Westchester Weekly
All-Star Newsletter February 25, 2021
Principal's Corner
I'm so proud of the celebration of Black History which is underway at Westchester. Our faculty and students are uplifting Black History at Westchester in so many ways and it's absolutely amazing. Teachers have embedded Black heroes in every facet of instruction. Additionally, our faculty has worked together to record read-alouds of books with Black characters, authors, and illustrators. Also, our community circles are centered around the contributions of Black people in America and across the world. I'm very proud of what I'm witnessing at Westchester and I hope you feel the same about the work your children are doing at school, in-person or virtually. Here's a list of options for celebrating Black History Month around Atlanta.
Black History Month is not only a time to recognize Black heroes of the past. We must also acknowledge the incredible contributions of today, especially when groundbreaking changes are being accomplished by your youth. Please take a moment to watch this GMA3 clip which features students from Decatur High School's Black Student Union.
Tomorrow is the day for yearbook picture re-takes. We planned to take pictures outside again, but we will do so indoors if it rains. Pictures will be taken in the cafe as safely as possible. Students will only be temporarily unmasked while they have their picture taken. Students will put their mask back on as soon as the photographer snaps the picture. The photographer will remain masked at all times. Thank you for your understanding.
I'm excited to host another student lunch bunch onMarch 2! Please click here to register your child. It will be a fun 30 minutes of games while the students enjoy their lunch. There will be a limit of 20 participants in the lunch bunch, but don't worry. I plan to continue the lunch bunches through the end of the year. I want to spend time with every student. Parents and students will receive email confirmation of participation by Monday, March 1.
WE have an incredible school community and I'm so happy to work with you. Have a lovely day!
Kindly,
Kimberly R. Watson, PhD
Principal
Westchester Elementary School
(404) 370-4400 Phone
(404) 370-3844 Fax
Check out this amazing Periodic Table of Black History!
Upcoming Calendar Events
February- Black History Month is celebrated
February 26th- Virtual CC
March - Women's History Month is celebrated
March 9th- BOE Meeting @ 6:30pm
March 11th- WE Parent's Lunch Bunch @ 12:00pm
March 12th- Virtual CC
March 17th- St. Patrick's Day
March 26th- Virtual CC
April 2nd- World Autism Day
Community Circle Dates-
Here are the upcoming dates:
2/26- Mrs. Querubin
CSD Covid 19 Communication Process
We are enhancing our COVID communication process to aid our contact tracers and provide quick communication on weekends and evenings to families regarding potential exposure to COVID-19. Contact tracing takes time to complete, especially on weekends and evenings. In an effort to communicate with families promptly about exposure, you may receive a phone call, text, and email alerting you to a potential exposure.
Here is a sample of a phone call or text message you may receive to alert you to a potential exposure:
Please check your email for important information about your child and a potential COVID exposure.
An email message will follow any text or phone call providing additional information. These messages are an initial notification. Parents and guardians will receive confirmation of the exposure and whether or not their child is determined to be a close contact the next business day.
Please see the graphic below. This step we are adding for weekends and evenings happens between steps 1 and 2 in the typical process.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we improve our COVID communication process. If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please contact your school nurse or principal.
Important Information about Gifted Review
Each year the gifted review team looks at existing student data to discuss students’ needs and determine if further evaluation for gifted identification is needed. If you are interested in having your child reviewed and possibly evaluated for gifted services eligibility, you may complete a Recommendation for Review Form (found at the website below) and turn it into the Gifted & Talented Specialist at your child’s school before March 8th. No additional information is needed. The Gifted & Talented Specialist for Westchester Elementary is Ms. Nesbitt . For more detailed information about the evaluation process and to obtain a copy of the Recommendation for Review Form, please contact the Gifted & Talented Specialist for your school at wnesbitt@csdecatur.net or visit the following website: https://www.csdecatur.net/Page/581.
Young Georgia Authors Contest 2020-2021
Congratulations to the Winners of this years Young Georgia Authors Contest!
This year we had over 14 entries so the competition was tougher than usual. Winners and Participants will be shared in CC tomorrow and on the website!
Kindergarten: Jason Zheng (Frix)
First Grade: Arielle Jereb (Parker)
Second Grade: Julia Vickery (Nesbitt)
Counselor's Corner
Why Celebrating Women’s History is Important, and How Adults can Encourage Students to Believe They Count:
Next week is the beginning of March marking Women's History Month and a great opportunity to discuss with your student(s) the strength and resilience of women throughout history and within themselves!
Why do girls in America not participate in more leadership positions? Heart of Leadership.org cited a study reporting that 7 out of 10 girls do not think they are good enough in regards to their appearance, school performance, and relationships. So how can parents and educators ensure our students recognize they have unconditional worth, and strive to become the very best versions of themselves, including becoming more involved in leadership roles? Read below for activities, games and book ideas to support this development!
PTA Announcement:
The PTA Board will be voting to fill 2 vacancies - Tuesday March 2nd
Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well and staying healthy. Even though this year has not been a conventional one, the PTA board members have held regular board meetings, and we have continued to work together with Dr. Watson and staff to meet the needs of the school wherever we can. We’re also working toward hosting a membership wide PTA meeting for this semester, so stay tuned for that.
Unfortunately, we have lost 2 of our board members this year, and we will be voting to replace them on March 2nd. The PTA bylaws require the Board members to fill the vacancies by a majority vote of the Board members, but in the spirit of transparency, we’d like to take this opportunity to let our community know when the vote will take place. We also want our PTA members to consider nominating themselves or another PTA member to fill these positions. Open positions include the office of Co-President and the Vice President of Outreach. If you are interested in serving in either one of these positions, please reach out as soon as possible to M.J. Blakely, our PTA President, at mjblakely@pmkm.com.
Thank you so much for your consideration and for your support.
Sincerely,
PTA Board Members
Crossing Guard Appreciation!
Championship Chess Virtual Spring Classes start Soon!
Championship Chess teaches chess as an enrichment program at Westchester Elementary and we are excited you let you know that we will be offering a virtual spring session to start the week of March 1st. This session all the classes are for children with some chess experience. Once a week, the children get a live virtual lesson, and after each class they get to play one another online. They can also practice during the week using our online curriculum, World of Chess (24/7). It has been expanded and improved over the last year as we received positive feedback from our students and parents.
Recent films like In Search of Bobby Fischer, or Queen’s Gambit, attest to the power that the game can have to promote critical thinking in young learners while they have a great time playing a classic game. Here is our Spring Chess Club Flyer with all the information about our Spring classes for you to review. We hope that your child will join us for our virtual Spring session of chess club at Westchester Elementary. Questions? Email us at info@championshipchess.net
From Safe Routes to School!
February is Love your Bus Month!
February is Love your Bus Month! You can celebrate by creating cards or telling your bus drivers how much you appreciate them! Look for more details coming soon on how to celebrate our bus drivers- including a fun video from Westchester's Bike Dudes and Media Specialist Brooke Nation!
Decatur Strategic Plan for 202s..
2020 Strategic Planning Input Nears Completion
From the hundreds of residents who participated in our in-person and then virtual Citizen Roundtables over the course of 2020 to the Virtual Forums collecting opinions and ideas of all types, to the more recent, topic-specific Decatur 202 sessions that drilled down on issues of mobility, housing, racial equity, and climate action, Decatur residents have been hard at work voicing their vision for the city’s next decade.
These front-end input opportunities for the 2020 Strategic Plan will be wrapping up soon, but it’s not too late to get your ideas on the table. Share any remaining thoughts online in our Virtual Forums which can be accessed at http://bit.ly/300tKT6.
Calling All Decatur Youth. We want to hear from YOU!
The Strategic Plan will help guide the City in deciding what’s most important to Decatur residents like YOU in the next 10 years.
Visit https://decatur2030.com/resources/ and look for the Youth Input section to share your ideas by March 15, 2021. Choose your response type and email your ideas to childfriendlydecatur@gmail.com. If you drew a picture, please take a photo and email it to us. Once input has completed, recommendations will begin to emerge for public review and comment so stay tuned for that as we move further into 2021.
Decatur Education Foundation News
Grand Re-opening of the Decatur Student Center coming soon at DHS!
Thanks to a generous $25K donation from Decatur City Church to Joe’s Fund, DEF’s behavioral health initiative, the Decatur Student Center at DHS has been completely renovated and will open when in-person learning begins in March. The DSC was established to address our students’ nonacademic needs and will have dedicated space for one-on-one counseling, group counseling, and a ZenDen where students can go to relax and regroup. We’ll be posting photos and virtual tours soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to join the Joe’s Fund Challenge with a donation, please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org/joesfund. You can help us match Decatur City Church’s gift to double the impact to ensure that we can continue to address the wide and varied needs of all of our kids.
The Tour Must Go On!
Due to Covid-19, DEF can’t host its annual Tour deCatur 5K and Fun Run in its usual in-person form. This year, we are offering a “Run Where You Are” 5K and Fun Run on the weekend of March 27th. 5K participants can register at www.tourdecatur.com where you can also order an event shirt. We hope this event will encourage the community to go outside to celebrate our health and the onset of spring. For some participants, this year’s Tour could be a goal to achieve or a fun family activity, and for others, it might just be exciting to have something to put on the calendar! 5K participants can submit a photo of their tracked time, and race results will be posted on the race website and on the DEF Facebook page in the week following the race.
Staff Shoutouts!
Each month, the District Dispatch features shoutouts from parents and students to our excellent teachers and staff at one of our schools. This month we are featuring Westchester Elementary School teachers and staff.
If you would like to shoutout your child’s teacher or a staff member, send an email to Sarah Jones at sjones1@csdecatur.net. Also, at the end of the school year, nominate your child’s teacher for the Extra Mile award. Keep an eye out for more information on how your student can nominate a teacher or staff member as we get closer to the end of the school year. You can find the past shoutouts on this page https://www.csdecatur.net/shoutouts.
CSD Nutrition
As we transition to in-person school at Renfroe and DHS, CSD Nutrition will be changing how meals are distributed. In-person learners at the elementary level will continue the process already established.
CSD Nutrition will begin offering Grab & Go Meal Kits at the middle and high school based on the schedule listed below. Meal kits will include a variety of ready-made and reheat-ready choices. Meal safety, reheating instructions, and, a menu will be provided in meal kits. To participate, you will need to fill out this form which indicates your preferred school of pick up and if you would like milk with your meals.
All children, regardless of school enrollment or meal eligibility status, can receive FREE meals. Families will drive-thru and pick up FREE grab & go meal kits at the bus ramp area of either Renfroe or DHS.
Students participating in the sibling meal pick-up program may continue with this method. For vegetarian, lactose-free, or other special diet options, please consult our website here.
The deadline for placing a pre-order for 3/8/2021 is Wednesday 3/3/2021 by 4:00 p.m.
Important CSD Contacts
Here are few other webpages that might be helpful to parents are:
Important CSD Contacts: https://www.csdecatur.net/domain/1658
www.csdecatur.net/opening - a repository for all documents, announcements, and communications about how CSD is handling the 2020-2021 school year.
www.csdecatur.net/nutrition - How to order meals
www.csdecatur.net/transportation
www.csdecatur.net/bustracker - How to sign up for the new Predictable Ryde Bus tracking app used for meal delivery, soon for the Fly-brary, mobile book delivery and when in-person learning resumes to track students on their buses
https://virtual.csdecatur.net/tech-help (how parents and staff can put in a tech support request)
https://virtual.csdecatur.net/students - classroom login information
https://virtual.csdecatur.net/parents - Virtual Learning Handbooks
********************************************************Please check our weekly newsletters, emails as well as your student's Google Classroom for all upcoming news and events.
Westchester Elementary School
Email: bnation@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/Westchester
Location: 758 Scott Boulevard, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-370-4400