Friday
Sept. 7
Assembly 9:30am
African Drums
Tuesday
Sept. 11
Last day to turn
in Pizza Forms
New Parent Orientation
5:30pm
Curriculum Night
6:30pm
Friday
Sept. 14
Pizza/Spirit Day
Wednesday
Sept. 19
Board Meeting 6:30pm
Friday
Sept. 21
Movie Night
6:15pm
Movie TBD
Friday
Sept. 28
Spirit/Pizza Day
September 6, 2007
From Jo Ann
Get Your Pizza Order Forms In!
Calendar Changes, Omissions & Reminders
Preventing Head Lice
Welcome BBQ Thanks
Parking Reminder
Logowear Available Online
Do You Have Great Photos?
Volunteers Needed
Parent Folders
From Jo Ann
The start of this 2007-2008 has been awesome. Thanks for reading all the back to school packet materials, filling in all the forms, participating in our back to school dinner, and following the drop off and parking procedures!
The summer was very busy getting ready for this week and you have seen the results with all the changes in our classrooms and campus. In addition, we upgraded some infra-structure with the installation of a new phone system and a new database. So thank you for your patience as we get up to speed with these new systems, which will make our service much more efficient.
David is in full swing and enjoying his new position as Director of Studies. He is set up next to the Xerox machine outside my office, along with Marge, our new business office support person. We will be moving some of the administrators to our house as soon as it is ready. The house is going to be beautiful! And we can’t wait to move in, which hopefully is soon.
I enjoyed meeting new parents at the orientation meeting this morning and look forward to repeating this opportunity (5:30 pm) before curriculum night next Tuesday, September 11. I know all of you are anxious to get more details about your child’s day from their teacher at curriculum night, and I look forward to scheduling morning curriculum coffees with all the room parents and classes soon.
This will be a busy year! There is a lot to share in this Update. Our second grade will participate in a wonderful program called Roots of Empathy. Stay tuned to hear more about this program, and make sure you check out the bulletin boards outside the 2nd grade classroom throughout the year. This curriculum brings together an instructor, a mother and baby, and students to teach empathy. It was developed by Mary Gordon and is used in thousands of schools in Canada. Research has shown that children who go through this program show lower rates of aggression and have higher emotional literacy. The mother and baby engage with the second graders, but actually they will be teaching everything from infant development and brain development to empathy. Westside School is thrilled to be a part of bringing this curriculum to Seattle and to the United States.
Have a great year!
Get Your Pizza Order Forms In!
Our first pizza day is next week – Friday, September 14th. Forms should be turned in to the office by Tuesday – at the latest. (The WPO pre-orders pizza on Wednesday morning.) Visit www.westsideschool.org/
WestsideUpdate/WPOPizzaDay
0708.pdf if you need a pizza order form.
The WPO is still looking for a pizza chair and volunteers. Don’t worry - you won’t have to volunteer for every pizza day! And, if something comes up, we will always have back-up. Please contact Amy Huber if you’re interested – or if you just have questions - at amyhuber@comcast.net. (The email on the pizza order form you received in your August mailing was wrong.)
Calendar Changes, Omissions and Reminders!
Mark your calendars for the first movie night, Friday, September 21st. It’s free, and it’s in the gym. Stay tuned for more information, in the Update next week!
New Parent Orientation and Curriculum night has moved from Wednesday, September 12th to Tuesday, September 11th. (New parents – the orientation on Thursday morning (today!) and the orientation on Tuesday evening are the same. Also, the information you get during curriculum coffees, held during the day, and curriculum night are similar.)
Add the Family Dance to your official school calendar. It will be held on Friday, November 16th.
Head Lice Outbreak Prevention
Head Lice have been very prevalent in Seattle over the summer. To help us prevent an outbreak at school, please take the time to check your child for nits or lice as we start the school year. If you are unsure what to look for, there is lots of information online. The Centers for Disease Control website is www.cdc.gov.
Welcome BBQ Thank You!
A big Westside thank you to the Board of Trustees for preparing the Welcome BBQ on Tuesday evening. Not only did they provide delicious burgers and mouth-watering treats, they did it without a drop of rain falling!
Special thanks go out to Mary Harrelson and Jana Barber for spearheading the effort. They were assisted by fellow Trustees John Comick, Brian Chestnut, Tom Mortimer, Heather Redman, Mollie Jensen, Pearce Cobarr, Hallidie Haid, Gail Tanaka, Denise Tabbutt and Darren Medina.
Parking!
Parking is rough, we know! We have 40 new students this year, so we’re bigger then ever! Please keep in mind a couple things:
1. Don’t park in either the handicapped parking space (unless you physically need the space) or the Reserved Parking space in the front lot.
2. In the morning, the back parking lot will be open from 8am – 9:15am. Please park there but remember to move your car!
3. Please don’t park in the drop-off/pick-up line. This causes extra traffic for everyone else.
Order Logowear Online!
We have great new logo wear options now available online! It normally takes about 2 weeks to receive your order, although they’re a little busy right now, so you might have to wait 3 weeks. We now offer new colors and styles for students and parents! Check it out by visiting www.westsideschool.org/parents.htm and clicking on the first link.
Do You Have Great Photos?
We love to use photos in our newsletter and other publications, and would love to have you share your favorite photos with us! If you have great photos from the first day of school, or if you take any throughout the year, please share them with us! You can email a copy to janar@westsideschool.org.
Volunteers Still Needed:
* Room Parents in PS – 2nd Grade
* Scholastic Book Orders
* The Library (volunteers needed on Monday and Thursday)
If you’re interested in any of these, or would like more information, please email Tracy Leber at tlleber@comcast.net.
Parent Folders
Thank you Emily Baker for setting up the parent folders in the office. Parents, you should check your parent folders about once a week for non-official school communication.