Hillside News Brief
August 20, 2021
Important Dates for You
Monday, August 23: All of kindergarten attends school together
Tuesday, August 31: Instrumental Curriculum Information meeting from 6:30-7:30pm (this meeting will be held at Westside Middle School in the auditorium)
Safety Before School
We have a number of students appearing at our school at 8:00 a.m. or earlier (some days). We do not provide supervision outside until 8:15 a.m. If your student walks to school, please coordinate a departure time so they get here no earlier than 8:15 a.m. If you are dropping them off, please be prepared to wait with them until we provide an adult outside to supervise.
We want to keep kids safe, and young children unsupervised can be in danger. Please help us by making sure your child or children are arriving at our school grounds at an appropriate time. Thank you so much for helping us.
Cynthia Bailey, Principal
Free and Reduced Lunch Applications
This year, the federal government will continue to subsidize free breakfast and lunch for all students. While the meals are free, extra helpings and water bottles are not free. Also, there is a charge for milk if a student is buying that to go with a lunch brought from home.
If you think you might qualify, please complete an application for meal assistance (see below links).
Students who qualify for free or reduced meals may also qualify to receive discounted fees for other district expenses such as bussing or activities. All children in the district benefit in areas beyond the lunch program when qualified applications exceed a certain percentage of the district’s enrollment.
Health Room
ESSER III FUNDS SURVEY
To all Westside families, students and staff members;
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III (ESSER III) funds are being provided under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, enacted on March 11, 2021. The purpose of ESSER III is to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on students by combating learning losses, supporting social-emotional needs and ensuring a safe return to the school environment for students. Westside Community Schools will submit an application for ESSER III funds to the Nebraska Department of Education which must include input from a variety of stakeholders on how best to use these funds. Please take a few moments to provide your feedback through the link below; this survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete and will close August 31, 2021.
Thank you in advance for your participation and input.
Westside Community Schools
If you encounter problems with the link provided above, please copy and paste this link into your browser: https://forms.gle/bhVT3Rs9ci9DTYn27
For any questions related to this email or anything regarding our Safe Return to School Plan for 2021-22 and/or COVID-19 guidelines, please email feedback@westside66.net or visit www.westside66.net and click 'COVID-19 UPDATES'.
Douglas County Survey
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners has asked us to share information about their COVID-19 Vaccine Survey to help improve local vaccination programs, especially with marketing and outreach. In order for the survey results to be as accurate and actionable as possible, organizers are hoping for as many participants as possible.
If you would like to take part in this survey, please use one of the following links:
English Survey Link: https://survey.communitydataplatforms.com/douglas_county/
Spanish Survey Link: https://survey.communitydataplatforms.com/douglas_county_sp/
Thank you for your help.
Band and Strings Information
Attention Fifth and Sixth Grade Parents:
The Elementary Band and Strings staff will be visiting all 10 buildings the first few weeks of school. During these visits, students will get a chance to hear and explore the musical instruments available to them as beginning band and string students. We invite you to attend our Elementary Instrumental Music Curriculum night in the Westside Middle School Auditorium on Tuesday, August 31 at 6:00 pm. (note time change) Following the meeting, interested students will have a limited opportunity to try out embouchures using single use mouthpiece kits. Since the intention of our mask mandate is to protect the elementary age children, we respectfully require you to wear masks while at this meeting. We hope everyone chooses to BE PART OF THE MUSIC by being a PART OF BAND AND STRINGS!
Parent & Guardian Information for You
Below is a link to information about many aspects of our school; please take a moment to read through the information below. Thank you, and welcome to the 2021-22 school year!