Westfield Arrow
Aiming to Keep You Informed
FEBRUARY 11, 2022
From the Office
Yesterday, our student-athletes, along with the staff and parents in attendance at the 7th Grade basketball game, had an opportunity to celebrate and thank Mr. Mike Ryan for his many years of service to our Westfield basketball program. Mr. Ryan is retiring at the end of this school year after 31 years of service to District 13 and this was his last home basketball game of the season. We are all grateful for Mr. Ryan's dedication to our students and his passion for helping them grow and succeed both in the classroom and on the court. Thank you, Mr. Ryan!
Academic Achievement
As you know, teachers use a variety of resources and methods to support and challenge students to reach new academic heights, including opportunities for independent practice of skills and concepts. A few of these independent academic support tools that students have access to include IXL, MAP Accelerator, and PAPER. Students may find time to access these supports during class time, during Acceleration, in study hall, or at home.
Please take a few minutes this weekend to check in with your child regarding their usage of the supports mentioned above and the progress your child is making towards their individual academic goals. In roughly 2 months students will once again be able to demonstrate their growth and knowledge as they complete our spring assessments, which include Spring MAP testing in May (grades 6-8), the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in April (grades 6-8), and the Illinois Science Assessment (8th only) in late March/early April.
Our teachers and staff continue to put forth every effort to prepare students to meet both their grade-level standards and each student's own personal goals for academic success by the end of the school year. Feel free to reach out to your child's teacher(s) should you have any questions regarding your child's progress and performance.
First View - Bus app for Parents & Guardians
Bloomingdale SD 13 is excited to inform you that the District will be launching FirstView®, a bus tracking and parent communication app for your smartphone or desktop on Thursday, February 10, 2022. You should have received an email yesterday that contains the necessary information to set-up this application. Please see the District 13 FirstView Parent Letter for more information.
2022 Illinois 5 Essentials: Parent Survey
The 5Essentials Survey measures schools in 5 key areas: Effective Leaders, Collaborative Teachers, Involved Families, Supportive Environment, and Ambitious Instruction. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete and is phone friendly! We really value your feedback and we encourage you to complete the survey. Thank you!
Link to survey: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/
It will ask you to type in DuPage and Westfield Middle School
The survey closes on March 11, 2022
Looking ahead
Early Release on Friday, February 18th.....No School for President's Day on Monday, February 21st....Please see the Revised District 13 Calendar for 2021-2022 for additional important dates.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Stefan Larsson
Principal
Amanda Vreeland
Assistant Principal
WARRIOR OF THE WEEK
Each week the staff recognizes students for demonstrating outstanding character based on attitudes or actions that follow the Character Counts Pillars and our WARRIORS Mission and Vision:
''We are W.A.R.R.I.O.R.S.; our mission and vision for the future are for all staff and students to be Welcoming, Ambitious, Respectful, Responsible, Innovative, Optimistic, Reflective and Successful."
UPCOMING DATES
Please visit our Google Calendar for all activities and schedules!
- 1:40pm Early Dismissal: February 18th
- School Closed/President's Day: February 21st
- Girls & Boys Volleyball Tryouts: February 22nd and February 23rd >>Sign-up in PE class, tryouts require current physical
WESTFIELD THIS WEEK
Surface tension lab in 7th Science
8th grade Socratic seminar
Sketchbook illustration
Clay, creature bells in Art
Repurposed vinyl records
Finished Artwork
Last Home Basketball Game
Go Warriors!
Science Club - Egg Drop
Grade Level News:
The teams will be updating the links weekly during the school year with news and any upcoming information.
Weather & School-Closing Information
Remember to check the District 13 website in the event that weather patterns dictate the closing of district schools. The District will also use phone messages and/or email blasts to alert parents of any school closing. Please make sure we have your current contact information.
STUDENT INFORMATION
It's Volleyball Season
- If interested, please fill out the Google form that Mr. Gabriel emailed you.
- All participants must have a CURRENT sports physical on file with our Nurse, Beth Jones.
Put Together Memories!
Yearbook Club will meet Wednesday, February 23rd from 3:40-4:45 pm in Mrs. Foley’s room, 210. We are always looking for more students to join! Questions? Email Mr. Wojcicki
New Club Create Event: Mini-Paintings
Questions? Email Mrs. Matt, Art Teacher
Illinois Radon Poster Contest: Win $$$
If you are interested in entering the contest, please make a sketch of your idea and bring it to Mrs. Matt to get your final materials.
All Illinois Radon Posters Submissions are due to Mrs. Matt before March 18th, 2022
'Falling in Love with Paper' Contest!
Have you ever needed help with your homework? Or maybe needed an extra pair of eyes to review a writing assignment? Paper tutors are always there to help and there is no limit to how much help you can get! To stress less about upcoming tests, assignments, and projects, make it a point to build Paper into your study routine and feel more confident in all of your classes.
To help you build Paper into your study routine, we are excited to share our February “Falling in Love with Paper” Student Contest running February 14th-28th! During this two week contest, you are encouraged to login to Paper to get academic support by using the live help and/or essay review feature. The top student users in each grade level will receive a $25 gift card and a treat for their classmates. The winners will be announced March 4, 2022.
For more information about the contest and what you need to do to get started, see the this flyer. To login to your Paper account, simply go to https://app.paper.co/login/student, enter your school and then sign in with Google. For questions about your account, please contact your teacher.
Best of luck and happy learning!
PARENT INFORMATION
Otus: Student Progress for 6th & 7th Grades
How Parents Can Log in to Otus:
- Sign in to Otus (if you have not set up your family account, please follow the directions in this video or this article to do so.)
- PLEASE READ FIRST: Your student already has an Otus account from the school district. To avoid confusion, it's best to use your own name rather than your student's name when creating the Family account. Both the video and the article have the same information. Please view whichever is more convenient for you.
- (If you have created your family account, but need to connect your student's code, have your child log in to Otus and click Edit Profile. Their student code is located at the bottom of that page.)
- To check your child's progress on Otus, click on Gradebook, then choose which class you would like to see progress in.
- To check your child's completed assignments on Otus, click on Gradebook, then click the three dots in the top right corner to change the "Grading Scale" to "Completion Scale."
PTO Hot Lunch Needs You!
Order a Westfield Yearbook Today
Yearbooks will be delivered in May 2022. Students can get signatures from teachers, friends, etc. the last day of school in 2022.
If you need a School Code: 1014041382501890
PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION (PTO)
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
The due date to submit the application is APRIL 15, 2022.
Questions? Please email Linda Korbel at sasha0708@yahoo.com
ORDER HOT LUNCH THROUGH FEBRUARY
Please use this link for ONLINE ordering information:
- HOT LUNCH INFO & ORDERING
- Questions? >>Email Linda Korbel at sasha0708@yahoo.com
Volunteer to Help at Hot Lunch
Board Contacts for Westfield PTO
Vice-President: Linda Baker, parent of a 6th grader sasha0708@yahoo.com
Secretary: Loriann Hoyle, parent of a 6th grader hoylefamily04@hotmail.com
Treasurer: Ranna Kothari, parent of 6th & 8th graders ranna3@yahoo.com
Save on Westfield Spiritwear
Westfield's Parent-Teacher Organization is coordinating spirit wear sales. Questions? Email Linda Korbel at sasha0708@yahoo.com
Want to Volunteer at Westfield?
- Westfield Parents and Guardians! Sign up to volunteer for school year 2021-2022.
- CLICK HERE to fill out what you would like to do.
- Questions? Email Loriann Hoyle or Linda Baker for information.
PTO Membership Dues
- All-school parties
- Teacher appreciation
- Scholarships
- Field Trips
- Student awards
FROM THE WESTFIELD NURSE
If Students Want to Tryout and Participate in Westfield Sports:
Sports Physicals:
By law, students who wish to try out (including clinics) for any sport must have a current, yearly sports physical on file in the office.Certificate of Child Health Examination Form:
The state of Illinois recently revised the Certificate of Child Health Examination Form. This is the form your physician must use to record the required 6th-grade physicals.It may also be used for sports physicals.
FROM THE WESTFIELD SOCIAL WORKER
Want to give someone a shout out?
Teenage Depression and Anxiety
FROM WESTFIELD TECHNOLOGY
Chromebook Trouble?
If you need assistance from the Technology Department, please have your student use this link to request support:
Students: Please log out of your Chromebook and log back in daily
See this video on how to log in and out of your chromebook.
Info for Parents: 24/7 Online Student Tutoring
1. Parent Webinars [English | Spanish] - 45-minute live sessions for parents
2. Parent Handout PDF - helpful to print and handout at parent meetings
3. Pre-Recorded YouTube [English | Spanish] - helpful resource for parents
Get the Parent PowerSchool App
Similar to the PowerSchool Parent Web Portal, parents can download the PowerSchool Mobile App from the App store on your iOS device or the Play Store on your Android device. Simply search for “PowerSchool” to find and install the mobile app on your smartphone or tablet.
- After downloading the mobile app to your device, connect the Mobile App to the correct PowerSchool server for Bloomingdale School District 13, by entering our unique, four-character code: G M K T
- You can also search for Bloomingdale SD13 by district or school name.
- The PowerSchool Mobile App will display your child(ren)’s schedule and assignments.
- PowerSchool Mobile app users can also enable Push Notifications to receive alerts when attendance is recorded or a final grade changes. To setup notifications within the app: Tap Account, then tap Notifications to configure the notifications you want to receive. Use the slider icons to turn the notifications on or off.
- Note: Parents must have a PowerSchool Parent Web Portal account created and students linked to their account before using the PowerSchool Mobile App. Click here for instructions on how to create a parent Portal account.
'How-To' for Parents/Guardians:
REMINDERS
Celebrate Black History Month
Black History Month is an annual celebration of the achievements and contributions made by African Americans throughout U.S. history. Although students at Westfield learn about the achievements and history of African Americans throughout the school year in all courses, we also believe it is important to use the month of February to encourage students and families to learn more. We encourage students to have conversations at home about the contributions made by African Americans throughout the history of the United States. The links below from History.com and the Smithsonian have wonderful resources.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month
National Museum of African American History & Culture
Social-Emotional Supports
If you feel that your child is struggling on a social-emotional level, please do not hesitate to contact our Social Worker, Mrs. Sheila Zagotta,
Monitoring Social Media
We believe that it is extremely important for parents & guardians of middle school age children to frequently monitor their child's texting and social media usage and continuously review the expectations for appropriate use of electronics and social media accounts. We encourage parents and guardians to assist us by limiting or restricting access to texting and social media accounts if students are not using them appropriately.
As a school, we strive to promote and encourage positive and respectful interactions among students both at school and in the community. As part of our social and emotional learning program we work daily with students to educate them on appropriate social skills, appropriate technology usage, responsible decision-making, respectful interactions, problem solving techniques, and conflict resolution.
Academic Supports
Paper is academic support that connects students in grades 1-8 to a live, human tutor in that content area via chat. Please see this video for Parent Information on Paper tutorial for more information. (Papel para Padres en Español)
Daily Attendance
Please contact the Main Office at 630-529-6211 or email Laurie Spejcher to report any student absences. This will help us to keep accurate records of every student present in our building. Thank you!
Revised procedures for Covid+ and Close Contact Quarantining
Please see Dr. Bartelt's Parent Message, sent on January 12th, regarding updated quarantine guidelines.
Reminder - If your child is quarantining at home:
Starting on the 4th day of absence, a Remote Learning Support Teacher (RLST) will provide two and a half hours (2 ½) of daily contact for students using Google Meets.
By the 3rd day of absence, a RLST will email each student and their parent/guardian with the link to join the support sessions.
Students are expected to work independently on their school work in conjunction with the 2 ½ hours of direct contact they receive from our RLST.
- Student work will be made available by each of their classroom teachers.
- Students and their parents/guardians should stay in regular contact with each classroom teacher to determine the best method to access materials and resources.
- Individual teachers may exempt students from portions of the work that is missed or provide alternative activities for lessons that are difficult to recreate at home.
- Students will receive extended time to complete school work upon their return to the classroom.
The Glenbard Parent Series
Join other parents, high school and middle school students, and professionals to learn about issues facing today’s youth such as Student Social Skills and Anxiety, Rethinking Parental Pressure.
The Glenbard Parent Series engages top experts, parents and school staff to become proactive and informed in pursuit of the mutual goal to strengthen our communities. Programs are free and open to the public.
Local Food Pantry at Bloomingdale Church
Roselle Community Food Pantry
BLOOMINGDALE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Upcoming Library Programs
WESTFIELD SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION
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
- Creating Bookmarks
- Starring and snoozing Emails
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
- Seeing assignments
- Comments from Teachers
FlipGrid:
Chromebook: