Wednesday
October 28
Admission Tour
9:15am
Thursday & Friday
October 29 and 30
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Saturday
October 31
Halloween Fest!
Sunday
November 1
Daylight Savings Ends
Tuesday
November 3
Assembly
9:30am
Wednesday
November 4
Westside
Sustainer
Event
7pm
Friday
November 6
Spirit/Pizza Day
Tuesday
November 10
Annual Giving
Kick-Off Breakfast!
7:30am-10am
October 27, 2009
Save the Dates for Annual Giving!
Happy Halloween Fest 2009!
Kindergarten Thoughts
Move It! Move It!
WPO Meeting Recap - Parents & Sex Ed
Save the Dates!
Annual Giving Kick-Off Breakfast
Tuesday, November 10th
Westside Sustainer Event
Wednesday, November 4th
Annual Giving kicks off Tuesday, November 10th with a delicious breakfast from Bakery Nouveau and custom-made latte’s. The entire family is invited! Doors open at 7:30am and food will be served until at least 9:30am. Drop in and grab something on your way out the door, or stay awhile. All donations received on or before Tuesday will be “matched” at $100, and all classrooms that reach 100% participation will be “matched” at $1000. Don’t miss out! You will receive more information about annual giving in the mail this week.
You should have already received an invitation to the Westside Sustainer Event, held on Wednesday, November 4th at 7pm. Sustainers are parents, friends of Westside, staff and Board members who pledge to give $500 or more per child while their child or children attend Westside School. Being a sustainer not only shows your long-term commitment to Westside School, but it helps Westside plan for the future. If you haven’t RSVP’d for this event, please do so soon! It’s a fun night out with other parents!
All gifts to annual giving go into our operating budget, helping to bridge the gap between the actual cost of a year at Westside and the cost of tuition. If you have any questions, please contact Development Director Jana Riggan at janar@westsideschool.org or Board Development Chair Jana Barber at janabarber@comcast.net.
Happy Halloween Fest 2009!!!
By Krista Wassermann and Angie Graves, Halloween Fest Chairs
There’s no escaping it - It’s time for Westside’s special Halloween edition of Halloween Fest! This Saturday, the 31st, from Noon until 4PM, bring your terrifying goblins, ghosts and superheroes along with your enchanting princesses, fairies and witches for dreadfully fun activities and horrifyingly tasty treats for one and all! Neighbors, family and friends are all welcome! Costumes are optional for everyone so please dress up if you’d like.
If you are still interested in helping but didn’t have a chance to sign up, please check out the volunteer page here – there are still some spine-chilling opportunities available! If you don’t see something that fits your schedule, please email Angie Graves add113@clearwire.net or Krista Wassermann krista8everything@yahoo.com – I’m sure we can find something frightful for you to do.
This event is a FUNraiser. Any funds raised by Halloween Fest go towards funding the WPO sponsored educational assemblies at Westside. Tricks and Treats for all - See you there…
Kindergarten Thoughts
By Sarah Howard, Kindergarten Teacher
Will she make friends? Will he do well in math? What if he gets sick? Will she fit in? What if she forgets her lunch? What if he does not like school? Did any of these questions pop through your head this year as your child was heading off into a new grade or maybe into Westside for the first time?
I don’t know if transitions get easier or harder as we grow up, but I know that they continue to happen no matter what age you are. With change comes a plethora of different emotions - excitement, fear, apprehension, nerves. I am happy to report that the students in room 114 have made great transitions into Kindergarten. I am constantly hearing from children that they don’t want to leave at the end of the day or that they love school. Yea! Yea! Yea! School is great!
As the new teacher, I had some of my own questions and fears as I started my first day here at Westside School. I am happy to report that my transition to Westside was smooth as silk! It is my hope that you have been able to have the same experience that I had with my transition here. One that is filled with smiling faces greeting you in the morning, kind people in the office always willing to answer a question, teachers lending a helping hand, and interactions with different parents and students that help make up this strong caring community. Isn’t Westside great?!
Move it! Move it! Move it!
By Donna Jornlin, PE Teacher
The Mileage Club is on the move; students running & walking around the playfield during lunch recess, counting laps & earning mini toe tokens & other prizes for every 5 miles they complete. Eleven laps equals one mile & several students are past the 5 mile mark!
Several years ago, after assessing student scores from the Presidential Fitness Test & noticing we were on the low end in sit-ups, I added a core workout each week to the 3rd, 4th & 5th curriculum. A variety of abdominal exercises, several yoga postures, & let-downs (the reverse of push-ups!) are done to some LOUD music. The 4th & 5th grades recently worked in groups on a football unit, with a center, quarterback & receiver, throwing & catching the ball.
Jump rope skills are a mainstay in my curriculum, with an introduction in kindergarten on how to hold the rope. Each grade spends time practicing tricks & by 2nd grade, most can put together a routine of 3 to 4 moves.
The primary grades use a lot of loco-motor skills - skipping, hopping, galloping & running. Part of the fun is passing a rubber chicken or frog when the music stops; this week we tried plastic clapping hands as noisemakers. One of their favorite tag games is “Stuck in the Mud” a great cardio exercise that also teaches personal space.
Our health focus this month is eating 5 servings of fruit & veggies. Relay teams had to pick out cardboard food items & collect 5 to win. Fruit & vegetable tag is another favorite of the 1st & 2nd grades & it’s hilarious to watch the reaction when you say “swiss chard!”
My goal is to set objectives in the gym that help create success & encourage positive social skills or as we like to say, “BIG TIME manners.”
Parents are Sexuality Educators...
By Kate Petrich, WPO President
Who, me? That’s one of the many pearls we learned at Thursday’s 10/15/09 WPO meeting on “How to Talk to Your Child About Sexuality.” Our workshop leader, Carole Miller, led off with the question: “What messages about sexuality did you receive as a child?” Some parents remembered the girls all going to watch a mysterious film while the boys played outside, some remember a lot of silence (which Carole explained may have been intended as a “neutral message” but can actually teach that sexuality is “bad” or “unspeakable”).
Carole suggested creating a timeline of discussion topics based on your family’s values, and talking about them with children preemptively. Talking about values a couple of years before children find themselves in the mist of different situations helps them avoid being completely shocked/confused when things happen. They are also more likely to come back to you, the parent, for more information and advice.
We learned that research shows children want to hear about their parents values around sexuality even if, as they get older, they may run out the door when we start talking. Our job is to keep sprinkling them with brief conversations over the years despite possible (feigned) protest.
Wrapping up the workshop, Carole asked parents to imagine their children 30 or so years from now sitting in a similar workshop answering the question: “What messages about sexuality did you receive as a child?” and asked us what we hoped their response would be. Working backward from that far off day, we see the connection between what we wish their responses will be, and our thoughtful dialog now. To help with these conversations, there will be additional pamphlets and tip sheets such as: Ten Tips for Being an Askable Adult and Dialog Suggestions for Talking About Sex for Preschool on Up, available in the office Wednesday afternoon, 10/28/09. Carole Miller is also leading another workshop tonight on Capital Hill. Call 206-328-6807 for more information on this or other future workshops.
Some of Carole’s suggested book titles include:
It’s not the Stork, by Robie Harris (for ages 4+)
It’s so Amazing, by Robie Harris (for ages 7+)
For Puberty Age and Up...
The What’s Happening to my Body - Book for Boys, by Lynda Madaras
The What’s Happening to my Body - Book for Girls, by Lynda Madaras
Many thanks to Westside Parent, Laura Fine-Morrison, for researching this topic and coordinating our wonderful workshop leader. Thank you also to the parent participants - your candid sharing and openness made this a much more productive experience!
We were also treated to homemade chocolate cupcakes from heaven (thank you Lori Lieske!) in celebration of Jo Ann’s birthday that evening.