We will be talking about the Little Spot of Sadness this week, and how we can regulate our bodies when we are in this spot! Students will be able to recognize when they are feeling sad, as well as what to do when we need to make our sadness spot smaller! 

The story is linked here. 

Upcoming Events: 

On October 31st, we will have our Halloween Party!! Students will have their Halloween party in the afternoon and will be able to change into their costumes BEFORE the party. 

If you would like to donate an item or your time to our Halloween party (we are looking for 2 volunteers for each classroom), please check out our sign-up genius here. 

Lastly, it is that time of year where it gets pretty cold. Please send our kindergarteners with jackets, gloves, and/or hats when needed. 

Halloween Costume Expectations

Costume expectations for all Adults and students:

• No Masks or face coverings
• No Full Face Paint (partial face paint is allowed if a student can apply it 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 – all body parts must be covered
• Students K-8 may NOT WEAR THEIR COSTUMES TO SCHOOL. Students can bring their costumes and they should stay in their backpacks until they are allowed to change into them at 1:30, prior to the parties. Students will be in regular classes during the morning, and the costumes and their pieces and parts should not be a distraction.

We will also be continuing our work with the Little Spot Curriculum. This week, we will be taking a look at the Worry Spot and Anxiety Spot. Students will learn skills on how to shrink their spots of worry and anxiety. If you would like to read the books that we are reading to the students, you can find them on youtube right here! Anxiety Spot Book Read Aloud and Worry Spot Book Read Aloud

Upcoming Events: 

On October 31st, we will have our Halloween Party!! Students will have their Halloween party in the afternoon and will be able to change into their costumes BEFORE the party. 

We will be having a Halloween party on Friday the 31st! We will be sending out a sign up genius link that will have opportunities to donate items to the class party, as well as volunteering to help during the party! The link will be sent out by the end of the week! 

Lastly, it is that time of year where it gets pretty cold. Please send our kindergarteners with jackets, gloves, and/or hats when needed. 

Halloween Costume Expectations

Costume expectations for all Adults and students:

• No Masks or face coverings
• No Full Face Paint (partial face paint is allowed if a student can apply it 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 – all body parts must be covered
• Students K-8 may NOT WEAR THEIR COSTUMES TO SCHOOL. Students can bring their costumes and they should stay in their backpacks until they are allowed to change into them at 1:30, prior to the parties. Students will be in regular classes during the morning, and the costumes and their pieces and parts should not be a distraction.

This week in Advocacy, we will be learning about the little spot of Anxiety, and the little spot of worry. We like to do these right before the breaks because they can definitely cause some anxiety for our students! We will talk about what to do when that spot appears, and how we can help shrink those spots when they do appear

Here is the link to: The Little Spot of Worry and The Little Spot of Anxiety

🌟 Upcoming Events

• Thursday, October 2nd – ‼️ Half-Day and Parent Teacher Conferences from 1:00PM to 5:00 PM. The sign-up link will be sent out to secure your slot. 

• Friday, October 3rd – ‼️Parent Teacher Conferences from 8:00PM to 8:00 PM. The sign-up link will be sent out to secure your slot.

This week in Advocacy, we read A Little Spot of Anger by Diane Alber. We talked about how everyone feels angry sometimes, and that anger itself isn’t “bad”—it’s a signal that needs a peaceful spot. Students learned strategies for calming down when their “anger spot” starts to grow, such as taking deep breaths, counting to 10, or using calm-down tools.

📖 You can listen to the story with your child here: A Little Spot of Anger Read Aloud

🌟 Upcoming Events

• Week of September 22nd – Please be on the look out for an email with sign-up links for parent teacher conferences. Conferences will be on Thursday, October 2nd and Friday, October 3rd. 
• Thursday, September 25 – 🚜 Field Trip to Miller Farms
  
  
• Pack a disposable sack lunch.
  
  
• Dress for outdoor activities (closed-toe shoes recommended).
  
  
• Permission Forms: Students must return two forms to attend:
  
  
1. [Westgate Permission Form – click here]
   
   
2. [Miller Farms Permission Form – click here]
   
   
• We need four parent chaperones.
  
  
• Chaperones must complete the district background check: [click here].
  
  
• Friday, September 26 – 🍎 Johnny Appleseed Day
  
  
• Please send one apple green or red with your student to contribute to our classroom activities.
  
  
• Friday, September 26 – 🏃 Westgate Fun Run
  
  
• The Fun Run raises funds for the Specials classes we all know and love: Art, iLab, Music, and PE.

• Thursday, October 2nd – ‼️ Half-Day and Parent Teacher Conferences from 1:00PM to 5:00 PM. The sign-up link will be sent out to secure your slot. 

This week, we will continue to talk about our little spots of feelings, this week focusing on The Little Peaceful Spot. This is a great book to talk about keeping our body safe and calm, and how we can come from different spots, like anger spot or sad spot, and come back to our peaceful spots. A great way to support this at home, is asking them to show you a way that they can get into their peaceful spot, and have them show you what it looks like for them to be in a peaceful spot! 

If you are interested, I have linked the story right here so you can watch at home! 

Little Peaceful Spot Link to Youtube Read aloud. 

🌟 Upcoming Events

• Friday, September 19 – Half Day of School (early dismissal).
  
  
• Thursday, September 25 – 🚜 Field Trip to Miller Farms
  
  
• Pack a disposable sack lunch.
  
  
• Dress for outdoor activities (closed-toe shoes recommended).
  
  
• Permission Forms: Students must return two forms to attend:
  
  
1. [Westgate Permission Form – click here]
   
   
2. [Miller Farms Permission Form – click here]
   
   
• We need four parent chaperones.
  
  
• Chaperones must complete the district background check: [click here].
  
  
• Friday, September 26 – 🍎 Johnny Appleseed Day
  
  
• Please send one apple green or red with your student to contribute to our classroom activities.
  
  
• Friday, September 26 – 🏃 Westgate Fun Run
  
  

Upcoming Events: 

🌟 Spirit Week: September 8–12 🌟

We are excited to celebrate Spirit Week! Here’s the schedule for each day:

• Monday, 9/8 – Rainbow Day
  Wear bright rainbow colors to school! 🌈
  
  
• Tuesday, 9/9 – Crazy Hat or Hair Day
  Show off your wildest hat or wackiest hairstyle. 🎩💇
  
  
• Wednesday, 9/10 – Westgate Wednesday
  Wear your Westgate gear or school colors to show your pride! 💙
  
  
• Thursday, 9/11 – Throwback Thursday
  Dress up from your favorite past decade. 🕺🎶
  
  
• Friday, 9/12 – Pajama Day
  Roll out of bed and head to school in your comfiest PJs. 💤
  
  

🚜 Field Trip: Thursday, September 25

We will be heading to Miller Farms for our first field trip of the year!

• Please pack your child a disposable sack lunch.
  
  
• Dress for outdoor activities (closed-toe shoes recommended).
  
  
• We are looking for four parent chaperones to join us—please let me know if you’re interested. Chaperones are required to fill out the background check as soon as possible. You can find that line here.
• Please sign the field trip permission forms so your student can attend. There are two permission forms for this field trip. One for Westgate found here and one for Miller Farms found here.

Hi Families! This week in advocacy, we will be focusing on reading books based around the Little Spot of Feelings. These books take time to help the students identify their feelings and emotions, and helps them spot feelings in others as well! We will also be continuing our show and share in the classroom. The schedule remains the same as previously shared. 

Mrs. Kahn will also be coming in this week to begin our Environmental Education, by taking our students out to the mud kitchen on the farm, and we will be having fun with that! Ms. Lane’s class will do this on Thursday, and Mr. Baker’s class will do it on Friday. Please wear clothes that are okay to be dirty. The plan is not to be too messy, but it is always better to be safe rather than sorry! 

• Snack: Bring two healthy nut-free snacks (no candy please). We have a morning snack and an afternoon snack time. 
• Lunch: If you have not ordered a school lunch, please provide a student with a lunch from home. If you would like to start signing up for lunches for the next month, here is the link. 
• Water bottles: while we have a drinking fountain in our pod, it’s helpful for students to have water in the classroom. 
• Show and Share: starting next week, we will begin Show and Share! Students will bring in one item from home that can fit in their backpack to share with our class. Show and Share items must remain in their backpacks throughout the day until it’s time to present. Students will have a specific designated day to bring in their show and share. The schedule will be shared with families on Friday. 
• Extra Clothes: Please provide an extra set of clothes in their backpack in case of accidents. If your student has an accident, their clothes will be returned in their backpack in a plastic bag.