Heroes at the end of the year will be considered the Zero Hero champions of the year!

Why:

• The goal is for families to start the conversation about alternatives to lunch waste, like glass or plastic lunch containers, reusable lunch bags and water bottles, and cloth napkins. If a student has any item that must be thrown away (at school or at home) their names will not be entered, and they can try again next week and every week after that. Hopefully, this will instill changes that will go far beyond Wednesdays during lunch time at Westgate.

https://www.westgateschool.org/apps/pages/waste

We will be teaching students what these 4 words mean—focusing on a different part of RISE each week—and what it looks like to live these values out during school and at home. We will use RISE all year to celebrate positive behaviors.