Westwood Intermediate/Middle School
See translation information below / Consulte la información de traducción a continuación.
March 29, 2023 - NEWSLETTER
Westwood Families,
We have a number of upcoming events I want to make sure our families are aware of:
- April 4-6: ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) testing
- April 7: No school for students
- April 13: Office Hours 3:30-5:30 p.m.
- April 18-19: Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) reading testing
- April 25-26: MCA math testing
- April 28: Westwood Lock In. This is one of the most anticipated event of the year:
- Grades 7 and 8 – 2:30-4:30 p.m.
- Grades 5 and 6 – 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Grade 5 families, music registration forms were sent home. Students in grade 5 need to make their music specialist selection for next year. Students have the option of taking choir, general music, or band. The classes meet two times a week in the specialist rotation with physical education and art.
A panel of students met with our PTO at their meeting. The students offered the parents a perspective of school from their point of view. Some of the highlights students shared – in their words - included:
- Middle schoolers are very social – Despite of what many parents think, we don’t spend all of our time on our phones.
- We would like better options for lunch.
- The teachers are really good.
- We would like to have more field trips.
- The transition from online to in person was hard socially but we have made friends.
The students were insightful, funny, and very confident speaking to a group of adults. And, we really heard what they had to share.
Have a great week,
Tom Larson
Principal
Mark your calendar: Events for parents with Lee Carlson Center
Spring Lake Park Schools partners with Lee Carlson Center for Mental Health and Well-Being to provide services to our students and families. Through this partnership, we are offering a couple of events this spring to help equip parents to support their children. We hope you can join us.
- Supporting Children with Anxiety and Stress — Wednesday, April 19, 6-7 p.m., the Den at Westwood Intermediate and Middle School
- Talking to Children about Safety Topics — Wednesday, May 17, 6-7 p.m., the Den at Westwood Intermediate and Middle School. This session will cover physical safety as well as internet and social media topics.
If you have questions, contact Social Worker Abbey Pierce.
School Immunization
Minnesota School Immunization Laws requires all students entering into 7th grade to be vaccinated against Tdap and meningococcal. The only exceptions are
- Medical Exemption
- Conscientious Exemption
- Physician statement contraindicating a vaccine
You can find the appropriate forms on the Health Services webpage.
Employment opportunities through school connections
Seniors Griffin Gaspersich and Ryan Kollbaum got jobs at local transportation company Blaine Brothers after touring on a school visit. Through the many partnerships that connect high school students with businesses in the community, students are exploring future career paths and landing jobs. Read the full story to hear from Griffin and Ryan about their working experiences.
Live on 65: Gary Mauer, Broadway vocalist, performs on April 13
This Broadway vocal performance will be sure to "wow!" Everyone in the community is invited to join us at Spring Lake Park High School for this very special evening of Broadway songs performed by acclaimed singer Gary Mauer on Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased day-of at the box office as availability allows or snag your tickets in advance online.
Women's History
Women's History Month was celebrated with an exciting event in Ms. Hernandez's class! We invited and welcomed Sergeant Wright, a distinguished military E8, who shared her stories and experiences with us. She is an amazing person who has achieved so much in her life, and were very excited for this unique opportunity to celebrate and honor women who have made significant contributions to society.
Erosion and Deposition
5th graders in Spanish Immersion last Friday, learned how erosion and deposition works doing a river model with some sand and water. It was very fun to see all of them working outside in small groups.
Thank You Art Adventure Volunteers!
Five volunteers led discussions of six different art works from the Minneapolis Institute of Art's (MIA) collection in March. Each 5th and 6th grade class got to participate in two meetings each, which emphasized that over different times and cultures, people have cared for one another and celebrated their friends, family and community. At the same time, students were exposed to different methods of sculpting, photography and how cameras have evolved over time, and different styes of painting. The PTO plans to sponsor this event again next year, with a new topic, and will be looking for even more volunteers! If any families would like to see the works in person, the MIA is a free museum only 15-20 minutes away!
PTO Meeting
If you missed the meeting Monday morning, here are a few take-aways.
7th/8th grade students answered questions from the PTO. They mentioned the good community and great teachers they have at Westwood. They also liked having multiple teachers for different subjects instead of one teacher all day - and the opportunity to see different friends during different classes. They felt Schoology was good in that if they miss class, it is easy to see what work needs to be done and worked well for e-learning days. They would like to see some different lunch choices, a minute or two more passing time, and have same field trips for all members of a grade instead of differences by teams.
Watch for details about volunteer needs for Spring-Lock-In, Staff Appreciation Week and Mileage Club coming next month!
Our April meeting is Monday the 24 at 6 p.m. We will be accepting nominations for board positions. Elections will be held at the May 22 PTO meeting at 9:30 a.m.
Our PTO board is especially looking for a co-treasurer and co-secretary for the board as well as some committee co-chairs, such as mileage club, green team, and sunshine & smiles.
Spring Lock-In
The spring lock-in will take place April 28 and have a 7/8 grade time frame of 2:30-4:30 p.m. and a 5/6 grade time frame of 5:30-7:30 p.m. Planning is now underway and we need more help! If you are interested, join the Spring Lock-In Band. We especially need a team to lead the 5/6 grade portion of the event.
This was an extremely popular event last year and more volunteers will also be needed on the day of the lock-in. These sign ups will open closer to the event.
- April 5-6: AAPPL Testing
- Friday, April 7: No school
- Thursday, April 13: Teacher Office Hour, 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (In-person, Phone, WebEx)
- Thursday, April 13: Live on 65 performance series: Gary Mauer - FAC, 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 18-19: MCA Reading (5-8 grade)
- Monday, April 24: PTO meeting at 6 p.m., WW Den
- Tuesday, April 25-26: MCA Math (5-8 grade)
- April 21-22 and 28-30: SLPHS spring musical - "Matilda"
- May 2: Science MCA (5 & 8 grades only)
- Winter athletic and activities highlights
- Ignite the SPARK in your child this summer with Community Education summer programming
- Pantherette Dance Team Fundraiser: Eggstravangza
- Panthers for a Purpose raises $120k
- The Value of Each Individual by Sarah Gatlin
- Construction trades course receives $50k grant
- Westwood broadcast group bridges learning and community
Translate This Message / Traducir Este Mensaje
To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.
Para traducir la información a otro idioma, por favor presionen en cualquier lugar del mensaje para abrirlo en un navegador web y en la parte superior de la página seleccione su idioma del menú.