Westridge Wildcat News
September 3, 2021
Message from the Principal:
Hello Westridge Community,
What an incredible week with your children! We are so lucky to share in their educational and social emotional journey. Thank you for all of the support, kindness, and excitement you bring to the Westridge community. I also want to thank you for your graciousness as we continue to navigate arrival, dismissal, busing, lunch, and more. Following our procedures listed below will help us all!
Have a wonderful three day weekend,
Jules Laaperi
she/her/hers
Principal
Arrival and Dismissal Reminders:
At Arrival:
- CAR DROP OFF:
- Do not let your child out of the car until you reach the front of the car line at the cones.
- Pull into the most forward position in the car line (AT THE CONES), and keep moving forward as the cars in front of you leave the area.
- Do not get out of your car. We will help your student out of the, passenger side door.
- Pull close to the curb so other parents that have retrieved their student can pass you on the left and pull out of the car line.
- Please wait your turn to arrive in the front of the car line- do not jump the line if you see a spot open in front of the first car. This is how accidents happen.
At Dismissal:
- CAR RIDERS:
- To help expedite dismissal, please place the PikMyKid placard on the passenger side window with your student's name and their teacher name.
- Announce your arrival on PikMyKid using the Green Announce button.
- Pull into the most forward position in the car lines, and keep moving forward as the cars in front of you leave the area.
- Do not get out of your car. We will help your student into the back, passenger side door.
- If you see your child, please wait to load them until you are at the front of the line so a STAFF MEMBER can load the student into the car.
- We only allow students to load in the first three vehicles to limit traffic flow and ensure the safety of our students and staff.
- Please be patient and respectful. Our staff is doing everything we can to get your child to you safely.
If at all possible, please avoid driving to the school to pick your child up in the car line. If you can walk, bike or carpool, please do so!
Save the Dates!
September 6: Labor Day- NO SCHOOL
September 9: Early Release Thursday at 2 pm
September 16 - Early Release Thursday at 2 pm
September 23 - Early Release Thursday at 2 pm
September 30 - Early Release Thursday at 2 pm
October 8 - Professional Day - No School
October 4th: Back to School Night (more info coming soon!)
October 20th: School Picture Day
Playdates and Bus Passes:
Thank you for your understanding!
Meet the Westridge Specialists!
Mrs. Jacobs- PE
I am excited to be a part of the Westridge team and teach in person this school year! In a nutshell I believe that everyone can find movement that will enhance their life. My job is to help students create a lifelong love of movement.
In PE we will be focusing on being better together! We will do this by working on:
Confidence
Safety and respect.
Cooperation and communication.
Coordination
Responsibility
Perseverance
Lowering Stress
And
Having Fun!
A little about me:
I was born in Iceland. My parents were in the military so growing up we moved a lot. This was challenging as a child, but as an adult, I can appreciate how much of the country I got to see because of this.
I started my teaching career as a middle school math teacher, then moved into teaching yoga, and discovered my passion for teaching others how to use movement to lower stress and feel good in their bodies. I started teaching PE in Lake Oswego in 2019 and I had the privilege of joining Westridge last year, although only getting to be online.
My husband and I have three daughters, Ellie, Laney, and Evie, who are in 4th grade, 2nd grade, and preschool.
As a family we love to go on camping and road trip adventures.
I enjoy coffee, working out, and taking our dog Walter on long walks.
Mrs. McMahon-Music
I am overjoyed to be teaching again in person at Westridge! My intent for this school year is to build community and make music together!! Joy, creativity and connection will be the centerpiece. Music this year will be structured differently than normal with instruments being front and center. We will begin the year with keyboards and then other instrumental units of dulcimers, xylophones, marimbas, African drums and Ukuleles! I will be taking the first 5 weeks of school off for maternity leave, returning in October. The students will be in the capable hands of music teacher David Top. A little about me: I’m a recent mom of Henry, our smiley 3 month old baby! I’m also a proud mom of my thrill-seeking, four year old daughter “Mo.” I am a native Oregonian and started my teaching career six years ago at Westridge. I consider this place home and feel so fortunate to be a member of this community. In my spare time, I love hanging with my family (and cat Thom), cheering for the Portland Trailblazers, walking in my neighborhood and singing/playing the clarinet!
Mrs. Melton- STEM
I am thrilled to be teaching back in the building this school year! It is going to be a very exciting year in the Innovation Lab. Your students will be in the lab for one week at a time, every three weeks. We will be doing projects that incorporate technology, engineering, art, and math, aligned to science, social studies, and language arts standards.
Students will be making a LOT of amazing things during our time together, so there are certain materials that are always welcomed:
shoe boxes
cardboard
buttons
fabric
ziploc bags
foil
tape (all kinds!)
Amazon Wish List for the Innovation Lab
Action Items:
- Install the PikMyKid dismissal app and register on your smartphone. We will begin using the app September 7th.
- Car pick up: Students getting picked up in the car line should have a PikMyKid car tag on the passenger side of the car.
- Car pick up: Please talk to your child about waiting for a staff member to load them into the car when they see you in the car line. This is VERY important for safety.
- Please walk, bike, or carpool to school as much as possible to alleviate traffic on Royce Way. Your neighbors thank you!
PikMyKid: What you need to know
On Tuesday September 7th we will begin using the PikMyKid Dismissal System that we have mentioned in our newsletter. We hope you have all downloaded the App, Registered in the system, and practiced a little. If not, please do so this week. As always, you may contact the school office if you have any questions directly related to Westridge and your child's dismissal plan or our procedures.
Here is the process for dismissal:
CAR RIDERS:
If you are planning to drive to the school and wait in the CAR LINE to pick up your child, place the PikMyKid Car Tag in your front, passenger side window. When you arrive on campus, the green "Announce" button will activate on your app. Please "announce" for your child and that is all you need to do. Our staff will be notified that you are here and bring your child to the car once you arrive at the front of the line. If you used PMK last year, you'll notice this year that we are attempting to use TWO pick up lanes to speed up the process. PLEASE be very careful and aware as we put children in cars. Even if you see your child as you enter the parking lot, please only let your child in the car with a staff member, near the cones marked 1) 2) or 3) at the front of the line. This is very important for student AND staff safety. We only load children into the vehicle from the passenger side, so please make arrangements with your vehicle set up if necessary. Your patience and flexibility is very appreciated as we navigate this process.
BUS RIDERS:
PikMyKid is also to be used for kids that RIDE THE BUS home or to the Strings program (Orchestra) once it starts up. Once you are approved for a bus by the office staff (please call or email the office to do so) you may designate days in which your child rides the bus. If your child rides the bus every day, you may change your Primary Pick Up Mode to bus and only change it on days you need a different pick up plan.
WALKERS:
If you plan to WALK to school to pick up your child, please announce that you are here by using the green announce button. This will tell the teacher that a parent is here to collect their child. If your child walks home with friends or on their own, you do not need to "announce". Your child's teacher will press a "dismiss" button once they leave the classroom and you'll receive a notification that they have been dismissed.
EXTENDED CARE:
If your child is going to Extended Care, please choose that option on your app. If it doesn't show up as an option, please call the office and we can approve you. You must already be registered with the Extended Care program to be approved for the bus.
DELEGATING ANOTHER PERSON:
If you need someone other than a parent/guardian to pick up your child, please have them download the app as well. You will need to add them as a delegate so that they can announce their arrival as well. It's very helpful that this person has a car tag as well (or peice of paper in the window with the student name/s and PMK 3-digit number). If you need an extra car tag, please email me.
MAKING CHANGES:
If you need to make any changes to your child’s dismissal status such as delegation to a different pickup individual, car line to walker, walker to bus rider, car line to after school program, or any other change, simply do it in the app. You will receive a notification that we received your change.
Last but not least, you may not make changes to your child's dismissal plan after 12pm unless it is a TRUE emergency. If you have a true emergency, which we understand does happen- please call the office at 503-534-2371 and we can make the change for you. We will ONLY be using the dismissal plan that you as parents put in the app, so if your child is listed as a bus rider on PikMyKid they will be sent on the bus home so please make sure you make changes correctly so that your child goes home the way you intended.
Thank you for getting through this email. It is a lot of information and I appreciate your time. Feel free to call the office or email me if you have questions. I'm often out at dismissal, but unable to answer a lot of questions at the time as it's very busy, as I'm sure you've noticed!
Thank you,
Jodi Steward
Secretary to Principal Laaperi
Westridge Elementary School
Please note: If you want to know more, go to this link https://www.pikmykid.com/features/for-parents/
Nutrition Services:
Thank you LOSD parents/guardians for participating in our free breakfast and lunch meal programs. We made a change to our Grab-N-Go take home breakfast process and want to share it with you. In the morning your student can order a breakfast meal with their teacher. It will then be delivered near the end of the day. You do not need to order lunch in order to receive a breakfast meal. We also want to let you know that due to supply and staffing issues there may be changes to our menu next week. We will do our best to substitute a menu item for a similar option when available. Our department is hiring! Please check our available postings on the following link.
https://www.applitrack.com/loswego/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Food+Services
Medication Drop off:
Questions about medications or procedures? Contact the Westridge front office staff at 503-534-2371 or email our District Nurse, Lisa McBee at mcbeel@loswego.k12.or.us
Student Attendance:
PTSO News:
Your 2021-2022 PTSO Board
Jen Singer, President
Crystal Metras, Treasurer
Katie McElhaney, Assist Treasurer/Fundraising Chair
Rebecca Weinstein, Volunteer Coordinator
Kristina Luther, Communications Chair
We can not do this alone. While we have an incredible board to lead the way, without parent support of both time and money we can not make this a success.
How to Get Involved:
1. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. Please go to this link and sign up to volunteer. We have many opportunities available throughout the year. Some are just for one day and some are ongoing. Sign up for the ones that best suit your family's availability. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQsXqlidzsBJSYNWrOrpgb-vt-BBkYdSUMbWgbSynQL-Tdrg/viewform
2. Attend PTSO meetings. The full calendar should be out soon but mark your calendar for Thursday September 23 at 7pm for our first meeting. While some will be in person, our goal is also to zoom them so that every family can be involved. We will be going over our goals as well as our spending plan for the year.
3. Show your School Spirit. We have partnered with a company this year to do all of our spiritwear online. Click the link here and you will be taken to the Westridge School Store. The items are awesome but you do have to browse to find them. You start by choosing the article of clothing, then the color of it and then one of the many designs. It is well worth the browse.
4. Fundraising: We have several sources for raising funds throughout the year but our goal is for the Wildcat Fundraiser to be our major fundraising event this year. The PTSO spends approximately $300.00 on each student, and so we ask that families contribute $300.00 for each Westridge student in their family. Every dollar counts and every dollar goes back to the student experience at Westridge. Though the ask is for a specific amount, we welcome any gift that fits your family’s budget.
https://westridge-elementary-ptso.snwbll.com/wildcat-fundraiser-2021-2022-2
5. Sponsorship Opportunities: We will also have sponsorship opportunities throughout the year. These opportunities will be available for our Fall Fitness Month as well as for Our School Directory Highlighted Businesses. The Sponsorship Opportunities can be found by clicking here.
6. School Directory: We will be introducing the school directory in October. This will be your source for all information regarding PTSO activities, school rosters, school calendar, etc. Be on the lookout for that coming next month.
We look forward to working with you throughout the year to make the best experience for you and your Wildcat Family.
i Ready:
This Fall, all students in Grades 1-8 will complete two online i-Ready assessments in class. One is for math and the other is for reading. i-Ready is a program that will help us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform and tailor instruction to accelerate growth. This is the first of three i-Ready assessments we give each year, and results will be shared with parents in October.
The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your child’s skill level. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.
In Lake Oswego, the Fall i-Ready window is open from September 7 to October 8.
ODE Annual Notice
SafeOregon
Parents-guardians who have concerns about a student’s well-being are encouraged to reach out to their principal, and to maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources.
SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools.
(Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense.)
Subscribe to Lake Oswego Schools App
Stay connected to the district and your school(s) and receive urgent notifications by subscribing to the Lake Oswego Schools App.
Westridge Elementary School
Email: laaperij@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org/wr
Location: 3400 Royce Way, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: 5035342371