Ms. Calder, Advocacy, 5/6

Posts

April 13-17

This week we will continue working on Social Awareness and strategies to respond to specific situations. 
 
Reminder:
Reading CMAS will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
April 17 is a half day for students with carline starting at 11:30. 
 
April 30 the students will be participating in a Washington Street cleanup, and I sent out the permission slip last week.  Please complete the permission form by April 28.  If you have any questions, please let me know. 
 

April 6-10

We will continue working on our Social Emotional Skills of Social Awareness this week. 
 
The students will be taking a pause with our 1st and 2nd grade buddies until after CMAS.  
 
Reminders:
CMAS starts this week, Tuesday through Thursday. 
The Fifth graders will be taking the Math and Science assessments, and Sixth grade will be taking the Math assessment.
 
There will not be specials this week Tuesday through Thursday as the schedule was adapted for CMAS testing!
 
If you have any questions, please let me know.
 
Have a wonderful week!

March 30 - April 3

Welcome back!
I hope that your Spring Break was relaxing and rejuvenating!
 
This week we will finish out Mindfulness and getting back into the routine of school again!  
For the month of April, the focus will be Social Awareness!  We will be talking about taking care of yourself, being aware of others, and how to handle stress in a positive light. 
 
Upcoming Events:
April 7-9 - CMAS testing 
April 14-16 - CMAs Testing
April 23 and 24 - MAPS testing
 
More to come about the specific schedules after our meeting on Tuesday!
 
Have an amazing week!

March 9-11

This week in Advocacy we will continue our journey with the theme of Mindfulness. 
 
Last week each student made a page, "I take the time to..." and completed the sentence by stating what they do for themselves to reset.  When everyone is finished, we are going to make it into a book for our class. 
 
Reminder this week is only a three-day week. 
Thursday and Friday are Parent Teacher Conferences.  If you haven't signed up for Music and Art conferences or with your child's ELA/Math teacher, make sure to do so as we would love to meet with you all!
 
Spring Break is March 16-27!  Have a safe, fun and relaxing time with your family!

March 2-6

Happy March!
 
This month the focus will be Mindfulness.  We will talk about what Mindfulness and learn strategies to help focus and reset for any task at hand. 
 
This week will be a full week.  At 4:00 pm this afternoon you will be emailed the parent teacher signups. One signup will come from me for Music and Art signups, and one will come from your child's ELA/Math teacher.  
 
Conferences will be Thursday, March 12 at Westgate from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and Friday, March 13 which will be virtual from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.  If you have any questions, please let me know. 
 
Have an amazing week!

February 23-27

Last week we spent time running through scenarios of how to show empathy. Then we spent the last part of the week creating a shoe that the student put down characteristics about themselves and then we hung them up in the room so that we can all see how we can support each other every day. 
 
Monday we will spend time with our 1st and 2nd grade buddies. 
For the rest of the week, we will finish out the week with our empathy unit. 
 
Parent Teacher conferences are coming, and I will be sending out a sign up on March 2 at 4:00.  Conferences will be Thursday, March 12 which will be at Westgate from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm. and Friday, March 13 which will be virtually from 8:00 am until 12:00 pm. 

February 17-20

I hope that you had an amazing long weekend!
 
This week we will continue our lessons on Empathy and Kindness. Because we didn't have school on Monday, we will not have our buddy time with 1st and 2nd grade.  
 
Friday, February 27 we will be having our Advocacy class picture. 
 

February 9-13

Welcome to Kindness Week!
All week we will have activities that embrace the different love languages.  We will end our week on Friday with our Kindness walk to Hope Montessori Academy.  If you haven't completed the permission form that I emailed to you, please do so by Wednesday. If you have any questions, please reach out to me. 
 
All week we will be collecting nonperishable items for the Precious Child.  This event was organized by the 7th ad 8th grade students.  Thank you!
 
Monday we will head over to our Second Grade Buddies for another fun activity.  
 
Reminders:
Monday: Skate City Spirit night from 5-7, Pajama themed. 
Wednesday: Permission form for the Kindness Walk due
Friday: Kindness walk and this is a half a day for students.  Carline will be begin at 11:30. 

February 2-6

February's theme is Empathy and Kindness. 
 
We had our first buddy lesson with the first and second graders last week and it was a success!!! We will have a new lesson this Monday!  What a great way to connect our community!
 
On Friday we will kick off our Kindness week activities!  I sent out a permission form for our walk on February 13.  Please make sure to fill this out by Wednesday, February 11.
 
Kindness Week at Westgate: Feb 9–13 
 We’re excited to celebrate Kindness Week with this year’s theme, Planting the Seed: An Acorn of Kindness. Students will take part in daily activities that grow compassion, connection, and community.
Our 7th and 8th graders are also leading a schoolwide food drive benefiting A Precious Child. Our goal is 2,000 non‑perishable items, with themed donation days to guide contributions:
  • Mon 2/9 – Protein Monday
  • Tue 2/10 – Pasta Tuesday
  • Wed 2/11 – Canned Veggies Wednesday
  • Thu 2/12 – Toiletries Thursday
  • Fri 2/13 – Canned Fruit Friday
Families are invited to support our Acts of Kindness for Teachers through donations and volunteer opportunities all week, including bathroom refresh items, hot chocolate cart supplies, carline volunteers, flower‑sale helpers, classroom readers, and more.
 
All sign‑ups and details can be found here: SignUpGenius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45A8AE28A1FA7-61738675-kindness#/
Cash or check donations may be dropped off at the front office (note: Kindness Week) or contributed online through Westgate Events.
Thank you for helping us nurture a culture of kindness that grows far beyond our school walls.

January 26-30

On Monday we will have our first and second grade buddies to kick off our activities.  Four of the girls in our Advocacy created an activity to work on identifying syllables in words using balloons.  We are so excited to spend time with our buddies!
 
We will continue working on Growth Mindset activities to encourage growth in our everyday life!
 
Upcoming events:
Kindness week walk; Friday, February 13.  
I will be sending out a permission slip which will give all the specifics.  If you have any questions, please reach out to me. 

January 20-27

Meeting out second grade buddies last Monday was a great success, and we are all so excited to get to partner with the second-grade class! We won't have our time together this week as we had Monday off in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. However, we will meet again next Monday!
 
We will continue our lessons on Growth Mindset, and the students will be challenged to give pressing forward in all aspects of their life!
 
Your child should have brought home a weekly goal sheet on Friday.  During our Strong Start every morning, the students are to set a goal for the day for themselves.  During Advocacy the students are completing a reflection on how they think that their goal is going.  If you didn't see it this week, please look for it on Friday! :)

January 12-16

Happy New Year and welcome back to you all!
 
I hope that you had an amazing Holiday season and it was filled with memories and laughs!
 
The month of January is Growth Mindset.  We will have lessons that work on positive ways to look at all situations.  In addition, we will be working on some critical thinking skills. 
 
Starting on Monday, we will be implementing our service learning with our second-grade buddies.  The students are so excited to work as mentors to our younger students at Westgate!

December 15-19

This week we will be having a spirit week:
  • Monday, Dec. 15 – Pajama/Onesie Day Roll out of bed and head to school in your coziest pajamas or onesie!
  • Tuesday, Dec. 16 – Ugly Sweater Day Break out your most festive and tacky (school appropriate) holiday sweater.
  • Wednesday, Dec. 17 – Anything But a Backpack Day Get creative and bring your school supplies in something unexpected!
  • Thursday, Dec. 18 – Avatar Day Join the High School and dress as your element: Fire, Water, Air, or Earth.
  • Friday, Dec. 19 – Dress to Impress Day End the week in style with your sharpest look – it doesn't have to be black tie/formal, but it would be cool if you did. 
On Monday for Service Learning we will be creating a card for our 2nd grade buddies which will be starting after the Holiday Break. 
 
The rest of the week in Advocacy we will be focusing on generosity!
 
Reminders:
Wednesday morning, we will be taking the Math MAPS assessment in order to celebrate the growth of our students. 
 
Thursday: 6th graders will be going to International Towne. Please bring a sack lunch for our great adventure. 
 
Friday we will be having our Holiday Party in the afternoon. If you signed up for a snack, please have it at school Friday morning so we can organize the treats for the students. 
 
Winter Break will start on Friday afternoon, December 19 and classes will resume January 12.  I hope that you all have an amazing and safe Winter Vacation!!!
 

December 8-12

This week we will begin working on our Generosity lessons. 
 
Last week the students spent time working on their presentation projects that they will be teaching our second-grade buddies.  They will finish those presentations today and present to the class tomorrow. 
 
Reminder:
All 5/6 students will be taking the MAPS testing on Thursday and Friday started at 9:15. Please encourage your child to get adequate rest and good nourishment. We are so excited to see the growth in all of the students as they have been working hard on themselves all year! :)

December 1-5

I hope that you had an amazing Thanksgiving break!
 
Welcome back!
Only three weeks before the Holidays.  
 
The theme in Advocacy this month is Generosity. The lessons will focus on all the ways to show generosity and then we will brainstorm what our class can do to show generosity within our Westgate community. 
 
Monday we will have our Service-Learning lesson where the students will create a slide presentation of activities that we could do with our 1st and 2nd grade buddies.  Before break Mrs. Keating and I paired our students so that we are ready to go with our buddy partnership with the 2nd graders after break.