Friday
June 8
Field Day
Spirit/Pizza Day
Monday
June 11
New 2nd grade teacher meets with 1st grade parents 5pm. Childcare Available
Wednesday
June 13
1st to the Zoo
Graduation and Spirit Awards Grades 1-5
6:30pm
Thursday
June 14
Last Day of School
PS, PK and K
Dismiss at 11:45
Meet at Lincoln Park Shelter 3
Grades 1-5
Dismiss at Noon
No Aftercare!
June 7, 2007
From Jo Ann - It's the Last Update. What an Exhilarating Year!
Congratulations Westside Graduates!
Graduation/Awards Night for 1st-5th Grade Families
Yearbooks
Field Day 2007 is Tomorrow
Fortunately Unfortunately
From Jo Ann
It ‘s the Last Update
What an Exhilarating Year!
Every year I keep thinking that the years are flying by faster and faster, and think this perception must be a function of aging. However with the last day of school next week, this particular year seems lickity-split. If I look at all the things happening at Westside in 2006-2007, I feel breathless. It is amazing the number of things this community has done!
With the addition of a second kindergarten, we welcomed Marsha and Margaret. Westside School applied for and met the requirements of Licensing by the Department of Early Learning. Behind the scenes, our teachers presented our curriculum in a retreat with our Board of Trustees. WPO hosted presentations by teachers highlighting our P.E, art, music and library program; and I talked about how our school uses the ERB results for continuous improvement and what those results should mean to parents. The teachers worked with our Studies Chair, to revise our report card and define our rating criteria.
The teachers evaluated our math curriculum and selected Saxon math as a baseline for our program. Teachers worked with a Learning Coordinator to screen some of our students to find out how best to support their learning. We were able to increase our campus support with more tutoring hours for those parents who requested this service. I used a new teacher evaluation instrument to help our teachers in their continued pursuit of excellence.
Our admissions season was incredibly successful. We mailed 237 packets, receiving 98 applications (approximately a 200% increase over previous years.) Westside is anticipating our enrollment to grow from 139 students to 172 for 2007-2008, realizing our plan to add a second first grade class next year. Facilities are keeping up with the growth with the installation of the new portable, which will add two more classrooms, and the renovation of our house on the back of our campus, to accommodate our growing auxiliary space needs.
In May, the Board of Trustees hosted a town meeting to get input from the Westside community on what they love about Westside School and don’t want to lose as the school grows. Our fundraising was amazing with both annual giving and auction surpassing their goals.
This summer looks just as busy as we get the campus ready for what will surely be another exhilarating year. I don’t think this community will lie still and wait to see what comes. Around here we tend to make the future, not just wait for it. Thank you everyone who has shaped our future so far.
Congratulations Westside Graduates!
Though the class of 2007 is small, never underestimate the talent of this gaggle of learners! They will scatter around the city for middle school this fall.
Sasha will attend Explorer West;
Mariam will attend Madison Middle School;
Ann will attend Northwest; and,
Ben will attend Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences.
For both the Webber-Bruya family and the Wexler family, this is a fond farewell. Ann’s sister Elizabeth graduated in 2004, and Ben’s sister Rebecca graduated in 2005. Thank you for your support over these years.
The best to each of the grads as we say good-bye, and as they venture out in the spirit of Westside.
Graduation/Awards Night for
1st-5th Grade Families
Westside School’s annual Graduation and Awards Night for 1st through 5th grades is Wednesday, June 13th at 6:30 p.m. In addition to graduating our 5th graders, each 1st-3rd grader will receive a special “Spirit Award.” The awards will be followed by a year-in-review slide show, put together by 3rd grade teacher, David Bergler, and refreshments. It is a special night and we hope you can come.
Students grades 1-5 will meet at 6:15pm in their classrooms, and will sit as a class during the ceremony.
Yearbooks
Every student at Westside will receive a yearbook. They’ll be distributed on Wednesday, June 13, before dismissal. A donation of $10 per yearbook is appreciated. Please give it to Kathy in the office.
Field Day 2007 is Tomorrow!
One of our students favorite days is Field Day, and the outdoor fun and games begin with an all-school pizza party at 12:00pm and end with the 5th grade donut-eating contest at 2:30pm.
Fortunately Unfortunately
By the Westside First Graders
The first graders often use a published book as a starting point for a shared writing activity. We recently read Fortunately by Remy Charlip and used the pattern of “Fortunately…. Unfortunately” to write the following first grade book.
Based on the book Fortunately, by Remy Charlip
Fortunately, Helen was invited to Woodland Park in Seattle to celebrate the 4th of July and watch the fireworks.
Unfortunately, Helen lives on a ranch in Texas.
Fortunately, Helen found a giant, nice hawk that she was able to ride off the ranch.
Unfortunately, the hawk got sick and had to land.
Fortunately, Helen was near an airport and found a plane.
Unfortunately, the plane flew away as soon as she saw it.
Fortunately, Helen was near a lake and she loves to swim.
Unfortunately, there were giant poisonous frogs in the water that she couldn’t escape.
Fortunately, an alligator ate all the giant poisonous frogs.
Unfortunately, then the alligator saw Helen! Duh Duh Duh.
Fortunately, Helen can run as fast as the speed of light.
Unfortunately, she ran so fast she didn’t see the giant boulder in her way.
Fortunately, Helen saw the boulder, dodged it and ran onto a brick bridge.
Unfortunately, the bridge broke and Helen fell into a river of quicksand. There was a quicksand monster in the river.
Fortunately, she knew how to swim in quicksand.
Unfortunately, she swam right into a huge whirlpool.
Fortunately, the whirlpool took Helen down, down, down into a big dark tunnel that ended on Alki Beach in Seattle.
Unfortunately, there were red lightning crabs with huge fat pinchers on the beach.
Fortunately, a man who was fishing caught Helen in his big blue and green net.
Fortunately, the man was Helen’s dad.
Fortunately, Helen’s dad was going to Woodland Park to watch the fireworks and he took Helen with him!!
Feel free to stop into the first grade classroom to get the full effect of the first graders’ book, in student handwriting and complete with original color drawings on the Fortunately pages and black and white drawings on the Unfortunately pages.