Friday
November 20
Spirit/Pizza Day
PK Potluck
Wednesday
November 25
Family Friends’ Day
10:30am
Early Dismissal
11:45am PS/PK/K
Noon Grades 1-5
Thursday - Friday
November 26-27
Thanksgiving
NO School
Wednesday
December 2
Picture Retakes
Admissions Tour
9:15am
Friday
December 4
Spirit/Pizza Day
Admissions Tour
9:15am
Wednesday
December 9
Assembly
9:30am
November 19, 2009
Annual Giving Update
Owls are a Hoot!
Winterfest
Picture Retakes Dec. 2
Annual Giving Update
No class has reached 100% participation yet, but some are close. It’s $1000 more for Westside for every class that reaches this goal, so please donate or pledge something. Remember, even if you are a sustainer and donate each year, you still need to send in your donation or pledge to make it count! Donations can be made online, mailed in or you can email a pledge to janar@westsideschool.org.
Every year, students also donate to annual giving. Below is a list of Westside students who gave this year…
Eli, Grade 1, Margie Carpenter
Ashley, Grade 1, Renee Smith
Henry, Karl, Meredith, Grade 2, Jill Weaver
Greta, Lucas, Grade 3, Joe Tutch
Alyce, Christopher, Emily, Jack, Kayla, Paisley, Grade 3, Stuart Scolnik
Celina, Jordan, Larisa, Lily, Grade 4, Judith Arvidson
Bailey, Grade 5, Linda Turner
Emma J. and Emma H., Grade Marsha Lovely
Kate, Grade K, Sarah Howard
Aina, Grade PK, Claudia Ross-Weston
Thank you to everyone who has already donated and made this campaign a success. Now, it’s time to reach our goal of 100% participation. Questions? Email Jana at janar@westsideschool.org.
Owls Are a Hoot
By Jill Weaver, 2nd grade teacher
2nd grade has been studying nocturnal animals, especially bats and owls. Over the past month we focused our study on various owls such as the Great Grey, Common Barn, Great Horned, Elf, etc. We learned about their habitats, anatomy, and individual characteristics including specific calls, enemies, life span and prey. While learning about prey, we were able to dissect owl pellets (a mass of undigested remains of a meal that is coughed up by an owl after consuming its prey). We found the bones of mice, rats and voles. To also make our study of owls more engaging, students were invited to attend an owl walk at Lincoln Park with naturalist, Stewart Wechsler.
To conclude our study of owls we had a very special visitor, Bob. Bob is a Great Horned Owl from Woodland Park Zoo. Bob was rescued by hikers after becoming entangled in barbwire. Bob sustained many injuries including nerve damage to his right wing causing his wing to protrude from his body and his flight distance to be a mere few feet. Bob has lived at Woodland Park Zoo for 11 years. He is a veteran to the zoo and a pro at fieldtrips. When Bob was taken out of his cage he simply let out a huff. Once he was in front of all the 2nd graders he was very professional. He sat very tall on his keeper’s hand, blinked, winked at us and turned his head 180 degrees to look at the whiteboard behind him. He was very regal looking and we were all intrigued. We couldn’t believe we had a live owl in our classroom! The 2nd graders did an excellent job of staying extremely quiet to give Bob a calm atmosphere while he was out of his carrier. His keeper, Janel, gave us specific information about Bob and also valuable information about many local owls. We thoroughly enjoyed Bob’s visit and look forward to seeing him at the zoo.
Winterfest: What, Where and Whom 2009
By Cathy Chutich, Music Teacher
For all new families, as well as old, this is a reminder about Winterfest. It is coming up sooner than you think.
We’ll be gathering on Thursday, December 10th, weather permitting (remember last year?!!), at Grace Church for our annual winter song sharing/singing. The theme this year is Ring Them Bells.
You’ll hear spirituals as well as animal, weather and Pioneer songs. And you’ll get to see and hear the Orff instruments as well as the progress the recorder players have made this year. The program starts at 6:30 pm, so please have your children in the pews with their teachers by 6:15. .
Come prepared to sing songs together with the whole school. I’ve written this before, but it bears repeating; singing together with a large group can be a very powerful experience. I’ve seen children 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. Plus it makes you feel good!
The songs the whole school will be singing are Westside Song, Welcome Here, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Winter Wonderland ,Colorful Boats, O Chanukkah, and Over the River and Through the Woods (with all the verses for the first time). I’ll have the music in the office if you want to get a head start on the words.
See you at Winterfest 2009!
Picture Retakes, December 2
School pictures came in this week and should have come home with your child. The photographer will be back at school on Wednesday, December 2, at 9 am, to take pictures of children who were absent on picture day and to take retakes for those who need them. The photographer asks that you return your first package if you are getting retakes.