Westside Pack Post
November 2022
Principal's Message
October was a busy month at Westside! It was wonderful to see so many of our families for parent teacher conferences. Our students have wonderful support both at school and at home! Our 2nd graders had a visit from the Idaho Falls Fire Department to learn about fire safety, our kindergarten students learned about reading while dressed like pirates, and all our students enjoyed celebrating Halloween and showing off their costumes. Time is flying by and we are loving every second we get to spend with your kiddos. We are ready to finish off trimester 1 this month!
Kelsey Anderson
Principal at Westside Elementary
November Dates to Remember
November 4 - Picture Retakes
November 8 - Election Day
November 18 - End of 1st Trimester
November 21 to 25 - No School
Late Start Fridays
Picture Retakes
Picture retakes are scheduled for Friday, November 4. If you would like your child's picture retaken, they need to bring their original pictures back to school. If your child was absent on picture day, they can have their picture taken on retake day. If you have questions, ask your child's teacher or call the office and speak to one of our secretaries.
November 8 - Election Day
Don't forget to vote on November 8! Learn more about District 91's bond here:
Stop It - Anonymous Reporting
We are pleased to announce that today Idaho Falls School District 91 is launching STOPit!, a reporting system that will allow students, parents and patrons to anonymously report concerns about school safety.
STOPit! is an important addition to the district’s safety systems. It provides an easy way for students, parents and patrons to anonymously report their concerns – anything from bullying to threats of violence – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Concerns can be reported through STOPit in the D91App, through a direct link on all student Chromebooks devices, via a telephone hotline at (855) 999-0932 or here:
https://web.stopitsolutions.com/login/IdahoFalls using the access code IdahoFalls.
All reports will be reviewed by D91’s administrators, its School Resource Officers and the STOPit’s incident command center. As part of the review process, reports will be assessed and cataloged as:
- “Concerning,” which should receive a response within three working days,
- “Non-Life Threatening,” which should receive a response within 24 working hours,
- “Life Threatening,” which will get an immediate response from our team.
STOPit! makes it easy for administrators and SROs to reach out to those who submit concerns to request additional information through a two-way messaging feature. Those filing a report also can upload evidence like photos or videos.
Check out this information video to learn more about the STOPit system:
https://stopit.vids.io/videos/ea9ddeb21514e0c063/stopit-student-training
Breakfast and Lunch
School breakfast and lunch are NOT free this year. We are highly encouraging everyone to fill out the free and reduced lunch application. You may be surprised that you qualify! This form is also how we receive funding for programs such as Title 1 and All Day Kindergarten. The form only needs to be filled out once per family. Fill out the form here:
English - https://family.titank12.com/application/new?lang=English&identifier=738XVG
Spanish - https://family.titank12.com/application/new?lang=Spanish&identifier=738XVG
Title 1 at Westside
English
Spanish
Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures
Blue - drop off and pick-up zone
Yellow - crosswalks
Green - park and walk your student to their door
Counselor's Corner
It’s hard to believe that November is already here. We are wrapping up our lessons about conflict resolution and growth mindset and beginning new lessons on emotional management. Students will learn how to identify emotions in themselves and others and how to apply helpful strategies in stressful situations.
All kindergarten and 1st graders have learned sign language to go along with Kelso’s 9 Choices and have participated in various problem solving role plays. Ask your student to teach you about Kelso's Choices!
2nd through 6th grade students are working on noticing different situations that bring comfortable and uncomfortable emotions. We are practicing being preventative by predicting what situations bring uncomfortable emotions and picking a strategy we could try in that situation.
Just a reminder that School District 91 has resources for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We don’t want any of our families to go without this Holiday Season. Feel free to call Mrs. Gallagher at (208)- 525-7666 ex.3 if you would benefit from these resources.
Amy Gallagher - Westside Counselor
Questions, Comments, and Celebrations
Follow Us on Facebook
Westside PTO - https://www.facebook.com/groups/578020748921992
Mrs. Anderson
Email: andekels@sd91.org
Website: https://www.ifschools.org/Westside
Location: 2680 Newman Drive, Idaho Falls, ID, USA
Phone: (208) 525-7666
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrskelseyanderson/