Friday
October 2
Spirit/Pizza Day
Thursday
October 8
Assembly
featuring Bochinche (Latin Rhythms)
9:30am
Friday
October 9
Teacher In-Service
NO SCHOOL
Childcare Available
Wednesday
October 14
Westside's First
Admission Tour
9:15am
Thursday
October 15
WPO Meeting
Talking with Kids about Sexuality
6pm
Friday
October 16
SPIRIT/Pizza Day
Wednesday
October 21
Board Meeting
6:30pm
October 1, 2009
Save the Date for the WPO Meeting
Show Your Halloween Fest "Spirit!"
Integrated Curriculum
Lights, Camera, Action!
Thank You Movie Night Volunteers
Did you know?
Childcare Available for In-Service, October 9th
Admission Tours
Visit our Blog
Save the Date for a WPO Mtg!
Talking with your Kids about Sexuality
October 15th, 6-8pm
By Laura Fine-Morrison, Westside 2nd Grade Parent
Talking with your children about sexuality can be intimidating. Need some help? Join the WPO for a workshop titled “Talking with your kids about Sexuality” on Thursday, October 15th. While most parents want to be the primary Sex Ed teacher for our kids, few of us are actually comfortable doing the educating. We may think our kids are too young, worry about getting it right, or worry that the more our kids know, the more they will “explore” and become sexually active at a much younger age.
Don’t worry! According to Carole Miller, VP of Education at Planned Parenthood, our worries are not based in reality. Educating our kids about sexuality is best done over the course of many conversations, starting as early as preschool (or earlier). And we can relax about having all of the answers; we mostly need to convey our own values and experiences, along with a willingness to be open and honest. Also, and maybe most importantly, statistics show that teens make better sexual choices when they have a good dialog about sexuality with their parents.
This workshop is designed to help parents start talking… and continue talking! Talking with your Kids about Sexuality will give parents the skills and confidence to discuss values, decisions, boundaries, and health with their children.
You will walk away with:
•A clear sense of how to articulate your own values around sexuality
•The information grade school children should have
•Confidence in your ability to handle difficult questions and tricky situations
Small sandwiches will be available to ease the dinner rush, and childcare is available for Westside students (dinner for the children will also be provided). If you need childcare, please RSVP to Kate Petrich:katepetrich@gmail.com or 206-988-5820. (If you don’t need childcare, an RSVP is not mandatory, but still helpful for planning. Thank you!)
Show your Halloween Fest “Spirit!”
By Angie Graves and Krista Wassermann, Halloween Chairs
Westside’s most “Spirited” event, Halloween Fest, is happening on Saturday, October 31st! It’s now time to volunteer your life away and join the haunted fun! So, are you truly a jarring Jumper Slide Sentry or do you crave being a Creepy Cashier?? Do tell – we won’t bite! The sign up sheets are online – it only takes a few painless seconds to sign up so do it now and get it on your calendars. You couldn’t make your little goblin or sprite happier than by being a part of this fun and memorable event – they love to say that their Mom or Dad is working the ___________ (for you to fill in). This is also one of the best volunteer opportunities for working parents - it happens on a weekend and only takes an hour of your time! If you need more information on all the super sinister activities to help you make this harrowing decision, click here.
Also, Halloween Fest is looking for menacing Moms or daunting Dads to be our Spooktographers for the event – we will supply an eerie backdrop, photography lights, camera and many adorably costumed kids - you provide the rest – which is well, you. If you’re interested in this special task, please contact Angie or Krista, Halloween Fest Chairs.
Questions or Suggestions? Please contact either: Angie Graves at add113@clearwire.net or Krista Wassermann at krista8everything@yahoo.com.
Integrated Curriculum
By Renee Smith, 1st Grade Teacher
Today my first grade class listened to the end of Charlotte’s Web. As I looked up at the rapt, serious faces before me I couldn’t help but wonder (again) at the power of a good book. This book had the power to start our class off with math, science, reading, vocabulary, and the art of friendship. What began as a group of twenty 6-7 year olds wandering around like loose cannon’s in a new classroom ended with a cohesive, tightly knit extended family.
We began the book – and school – just 13 weekdays ago. During this time the entire fabric of our lives changed. We are committed to each other, like Charlotte to Wilbur. And we have begun the journey of learning through the words of E.B. White.
Of course we learned about spiders. When Charlotte first began her orbed web we put down the book and learned the different shapes and designs prevalent in webs. Charlotte is a grey spider, in a barn. What other kinds are there? And how about those flies? Well, no one brings her dinner in a pail, you know. She has to live by her wits. And she doesn’t actually eat the bugs she catches…she drugs them, turns their insides to pulp, and sucks them dry. Why doesn’t she get caught in that web herself? Ask a first grader. That was what we wondered as we planned our first experiment, using the Scientific Method!
Mathematics is a natural extension of the book, as well. There is geometry, of course, in the web design. And momentum and trajectory in the swing ride in Zuckerman’s barn. Again the book goes down as we demonstrate and discuss how the rope carries its rider. But nothing tops the egg sac itself for math amazement. There are 514 eggs in that sac. And each as small as a grain of sand. How many number sentences can we make that equal 514? How many groups of ten are there? How much space would that take up, having 514 baby spiders that are no bigger than a grain of sand?
E.B. White’s other job was writer for the New Yorker, and clearly language was his passion. When we read an unknown word we stopped, wrote it down, defined it and discussed it. We have quite a list. Among the words are salutations, runt, blush, manure, reconsider, trough, versatile and languish. It is very pleasurable to hear one first grader say to another, “I’m languishing. I’m just going to sit here for awhile.”
As a reader, there are certain criteria I have for re-reading. This is especially true in a classroom, where boredom can set in quicker than Wilbur’s blush if the teacher cannot keep interest in the book. One important element for me is the ongoing possibility of finding new insights in my reading. Each time I re-read Charlotte’s Web I learn something new about human nature – from a pig! This time I was moved by Wilbur’s ability to rise to the occasion. Throughout the book he blushes, cries, and faints. Usually this is in conjunction with facing mortality. But when push comes to shove – when death really shows up, and he can’t change it or faint his way around it – Wilbur comes through. He becomes Charlotte’s friend in a way she could not have foreseen. And that’s not easy for a pig.
So we had daily conversations about loyalty, friendship, and doing the right thing whether we want to or not. Whether we get praise or recognition or not! Whether we get paid back or not! And when we walked out of the classroom after the last few pages of the book, we looked at each spider and web with new eyes. Who knows what miracles they have wrought! Who knows how very pivotal to the environment they have been!
We looked at our world with wonder.
LIGHTS…CAMERA…ACTION!
By Lori Lieske, Volunteer Coordinator
Are you organized? Are you a leader? Can you direct and delegate? Most importantly…do you enjoy watching films and eating popcorn??? This job is for YOU!!! We are looking for a Movie Night Co-Chair. You will receive fabulous training and a chance to shadow at our next Movie Night, which will give you an opportunity to ask as many questions as you need and see how the process works before you sit in the director’s chair with your fellow co-chair! If you think you are up for the job or are interested in more information please contact: Lori Lieske at Lieske8@comast.net.
Thank You Movie Night Volunteers!
By Kate Petrich, WPO President
Many thanks to our generous volunteers who “under-promised and over-delivered” during our first movie night of the year. It was a “Terrific” success! (to use one of Charlotte’s words...) Thanks to everyone for popping popcorn, managing concessions, and helping set-up/clean-up.
Parents: EmilyAnn Hindle, Alison Wallace, Mayme Fujita, Chris Carrasco, Taryn Call, Shawn White, Richard Hayward, Hallidie Haid, Jackie & John Clough, Pam Snider. 4th & 5th Grade
Students: Kelvin, Austin, Sam, Amrine and Bailey - Excellent job students!!
And thank you also to our audience for starting out the year full of Westside Spirit!
Our other two Westside Family Movie Nights of the year: January 22 & April 16th.
Did You Know?
Do you remember checking out the ads in the auction catalog last year? One of our advertisers, parent Darren Stumpf, offered a special deal to Westsiders. He offered to donate $3000 to Westside School for any transaction he closed because of a Westside connection. And guess what? He walked into school this year with a check just for Westside, thanks to a transaction he closed over the summer. Thank you Darren!
Also, did you enjoy the delicious coffee you have at your curriculum coffee? One of our families, the Bizzarri’s, have been donating coffee to Westside for over a year now. If you ever stop for coffee in the office on your way out the door, or sit in a meeting down at the admin house, you’re drinking Caffé Umbria. Want to know more? Visit their flagship store in Pioneer Square! Thank you Bizzarri family!
Childcare Available for the
In-Service Day, October 9th
Teachers have an in-service day on Friday, October 9th. That means there’s no school! Teachers will spend the day at a conference put on by our accrediting body, PNAIS. This is a great opportunity for all the PNAIS accredited school teachers and administrators to get together and take workshops on the hot topics of education.
We know this can be a problem for working parents, so to make it easier on families, we’re offering childcare on that day. Childcare runs from 8am-5pm, and the cost is $42 per child. Sign up online.
Admission Tours
Do you have friends, family or neighbors interested in Westside School? It's time for them to visit. Admission tours are starting next week! Call or email Kathy (kathyw@westsideschool.org) to reserve a space on the tour.
Visit our Blog
What did you think of our curriculum coffees? Go to our blog and let us know! Click here or visit us at www.westsideschool.org and click the link on the front page! Also, remember you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Get the latest on what’s going on.