WEST WORLD
October 8, 2020
Dates to Know
- Today 10/8 (by 1:30pm): K/2/4 test kit drop off at District Office
- Tomorrow 10/9 (by 1:30pm): 1/3/5 test kit drop off at District Office
- 10/11 (Sun.): Last day of Book Fair (see below for more info)
- 10/12 (Mon.): Distance learning for all K-5 students (synchronous learning ends at 10am)
- 10/13 (Tues.): Return to school measured approach begins (see updated info below!)
- 10/14 (Wed. 3:15pm): West Site Council meeting
- 10/14 (Wed. 6pm): HCSD Board meeting
- 10/19 (Mon. 7pm): Parent Education Night (see below for more info)
- 11/6 (Fri.): Distance learning for all K-5 students (synchronous learning ends at 10am)
- 11/11 (Wed.): No School - Veteran's Day
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In this newsletter
- West School news including updated return to school information from Ms. Mata, the most amazing parent volunteers, and West Wildcat Weekend winners!
- APG news including Book Fair and Parent Education Night
- HCSD news updates including return to school plans and HCSD Cares initiative
- And more!
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UPDATED return to school information
Dear West Families,
We are looking forward to seeing some of our students on campus next week. Tuesday, you received an email from me with many details relating to our safe, measured, sequential return to school.
I would like to encapsulate a few items below:
Arrival and Dismissal - Please see the correction below as information shared Tuesday copied incorrectly. PLEASE NOTE: parents will be expected to be prompt and pick up their students at each of these designated dismissal times. My apologies that this may be inconvenient for some families, however, we are trying to follow the many safety protocols which at times can be constraining.
- K students: 8:30am-12:00pm
- 1 & 2nd grade students: 8:30am-12:35pm
- 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade students: 8:30am-12:50pm
Recess - Students will have designated areas in the yard that allow for each class cohort to maintain distance. Grade levels will be separated among areas on the playground. Students will eat their snacks during recess. The play structures will be on a weekly rotation for grade levels students and will be cleaned. Unfortunately, students will not be able to bring balls or other equipment from home.
Unaccompanied Bikers/Walkers - If you wish your child to walk or bike to school without you or a caregiver, please email Mrs. Volden at vvolden@hcsdk8.org granting permission for your child to either bike or walk unaccompanied to and from school by Friday, October 9th. Children who are unaccompanied must check into the office before going to class so we can clear them through the Ambry Gen portal.
Backpacks - Students may bring their backpacks to school.
Please know that we are working diligently to create the safest setting at school and we continue to appreciate your patience and partnership. We are fortunate to have so much support from our teachers, our district, our families, and our community to be able to open up our schools. We look forward to seeing our students back at school.
With Gratitude,
Heather Mata
Principal
West Hillsborough School
CORRECTION from Tuesday's Information
CORRECTION to Arrival/Dismissal Plan:
1. Arrival: Please see Ingress map link here
- By Car
- Drivers are to remain in their vehicles at all times.
- Drivers should Not park.
- Drivers should drop off students at the front of the school drop off area.
- Drivers should leave the drop off area safely and quickly.
- Walking
- Students will stop, say goodbye to parents or caregivers who must display the Ambry App Green Badge result.
- Students will join and follow their designated grade level route to class.
- Unattended walkers must check into the office to be cleared through the Ambry Portal. The student will not be admitted to class until the Ambry App screener is completed.
- Biking (4th and 5th Grade Only)
- Students shall come onto campus at the West front gate.
- Once on campus, students will walk their bikes to the bike rack behind Room 17.
- Unattended bikers must check into the office to be cleared through the Ambry Portal. The student will not be admitted to class until the Ambry App screener is completed.
We will direct students to their designated entry points on campus. There are grade level colored paths taped on campus which lead students to their classrooms. Parents and caregivers can help by reviewing these procedures with students in advance. Teachers will teach, practice and review these procedures throughout the Measured, Sequential Return to School transition schedule.
2. Dismissal: Please see this map link
We will have a staging area at the front of school utilizing the hallways (masked and 6ft apart) students will be called to the front loading zone. Each class will line up in a designated area (cones with signage) with their grade and teacher. Once the student’s car arrives, his or her name will be called and he or she will come out to the loading zone. Each family will receive a name placard to place in their passenger side windshield/window with their family last name and grade level to help with this process- placard will be sent home with the oldest child on their return to school day.
- By Car
- Family name placard should be placed in the passenger side window/visor/windshield.
- Drivers should pick up students at the front of school loading zone.
- Students are to maintain social distancing as they wait for/move to cars for pick-up.
- Drivers are to remain in their vehicles at all times and leave the school pick up area safely and quickly.
- Walking
- Students will meet parents at the front West school gate
- Students must leave school promptly.
- Biking
- Students leave the campus through the front West School gate.
- Students must leave school promptly.
ALL STUDENTS MUST LEAVE SCHOOL AS PROMPTLY AS POSSIBLE. THE CAMPUS IS CLOSED FROM DISMISSAL UNTIL 6:00 PM FOR CLEANING
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Message from WPG Presidents
Hello Westies!
Hard to believe we are entering our seventh week of distance learning and are already into October! We want to give a big shout out to our amazing teachers and staff who we know are working so hard to make distance learning engaging, rewarding and fun for our kids! Thank you!!
We wanted to give you all a quick update on what we have been working on and what is coming up in the pipeline. Our Halloween chairs are planning some fun festivities for our Westies at the end of October. Our Service Learning chairs are working with some wonderful organizations for projects our students and families to be involved in. We will be rolling out Art in Action soon so be on the lookout for more updates on that.
As always, none of this would be possible without the tireless support of our amazing parent community! A big round of applause to all our parent volunteers! We are always looking for more incredible volunteers to help with all these events and programs.
West Wildcat Weekend - A huge round of applause for Kiran Gill, Annie Tan and their entire committee (see below for a full list of volunteers and contest winners)! The number of hours put into planning and preparing for this event, from a dedicated event website, to organizing goodie bag pick-ups during the weekend, to grade level games on Sunday followed by a magic show for the entire school, was truly a testament to how resilient and dedicated our community is! As they say, the show must go on!
Picture Day - Couldn't have captured all those cute smiling faces without Ms. Mata and iClick Smiles.
West Wear - Huge thank you for Marcy Segre and Mirra Desuasido for having West Wear ready to be delivered for our West Carnival!
Virtual Book Fair - Thank you so much to our committee Chairs who are still working so hard to provide this for our kids: Becky Leao, Grace Liu, Kimi Tsui and Andrea Wamsley!
Conference Week Treats - Big thank you to committee Chair Mona Kashani and the outpouring of volunteers who contributed to the conference week treats this week for our teachers! Daily treats were planned for the teachers and will end for a delicious lunch for the whole staff donated by Gau Poang Restaurant. Thank you Katie Aaronson, Marilyn Bloch, Celia Chang, Melissa Chavez, Licia Davidson, Ilaria Huysmans Gallucci, Seven Hu, Marilyn Huey, Yana Kalika, Chris Koo, May Lam, Becky Leao, Wendie Leung, Vy Nguyen Luu, Sarah Maloney, Meeta Mehta, Michele Park, Mona Pine, Leigh Roslansky, Ruth Schlesinger, Susan Shih, Lily Tan, Wendie Tran, Jackie Huang Wang, and Katherine Wong!
Lastly, as we prepare for our Back to School students to return to campus next week, please take time to read through the communications that have been sent out through HCSD and Konstella. Please also review and electronically sign the HCSD Covid-19 Social Contract. As a reminder, the contract is for all HCSD families to sign, regardless of whether your child is in the Return to School or Virtual Classroom. Thank you for your participation and support in this! Together we can keep our entire school community safe!
Go Wildcats!
Sincerely,
Mary Ann Hasenstab and Susan Kuo Shih
WPG Presidents
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And the Winners Are...
We had a tremendous West Wildcat Weekend of spirit and fun this past Saturday and Sunday. It was so lovely to see your families’ faces at the goodie bag drive through and even more fun to see all the photos submitted to our photos contests.
First, we want to announce the much-anticipated winner of the Grade Participation Contest. With over 59% of the grade participating in the Sundays Virtual Game Time and the completion of the goodie bag puzzles…The winner is KINDERGARTEN! Great job and enthusiasm to our littlest wildcats. Keep your eyes out for prize detail from the Kindergarten room parents to be celebrated together.
We received 52 photo submissions to the three different Family Photo Contests. The West Wildcats Committee had such a hard time picking just one winner so we we would like to give a couple shout-outs to our Honorable Mention families as well. Our winners will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. We are so inspired by all the West school spirit! Please enjoy looking at some of this weekend’s photos in our online photo gallery.
Family Spirit Selfie
Winner: The Leung Family
Honorable Mention: The Kulka and The Shiro Families
Family Chalk Mural
Winner: The Schlesinger Family
Honorable Mention: The Watt and Gimble Families
Family School of Cards
Winner: Tom Family (4 levels of cards)
Puzzle Winners
We received over 59 puzzle submissions from our Kindergartners through 5th Graders. We will award a $10 Target Gift Card to the following students from each grade who submitted their puzzle to us first. Great work, everyone!
Isabella Lo (Kinder); Meilana Garnett (1st); Everett Lin (2nd); Jeremy Pak (3rd); Jack Benton (4th); Kayleb Schlesinger (5th)
Thank you to all our parent volunteers who helped make this one-of-kind event happen. We could not have done it with you!
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Order your West Wear
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Choice Lunch Orders
Did you know you don't need to make your kids' school lunches? Choicelunch is still available, even during distance learning. Place your Weekly Lunch Box order with Choicelunch by each Wednesday for lunch the entire following week (pick up orders from the District Office on Mondays).
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New: Hillsborough Chess Team
Does your child want to be a team this year? Consider joining the HILLSBOROUGH CHESS TEAM, for both beginners and experts. The club will meet virtually once a week. Plans are underway to have competitions (school vs. school) against other schools all over the country!
Our Coach, Andrew Schley, has coached several championship scholastic teams (including collegiate programs) in the Midwest and is currenty heading up many after school programs for the Mechanics' Institute and BayAreaChess.
The Team will meet TUESDAYs from 4:00-5:00 starting October 27. Cost to join the team will be $20 per session (Max 16). If you have questions or are ready to commit, please email annhchen@gmail.com (parent) or andrew@ia-chess.com (coach).
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ALL-DISTRICT VIRTUAL BOOK FAIR ENDS THIS SUNDAY!
Don’t forget to check out the all-district book fair this week before the online store closes on October 11! Local vendor Hicklebee’s Bookstore and HCSD have partnered together this year to bring a virtual book fair to ALL families in the district.
Visit the 2020 BOOK FAIR ONLINE NOW and use coupon code HCSDBookFair2020 upon checkout.
Please see the 2020 Book Fair Flyer made by our HCSD Librarian Sue Morgan for more details of the book fair including teacher wish lists, personal shopper service, and book recommendations for all ages!
By shopping at the book fair, you are supporting HCSD Schools and local business Hicklebee’s Bookstore.
Happy shopping and happy reading!
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APG & RISE Parent Group Presents Parent Education Night
Save the Date
Monday Oct. 19, 7PM
Zoom details coming soon!
Just as our K-5 students are returning to school in the coming week, APG & RISE Parent Group are hosting a Parent Education Night speaking on stress and anxiety in our children during the COVID-19 Crisis. The impact of this crisis can put children at risk for a range of academic, social and emotional challenges.
We have invited Dr. Andrea Pascarelli Psy.D., Senior Clinical Psychologist from the Child Mind Institute, to speak with our families and provide practical strategies to help both parents and children cope with anxiety and stress during these challenging times.
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RISE Online Directory
If you are interested in parent-to-parent sharing of resources and mentoring, fill out our intake form for access to the RISE Parent Group Online Directory.
RISE Parent Group is now on Facebook and Instagram!
Like and share if you support our mission: to foster a learning environment throughout HCSD that supports students across a variety of learning styles and abilities. Follow us for up-to-date information on events and resources available to our community, including those who do and do not receive IEP/504 services. Questions/feedback? Email us, and feel free to suggest announcements, stories or photos you would like to share on our social media!
(note: RISE Facebook and Instagram are public)
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INTRODUCING THE HCSD CARES INITIATIVE
On October 13th, our Teachers and Staff will begin to welcome our students back to campus! The return to the classroom is a huge milestone for our school community which reflects the tremendous commitment from our Superintendent and her team, our School Principals, and our Teachers, who have worked tirelessly to bring the best and safest education possible to our students- whether online or back in the classroom.
As students return to campus, HCSD leadership has partnered with the Associated Parent Group and Hillsborough Schools Foundation to launch the "HCSD CARES" initiative. HCSD CARES outlines our commitment as a District to the health, safety and wellbeing of our students, families, school staff, and our community at large. Through HCSD CARES, and made possible by HSF, COVID-19 testing is available for students and staff returning to campus. Families are also participating in the district's HCSD COVID-19 Social Contract, and they are committing to safe and healthy practices throughout the school year. More on how you can state your commitment coming soon!
Any questions? Please take a look at the FAQ document prepared by the HCSD CARES team to provide more details on the HCSD COVID-19 Testing and Screening program.
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Every Friday, Superintendent Louann Carlomagno sends communication to all HCSD families to keep everyone informed and connected to the district.
Here are some key points from the most recent newsletter:
HSCD CARES Provides COVID-19 Testing to Students and Staff
Now Available: K-5 Welcome to School Schedule
HCSD Social Contract: What is expected of our community
School Campuses are Closed to the Community
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With sincere gratitude for your generous donations, we are happy to announce that HSF Giving Day raised over $1.9 million dollars, putting us at 57% of our annual fundraising goal.
If you haven't already done so, please click HERE to help us raise essential funds needed to maintain Hillsborough's tradition of excellence in education.
We are focusing our efforts on virtual events this year and will not be hosting the Hillsborough Classic. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the latest information about our online shopping events.
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West Hillsborough School
Email: westschoolcommunications@gmail.com
Website: https://www.hcsdk8.org/West
Location: 376 Barbara Way, Hillsborough, CA, USA
Phone: (650) 344-9870
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wpghillsborough