Happy Sunday Westside Families! We would like to congratulate Ms. Artman and Mrs. Parrish who were selected as our Teacher of the Year and Employee of the Year respectively. The staff votes to select these champions each year and they will represent Westside at the district level. Our school is so lucky to have these amazing individuals leading our students to success!

We have many wonderful things happening and important upcoming dates in the next month! Please see the "Upcoming Events" section at the end of this newsletter for more information to add to your calendars including these two upcoming meetings below.

Join us for our next School Advisory Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 26th at 3:00pm. I will be presenting information about the upcoming Millage that will be on the election ballot in November. Any parent/guardian of a Westside student can attend and we hope you will join us!

Our next PTO meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 27th at 5:30pm here at the school. You do not have to be a registered volunteer to attend, so save the date to join us!

Interim Reports were sent home Thursday. Please be sure to review, sign and return them to school if you have not done so already.

As always, thank you for your support! Our office will be open Monday-Friday from 7:30AM-3:30PM. Please come on in if we can assist you in any way.

~Mrs. Stephanie Woodbury, Principal

(321) 956-5050 or Woodbury.Stephanie@BrevardSchools.org

Want to give a special THANK YOU to one of our Westside Staff Members? Click the button below to submit your special message to be delivered to them. Our staff loves positive praise!

Students in grades 4th-6th are required to complete a Science Fair Project this year to help support Science Education and the ability to think like a scientist for our standards. We know this can be a daunting task for families, so we are here to support! Westside is hosting a Science Fair Orientation night for families of 4th-6th graders on Thursday, September 29th from 5:00pm-6:30pm. Parents and students who attend will receive information on the correct way to complete a Science Fair Project and a FREE Science Fair board! Additionally, all students will receive a FREE handbook and we will be offering afterschool workshops in January prior to the fair.

We hope you take advantage of this informative session and minimize the stress at home!

Since the first day of school, students have worked hard to demonstrate our school expectations of being Safe, Respectful and Responsible. When they do so, they earn Compass Cash which they can spend on a variety of things. One of the options is our quarterly PBIS Event which we hosted last Thursday. Explorers who earned and chose to purchase a ticket were able to relax with an approved movie and popcorn donated by Cinemaworld 16 in West Melbourne. Here are a few photos from their experience!

PreK students in Ms. Bell's class were making sweet music with Mrs. Hodge during their Music Activity class. Students were exploring the sounds a keyboard can make with LOTS of smiles!

In PE class this week, Kindergarteners participated in Cosmic Yoga where they learned how to bend and stretch their bodies while taking deep breaths!

Our Kindness Club sponsored by Mrs. Goolsby is off to a great start! Check out the positive posters they created!

Westside welcomes back, Loretta Dozier and the Dove Bible Club program. You can check out this program at: https://dovebibleclub.org/. To register your child, click the tab at top of page that says, "Register Your Child". For more information, email Mrs. McKinney at mckinney.beth@brevardschools.org

We had a good turnout for our Parent/Student Lunch Day last Friday! Thank you to the families who joined us and we look forward to seeing more of you this Friday.

At this time, we must follow the parameters listed below per BPS guidelines:

• This opportunity will only be available on Fridays.

• Only adults on the approved pick-up list for a child will be allowed to have lunch with students. You will need to present your photo ID at the front office and receive a visitor's tag. When done, you must sign out before leaving campus.

• A designated area will be provided for the adult and student.

• Adults will only be allowed to eat lunch with THEIR child and we request only two adults per child please.

• Adults who are not registered volunteers will be monitored by school staff at all times.

• Adults will be permitted to be on campus for lunch for their child's 30-minute lunch block (times listed at end of newsletter for all classes). Once your child's lunch is over, we kindly as you to sign out and exit campus. If you have multiple children and want to have lunch with all of them, you must wait for additional lunch times in the front office, glass booth, or your vehicle.

• You may bring in food from outside sources for your child only. Any leftover drinks or snacks will not be allowed back in class however.

Free or Low-Cost Health and Dental Insurance for Kids!

Your children could be among the 176,000 kids who may be eligible for low-cost health and dental insurance through Florida KidCare – even if one or both parents are working. Millions of children count on Florida KidCare for the high-quality health and dental insurance they need from birth through their 19th birthday. Florida KidCare is designed to provide services to children at each stage of growth and development. Health and dental services are delivered through quality plans that offer a choice of local doctors, dentists, specialists, hospitals, pharmacies and other health care providers.

Benefits include but are not limited to:

• Doctor Visits • Checkups • Vision & Hearing • Dental Care • Hospital Stays

Florida KidCare includes free, subsidized and competitively priced options based on family income and household size. Most families pay nothing at all for coverage, and many others pay only $15 or $20 per month. Families who do not qualify for free or subsidized coverage may purchase a competitively priced plan.

Lawfully residing immigrant children are eligible without a waiting period, and information about a parent’s immigration status won’t be asked. With no application fee and year-round enrollment, the time to apply is always now.

Simply fill out the application, and Florida KidCare will match your child with the right option. Apply online at floridakidcare.org or call 1-888-540-KIDS (5437).

**Check 0ut the brochure at the end of this newsletter**

• September 21-22- Hearing/Vision Screenings
• September 26th- SAC Meeting @3p
  
• September 27th- Boy Scout School Visit
• September 27th- PTO Meeting 6p
• September 28th - Boy Scout Information Night @ 6p
• September 29th- Science Fair Orientation Night
• October 4th - Fall Portraits
  
• October 10th- Student Holdiay-No School
  
• October 13th - Science Engagement Night
• October 14th- Report Cards Issued
• October 14th- PTO Movie Matinee Fundraiser
• October 29th- Ghostly Gecko 5K at 6p (Support Westside Elites)