This week is our kick off to our annual campaign, this money goes towards important things that make our school special. If I got to choose what to spend the money on, it would be on a 3rd and 4th grade class trip to Mesa Verde! 

 

Tuesday is Halloween. We are very excited for all the celebrations that will be going on. Please make sure to read the guidelines again to make sure that your child is following the school expectations:

This week in Advocacy we will be talking about the "Enough" protocol. The goal of "Enough" is to stop disrespectful behavior. When students feel that they are being disrespected or if they see disrespectful behavior, they can turn to the person that is do the disrespectful action and say, "enough." Students will also use the sign for stop. If disrespectful behavior continues, students will be encouraged to walk way. After they walk away, if disrespectful behavior follows them, they will tell a teacher. 

 

The importance of this strategy is that it give's students control to solve their own problems. This will empower our kiddos to learn to self regulate and have a say in their environment. This is now a school wide policy and is being used K-12.  

Halloween K-4 Carnival

It is a Westgate tradition that each year the 5/6 Team hosts a Halloween Carnival for the K-4 students.  This year the carnival will be from 1:30 – 2:30 PM.

• This is a student-only event.
• Volunteers must be approved by the 5/6 Team and have the required volunteer background check

Halloween Team Parties 2:30 – 3:15PM

Check with your team for details.  These are student parties, not family parties. 

• Please do not come to school for the party unless you are a volunteer with a background check through the school.  All volunteers must be approved by the Teams.
• No young children may accompany volunteers for Team Parties
• All food and drink donations for the festivities can be left at the front desk or brought into school by the students in the morning.

Halloween Costume Expectations

Costume expectations for all students:

No Masks

No Full Face Paint (except what a student can apply themselves in the time they have to get ready before class parties).  Face paint may not be worn to school.

No Weapons or anything that can be used as a weapon

No inappropriate or offensive costumes

Kindergarten – May wear costumes to school because they are having a field trip to Innovage in the morning

1^st – 8^th Grades -  May NOT WEAR THEIR COSTUMES TO SCHOOL.  All students will be given time to change into their Halloween costumes.  Students will be in classes during the morning.

High School – May wear their costumes to school and Front Range.  They must follow all school costume guidelines.  High school does not have a Halloween Party.  Classes will be as usual.

 

 

Welcome back from Fall Break! I hope your child/ren are well rested and ready to learn. 

 

This month in Advocacy is Bullying Prevention. This first week we will talking about kindness and talking about ways to be kind. We want to change the focus from what students are doing wrong to what students are doing right. We hope that this change will encourage a more positive perspective. 

 

On Halloween we have our annual Carnival during school that is put on by the 5th and 6th grade students. This will take place from 1:30-2:30. Students may dress up for halloween. They will change at school after lunch, as our morning will be school as normal. Students may not wear masks of any kind or have their faces covered in face paint. However, they may have face paint that goes with their costumes, as long as they can put it on themselves in a very short amount of time. We will have our pod Halloween party after the Carnival from 2:30-3:30. Please keep your eyes open for more details. 

Hey all, 

I wanted to let you all know that I will be out of the building on both Monday and Tuesday for the CAGT Conference. If your child will struggle because I won't be there, please talk to your child and prep them for a sub. 

Thank you, 

Melissa Woodward 

Happy last week of Q1! I can't believe how time has flown.

 

This week we will be going on the trash pick up on Wednesday at 9:30 and we will return at 10:50. We will have a conversation with our students about what is okay to pick up and what is not okay to pick. However, it is very helpful if you also have a conversation with your child about this as well. Please have your child dress warmly on Wednesday, I don't think it is going to be great outside.  

 

Parent Teacher Conferences are on Thursday and Friday this week. So students will not have school. Also, it is too late to sign up for conferences. If you have specific questions about how your child is doing in class, please email that teacher so that you have the information that you need to help your child succeed. 

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the amazing birthday wishes. I feel very loved and appreciated. I have an amazing classes and appreciate them very much. 

This month’s theme for Advocacy is Self-Awareness so we will be talking some about taking care of ourselves and making choices that are good for us personally as well as peer pressure and self-esteem.   We will also be having some more conversations about classroom and learning space expectations and norms.  We will be doing an activity centered around what my job is versus what their job is.  Respect will continue to be something that we talk about as well.

We have started a composting campaign!  Composting is fun but please remind your students that we want them to EAT their food and compost only what is leftover that they will not or cannot eat later on.  

Our count window is in effect and it is important for your child to be at school in order to be counted for our funding.  Wednesday, September 20^th is our official count day so please make sure your child is at school that day if at all possible! 

Pokemon cards are no longer allowed at school!

Chasing, catching, and/or harming grasshoppers at recess is not longer allowed! There are so many other things to do at recess!  Please remind your kiddos to leave the creatures alone!

This month’s theme for Advocacy is Self-Awareness so we will be talking some about taking care of ourselves and making choices that are good for us personally as well as peer pressure and self-esteem.   We will also be having some more conversations about classroom and learning space expectations and norms.  We will be doing an activity centered around what my job is versus what their job is.  Respect will continue to be something that we talk about as well.

We have started a composting campaign!  Composting is fun but please remind your students that we want them to EAT their food and compost only what is leftover that they will not or cannot eat later on.  We don’t want them composting just because they don’t like it or don’t want to eat it at that moment.  Many of my friends are throwing away a lot of food so please remind them that you send what you want them to actually be eating and so they shouldn’t be throwing it out just for the sake of composting!

The Fun Run was such a good time!  Thanks to everyone for participating!

Orders for Original Works are due on this Friday, September 15^th!

Our count window is in effect and it is important for your child to be at school in order to be counted for our funding.  Wednesday, September 20^th is our official count day so please make sure your child is at school that day if at all possible! 

 This week is the 6th annual Fun Run on September 9th!

 

This week in advocacy we will be talking about being a good friend and how listening makes us better learners and better friends.

 

 

 We have almost been in school for a full month and we are off to a fantastic start! This week we have curriculum night on Wednesday, August 30th from 6-7 PM is third and fourth grade presentations. This will give you the chance to meet with most of your child's teachers. We hope that you will go to the Bullying Prevention Presentation from 7-8 PM. Curriculum night is very important and helps generate connection and communication between parents and teachers. This time will also answer many questions that you might have about what is going on in the classroom from day to day.

Thank you,

Melissa Woodward

[email protected] 

  Welcome to week three of school! I hope you are having a wonderful school year. Through out the year, please feel free to email me at any time with any questions that you have. I tend to respond very quickly. 

 

Next week we will start transitioning for all four subjects. On Monday, students will find out who their Language Arts and Math Teachers will be. If you wish to find out early or if you will not be at school on Monday, you can look at IC. 

 

 

 

 Hello Parents, 

It has come to my attention that there are some questions about dress code. Here is the school's dress code policy: 

 

Superintendent Policies
See Superintendent policies in Appendix A or go to
https://www.adams12.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/5020-083116.pdf for more
information.

 

Student Dress Code
While we allow students many freedoms in what they wear to school, we must maintain a dress code that helps us keep a non-distracting, safe environment for our students and staff. Our dress code is simple; all students body parts should be appropriately covered so that no one can see their body parts or undergarments. Also, writing or images on clothing must be school
appropriate. At no time, can a mask or other face covering be worn in our around school grounds. If a student comes in dressed inappropriately, they will be asked to change their clothing and a parent or guardian will be contacted.

 

Hello Parents!  The 3-4 Pod policy for Pokémon cards is as follows...

 

-The cards are allowed to come to school and be used at Recess times only. 

-Students should not have them on their person during academic times, during lunch, or at quiet time...they should remain in their backpack unless it is recess time.

-Students should not be trading cards at school.

-Students are solely responsible for their own cards.  Teachers will not take responsibility for the trading of, damage to, or loss of any of the cards while at school. 

-The teachers reserve the right to ban or limit further the possession of and/or use of Pokémon cards at school if it becomes a problem.

 

 Parents, I am so excited to be back at school! I just want to give you a few reminders and requests as we get back into the swing of things this school year. 

 

Class starts right at 8:00 AM! I know that starting that early can be a challenge but it is really important that you get to school on time. We only have 30 minutes for Advocacy in the morning and when your child is late they miss out on very important social emotional learning time. 

 

Drop off: when you drop your child off in the morning it is just drop and go. Please do not exit the vehicle unless you park in the lower parking lot. If it is 7:50 or later, your child needs to go directly into the building, they may not go play. If you are dropping your child off earlier, remind them that they need to go in the building right away because they will still be marked tarty if they walk into class late.   

 

Snacks: We have snack during language arts in the morning. Please pack a healthy, easy to eat snack that can be consumed quickly and doesn't require a spoon, fork, microwave, ext... Also, please be mindful about what you are sending your child for snack. Protein is best for brain development. If the snack is not relativity healthy your child may be asked to put it away until lunch.

 

Lunch: Please send your child with everything they need to eat their lunch. I do not have forks, spoons, or plates. Anything that needs to go into the microwave has a two minute max.

 

Birthdays: Students may choose to celebrate their birthday at school. However, parents will not be able to celebrate with us. You can drop a treat off for the class at the front office and your child will get to pass them out the last few minutes of the day. If your child has a birthday over a break and would like to chose a different day to celebrate, I am happy to accommodate, just email me the day you have in mind so that I make sure we aren't celebrating two birthdays on one day.  (I want your child to feel special.)

 

PICK UP: I know that car line slow now but it will get better! If you are picking up in car line, make sure to stay in your car. We will find your kid(s). Also, make sure to pull all the way forward. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Stay off your phone while you are in car line. If you are parking and walking up to get your kid, you must come get them from me at our spot against the fence. I cannot let your child leave me when we walk out the door because that holds up care line. Your child must also check out with me! This is for safety reasons. I want to make sure your child is going home with the right person!!! Also, if you are loading lots of kids, please pull all the way forward to the front of the line before your kids start to load.

 

 

Homework: This week your child has brought home a fun "get to know you" activity. It is in your child's Friday folder and he/she might feel left out if they don't get to participate. 

 

Thank you,

Melissa Woodward