Westfield Arrow
Aiming to Keep You Informed
October 30, 2020
From the Office
Congratulations to Aubrey Steed for receiving the Student Exemplar Award and Mr. Gabriel (pictured at Westfield with BOE member, Mrs. Wojcicki) for receiving the Staff Exemplar Award from the District 13 Board of Education for the month of October! We are very proud of them both and honored to have them part of the Westfield Community!!
Parent-Teacher Conferences - New format this year
Next week, teachers will be sharing their Parent-Teacher Conference availability calendar with all parents/guardians who expressed interest in holding a conference with their child's teacher(s). This year, all Parent-Teacher conferences will be held in a virtual format using Google Meets.
If you have not completed the Conference Interest Form and are interested in a conference, please complete the form by Sunday night, 11/1. After November 1st, please email your child's teacher directly to schedule a conference.
Teachers will publish a calendar to all interested parents/guardians with individual teacher conference availability between November 16th and December 4th.
Health/Safety
The health and safety of Westfield Middle School students and staff is our highest priority.
Parents, please keep your child home if your child exhibits any COVID-like symptoms or is in close contact with other family members and friends who are exhibiting symptoms. Sick persons should contact their health care provider to determine if testing is needed. Anyone who develops severe symptoms should seek medical care immediately.
If your child has had close contact with a known case of COVID-19, keep the child at home and notify your primary healthcare provider, Westfield Middle School, and DuPage County Health Department.
Staff members and students should also stay home if in the previous 14 days they have had contact with someone with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, is under investigation for COVID-19, or is ill with a respiratory illness.
We will continue to enforce safe practices to prevent, promptly identify, and respond to potential COVID cases, as follows:
Students and staff who are ill with COVID-like symptoms will promptly be placed in a separate supervised area away from others until they can be sent home.
Students are required to wear face coverings at all times, maintain a 6 foot distance from other students and staff whenever possible, per district policy.
Staff are required to wear face coverings at all times while in contact with children and other staff in the facility.
We are continuously sanitizing high-touch surfaces and encouraging frequent hand washing by all students and staff.
We are committed to providing your child and our staff with a safe and healthy environment. Thank you for your understanding and ongoing cooperation!
In-Person Learning schedule for 11/2 - 11/6
- Monday: A group in person
- Tuesday: NO SCHOOL - Closed for Election Day
- Wednesday: Everyone remote
- Thursday: A group in person
- Friday: B group in person
Daylight Saving Time Ends
It's time to Fall Back! Daylight Saving Time ends on November 1st at 2:00AM. Remember to turn your clocks back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday or when you wake on Sunday morning.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Stefan Larsson
Principal
Nicole Gabany
Assistant Principal
Warriors of the Week
Each week the staff recognizes students for demonstrating outstanding character based on attitudes or actions that fall under the Character Counts Pillars and our WARRIORS Mission and Vision.
UPCOMING DATES
Please visit our Google Calendar for all activities and schedules!
- Bloomingdale Trick-or-Treat: October 31st 3-7pm
- Parent Teacher Conference Request Form: available October 26--November 1
- Begin Quarter 2: November 2nd
- NO SCHOOL/Building Closed: November 3rd-Election Day (no lunches provided)
- Early Dismissal Schedule: November 4th at 1:40pm
- Student Supply Pick Up: November 4th at 2:00-5:00pm in Old Gym
WESTFIELD THIS WEEK
Don't Be Afraid!...to Vote for Your Favorite October Student Work of Art
Spirit Week Pictures!
Grade Level News:
STUDENT INFORMATION
Students! Email Westfield Your Pictures for the Arrow and the Yearbook
Email your pictures to: WFyearbook@sd13.org
Student Supply Pick Up Items for Wednesday, November 4th 2:00-5:00pm in the Old Gym
STEM Quarter 2 - 6th grade Design classes
STEM Quarter 2 - 7th grade Robotics 1 classes
STEM Quarter 2 - 8th grade Robotics 2 classes
STEM Quarter 1 - 6th grade Design classes (project pick up)
Art Quarter 2 - If not picked up last early dismissal or in the office this past week
Here's Your Chance! To Enter the District 13 Student Holiday Card Design Contest
Information for In-Person Learners (First shared on 10/9/2020)
You can access the most updated health information and other resources using the following link: District 13 Return to Learn resources
If you have additional questions about Return to Learn please submit them here: Additional Return to Learn Questions
Reminder - A/B Group Designation
- Students in the A Group have last names starting with: A-L
- Students in the B Group have last names starting with: M-Z
Reminder-Morning Arrival Time
Walkers and Car riders, please arrive between 8:10 - 8:25am. Bus riders will arrive according to their bus route information. We are asking students not to arrive prior to 8:10, if possible, to avoid groups gathering on the front walkway prior to entering the building.
Vehicle Drop-off: As a reminder, the front lot is only available for bus traffic before and after school; Car drop off is along Fairfield Way. Please drop your child off on the Westfield side of Fairfield or encourage your child to use the crosswalks if needed. Crossing in the middle of the street is unsafe during drop-off and pick-up times.
Reminder - Student Entrances
Staff will greet students on the front patio in the morning and assist them with safely entering the building. Students will be asked to wear a mask* as they approach the building, socially distance themselves from others, and enter the building one at a time. All student entrances are along the front side of the building.
- 6th Grade students will use Door 30, which leads into our Athletic Gym
- 7th Grade students will use Door 32, which leads to our Commons
- 8th Grade students will use Door 1, which is our Main Entrance.
- What do you need for school?
- Welcome In-Person Learners: video from Mr. Larsson
- 6th grade In-person Arrival: video from Mrs. Gabany (specific to 6th grade)
*Please see this resource on guidance for acceptable masks; please note, as we enter winter months, neck gaiters at this time are not considered an acceptable mask and won't be able to be used at school due to unknown effectiveness per the CDC.
Trick-or-Treat in Bloomingdale
- Day: Saturday, October 31st
- Time: 3:00-7:00pm
- Only visit houses with a lighted front door and green sign.
- Bloomingdale Police Guidelines
- Bloomingdale Trick-or-Treat house signs
Parents/Guardians: Please Call in Your Student's Absence
Save Your Plastic Frosting Containers for Art Class
TECHNOLOGY
Chromebook Trouble?
If you need assistance from the Technology Department, please use this link to request support.
Students: Please log out of your chromebook and back in daily
See this video on how to log in and out of your chromebook.
'How-To' for Parents/Guardians:
Otus for 6th grade Parents
FROM THE WESTFIELD SOCIAL WORKER
Parents, please complete this needs assessment:
FROM THE WESTFIELD NURSE
PARENTS:
The State of Illinois is not waiving the requirements for all students who have mandated health forms (physicals, immunizations, dental and eye exams), even though students are not currently physically present in the schools. Please submit the mandated forms to your child’s school as soon as possible. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact your school’s building nurse for assistance (Westfield Middle School nurse is Beth Jones bjones@sd13.org) Please scan, fax, or drop off hard copies of medical documents to the school. We are unable to accept photographs of medical documents. Thank you!
{Students who are transferring into our district from out-of-state must speak with the building nurse.}
The exclusion date for non-compliant students remains October 15th, except for the dental exam which is not due until May 2021.
The required forms are available at your Doctor offices and on your school’s website, located under “Health Information”.
Please see below for the grades which have mandated paperwork due October 15th:
Kindergarten (or 1st grade, if your student did not attend kindergarten): physical examination, up-to-date immunizations, eye exam and dental exam. (Dental exam is due in May 2021.)
2nd grade: dental exam. (Dental exam is due in May 2021.)
6th grade: physical examination, up-to-date immunizations and dental exam. (Dental exam is due in May 2021.)
Teenage Depression and Anxiety
Student Expectations for Remote Learning
We ask that all parents take a moment and review the expectations for proper school behavior and on-line etiquette provided in the following links. Please reference our Student Handbook for general policies and procedures and this Virtual Etiquette for Google Meets infographic to assist students with Remote Learning expectations. Thank you!
Get the Parent PowerSchool App
Similar to the PowerSchool Parent Web Portal, parents can download the PowerSchool Mobile App from the App store on your iOS device or the Play Store on your Android device. Simply search for “PowerSchool” to find and install the mobile app on your smartphone or tablet.
- After downloading the mobile app to your device, connect the Mobile App to the correct PowerSchool server for Bloomingdale School District 13, by entering our unique, four-character code: G M K T
- You can also search for Bloomingdale SD13 by district or school name.
- The PowerSchool Mobile App will display your child(ren)’s schedule and assignments.
- PowerSchool Mobile app users can also enable Push Notifications to receive alerts when attendance is recorded or a final grade changes. To setup notifications within the app: Tap Account, then tap Notifications to configure the notifications you want to receive. Use the slider icons to turn the notifications on or off.
- Note: Parents must have a PowerSchool Parent Web Portal account created and students linked to their account before using the PowerSchool Mobile App. Click here for instructions on how to create a parent Portal account.
WESTFIELD'S PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION (PTO)
Halloween Contest!
Enter your submissions here: Submission Form
Need help on how to get your link? Watch this video from Mrs. Gabany: Getting a shareable Link
When students return fully, we'll use SignUp.com to organize Westfield Volunteers.
1) Click this link to see our SignUp: https://signup.com/go/xZeejVZ
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
BLOOMINGDALE PARK DISTRICT PROGRAMS
- Movie Nights on Fridays
- Music Open House Nov. 2
- B-FIT Center Membership
- Little Acorns
- Kindergarten Kids Place Before and after school care
- District 13 Kids Place
- Youth Sports, ages 2-8
WESTFIELD SOCIAL COMMUNICATION
How-To Videos
Gmail:
- How to delete all email (6th grade)
- How to appropriately write an email
- You can only email other sd13.org email addresses
- Creating Bookmarks
- Starring and snoozing Emails
Google Classroom:
- How to Join Classroom(with Code)
- How to Join with Teacher Invite
- Check Stream and classwork page
- How to Turn in assignments
PowerSchool: Coming Soon
- Logging in
- Checking grades
- Seeing assignments
- Comments from Teachers
FlipGrid:
Chromebook: