From the Desk of Mrs. Jacobson
Interim Principal, Westlake Hills Elementary
Mar. 9-13
Dear Wildcat Families,
This week's message is focused on two things: supporting the District's messaging regarding COVDID-19 and supporting our fantastic PFA with this week's Manna Drive.
I hope you all took time to explore the details within the District messaging on Friday on the Coronavirus Disease (COVDID-19). I assure you that I continue to work with District officials and the Westlake Hills faculty and staff to follow all mandated guidelines and to make adjustments to practices as recommended. For additional details, please refer to the District's website:
https://www.conejousd.org/News/ArtMID/36540/ArticleID/1442/CVUSD-Health-Safety-Tips-and-Information-Related-to-Coronavirus. Here you have the opportunity to get answers for some of your questions and to ask your specific questions. Principals throughout the Conejo review the information at our weekly principals' meetings. As you learned in Friday's communication directly from the District, they monitor recommendations from the CDC every day. If there are any changes to recommendations in between our weekly principals' meetings, the District alerts site leadership immediately. I appreciate the leadership of CVUSD's Student Support Services in this regard and thank you to all of you who have sent in Clorox wipes and tissues over the past couple of weeks.
Please consider supporting the PFA Manna Drive this week. By simply taking a few minutes to look through your cupboards and/or pantries, I'm sure you will be able to find some items to support this important cause. Of course, those of you who are willing to shop for items to help those less fortunate, we greatly appreciate your support as well. For more details, watch for the Wildcat Weekly tomorrow.
Dawn Jacobson
Interim Principal
Westlake Hills Elementary School
To the Parents of English Language Learners
ELAC Meeting
This month our ELAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 17 fro 6:30-7:30pm in our MPR. We encourage all parents of English Language learners to make attending this meeting a priority. Please be on the lookout for additional details coming home with your child in the form of a flyer.
ELPAC Testing is Coming Soon!
The English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) is the State language assessment tool used to gauge English proficiency of all TK-12th grade English Learners. The CVUSD Summative ELPAC/IPT window for administration is from March 23-April 24th. The Computer-based ELPAC is aligned with the 2012 California English Language Development Standards. The assessment includes four elements of language acquisition; speaking, listening, reading and writing. Depending on the grade level or grade span the assessment is administered in a one-to-one setting and some sections are administered in a group setting.In addition, the IDEA Proficiency Test (IPT) is also administrated to all English Learners. IPT is our local diagnostic assessment used to inform targeted language instruction. The http://elpac.org website includes additional information and resources about the assessment too.
District proctors and two of our academic specialists will be trained to administer these tests to our students. ELPAC and IPT testing will take place at Westlake Hills on the following dates: 3/30, 3/31, 4/3, 4/20, 4/21, 4/22, 4/23, and 4/24.
ELA/ELD Adoption
CVUSD's TK-5 ELA/ELD Pearson pilot is nearing completion. On Monday, Feb. 24th, pilot teachers met to review all of Pearson's ancillary materials. On Thursday, March 12th, pilot teachers will meet to share and discuss evidence from the pilot aligned to rubrics from the California ELA/ELD Adoption Toolkit. On March 16th, pilot teachers will meet from 8:00-11:00 to discuss both publisher materials and come to consensus regarding which materials to recommend for adoption.
Thank you Conejo Schools Foundation
Thank you to the RAMS Organization
Science in Mrs. Fick's TK Class...Studying Snails!
In the News
Resources to Help with Reinforcing Good Playground Manners
Primary - Playground Safety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wlTLwmQP4c
Primary - A cartoon story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUXEu_1Pbi8
Primary - A read-around story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2cY8aFEoik
Intermediate - Controlling your Emotions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bKuoH8CkFc
Intermediate - Good sportsmanship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB2YzUUlo7o
Intermediate - Top 10 Fair-Play Soccer Moments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoQ72lHYAg0
Parents - Five Games to Teach Self-regulation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_O1brYwdSY
Parents - Strategies for Teaching Children to Read Facial Expressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy-3AlupVRk
Parents - Inclusion on the Playground...My favorite!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz_d-cikWmI
Technology at Westlake Hills
In addition to the technology classes in the Innovation Lab that Westlake Hills TK-5 students have been fortunate to engage in every other week this school year, our students continue to engage with technology regularly within their classrooms with their classroom teachers.
For more information on the tech standards in each grade level click on the following link: https://www.conejousd.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=t80Or94eugk%3d&tabid=6804&portalid=0&mid=35961
For more information on how you can support your child in mastering the tech standards for his/her grade level, please contact your child's teacher.
5th grade Physical Fitness Testing
The Physical Fitness testing window is open now through April 30th. This state-designated physical fitness test (PFT), known as the Fitnessgram® is administered to all students in grades five, seven, and nine. The Fitnessgram®, developed by The Cooper Institute, provides criterion-referenced standards to evaluate fitness. Achievement of the fitness standards is based upon a score falling in the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) for each of six fitness areas. Thank you to our Coach Sasha for administering this comprehensive assessment.
Safety is first at WHL!
Please remember that you will always need your ID when you come on school campus during school hours. You may need to show your ID to sign your student out and will need your ID to check in as a visitor or volunteer. This is NOT optional. Please be prepared to have your state issued ID with you anytime you plan to come on campus and be ready to present it to a faculty or staff member who asks for it.
Please note our campus is equipped with surveillance cameras that operate 24/7 to monitor the safety and security of our students and staff at all times. Cameras are strategically placed for maximum coverage and include inside the main office. We are in the process of ordering signage to make this clear to everyone walking on the campus, but in the meantime, this message serves as your notification. The HOA has been informed of this already.
Regular school attendance is critical to your child academic success in school.
Build the habit of good attendance early: http://www.conejousd.org/Portals/0/Departments/Instructional%20Services/Student%20Support%20Services/SARB/Documents/Attendance%20matters%20english%202012.pdf
Avoid truancy markings and SART meetings with your child, Mrs. Jacobson and Ms. Berry(counselor); please don't forget to call in your child's absences.
Being on time for school matters: http://www.conejousd.org/Portals/0/Departments/Instructional%20Services/Student%20Support%20Services/SARB/Documents/sarb%20outline-111416.pdf?ver=2016-11-14-144032-847
For information on CVUSD's SARB Process: http://www.conejousd.org/Departments/Student-Services/Student-Support-Services/School-Attendance-Review-Board-SARB
Mass Text Messaging: New to CVUSD
We will rarely use the text messaging system this year but if you did not receive last week's text and want to be included, please notify the front office, so that we may verify the SMS text number in our system. You may also verify, and update this contact information by logging into Q Parent Connect, and making sure the “Text Msg” box is checked next to the phone number you would like to receive text messages on. Reasons you may not receive the text are if you do not have a mobile phone number entered in Q Parent Connect OR if you have your mobile phone number listed as your “home” number in Q Parent Connect. Families may opt out of receiving text communication at any time by replying STOP to a text message from the school, or district.
Drop off and Pick Up in the Office at WHL
Drop off and Pick Up in the Parking Lots
The safety of our children is paramount in our parking lots! Please follow the campus' traffic safety rules below when dropping off and picking up:
*Do NOT cut in line
*Pull forward as far as possible
*Children MUST exit/enter vehicles on passenger side ONLY
*Wait to load/unload in the designated zone ONLY
*Do not leave your vehicle unattended for ANY reason/do NOT park in the drop-off/pick-up zones
*Exit the area promptly. People are waiting behind you!
*Do not use your phone-pay attention, children and chars are everywhere!
*Obey traffic signs and attendants
Attendants are monitoring traffic for your child's safety. Please make and effort to thank them for their work!
*Drive the speed limit
Following these simple rules will ensure that we have an incident-free and safe campus during drop-off and pick-up times!
Forgotten Lunches
If your child forgets his/her lunch or school items and you bring it to school after class has begun, please bring it directly to the front office.
This procedure has been set in place to minimize interruptions into valuable instruction time. Thank you for your support.
Ms. Berry, School Counselor
This is Ms. Berry’s fourth year with CVUSD and her ninth year as a school counselor. Ms. Berry serves Westlake Hills, Conejo, Maple, and Cypress Elementary schools. She is at Westlake Hills on Fridays. Outside of school, Ms. Berry is an artist and likes to paint and draw. She enjoys the theater and always has music on. She also likes spending time with family, reading, and taking walks with her dog, Jake.
Upcoming Extra-Curricular Opportunities
Are you looking for new resources to support your child academically?
Here you will find links to web pages that offer academic support for all ages:
https://www.tostudenttutoring.com/
https://www.lcmscounseling.org/uploads/1/2/8/4/128479760/2019_-_2020_tutor_list.pdf
https://www.tolibrary.org/teens/homework-help
https://www.brainfuse.com/highed/helpNow.asp?a_id=3D011F9B&ss=&r=
Meet One of Our Academic Specialists: Mrs. Michele Faulkner
Hello! My name is Michele Faulkner and I am a proud mom of four Westlake Hills graduates. This year I have been working as an instructional assistant in Mrs. Meinhart’s K/1st grade class, an intervention specialist with 3rd grade reading groups, and as a substitute teacher. As an instructional assistant working in Mrs. Meinhart’s K/1st grade combo class, I have been working mainly with the Kindergarten students utilizing the district’s curriculum in reading and math to introduce, reinforce, and extend core competencies through a variety of text, media, and hands-on approaches. As an academic specialist with 3rd grade reading groups, the students and I have been working hard to build decoding skills, fluency, and confidence in reading aloud. Through a variety of resources, including the Read Naturally program, practicing words and phrasing and listening to each other read, students are experiencing significant gains in their words per minute and in their excitement about reading! As a substitute teacher, I have had the opportunity to serve as a guest teacher across the district and in several of the classrooms at Westlake Hills. So, please say hello if you see me around campus—it’s a privilege and a pleasure to be here working with your spectacular students!
Meet Mr. Daniel Haws - Special Education Teacher
Mr. Haws is a father of two middle school students. He loves to create art in various mediums. He believes that each of us can accomplish anything we put all our efforts into.
Meet Mrs.Alisa Prewitt - Speech and Language Pathologist
Mrs. Prewitt has been a practicing speech therapist for over 20 years serving both pediatrics and adults. She lives in the Thousand Oaks community with her husband and daughter. She has a private practice but also chooses to help our community by providing speech therapy services to our students. Mrs. Prewitt is thankful to all of you who welcomed her to the Westlake Hills Family back in December and works every day to ensure speech services are targeted to individual needs and fun for our Wildcats.
Meet Ms. Marie Savory - Speech and Language Pathologist Assistant
Ms. Savory is on the Westlake Hills campus four or five days per week depending on the week providing speech services to our students. She has been in the field of Speech Language Pathology, for over 20 years. She has worked as a Language Speech and Hearing Specialist on a waiver as well as a Speech Language Pathologist Assistant. She has served as a healthcare traveler for many communities and feels fortunate to have the opportunity to bring her wide-ranging skill-sets to serve our students. She believes that speech services should target individual need AND be fun for students.
Meet Mrs. Adrianna Pavon - English Language Facilitator
Meet Mrs. Antoinette Roy - English Language Academic Specialist
Attention all 5th Grade Parents!
LATE START TUESDAYS at Colina Middle School: Colina's faculty voted to implement their Late Start Bell Schedule this week. The vote passed and Colina will adopt the current late start Tuesday schedule. This process has been presented and discussed with Colina's PTSA, Colina's School Site Council, UACT and CVUSD's Department of Instructional Services.
This year's Bell Schedule that will be the same moving into 2020-2021 can be found here: https://www.conejousd.org/colina/
Parents, please also note that Colina has options for regular time drop offs on Tuesdays if you have to work: B&G Club, study hall, and Mamba Sports Academy clinics. Please reach out to Colina for more details.
Career Opportunities within Conejo Valley Unified School District
Looking for employment? Conejo Valley Unified School District may have the perfect job for you! Click on link below to view job postings: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/conejousd
Stay Connected
Website: https://www.conejousd.org/whe/
Location: 3333 Medicine Bow Court, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA
Phone: 805-497-9339
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WildcatsPFA/
Twitter: @WHLWildcats