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
Friday
January 30
In-Service Day
No Classes; Childcare Available
Saturday
January 31
Re-enrollment applications mailed
January 22, 2009
It's Time! It's Time! For Procurement
All School Inauguration Assembly
Family Movie Night
Experience Learning Night
News from Blue Plate Express
In Service/Conference All Day Childcare
Tuition Assistance for the 2008-2009 (current) School Year
Sharing in 2nd Grade
Late for Pick-Up?
Music Notes
IT’S TIME!!! IT’S TIME!!!
By Tracy Sundberg, Procurement Chair
•The procurement deadline for the auction is just ONE week away, January 29.
•We don’t need the items, yet; just the completed form. It’s so easy to fill it out online (click here) or extra forms are outside the school office.
•We can really use kid’s items and restaurant certificates.
•Thank you to all the donors who’ve stepped up so far. We’re getting there but still need about 175 items.
•If anyone has or knows someone who could donate framing services, we have two autographed collectables that are in need. Contact Tracy@ipmseattle.com to arrange.
All School Inauguration Day Assembly
By Evan Hundley, Explorer West Head
It has been a long time since Westside School and Explorer West Middle School held a joint assembly. Westside Head of School Jo Ann Yockey said it hadn’t been done since she took the job five years ago. But when she proposed the idea of our two schools getting together to watch the Inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama, I thought it was a great idea.
Over 275 kids and staff sat in the gym to watch the historic event. The kindergarten class kicked off the ceremony by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance. As I watched the proceedings, I was so glad that I had Kleenex handy. I really needed it. I was very impressed that the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students could sit patiently through the ceremony. It was great to watch not only our country come together, but also our two schools.
Family Movie Night
Tomorrow, January 23rd
5:45pm Doors Open for Concessions and Beatrix Potter Cartoons
6:15pm Feature Film: Balto
(Rated G, 1hr 18min)
By Kate Petrich, WPO President
New this Movie Night: Trader Joe’s beef or soy hotdogs. Come hungry and enjoy! For more Movie Night details and information about this “wholesome wintertime adventure,” click here to see last week’s article.
Experience Learning Night
Featuring Math!
Thursday, Jan. 29, 6:30-7:30PM
Do you remember math in grade school? Well, it sure looks a lot different now! How different? Come and find out at Experience Learning Night! It’s a great opportunity for you to visit your child’s classroom and get a glimpse of how math is presented today. Math is more than numbers and operations. Our children learn algebraic thinking, geometry, measurement, data analysis and probability, and problem solving.
Westside teaches students to learn to construct mathematical concepts from meaningful experiences. Making math relevant helps students develop connections; as they see the necessity for knowing math, they build motivation. Experience Learning Night is a fun way to experience math together. By playing math games with your child, you help his or her appreciation of math grow. And, it’s fun!
Due to the large number of people expected, we ask that each child bring only one adult. We also request that you do not bring siblings. After you share the math in your classroom, please take a moment to visit other classrooms and see what challenges and fun await!
Hot Lunch Update
By Blue Plate Express
Blue Plate Lunch menus for February are posted online and ready to order. Don’t forget our deadline for online ordering is Sunday night at 8:00! Happy New Year!
In-Service & Conference Childcare
Friday, Jan. 30 and
Thursday - Friday,
Feb. 5 & 6
8am - 5pm
Do you need childcare during our in-service day in January and/or all-day care during our two conference days in February? Sign up now! We have 20 spaces available for PK and K students and 20 spaces available for students in grades 1-5. Parents with contracted childcare (not drop-in) had first dibs on registration. Registration is now open up to all parents.
Childcare on these days starts at 8am and ends at 5 pm. The rate for the entire day is $40 per child. Payment is required when you sign up. There will be no refunds, so please check your schedule first. Click here to register.
Drop-in care for Westside students, for the length of the parent conference only, is available free of charge.
Tuition Assistance
for the Current School Year
On February 1, we will mail your re-enrollment contract for next year. Before we accept a contract for any family, it is necessary that you do not have any outstanding charges for this current school year’s tuition.
These are difficult economic times. Every year at the auction, we raise tuition assistance money to help families in need. If you feel that you may need this help for the current school year (2008-2009), please let us know ASAP. Applying for tuition assistance is a formal process that requires an application to Westside and information sent to the School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS). Please contact the Westside School office for the appropriate forms by February 2nd.
• The completed Parents’ Financial Statement should be sent to SSS in Princeton, New Jersey ASAP. Remember to enclose the $20.00 processing fee and include the four-digit code number (1796) for Westside in Item 7A of the Parents’ Financial Statement. This step can also be done online.
• Submit to Westside School a copy of your most recent, signed IRS 1040 tax form with supporting schedules and W-2’s, and, if applicable, the Business/Farm Statement.
• In addition, fill out and submit the Westside School Tuition Assistance Application form to the Westside Office, which asks you to specify the amount of assistance you are requesting.
All this information must be completed and turned into the accounting office February 13th to be eligible for any assistance for the 2008-2009 school year. If you are planning to apply for tuition assistance for the 2009-2010 school year, applications are due March 1.
Questions? Please contact our Director of Finance Julie Jetland at juliej@westsideschool.org.
Sharing in 2nd Grade
By Laura Holmes, 2nd Grade Teacher
Setting time aside for Sharing is an important monthly event in my classroom. The topic of Sharing for Second Graders is usually connected to our monthly theme. Gathering together and learning from one another is a powerful scene. There are certain ground rules set in advance and reinforced each time—how to prepare/choose the item at home, how to appropriately handle the disappointment of forgetting the item at home and modeling proper listening and responding manners.
Social and academic learning is integrated throughout the day. Sharing is one way to accomplish this essential component to learning. Making choices in their learning helps children make their own discoveries. Sharing provides each child a way to make a choice in representing their knowledge with an object and with sharing their knowledge during their discussion time.
Last week’s Sharing connected to our study of Ancient Egypt. There was quite a variety of sharing and learning taking place. A Cleopatra costume sparked a discussion of Cleopatra’s life and death. A pyramid built with Magentix helped us see in 3-D and get a sense of the scale of the Giza pyramids. A diorama of some features of Ancient Egypt set the stage for looking at the map of Ancient Egypt. Several examples of mummies were shared and will be referenced during a mummification science experiment.
Within the next week or so I’m expecting to be asked, “Laura, when can we have Sharing?” We are looking forward to the next round of Sharing. It is fun learning experience!
Late for Pickup?
Our after school program is running near capacity and on most days there is no room to accommodate children who are not registered. Teachers will no longer bring children, who have not been picked up on time, to after-school care.
Children who are not picked up on time will wait in the office until someone arrives to get them. If you are late picking up your child, expect a phone call from your child’s teacher, and, once you get here, please come into the office to pick him or her up.
Remember, our school office closes at 4:00. If you are unable to pick up your children for an extended time period, sign them into after school care or make other arrangements.
Musical Notes
By Cathy Chutich, Music Teacher
Whole Note: All classes at Winterfest displayed terrific singing and musicianship. I was delighted that the students remembered the music after a three-week break and that everyone had a fun and relaxed evening. It goes to show that we can all be accomplished musicians no matter what age we are.
Half note: The entire school has an opportunity to see an opera excerpt from Tales of Hoffman. Northwest Opera In Schools, Etc. (N.O.I.S.E. for short) will be appearing at Westside in March. They’ll come into our gym with sets, costumes and singers and transform the gym into a magical place. This might be their seventh appearance at school. Before their arrival, we’ll spend time getting prepared for the experience.
Quarter note: The fifth graders have been invited to hear the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall. Carolyn Kuan will conduct a wonderful program, devised especially for fifth graders, which will feature Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins. We’re lucky to have good music of all kinds in our area.
Eighth note: My son Toby, a former Westsider, is now playing in one of the Garfield High School orchestras. They often hold free concerts in the commons of the school. This is a great opportunity to get up close to an orchestra, listen to music in an informal setting, and come and go as you please – you don’t need to stay long to get your money’s worth! Check out their website for dates: www.garfieldorchestra.org
Sixteenth note: Just had one of my favorite students over to our house for an instrument jam and informal recording session. It was so much fun that I’m going to offer it as an auction item. We’ve got guitars galore, cello, bass, and piano, and we didn’t bring out the violin, horn or flute…
