Westlake's Monthly Newsletter

Westlake is happy to announce the Grand Re-Opening of our student run in school Can do Cafe. Some of the skills worked on in the Cafe will help students to develop work readiness and employment skills for when they graduate. Students greet customers, take orders and serve them. Students bake banana bread and cakes with their class and serve drinks. Many students and staff from Westlake and Hillcrest Academy South visit the cafe. Please come by on Tuesday mornings, all is welcome!

For the month of February, our lessons focused on Black History Month with students continuing to learn about Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges and other Black Historians. Students also experienced many opportunities to participate in activities related to friendship and cooperation. They work with our school social worker and teachers to increase their social skills.

As I visited classrooms this month, I saw a smiling face that drew me into the class. It's such a pretty smile for a pretty girl. We sat together for a few minutes, played, laughed and enjoyed time spent together. Thank you, Sarah, for making my day!

In February the focus during Social Studies lessons was on African-Americans who made significant contributions to American life.

The students watched a video about Garrett Morgan, who was not only an inventor but a businessman and a community leader. Morgan is most well known for his invention of the traffic light, however, he also invented the ‘safety hood’, a precursor to the gas mask.

After watching the video Mrs. Robles’ students measured rice and vinegar so they could dye rice red, green, and yellow. These students then completed an art project using the rice and made traffic lights. The students enjoyed creating their traffic lights and appreciated the sensory experience that using the rice provided.

In another lesson the class read/listened to a teacher written story about 3 women who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which later became NASA. The three women were Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughn. These three women (among many others) were indispensible in solving mathematical equations and making calculations that were instrumental in preparation for sending US astronauts into space. As a follow up activity the class worked on creating their own number line because the complex mathematical problem solving of NACA’s ‘computers’ began with number sense (understanding quantity) and number recognition (using symbols to represent numbers).

In Social Studies students are learning about influential African American musicians. Students are studying music through the decades and comparing and contrasting different music from different time periods. In SEL students are viewing different problem scenarios and discussing how they would feel in those situations and how they would effectively problem solve. In science students are learning how to create and problem solve like an inventor. They are studying African American Inventors whose inventions have changed our lives and how we live. For example, when learning about George Crum who invented the potato chip we experimented with the different oil content in each potato chip and then surveyed the class on their favorite style of chip. When learning about Garrett Morgan and the invention of the traffic light we discussed the functions of the lights to keep us safe and then played a game of red light green light in the hallway.