Skip to main content

11th Grade Advocacy

Course Description

The high school advocate is the first contact for parents about student communications coming from and going to the school.

During advocacy time at school, we begin each morning with circle to greet each other and start our school day.

Advocates help students with social and emotional support and college and career readiness.

Posts

Important dates:

 

On Thursday, June 4th, Westgate is hosting an End of Year Parade at the school from 10am-11am. You cannot line up before 9:30. This is a chance for you to wave goodbye to your teachers, from a distance! It's a real shame we must do it this way. But all high school teachers will be there, we'd love to see you if you can make it!

 

The following day on Friday, June 5th, we are having a computer drop off and Yearbook pickup from 10am-11:30am. You may pick up your yearbooks from the school on this day.

Activities from Mrs. Valenza

Dear high school families,  

 

This week is the end of April, the end “Earth Month.” I don’t see it like that. I see it as a path to greener ideas, simpler ways of living, and a heightened awareness of the beauty in our natural world.  

 

I hope you enjoyed doing these activities. It was a lot of fun to put together and I thoroughly enjoyed staying connected with you this month.  

 

I’m here if you need me. Nature is also always there if you need it.  

 

I hope you have a great week.  

Best, 

Mrs. Valenza  

 

             High School advocacy activities 

 

Monday - Watch any of these Ted talks about “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” to get inspired.  

 

Tuesday - Head to Mrs. Valenza’s Staff profile page to hear her reading from Our Only World by Wendell Berry.  

 

Wednesday - It has been hard to not be able to go where you want, see who you want, when you want. Today make a list, journal, or draw a picture about all the places you want to visit once the “Stay at home” order has been lifted. Hopefully this will keep your spirits lifted and remind you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Share your list with someone you trust.  

                For Mrs. Valenza, she wants to go camping in Moab, have a picnic at Chautauqua, and buy a plane ticket to go see humpack whales in Hawaii.  

 

Thursday – Today, go outside! Here are a few ideas: You could build a bee water station -->  https://carolinahoneybees.com/diy-bee-waterer/ 

Add some pollinator plants to your yard or porch. Call your local nursery to see if they have any of these plants --> https://resourcecentral.org/5-plants-for-your-colorado-pollinator-garden/ 

Have a picnic outside.  

Just sit on your porch and watch the world pass by.  

High School Advocacy Activities from Mrs.Valenza

 

Monday - If you are doing one of the choices for the “Earth Day Assignment” please use this day to work on that and send it to me as you finish it.  

                  I will also be doing a live Zoom with the chickens and goats at 12:30pm this day! Tune in to see the ladies and ask questions.  

                   Time: Apr 20, 2020 12:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) 

                  Meeting ID: 951 417 9342       

Password: **Mrs.Valenza emailed passwords 

 

Tuesday- Use this day to finish up your “Earth Day Assignment” and send it to me. If you’re not doing the assignment enjoy your day off. 😊  

 

Wednesday-  You have 2 options today...Join the Lorax and Mr. Rowan for a live reading of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Or head to Mrs. Valenza’s staff profile page to hear a pre-recorded reading of the story.  

                   Topic: The Lorax Read Aloud with Question and Answer 
                   Time: Apr 22, 2020 01:15 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada) 
                   https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79083049885?pwd=cXdiMk9vYjh6Z2Y4dGl5NHpvUVJHQT09 
                   Meeting ID: 790 8304 9885 

Password: **Mrs.Valenza emailed passwords 

 

Thursday - Today I want you to make sure you get outside for a walk. With all the water we’ve been getting (in the form of snow) the plants should be popping! Take notice of this. What flowers can you find? What new buds are popping up on the trees? Is there sign of life? If you want to get really fancy you could download a plant identification app – Plantifier is a relatively good one that is also free!  

 

Friday – Agriculture is a very important part to the sustainability of Earth. Choosing certain ways of growing crops is vital in making sure the soil and the crops are good for years to come. I got myself quite engaged in this game from National GeographicNational Geographic. Try it out and see how sustainable you can make your crops.  

High School Advocacy Activities

From: Mrs.Valenza

 

Monday- I have a strict belief that the more we know about a place the more we want to care for it. We can’t travel many places right now, but we can still appreciate what Earth has to offer. Let's travel using Google Earth. (https://www.google.com/earth/) Use the Search function to look up these different places: 1. Your house 2. Westgate Community School - you'll get to see what it looked like before we had our playground 3. Favorite nature area to visit 4. Favorite City to visit 5. Somewhere you want to visit      Use the Street View function (the little guy above the black and white Earth on the bottom right hand corner of the screen) to look around each of these places.  

 

Tuesday - Head to Mrs. Valenza’s Staff Profile page to hear her reading from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.  

 

Wednesday - Load up a good playlist, your favorite album, or your favorite song on repeat for a 15 minute walk (at least!).  

 

Thursday - Earth Day is next Wednesday. What better time to learn about this EPIC day??? Here is one article from Scholastic. 

               And this history article is straight from the Earth Day website. Make sure to watch the video on this page of the 1st Earth Day where Denver is featured!  

               Ask yourself, family members, neighbors: Where would you be on this 1st Earth Day in 1970 as a high schooler? On the capital steps? At school? Riding your bike around town?  

 

Friday - Originally we were going to have an Earth Day fair at Westgate but that can’t happen anymore. We’re going to celebrate in a little different way. Head to Mrs. Valenza’s Staff Profile Page to see what she wants you to do!  

Office Hours Schedule

Office hours for high school teachers are listed below. Students are encouraged to reach out during these times if they have questions regarding academic material. Parents: if you have questions, please reach out to the appropriate teacher through email. We are also happy to set up zoom meetings for parent questions by request as well.  

 

Office Hours  

 

Kern: Tuesday & Wednesdays 2:00-3:00PM 

Zoom Link:https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2870016972?pwd=QVFLZ3dneWtJV0NvbCtYYVNmano3UT09 

 

Cuevas: Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:30 – 10:30 

Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9876797217?pwd=Uk9yaE01QXBqaWZOWk1oNklNNDV6dz09 

 

Matthews: Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 - 10:30 

Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7186478925?pwd=eS9yak1IRnRSQXBRV3pqTmRiSmp2UT09 

 

Schneider: Tuesday 1:00 - 2:00; Wednesday 9:00-10:00; Thursday 1:00-3:00 

Tuesday Zoom Link:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/207062615?pwd=N3lZN1VHazA0MWdJcUlMUjllOG9jZz09  

Wednesday Zoom Link:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/475890524?pwd=ekhyaDR5ajdkSU0veEdOckNyT1B6QT09  

Thursday Zoom Link:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/873937436?pwd=RzdZTDdibDk0bFc2YzU1dG0yRmdHdz09  

 

Brinkley: Monday 1:30 - 2:30 and Friday 10:00 - 11:00 

Monday Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/269528729 

Friday Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/269528729 

 

Information for Distance Learning

I hope this finds you healthy and well. With Monday fast approaching, we teachers are each working to make sure our online lessons are ready to go. As of today, Westgate will be working through online, remote learning for the remainder of the school year. This email is to inform you of how classes will work for the remainder of the year, as well as a list of how each teacher would like their assignments submitted. Your student will receive an email from each teacher with Zoom login information. 

Westgate Class Pages 

All classroom assignments will be posted to the class pages on the Westgate website at https://www.westgateschool.org/ We encourage both students and parents to subscribe to their class pages to receive weekly updates. Links for all high school class pages can be found here: https://www.westgateschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=597639&type=d&pREC_ID=classes   

Schedule 

There is no set schedule for when students must work on their assignments or log into classes. The schedule is flexible, and they may work and turn in their assignments any time before Fridays at midnight.  
 
If it helps, students may want to set up their own schedules. Maybe they will work on each subject for 30 minutes a day, or maybe they want to set up a different weekday for each subject. They can do whatever works for them!  

A master schedule is attached to share when teachers are hosting advocacy, class instruction and office hours.  
 

Submitting Assignments 

Submitting assignments will vary from teacher to teacher. 

Brinkley: OneNote or Email  

Cuevas: Email (replying to initial assignment email works well) 

Kern: One Note or Email 

Matthews: OneNote. (There will be a "finished assignment" tab for students to upload their assignments) 

Schnieder: OneNote or Email  

Once a week or so, feedback will be sent to students. Grades will still appear on IC as normal. 

  

Office Hours 

Each teacher will be holding a minimum of two office sessions during the week.  Please review the attached schedule for each teacher’s office hours.  If for some reason you are unable to meet with teachers during their scheduled office hours; please reach out to the teacher via email to make alternative arrangements.  

 

Parent Information 

Parents: if you have questions, please email to set up a time for a separate zoom conference. You can also always feel free to email!  

If there are any class concerns, please keep in mind the communication pathway. Address questions and concerns in the following order: 

Classroom Teacher 

Advocate 

Assistant Principal – Mrs. Novak  
 

Zoom Expectations: 

Zoom meetings are not required however, we strongly encourage students to utilize these opportunities to maintain classroom culture and community.  

 

Please remember this is still school, and as such we are striving for a professional environment. You are not required to share your video but anything in view should be school appropriate. Teachers will turn off video or audio for any student who becomes inappropriate at any time. 

Logging in: please use your first and last name for your screen name. For instance, a student named “Jane Smith” would write “Jane Smith” for their screen name. Students will receive emails with login information for individual teachers/classes. 
 

Please do not share links and passwords with others. Teachers will not allow unfamiliar names or students from different classes to sign in to zoom sessions. 

Advocacy Update (Prom Details)

Welcome back to another snow week at Westgate!

Now that we’ve had a few weeks to settle back into a normal routine, it’s time to set our sights on the future. Here are a few dates to add to your calendars:

 

Prom: Thursday, 7-10 P.M., April 2nd (second Thursday of Spring Break)

Prom is less than two months away! This year’s theme is Casino Night, and every ticket purchase will include the (monopoly-style) cash you need to win big. Tickets will soon be on sale at the front desk. We are currently only accepting staff chaperones.

Kindness Week: February 10th - 14th

 

Monday 2/10 - Be KIND to the ENVIRONMENT

Everyone Wear Green

Kindness Tree in lobby – More information to come!

 

Tuesday 2/11- Be KIND to YOURSELVES

Everyone Wear Your Favorite Color!

Self-Compassion Activities and Treat

 

Wednesday 2/12 - Be KIND to YOUR CLASSMATES

Everyone Wear Blue

We will have blue nail polish at recess for the Blue Pinky Challenge – Kindness and Anti-Bullying Campaign

 

Thursday 2/13 - Be KIND to YOUR TEACHERS

Everyone Wear Red for Ed

Spread kindness to your teachers through notes of gratitude, words of affirmation, and more!

 

Friday 2/14 - Be KIND to EVERYONE!

Wear Westgate Shirts

Community Kindness Day!

 

Kindness Day: Friday, February 14th

Kindness Day is only two Fridays away! In the high school, we spend time making kindness cards to be passed out to the community. On the morning of February 14th, advocacy groups will be heading to the Thorncreek Crossing area (the shopping area with Target) to hand out our cards. We will be out from 11:30 to 12:30. We will be distributed as follows:

Freshmen: Kern: Barnes and Noble to Michael’s

Sophomores: Cuevas: Target to Dollar Tree

Juniors (half): Matthews: Chick-fil-a and surrounding area

Juniors (half): Schneider: Chipotle and surrounding area

Seniors: Brinkley: Krispy Kreme and surrounding area

 

General Concerns

Last week, Westgate High School had some trouble with students finding or devising systems of “rating” other students, then ranking one another based on attributes like intelligence, physical attractiveness, or overall worth. These sorts of systems are demeaning to all involved. They are untrue and can cause lasting harm to our confidence and feelings of self-worth. Furthermore, they are a form of bullying and will not be tolerated at Westgate. If your child comes home with stories of being “ranked,” please take the time to talk with them and encourage them. Everyone in this building is worth much, much more than the opinions that others might place on them. As always, we at Westgate are doing all we can to ensure we maintain the safe, inclusive environment we value so highly. Please feel free to reach out to your advocate if you have any continued concerns.

Update Week of 1/21

Adulting 101 was a huge success! Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make it possible! Please let us know if this is something you are interested in helping with in the future.

Be sure to stay on top of any assignments that are coming up due this week. Because the grade book has reset, one missing grade could cause you to have a failing grade in the class.

** Reminder: Front Range classes begin this week, the bus will transport students to campus and not back to Westgate. 

An email went out to parents before break with information about the Juniors' Service trip to Taos in May. Please read the email if you have not seen it yet - an important bit to note: 

"We are asking for a down payment of $200 by Friday, March 20th (the final day of 3rd Quarter). You can write a check to Westgate Community School with Taos in the memo line, or you can pay on the school store (if you need help with this, we can provide more detailed instructions)." - Novak

 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. We're off to a great start! 

Welcome Back!

Welcome back for second semester!
 
I hope you have all had a refreshing break (I know I did), and I can't wait to begin the semester with all of you!  First and foremost: This semester, students will attend FRCC classes in the afternoon. This means the schedule will look something like this for the semester:
 
Monday - Thursday
8:00 - 8:15: Advocacy
8:18 - 9:18: Class 1 (same as last semester)
9:21 - 10:21: Class 2 (previously the class right after lunch)
10:24 - 11:24: Class 3 (previously the last class of the day)
 
Afternoons: Students with FRCC may leave at this time. For students remaining on campus, the schedule is as follows:
11:24 - 12:24: Lunch
12:24 - 1:54: Block 1 (previously the second class of the day)
1:57 - 3:27: Block 2 (previously the class before lunch)
 
Fridays: With no college, Fridays will look very similar to last semester with only minor switches. Be sure to check your schedules!
 
This week: As FRCC does not begin until Monday, January 20th, the schedule will look a little different this week. Mornings will run exactly the same as listed above. Monday afternoon, students will have seminar followed by lessons on developing strong study skills. Tuesday and Wednesday, we will be running Adulting 101 courses. Here, students will learn skills not regularly taught in school (doing taxes, for instance) that will help them through their adult life. Thursday, students will learn about different facets of personalities as well as get a chance to ask advice from other students about school, college, and working.
 
I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!