Westwood Intermediate/Middle School
September 30, 2020 Newsletter
See translation information below / Consulte la información de traducción a continuación.
Westwood Families,
We are in week three. Thank you for continuing to partner with us as we move into this school year. We have a few reminders and updates this week.
Students in Extended Flexible Learning (distance) need to be consistently engaging in the “live” learning sessions with teachers and completing assignments
Please check in with your students, and if they are struggling or have questions use the teacher’s office hours for support.
Students in Modified Campus (hybrid) are learning in school with teachers two days a week and at home three days a week
For grades 7 and 8, learning at home is self-directed learning with support through things like instructional videos. For grades 5 and 6, two learning at home days include live sessions with teachers in addition to self-directed learning supports. All hybrid teachers are available every Wednesday with office hours and check in times with students. When students are at school, they are following the safety protocols, and we thank our parents for diligently working with us on the health screening protocols for your kids.
Students will not have school the week of October 12-16
The week is designed for our staff to engage in professional learning, assessment reporting, learning design, and communicating and connecting with families.
Conferences will look different this year for all of our families
We are in the process of designing and organizing what these conversations and connections will look like this fall, keeping in mind that part of the purpose of conferences is to provide families with information on student learning progress, next steps in learning, and for teachers and families to better understand our learners through a partnership between home and school.
Picture day is coming
We will have picture days on Monday, October 19 (for A day hybrid students), Tuesday, October 20 (for B day hybrid students), and Wednesday, November 11 (for Extended Flexible Learning/distance learning students) as well as any students who were absent on October 19 or 20.
We are looking forward to October conversations and saying “cheese.” Have a wonderful week.
Tom Larson
Principal
Help keep classrooms safe: Avoid peanut/nut products in snacks and lunches
Many students in our schools have severe allergies to tree nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, and/or products which contain nuts. Strict avoidance is the best way to prevent a severe allergic reaction. Accidental ingestion or even touching a tiny trace of a nut may cause a potentially fatal reaction for some students.
In an effort to ensure all students are safe throughout the school day, we are asking families to partner with us specifically with the snacks and lunches that come from home. Please do not send any snacks or lunch items with your student that contain nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, or other nut products. Please also be mindful of products that may be produced in a plant that contains peanuts/nuts.
Do you have school library books to return?
Apply Now: the Free or Reduced-Price Meal Benefits Deadline is Approaching
Many families are pleasantly surprised to learn they qualify for Free or Reduced-Price Meal benefits. If your family received Free or Reduced-Priced Meal benefits for the 2019-2020 school year, the deadline to apply again is October 28, 2020. A new application must be completed each school year. Families who have not applied for these benefits before should apply right away.
Even though breakfast and lunch are free right now, federal funding will likely run out sometime during the 2020-2021 school year, meaning it is important families still fill out the Free or Reduced Meals application if applicable so your student(s) will receive free or reduced meals when the funds are exhausted. Learn more about free School Meals This Fall.
Media permission and directory information
Photos, video, stories and other information highlighting student learning and achievement captured in our schools is considered public record. We share positive achievements in yearbooks, on the website, in newsletters and articles and the district’s other official communication channels that often include images and names.
Families can request specific “directory information” (student name, picture, other information) remain private by submitting a written request to the school principal or administrative assistant. Requests should include the student’s name, school, relationship of the person requesting and the specific information that is to remain private.
You can read the Media Permission/Directory Notification in English and Spanish and review our district policy on this topic, Policy 515: Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records.
Are you getting SLP communication the way you prefer?
To ensure you are getting SLP communication the way you prefer, please take a few minutes to review and update the following information in Campus Parent Portal:
- Primary phone number
- Emergency contact and phone number
- Email address
- Parent and guardian changes and updates
- Adding/removing household members
- Primary address changes
Why is it important to update this information? How does SLP use this information?
Current, updated information in Campus Parent Portal is used in the following ways:
- Automated phone calls for general school announcements, emergencies or weather-related school closings
- Mailed school and district communication
- Email communication from teachers, your school's newsletter and district news
- If your student(s) school needs to get ahold of you in regarding to attendance, a sick child, etc.
Learn how to update contact information in Campus Parent Portal.
Mr. Olinger's math class
We are looking forward to working with all of our parents and families this year to support the staff and students at Westwood.
Visit the PTO Facebook page: Westwood Intermediate and Middle School PTO
- Click here to receive email notifications about Westwood PTO.
Fall Community Ed Programs Available for Registration
Community Education has a number of programs scheduled this fall for adults and youth. Visit the website to view availability and details or call Community Education at 763-600-5050.
Program Highlights:
For Adults: Instant Pot Cook-Alongs, Holiday Cookie Bake and Decorate, Retirement Planning Today, How to be a Smart College Shopper
In case you missed important information from last week's newsletter, check out the topics below and click to learn more.
Translate This Newsletter / Traducir Este Boletín
To translate this newsletter information to another language, please click anywhere on the newsletter to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.
Para traducir este boletín de noticias a otro idioma, por favor presionen en cualquier lugar del boletín para abrirlo en un navegador web y en la parte superior de la página seleccione su idioma del menú.