Westside Pack Post
December 2022
Principal's Message
November was a wonderful month at Westside and we are looking forward to a quick three weeks in December! We have a lot planned in the coming weeks, so remember to read classroom newsletters carefully. Our students are learning and growing so much and we are impressed with how hard they work.
One of the things we have started this year are PACK Shout Outs. Students can earn a shout out from any adult in the building for having a positive attitude, showing hard work, practicing self-control, being responsible, showing compassion, being honest, showing academic progress, being grateful, or showing enthusiasm and encouragement. So far, we have had 329 student shout outs and 32 staff shout outs. We are excited to watch that number grow as we move throughout the year. Our students and staff are the best!
Kelsey Anderson
Principal at Westside Elementary
December Dates to Remember
December 2 - FAME
December 5-9 - Book Fair
December 8 - Family Night
December 9 - Donuts with Grownups
December 12-16 - Spirit Week
December 16 - Classroom Holiday Parties
December 19 through January 2 - NO SCHOOL
Late Start Fridays
FAME
Once a month, all students will have the opportunity to learn more about music and art through a 30 minute Fine Arts Mini Experience (FAME) taught by a PTO volunteer. FAME is an art and music program designed to familiarize students with historically well-known artists, composers, and their works. The content is presented by focusing on specific art and music elements as parts of a composition and by providing a connection, be it life experiences or artistic similarities of featured artists.
Book Fair and Donuts with Grownups
Our PTO Book Fair will be open in the Westside Library from December 5 through December 9. Students can visit the book fair during their class's assigned library time throughout the week and before/after school. Check out our Scholastic link and load up your student's e-wallet so you don't have to worry about sending cash! https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/westsideelementary
Friday, December 9, will be Donuts with Grownups from 8:15 am to 9:15 am. Students can bring an adult to have a donut with and the book fair will be open for adults to visit.
December 8 - Family Night
Westside staff and students invite you to join us on December 8, 2022 from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm for a night of Magical Reading, Math, and Music.
Our Book Fair will be open for students and parents to make purchases, our teachers will have math games for our students to teach to and play with their families, and our music teacher has organized a concert for all students. Students have been practicing their songs for the last few weeks and are excited to share their talents with their family members.
Students will begin singing at the following times in the gym. Please make sure your child is in the gym at their assigned time to perform. Students should wear performance dress and look their best.
Kindergarten 5:00 pm
1st grade 5:15 pm
2nd grade 5:30 pm
3rd grade 5:45 pm
4th grade 6:00 pm
5th & 6th grade 6:15 pm
Spirit Week
Monday - Red and Green (wear anything red and green)
Tuesday - Holiday Headgear (wear fun hats, headbands, scarves, or crazy hair)
Wednesday - Winter Wonderland (wear white and blue)
Thursday - Pajama Day (wear warm pajamas because we'll still go outside)
Friday - Holiday Sweaters (show your holiday spirit)
Breakfast and Lunch
School breakfast and lunch are not free this year. We are highly encouraging everyone to fill out the free and reduced lunch application. You may be surprised that you qualify! This form is also how we receive funding for programs such as Title 1 and All Day Kindergarten. The form only needs to be filled out once per family. Fill out the form here:
English - https://family.titank12.com/application/new?lang=English&identifier=738XVG
Spanish - https://family.titank12.com/application/new?lang=Spanish&identifier=738XVG
Title 1 at Westside
English
Spanish
Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures
Blue - drop off and pick-up zone
Yellow - crosswalks
Green - park and walk your student to their door
Counselor's Corner
I hope you all enjoyed the time with your families and your Thanksgiving feast. It’s hard to believe that Christmas break is right around the corner. Thank you to all of our families who helped with donations for our families in need. We were able to raise $600 to help many families in our community.
In the classrooms, we are moving forward with lessons that focus on emotional management. Students are continuing to learn how to identify emotions in themselves and others and how to apply helpful strategies in uncomfortable situations.
Kindergarten and 1st graders are learning the 5 Basic Emotions. We are working on identifying feelings in ourselves and others. It’s been fun to listen to the students share about their emotions and connect with others have the same feelings about similar situations. Some of their facial expressions are so silly when they understand that our friends share the same feeling that we do! It helps build positive classroom communities when students can share their own life experiences and understand that students in their classroom have experienced similar situations.
2nd through 6th grade students continue to practice identifying different situations that bring comfortable and uncomfortable emotions. We are working on being preventative by predicting what situations bring uncomfortable emotions and picking strategies that we could try in that situation.
5th and 6th grade students participated in the Growth and Development Video presentation the Friday before Thanksgiving break. Feel free to ask your child if they have any questions about their bodies. All of the students were given a quiz that pertained to the video we watched. Students were asked to take the quiz home with them and show their parents what they learned. I did see some quizzes in the trash can, which says some students might be a little nervous or reluctant to speak with their parents. If I can help support these conversations in any way, let me know.
Amy Gallagher - Westside Counselor
Questions, Comments, and Celebrations
Follow Us on Facebook
Westside PTO - https://www.facebook.com/groups/578020748921992
Mrs. Anderson
Email: andekels@sd91.org
Website: https://www.ifschools.org/Westside
Location: 2680 Newman Drive, Idaho Falls, ID, USA
Phone: (208) 525-7666
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrskelseyanderson/