Monday
January 19
Martin Luther
King Jr. Day
NO SCHOOL
Wednesday
January 21
Board Meeting
6:30pm
Friday
January 23
Admission Tour 9:15am
Spirit/Pizza Day
Movie Night
Doors Open at 5:45pm
Saturday
January 24
Admission
Open House
1-3pm
Tuesday
January 27
Admission Tour
9:15am
Thursday
January 29
AUCTION PROCUREMENT DEADLINE!
Experience Learning Night
6:30pm
January 15, 2009
The Auction Basics
Family Movie Night
Inaugaration Day
Chinese New Year
Summer Camp
From Jo Ann - Homework #3
Winterfest Thanks & DVD
Hola Families
Golley, What a Volley!
Admissions Update
The Auction Basics
By Celesta Bjornson,
Auction Chair
Show your Gung-Ho spirit and
- Donate an item this week! Not only do you show your Gung-Ho spirit, you also are entered into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate to Cactus restaurant! Drawings are held on Monday, with the winner announced on Tuesday in the Auction Extra email.
- Donate an item before the donation deadline, January 29th.
- Donate online! Click here.
It is so easy to donate online. I am a fairly computer illiterate person and I donated 2 items yesterday and was so happy ‘cause it’s so easy!!! Plus, donating online makes the database team happy! It cuts down on their work! Just remember to include as much detail as possible.
Show your Gung-Ho Spirit and donate today!
Family Movie Night
Friday, January 23rd
Featuring: Balto (1hr 18min, rated G)
5:45pm Doors open for a cartoon trailer
6:15pm Balto (1hr 18min)
Free Admission!
By Kate Petrich, WPO President
Jan Ellis, our Movie Night chair, invites you to Westside’s second Movie Night of the year. We’ll begin with a short 25 minute cartoon trailer followed by Balto. Both movies are rated “G”. Kids can leave after the 25 minute cartoon trailer or stay for both. Something New: Along with the popcorn, this night we’ll be premiering delicious regular or soy hot dogs.
Everyone - friends, neighbors, grandparents, parents, students – is invited and admission is free. Kids are welcome to come dressed in their PJ’s; bring pillows, mats, sleeping bags, etc. Adult chairs will be set-up for parents behind the mats.
Based on a true story, Balto is about a part Husky/part wolf who’s noble spirit leads a team of sled dogs 600 miles through the blinding Artic snow to bring a life saving vaccine to the children of Nome. For more about this “wholesome wintertime adventure”, please click here.
Fun volunteer jobs are still available. For more information, please contact our movie night chair, Jan Ellis: jan326@comcast.net or call 206-244-9836. So come hungry and share your snow stories!
Westside School Presents
Inauguration Day - January 20
By Stuart Scolnik, Kindergarten Teacher & Staff Reporter
EVERYBODY KNOWS that on January 20, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as our first African American President. But, did you know that on March 4, 1793, George Washington delivered the first and shortest inaugural address at just 135 words? And, on March 4, 1929, Herbert Hoover’s inauguration was the first inaugural ceremony recorded by talking newsreel! On January 20, 1997, William Clinton’s inaugural ceremony was the first to be broadcast live on the internet.
On January 20, Westside School will join this list of firsts by presenting the inauguration to the students and staff. The projection begins at 1:10 pm in the gym. While the speech will surely be more than 135 words, every word promises to be just as memorable.
For more facts and firsts, click here!
Westside School Ushers in the “Year of the Ox” Chinese New Year
On Thursday, January 22 at 9:45 am performers from Madison Middle School will arrive to thrill us all with a traditional Lion Dance. The generosity of Westside parent Teresa McNally and the hard work of our own Steven Whiting have made this event possible.
Please feel free to join us in the gym to witness this special presentation.
Innerspark Westside School’s Summer Camp Program
Dates
July 13-17
July 20-24
July 27-30
Mark your calendars! We are in the process of finalizing details for the 2009 Innerspark summer program. This year we will include classes for incoming kindergarten students as well as those starting grades 1 – 5 in September. The classes will also be available for non-Westside students.
Classes will revolve around a common theme – Science as Art. Children will be creating windmills, whirligigs, kites, popsicle bridges, 3-D geometric sculptures, building musical instruments, and more.
Watch for more details and sign-up instructions over the next few weeks.
From Jo Ann
Parent’s Role in Homework
Parents want to know to what extent they should review homework and offer corrections or help. The parents’ role is to help children do their homework themselves. Talking about the assignment can help the child figure out what needs to be done. A simple explanation is well within acceptable help. Sometimes we all need to hear something again. Reviewing a completed assignment can also be helpful. Generally, parents should point out incorrect items and encourage their child to go over incorrect work. Let the teacher know which items have been missed, or if the child is taking more time than expected and is becoming frustrated with the task. Homework is meant as practice, so your child should complete it easily. If there are struggles let the teacher know, so assignments can be differentiated for success.
When we ask children to do homework, they need to follow directions, organize their materials, manage their time, and work independently. Your role is to help them manage time by setting up a schedule and set up a place where distractions are removed and have supplies and resources on hand.
Westside School realizes that some project-based homework enhances learning beyond the classroom. Such homework has as its objective a shared learning experience. With these assignments, the teacher is expected to delineate the type of adult support required as it relates to grade level expectations. Learning together communicates that school learning is important.
As professional educators, Westside School teaches, re-teaches and nurtures skills, but home is where educational roots are planted. Family activities, other than schoolwork, can provide worthwhile learning. These activities are self-enforcing and support my belief that learning is motivation for more learning. Parents should read and talk about achievement and share experiences with their child.
I believe homework is only part of school life, but when it is intentional, it sets up our students for academic success.
Winterfest Thanks
& DVD’s Available!
Did you love Winterfest? Wish you could see it again? Now’s your chance! Winterfest DVD’s will be available to purchase! Stay tuned for more information!
Thank you to everyone who baked and/or brought cookies! They were a huge hit!
¡Hola Familias!
By Ashley Kloess, Spanish Teacher
I hope you all enjoyed your snow-filled vacations! We learned lots of new words and phrases in Spanish class before vacation. Here is an update on what each age group has been working on.
In preschool and PreK, we continued to review old songs like, “el pollo” and “Me gusta comer” (I like to eat apples and bananas). We also continue to begin class with the “Buenos Días” song and end with the “Adios” song. Between Thanksgiving, me catching the bug that so many of the staff got, and snow, we didn’t have as many classes as normal. However, we did learn the word, “pavo” for turkey and the phrase, “día de gracias” for Thanksgiving. In PreK, we began with weather the Monday before break and will continue to work on those words for another class or two.
In kindergarten, we have been learning about weather and will continue to do more with this in January. Before this, we learned the days of the week and months of the year. For a cultural artistic experience, we will be talking about poinsettias and making them with construction paper.
In first and second grade, we reviewed the days of the week, months of the year, and other basic words that correlate with that theme. The second graders worked on the “Soy una Pizza” song and sang it for Special Friends Day. They did a fabulous job performing! To learn about Christmas in Mexico, we read Legend of the Poinsettia in first grade and Too Many Tamales in second grade. To have a cultural experience, we are learning about amate bark paintings that are sold in places like Oaxaca, Mexico and re-creating our own with grocery bags.
In third grade, we reviewed days of the week, months, seasons, and other basic words that go with the theme. Then we learned winter and holiday words. The students wrote mini-books about their vacation plans. Then we learned about Huichol Indians’ yarn art and made ojos de dios (God’s eyes).
In fourth and fifth grade we put everything we learned about the days of the week, seasons, months, verbs, and a few other new phrases into libritos-little books. The students floored me with how fast they picked up the nearly twenty verbs that we learned and used many of them in their libritos. They were very creative and did a great job! The fourth grade will finish this week and then it’s my turn to read them! For a cultural experience, these grades learned about the Huichol Indians’ yarn art and made their own decorations! Hasta luego!
Golly! What a Volley!
By Donna Jornlin, PE Teacher
Hand/eye coordination is such an integral part of many aspects of our daily lives, that we often take it for granted. It’s brought home to me each day working with a wide range of ages & developmental levels. Several times throughout the school year, I like to infuse the gym with the magic of balloons, because they always bring a smile to an activity & are an easy introduction to the skill of volleying. The intermediate grades work together in cooperative games, 3 students holding hands to form a triangle while keeping the balloon aloft with any other part of their body. It requires communication, quick shuffling changes of direction & lots of giggling! On the opposite end of the spectrum, the pre-school students each have their own balloon & lots & lots of space to keep them aloft. Beach balls are the next step for pre-school & kindergartners & provide a bit more challenge keeping those in the air.
First & second grades are intoduced to racquet skills with junior size badminton racquets & balloons that allow plenty of time to react. The students walked in last week to find nine hula hoops on the floor around the gym, filled with various size balls & different racquets. At one they volleyed a balloon to each other, at another station they were to work independently bouncing a soft ball on a paddle. The third, fourth & fifth graders had shuttlecocks (in preparation for our badminton unit) & heavier balls at some stations to provide more challenge. It was 20 minutes of intense focus & terrific skill practice!
On the health front, each class is discussing the importance of washing your hands, when it’s essential & for how long. Ask them about “Henry the Hand” & the t-zone (keeping hands away from your eyes, nose & mouth to prevent germs from getting in). As the flu season hits, it’s a good time to remember to cough into your elbow & stay healthy.
Westside School Admissions
Westside has been having a busy admissions season. If you have any family or friends interested in Westside for next year, please let them know that our last Open House is Saturday, Jan. 24 from 1-3pm and they can also contact the school to sign up for one of our 4 remaining parent tours. If you have a sibling who you would like to enroll in Westside this fall, please remember that all application materials are due to the school by February 13.