Advocacy

Dates and Announcements

   Wednesday, Sept. 14^th                  Noodles & CO Spirit Night 4 PM – 8 PM

   Wednesday, Sept 21^st                   Skate City Spirit Night

• Curriculum Night Recordings: If you missed the in-person or virtual Curriculum Night presentations, it was recorded, and a YouTube link was sent out to you by the school. Please let me know if you have any questions.
• Birthday treats: Birthday snacks must be individually wrapped; store bought and contain nutrition information. They cannot come with several in one container and cannot be homemade. Please DO NOT send snacks that do not follow these guidelines. I am not allowed to serve snacks that don't follow these guidelines and if they are sent in, the snacks will be sent to the office to be sent back home. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please see the attached picture for reference. 

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Math Workbooks: Tear out and staple math pages from our math workbooks. The math workbooks are large and heavy and will require you to come into the classroom to work on this.

Our Advocacy Theme for September is, “I am strong”. The students will explore their talents, their interests, and the things that make them awesome.

Specials- We have I-lab for this quarter

• Friday Folders - Your child should have a Friday folder that comes home each Friday. Please look through the folder with your child and return it to school empty each Monday.
• Please label your child’s belongings, including coats, lunch boxes, water bottles, and backpacks.
• Update to Counseling Request system: Hello everyone! We have decided to switch up our counselor request system this year in an effort to better serve our students. Students in Kindergarten through 4th grade will have the opportunity to fill out a paper counselor request form that they get from their teacher. Once they fill out the form, students will turn it in to the front desk. Ms. Kinslow, the K-6th school counselor, will collect the forms at the front desk throughout the day and follow up with those students as soon as possible. For more urgent or serious needs, Parents and Teachers can use the Counselor Referral form located on the Westgate Website under the counseling section. As always, counselors are available via phone and email as well. Thank you so much! – Ms. Kinslow

Dates and Announcements

• Friday, September 2: NO SCHOOL – Teacher Professional Development
• Monday, September 5: NO SCHOOL – Labor Day
• Friday, September 9: School Picture Day - Please make sure your child is in school and ready for a great photo! Picture Day forms went home in Friday Folders this past Friday.
• Curriculum Night Recordings: If you missed the in-person or virtual Curriculum Night presentations, it was recorded, and a YouTube link was sent out to you by the school. Please let me know if you have any questions.
• Birthday treats: Birthday snacks must be individually wrapped; store bought and contain nutrition information. They cannot come with several in one container and cannot be homemade. Please DO NOT send snacks that do not follow these guidelines. I am not allowed to serve snacks that don't follow these guidelines and if they are sent in, the snacks will be sent to the office to be sent back home. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please see the attached picture for reference. 

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Friday Folders: sign up to help on some or all Fridays throughout the year, sorting papers by student to be sent home in Friday Folders. Spots have been filled into January. Feel free to sign up through the end of May, if you would like.
• Math Workbooks: Tear out and staple math pages from our math workbooks. The math workbooks are large and heavy and will require you to come into the classroom to work on them.
• We started switching for literacy and math on Friday, August 12. Please remember that these classes will be fluid (which means there will be changes) to best meet the needs for your child.

This past week in Advocacy, we learned about safety. Your child knows that safety is:

• Acting in ways that won’t harm yourself or others.Examples: handle scissors appropriately, wash your hands after using the bathroom, use good hygiene, stay where the teacher can see you, follow recess rules, etc.
• Being careful. Examples: Watch where you are going, walk in the hallways and on the stairs, use the playground equipment and recess spaces in safe ways, make sure the teacher knows where you are going when you leave the classroom, etc.
• Treating our classroom and school spaces in ways that won’t harm yourself or others. Examples: pushing in chairs, using furniture appropriately, walking in the classroom, following rules around the animals such as being quiet and calm, etc.

We learned how we are safe in the classroom, the pod, the bathroom, at recess, and in the hallways. Next week we will learn about the ‘E’ in RISE – Empathy.

Specials- We have I-lab for this quarter

• Friday Folders - Your child should have a Friday folder that comes home each Friday. Please look through the folder with your child and return it to school empty each Monday.
• Please label your child’s belongings, including coats, lunch boxes, water bottles, and backpacks.
• Update to Counseling Request system: Hello everyone! We have decided to switch up our counselor request system this year in an effort to better serve our students. Students in Kindergarten through 4th grade will have the opportunity to fill out a paper counselor request form that they get from their teacher. Once they fill out the form, students will turn it in to the front desk. Ms. Kinslow, the K-6th school counselor, will collect the forms at the front desk throughout the day and follow up with those students as soon as possible. For more urgent or serious needs, Parents and Teachers can use the Counselor Referral form located on the Westgate Website under the counseling section. As always, counselors are available via phone and email as well. Thank you so much! – Ms. Kinslow

                              Dates and Announcements

· August 17, 4:00-8:00: Spirit Night at Raising Cane’s

· August 25: Curriculum Night 6:00-8:00. One-hour live in person, and one-hour virtual options available. The virtual presentation will be recorded and sent to families after the live event is over.

· August 22-26 Spirit Week:

o Monday: Westgate Wild Day – Wear your pod color (red for 1/2)

o Tuesday: Tie Dye Tuesday

o Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday – Crazy hair/mismatch day

o Thursday: Throwback Thursday – Wear something that is a blast from the past!

o Friday: Pajama Day

Literacy and Math Classes:

· We started switching for literacy and math on Friday, August 12. Please remember that these classes will be fluid (which means there will be changes) to best meet the needs for your child. We will be updating these classes on our literacy and math pages.  Please make sure you subscribe to your child's literacy and math edlio pages. 

· Our class is currently in I-lab for specials. 

· Friday Folders - Your child should have a Friday folder that comes home each Friday. Please look through the folder with your child and return it to school empty each Monday.

· Please label your child’s belongings, including coats, lunch boxes, water bottles, and backpacks.

· It would be helpful if you could start working with your child to learn how to tie his or her shoes.

From Ms. Kinslow - K-4 Counselor:

· Update to Counseling Request system: Hello everyone! We have decided to switch up our counselor request system this year in an effort to better serve our students. Students in Kindergarten through 4th grade will have the opportunity to fill out a paper counselor request form that they get from their teacher. Once they fill out the form, students will turn it in to the front desk. Ms. Kinslow, the K-6th school counselor, will collect the forms at the front desk throughout the day and follow up with those students as soon as possible. For more urgent or serious needs, Parents and Teachers can use the Counselor Referral form located on the Westgate Website under the counseling section. As always, counselors are available via phone and email as well. Thank you so much! – Ms. Kinslow

Advocacy Lessons:

This past week in Advocacy, we learned about respect. Your child knows that respect is:

· caring how your actions and words affect those around you.

· Treating people, places, and things with kindness.

· Treat others, the way that you want to be treated.

We learned how we could show respect in the classroom, the pod, the bathroom, at recess, and in the hallways.

This week, we will focus on the I in RISE - Integrity.  We will talk about the importance of doing what is right when no one is looking.