Thursday-Friday
Nov. 1 and 2
Parent/Teacher Conferences
No Classes
Friday
Nov. 9
Tour 9:15am
Spirit/Pizza Day
Monday
Nov. 12
Veteran’s Day
No School;
No Childcare
Wednesday
Nov. 14
Tour 9:15am
Board Meeting 6:30pm
Thursday
Nov. 15
Annual Giving Kick-Off Breakfast
Starts at 7:45 am
Friday
Nov. 16
Assembly
9:30am
Family Dance
6:30pm
Wednesday
Nov. 21
Special Friend’s Day
October 31, 2007
Annual Giving Kick-Off Breakfast, Nov. 15
Halloween Fest was a Big Success
Halloween Fest Quotes!
Second Step Overview
WPO Meeting Thanks
School Supplies Still Needed
Thank you from David B.
Save the Date
Thursday, November 15
Annual Giving Kick-Off Breakfast
Annual Giving will officially kick-off on Thursday, November 15th with a breakfast, starting at 7:45am. Every gift - or pledge - we receive on or before November 15th will increase by $50, thanks to a couple of generous families.
Look for more information next week!
Halloween Fest Big Success
We may not all be in agreement as to whether it takes a village to raise a child, but one thing is for sure - it takes an entire school (and two exceptional chairpersons) to have a successful Halloween Fest! The 4th graders worked hard on putting a new spin on an old favorite – “the mystery boxes”, and the 5th graders created one of two new booths that were enjoyed by all. Whether you manned a station, baked a treat, read the fortunes of our little ones, helped with set-up or breakdown, or just brought your trick-or-treaters to the gym for an afternoon of fun, Halloween Fest wouldn’t have been as successful without your support.
With our dedicated chairs Angie Graves and Krista Wassermann leading the way, and bake sale extraordinaire Tracy Beck, the WPO earned a whopping $1,143 which will go towards funding future WPO events and activities. Many thanks to Krista and Angie and all the volunteers who helped make this Halloween Fest a big success!
And the winner is…….. 5th grader Dylan D! Dylan’s guess of 423 was the closest to the actual number of 417 in the “Guess How Many” game! CONGRATULATIONS Dylan, and enjoy that new Ipod.
What was your favorite part of Halloween Fest?
Quotes from attendees...
“I came in early. My mom was there so I ran in and gave her a hug.” Devin, Kindergarten
“I had fun wearing a mask. Nobody recognized me.”
Nikolas, Kindergarten
“I had fun throwing the mice on the wall.” Karl, Kindergarten
“Pretty cool to have my mom in charge of the Halloween Fest because she was such a good host of the games.” :) Tess, 1st
My favorite part was winning all the prizes. Grace, PS
I liked the jumpy house. Olivia, PS
I liked…
Jumping from side to side while climbing big slide. Emilio, 1st
Winning 5 prizes at the bean bag game! Luke, 1st
When I threw the little light up things in the blow-up skeleton. Jacob, PS
Second Step Overview
Second Step is a violence prevention curriculum that helps schools and families encourage children to get along. This program is the product of Committee for Children, an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster the social and emotional development, safety, and well-being of children though education and advocacy. The program teaches children to think about others’ feelings, solve problems cooperatively and manage their anger in a positive way. Here is a summary of skills taught at Westside and you can reinforce at home.
EMPATHY SKILLS:
1. Listen
2. Recognize and acknowledge others’ feelings
3. Let the person know how you feel about their behavior. (“I feel” messages.)
IMPULSE CONTROL
Learn to manage emotions by recognizing strong reactions and the need to be calm when trying to solve a problem. Some ways to calm down:
- taking deep breaths
- counting
- thinking calming thoughts
- talking to yourself
- doing something physically active
- doing something quiet by yourself
- getting support from an adult
HOW TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
1. What is the problem?
2. What are some solutions?
3. For each solution, ask yourself:
a. Is it safe?
b. How might people feel about it?
c. Is it fair?
d. Will it work?
4. Choose a solution and use it.
5. Is it working?
6. If not, what can I do now?
FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN:
1. How do I feel?
2. What is the problem?
3. What can I do?
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY
1. How does my body feel?
2. Calm Down:
a. Take three deep breaths
b. Count backward slowly
c. Think calming thoughts
d. Talk to yourself
3. Think out loud to solve the problem (Use the problem-solving steps)
4. Think about it later
Last Week’s WPO Meeting
For those of you who attended our first WPO meeting last Thursday, we hope you enjoyed the Second Step and Roots of Empathy (ROE) presentations by our 5th grade teacher Linda, and our ROE instructor Renee Hawkes. Both Kathleen and Erin, our 2nd grade teachers, were on-hand to answer any questions from the parents on how the ROE program is making a difference in second grade.
In addition to our wonderful presentations, upcoming school events were announced, and Head of School Jo Ann was present to answer any questions from parents. We had a wonderful turn out for the evening and the WPO officers would like to thank our dedicated teachers for explaining how these programs work at all grade levels and why it is important.
And many thanks to Darren and Lisa Medina for providing the coffee, Lori Freer and Mary Harrelson for baking delicious treats, and Pam Snider for bringing munchies to the meeting.
If there is a topic you would like to know more about, please email Carolyn Comick at Ccomick@comcast.net. Your ideas may just be the topic of our next WPO meeting!
School Supplies for Children
in Vutukaka School
By Emma Stammen, 4th grader and Judith Arvidson, 4th/5th teacher
The Fourth and Fifth Grades are continuing to collect school supplies for the children in Kenya. If you would like to help, we have until November 15 to collect supplies before they’ll be sent with a friend to Kenya.
This project is meant to be an outreach, service project. Our hope is that all our Westside children will contribute to it, and will feel a connection to a child on another continent.
Please donate:
12 pencils
3 small colored pencils sets
3 small colored crayon sets
3 big pink erasers or 9 pencil top erasers
3 pencil sharpeners
1 six inch ruler
$1 to buy shoes in Kenya
Pencil pouch
There are boxes outside the 4th and 5th grade rooms (Judith and Linda’s rooms). Please put your supplies there.
Thank you for your support!
Thank you from David B.
Our family would like to thank the community of Westside School for all of the love and kindness that we have received during this difficult time.
As some of you may know, my grandson, Jack, passed away at 6 months old.