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Ms. Thomas, Advocacy, 3/4

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Week of 2.10

Happy Monday Advocacy Families, 
 
This is the beginning of our Kindness Week. Just a reminder that we will be having our walking Field Trip on the 14th and that it is a 1/2 day on Friday. Please make sure your student is dressed appropriately to walk on Friday!
 
We had the largest number of donations for the food drive today! Check out our schedule below and donate for the food drive if you can!
 
 2.10: Dried herbs and spices
 2.11 Pasta in boxes
 2.12 Canned vegetables
 2.13 Kleenex, toiletries, and paper towels
 2.14 Canned Fruit

Week of 2.3

Hello Advocacy Families, 
 
For kindness week this year (2.10-2.14) we are doing a food drive. Below is the schedule. Our School wide goal is 1500 canned goods and our class goal is 65. 
 2.10: Dried herbs and spices
 2.11 Pasta in boxes
 2.12 Canned vegetables
 2.13 Kleenex, toiletries, and paper towels
 2.14 Canned Fruit
 
Starting of February 10th our special will change to iLab.
 
This week we will be making cards and getting ready for Kindness week.
 
Love to Read Fridays: My Advocacy will be doing a "Love to Read" challenge on Fridays for February and March. Students will pick a cozy spot to sit and cuddle up with a book during part of our Advocacy on Friday. The goal is to help students view reading as a fun and entertaining hobby and not just something we have to do at school. Students may bring one SMALL stuffie or travel pillow to cuddle with during this time on Fridays. 
 

Week 1.13

Welcome back!
 
I am so excited to see our students on Monday Morning!  This week we will be setting new year goals and reviewing classroom expectations.
 
Here are a few reminders for the new year:
 
-Please Label clothes, Tupperware, water bottles, etc. to make it easier to return lost items to students.
 
-Students have outdoor recess most days. Please make sure your scholar comes to school wearing weather appropriate clothes.
 
-We have snack time during the day, send one-two items for snack daily.
 
-Microwaves are for lunch only with  one-minute/student.

Week of 12.16

Hello Parents, 
 
I hope you had a great weekend. 
 
This week we will be working on Generosity and personal strength. 
 
4th grade has a field trip on Friday so please check with your 4th grade teachers if you have any questions. 
 
3rd grade is having a winter celebration on Friday. Please check the email from your CORE teacher with information.
 
Please label your child's coat, hat, gloves, etc to make it easier to find and return misplaced items. 
 
Have a great week!

Week of 12.2

Hello Advocacy Families,
 
This Month we will be talking about Generosity and what it looks like and sounds like. This week we will be reading Biblioburro and talking about how the main character showed generosity. 
 
A few reminders as we come to the end of Q2:
-Please label all of your student's jackets, gloves, hats, etc! It makes it easier to find misplaced items.
 
- Snacks should be one-two small items that do not have to be microwaved. Encourage your student to bring healthy snacks that will help them stay focused in class. Also, remind students that we cannot share snacks in class!
 
-Lunch: School lunch is free and should be signed up the week before. Links can be found on the school's website or emails send weekly from Westgate.
 
-Home Lunches: Lunches should not be cooked at school, only heated (up to 1 minute/student). Please also send spoons, forks, etc that your child may need to eat their food. We have some in class, but sometimes we do run out!
 

Week of 11.18

We’ve noticed some seasonal illnesses going around, so let’s all work together to keep everyone healthy! Please remind your children to wash their hands regularly and cover their noses and mouths when sneezing and coughing. As the weather gets colder, please remember to send your children in with coats, hats, and gloves to keep them warm throughout the day. If you need assistance providing warm clothing for your child, please reach out or check out the resources below:
 
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.
 
Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe, healthy, and warm this season!

Week of 10.21

Hello Families, 
 
The fun run was awesome today and I am so glad I got to see all of our friends having a blast and doing their best!
 
Next week we are going to be discussing how to handle peer pressure and bullying. 
 
We will also be discussing life cycles on the farm for our Service Learning projects this year. 
 
Have a wonderful weekend!

Week of 10.14

Happy Second Quarter!
 
I am so happy to get to see all of my students again and hear about their breaks.
This month we will be working on Bullying preventions and discussing how to prevent and handle bullying.
 
This week we will read "The Bad Seed" and discuss what choices they could have done differently. We will also look at different scenarios and discuss whether or not it is bullying and what could be done differently.
 
Fun Run is this Friday at 9:05-9:20 AM
Picture retakes are on October 28th!
 

Week of 9.16

Hello 3rd and 4th grade families,
 
This week in Advocacy we will be reading "Train Your Dragon to Love Himself" by Steven Herman and discussing ways to love ourselves and find healthy and respectful ways to handle our emotions. 
 
Students will work together to come up with ideas on how to communicate their thoughts and needs to others. 
 
Have a wonderful week,
Marcela Thomas

Week of 9.9 - 9.13

Dear Parents/Guardians,
 
This month, our focus is on Self-Awareness, a key part of our advocacy efforts. Through various activities and lessons, your child will develop essential skills like recognizing their emotions, understanding their strengths and challenges, and learning how their actions impact themselves and others. These skills are crucial for their personal growth and success, both in and out of the classroom. We encourage you to engage in conversations at home about what they’re learning to reinforce these important concepts. 
 
The following topics will be covered throughout the month of September during advocacy classes--
  • Emotional Awareness: Recognizing and understanding their own emotions, which helps in managing reactions and building empathy for others.
  • Self-Reflection: Developing the habit of thinking about their actions, decisions, and behaviors, and how these affect themselves and others.
  • Strengths and Weaknesses Identification: Recognizing their strengths to build confidence and understanding areas for growth to set realistic goals.
  • Goal Setting: Learning to set personal and academic goals based on their self-assessment, and developing a plan to achieve them.
  • Self-Regulation: Developing the ability to manage impulses, stay focused, and persevere through challenges.
  • Personal Values Identification: Understanding what they value and how it influences their behavior and choices.

Week of 8.26 - 8.30

What a wonderful week we had! Please remember that Friday 8.30 is a 1/2 day and dismissal is at 11:30AM. We also have Spirit Week this week! 
 
Monday, August 26th - Team Day - Wear your favorite sports team gear. Whether it’s a jersey, hat, or even socks, let’s see that team pride!
 
Tuesday, August 27th - Class Colors Day Each grade has its own color. Wear your specific class color T-shirt if you have one, or simply dress in the colors of their grade group. Let’s paint the school in a rainbow of class pride! The 3/4 Pod is green!
 
Wednesday, August 28th - Wacky Wednesday It’s time to get Westgate Wild! How crazy can you get? Wear something backward, inside out, or come up with your own wild and wacky look. The wackier, the better!
 
Thursday, August 29th - Crazy Hair or Hat Day Let your creativity shine with the wildest hats or craziest hairdos you can imagine. It’s a day to let your hair down—or up, or sideways!
 
Friday, August 30th - Pajama Day We’ll wrap up Spirit Week with a cozy half-day. Roll out of bed and come to class in pajamas.

Week of 8.19-8.23

Hello Families, 
 
This week in Advocacy we will be focusing of Safe for our RISE review. We will talk about how to keep our bodies safe at school and what we can do to help others stay safe. 
 
So many teachers! Who should I reach out to about... 
...academics? Generally, for academic support, you should reach out to the teacher responsible for that subject (example: I have a concern about math, so I will reach out to my child’s math teacher). You are also welcome to reach out to advocacy teachers, but your advocacy teacher may not know all your student’s academic information. 
...behavior? Reach out to your advocacy teacher for support! 
...social challenges? Reach out to your advocacy teacher for support! 
...a family emergency/logistical issue with pickup/question about dropping of a lunch etc? Call the front desk. 
...any other issues? Reach out to your advocacy teacher for support! 
 
 
Have a wonderful week, 
 
Marcela Thomas

Week of 8.12-8.16

Hello families, 
 
This last week we started making respect posters and talking about what it means to have respect in RISE. Next week we will also discuss what is integrity and how can we show it in and out of school. 
 
Every morning during gathering we listen to our morning affirmations song. Please click on the link below if you would like to check it out:
 
Westgate has also started our Zero Waste Wednesdays. If students have a lunch that doesn’t use any waste AT ALL (i.e. nothing to throw away, like baggies, cans, plastic cups, lunch bags, etc.) then they will receive a stamp on their hand from the Zero Hero Team.

**students who have school lunch will qualify if they accurately sort their lunch into the appropriate bins – trash and recycling.

Mrs. Kahn came to our classroom and did a great presentation about recycling with the students!

 

Have a wonderful week, 

Marcela Thomas

Welcome Back

Hello 3rd and 4th grade families, 
 
My name is Marcela Thomas and I will be your child's Advocacy teacher this year. I am excited to be here and get to know all of my students.  This is my first year at Westgate and my 7th year as a lead teacher. I have been in classrooms for 15 year and love seeing students grow.
 
We have a fun and busy week coming up. We will be going over classroom and school expectations, doing fun team building activities, getting to know each other, and setting goals for our new year.
 
This month, our August Advocacy theme is RISE!
At Westgate, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a part of our Whole Child Education program. PBIS is a system in which students, staff and community create a set of school-wide behavioral expectations/ core values, we teach those expectations in all of our various environments, and then we CELEBRATE when we see students doing those things! At Westgate, we RISE (Respect, Integrity, Safety, Empathy).
 
Week 1
R
 
What does RESPECT mean?
Being kind to people, property, and yourself. Being considerate of our community.
Week 2
I
 
What does INTEGRITY mean?
Telling the truth and doing the right thing even when nobody is looking.
Week 3 
S
 
What does it mean to be SAFE at school?
Act in ways that won’t harm yourself or others.
Week 4
E
 
What is EMPATHY?
Understanding and caring about the feelings of others.
 
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.
 
Have a wonderful weekend!
Marcela Thomas