Westbrook News Update...
Here is What's New Wildcat Families
Some reminders and tidbits...
Welcome to the 2018-19 School Year. The staff here at Westbrook kicked off a great new school year with our students. We are looking forward to a wonderful year filled with learning and growth and your child is at the heart of it all! We are glad you are along for this scenic journey. We have so much to do and explore this year and this newsletter will bring you all the happenings in our school along with important dates that are coming up in the month ahead.
Just a quick reminder that school hours are M,Tu,Th&F 8:30-3:30 and Wed. 8:30 to 3pm. Breakfast starts at 8:10am daily in the cafeteria and runs until 8:25. (There are a limited amount of breakfasts in the office if your student is late.)
We encourage you to stop in and enjoy a lunch with your child. You can bring lunch to share with your child or you may partake in a school lunch if you let us know by 8:30am the day you choose to share in this experience with your kiddo. Adult lunches can be purchased in the front office for $3.65. Please stop by the office to obtain a visitor pass and we will happily show you where the cafeteria is from there. We look forward to seeing you!
As I am sure you have noticed, we have a new turnaround drive in front of our school this year. This makes the flow of traffic easier for the drop off and pick up of your children. We ask that you stay in your vehicle and look for the child's teacher during pick up. Your student will be located with their teacher until you drive by and pick them up. Please make sure your child knows who will be picking them up from school and what vehicle to look for. This will make it much easier and safer for all involved.
Welcome back to Westbrook where it is great to be a WILDCAT!
~Cathy Muck
402-390-6490
From the Desk of Mr. Hottovy
Greetings Westbrook Families,
Our focus this year is taking a Ride on the Energy Bus. In this Children’s book by Jon Gordon, a young student learns about how to find his inner motivation and how to pass it on to others. As I mentioned in the Summer newsletter, there are 5 rules for a successful ride on the energy bus. This month, we are taking a closer look at rule #1: Create A Positive Vision.
All of us have the opportunity to set goals and envision a future for ourselves. It is up to us to decide to craft a positive outlook on where we want to go. As parents and teachers, we can encourage our students to dream big and focus on the positive. Take some time this month to talk to your students about their hopes, dreams, and goals and to reinforce the power of a positive outlook. Ask your students about their short term goals (the things they want to achieve this year), and their long term goals for adulthood and beyond. We all have the power to choose how we look at our future. Let’s support each other and Create A Positive Vision.
Tyler R. Hottovy, Westbrook Principal
From the Desk of Mrs. Poell
Hello!
It has been great to meet many of you at school events or as you drop off and pick up your children at school. I am Megan Poell and am excited to be the Teacher Leader at Westbrook this year. I previously worked in the district at Paddock Road Elementary as both the school psychologist and teacher leader. My role at school is to work with teachers, students, and families to help maximize students' learning and success at school. If you ever want to chat about your children, please know you can give me a call. I am enjoying my time at Westbrook and am happy to be a Wildcat!
Counselor's Corner~ Mrs. Lowe
This month the Food Bank of the Heartland will begin delivering food for our Friday Backpack program. Students who are enrolled in this program will bring home a bag of kid friendly foods for the weekend. All students will be coming home with a yellow permission form at the end of the week. Please sign the form and return it to Mrs. Lowe if you would like to participate.
With the coming changes in weather, please remember that Westbrook has access to gently used coats, hats, and gloves for students. If you would like to get more information, please contact Mrs. Lowe at 402-408-8519 or lowe.jessica@westside66.net.
Jessica Lowe, LCSW
Counselor
Lunchroom News
Free and Reduced lunch applications need to be completed EVERY YEAR. If your student had free and reduced lunch last year you still need to fill out a new application every year. We sent them home with students at the beginning of the school year and if you need another one I would be happy to provide that for you. Please fill this out and get it back to the school as soon as possible.
Lunch money and lunch accounts can be handled online by logging into myschoobucks.com and setting up an account for your student. If you need your child's student ID# I would be happy to provide that info to you. Please message me at muck.catherine@westside66.net or by calling 402-390-6490 and asking me for the ID# for the lunch account program.
Every other Wednesday is Pizza Hut Pizza day and the kids all want to know how much is in their lunch account at the busiest time of the morning. We do not have the ability to look up lunch account balances in the office and the student will need to know if they can get an extra slice or not before they come in. Using myschoolbucks.com is very helpful for you to keep track of what your child is spending and on what. It also allows you to replenish the money in his or her lunch account without sending cash to school.
If you have any other questions regarding lunch account info or if you need help with myschoolbucks.com please contact abels.mary@westside66.net or by calling 402-390-6490.
BREAKFAST $1.50
.30 (reduced)
LUNCH $2.40
.40(reduced)
PARENT LUNCH $3.65
Reading Nook
Hello! Westbrook is home to two new reading coordinators this year. We would like to take a minute to introduce ourselves to you! We are very excited to be working with students at each grade level to help them be successful readers. Over the last three weeks we have been administering reading and math assessments to give classroom teachers baseline data to use for guiding instruction. We are wrapping up assessments and conducting meetings with classroom teachers to build our specialized reading groups.
My name is Kim Macziewski, everyone calls me Mrs. Mac. I moved up the hill to Westbrook from Hillside where I was a first grade teacher and special education teacher for the last ten years. This is my thirty-fifth year of teaching. I have two adult sons – one is a teacher and the other is working for a year or so before returning to college. Sewing, reading, and flower gardening keep me busy when I am not at school. I am so excited to be working with Westbrook Readers!
My name is Misty Liakos and I moved from Columbus, NE where I taught 4th grade for many years. I’m excited to join friends and family here in Omaha, as well as to teach at Westbrook! I’ve enjoyed getting to know many of your children already. I love reading, movies, music, baking, swimming, and tacos! Please stop by and say hi anytime you’re at school!
Scholastic offers up these simple strategies to make reading a lifelong habit for your child:
Read aloud with your child. Find a comfortable spot where the two of you can read together every day for about 30 minutes. Take turns reading chapters from a book for pleasure, or read books that are above his/her reading level but are about things that interest him/her.
Encourage all reading. Comic books and magazines can provide a good reading experience. As long as they are age-appropriate, don't discourage his/her interest, but keep a stock of high-quality books in your home so he/she has other options easily available.
Keep a dictionary handy. Together, look up words he/she doesn't know and invest in a dictionary he/she can use on his/her own.
Use informative books. Encourage reading for information. If he/she has a science report, help him/her find books for his/her research rather than only going to the Web. While the Internet is an easy resource, teach him/her that books are often more detailed.
Discuss the books. Ask your child what an author's main theme is, how characters are alike or different, what he/she likes or dislikes about the story, and how it compares to other books he/she's read. Share your own thoughts.
Expect plateaus. Following some big leaps in his/her progress, your child may stay at the same reading level for several months. Keep encouraging him/her and offer praise.
Set a good example. Read for your own pleasure and information every day at home, in a room without television.
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Westbrook Family Engagement Night
Westbrook Family Engagement Night. Please come on this night to meet ALL of the teachers at Westbrook and find out more about our special programs. Dinner will be provided and each family will have a punch card with specific activities to complete. Each child can turn in a completed punchcard at the end of the night for a prize.