Thursday-Friday
December 11-12
Barnes & Noble
Book Fair
Code #403741
Friday
December 12
Admission Tour
9:15am
Wednesday
December 17
Admission Tour
9:15am
Thursday
December 18
Winterfest
6:30pm
Friday
December 19
Early Dismissal;
No Aftercare
PS-K: 11:45am
1-5: Noon
Monday-Friday
December 22 - January 2nd
Winter Break
No School!
Monday
January 5
School Resumes
December 11, 2008
Gung Ho Westside Parents
Winterfest 2008
Baked Goods Still Needed for Winterfest
Annual Giving Update
From Jo Ann - The Homework Controversy Part 2
Shopping at Barnes & Noble
Blue Plate Update
Enrichment Class Update
Food & Baby Supply Drive
Toys for Tots - or the Burien Firestation
Gung-HO Westside Parents!
By Celesta Bjornson, Auction Chair
This year’s SPIRIT auction celebrates our children and the Gung-Ho parents, teachers and administrators that work together to make Westside School a wonderful and special place for our children. The 20th Annual Westside SPIRIT Auction is Saturday, March 7th at the Hall at Fauntleroy. The auction team has already been hard at work to make this year’s event an amazing celebration and we have some very exciting improvements and announcements that I would like to share.
*Procurement starts January 5th and ends January 29th. The auction is 3 weeks earlier than last year; that means that procurement MUST end 3 weeks earlier - on January 29th! Start thinking about procurement ideas now so you’re ready when we get back to school on January 5th.
What is procurement? Procurement just means donating an item or two to the auction. Our hope is that every family donates something.
What are good procurement ideas, you ask? Items that do the best in the auction are ones that sell for the highest percentage of value, ideally 100% or more. Item’s that qualify could be worth any amount - $25, $250, $2,500.
Here are some ideas:
- Gift Certificates
- Restaurants
- Unique Experiences
- Unique item, one of a kind, homemade
- Kid’s items
- Travel
- Parties
- Wine and Food
- Spa and Beauty
*On-line Silent auction (kind of like Ebay) - This year Silent 1 and Silent 2 will be an online.
*On-line procurement forms- Procurement forms will be available in 3 forms, the original hard copy and/or PDF that you can hand-in to the office, and an online form that you submit with just a click of your mouse!
*Silent but Dadly – Back by popular demand! This year, we plan to have a special section in Silent 3 dedicated to daddies! We also plan to have items just for ladies *Silence of the Moms* and items just for children.
Please start thinking about procurement and be ready with your idea’s January 5th. We need your help - all of our best items come from you, the Gung-Ho parents of Westside School, working together for our children.
Winterfest 2008
By Cathy Chutich, Music Teacher
Next Thursday night, December 18th, we’ll all be meeting together at Grace Church for Winterfest. This year the theme is Great Big Stars. We’ve got songs from nature, a few lullabies, and songs which feature instruments. The program starts at 6:30 pm, so please have your children with their teachers by 6:15pm.
Be prepared to sing songs together with the whole school. This can be a very powerful experience. I’ve watched children be almost overcome with emotion as they sing with others for the first time, and I’ve also seen the smiles on grown-up faces as they hear young voices singing out. It’s a wonderful way of building community and being part of something bigger than yourself – things our culture experiences less and less often these days.
The songs the whole school will be singing are Westside Song, Welcome Here, This Little Light of Mine, the Riddle Song, Over the River, and one of our all time favorites, O Chanukkah, which makes most kids want to dance and sing it again and again. Ask Sam, now in 4th grade, who used to request it all throughout the year. See you at Winterfest 2008!
Baked Goods for Winterfest Still Needed - Sign-Up Online Now!
Thank you to those of you who have signed up to bring treats for after the Winterfest performance next Thursday. We are still looking for more volunteers to ensure we have enough for everyone. Click here to sign up online.
Please note that we have children with peanut and other nut allergies, so please avoid all nuts and peanut butter in your recipes, and read labels carefully if you’re buying.
For your guidance:
1. No peanut ingredients - please read labels on store bought
2. Label your tray if you need it returned,
3. Label your item if it is a specialty item, i.e.,”Non-Dairy,” “No Egg.” “Gluten Free,” “Vegan,” etc.
4. Quantities are by the dozen, so if you’re signing up for “2” that would be 2 dozen.
Many thanks for helping make this a special event. Questions? Email or call Kate Petrich: katepetrich@gmail.com.
Annual Giving Update
100% participation = $1000 per classroom
Congratulations to the following classes for reaching 100% since last week: Nancy’s PS class, Stuart’s Kindergarten class and Judith’s 4th grade class! Each class has earned Westside $1000 for reaching our participation goal; $3000 more for Westside School!
98% of our families have participated! Great job! Thank you so much for your contributions! If your class hasn’t reached 100% yet, there’s still time. All it takes is a donation of any amount. Click here to donate.
From Jo Ann
Article #2 Westside School’s Homework Expectations
The NEA (National Education Association) recommends that the amount of homework be 10 minutes per grade per night, or 10 minutes in 1st grade, 20 minutes in 2nd grade, 30 - 60 minutes in grades 3-5. While this is the professional “rule of thumb,” Westside School teachers assign meaningful homework not in order to meet minimum/maximum time recommendations but by matching their knowledge of child development with curriculum objectives.
During the early stages of skill acquisition, frequent practice and timely feedback is required for mastery and follow-up practice is required over time to maintain the skill. For example, internalizing long division usually takes lots of practice.
Beyond skill practice, homework helps students deepen their understanding of content, effectively extending learning beyond the confines of the school day to investigate topics more fully than time allows in the classroom. Also, assignments can help students prepare for a new topic. Before a lesson on measurement, for instance, students are asked to go home and find out how someone they know uses measurements.
In addition, Westside School wants students to read independently each night. In selecting independent reading at home, a variety of age-appropriate fiction, nonfiction, magazines, and newspapers are appropriate. This takes energy, especially for our young students after a full day! So Westside believes a parent reading aloud to children can support nightly reading requirements.
Teachers need to communicate that completing homework is an obligation as a member of the class. Missed homework has to be completed during free choice or recess. These short-term consequences are usually successful for the conscientious student. If missed homework is a chronic behavior, teachers implement a more strategic approach which involves incremental steps to success. Westside School does no formal homework in early school or kindergarten, though work may be sent home at the discretion of the teacher to communicate with parents, but there is no consequence if it is not returned to school. And never does a Westside teacher assign homework as punishment.
Westside School recognizes that it is important for children to participate in family activities and in other enrichment/physical activities other than doing schoolwork. There are many outside resources available as well as our own opportunities for after-school enrichment classes. Our teachers are aware of the need to balance homework with the reality of modern life. If time management is a problem, parents are encouraged to talk with teachers about implementing homework expectations for success. Only then will homework be effective in improving students’ sense of responsibility and accomplishment, their academic skills, and their independent study habits.
(Next week: #3 “Parent’s Role in Homework”)
Holiday Shopping at Barnes & Noble Supports Westside School
Thursday and Friday, December 11-12
Gift-wrapping from 3-7pm
Book Fair Code #403741
Shop at Barnes & Noble today or tomorrow, give them the Book Fair Code 403741 and Westside’s 4th and 5th graders earn 10% of your purchase! Visit the Westwood Village store between 3 and 7, and 4’s and 5’ers will wrap your purchase! Want to buy a book for your child’s classroom library? Teacher “wish-lists” will be on-hand.
Update from Blue Plate Express
Remember to order lunches for January before Christmas Break. Also, check out the new ala carte items on the January order form. Happy Holidays!
After School Enrichment Classes
Session Two
The always popular after-school enrichment classes will return the week of January 12th. This time around, we’re registering a new way! You will be required to pay by credit card and/or debit card when you sign-up. Look for an email next week with class and registration information.
Food and Baby Supply Drive
The 5th graders are hosting a food and baby supply drive this year from December 5th-12th, 2008. They will give the food to the West Seattle Food Bank, and the baby supplies to Westside Baby. Boxes are outside each classroom.
Toys For Tots or Toys for the Burien Fire Department
By Marsha Lovely, Kindergarten Teacher
Last year our Kindergarten sponsored a collection for Toys For Tots. This year the need is greater than ever. Many families are unable to afford even the smallest gift. It would be awful to think there are children out there that receive nothing for Christmas. We will have a collection box set out in front of my kindergarten class, room 115. We will deliver the toys to the fire department in Burien on the last day of school before Winter Break. Please go and pick something out with your child and deliver to the decorated box in the hallway, and thank you for your kindness. (New and unwrapped gifts please.) Happy Holidays