Friday
October 17
Spirit/Pizza Day
Thursday
October 23
WPO Meeting 6:30pm
Cyber Safety
Friday
October 24
School Pictures
Saturday
October 25
WPO Halloween Fest 12-4pm
Thursday-Friday
October 30-31
Conferences;
No School!
Tuesday
November 4
VOTE!
Wednesday
November 5
Assembly 9:30am
Thursday
November 6
First Tour 9:15am
Friday
November 7
Spirit/Pizza Day
Tuesday
November 11
Veteran’s Day
No School; No Childcare
October 16, 2008
An Outsider's Inside View
Investing in Westside
WPO Meeting Oct. 23
Halloween Fest Volunteers Still Needed
A Day in the Life of a 2nd Grader
From Jo Ann - Gift Education Part 2
Art Room Open Wednesdays
Carpooling Questions
Hot Lunch Info
Childcare for Conferences
An Outsider’s Inside View
By Stuart Scolnik, Kindergarten Teacher
I’ll take this opportunity to present my perspective, as the school’s new teacher, on the reason Westside School is remarkable. The differences are readily apparent and the comparisons easy to make when you are on the inside with an outsider’s view. Westside School: I find the children to be naturally passionate about learning. I find a community that supports the teacher and the school; a learning environment that is safe and encouraging. I find a staff that is so positive and pleasant, I thought they had been up to some initiation prank. This is all new to me. I like it.
Determining the cause of all these differences is a bit more complicated. It’s the ‘why’ it’s so different that takes a bit more contemplation. Perhaps you’re thinking “Money, that’s the reason!” Alas, it is not that easy. My previous school district, Prince Georges County in Maryland, came into hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of a lawsuit against the State of Maryland. There was money everywhere! A couple million bucks for Leap Pads, a new $8,000 Interwrite Board for each classroom. Fresh computers for each kid. Voice amplification systems. On and on it went, arbitrary spending decisions without teacher input. It should have really made a difference, right? Nope. Grades stuck in the mud. Graduation rates unimproved. Kids and teachers weren’t any happier. Apparently, money did not necessarily make things better. It sure didn’t hurt, but I have to dig deeper to find the reason.
Ahh, it must be the teachers! The teachers at Westside must be just plain better. But I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the most capable, experienced and dedicated teachers in the world. Some who go without pay for months, pay for their classroom copies and even teach 50 kindergartners (Gripes!). I’ve seen teachers with 35 sweaty sixth graders in an old portable with no A.C. who still change lives. Unfortunately, these teachers are everywhere. So, yeah we’re great, but we’re not the reason Westside is great.
Is it the parents? Were the parents in my previous schools less dedicated to their children? No, they wanted the best for their child, just like every parent. After much reflection, I do believe I have found the reason that Westside School is head and shoulders above any other teaching environment where I’ve worked. It’s not just the mission: preparing students for the world by challenging them to achieve academic success and by connecting their human spirit and imagination to learning. But more specifically, it’s how the entire organization achieves the mission. It’s how we do our job - “happily”.
Upon coming to Westside, everyone here was pleasant, smiling, and upbeat. Initially, I thought it was just politeness extended to a new colleague, but it continued. People came to the classroom offering assistance, and some were roped into cleaning cabinets and opening boxes. “Thanks!” Administration took the time to answer my numerous questions and still left the door open. “That’s a first!” Things got cleaned up and put away, “Wow!.” Items ordered, came! The computers actually worked. “Cool!” Still, relaxed, comforting smiles, and no grumpy frowns. Not one freak-out. “Hmmm,” I wondered, “We’re weeks into the school year. Why is the staff still so happy?”
I had arrived at the important question; “What makes teachers happy?” I know what teachers want, we talk, you know...
• A teacher created curriculum makes a happier, more passionate teacher, a more engaging lesson.
• Teachers want a second educator in the room, providing support and a lighthouse of sanity.
• A happy teacher has administration that assists staff in preparing students for the world.
• A small classroom enables the teacher to fulfill the common mission of reaching every student.
• A rich curriculum of Art, Music, Chinese and Spanish acknowledges the wisdom of Vtgotsky’s theory of multiple intelligences.
• Teachers get to choose their own resources. We know what we will and will not use.
• Having the supplies to create, pursue and achieve the school’s mission prevents a frustrated teacher.
• A facility staff that reliably keeps the school running; mechanics, food, cleaning and everything that makes it pleasant to work in our school building.
It is ‘how we do’ what we do that makes things different here. We do it happily, and that’s why I am happy to be one of the members of the Westside Staff. Then again, I could be wrong, it could just be the Seattle summers.
Investing in Westside School
By Jana Riggan, Development Director
As you just read in Stuart’s article, he believes that happy teachers lead to happy children and a happy community! One of the reasons you probably chose Westside School was its great learning environment and its close-knit community. And you have shown us over the past few years that this is important to you by investing your time and finances in our school and in your child’s education.
Your donations to our fundraising efforts continue to be really important. Gifts to annual giving and to the auction (other than fund-a-wish gifts) go directly to the operating budget, supporting costs such as salaries and benefits, teaching materials, facilities maintenance and financial aid. Whether your gift is $10 or $10,000, it makes a difference. Your financial partnership protects your investment in Westside and in your child’s education.
Space to run and play, classrooms that encourage joyful learning and happy teachers who love their job are just a few of the features that Westside is proud of. Thank you for your partnership with us, and for entrusting Westside with such an important investment.
In the coming weeks, you will start to hear about our annual giving campaign. We have identified some matching opportunities that will make your gift count for even more. Please stay tuned for more information, and save the date for our annual giving kick-off breakfast, Friday, November 14. (New Date)
WPO Meeting
Thursday, Oct. 23, 6:30pm
Cyber Safety with Mark Shagren
By Kate Petrich, WPO President
Come improve your “tech-knowlogy” and learn how to keep your family cyber- safe!
For those of you who have younger children and “Cyber Safety” means keeping the milk glass a safe distance away from the keyboard, please know this talk is geared to you as well. Besides cyber safety issues, Mark will give parents of children of all ages a framework for keeping children safer in many environments now and in the years to come. (See last week’s Update for more details.)
Please email Mark directly (masnike@hotmail.com) with specific questions/issues you would like to see addressed at the meeting.
Reserve your FREE Childcare (Westside students only) by emailing Kathy at kathyw@westsideschool.org. Overflow Parking is available at Grace Church. Hope to see you there!
Sooooooooo Close You can Feeeeeeeeeel It!
Westside’s creepiest Halloween Fest ever is happening next Saturday, October 25th and we need your help! So if you haven’t already, don that Halloween Spirit, head to your computer (hey look, you’re already there) and SIGN UP! Remember, all volunteers will be entered into a prize drawing for Westside Spiritwear but the best reason is because it’s so hauntingly fun! We need you for just one hour to help make this treasured event (yes, there is a REAL treasure chest) most amusing for our little specters and their fiends, oh sorry, we mean friends. Or do we??? For information on the selection of wicked activities, click on the volunteer link at www.westsideschool.org/parents.htm.
Questions or Suggestions? Please contact either: Angie Graves at add113@clearwire.net or Tracy Beck at tracy@beckstailoring.com.
A Day in the Life of a Second Grader Early in the Year
By Laura Holmes, 2nd Grade Teacher
The Second Graders and I had another fantastic day. It was a productive day with a balance of work and play!
Here is what we accomplished before lunchtime: Morning Work – activities to practice our spelling words; 9:00-9:30: P.E.; Snack; 10:00-10:30: Roots of Empathy—our teacher, Alix came and we discussed the observations from last week’s visit with Baby Gabriel; Morning Recess; Calendar, led by Luci this week; Math: Fact family triangles combined with color-coded Unifix cube trains—this activity provided each student with a mix of abstract and concrete thinking, cooperative learning and teaching (trading the fact family with a friend and monitoring the friend’s train building and four facts verbal sharing) and choosing their own level of difficulty (by choosing their own fact family numbers) and lastly, an apple cider thirst quencher provided by Luke and his family. Thank you!
But wait, there’s more! After lunch and recess, we gathered around for the Read Aloud—Chancy and the Grand Rascal by Sid Fleischman; math assessments; discussions and learning about our science topic of astronomy; 2:10-2:45 Chinese; Super Duper Quickie Recess; Ready for Home and gather at the rug to share the “A Day in the Life of a Pumpkin” stories. Whew! What a great day! We’ll be back tomorrow for more!
From Jo Ann
Part 2 - The Definition of Gifted and Meeting a Student’s Needs
No Child Left Behind, 2002, defined Gifted Learners: “Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.” There are several tests used to rate performance. Usually it involves an ability test which is then compared to the achievement tests. Both are measured against the peer group.
“Gifted” programs are defined as those which present activities structured to be more intellectually demanding. For example, students need to be challenged by questions that require a higher level of response or by open-ended questions that stimulate inquiry, active exploration, and discovery. Although instructional strategies depend on the age of the students and the nature of the disciplines involved, the goal is always to encourage students to think about subjects in more abstract and complex ways.
The “gifted” environment should be receptive, nonjudgmental and student-centered. It should encourage independence. There should be a wide variety of materials, provide some physical movement and connect the school experience with the greater world. Students are encouraged to use their creativity in order to be all that they can be.
Though some private schools only admit “gifted” children, schools can manipulate enrollment numbers (based on the market) by defining and then re-defining their gifted “standard.” One year the criteria may be to place at the 98 percentile or higher on a specific test. Another year, if the pool of candidates is lower, the cut-off score may be the 97 percentile. A child testing in the 99 percentile may always be accepted into a “gifted” private school, and another child, even a sibling who tests at the 95 percentile, will not be accepted. These standards usually don’t look at the whole child.
Westside School believes the best opportunity for success is not something that can be as black and white as a percentile score. Tracking by abilities may seem like teachers can better match curriculum to needs, however, in reality, children are not test scores. There are many ways to demonstrate success, and test scores is just one way.
In the mid-1980s, my first year teaching fifth graders in a Louisiana public school, all students, including my class, were tracked by abilities: all the A-B kids were in one section, all the C kids were in one section and all the D-failing kids were in another section. I was given the curriculum by the district as well as a syllabus of what to teach on a given day. When I gave a science test, or a spelling test or a math test – what do you think were the results? The kids in the A-B section got A’s and B’s, the kids in the C section got C’s and the failing kids continued to fail.
In addition, some of the A-B kids were “gifted.” That is, they were eligible for a different curriculum to meet this special need, so about half of my A-B kids were pulled from my class three times a week to go to the gifted classroom. Over the door to the gifted classroom was posted the sign “Gifted.” This really got me! Every day children got to walk through that door while other children were blocked out.
One mother of an A-B boy, talked to me all year, because her son was a couple of points below the cut off for the gifted class. And she couldn’t understand why the school did not think her son was gifted, too. Conversely, there were children in my failing section who should have been receiving services for processing disabilities, but missed the cut-off at the other end. This year of teaching really taught me to look beyond the test scores and evaluate the whole child. And this is what Westside strives to do; look beyond the test scores to provide the best for our students, whether they score extremely high or low. (To be continued: Article Three “The Westside Curriculum for Students Meeting Gifted Criteria”)
Monthly Exhibits in The Art Room
By Margery Lamden Art Teacher
The exuberant feelings shared by our third graders during art class is evident in the complicated graphic designs that are on display in the art/music room. Every Wednesday after school the art room will be open until 4:30. Please come see the creativity of our Westside students. The exhibits will change the second Wednesday of every month, showcasing a different class.
The art work that is on exhibit is a composition using the letters of the students’ names. We discussed how letters can overlap and interact with one another and how that interaction can create a sense of movement. Enthusiastically, the students began planning the placement of their letters into imaginative and unique configurations. Some of the letters look like they are twisting or hooking around other letters. Everyone agreed that some looked like they were “falling down or dancing.” Come and see the amazing and personal ways that our third graders solved this lesson.
Carpooling Questions
The carpool committee wants to check in with Westside parents to see what your experience has been with carpooling. Are you carpooling to school? How many days a week? When did you start? Have you tried using Divide the Ride? (We realize that many of you have never received an email from dividetheride.com, but also that a few of you have. If it has worked for you, what has your experience been like?) Please email Jana at janar@westsideschool.org with your answers.
Thank you for answering these questions for us. It really helps as we look toward future drop-off and pick-up planning.
Hot Lunch Info
Blue Plate Express menu’s for November and December are on line and ready for you to order. Remember to get your order in early so you don’t miss the order deadline. On line orders must be in by Sunday night, 8:00 for the following week.
You Can Sign Up on the Website for All Day Childcare for Conference Days, October 30 and 31
Sign up for childcare for parent conferences days, Thursday, October 30 and Friday, October 31, is now available on the website for contracted families (not drop-in only contracts). Classes do not meet on those days. Please remember that this childcare starts at 8am and closes at 5pm. There is a flat fee of $40 per child per day. Sign up will be open to the rest of the school on Friday, October 24, subject to space availability.
Childcare for the length of the Conference Only is Free of Charge.