This week in our social emotional curriculum, we will be reading A Little Spot Makes Friends. With this story, we will explore why we need friends, steps to make friends, feelings we feel when we are around friends, and how we can create lasting relationships. Please unpack these big questions and themes at home this week.

Kindergarten is going on a field trip to the Butterfly Pavilion on Wednesday, March 19th. Please complete the permission form here by Friday, March 15th. Send your students with a sack lunch, a water bottle for the day, and have your student wear a purple or white Westgate shirt. We will be participating in a Butterfly Buddies lesson to connect with our year-long service-learning curriculum.

This week in advocacy, we will be learning about A Little Safety Spot at School and A Little Respectful Spot. After reading each of these books, we will identify how we can practice safe bodies in and outside of the classroom and discuss how showing respect and safety skills go hand and hand. To support your students learning outside of the classroom, feel free to watch the books together and ask them questions such as: what does safety look like inside the school? Outside of school? Why is it important to talk about safety? What does respect look like, sound like, feel like? 

Upcoming Events:

• February 28th- Class Picture Day
• March 19th - Field trip to the Butterfly Pavilion (feel free to email me if you’re interested in being a chaperone) 
• March 22nd - April 6th - Spring Break

Advocacy Week of February 10th

Advocacy Theme

The RISE theme for the month of February is empathy and kindness. Your students will imagine what it will be like to stand in someone else’s shoes, learn how being empathetic strengthens our community, and how it deepens the relationships with people they know in and out of school. We will be hitting this theme throughout this week by focusing on Kindness week, and different ways that we can show kindness at school, and at home. We will be making cards to take with us to the workers at the bus barn, and going to be giving the students kindness challenges that they can complete at home. For this week, we will be taking a break from our little spot of feelings curriculum to focus on Kindness Week! 

Kindness Week

The Kindness Week Food Drive Starts on Monday! We have a school goal of 1,500 cans, and an individual class goal of 50 cans to hit during the week next week! Remember the themes of each day for the food drive are as follows:

Monday: Spice it up Monday (Dried Herbs and Spices)

Tuesday: Pasta Tuesday (Dried pasta in boxes) 

Wednesday Veggie Wednesday (Canned Vegetables)

Thursday: Toiletry Thursday (Kleenex, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels)

Friday: Fruit Filled Friday (Canned Fruit) 

It is important to note: We will be accepting all types of non-perishable foods throughout the week, the themes are just ideas in case you need some inspiration! All non-perishable items will be donated to A Precious Child! If you have any further questions on the food drive, please do not hesitate to reach out! 

Westgate celebrates kindness week February 10th through February 14th. In kindergarten, we have the wonderful opportunity to visit the Bus Barn to share our thanks to our community helpers who drive, manage, and fix our school buses. Please complete this permission form to allow your student to join us on this field trip. As this is a school staffed event,we will not be accepting chaperones, however, we’d love to have you join us for our field trip in March. More information about that to come! If you want more information on why we celebrate kindness week at Westgate or how we celebrate it in kindergarten, please check out our post from January 20th. 

Upcoming Events:

• Kindness Week: February 10th through February 14th. 
• Half day of school February 14th
• February 14th- Walking field trip to the bus barn.  Please fill out the permission form so your  student can attend (see more information above).
• No School February 17th for Presidents day. 
• February 28th- Class Picture Day

Advocacy Theme

The RISE theme for the month of February is empathy and kindness. Your students will imagine what it will be like to stand in someone else’s shoes, learn how being empathetic strengthens our community, and how it deepens the relationships with people they know in and out of school. 

Little spot of feelings: 

On top of continuing our talks about growth mindset with the students for the advocacy theme of February, we will also continue to explore our little spot of feelings curriculum. This week we will read A Little Spot of Empathy and A Little Spot Giving because we will create cards for our community helpers that work at the bus barn and give it to them during our walking field trip. 

Kindness Week

Westgate celebrates kindness week February 10th through February 14th. In kindergarten, we have the wonderful opportunity to visit the Bus Barn to share our thanks to our community helpers who drive, manage, and fix our school buses. Please complete this permission form to allow your student to join us on this field trip. As this is a school staffed event, we will not be accepting chaperones, however, we’d love to have you join us for our field trip in March. More information about that to come! If you want more information on why we celebrate kindness week at Westgate or how we celebrate it in kindergarten, please check out our previous post.

Upcoming Events:

• Kindness Week: February 10th through February 14th. 
• Half day of school February 14th
• February 14th- Walking field trip to the bus barn.  Please fill out the permission form so your student can attend (see more information above).
• No School February 17th for Presidents Day.

As we dive into the new year, we are excited to introduce our Advocacy Theme for January: Growth Mindset.

What is a Growth Mindset? A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and perseverance. It's about embracing challenges, learning from criticism, and understanding that effort is the path to mastery.

Skills Students Will Learn: In the upcoming weeks, your child will engage in various activities and discussions across different classes that aim to cultivate a growth mindset. Here's a glimpse of the skills they will be focusing on:

Resilience: Students will learn to bounce back from setbacks, viewing challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable obstacles.

Perseverance: Embracing the idea that success often involves sustained effort, students will be encouraged to stay committed to their goals, even when faced with difficulties.

Adaptability: Developing the ability to adapt to new situations and learn from experiences will be a key focus, fostering a mindset that values continuous learning.

Embracing Feedback: Students will be taught to see feedback as constructive, using it to refine their skills and enhance their understanding, rather than viewing it as criticism.

Extending Growth Mindset to Personal Lives: It's essential to emphasize that the principles of a growth mindset extend beyond the classroom. Encourage your child to apply these concepts in their daily lives:

Goal Setting: Help your child set realistic goals and work with them to develop a plan to achieve those goals. Celebrate progress along the way, reinforcing the idea that improvement comes with effort.

Positive Self-Talk: Encourage your child to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Remind them that their abilities are not fixed and that they can improve with dedication and hard work.

Embracing Challenges: Teach your child to see challenges as opportunities for growth. Encourage them to approach new experiences with enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.

We believe that fostering a growth mindset will not only enhance your child's academic journey but will also contribute to their overall personal development. If you have any questions or would like to further discuss how to support your child in embracing a growth mindset, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Little spot of feelings: 

On top of continuing our talks about growth mindset with the students, we will also continue to explore our little spot of feelings curriculum. This week we will be diving into the Sadness spot, and how to help manage ourselves when we are sad. If you would like to watch the book, here is the link to a youtube read aloud of it! (Link to read Sadness Spot Book) 

Upcoming Events:

• Field Trip: On Thursday, January 23rd we will be going to the Hammond’s Candy Factory for a tour. Please fill out this field trip permission form so your student can attend. 
• Kindness Week: February 10th through February 14th. See below for more information about kindness week
• Half day of school February 14th, no school February 17th. 

All About Kindness Week:

Kindness Week is Monday, February 10th through Friday February 14th. A few things for you to know about: 

• We do not exchange Valentines cards, candy, or treats at school. If your student arrives with Valentine’s cards, candy, or treats, they will be asked to put them back into their backpack to be taken home.

• Get your Kindness Day permission slip (virtually emailed to families) signed by Wednesday February 12th. Classes will be walking to different nearby businesses to deliver hand-made kindness cards to local businesses on Friday, February 14th. We do not need any chaperones for these trips.  

• Be prepared to go rain or shine on Friday, February 14th (half day) – bring a warm jacket, gloves, beanies, etc. If needed because we will be walking outside. 

NEW this year – Kindness Week Food Drive! Let’s spread some kindness by collecting non-perishable food items for A Precious Child. The details: 

• Bring non-perishable food items to your advocacy class from Monday, February 10th – Friday, February 14th. 

• Last year in November we collected 1,100 non-perishable food items! Help us reach our goal of 1,500 this year! 

Monday, February 10th: Spice it up Monday - Dried herbs and spices 

Tuesday, February 11th: Pasta Tuesday - Dried pasta in boxes 

Wednesday, February 12th: Veggie Wednesday - Canned vegetables 

Thursday, February 13th: Toiletry Thursday - Kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels 

Friday, February 14th: Fruit-filled Friday - Canned fruits 

In addition, there are different advocacy themes for each day aligned with the different love languages. Here’s a list of things that you can do to support your student’s learning at home. 

Monday, February 10th: Words of Affirmation 

Kindness Week Challenge #1 – Use kind words of affirmation with 3 or more other people you see today. It could be a family member, friend, teacher, grocery store worker, or anyone else. Set aside a few minutes daily where each person gives a positive word or phrase to another family member. 

Tuesday, February 11th: Quality Time 

Kindness Week Challenge #2 – Spend at least 30 minutes of quality time with yourself or someone you love today after school. Have a family game night, movie or show night, cook or bake something as a family, enjoy story time, crafts, exercise, or even some yard work together. 

Wednesday, February 12th: Acts of Service 

Kindness Week Challenge #3 – Do another act of service for someone when you get home! Cook a meal for the family, organize a shared space, help each other with chores, plan a relaxation evening, do a surprise improvement project, or care for a pet together. 

Thursday, February 13th: Gift Giving 

Kindness Week Challenge #4: Deliver the gift you made today in class to the person you made it for. Talk about how giving someone a gift made you feel. Dedicate an evening to creating homemade gifts for each other, create a family shared photo album, playlist, or video.  

Friday, February 14th: Kindness Day (Half Day) - various walking trips 

Kindness Week Challenge #5: Create a family “Compliment Jar”. Place a jar in a common area. Family members can write positive affirmations or compliments about each other on small pieces of paper and drop them in the jar.

As we dive into the new year, we are excited to introduce our Advocacy Theme for January: Growth Mindset.

What is a Growth Mindset? A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and perseverance. It's about embracing challenges, learning from criticism, and understanding that effort is the path to mastery.

Skills Students Will Learn: In the upcoming weeks, your child will engage in various activities and discussions across different classes that aim to cultivate a growth mindset. Here's a glimpse of the skills they will be focusing on:

Resilience: Students will learn to bounce back from setbacks, viewing challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable obstacles.

Perseverance: Embracing the idea that success often involves sustained effort, students will be encouraged to stay committed to their goals, even when faced with difficulties.

Adaptability: Developing the ability to adapt to new situations and learn from experiences will be a key focus, fostering a mindset that values continuous learning.

Embracing Feedback: Students will be taught to see feedback as constructive, using it to refine their skills and enhance their understanding, rather than viewing it as criticism.

Extending Growth Mindset to Personal Lives: It's essential to emphasize that the principles of a growth mindset extend beyond the classroom. Encourage your child to apply these concepts in their daily lives:

Goal Setting: Help your child set realistic goals and work with them to develop a plan to achieve those goals. Celebrate progress along the way, reinforcing the idea that improvement comes with effort.

Positive Self-Talk: Encourage your child to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Remind them that their abilities are not fixed and that they can improve with dedication and hard work.

Embracing Challenges: Teach your child to see challenges as opportunities for growth. Encourage them to approach new experiences with enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.

We believe that fostering a growth mindset will not only enhance your child's academic journey but will also contribute to their overall personal development. If you have any questions or would like to further discuss how to support your child in embracing a growth mindset, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Upcoming Events:

• January 20th: No school MLK day 
• Field Trip: On Thursday, January 23rd we will be going to the Hammond’s Candy Factory for a tour. Please fill out this field trip permission form so your student can attend. 
• Kindness Week: February 10th through February 14th. See below for more information about kindness week.

All About Kindness Week:

Kindness Week is Monday, February 10th through Friday February 14th. A few things for you to know about: 

• We do not exchange Valentines cards, candy, or treats at school. If your student arrives with Valentine’s cards, candy, or treats, they will be asked to put them back into their backpack to be taken home.

• Get your Kindness Day permission slip (virtually emailed to families) signed by Wednesday February 12th. Classes will be walking to different nearby businesses to deliver hand-made kindness cards to local businesses on Friday, February 14th. We do not need any chaperones for these trips.  

• Be prepared to go rain or shine on Friday, February 14th (half day) – bring a warm jacket, gloves, beanies, etc. If needed because we will be walking outside. 

NEW this year – Kindness Week Food Drive! Let’s spread some kindness by collecting non-perishable food items for A Precious Child. The details: 

• Bring non-perishable food items to your advocacy class from Monday, February 10th – Friday, February 14th. 

• Last year in November we collected 1,100 non-perishable food items! Help us reach our goal of 1,500 this year! 

Monday, February 10th: Spice it up Monday - Dried herbs and spices 

Tuesday, February 11th: Pasta Tuesday - Dried pasta in boxes 

Wednesday, February 12th: Veggie Wednesday - Canned vegetables 

Thursday, February 13th: Toiletry Thursday - Kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels 

Friday, February 14th: Fruit-filled Friday - Canned fruits 

In addition, there are different advocacy themes for each day aligned with the different love languages. Here’s a list of things that you can do to support your student’s learning at home. 

Monday, February 10th: Words of Affirmation 

Kindness Week Challenge #1 – Use kind words of affirmation with 3 or more other people you see today. It could be a family member, friend, teacher, grocery store worker, or anyone else. Set aside a few minutes daily where each person gives a positive word or phrase to another family member. 

Tuesday, February 11th: Quality Time 

Kindness Week Challenge #2 – Spend at least 30 minutes of quality time with yourself or someone you love today after school. Have a family game night, movie or show night, cook or bake something as a family, enjoy story time, crafts, exercise, or even some yard work together. 

Wednesday, February 12th: Acts of Service 

Kindness Week Challenge #3 – Do another act of service for someone when you get home! Cook a meal for the family, organize a shared space, help each other with chores, plan a relaxation evening, do a surprise improvement project, or care for a pet together. 

Thursday, February 13th: Gift Giving 

Kindness Week Challenge #4: Deliver the gift you made today in class to the person you made it for. Talk about how giving someone a gift made you feel. Dedicate an evening to creating homemade gifts for each other, create a family shared photo album, playlist, or video.  

Friday, February 14th: Kindness Day (Half Day) - various walking trips 

Kindness Week Challenge #5: Create a family “Compliment Jar”. Place a jar in a common area. Family members can write positive affirmations or compliments about each other on small pieces of paper and drop them in the jar.

The RISE theme for this month is generosity. Your students will define emotional generosity as the act of making others feel positive without expecting anything in return. They will learn the importance of generosity and ways they can show generosity to others. Below are some activities you can try at home with your student. Click on this link to find activities you can do at home with your student to show generosity. Link: K-3 Activities

We will also be continuing our work with the Little Spot Curriculum. This week, we will be taking a look back at the Worry Spot, Anxiety Spot, and Confidence spot. If you would like to read the books that we are reading to the students, you can find them on youtube right here! Anxiety Spot Book Read Aloud, Worry Spot Book Read Aloud, Confidence Spot Book Read Aloud 

Reminders:

• Please come into the front office to see if your student’s lost items are inside the lost and found. Our goal is to make sure all the items are returned before Winter Break. 
• Cold Weather is here, so please make sure you are sending your student to school with a warm jacket, gloves, and hat.

Upcoming Events:

• Holiday Shop: December 9th- December 13th
• The Holiday Shop will be open during recess/lunch (Tues- Fri) and after school starting Monday after school.  
• Winter Party: December 20th 
• For our Winter Party, we will have a polar express theme. On this day, we will also be wearing our pajamas all day, so please have your students wear their pajamas if you would like! If you’d like to donate items or your time to our Winter Party  (December 20th), I will send our sign up out on Monday! 
• Winter Break 
• December 23rd- January 10th. Students will return to school on January 13th.

The RISE theme for this month is generosity. Your students will define emotional generosity as the act of making others feel positive without expecting anything in return. They will learn the importance of generosity and ways they can show generosity to others. Below are some activities you can try at home with your student. Click on this link to find activities you can do at home with your student to show generosity. Link: K-3 Activities

Reminders:

• Please come into the front office to see if your student’s lost items are inside the lost and found. Our goal is to make sure all the items are returned before Winter Break. 
• Cold Weather is here, so please make sure you are sending your student to school with a warm jacket, gloves, and hat.

Upcoming Events:

• Holiday Shop: December 9th- December 13th
• The Holiday Shop will be open during recess/lunch (Tues- Fri) and after school starting Monday after school.  
• Field Trip: December 20th 
• We have a field trip to tour the Hammond Candy Factory. Please fill out this field trip permission form so your student can attend. If you would like to be a chaperone for this field trip, please email me. 
• Winter Party: December 20th 
• For our Winter Party, we will have a polar express theme. If you’d like to donate items or your time to our Winter Party, I will be sending out a Sign up Genius sometime this week. 
• Winter Break 
• December 23rd- January 10th. Students will return to school on January 13th.

This week we will continue to work on becoming aware of our feelings. This week, we will be learning about anxiety. Specifically, how it looks on our faces, how it feels in our bodies, and what tools we can use when we are feeling anxiety. Here is a video of the book we will be reading in class. 

As you know, we will be going to the Denver Science Museum this Friday (November 22nd), so  please fill out this permission slip by Wednesday (November 20th). If you’re interested in being a chaperone, please email me. 

Upcoming November Events: 

• November 21st: Gratitude Grub. All of Kindergarten will sit together and share a mini feast in honor of what they are grateful for. 
• November 22nd: Field Trip to Denver Museum of Nature and Science
• November 25th-29th: Thanksgiving Break (Students return on December 2nd)

This week we will continue working on our deep dive into our little spot of feelings by talking about how some feelings need other feelings. We will be talking about how our anger spot needs our peaceful spot to help it calm down. We are doing a fabulous job understanding how our spots impact how we are feeling, so we will be digging deeper and finding out how we should help our spots when they get too big. 

Upcoming November Events: 

• November 8th: Half-Day
• November 11th: No school, Veterans Day
• November 21st: Gratitude Grub. All of Kindergarten will sit together and share a mini feast in honor of what they are grateful for. 
• November 22nd: Field Trip to Denver Museum of Nature and Science
• November 25th-29th: Thanksgiving Break (Students return on December 2nd)

This Month is following the theme of gratitude. Students will look at their skills, abilities, accomplishments, loved ones, and many things they do have to identify what they are grateful for.Students will be encouraged to promote togetherness and sense of belonging within the classroom, at home, and in the community. 

Upcoming November Events: 

• November 8th: Half-Day
• November 11th: No school, Veterans Day
• November 21st: Gratitude Grub. All of Kindergarten will sit together and share a mini feast in honor of what they are grateful for. 
• November 22nd: Field Trip to Denver Museum of Nature and Science
• November 25th-29th: Thanksgiving Break (Students return on December 2nd)

This week in advocacy we will explore a little spot of anger. Students will identify frustrations related to the situations or events when they are angry (what activates them), how people react differently to the same situation, and how to express anger without hurting oneself or others. 

This is a big topic for our kindergarteners, and we would love for you to practice these skills at home. On Friday, your student will receive a coloring sheet of practices they can use to calm their angry spot. If you have time, please ask them about it and color it in together. These skills are best learned when they are worked on at home as well as at school. 

Halloween Party

The day is upon us! We are so excited to get our costumes and carnival on! Students will have time on Thursday, October 31st to change into their costume. Please don’t send them to school wearing their fun clothes. Costumes should be school appropriate (no face coverings, violent images, etc.) If you’re unsure if the costume is school appropriate, feel free to send an email and I’d be happy to give you some guidance. 

At 1:30pm, students will attend the school carnival hosted by our 5th and 6th graders. At 2:30pm, we will have a Halloween party. If you prefer your student to not participate in Halloween festivities, please email me. 

If you would like to donate an item or your time to our Halloween party (we are looking for 2 volunteers), please check out our sign-up genius here (Baker)

Lastly, it is that time of year where it gets pretty cold. Please send our kindergarteners with jackets, gloves, and/or hats when needed.

This Month, we will focus on the topic of “Using your Voice”. We want your students to feel confident advocating for their needs and the needs of others. We will encourage your students to practice setting boundaries and teach them the power of their voice.

This week in advocacy we will also take a deeper look into our Little Spot of Feelings curriculum and read our Little Peaceful Spot book. While reading, students will practice calming techniques and learn what our body looks like, sounds like, and feels like when we are peaceful. 

Upcoming Events:

This Month, we will focus on the topic of “Using your Voice”. We want your students to feel confident advocating for their needs and the needs of others. We will encourage your students to practice setting boundaries and teach them the power of their voice.

Upcoming Events: 

-Field Trip: Mark your calendars for our very first field trip this year on October 16th. We will be going to MIller Farms and picking vegetables. This field trip is special because your students will get to see a community helper in action as well as see how plants live and grow.  There are two permission forms for this field trip. One for Westgate found here (online only) and one for Miller Farms found here. (I also sent a hard copy home today, Monday October 14th). Students must have both permission slips to attend the field trip. Students will need a packed lunch for this field trip and if possible, wear a Westgate t-shirt. 

-Fun Run: The Rockin' Run Fun Run will support the Music Department this year. This event will be held on October 18th and kindergarten will run at 9:55-10:10 AM. Your student will wear a white westgate rock’n fun run shirt that we will decorate at school. You and your family are welcome to come cheer on your student! 

-Halloween Carnival and Class Party: October 31st: 1:30- if uncomfortable with celebrating this holiday, please reach out and we can find a separate activity for them to do.