Westridge Wildcat News
March 18, 2022
Message from the Principal
Dear Westridge Community,
March has been mighty at Westridge. We have celebrated Women’s History Month, had an amazing STEM Week, focused on the character trait of Honesty, and much, much more! As you know next week will be our Spring Break. While we will not be together for the week, we have so much excitement for the spring. We still have so much learning to do, so many skills to grow, and new friends to make.
Sincerely,
Jules Laaperi
she/her/hers
Principal
Save the Dates!
3/21-3/25- Spring Break - NO SCHOOL (Office closed)
3/31 - Early Release Thursday - 2 pm
4/1- Early Release at 11am (Elementary work day)
4/7 & 4/8- Conferences: NO SCHOOL
4/4-4/8- Scholastic Book Fair
Smart watches (Apple Watches, etc.) at school:
Smart watches must be in airplane/school mode or off during school hours. Students may use the phone in the office to call home if they need to get in touch with a parent or caregiver.
Students found using their smart watches during school time will receive a warning from an adult. If they require additional reminders the device will be confiscated and held in the office until a parent can pick it up.
Thank you for partnering with us in limiting distractions in the classroom.
Volunteering at Westridge:
In order to volunteer, please make sure you have the following on record with the school:
- Show or email your vaccination card to Jodi Steward or Andrea Murphy (stewardj@loswego.k12.or.us or murphya@loswego.k12.or.us)
- Complete the Statement of Understanding prior to your volunteer shift
- Register with Raptor by bringing your photo ID into the office. (If you've registered in years prior, you do not need to do it again)
Parent/Teacher Conferences:
Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Thursday, April 7 and Friday, April 8. Families should have received a Sign up Genius from teachers by the end of this week. Families may choose to attend their conference in-person or via zoom at the time they sign up, by noting their preference in the comment section.
Reminder: No school for students on 4/7 & 4/8. Conferences are for parents only, unless noted by your child's teacher. We do not have childcare for students. If you don't have childcare, please sign up for a zoom conference.
We look forward to seeing you!
Lost and Found
Diversity Week Volunteers Needed!
Westridge will celebrate our first ever Diversity Week in April and we need your help. This year's focus will be on cultural heritage from around the world. Do you have ties to a country with rich traditions that you'd like to share with our students? If so, please email WestridgePTSO@gmail.com by March 25th to get involved.
OBOB Final Update!
Congratulations again to team Fungus Chungus for winning our Fourth/Fifth School Tournament and securing Westridge's bid to Regionals in April. Congratulations to the Wildcat Wonders for taking our Fourth Grade division. We have some pictures of the winners with their trophies below.
Our Third Grade competition came to a close at the end of last week, with our third place and championship battles happening simultaneously during lunch recess on Friday. In our third place game, the Reading Raptors bested the Wizard Warrior Readers. Congratulations to Ben, Crosby, Kai, and Ryder for bouncing back from a tough semifinal loss earlier in the week to win their final game of the season over a very strong team in Charlie, Cole, Phineas, and William.
Our Third Grade Championship game featured two spectacular teams. The Book Masters made it to the final with a perfect 4-0 record and accumulated the most points of any team in the Third Grade along the way. The Bookmarks (Elliot, Sivan, and Virginia) were our only team of just three students competing in the whole school. What they lacked in numbers, they more than made up for in reading, studying, and intelligence.
It was an exciting final battle. The Bookmarks jumped out to an early lead with a steal in the In Which Book questions, but the Book Masters came back with a steal of their own and led narrowly, 20-15 at the halfway point. In the second half Content questions, the Book Masters were too strong and pulled away to secure the trophy. Congratulations to both teams on their fine performances.
Brian, Grace, Reid, and Sarah were so fun to watch play this year. They showed great teamwork, skill, and bubbly enthusiasm from the beginning of the tournament.
The future of OBOB at Westridge is bright. Almost exactly one-third of our Third and Fourth Grade student body participated in OBOB this year, with many, many enthusiastic readers. We are excited to see what this year's second graders will be able to do next year.
Thank you again to Mrs. Calbreath, Mrs. Shambaugh, Ms. Tran, Ms. Matteri, Miss Jaques and Ms. Laaperi for all the support and sharing of classroom space that made this year's tournament a success. Thank you also to the many parent (and even former Westridge parent) volunteers who stepped forward to run the tournament over the last many weeks. It takes a village, and we are so fortunate to have such a tremendous cadre of helpers.
This year, our Westridge OBOBers collectively read hundreds of books (nearly a thousand), well over a hundred thousand pages, and tens of millions of words of high-quality children's literature.
What is OBOB?
The Oregon Battle of the Books is a reading and trivia competition that serves as a statewide celebration of literacy and good books. 3rd to 5th grade students form teams of three to five members, then read and study from a common list of 16 books selected by the State OBOB committee each year. Teams square off in a series of "Battles" to show off how much they have learned by answering questions about the books. Watch out if you get a question wrong -- the other team gets a chance to steal the points!
How Can I Get Involved?
Fifth Grade & Westridge Champs, Fungus Chungus
Fourth Grade Champs, Wildcat Wonders
Third Grade Champs, Book Masters
STEM Supplies needed:
Board Advisory Applications Open
The Lake Oswego School Board of Directors invites students, teachers, staff members, parents/guardians and community residents to consider serving on its advisory committees. As part of its continuous efforts to increase communication with the public and to provide for citizen involvement, the Board appoints advisory committees to consider matters of district-wide importance. Committees meet monthly, September through May.
Applications and committee charters are available on the district website under School Board. Please submit your application by Friday, April 15 at 5 p.m. Possible interviews following submission, and notification of selected committee members by May 10, 2022.
Board-appointed District Advisory Committees
Culture of Belonging
Achieve Equitable Academic Outcomes
Promote Health & Resiliency
Teach & Practice Sustainability
Bond Accountability Committee
Long Range Facility Planning
Board-appointed School Advisory Committees
School Advisory Committee
Youth Truth Surveys
As part of LOSD’s efforts to create a culture of belonging and to achieve equitable academic outcomes, we will once again administer the Youth Truth survey to all staff, parents, and students in grades 3-12. The Family Survey link is ytsurvey.org/losdfamily22, and it will be accessible beginning Monday, February 28. The YouthTruth survey is confidential, and responses from children and parents will be held in the strictest confidence. We encourage everyone to participate. This will be an important piece of information for administrators to improve our students' experiences at school.
Elementary students in grades 3-5 will also complete the survey between February 28 and March 25. This is a vital opportunity for students to provide feedback and help guide the school’s improvement plan. The survey will take 15-30 minutes to complete and will be offered during school hours.
*Please note that parents may opt their child out of the survey if they would like. Click here for the opt-out form.
Student Attendance:
If you need to pick your child up early from school, please let the teacher and the office know ahead of time.
Oregon State Assessment Opt-Out Form
State law requires us to inform you that a form is available from the State Department of Education that allows you to opt your child out of the math and English Language Arts assessments for the current school year. Should you wish to opt out your child, fill out the form and submit it to the main office at your child’s school. Please note the submission deadlines listed on the form. Meeting the deadline will help the school with planning and preparation. If you wish your child not to participate in the science assessment for grades 5, 8, and 11, submit this request in writing to the principal of your child's school.
If you have questions or want more information about state assessments, please contact your child’s principal or teacher(s).
Click here for opt-out form for Math and English Language Arts.
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.)
Contact information for the Westridge PTSO
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us on Instagram @westridge.ptso
Email: westridgeptso@gmail.com
Yearbook Photos: yearbookwestridge@gmail.com
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