Future Chefs | 2024
March 21, 2024 - The Future Chefs National Challenge competition was held today at TRP Middle School! Congratulations to our Future Chefs Finalists, Paityn S. (5th Grade) and Huthaifa A. (3rd Grade)! "Reimagine Your Favorite School Lunch Meal" and take a yummy look at Paityn's Heavenly Pastry Bites and Huthaifa's Japanese Curry With Rice! Fantastic job representing Westlake with your excellent culinary skills and presentation, Paityn and Huthaifa!
Outdoor Education | 2024
March 11 -15, 2024 - Westlake recently enjoyed 5th Grade Outdoor Education! Students had a fun week filled with discovery hikes, night explorations, garden adventures, forest visits, beach day at pebble beach, tide pool, marsh, and more! Students hung out with banana slugs, salamanders, chickens, ducks, and even sea otters! The food was delicious and living the cabin life was exciting! Very special thank yous to Ms. Lau and Ms. Perkins for joining the 5th graders on this memorable learning journey and for sharing so many wonderful pictures of this exciting week!
Fit Kids - Westlake Promo Video | 2024
February 29, 2024 - Westlake has partnered with Fit Kids for the past four years. Fit Kids is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide structured physical fitness activities and equipment to underserved youth. Fit Kids created a promo video of the program with Westlake students during PE! This promo was shown today at the Fit Kids benefit concert at The Guild Theater in Menlo Park. Check out the Fit Kids Westlake Promotional Video!
Ethnic Studies | 2023
October 15, 2023 - This week, our fifth graders participated in a Show and Tell artifact discussion during our Ethnic Studies lesson. Here is Michael pictured with a traditional handmade Ethiopian table runner.
Spooky Science Festival | 2023
October 3, 2023 & October 4, 2023 - We had our very first Spooky Science Festival at Westlake! Students took part in fun and spooky science experiments! We learned about states of matter and how to make dry ice bubble potions! We discovered dancing ghosts with the help of protons and electrons forming static electricity! We studied how our eyes work and revealed hidden messages using refraction! Every student left with a book, poster, gift bag or science kit surprise! A special thanks to the amazing Liz Eng for organizing our Spooky Science Festival! Thank you Lawrence, Susie, Thalia, Leah, Ruth, Jeanie, Theresa, Lauren, Claudia, Vidiane, Nobuko and all our wonderful volunteers who helped to make this a special and engaging learning experience for all of our students!
TK/K Carnival Day | 2023
May 26, 2023 - On Friday, our Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten students enjoyed a fun Carnival Day! Thank you once again to the marvelous Leah for orchestrating this amazing event for our students to enjoy! We had many parent volunteers from the TK/K classrooms who helped ensure a smooth event! The kids absolutely loved the carnival! Check out the pictures!
Peace Rally | 2023
May 25, 2023 - On Open House night, Westlake held a Peace Rally to Fight Racism. We invited students, parents, and community members to share their experiences and their hopes for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our students created posters, drawings, and writings to take a stand against racism. A special thank you to the entire Geter family for helping us plan our first peace rally. Thank you to everyone who attended and for supporting our wonderful Westlake community with love.
JESD School Board Meeting | 2023
April 18, 2023 - Congratulations to 5th Graders Daniella, Izaiah, Leo, and Lily for representing Westlake at the April 18th School Board Meeting. The Westlake special presentation started with the Pledge of Allegiance and then each student shared their Morning Message experience and recited their favorite "Words of Wisdom." Mrs. O'Neill, Ms. Golembiewski, Ms. Iriyama, Ms. Laharty, Mr. Ramos, and Ms. Wong were there to support our students! Daniella, Izaiah, Leo, and Lily all did a fantastic job and made Westlake very proud! Check out the recorded presentation video here.
5th Grade Outdoor Education | 2023
April 10-14, 2023 - Our 5th Graders attended their week long Outdoor Education program in Camp Jones Gulch "nestled in the Redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains in La Honda, California"! They had a fantastic experience learning from their wonderful Naturalists, hiking with new friends, and living with their cabin mates! Learn more about Outdoor Education here!
Future Chefs | 2023
March 28, 2023 - A big round of applause to our very own Westlake 4th Graders who represented Westlake Elementary at the Jefferson Elementary School District's "Future Chefs" Culinary Competition at the Central Kitchen! "We're looking for you to complete the plate with your favorite fruit or vegetable side dish!" Take a look at Future Chefs Champion, Eliana's Maui's Famous Salad and Future Chef Finalist, Paityn's Fruit Owl's Famous Dish! Congratulations to Eliana R. and Paityn S. for their hard work and amazing job at the competition!
5th Grade Outdoor Education | 2020
February 28, 2020: Welcome back 5th graders! Our 5th graders returned from Outdoor Education after a week-long stay at Camp Jones Gulch. They had a blast and thrived in nature as they learned about science and different cultures around the world. The students had some time to enjoy the beach, go on night hikes, have a bonfire, and perform a skit with their classmates. It was also a great opportunity for them to take care of themselves and be independent! Thank you to our fifth graders, teachers Ms. Stein and Ms. Rodriguez, and all the staff who helped to make this a success!
Mandarin After School Program | 2019-20
We started our first Mandarin After School Program here at Westlake in 2019 with our wonderful teachers, Ms. Michelle and Ms. Hailey. We learned pronunciation with the four tones, greetings, names of animals, foods, fruits, veggies, colors, family members, and more! We also played games and learned fun songs in Mandarin!
Animal Camp | 2019
June 24-28, 2019: Peninsula Humane Society/SPCA's Animal Camp program for upper graders in our district was held at Westlake! Students had a great time learning how to take care of different animals. We got to pet rats, a guinea pig, a dog, a rabbit, a snake, a parrot, kittens, and a hen! We also played fun games like Animal Olympics and Animal yoga! We did art projects and science experiments - like finding out what was inside of an owl pellet! It was fantastic learning about all the different animals and getting hands-on experience at Animal Camp!
Eagle Scout Garden Project | 2019
June 3, 2019: Have you visited our Westlake garden lately? Former Westlake student, Douglas Yu completed his Eagle Scout fundraising project to enhance Westlake's garden area and it is beautiful! We have a new ADA compliant ramp which makes our garden walkway safer for our little ones and wheelchair friendly! There are now five sturdy benches adorning our garden seating area. The new benches are light enough to easily move around the garden! We also have a lovely new trellis to support and display our climbing plants! Many thanks to Douglas and his team of Boy Scouts who worked very hard over the weekend to gift Westlake all the wonderful garden improvements! We wish you well on reaching Eagle Scout, Douglas! Thank you!
Westlake Future Chefs Winner! | 2019
May 8, 2019: Congratulations to Westlake's very own Ericloue Candelaria (3rd Grade) for winning 1st place at the 4th Annual Future Chefs Competition! The theme this year was healthy Mexican food and Ericloue's winning recipe was Keto Taco Cups! And it looks delicious! Bravo Ericloue for a job well done!
JESD Art Fair | 2019
April 30, 2019: Thomas R. Pollicita Middle School hosted Jefferson Elementary School District's 2018-2019 Art Fair. A beautiful gallery of student artwork from all schools in our district were on display! There were live performances from the TRP Band, TRP Tinikling Team, Fernando Rivera & Ben Franklin Polynesian Clubs, and TRP Advanced Dance Classes. Principal O'Neill and our art teacher, Ms. Whitney also joined Westlake families at this fun event! Check it out!
Special Guest | 2019
March 29, 2019: We had a special guest reader today! Here is Officer Ortiz from the DCPD reading “Waiting is Not Easy” to our excited first graders. What a fun visit from DCPD!
Garden Science | 2019
March 13, 2019: "[Today in Garden], students learned about how beaks on different birds (pelican, California Finch, hummingbird, and hawk) can determine what they eat. Their activity included making a bird feeder for the California Finch, which eat seeds. Some of the students brought their bird feeder home, while others decided to adorn the front of the school with them." - Mrs. Wan
District Spelling Bee | 2019
Congratulations to Amanda Cardoza for winning the 4th Grade Division of the Jefferson School District Spelling Bee on March 19, 2019 at Ben Franklin School! We are also very proud of Emily Liang for representing the 5th Grade at the District Spelling Bee!
Westlake Safety Patrol Team | 2019
Our dedicated Safety Patrol Team was invited to lead the Pledge of Allegiance for the Jefferson Elementary School Board Meeting last February 27, 2019. Rain or shine, the sixteen 5th Graders on the team continue to show their diligence in making sure that all students and their parents are safe leaving our school site after dismissal. Check out the video below of our safety patrol group shown at the School Board Meeting! Thank you Mr. Ramos and our Westlake Safety Patrol Team for keeping us safe every day!
5th Grade Art | 2018
Pictures from Room 12 art project!
Pumpkin Characters | 2018
"We spent the last two days brainstorming our favorite books and characters and discussing what makes them our favorites. Today the kids narrowed down their list of characters to one, created a rough draft and then painted their favorite characters on their pumpkins. On Monday, we will continue our unit by writing about their characters’ traits! So much learning and fun going on at the same time!" - Mrs. Wan
The Great Pumpkin | 2018
"A special thanks to PTA for donating pumpkins to our Kindergarten classes. Things like [this] are possible because of all the parents who have donated to the dollar a day campaign. If you haven’t joined PTA yet please [support] Our Dollar a Day Fundraiser. No amount is too small. Thanks!" - Mrs. G
Mrs. Hansen's Kindergarten class has a special song for Westlake in the cute video below! Thank you Room 11 and thank you for the pumpkins PTA!
"Room 16 Thanks [PTA] for the fabulous pumpkins for pumpkin math! We measured our pumpkins and drew about them!" - Mrs. Iriyama
ABC Fashion Show | 2018
ABC Bootcamp is now complete and we celebrated in a big way! Our kinder classes held Westlake's very first ABC Fashion Show on Friday, October 19th! Thank you to the parents in Mrs. G's class who helped create 100 blank vests from grocery bags! Each vest was then paired with a letter and students decorated their vests with pictures they found/created based on their letter! Thank you to all the parents who worked with their child to create the beautiful fashion masterpieces. Special thanks to Mrs. Hansen, Mrs. Iriyama, and Mrs. G for coordinating this event! Check out the super cute video of our kindergarteners walking the runway and sporting their ABC fashions below!
Soul Shoppe Assembly | 2018
September 13, 2018: We had our first Soul Shoppe Assembly of the school year on Thursday! Students worked on developing their emotional self-awareness and self-management skills by learning techniques like "Stop & Breathe, What Do You Need?" and "Four Mindful Breaths." Ask your kids what they learned at Soul Shoppe and please join us at our next assembly.
Kindergarten Science Lab | 2018
Our kindergarteners are ready for science! They just finished putting together their personal Science Lab Books! Check them out, all decked out with lab coats, goggles, and test tubes! Beautiful!
Animal Summer Camp | 2018
Jody, Jaden, and Mrs. Kloezeman enjoy bonding with La Verne, the goat at Westlake's Animal camp!
Garden Work Party | 2018
May 19, 2018: Our wonderful Education Outside teacher, Ms. Tiffany hosted a Family Garden Work Party to help beautify our school garden. Projects include moving and spreading tanbark throughout the whole garden on the paths, painting four murals on our wooden fence, painting our new planter boxes, and painting a "peace path" on the ground on the blacktop. Thank you for all the yummy donations and thank you to all the families that joined us!
Painting Like Monet | 2018
Kindergarteners can paint like Claude Monet. Beautiful renderings of sailboats from students in Mrs.G's class and water lilies from Mrs. Iriyama's class!
The Great Food Truck Race | 2018
"During the last few weeks, the 5th graders practiced Math, Technology and Engineering. They built food trucks, as seen at Off The Grid, with appliances inside and practiced using area, perimeter, and volume. Using technology, the students were then asked to create eye-catching menus for their truck using Google Slides. Today, we completed the activity with students shopping at a minimum of 4 food trucks and staying within a $50 budget. Finally, each student calculated the total for their truck to find the winner of “The Great Food Truck Race,” which is determined by the most profit." - Mrs. Wan
Peter Rabbit Play | 2018
Ms. Sims has put together a fun Peter Rabbit play with her ELD group. They include all 3 of our first grade classes: Mrs. Forte, Mrs. Regalado, and Ms Sims. The first graders have performed for many classrooms and grades already!
Art Shapes the World | 2018
February 2, 2018: Congratulations to Westlake 4th graders who had their art displayed in Mountain View City Hall in February: Nicole Arambulo, Sean Francis Dallas, Rhianne Mercado, Misheel Sergelenbat, Enkhinkhuslen Tegshjargal, and Michael Yabes. Thank you to our wonderful Art Teacher, Ms. Whitney!
Science Experiments | 2018
Kindergartners learn about chemical reactions hands on in the classroom. Students previously did an experiment and learned about colors. Students also keep a lab journal about their findings.
Destination Space | 2018
Our Kindergarten students had a blast working with a new green screen app to capture photos for their space project! They are currently working on stories to accompany their moment in space.
First Grade Coding Lesson | 2018
Check out our 1st grade students coding with the technology integration teacher. Two 5th grade student helpers from the Tech Club were also on hand to assist!
