Winter Party Sign Up
Hello Parents!
The 3/4 Winter Party is coming next Thursday, December 20th, from 9:30-10:30. If you can volunteer or bring food, we would greatly appreciate it!
Mrs. Dorschner Advocacy
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December Advocacy Update
ADVOCACY FOCUS
This month’s focus for Advocacy is Gratitude so all classes will be doing activities focused on that topic during our mornings together.
MAP ASSESSMENTS
Winter MAP testing is upon us and our schedule for those tests is as follows:Wednesday, December 5th in the afternoon students will take the Language Usage assessment; Thursday, December 6th in the morning students will take the Reading assessment, and Friday, December 7th in the morning students will take the Math assessment. Make-ups will be Friday, December 7th in the afternoon for those who have not yet completed any of the assessments or who missed any of those days of school. Please try to help us in encouraging your child to take their time and do their best work on these assessments.
HOLIDAY SHOPPE
Running from December 3-7
Flyers and wish list envelopes went home with students on Friday, November 30th.
Preview day on Monday only at lunch/quiet time (students with money will be allowed to shop). Students will not be allowed in the shop any other time the rest of the week without money.
Tuesday – Friday: only students with money can shop during lunch and quiet time.
Shoppe is also open M-F from 3:15 - 4:30 for students with money or students with a parent.
MATH AND MUSIC PRESENTATIONS
Our schedule on Wednesday, December 19th will be a little different with students staying in their math classes most of the day, so we can have Curtis Madigan coming in to each math class throughout the day to do a Math and Music connection lesson based on what each class is learning right now. We are excited to see how students connect to the very cool lessons he is developing for each class.
WINTER PARTY
The 3-4 Winter Party will take place during our half day on Thursday, December 20th. A sign up for helping out and sending in food for the students will be coming out soon.
CONFERENCES
Winter Parent Teacher Conferences will take place from 12:40-8:00 pm on Thursday, December 20th and from 8-8 on Friday, December 21st. The link to the sign up has been emailed to all parents and is also available on every teacher’s Advocacy pages. Please make sure to sign up for only one slot and indicate the teachers you would like to be present. We will make the final determination about who will attend based on the other conferences taking place at the same time. Thanks for your understanding that we are trying to be present with as many parents as possible.
LUNCH CLEAN UP AND LOST & FOUND
Please help us in helping your child to keep track of their things and clean up after themselves properly following lunches. We are having some issues with students being very careless about their clean up and it is resulting in food being left in places it should not be and the sink and drinking fountain being left with food that clogs our system. There are also a lot of dishes left behind that no one claims so they end up in the lost & found. There are TONS of jackets and coats downstairs as well as laying around the pod that need to be claimed as well.
3/4 Winter Parent Teacher Conferences
Hello Westgate Families!
Here is the link to the sign up genius for our Winter Parent Teacher Conferences: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f44ada923a2f58-winter
Here is the link to the sign up genius for our Winter Parent Teacher Conferences: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f44ada923a2f58-winter
Please sign-up for a start time in one of the available time slots. You will only sign up for one start time per team per student.
For winter parent/teacher conferences, we will be doing 20 minute conferences for all teachers- classrooms and specials. To sign up for a conference with the specials teachers, you will need to sign up on their conference form.
In requested teachers field, please tell us which teachers you feel would be most beneficial to meet. Teachers will have the final call on who is meeting at each conference, but we will take your requests into consideration.
Sign-ups close December 14th at 4pm. If you would like to sign up after that time has closed, or if you have any conferencing questions, pleas contact me.
Thank you.
November Advocacy Update
All classes are finishing up our Bully Prevention focus from last month as well as moving on to our new focus for November, which is Growth Mindset. All classes will be working on helping students learn to reframe failure and have perseverance and tenacity in their academic and personal lives. Identifying and replacing the negative self-talk that so many of us are accustomed to with positive self-talk will also be part of this unit.
Spirit week is this week!
Monday - wear green
Tuesday - wear your favorite shirt with words
Wednesday - make your own bookmark
Thursday - dress as your favorite book character
Friday - Pajama day! and D.E.A.R.
Friday is D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read). Forms for sponsoring your student's reading went home in Friday Folders. All proceeds go 100% toward benefiting Westgate. The entire school will stop what they are doing and read for an hour Friday morning.
As part of Westgate's ongoing 10th Anniversary celebration Patricia Gatto-Walden Speaks at Westgate on Thursday, November 8; 6-8 PM
Our K-8 field trip to experience Drums Around the World at Denver Center for the Performing Arts will take place on Tuesday, November 27th. Permission slips have already been sent home and need to be returned before the Thanksgiving break so we can provide final numbers to the event center. Please return the form no later than November 16th. Sack lunches with nothing that needs to be heated are needed that day as we will eat before returning to the school. Please do not order hot lunches for that day as your child will not be able to have it when we are out of the building. The form is posted on my Advocacy page if you did not see it come home.
Coming up
Veteran's Day - no school Monday, November 12th
Happy Thanksgiving Break! – no school November 19-23
K-8 Field Trip – November 27th
Parent Teacher Conferences – December 20th-21st
Winter Break – December 24th-January 11th
3.4. Growing Gardens permission slip Oct 2018
Dear Parents,
We will be going on a field trip the week we return from break. Please fill out the permission slip online and send back to your advocacy teacher over the break if possible or return it on the Monday following the break. Please remember to send a sack lunch that day and not order hot lunches as they will not be available for our students that day since we will be leaving so early in the day. Have a great break!
We will be going on a field trip the week we return from break. Please fill out the permission slip online and send back to your advocacy teacher over the break if possible or return it on the Monday following the break. Please remember to send a sack lunch that day and not order hot lunches as they will not be available for our students that day since we will be leaving so early in the day. Have a great break!
October Advocacy Update
October Advocacy Update
This month’s focus in advocacy is Bully Prevention Month. We will be talking about what bullying is and is not, including identifying between rude or inappropriate behavior vs actual bullying behavior. We will also be coming back to re-learning and refocusing on using our school’s “Enough” Protocol. We will also be talking a lot of about kindness, including using the kindness box we have in our pod that allows for our students to nominate those they see being extraordinarily kind for recognition by the school. Please participate in these conversations with us by talking to your kids at home about what they are learning here.
Our Growing Gardens field trip is on Thursday, October 18th. Please be sure to return a permission slip, either electronically or on paper not later than Wednesday, October 17th. Please remember to send a morning snack and a sack lunch that doesn’t contain anything that needs to be heated. Hot lunches will not be available for the students on the day of the field trip as we will not return until lunch is over. Water bottles are also a good idea. You can apply sunscreen to your child before they come to school that day if you would like. Please watch the weather for conditions that day and have your child bring appropriate jackets if necessary.
Our pod will have a Halloween Celebration on October 31st for Halloween. Look for a food and activity sign up for parents coming out soon. Also, remember to send costumes with your student and not have them wear it to school. They will be allowed to put them on prior to the party. Make sure costumes meet the school’s guidelines before sending them, please.
Upcoming:
Thursday, October 18: Field Trip to Growing Gardens
Thursday, October 18, 7-11 pm: Westgate 10th Anniversary Gala @ Stonebrook Manor
Friday, October 26, 5-7 pm: Westgate Trunk or Treat
Wednesday, October 31: Halloween Celebration Party
Fall Conferences
Conferences will be on Thursday and Friday of this week. The sign-up genius for this set of conferences is now closed. If you need to make a change to your conference or schedule a last minute conference, please contact Mrs. Dorschner at [email protected]
Gum Policy
There are a lot of issues developing with gum in our pod. The purpose of gum at school is to help kids to not chew on other things if that is an issue for them and/or to help them focus if that is a tool that works for them. It is, however, becoming an issue because there is so much of it and the kids are trading it for other kinds of gum and other foods as well as using it as a way to include or exclude others. Some students are also going through entire packs of gum in a day just chewing several pieces at a time. None of these things are okay and we need to stop the slide or gum will be banned entirely from our pod. Concerns about the exclusion of gum policy, should we choose to implement it, should be directed to our team lead at [email protected].
For now, ALL students must give their gum to a teacher and the teacher will hold their gum and dispense it as needed. If a student brings gum and is found to have it on them or in their backpack, it will be confiscated and it will be returned to their parent(s) at the next parent teacher conference. They will then no longer be allowed to bring gum after it is confiscated. Please talk to your children about the appropriate uses of gum and we ask that you do not send it with them if it just because they like it if they don't really need it as a tool. School is not the appropriate place for it unless it serves a purpose for them to have it here. Thank you for your help with this.
Please fill out this Social Emotional Survey for your Child!
Hello, Parents and Guardians,
In conjunction with Westgate's Whole Child Education Program and in an effort to provide every single student with unique, differentiated, and appropriate educational opportunities, we are assessing all students in academics as well as SEL and behavior. In order to get a complete picture of your students strengths and challenges, please fill out the following survey, created by Robert Goodman, as soon as possible.
Fall Conference Sign Up
Hello Westgate Families!
Please sign-up for a start time on one of the slots available.
Parent/teacher conferences are going to work differently this time around. You are only signing up for a time slot and may request the teachers you’d like to meet with in this pod. The teachers will make the final decision about which teachers are in each conference and you may not be able to meet with all teachers for the entire time.
Sign-ups are on a first come, first served basis.
You can also sign up for a 15 minute conference with the specials teachers separately from your other conference.
Parent/teacher conferences are going to work differently this time around. You are only signing up for a time slot and may request the teachers you’d like to meet with in this pod. The teachers will make the final decision about which teachers are in each conference and you may not be able to meet with all teachers for the entire time.
Sign-ups are on a first come, first served basis.
You can also sign up for a 15 minute conference with the specials teachers separately from your other conference.
Week of 9/4 - 9/7
3-4 News
Conference sign-ups for the first quarter will be emailed out by your child's advocacy teacher at the end of the day on Friday, September 7th. Please remember to follow the sign-up instructions when you see the email come through.
Curriculum Night Presentations are posted to advocacy teacher pages if you were not able to make it and would like to see what each teacher will be focusing on in their classes.
Please make sure your kiddos have a healthy morning snack each day as all classes have snack during literacy. Sugary treats are not recommended, and fruit snacks and candy are prohibited. Bringing a box of snacks to keep in the classroom is allowed if your child has trouble remembering to bring their snack daily.
Reminder: No Waste Lunch Wednesdays! Many students bring them every day (thank you for that!) but we are striving for everyone to have no trash on Wednesdays if you are able to participate.
We are working on some field trip options and permission slips will always come home in Friday folders so please be sure to check them weekly and send them back with your child on Monday.
Schoolwide: COMING UP
Order Your Rockies Tickets for 9/28 by Friday 9/7!
Order your tickets for Westgate at the Rockies! Orders are due Friday, September 7 (game is September 28).
https://4.files.edl.io/a842/08/23/18/142801-e796350e-674c-4abb-ac48-5f7abb1fd708.pdf
Saturday September 8th at 8 am
Register today for the Westgate 5K Fun Run and Kids Obstacle Course, Saturday, September 8! https://www.westgateschool.org/apps/pages/RUNWILD5K
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Westgate Community School is an innovative alternative for Gifted and Creative Learners located in Thornton, CO.
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Join us for the 10th Anniversary Speaker Series
Sally Northway Ogden - Love & Logic Expert at Westgate on September 13; 6-8 PM
Looking ahead:
10th Anniversary Westgate Gala tickets are now available!
October 18 7-11 pm at Stonebrook Manor
Parent Focus Group
Parents! THIS Thursday, September 6th, Amanda Novak and Generation Schools Network are hosting a Parent & Student Focus Group about topics such as bullying, social emotional learning, and more. Join us for meaningful conversation and DONUTS on Thursday morning from 8:15am-9:15am. We need your input - your voices matter!