Westfield Arrow
Aiming to Keep You Informed
August 21, 2020
From the Office
Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year! We are so happy that the start of the year is fast approaching and we will be re-connecting with all our students very soon!
A special welcome to our new 6th grade students and parents! We look forward to working with you and getting to know all of you. We were very disappointed to not have the chance to meet all of you in the spring or host our traditional Back to School Camp this past week. Please see the welcome letter from the 6th Grade Team below, as well as, information about student email addresses. Email messages, including Meet the Teacher video links, will be sent via email on Friday August 28th. Parents, please assist students with checking their email prior to Monday, August 31st. Thank you!
Student Supply Pick-up -Thursday, August 27th from 1:00-6:00pm in the Athletic Gym.
Students will receive:
- Class Schedule
- School Planner
- PowerSchool and Chromebook Login & Password (Students will need this information in order to use their Chromebooks)
- 1st quarter Exploratory supplies for 6th and 7th Grade Art & STEM classes
- additional items as needed
Students will be asked to enter through door #27 at the back of the gym, pick up their items, and exit through door #30 by the front parking lot. Students must wear a mask at all times in the building and maintain a 6 foot distance from other students and staff. Students will not be able to visit other parts of the building. Parents will be asked to stay in their vehicles after dropping off their child by door #27 and proceed to the front of the building to meet their child. Parents should expect their child to only be in the building for a minute or two. Students may also walk or bike up to Westfield. Staff will assist with vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Please see the map below for entrance/exit guidance for vehicles.
Note - Students may not pick up schedules or password information for a classmate.
If you are unable to attend Supply Pick-up, please call the front office at 630-529-6211 to schedule a time to come in on Friday between 8am-3pm; if you require further assistance please call the office.
Meet the Teacher
On Friday, August 28th, teachers will reach out to all of their classes with a welcome back email. Included in the email will be a Meet the Teacher video as well as other important information students may need for the first day of school on August 31st.
Remote Learning
Remote Learning this fall will look different then it did at the end of last school year. We want to assure parents that our staff is working hard to provide the best Remote Learning experience we can for our students. Next week, we will share more information with students regarding learning expectations during Remote Learning and how we will support them during this new format. For parents, we want you to know that the general structure of the school day this year will mirror what our in-person schedule was like at the start of last year. Students will attend a 9-period day, consisting of a block of Language Arts, 1 period each of Math, Social Studies, Science, PE, Exploratory, Acceleration, and Lunch. All class periods will be 42 minutes, with their teacher accessible for the entire 42 minutes. Teachers will take attendance each class period and students are required to attend every class, each day. Similar to a typical class period at school, classes will consist of a combination of direct instruction, whole class discussions, guided practice, small group work, and independent student work time. Lunch is 50 minutes and will be held daily from 11:35-12:25. Between each class period, we have built in a 5 minute break. Please see the example schedule in the newsletter below.
Westfield Communication
This year, more than ever, communication between school and home will be essential. Our goal is to communicate effectively and efficiently with you. We will try to package our communication in the Arrow and include links to grade level newsletters to keep you informed. We will also communicate regularly via social media platforms; follow us on Twitter and Instagram @D13Warriors (there a buttons at the bottom of the Arrow to take you to those pages) Additionally, please refer to the school google calendar for school wide dates and information.
Upcoming Dates
Please visit our Google Calendar for all activities and schedules!
- Student Class Schedules on PowerSchool: Thursday, August 27
- 'How-To' Videos for Students & Parents: Week of August 24
- Student Supply Pick-up at Westfield: Thursday, August 27th
- Meet the Teacher Virtual Videos Shared with Students: Friday, August 28
- First Day of Remote Learning: Monday, August 31 8:30am--3:30pm
From the Technology Department
The Technology Department is updating all Google and Powerschool accounts for Westfield students this week. Updated student passwords for these programs will be printed on the student schedules which are available for pick-up Thursday, August 27th.
Chromebooks will be available for Westfield Middle School students who are new to District 13 during Student Supply Pickup Thursday, August 27.
A message for 6th graders:
Welcome to Westfield! Your 6th-grade teachers are really excited to meet you! Whether you are coming from DuJardin, Ericson, or another school, you are all Warriors now. Every year the 6th-grade teachers work hard to help ease your transition into middle school and create a community. This year will be a little different, but remember we are all going to work together to make it a success. We know you may be anxious about meeting new teachers, new classmates, and learning new expectations. We will help you through it all! The first few days will be spent getting acquainted. You will get to know the teachers and what we expect, the teachers will get to know you and what you need, and you will get to know all of your new classmates. If you are nervous, don’t worry, we will all be patient with you, and we will ask you to be patient with us too. We are all doing new things this year, but we will figure it out together! We will share more with you next week. See you soon!
The Sixth Grade Teachers,
Mr. Cikesh, Mrs. Garstka, Mrs. Gilbert, Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Raimondi, Mrs. Ruffolo, Mrs. Shah, And Mr. Volkman
6th Grade Email Addresses
Please see this Video from Mrs. Gabany about logging in, accessing email and completing the technology use agreement form!
How-To email Videos:
Mrs. Gabany will ask you to complete this form: Student Email Agreement form once you've watched the videos.
2020-2021 Remote Learning Schedule
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
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
- Missing assignments
- Comments from Teachers
FlipGrid:
Chromebook:
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.
District 13 Return to Learn Adaptable Plan for School Year 2020-21
Contact us if you need assistance:
Team Leaders
- 6th Grade: Mr. Cikesh - ncikesh@sd13.org
- 7th Grade: Mrs. Foley - afoley@sd13.org
- 8th Grade: Mr. Sparks - asparks@sd13.org
Social Worker
- Mrs. Zagotta - szagotta@sd13.org
Principals
- Mr. Larsson - slarsson@sd13.org
- Mrs. Gabany - ngabany@sd13.org
Technology Department
If you have a technical issue with your District 13 supplied device please complete the linked form and one of the technology team members will work with you to resolve the issue.
Summer Virtual Drama Performance
Covid-19 did not stop 20 Westfield students from participating in a virtual drama play this summer called, Scenes From a Quarantine. The cast also worked on costumes, makeup and promotion. Check it out!
WESTFIELD'S PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION (PTO):
The PTO Newsletter is coming soon!
Westfield PTO Board and Committees
When hot lunch returns, we'll use SignUp.com to organize Westfield Hot Lunch Volunteers.
1) Click this link to see our SignUp: https://signup.com/go/xZeejVZ
2) When school resumes, review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.