Westlake Wizard Weekly Newsletter

~ Forgotten Items Policy ~

To minimize classroom interruptions:

All items forgotten need to be placed on the cart outside of the office. Please mark it with your child's name and teacher. Teachers will be notified that the items are in the office. Items will either be delivered to classrooms or students will pick them up at recess or breaks.

Please remember when entering campus to volunteer or to sign out your child from school early, we will need to check your ID. We check everyone's ID so that we can ensure that all of our students are safe. The office staff is required to do this and we appreciate your cooperation.

When you are walking your children into school, please park on the streets. The drive through line is only for dropping off or picking up your children.

We know that some mornings are rougher than others. If your child is late, they need to go through the office and check in so we can make sure that it is correctly marked in our system. We lock the gates shortly after the bell rings and teachers get started right away with taking attendance. Therefore, if your child is marked absent and goes through the gate to enter school, we are not able to correct it in our system and you will get a call that your child is absent. If students go through the office, we can make sure that the tardies are marked accurately and also get their lunch ordered.

Thank you to all of our School Site Council members that contributed to this year’s School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)! The draft version of our school’s SPSA is available now at this link. These plans will be provided to our community and board of education on 9/20 and again on 10/4 for approval.

We are continue our Legacy Brick Sales. We have had many installed and will be placing another order at the end of September. All proceeds will go back to our school to support our campus beautification projects. Order yours now!

Please read this email in its entirety as it contains important information about upcoming events, the digital backpack with flyers, the lunch menu and more! All of our enrichment activity information is located in the digital backpack.

Mrs. Culpepper

Principal

Westlake Elementary

Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students access learning opportunities and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and on the job.

How to Help Your Student Stay Engaged

· Find out if your students feel engaged by their classes and feel safe.

· Monitor your students’ academic progress and seek help from teachers when necessary.

· Stay on top of your child’s social contacts. Peer pressure can lead to skipping school, while students without many friends can feel isolated.

· Schedule non-urgent medical appointments and extended trips when school isn’t in session.

· Encourage your teen to join meaningful after-school activities, including sports and clubs.

· Notice and support your students if they are showing signs of anxiety.

Communicate with the school! Check your student’s attendance on Q to be sure that absences and tardies are not adding up. We are here to help! Please reach out if you need support. #AttendTodayAchieveTomorrow

Our PFA supports all of our students through supporting our specialists programs, assemblies, field trips and so much more. We can't do it all without your direct donations.

• September 22: Movie Night (click Here for tickets)
  
• September 25: Holiday - No School
• September 28: 3rd Grade GATE Lunch Bunch
• September 29: 4th/5th Grade GATE Lunch Bunch

• October 4: Walk/Ride to School Wednesday
• October 9-13: Parent Teacher Conferences - Minimum Days - 12:30 Dismissal
• October 16: No School
• October 18: Unity Day - Wear Orange
• October 19: Picture Day
• October 26: Egg Drop
• October 27: Student of the Month Assembly
• October 31: Halloween Parade

Popsicle Fridays

Movie Night

From time to time, individuals or groups in the community will distribute information and advertisements to parents/guardians on the public sidewalks during school arrival or dismissal. This information is not affiliated or endorsed by Westlake Elementary school and CVUSD. Any approved communications (i.e. announcements, fliers) from Westlake Elementary school and CVUSD will be provided directly from the school to you via email, or given to your students to take home. If you ever are unsure whether or not materials are from Westlake Elementary school and CVUSD, please do not hesitate to contact the front office.

All volunteers and visitors MUST check-in at the front office with your ID each time you are on campus.You will not be permitted on campus without your ID.

If you will be volunteering regularly on campus, you will need to fill out the volunteer paperwork. All paperwork needs to be submitted at least one week prior to the start of volunteering. Our office staff needs time to enter the information into our system. Paperwork can be picked up in the office. All volunteers must have a scheduled volunteer time with their student's teacher.

• Please include a copy of your drivers license & TB test
• TB tests are good for 4 years

Thank you for your support in keeping our school safe!

We are an advisory committee consisting of the school principal, teachers, other school personnel and parents that represents all stakeholders of the school community. We meet one a month on every second Wednesday at 2:45pm in the MPR. If you are interested in joining our team, please contact Victoria Ater, Office Manager at vater@conejousd.org.

We are looking for a few parent representatives for the following district committees:

• English Language Advisory Committee
• LGBTQ+ District Advisory Committee
• African American Advisory Committee

If you are interested in being the Westlake Elementary parent representative for any of those committees, please contact Victoria Ater, Office Manager at vater@conejousd.org.

Please remember that all absences must be phoned in to our attendance line, via a recorded message at: 805-494-0324

Be sure to state the date and reason for your child’s absence or late arrival, and your child’s teacher or room number. Any unexcused absence is counted as truancy. Students are allowed only three truancies per year before action is taken. Planning ahead with your child will also help to avoid unnecessary tardiness. Students who arrive on time feel better about school and perform better in the classroom.

All Conejo Valley Unified School District Students will receive FREE breakfast and lunch meals again for the school year 2023-2024! Free meals are available for students at every district school during regular meal serving hours.

Although all students will receive meals at no charge again this school year it is very important for parents or guardians, to complete and submit an application for free or reduced meals as soon as possible after July 1st.

Visit https://conejo.vcoe.org/fsonline/Main/Login to complete the application online starting on July 1st, 2023. For first-time applicants, it's recommended to use a desktop computer to set up your profile. If your student is found eligible to receive meal benefits it might also qualify your family for discounts on gas, electricity, cell phone or cable service, and a waiver to take the SAT and ACT tests.

PAPER APPLICATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE SCHOOL SITE AND DISTRICT OFFICE AFTER JULY 1ST

A great alternative to celebrate your child's birthday! Simply purchase a book, bring it to the front office, provide us with your child’s birthday information, and your child’s birthday with be officially honored in our morning announcements as having donated a book to their classroom or the library. For book suggestions, please visit the library page on our school website.

Please note that due to dietary restrictions and covid protocols, we ask that you not bring in any treats or food to your child's class. If you would like to pass something out, supplies or goodie bags are permitted.

Welcome to Westlake Elementary: a new webpage of flyers from community groups/organizations that will be used to reduce the amount of paper that your child takes home in their backpack.

Click on the button below for information regarding Chorus, Band, Strings, and all CRPD enrichment classes.

Please Note: The Conejo Valley Unified School District approves flyers from organizations as a community service. The distribution, posting, or publishing of these materials is *NOT* the District's endorsement of the group's activities, products, or services.