Reminders:

• Specials: Our new special is Music. We will continue in this special class until Winter Break.

• Future Forward Field Trip this Friday: 2^nd Grade is going on a walking field trip to Future Forward at Washington Square (Career and Technical High School) on Friday, November 22^nd, 12:15 PM – 2:00 PM. Students will eat lunch at school and attend specials as normal. A field trip lunch is not necessary for this field trip. Please send your child with comfortable walking shoes and a water bottle for the day.

Reminders:

• Specials: Our Special is P.E. Please make sure your child wears athletic shoes to school every day. We will switch to Music on November 18.

• Cold Weather Gear: As the weather continues to be cold, please remember to send your children in with coats, hats, and gloves to keep them warm throughout the day. Please make sure to label your child's clothing. If you or someone you know needs assistance providing warm clothing for your child, please reach out or check out the resources below:
  • Clothes to Kids
  • A.S.H. Closet
  • Goodwill
  • Arc Thrift Store
  • Cozy Coats for Kids(this is a great option, but you need to order clothes in August, so this can be used next year)

Also, the colder weather means more items for your child to be in charge of. Please try and label your child’s clothing, especially outerwear, so that we can quickly return any lost items.

• Volunteer Opportunities:
  • Tear out books from workbooks and staple them together.
  • Repair damaged books from my classroom library.
  • Help with Friday Folders on Thursdays or Fridays.
  • Interested in Volunteering?
    • Complete an online Volunteer Interest Form
    • Complete a background check. Cost is $20.95
    • Complete a Volunteer Agreement Form

Advocacy Theme for November is Gratitude

Learning Goals:

• Students will look at their skills, abilities, accomplishments, loved ones, and many things to identify what they are grateful for.
• Students will increase their well-being and happiness with activities that promote a sense of togetherness and belonging with their advocacy and families.
• Students will reflect upon their successes and improvements using a self-reflection tool, and consider how they’ve changed, and to reflect on the people who made their progress possible.

Looking forward to a great month of gratitude and thankfulness!

Reminders:  

• Specials: Our Special is P.E. Please ensure your child wears athletic shoes to school daily. We will switch to Music on November 18. 

• Volunteer Opportunities:  

• • Tear out books from workbooks and staple them together.  

• • Repair damaged books from my classroom library. 

• • Help with Friday Folders on Thursdays or Fridays. 

• • Interested in Volunteering? 

• • • Complete an online Volunteer Interest Form 

• • • Complete a background check.  Cost is $20.95 

• • • Complete a Volunteer Agreement Form 

Advocacy Theme for November is Gratitude 

Learning Goals:  

• Students will look at their skills, abilities, accomplishments, loved ones, and many other things to identify what they are grateful for. 

• Students will increase their well-being and happiness with activities that promote a sense of togetherness and belonging with their advocacy and families. 

• Students will reflect upon their successes and improvements using a self-reflection tool, consider how they’ve changed, and reflect on the people who made their progress possible. 

We are looking forward to a great month of gratitude and thankfulness! 

Reminders:

• Specials: Our Special is P.E. Please make sure your child wears athletic shoes to school every day.

• Infinite Campus App: As we begin the 2nd quarter, I would like to invite you all to regularly check Infinite Campus to check on your student's grades and identify any incomplete or missing assignments that may need to be finished.
  • Click on the following link to create your Infinite Campus account if you do not already have one.
    • https://4.files.edl.io/8b72/09/15/22/164611-24e1a24a-402c-49de-9a50-97e1e60c66bd.pdf
  • The following link will help you set up the Infinite Campus App, which is nice to have as you can set it to notify you whenever a grade is entered for your student.
    • https://1.cdn.edl.io/X3X3DBQ7iIoHx1h6P5aI99A0RyC52XnQd9k5SnwDVIODKHgl.pdf

• Volunteer Opportunities:
  • Tear out books from workbooks and staple them together.
  • Repair damaged books from my classroom library.
  • Help with Friday Folders on Thursdays or Fridays.
  • Interested in Volunteering?
    • Complete an online Volunteer Interest Form
    • Complete a background check. Cost is $20.95
    • Complete a Volunteer Agreement Form

Advocacy Theme for October is Bullying Prevention

This month students will learn:

• friendship – identifying the traits of a good friend, how to be a good friend, having healthy boundaries with friends, and to confidently use their voice to advocate for their own needs and the needs of others.  
• what bullying is and is not, including the roles of people in a bullying situation.
• specific ways that they can stand up to bullying and use their voice to be an upstander.

Donation request:  

I am trying to put together a hands-on timeline of the telephone. I have a rotary phone from the 1950’s, a corded push-button phone from the 1980’s, and the school’s classroom phone.  

• I am looking for a donation of a “Fisher-Price Toddler Pull Toy Chatter Telephone with Rotary Dial and Wheels” that students can use to see how the rotary mechanism works. My antique rotary phone is currently broken, and I can’t allow students to touch it.  

• I would also like to have a cordless phone that was popular in the 1990s.  

• Lastly, I would love to have an old Nokia or early cell phone. 

If you have one of these phones and are looking to part with them, our class would love to give them a new home! 

Reminders:

• Specials: Our Special is I-Lab. After Fall Break we will have P.E.

• Extra Clothes: Due to a stomach bug going around we are asking that you put some extra clothes in your student’s bag for the time being. We will take the necessary steps to help your child while they are here and we appreciate your support with this matter.

• Volunteer Opportunities:
  • Tear out books from workbooks and staple them together.
  • Repair damaged books from my classroom library.
  • Help with Friday Folders on Thursdays or Fridays.
  • Interested in Volunteering?
    • Complete an online Volunteer Interest Form
    • Complete a background check. Cost is $20.95
    • Complete a Volunteer Agreement Form

Advocacy:

This week we will finish up our unit on emotions and feelings. We will learn about the emotions of confidence, love, and happiness.

Reminders:

• Specials: Our Special is I-Lab.

1^st and 2^nd Grade Parent Engagement Night

• No students please. 
• Parents and Guardians of 1^st and 2^nd grade students only.
• This is an opportunity for you to connect with and get to know other Parents & Guardians.
• Come for merriment and connections!

• Volunteers – Interested in volunteering?
  • Complete an online Volunteer Interest Form
  • Complete a background check. Cost is $20.95
  • Complete a Volunteer Agreement Form
  • Volunteer Opportunities:
    • Tear out books from workbooks and staple them together.
    • Repair damaged books from my classroom library.
    • Help with Friday Folders on Thursdays or Fridays.

• Advocacy:
  • Our September Advocacy theme is Self-Awareness.
  • We will continue using the “Spots” to help us learn about our emotions and feelings. Now that the students know what the emotions are, we are going to work on skills to identify what emotion they are experiencing and the feeling associated with it.

Reminders:  

• Spirit Week: This week is Spirit Week. See the above schedule for the themes for each day. 

• Friday Folders - Your child should have a Friday folder that comes home each Friday. Please review the folder with your child and return it to school empty each Monday. 

• Specials: We are finishing up Art this week. Our next special is i-Lab. 

• Volunteers – Interested in volunteering? 

• • Complete an online Volunteer Interest Form 

• • Complete a background check.  Cost is $20.95 

• • Complete a Volunteer Agreement Form 

• • Volunteer Opportunities:  

• • • Tear out books from workbooks and staple them together.  

• • • Put labels on folders. 

• • • Repair damaged books from my classroom library. 

• • • Help with Friday Folders on Thursdays or Fridays. 

• Advocacy:  

• • Our August Advocacy theme is RISE (Respect, Integrity, Safety, Empathy)!  

• • This week we will continue our Advocacy focus on our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) program RISE.  Last week, we focused on the “S” for Safety. We talked about being safe in our classroom, around the school and in our community.  This week, our focus will be on the “E” in RISE which stands for Empathy.  Empathy is understanding how someone feels and showing care or concern. 

• We had another great week! Last week we got to visit the chickens with Mrs. Kahn. Also, Ms. Kinslow came in to introduce herself and tell us a little about her job and our facility dog, Blanche. 

• Clubs: After-school enrichment clubs began last week. If you would like to sign up, visit the school’s clubs page. 

• Friday Folders - Your child should have a Friday folder that comes home each Friday. Please review the folder with your child and return it to school empty each Monday. 

• Specials: Our current special is Art. We will stay in this special until Aug. 30. 

• Water and Snacks: Please remember to send your child a spill-proof, reusable water bottle, that is labeled with their name. In addition, students may eat snacks at any time when hungry. Healthy snacks are always the best option.  Please make sure your child knows which food is for their lunch meal and for snacks.  

• Volunteers – Interested in volunteering? 

• • Complete an online Volunteer Interest Form 

• • Complete a background check.  Cost is $20.95 

• • Complete a Volunteer Agreement Form 
  • Email me when you would like to help!

• • Volunteer Opportunities:  

• • • Tear out books from workbooks and staple them together.  

• • • Put labels on folders. 

• • • Repair damaged books from my classroom library. 

• • • Help with Friday Folders on Thursdays or Fridays. 

• Advocacy:  

• • Our August Advocacy theme is RISE (Respect, Integrity, Safety, Empathy)!  

• • This week we will continue our Advocacy focus on our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) program RISE.  Last week, we focused on the “I” for Integrity.  We talked about showing integrity in our classroom and around the school.  This week, our focus will be on the “S” in RISE which stands for Safety.  We will discuss safety in and around school, as well as washing our hands and preventing the spread of germs. 

• We had a great first week getting to know each other! We learned about routines and expectations in our classroom and around the school. We did several activities to get to know each other. We also learned about using manners, not interrupting, and what the guidelines for tattling vs. reporting. We began doing academic work on Friday.  

• Clubs: After school enrichment clubs begin this week. If you would like to sign up, visit the school’s clubs page. 

• Specials: Our current special is Art. We will stay in this special until Aug. 30. 

• Water and Snacks: Please remember to send your child a spill-proof, reusable water bottle, that is labeled with their name. In addition, students may eat snacks at any time when hungry. Healthy snacks are always the best option.  Please make sure your child knows which food is for their lunch meal and for snacks.  

• Morning and Afternoon carline are “hug and go” only.  The staff asks that you please stay in your car and allow your child to exit the vehicle on their own.  This will allow the flow of traffic to move quickly. 

ZERO WASTE WEDNESDAYS! 

How It Works: 

• Every Wednesday is “Zero Waste Wednesday” here at Westgate. What this means is that if students have a lunch that doesn’t use any waste AT ALL (i.e., nothing to throw away, like baggies, cans, plastic cups, paper lunch bags, etc.), then they will get a Zero Hero stamp on their hands.
• *Students who have school lunch will qualify if they accurately sort their lunch into the appropriate trash and recycling AND have a reusable water bottle for the day* 

• The goal is for families to start the conversation about alternatives to lunch waste, like glass or plastic lunch containers, reusable lunch bags and water bottles, and cloth napkins. If a student has any item that must be thrown away (at school or at home) their names will not be entered, and they can try again next week and every week after that. Hopefully, this will instill changes that will go far beyond Wednesdays during lunchtime at Westgate. https://www.westgateschool.org/apps/pages/waste 

• Volunteers 

• • Complete an online Volunteer Interest Form 

• • Complete a background check.  Cost is $20.95 

• • Complete a Volunteer Agreement Form 

• • Volunteer Opportunities:  

• • • Tear out books from workbooks and staple them together.  

• • • Put labels on folders. 

• • • Repair damaged books from my classroom library. 

• • • Help with Friday Folders on Thursdays or Fridays. 

• Advocacy:  

• • Our August Advocacy theme is RISE (Respect, Integrity, Safety, Empathy)!  

• • This week we will continue our Advocacy focus on our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) program RISE.  Last week, we focused on the “R” for respect.  We talked about showing respect to others, to our community, to things in our classroom and so forth. 
  • This week, our focus will be on the “I” in RISE which stands for Integrity.  Integrity is simply doing what is right even when nobody is looking.    

We will be teaching students what these 4 words mean—focusing on a different part of RISE each week—and what it looks like to live these values out during school and at home. We will use RISE all year to celebrate positive behaviors.

I am excited for the school year and am looking forward to working with you and your child to help them grow!