Westchester Weekly
All-Star Newsletter January 20, 2022
At Westchester Elementary we are standing in solidarity with our Jewish Brothers and Sisters during the recent antisemitic attack in Texas. Hate, in any form, is not tolerated at Westchester or in our Decatur community and our actions and hearts are with all those that feel the impact of this traumatic experience. We stand together to fight all injustice and hate. ❤️
News from the Principal
Dear Westchester Community,
I am extremely honored and excited to be chosen to lead Westchester Elementary. I know that this school community is dedicated to providing a quality education for each child. It is humbling to join the great educators of Westchester Elementary. Ms. Manasso and Coach Henry have my sincere gratitude for their dedication and service. Stepping in as they did during this time of transition is a testament to the collaborative work of the WES Crew. It is also clear that WES parents are a great support of the work that the teachers do each day. I look forward to working together during this transition.
During my 33 years in education, I have worked in Cobb County Schools, private business and Gwinnett County Public Schools. For the last 11 years I have been fortunate to serve as principal at two elementary schools. I started as a special education teacher then moved into a kindergarten and first grade positions before transitioning to school leadership.
I moved to Decatur in 2020 and love this wonderful community. Working within the community is an exciting opportunity for me. I have two children. My son, Collier works with special needs students and is a baseball coach in Forsyth County Schools. My daughter, Caroline is beginning her graduate studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands this month. I come from a family of seven children. A quality education for each us was the highest priority for my parents. Teaching and learning has been my work, but I consider this my passion.
I am truly grateful for this opportunity to become the next leader of Westchester Elementary. I am committed to giving you my best because all of you and all of “our children” deserve it.
Your grateful principal,
Christine C. Knox
Upcoming Calendar Events
January 20th- Nick Bruel visits - Order Bad Kitty Gets a Phone today!
January 20th- Dine out at Gusto from 5:00-8:00pm!
January 29th- Run with the Dogs race day
February 1st- Black History Month and Chinese New Year Begins!🎉
February 8th- BOE @ 6:30pm
February 10th- Early Release @ 12:50 pm
February 11th- Early Release @ 12:50 pm
February 14th-18th- February Break (No School)
From Dr. Fehrman
Dear Westchester Parents and Guardians,
I am happy to announce that Christine Knox has been named the next principal of Westchester Elementary. Ms. Knox comes to us from Gwinnett County where she is currently serving as the principal at Anderson-Livsey. Prior to that, she was the principal at Head Elementary in Gwinnett County. Ms. Knox also served as an assistant principal, Kindergarten teacher, and elementary special education teacher in Gwinnett and Cobb Counties.
We are excited to welcome Ms. Knox to the CSD family. We are still working on the exact dates for her transition to CSD. During the transition and until Ms. Knox is at Westchester full time, Ms. Manasso and Ms. Henry will continue to serve as co-interim principals.
Thank you to Ms. Manasso and Ms. Henry! These extraordinary people took on the interim roles with such grace, humor, and confidence and I am very grateful for their leadership.
Ms. Knox will be sharing more information about herself and her excitement about joining the Westchester Crew soon. Ms. Knox is looking forward to joining the Westchester team to build on the amazing things happening and to support the amazing staff and students learning and working together.
Regards,
Dr. Fehrman
WE Virtual Family-Teacher Conference Announcement
Dear Westchester Families,
As we approach the end of Term 4, we will be scheduling virtual family-teacher conferences during the week of February 7th. We look forward to a rich discussion about the academic and work habits-related progress your child is demonstrating. You should receive an email/notification from your child's teacher with information regarding how to sign up for a family-teacher conference soon. Be sure to record the time and date of your child’s conference in your personal calendar.
At this conference, your child’s teacher will share information regarding areas of strengths and growth, the behaviors your child exhibits that promote learning, as well as next steps for continued growth.
This conference will be followed by a report card that will be available in Infinite Campus on March 3rd.
Thank you so much for collaborating with us. We look forward to partnering with you so that we can support your child's continued growth and success.
Early Release Information: CSD will have two early release days leading up to February Break to allow time for parent-teacher conferences.
- Thursday 2/10, 12:50 dismissal
- Friday 2/11, 12:50 dismissal
- February Break is Monday 2/14 through Friday 2/18
Sincerely,
Christie Manasso
Latonya Henry
Interim Co-Principals
WE Surveillance Testing
We have partnered with a new company, Mako Medical, to offer testing weekly at Westchester. We will test students and staff on Wednesdays from 8:30-10:00, beginning January 26th. Both rapid antigen and PCR tests will be available. If any CSD students or staff have a positive rapid test, they will be required to take a PCR test and not report to school or work.
Registration, consent, and result notification will be managed by the lab. You can opt in and register your student here. Previous registration is not accepted and everyone must register now with this new company.
Special Education Parent Survey 2022
The Georgia Department of Education is requesting that parents who have a student with IEPs participate in the Special Education Parent Survey for SY2021-SY2022. We are asking Principals, Assistant Principals, Special Education Teachers, and Case Managers to encourage their parents to participate in the survey.
As part of our collaboration to reach all parents of students with disabilities, we are asking building leaders to post the survey on their school websites. This survey helps to guide our district and state toward a more meaningful collaboration, which helps to bring about good outcomes for our students' education.
https://survey.gadoe.org/SPEDParentSurvey/Pages/ParentSurvey.aspx
News from City Schools of Decatur
Food Allergen Information from CSD School Nutrition
We are excited to welcome back all of our students in 2022! There is a new document on the "Special Diets" tab of the CSD Nutrition webpage called "Allergens by Recipe," where we have created a chart for parents and students to quickly check for possible food allergens. Note: the allergens identified are the "big 8 allergens," which include wheat, milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, and fish/shellfish. There are more allergens, but these are the critical ones identified in school nutrition.
https://www.csdecatur.net/Page/1403
If your student has a food allergy, we encourage you to check out the list and speak with them about the importance of advocating for themself in any situation where food is being served to them.
Don't forget that meals are still at no cost to our students until the end of this school year!
Wilson Center Department Advisory Committees
We are still looking for members of the CSD community to serve on advisory committees for the various departments at the Wilson School Support Center. If you are interested in serving on one of these committees, please fill out this form. Thank you in advance for your willingness to serve!
PTA News
MASK DRIVE
The wonderful community at Westchester Elementary School would like to make sure that all students have the opportunity to wear the safest mask in helping prevent the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, the PTA has added KF94 masks* (similar to KN95 but sized better for children) to our amazon wishlist and are asking for your support in getting those masks ordered. We will then have them available to teachers, Nurse Nancy, and at the front office for distribution when needed or requested. Again, here is the link to order: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/31QU8RQ6QJLBQ?ref_=wl_share.
Thank you! WE are grateful for your support!
*All masks that are on the wishlist have been third-party tested for quality.
DINE OUT
New Year, New Dine Out!
Join us in ordering from Gusto in Decatur on Thursday, January 20th from 5-8p and Gusto will donate 10% of the profits directly to your Westchester PTA. Funds go to support the school, teachers, and students through various programs. Make sure to mention WE when ordering. Decatur - gusto! - gusto! (whatsyourgusto.com)
WE SPIRIT GEAR POP-UP SHOP
Swing by the back of school on Friday, January 21st at afternoon pick-up for another PTA spirit wear sale! You can also make a donation to the mask drive at this time (cash, check, or PayPal will be accepted). We will also have PTA membership forms available for you to fill out to join. Hope to see you at the playground!
SPREAD LOVE WITH JIMELLA’S BAKERY
This Valentine’s Day, spread love with cookies from Jimella’s Bakery! Your order can also spread some love to Westchester as 10% of all orders placed will be donated to the Westchester PTA! Support the PTA and take care of all your dessert needs! Share the fundraiser with colleagues, friends and family and they can also support the school. Order online at jimellasbakery.com and put WEST in the notes section. Or you can also order by calling 404.290.8725 or email info@jimellasbakery.com and mention WEST.
LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION JANUARY 29TH
Decatur Education Foundation
Save the Dates: There are two great family-friendly events coming soon that both benefit DEF:
Mead Road Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday, February 26th and the 20th Tour deCatur 5K on Saturday, March 12th! To register a community Krewe for the parade, please visit www.meadrdmardigras.org. Registration for the Tour deCatur 5K and one-mile Fun Run will begin on February 1st at www.tourdecatur.com.
DEF is teaming up with the counselors at Talley Street and Renfroe Middle School to keep the snacks stocked. We are also accepting donations to our weekend backpack program which provides supplemental food for students who need it. If you'd like to help with a donation, click HERE for links to each school's Amazon Wish List. Your orders will go straight to the schools.
DEF has several ways in which you can donate your time:
As a Virtual Pals tutor -- we need tutors to be paired with a 2nd- 8th grade Decatur student for a one-hour weekly session. Click here to apply: https://forms.gle/LoiZxoi6WvSe6WEr6
As a Virtual Pals Coordinator -- we need one person who checks in with the tutor pairs on a weekly basis. Time commitment is 1 hour per week. Email muslimo@decatureducationfoundation.org to apply.
As an AIM Mentor -- we need adult male and female mentors to be paired with a third-grader to have new experiences and find their passions. The time commitment is just 2-4 hours per month.
As a REACH Mentor – we need just one more adult male to mentor an 8th-grade student who has been nominated by his teachers for the REACH GA program. REACH mentors help their mentees through the rigors of high school and college applications. Time commitment is just 2-4 hours per month.
If you've got a little extra time to share your life wisdom with a Decatur student, we've got opportunities! Please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org/mentoring to learn more and apply.
Reminders from Last Week
CSD Special Education
Pre-K & Kindergarten Check-In
Mr. Frank DeFilippo, Special Education Coordinator, and Cheryl Grant, Parent Mentor, will host the second meeting of the three-part check-in with parents/guardians of Pre-K and Kindergarten children. Families will be able to submit questions on the RSVP form.
Our staff members look forward to connecting with CSD families in this meeting. Click the button below to RSVP and submit any questions you may have.
Target Audience: Parents of Pre-K & Kindergarten students who have an IEP
Date: January 20, 2022
Time: 6-7pm
Location: Virtual
RSVP Link or Email Cheryl Grant cgrant@csdecatur.net
Register TODAY for Run With the Dogs 2022!
Register TODAY for Run With the Dogs 2022!
The race is Saturday, January 29, 2022, with a new course in MAK and Oakhurst that starts and finishes at Renfroe Middle School. This year's race will be chip timed for the first time and all 5K participants will receive the coveted long-sleeved T-shirt with original artwork by Adam Pinsley.
Thank you so much to everyone who voted for the 2022 Face of the Race. We are pleased to announce that Trout is our winner, and his adorable face will be featured on the race T-shirts, posters, and water bottle stickers.
Run with the Dogs 5K is an annual fundraiser of the Decatur Bulldog Boosters and supports student-athletes on 45 sports teams at Decatur High School and Renfroe Middle School.
For more information and to register for Run With the Dogs, click here!
MTSS dept. presents CSD Super Saturdays for K-5
Please complete the form to register your K-5 CSD student(s) for a Super Saturday session. CSD teachers and highly recommended staff will conduct engaging hands-on enrichment activities with small groups (1:10) of students on one (1) Saturday per month. The instructional focus will change from month to month (Math, STEM, ELA/Reading, etc.). All sessions will run from 9:00am- noon. This is FREE to all CSD K-5 students, but space is limited based on teacher availability. Registration will close at noon on the Friday before the session OR when all spaces have been filled. You will receive a confirmation email from Google upon successful registration.
REGISTER HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfYbU9CnNyx9e-u_qgoCTzjpS2cizbb2IkpppQJaWcitw8n0g/viewform
Decatur Farm to School:
Decatur Farm to School is currently recruiting new members to its committee. Joining the Decatur Farm to School (DF2S) Committee is a great way to get involved with the work of getting our students outside in their school garden and making the connection to what they are learning in the classroom and eating in the cafeteria/at home. Click on the link to find out which volunteer positions are available and show your interest. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfPzRwurjgUc8IWvReQ0lNltEkijYSoRfUvbTWvq0iBvRczg/viewform
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Visit past newsletters for answers to your questions🤗
Westchester Elementary School
Email: bnation@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/Westchester
Location: 758 Scott Boulevard, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-370-4400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westchesterelementarycsd