Weekend Wire
August 29, 2021
WESTWOOD ROADRUNNERS
Welcome to Westwood!
DATES TO NOTE:
8/31-- 3 p.m. (virtual) Community Update w/ Ms. Mikels
9/3--XPloration
9/6-- Labor Day--No School
9/9--Back to School Workshop (details below) 6pm-7pm
9/11-9/14--Polling Facility
9/17--XPloration
9/27--Professional Growth Day--No School
9/28--First Full Day of Kindergarten
10/1--XPloration
10/14--Picture Day
10/28--Make Up Picture Day
Please Join Us August 31, 2021 at 3 pm.
Please feel free to send in your questions ahead of time using the survey below. We will be sending out a link for you to join the presentation next week and hope you will participate.
CHARACTER CHATS
COUNSELING CORNER
Counseling Corner
Welcome to the 2021-22 school year Westwood families!
Our Westwood counseling team has grown this year and so we would like to introduce ourselves to you. This year, Westwood has two counselors and two counseling interns! Teresa Zucchet and Teodora Dillard are the two counselors. Teresa will be on campus Mondays and Tuesdays and Teodora will be here on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Joining us as counseling interns will be Rebecca Peterson who is getting her Masters in Counseling from USD and Robyn Simuong who is getting her Masters in Counseling from PLNU. Some of you may already know Robyn because she also serves as Westwood’s ESS Supervisor.
Our counseling team looks forward to supporting Westwood families so that all students can have a positive and successful school year filled with growth. With that in mind, we thought it would be helpful to share some tips on how to help children navigate the first few weeks of school.
As our children transition to a new school year it is helpful to remember that we should always start from a place of empathy. Often when kids are exhibiting uncomfortable emotions, well intentioned adults will deny, dismiss or ignore a child’s feelings in the hopes that it will make the feelings go away. A parent might see that a child is frustrated when they pick them up from school and say, “You don’t need to feel so upset. Let’s go get some ice cream!” Or perhaps a child begins to cry and the parent says, “You’re overreacting. There’s no need to cry about this.” Or, the parent says nothing and just tries to distract the child saying something like, “Hey! Let’s play a board game!” When we do this, the feelings stay stuck inside the child and the child does not learn how to regulate their emotional world.
What is most helpful at a time like this is to acknowledge the child’s emotions and put a name to the feeling. For instance, we might say something like, "David, I see that you are really frustrated right now. Learning a new school routine can be really difficult at times. I bet you wish that once in a while you had a magic wand and could wave it to make everything at school feel familiar." A statement like this will help the child feel heard and understood which in turn helps the frustration dissipate much sooner. The child begins to understand their feelings and learns how to manage emotions.
Along with empathy, it is helpful to give our child as much choice as possible. When children have lots of choices it helps them to feel more in control of their world and as a result, they are more likely to be cooperative and less likely to enter into power struggles with adults. This is especially true during transitional times (like the start of a new school year) when kids are having to learn new routines and feel like they are being told what to do all day long (brush your teeth, time for breakfast, get in the car so we won’t be late, get that math assignment done, etc.). Giving children choice will help them to regain their sense of control over their world. For instance, you could let your child choose if they want to work on the subject they enjoy the least before getting to the subjects they like, or if they might prefer to tackle the difficult subject first. Lots of small choices throughout the day will also go a long way. For instance, would your child like to skip or hop to the bathroom to brush teeth? Would they like to pick a song to play while picking up their toys?
Empathy coupled with choice can help keep emotions from building up throughout the day. And, with that said, keep in mind that adjusting to a new routine can take time. Many children struggle a bit at the beginning of a new school year. As parents, we can keep our emotions in check by reminding ourselves that this is temporary and that acclimating to change takes time. Our child will pick up on whether we feel anxious and stressed about how they are doing or calm and confident in our child’s ability to step into this new school year. So take good care of yourselves as well as your children and please feel free to reach out to the counseling team anytime this year should your child be in need of support.
Parent/Guardian Health and Safety Agreement
Please click on this link: The Parent/Guardian Health and Safety Agreement (Spanish Version) and print/sign a copy for each student to submit to their school at the beginning of the school year.
Health Office Updates
https://covid-19.sdcoe.net/Portals/covid-19/Documents/Health%20Practices/COVID-19-Decision-Tree.pdf
Symptoms:
Fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea.
Does your student have known chronic illness/condition such as allergies that would cause frequent coughing, runny nose/congestion or a condition that would cause any of the listed symptoms? Please have your child's physician complete the Certification of Chronic Condition for those specific symptom(s) to keep on file at school. This will help keep your student in school if the symptom(s) occur while at school. Students with this form on file can remain at school as long as symptoms are not severe. Please use the link below for the form or pick one up in our office.
Please remember to self screen your students at home prior to leaving for school. Keep them home if they have any of the symptoms listed above. Please feel free to call Miss Mary in the Health Office with any questions or clarification.
We look forward to seeing our Roadrunners back on campus!
Westwood Needs YOU!
The Westwood PTA sponsors programs and activities for students to enrich the learning environment at our school. The PTA is also the link between parents and Westwood Elementary School. We invite you to join our PTA as we make a positive difference in the education and quality of life for the students at Westwood. The PTA is fully funded by membership dues and fundraisers. Membership is only $20.00 per person.
For more information and to join, please visit or scan here: http://www.westwoodelementarypta.com/membershipdonate.html
2021-2022 Yearbooks
You'll want to remember this school year with a yearbook! Yearbooks are 10% off if you order by September 30th. Visit https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1015978769242468 to purchase.
We want to see your Back to School photos for the yearbook! Upload the photos here: https://tr5.treering.com/school/231813/photos/shared-photo-folders/199025386
Amazon Smile
Amazon Smile
Does the Amazon driver know you by name? Got enough boxes to stack to the moon? Did you know that with every delivery you can raise money for Westwood Elementary?
1. Go to smile.amazon.com
2. Sign in to your Amazon account
3. Search for Westwood Elementary PTA San Diego
4. Sign up!
Or scan here:
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
Welcome new & returning WWES Families!
My name is Eleanor Pe, Box Tops Coordinator for Westwood Elementary School. Please consider this very easy way to raise funds for our school! Click on the links below to get started!
List of hundreds of Box Tops items
Click here for the Box Tops App!
Click here to enter Digital Receipts
***At the end of September, I will reward each student of the top-earning classroom a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream at 4S Baskin Robbins. Stay tuned for monthly prizes & give-aways! Just make sure to enter your student's name before submitting. Check next week's Weekend Wire for the BT leaderboard! If you need help or have questions, just message at wwboxtops4educ@gmail.com
About Us
Principal
Email: kholmes@powayusd.com
Website: https://powayusd.com/en-US/Schools/ES/WWES/Home
Location: 17449 Matinal Road, San Diego, CA, USA
Phone: 858-487-2026
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WWESRoadrunners
Twitter: @RoadrunnersWwes