Friday
January 22
Assembly
9:30am Featuring 2nd Grade
Spirit/Pizza Day
Movie Night
Featuring
The Cat Returns
5:45pm
Thursday
January 28
Last Day to Turn in Procurement Forms for $100 Cactus Drawing!!!
Experience Learning Night
6:30pm
Friday
January 29
In-Service Day
No Classes; Childcare Available
Monday
February 1
Last tuition payment due for the 2009-2010 school year!
Thursday-Friday
February 4-5
Parent/Teacher Conferences
No School; Childcare Available
January 21, 2010
Items of the Week!
Movie Night Tomorrow
Experience Learning Night
Update on the Korean Teachers
Auction Insights
Kindergarten Looks at the Weather
Grinning with Glee
Childcare Available for Jan. 29, Feb. 4 and 5
Pizza Day Volunteers Needed
Civil Rights Lawyer Henry Aronson is visiting the 4th and 5th grade class today. Read the Westside School blog later for detailed information!
Items of the Week!
By Kate Petrich & Roshele Allison, Auction Procurement Chairs
WOW! What a great way to start things off!! Thank you all for the terrific donations. I’m sure you are excited to see what the “Items of the Week” are. So, without further ado:
1. $25 to Full Tilt Ice Cream… Delicious gourmet ice-cream! Who says you can’t have fun AND eat ice cream?
2. A Kindle… Perfect for all you readers out there! Don’t like the book you’re reading? No worries. Download another. Finished early? Another book is just a second away!
As you may know, the auction gears move as we receive your donations. The sooner we receive your donations, the more quickly we can present you with a soon to be sizzling catalog. During these last crunch-time days, caffeine reaches its limit, so please empathize with us auction volunteers - minimize our haggard/weepy look by turning in your procurement forms and items before the deadline next Thursday, 1/28/10. By submitting your donation by the 28th you will also be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate at Cactus Restaurant. Out of time? Uninspired? Cool Cash never goes out of style! (Click here to donate online.)
Questions? We are at your service: Roshele (daveroshele@comcast.net, 938.1989) and (katepetrich@gmail.com 988.5820)
Family Movie Night, Tomorrow
Featuring: The Cat Returns (G)
5:45pm-Doors Open for Pizza
6pm-The Cat Returns
Free Admission!
By Kate Petrich, WPO President
Invite relatives, neighbors and friends to “journey to a magical world” at our second Movie Night of the year! Everyone is welcome at this gigantic Westside playdate, and admission is free. Come hungry and leave dinner to us: Pizza Gallery pizza, popcorn and snacks will be available for sale. Pajamas, pillows, sleeping bags, teddies are all fun, optional gear. Hope to see you there!
Experience Learning Night
Thursday, January 28th, 6:30-7:30pm
Playing to Learn
One of the best ways to teach is by using games, when students learn while having fun. Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science skills can all be practiced through games. One of the cornerstones of the curriculum at Westside School is experiential learning. Teachers work to create engaging lessons that often include a hands-on learning component where students put into practice what they are learning. Often, this hands-on learning piece is a game played in small groups or as a class.
On Thursday night our students will teach you, our guests, the games they play at school. Please join us for what promises to be a fun-filled evening. Due to the large number of people expected, we ask that each child bring only one parent or adult and that siblings do not attend. After you experience learning in your child’s class, please take a moment to visit other classrooms and see what challenges and fun are in your child’s future! Overflow parking available at Grace Church.
An Update on our Korean Teachers
Have you heard anything at home about our visiting Korean teachers? The three teachers have been here almost two weeks, spending time in classrooms observing and teaching lessons. They are here as part of a practicum for their English Teacher Training Program, a process that includes 4 months of training in Korea and two months of training in the United States. Their school, the Gangwon International Language Institute, is partnered with Seattle Pacific University for this program that strives to teach teachers to “teach English in English.” While here, they are taking classes at SPU, participating in a home-stay program and, as you know, observing and teaching here at Westside.
On Tuesday of this week, several dignitaries visited Westside and observed this program in action. Guests included the Vice-Superintendent and Supervisor of the Office of Education in Gangwon, the Superintendent of the Gangwon International Language Institute, the Assistant Program Director at SPU for the Associates in Cultural Exchange (ACE) and a Consultant/Interpreter for ACE. These guests toured the campus, watched Korean teacher Alex teach Tae Kwon Do to the 5th grade and enjoyed a very American lunch of sandwiches, potato salad and cookies. Tomorrow will be the teachers last day here at Westside.
What have we learned?
- In Korea, the school hours are very similar to ours, but they also attend school every other Saturday.
- They have an average of 35 students in each class
- The 4th and 5th grade students were able to compare the differences between the Chinese and Korean characters, and they learned to write their name in Korean.
- “We are more alike than different.”
What have we heard?
They are impressed by our students’ behavior. According to them, in Korea there is a vast difference between abilities in class, and taking time to teach to the lower abilities can cause classroom management issues.
New to the Auction or Westside School? Parent Amy Eby Shares Her Auction Insights!
By Amy Eby, Kindergarten Parent
First, I want to say that the Auction is my favorite outing of the year (maybe I have a lame social life...). This will be my third year, and each year it has been a blast to get dressed up and watch (and participate in) the spectacle that is the Auction. There has also been a learning curve--for instance, the goal is to get the school more money, NOT to get the bargain of the century. If you see someone who is REALLY interested in an item, it is great fun to bid against them in order to “drive the price up”. It’s my one and only night of “gambling” each year! My husband accidentally got himself female snow boarding boots but NO snowboard last year . . .and no females around who can snow board. . .Also, I have learned that anything that you pay for that is ABOVE the retail price is tax deductible. Many people budget the amount they plan on spending at the auction in their finances for the year, and/or their charitable donations for the year. There are opportunities during the live auction to donate directly to the school, without taking home an item (sometimes you just don’t find the dream gift/vacation you’ve always wanted). For example, Westside’s “Fund-A-Wish” (one year these donations paid for renovations to the library and art classrooms). You can donate as much or as little as you wish, and it is completely tax-deductible.
The auction begins a week or so before the actual event (3/20) with the online auction. We usually have so many items that they cannot all fit in the space provided at the Hall at Fauntleroy, so last year was the first year that some items were sold online--those that you don’t necessarily need to see or touch to purchase (like gift cards/spa days). This is a fun way to get in the spirit of the auction, and allows those who may not make it to the actual event (like out of town grandparents) to bid and purchase gifts. Last year my husband and I were bidding against each other on the same item, driving up the price. . .). It is recommended that you choose an alias for this online bidding, so that not everyone in the school knows what you are buying/spending, except maybe your spouse! Raffle tickets are also sold prior to the event and the evening of the auction, and the raffle is drawn during the auction. Ads are also placed in the Auction catalog to cover it’s production costs. You can purchase personal ads, or ask a business that may have ties to Westside to do so. Our class will place a “Thank you” ad to Sarah (paid for from the class donations from the beginning of the year).
The Auction itself is a long but totally entertaining evening, with first the silent auctions, then live auction during the sit-down dinner, followed by FABULOUS desserts. Guests are asked to bring a bottle of wine to the event, then this whole collection is auctioned off as an item. The desserts are displayed in all their glory as you enter the dining room, then each participant writes down the amount they will pay for the dessert. Each table’s donations are added up, and the table with the highest donation gets to pick dessert first, and then the second highest, etc. Even the last table is guaranteed to have a great treat!
With all of this said, the auction is only possible because of the donations procured by each family. The hope is that each family will contribute at least one item. If you have favorite places/connections/businesses, the ideal way to obtain an item is to ask that business if they would donate the item to Westside. Many businesses are more than willing to do this for their own advertising and tax deduction purposes. Last year some examples were: gift certificate for Circus classes at SANCA, gift certificate for drama camp, local business gift cards. If they are not able to donate, then you may purchase the item and give it to the Auction committee (tax deductible). The other option is to donate a skill or time or other craft that others may want to purchase--for example: a ride to the airport whenever someone needs it; weeding or landscape care for 4 hours; freshly baked cookies once a month for six months; babysitting services; homemade crafts; re-gift an item you’ve received but don’t need (like a Wii). . . .the possibilities are endless. Also, consider going in with another family or two for your donation (a giant basket of pasta/cheese/whatever. . . a gift that is too pricey to donate by yourself. . .a party to be hosted at someone’s home. . .).
There are some past years catalogs on the table outside the office if you’d like to look through them.
Kindergarten Looks at the Weather!
By Sarah Howard, Kindergarten Teacher
Kindergarteners are exploring weather and the 5 senses. This science unit covers everything from making individual flags (which we are using to graph how windy it is) to learning how to use a thermometer. Of course, our 5 senses are used heavily in this unit. We have headed outside in small groups to record what we can hear, feel, see and smell about weather! The kids made great observations- they could hear the wind in the trees and saw multiple kinds of clouds moving across the sky, as well as smelled mud and grass. Our science unit is integrated across the board into other subjects. The students have written about weather in journals, done Venn diagrams about what to wear in hot vs. cold weather, graphed weather daily and experienced it first hand during many, many wet recesses!
Grinning With Glee
By Donna Jornlin, PE Teacher
As I looked around the gym in before-care recently, I was struck at how much that first hour of the morning reminded me of field day; pre-schoolers joyously hollering a 5th grader’s name, tugging on their hand to play a game with them, tricycles motoring around the perimeter of a balloon badminton game, and Tara & Ildi turning the long jump rope for three kindergartners learning to team jump. Giggles & grins are a great way to start your morning. Come to think of it, play is probably just what we all need a bit more of. A group decides they’re ready for a game & the vote today is for kickball. First up, a five year old. Someone calls out, “Little guy rule!” and everyone knows to let the pre-schooler run to first base without being thrown out. The swim noodle hockey games are epic as are the multiple hula hooping marathons! Kids on stilts weave between the hopper balls while a group of several grades builds a cup tower taller than themselves. That seamless blending of ages & creative cooperative play is one of the wonders of our school.
Our lunch recess Mileage Club runners & walkers are racking up the miles, even in this crazy weather. Several second graders have surpassed 35 miles, with the majority of participants at 10-20 miles. Way to move it!
All Day Childcare Registration Online
There’s no school on Friday, January 29 and February 4 and 5. All day care is available on those days for $42 each day. Sign up online. Conferences during your conferences only is available free of charge.
Pizza Day Volunteers Needed!
Thank you to all the parents who have been volunteering their time and making Pizza Days a wonderful success! We are now looking for a few additional parents who are available for the first Pizza Day of the month. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Astrid Klopsch directly at astrid@littleengineinc.com.
General Commitment: 11:40am–12:10pm
Remaining Pizza Days: Feb 12, Mar 12, Apr 9, May 14, June 4th.
Note: It is not necessary to commit to each of the dates.