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Mrs. Matthews Novello, Advocacy, 10th Grade

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Good afternoon!
 
Prom is fast approaching, and we are looking for some help in providing snacks and drinks during the event. If you are financially able, please consider making a donation so we can give the kids a memorable night! Send any donations with your student on April 19th (the same day as prom). We will then take food from Westgate to the Brighton Armory to make sure it is ready in time for the dance. You can also send your students with the food to the event itself!
 
 
 
And, as a reminder, here's all the prom info!
 
What: Westgate Prom 2024
Theme: Gothic Literature
Attire: Formal! Please dress up if you plan to attend the event.
When: Friday, April 19th from 7:00 - 11:00
Where: Brighton Armory (300 Strong St, Brighton, CO 80601)
Tickets: $50, with three ways to pay:
  • Pay at the event itself with cash
  • Insert an envelope with cash or check into the slot box inside the first set of main doors at Westgate (make checks out to Westgate Community School with a memo of "Prom." Be sure to put your student's name as well!)
Attendees: All 9th - 12th grade Westgate students are invited! If your student would like to bring a high school guest from a different school, they should check with the front desk for the guest form. Only one guest per Westgate student, please.
 
As always, let me know if you have any questions!

March - April 2024 Calendar

 

 
Date Day Event Time
Mar 6 Wednesday 7th & 8th Music Concert 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Mar 6 Wednesday 7th & 8th Art Show 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Mar 7 Thursday NO SCHOOL - Q3 Conferences All Day
Mar 8 Friday NO SCHOOL - Q3 Conferences (virtual) 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Mar 11 Monday Spirit Night @ Skate City 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Mar 12 - Apr 8 Daily 6-12 Adams 12 District Art Show - FRCC Library All Day
Mar 13 Wednesday Coffee & Conversation with the Executive Director 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM
Mar 13 Wednesday
7th Grade Field Trip
 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Mar 13 Wednesday 8th Grade Field Trip 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Mar 15 Friday 3-4 Field Trip 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Mar 19 Tuesday Kinder Field Trip 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Mar 21 Thursday Civil War Reenactment Fundraiser  6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Mar 22 Friday Meet the Candidates 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Mar 25 - Apr 8 Daily SPRING BREAK - NO SCHOOL All Day
April 8 - 14   Board Election  
Apr 9 Tuesday Mixed HS Field Trip 8:30 AM -11:30 AM
Apr 9 -12 Daily CMAS Testing Starts Various
Apr 10 Wednesday Coffee & Conversation with the Executive Director 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM
Apr 10 - Apr 29 Daily  K-5 Adams 12 District Art Show - FRCC Library All Day
 

Important Reminders: Upcoming Trip Deposit and Class Photo!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well. As we gear up for an exciting adventure ahead, I wanted to send a quick reminder about two important dates coming up in March.

  1. Trip Deposit Due - March 1st: Our upcoming class trip promises to be an enriching experience for our students, full of learning opportunities and unforgettable memories. As a gentle reminder, the deposit for the trip is due on March 1st. This deposit secures your child's spot and allows us to make necessary arrangements for transportation, accommodations, and activities.

  2. Class Photo - March 1st: In addition to the trip deposit, we will also be taking our annual class photo on March 1st. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to capture memories with their classmates and teachers that will last a lifetime. Please ensure that your child comes prepared and dressed in their school uniform for the photo.

Your support and cooperation in meeting these deadlines are greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the trip deposit or class photo, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Conference Dates:    

 

In-Person: Monday, October 2nd, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (no conferences 12 – 1 or 5 – 6 for teacher breaks)   

  

Virtual: Tuesday, October 3rd, 8:00 AM to Noon   

 

 

 

Information for ALL Conferences  

Conferences by Subject/Teacher: At the bottom of this email you will find five signups - one for each individual HS teacher. Slots with teachers are 10 minutes long. If you would like to see a teacher to discuss your student's perform in their class, please sign up for a spot! You will need to sign up with each teacher individually, so feel free to take a spot with each teacher or simply sign up for the ones you feel you need to see most urgently. If you schedule with multiple teachers, please make sure the times don't overlap to avoid confusion. If you have advocacy-specific questions, you are more than welcome to schedule a slot with your student's advocate as well. If you are unable to find a slot that fits your schedule or if your conference runs out of time, please email specific teachers with questions about their classes. 

  

Name Preference: We will begin each conference by asking for your student’s name and pronoun preferences. We will begin all conferences this way, even if we have met before.   

  

Time slots required: Use the links below to sign up for 10-minute conferences. If you do not sign up before our conference days, we will not be able to meet, but feel free to send an email. We cannot accommodate families who walk in or log in without signing up prior to the conference date. In order to stay on schedule, if a conference ends and you still have questions, please send an email to the appropriate teacher. 

  

Important Notes: As always, Infinite Campus is a great place to find your students’ grades as well as an updated record of what work your student is missing for individual classes. We are also available via email during normal school hours and will reply within two business days of receiving a question. If your student has a failing grade or a question that can’t be answered through email, then conferences are the place for you!  

 

Information for IN-PERSON Conferences 

No Walk-Ins: It may be tempting to stop by the school and try to meet with the teachers, particularly if you are already here due to having students in other grades. If you do not sign up for a conference, please do not walk down in the hopes of the teachers being free. We keep a tight schedule during conferences, and it is unfair to those who signed up if we need to adjust things to try and accommodate walk-ins. 

 

Information for VIRTUAL Conferences 

Virtual Platform: For these conferences, we will be using Microsoft Teams. We will send a link to everyone with a conference a few days before conferences take place. When you log on, please name yourself clearly so we know who you are.

 

 

Conference Links 

Please use the links below for the teachers you would like to see. There are time slots on each page for both Monday (in-person) conferences as well as Tuesday (virtual) conferences. Please be sure your times with different teachers do not overlap!

 

Seminar Agenda - Month of September

This month we will be working on the following life skills:

Life Skill: Time Management

  • How to divide a large task into manageable chunks and schedule them for a deadline
  • Making appropriate time for recreation, rest/sleep, and social engagements alongside work or school obligations
  • Keeping a calendar, setting reminders and alarms
  • Time blocking schedules
  • How to limit distractions for focused deep work
  • How to catch up when you’re behind
In practice, this will look like exploring and sharing different ways we can each manage our own time, class load, and how we ask for help when we need it. 
 
Alongside this practice, we will do a deep dive into self-care and self-regulation 

Welcome back, Wonderful Westgate Families! I hope you are excited for the year to begin! 

We have quite a few beginning-of-year updates and reminders. Please take a moment to read through the email and reach out if you have questions. Take a close look at the schedule near the end to make sure your student is ready for the first two weeks. 

 

Back to School Night: This will take place this Friday, August 4th (tomorrow) between 4:00 and 6:00 PM. The High School presentation will be down in the high school commons at 5:30. We will go over HS policies and procedures at that time. 

 

New Assistant Principal: I have the great honor of announcing our new assistant principal, Alexia Vasilopoulos! She has already done amazing things for the high school, and we are excited to work with her this upcoming school year. Come say hello at back to school night! 

 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We will be running mock interviews for Freshmen on Thursday, August 10th from roughly 9 to 11 AM and could use a hand! We need some community members willing to interview kids as if they were applying for a job. We will provide the questions (though feel free to add more), and volunteers will write notes or feedback to help the students in their future career hunts. Please reach out to myself or Alexia Vasilopoulos ([email protected]) if you would like to help. 

 

Front Range Community College (FRCC): FRCC will begin on Monday, August 21st. Students will have an adjusted Westgate schedule for the first two weeks of school (see below). 

 

Schedule (first two weeks): 

 

  • August 7th – August 11th: Freshmen (9th grade) Orientation. Freshmen attend all five days. 10th – 12th grades may stay home. 

 

 

  • August 14th – 18th: 9th through 11th grade students with FRCC classes will attend Westgate following their normal FRCC schedule (if they would leave Westgate at lunch for FRCC classes, they are done at Westgate for the day even though FRCC has not begun). The exception to this is a trip to the Art Museum on Thursday, August 17th, when all HS students should attend the full day. 12th grade students with FRCC classes will be here a few students at a time to take new CPR classes. All non-FRCC students will be here all week. Freshmen will also have a field trip to FRCC the morning of Wednesday, August 16th. A future email will have more details on both this and the art museum trip.

 

That's a lot of information, so here is a table version! 

*Seniors: Watch for an email from Amy Schneider with your CPR training day. You only need to attend Monday, Thursday, and the day of your CPR training. Non-FRCC seniors will be here every day, though will miss normal classes the day of their training. 

 

School and High School Handbook: Please take a look at these with your student. The first link is for the whole-school handbook, and the second is for high school-specific information. We will go over policies at Back to School Night in more detail.

Whole School Handbook

HS Handbook

I believe that's everything! As always, please reach out if you have any questions. See you Friday!