Westridge Wildcat News
March 5, 2021
Message from the Principal
Dear Wildcat Families,
It feels SO GREAT to have our hybrid Wildcats back on campus! It has been a pleasure checking in with your kids, seeing how much they have grown and watching the joy that we all share as we come back together as a school.
Thank you for your cooperation as we implement and adjust the protocols we have in place to keep your children safe at school. Please take a minute to read the PikMyKid information that is being shared here within the newsletter. This app will be rolled out over the next week or two, so watch your child's backpack for more information.
Thank you also to Lori Gaiotti for providing the beautiful, welcoming signage as we brought back each cohort of students. The kindness and generosity of our community is part of what makes Westridge such a special place to be.
Enjoy the weekend!
Principal Montgomery
Action Required: Announcing PikMyKid!
Parents-
We are excited to share that after careful consideration, our school will now be using a program to help organize the school dismissal process and improve safety. This program is a phone application downloaded onto your smart phone (found in the app store) and will allow you to notify the school of pick-up changes and authorize others to pick-up your child from school, alert you when your child has been picked up or sent home on the bus, as well as help organize the car line during pick-up.
The registration process is easy and we ask that all parents register with the phone application as soon as possible. Several resources are included below to help you understand how to use the application and assist you with this transition. Please make sure you register with your personal current mobile phone number or the app will not allow you to access your child’s information for security reasons.
If you do not think the school has your mobile number on file or if your child does not appear in your app’s home page, contact support@pikmykid.com mailto:support@pikmykid.com after registration, with your child’s name, school, grade, and updated contact information for you.
Anyone who will be picking up your child should also register themselves with the application. Their screen will be blank and they will not have any authorization until you allow it within the app.
Also, please keep a look out for the new car tags going home in the coming week.
Thank You for your cooperation!
Please note: If you want to know more, go to this link https://www.pikmykid.com/features/for-parents/
Save These Dates!
3/9 - SAC Meeting 5pm - 6pm
3/10 - 9:30 - 10:30am Wednesday Curbside Pickup Westridge Library
3/14 - Daylight Savings Time Begins - Turn your clock forward an hour
3/17 - 9:30 - 10:30am Wednesday Curbside Pickup for LO Online
3/22 - 3/26 - Spring Break / No School
No Dogs on Campus
Thank you for your cooperation.
Parenting in a Pandemic: Embracing Transitions in Partnership with your Kids
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL UPDATES
A few things we learned and some reminders for you to help things run smooth at arrival and dismissal:
At Arrival:
- WALKERS
- Parents may walk their child to the yellow barrier near Royce OR near our undercover area and then give your hugs and kisses. ONLY students are allowed on campus.
Grade 2-3 Students will stand on a star at the front entryway
Grade 4-5 Students will stand on a star or near a flower near their classroom door
- BUS RIDERS
- Trusted adults will escort students from their bus to the flower or star near their classroom
Grade 2-3 Students will stand on a star at the front entryway
Grade 4-5 Students will stand on a star or near a flower near their classroom door
- CAR RIDERS- Pull into the most forward position in the car line, 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 back, 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.
At Dismissal:
- WALKERS
- K-1 Parents may stand near a flower by their child's classroom door
- Grade 2-3 Parents may stand near a star at the front entryway
- Grade 4-5 Parents may stand near a flower at their child's classroom door.
- BUS RIDERS
- Students will be escorted the their appropriate bus line by a trusted adult
- Please teach your child their bus number
- CAR RIDERS
- To help expedite dismissal, please create a visible placard on the passenger side window with your student's name and their teacher name.
- Pull into the most forward position in the car line, 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 back, 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 teach your child to buckle their seat belt.
You will see a few photos and maps below.
Grab-and-Go Meal distribution:
Grab and Go Meals were delivered to students at Westridge starting this week.
Due to a USDA waiver, LOSD is providing FREE packaged breakfasts and lunches for ALL children (1-18) who wish to participate in the grab-and-go meal service through June 2021.
At Elementary Schools - Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, classroom distribution for AM & PM students.
At High Schools - Mondays and Thursdays curbside pickup from 11:45 am to 12:45 pm for LO Online, middle school and high school students, and for elementary parents who prefer curbside pickup.
Meals include one breakfast and lunch meal per student per day. For the most up-to-date information, please visit https://www.losdschools.org/Page/141
VIRTUAL PTSO GENERAL MEETING
We are so excited to to see the Westridge campus filling with returning students, teachers, and staff. We look forward to re-connecting with many of you again in the days and weeks ahead, and we hope you'll be able to join us for our next virtual PTSO general meeting. During this meeting, we will be joined by Gary Kieser, student counselor, who will discuss "Problem-Solving between Children and Parents: a System for Collaboration." Mr. Kieser will cover three methods of solving short and long term problems with resources to use at home.
Monday, April 5
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
JOIN WITH ZOOM
Meeting ID: 850 3039 9559
Passcode: 617894
If you would like to review minutes from previous meetings, you can find them at https://www.losdschools.org/Page/2439.
Critical Message from the Westridge Office:
On that note, we are here to help make sure your child and you have the best year ever! Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We are in the office Monday through Friday from 7:30am - 3:00pm.
Jodi Steward and Andrea Murphy
Westridge Elementary School Office
503-534-5371
Counselor's Corner - News you can use from Mr. Kieser
SEL theme for March: Cooperation!
Dear Westridge families, I am excited to announce that our Social-Emotional Learning theme for the month of March is Cooperation. Lessons are published each Monday at 8:00 in my Google classroom. For more information on our theme and how to find my Google Classroom, please see the letter below:
LOSD CARES event, March 10th 5-6:30
LOSD CARES is a Connection and Resilience in Education Series hosted by the LOSD Wellness team of our school counselors, social workers and psychologists. Working with community mental health partners LOSD has developed a workshop series for parents and guardians to support, inform, and empower families on issues surrounding mental health. Our next event is on March 10th from 5-6:30. For more information, please see our flier:
New Student Registration for 2021-22 School Year
Registration for the 2021-22 school year will begin soon.
- January 20, 2021 for registering new students enrolling into grades 1–12 who have never enrolled in Lake Oswego before and returning students enrolling into grades 1–12 who are not currently enrolled but will re-enroll for next year.
- February 24, 2021 for registering new students enrolling into kindergarten for the 2021-22 school year.
- Students who are currently attending LOSD during the 2020-21 school year do not need to register for the 2021-22 school year.
LOSD is pleased to offer online registration through its parent portal, ParentVUE (contact your resident school for help with logging in). See the Registration & Verification page of the LOSD website for guidance.
Bias and Racial Incident Reporting Form and Information
On November 16, 2020, the LOSD School Board approved the ALL Students Belong Policy which prohibits the display of hate symbols and the use of hate speech in our school community. This is another step forward in our efforts of becoming an anti-bias and anti-racist organization and living up to the District’s core values of equity and inclusion. The All Students Belong Policy makes it clear that hate will not be tolerated nor accepted in our schools. We encourage students to stand against hate by interrupting and reporting any bias and/or racist incident that they witness or personally experience.
We want LOSD schools to be a safe, welcoming, and loving space where all students have the opportunity to be themselves and thrive socially and academically. If you have witnessed or experienced any harm directed to any student, teacher, or staff member based on perceived or actual identity, you can report to your administrator, a trusted staff member, by using the new elementary Incident Report or anonymously to SafeOregon.
Spanish Immersion Kindergarten Registration & Lottery for 2021-22
For families interested in signing up their kindergarteners for the Spanish Immersion Program, please heed these important dates for the 2021-2022 school year:
- Application available on the District website: February 24, 2021
- Application Deadline: March 12, 2021, 3:30 p.m.
- Lottery Date: March 17, 2021, 3:00 p.m.*
- Lottery Notification: March 19, 2021
*Should the district receive more applications than spaces available, a lottery will be held. Those wishing to participate in the lottery must submit their application to the District Administration Office no later than 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 12, 2021.
*Younger siblings of students currently in kindergarten through 4th grade of the Spanish Immersion program have priority for enrollment only at the kindergarten level. Sibling priority does not apply to current siblings on the waitlist. If you currently have a child enrolled in LOSD’s kindergarten through 4th grade Spanish immersion program, you will have the first choice for enrollment in the kindergarten program. You will not be entered into the lottery, but you must submit an application to the program prior to the March 12, 2021 (3:30 p.m.) lottery deadline to be assured a slot. Slots not filled from sibling applications will be available in the general lottery.
Visit the LOSD Spanish Immersion Website for more details.
Crunch and Munch with Mrs. Bates
To help students that are staying online to learn and students that are moving to hybrid learning connect. Crunch and Munch times will be shifted.
1st grade: Tuesday 11:30-11:50
3rd grade: Wednesday 11:30-11:50
5th grade: Friday Paused during the transition to Hybrid
Coding Club with Mrs. Bates
To help more students connect we will be adjusting the time of coding club. This way students that are taking part in LO Online and in hybrid learning can still come together. We will continue to meet on Fridays but will shift the time to 11:15-11:45pm.
Now Accepting Applications for Foundation Board of Directors
Are you interested in contributing to a dynamic volunteer organization dedicated to advancing our community's commitment to educational excellence?
Please consider applying for the Lake Oswego Schools Foundation Board of Directors. The Foundation is seeking parents/guardians, students and community residents to serve on its Board of Directors. Board members must demonstrate a commitment to the Foundation, the School District and the Lake Oswego community.
The term for new board members will begin June 2021. Board members commit to a two-year term and may serve up to three terms. Please click HERE to access the online application form. The application provides more information about being a board member.
Interested people should submit applications by Friday, April 9, 2021. The Nominating committee will review applications and conduct interviews in the April time frame. If you are unable to access the application, please contact woolfw@loswego.k12.or.us to receive a pdf version of the application.
Lake Oswego Schools Foundation prospective board member application:
Donating to Westridge PTSO
The Westridge Elementary PTSO (Parent Teacher Student Organization) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization run by parent volunteers. Through parent and community donations, we help to fund field trips, technology, and over 30 school programs each year for the enrichment of Westridge students.
While in the midst of the ongoing COVID pandemic, we find ourselves in an especially unique position this year. Many of our community members have experienced financial hardships as a result of the pandemic. We realize that it may not be viable for your family to donate to our annual fundraiser, and thus, we are not hosting one during this academic year.
While our school year looks quite different this year, the need for resources to enrich the academic experience of each and every student is still very real. Therefore, we are still gratefully accepting donations. If you are in a position to donate and able to take advantage of your employer's corporate matching program, we encourage you to participate in giving. Your donations are incredibly valuable and allow us to support our teachers and students.
Thank you for considering donating to support our Westridge students. If you would like to donate at this time or at any time during the school year, please visit Tinyurl.com/wildcatfund.
PTSO Fundraiser: Minted
ODE State Assessment Notice
Westridge Elementary
Email: kari.montgomery@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org/wr
Location: 3400 Royce Way, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 534-2371