Westlake Elementary

November Parent Newsletter 2016

Annabelle Kloezeman, principal 650-991-1252

akloezeman@jeffersonesd.org

Thank you to all who donated to Westlake’s 2016 Walk a thon! Your generous contributions are much appreciated! Students are receiving their goal incentives on a daily basis. Last week I announced our morning message from the roof, students received a No Homework Pass, our fabulous Daly City police once again escorted students around the block and ice treats were enjoyed by all! More treats to come. Mrs. Golembiewski’s Kinder parents reached their $2,000 goal and Mrs. Barille’s 2nd grade parents are catching up at $1,700!  More data coming!

We surpassed $21,000 so...coming up next...teachers will do the “Running Man Challenge”. Date to be determined!  The sweatshirts will be available all year if you would like to donate at a later date. Events paid for with your PTA contributions to date are:

Pumpkins for T-K, two 4th grade class field trips to Filoli Mansion, Wild Life Assembly, Bryan Stow Foundation Assembly, No Bully Zone Assembly and teacher classroom  materials.  

STEM/Science FREE- Enjoy hundreds of hands-on activities, opportunities to meet local scientists and engineers, and plenty of fun and educational entertainment at AT&T Park. The entire ballpark is packed to the rafters with science content: on the field, at every entry/exit, and every level of the ballpark. Get ready to unleash your inner scientist. A HIGHLY recommended  experience! Don’t miss this event!!!

On Time Daily Attendance is Important for learning, even for preschool and TK. Why?

Truancy, especially among elementary school students, has long-term negative effects. Students who miss school at an early age are more likely to struggle academically and, in later years, to drop out entirely. One study found that for low-income elementary students who have already missed five days of school, each additional school day missed decreased the student’s chance of graduating by 7%. Lacking an education, these children are more likely to end up unemployed. Every student’s success  matters!  Please come and speak with me if you have extenuating circumstances.

Parent Involvement Advisory Committee- Westlake needs two representatives for this very important committee that meets once a month 6:00-7:00 at the district office with representatives from other schools in the district. Please contact the principal if interested.  

Opera a la carte- 4th and 6th grades (sponsored with your PTA donations) The sights and sounds of opera come to Westlake with an assembly featuring the performance of our own 6th grade students alongside professional singers. Parents invited to watch performance on 12/1 at 9:00 am.

For safety reasons, ALL parents must sign in at the office. Kindly stand behind the red lines during arrival and dismissal. Home lunches or instruments can be left in the office.

••Please note that teachers have yard duty assignments. Depending on the week they may take their class out to the yard 2 minutes early so that they can arrive on time to monitor dismissal. It is important that parents not conference or try and talk with teachers as they leave the class. Their first priority is to be out on the yard or street, talking with you delays adult supervision. Thank you.

VERY IMPORTANT!   Parent Teacher Conferences

12:30 Dismissal on 11/15,11/16, 11/17

It is important that you make every effort to meet with your child’s teacher to learn how your child is progressing and ways to support their learning at home. Please respond by email, phone or note to your invitation to conference.

Teachers use standards based grading. Grades are a reflection of a portfolio of student work which includes classwork, exit slips and weekly test scores. Do not be concerned if you don’t see a grade recorded for every standard. Not every standard is assessed or even taught in this first grading period.

Students who are performing a year or more below grade level are at risk. Your child can receive additional support and/or interventions within the classroom provided by the teacher or intervention specialist. You are encouraged to talk with your teacher to discuss how to effectively help your child at home.

Support from home:

      • Lexia

      • Trips to the library

      • Provide a quiet place to study

      • Provide healthy school and home nutrition

      • Early bedtimes  

Depending on the need, in school we provide:

        •Daily targeted intervention groups

        •In class small groups

        •Early literacy reading support  

                    •Before school Lexia or Imagine Learning Adaptive computer

        •After school Homework Club

        •SES Tutoring for those that qualify

REMINDERS:

Parents are invited to attend at least one of the Soul Shoppe session this year to better understand the social emotional skills your  children are learning.  Please check in with the office for a pass. Dates will be posted on the Westlake Website. Thank you to our new kindergarten parent, Barry Fong who will be regularly updating our website!

Please note that for religious reasons, some parents do not wish to be photographed. Take care to be respectful and not photograph or post these pictures on social media. In addition, please note that we only have one Westlake Facebook page that is managed by Mrs. Mabini, your PTA president.

Upcoming Events  (May change due to availability or scheduling)

Coming Up! Parent Surveys! We need your input please!

Every family has a different code, surveys can be completed online or as a hard copy. We will have Chromebooks available for your use in the MUR.

Our goal is 100% participation!

11/1 No school for students. Teacher work day

11/4 Principal Coffee 8:00-9:00 am

11/5 Discovery Science Event at AT&T Park- Free

11/7 Picture retakes

11/8 Soul Shoppe Assemblies -parents are invited to attend!

11/8 PTA meeting- library at 3:00. Come and join us right after school.

11/11 Veteran’s Day! No School.

11/15 Parent Advisory Meeting 6:00-7:00 at the district office

11/21-11/25  Thanksgiving Break

12/1 Opera a La Carte 6th grade student performance 9:00am All invited!

12/2 Principal coffee 8:30 am  All are welcome!

A very civic minded, responsible, and compassionate group of student candidates ran for office.  I commend all the students who stepped to run for office. Speeches were articulate, creative and quite impressive!  Public speaking is not an easy skill, but an important one for the future. Congratulations to the following 2016-2017 Westlake student officers:

Nima Joseph-President

Omar Joseph- Vice President

Nicholas Au- Secretary

We are a Safe Routes to School. Interested parents wanting to improve the situation on the street during drop off and pick up can work with me and the police to improve traffic around the school. I am also seeking translators in various languages to assist in communicating our drop off and pick up routines. The police have been contacted and a date will be set in November. Contact me if interested.

SEPTEMBER STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Room 9 -  Ms. Laharty Room 7 - Mrs. Golembiewski

Lily Begonia Yvo Reyestan Aurora Le Alex Valderama

Room 11 - Mrs. Hansen Room 2 - Mrs. Iriyama

Jordin Lee Serena Gardner Alessandra Mesa David Ortiz Valencia

Room 16 - Mrs. Regalado Room 1 - Mrs. Barile

Sophia Bianco Eyad Almaznai Jodie Zapanta Carl Aquino

Room 8 - Mrs. Perkins Room 5 - Mrs. Han

Maxine De Leon Carter Camilosa Elianna Ras Rhianne Mercado

Room 6 - Mrs. Hart Room 4 - Ms. Sims

Emily Liang Sean Santos Paola Abigail Carballo Tristan Jayme

Room 21 - Mrs. Bantugan Room 18 - Mr. Ramos

Amanda Iriyama Vincent Zhang Noah Ferrer Michalla Cabrera

Room 19 Ms. Roth