We will be having our winter party on Wednesday, December 18th from 2:15-3:15pm.  Cleanup is from 3:15-3:25pm.  Parents may only attend the party if they are signed up as a volunteer.  Volunteers must have a background check completed prior to signing up. In an effort to keep the community culturally inclusive, the teachers request the crafts and videos be winter-themed, not holiday specific.If you have any questions please email your child's advocacy teacher or Nicole Fox at [email protected] 

ADVOCACY FOCUS 

This month’s focus for Advocacy is Mindfulness so all classes will be doing activities focused on that topic during our mornings together. 

DRUMS OF THE WORLD FIELD TRIP ON DECEMBER 3rd HAS BEEN CANCELED  

MAP ASSESSMENTS 

Winter MAP testing is upon us and our schedule for those tests is as follows:  

Monday, December 2nd in the morning, students will take the Math assessment 

Wednesday, December 4th in the morning students will take the Reading assessment 

Friday, December 6th in the morning students will take the Math assessment.   

Please discuss with your child how important it is to give your best effort, read carefully, and get a good night's sleep the night before!  Students are working on setting goals for each test as well. Ask your child if they met their goal each day! 

HOLIDAY SHOP 

Running from December 9-13 

We will have a 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. 

The shop is also open M-F from 3:15 - 4:30 for students with money or students with a parent. 

CONFERENCES 

Winter Parent Teacher Conferences will take place from 8:00am - 8:00pm on Thursday, December 19th and from 8:00am - 12:00pm on Friday, December 20tht.  The link to the sign up will be emailed to all parents and will also be 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. 

JA IN A DAY 

Jr. Achievement will be taking place on Friday, January 31st, 2020.  We need volunteers! If you are interested in teaching & volunteering that day, please reach out to your child’s advocacy teacher! A training session is required in order to participate.  For more information, please see the following link: https://www.jacolorado.org/volunteer-resources/ 

LUNCH CLEAN UP 

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.  Please talk with your child about appropriately cleaning up after lunch. 

IMPORTANT DATES 

12/11/19                                         All past assignments due! 

12/19/19 (8 a.m.- 8 p.m.)                Winter Conferences 

12/20/19 (8 a.m.- 12 p.m.) Winter Conferences 

12/23/19 – 1/10/19         Winter Break 

 

Hello everyone,

We wanted to let you know that due to some unforeseen issues, we need to move the K-8 Field Trip. The trip is now on January 28. A new permission slip will be sent out when we get back from winter break. I’m sorry for the inconvenience but we wanted to get you the information as soon as we could so you could plan accordingly.  Have Wonderful Thanksgiving!

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 Optimism & Gratitude. We will focus on ways to think more positively, as well as ways in which we can show who and what we are grateful for.

DEAR

The 2nd annual D.E.A.R. Drop Everything And Read Fundraiser is coming up during the week of November 4th - November 8th.

See the link below for additional information: https://www.westgateschool.org/apps/pages/2019DEARfundraiser

Students may ask for a flat dollar amount to be sponsored for the dedicated hour of reading from anyone. All forms and money must be turned in by Friday, November 8th. If Westgate meets their $10,000 goal, the entire school will earn a dance party!

Kids who turn in a sponsor form will be entered in a prize drawing. Winners will be announced November 13th.

DEAR Events

Our Book Fair is going on all week. There is a book drive going on in the lobby. Students can donate new or used books.

On Friday, the whole school will have a dedicated hour of reading from 10:15 to 11:15. Students can wear pajamas, or dress like their favorite book character.

Upcoming Field Trip

Our K-8 field trip to experience Drums Around the World at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts will take place on Tuesday, December 3rd. Permission slips will be sent home within the next few weeks.

Service Learning

Our service learning is up and running! Service learning takes place every other Friday from 10:15 - 11:15. Our upcoming dates for service learning are November 15th & December 6th.

Jackets

It is starting to get colder! Students will need to bring jackets outside for recess. Each student is responsible for bringing their jacket outside. Students will not be allowed to reenter the building to get their jackets if they forget. Please reinforce this responsibility with your child at home.

Important Dates

Monday, November 11th: Veteran’s Day - No School

Happy Thanksgiving Break! No School - November 25 - 29

K-8 Field Trip: Drums of the World – December 3rd

Welcome back Winter :)

 

This is Halloween week Please check the signups on the advocacy page for ideas and items to bring if you're choosing to participate.

 

We are wrapping up our NO Bullying campaign this week in advocacy groups and our second meeting in our environmental learning classes will be this Friday.

 

field trip survey

Please give your input on potential field trip destinations

 

Thank you

 

October Advocacy Update

This month’s focus in advocacy is Bully Prevention. We will be talking about what bullying is and is not, including identifying between rude/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 about kindness. Please participate in these conversations with us by talking to your kids at home about what they are learning here.

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 (this includes no masks) before sending them, please.

Starting on Friday, October 18th, we will be doing Service Learning. During quarter one, each student completed a survey and was able to choose from many options. Students will know which group they were placed into this week if they have not already been told. Service Learning will take place every other Friday from 10:15 - 11:15. High school students will facilitate this learning with a teacher present. The idea is that each group is working on a project throughout the entire year that they are passionate about and will help our community in some way. If you have additional questions, please contact your child’s advocacy teacher, or Chandra Valenza at [email protected]. Since this takes place during our math time, we will move math to 12:40 - 1:30 on these days. From 2:30 - 3:15 on these Fridays, we will be using this time to revisit & reinforce certain language arts & math concepts.

It is starting to get colder! Students will need to bring jackets outside for recess. Each student is responsible for bringing their jacket outside. Students will not be allowed to reenter the building to get their jackets if they forget. Please reinforce this responsibility with your child at home.

 

If you are interested in volunteering, please check the following link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f44ada923a2f58-34pod

 

Upcoming:

Friday, October 18: Picture Retakes

Friday, October 25, 5-7 pm: Westgate Trunk or Treat

Thursday, October 31: Halloween Celebration Party

I hope all of you had a Wonderful Fall Break and are ready to get back into the school groove.

 

Please remember to bring in your permission slips if you're interested in trying out for a role in the production of Pinocchio.

Conferences are this Thursday and Friday. We look forward to seeing all of you here.

First day of Fall, feels like the year is going by so quickly.

Here is the form I’d like students to fill out to indicate their service learning choice.

 

 

Please complete this for Mrs. Valenza by 9/20/19

 

Thank you