Westwood Updates
Week of 1/19- 1/23/15
This Week's Happenings
Monday- 1/26/15
MAPS
Jump for Heart Assemblies 8:15 & 9:15
Tuesday- 1/27/15
MAPS
WWEF Winter Raffle Begins
Wednesday- 1/28/15
MAPS
* WEF Dining for Dollars- Red Robin (North County Fair Mall)
10:50-33:35 BHMS Band performance MPR 4th and 5th only
Thursday- 1/29/15
MAPS
3:30 Social Committee Happy Hour @ Vintana
Friday- 1/30/15
MAPS
8:00 Friday Flag
2:10 B-6 Multicultural Fair Planning Meeting - all welcome
New News
Celebrating Student Writing
Last Friday was National Writing Day and it has inspired us to look for ways to encourage the writing our students do here at WWES. In order to celebrate writing, we will display student work in the office. You can encourage your students to share their writing with us by dropping selections ( any poem, essay, joke, short story, or report) in the envelope on the board in the office. Each piece will be read and comments will be made. We will select several to display each month.
As mentioned at Friday Flag, we are holding a contest to "name the space" on our bulletin board. Students can create a clever title and drop their submission in the envelope in the office. Contest ends February 5th, and winners will be announces at Friday Flag 2/6/15.
Here is a tellgami message about our writing bulletin board and contest that you can share with students. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Jump for Heart & the Splatter Ducks
The "Splatter Duck" and lanyards are being delivered to classes on Monday. Just a quick reminder:
$1 = heart to sign and hang up
$5 = Splatter Duck and lanyard
Online orders/donations will be filled and delivered to classes after the event is over.
Flyers to be sent home today with students as well as copies of the hearts are in your boxes.
On February 10th please send all money and extra ducks/lanyards to Emily's room E12 as we need to return them to the American Heart Association.
Reminders & Updates
Still Needed - CHKS Survey
Help our Lunch Team Out
The lunch ladies are preparing for the spring audit and they need your help. Please remind students that a healthy serving of lunch includes the main entrée and 1/2 cup of fruit or veggies - OR- one full cup of salad without an entrée.
Please remind students to pick up condiments and utensils before leaving the cafeteria. They should not be reentering the cafeteria.
Ms. Israni and the Playground League
Please send your selected superheroes out to the table by the cabins for lunch and games with Ms. Israni at your lunch:
Mondays- 4th and 5th
Tuesdays-Kinder and 3rd
Thursdays- 1st and 4th
Fridays- 2nd and 5th
T'is the Season for MAPS!
From LSS
Supporting our ELL Students
Guidance from the Departments of Education and Justice on Equitable Educational Access for English Learner Students:
The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice today released joint guidance reminding states, school districts, and schools of their obligations under federal law to ensure that English learner students have equal access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to achieve their full academic potential.
In addition to the guidance, the Departments also released additional tools and resources to help schools in serving English learner students and parents with limited English proficiency:
- A fact sheet in English and in other languages about schools’ obligations under federal law to ensure that English learner students can participate meaningfully and equally in school.
- A fact sheet in English and in other languages about schools’ obligations under federal law to communicate information to limited English proficient parents in a language they can understand.
- A toolkit to help school districts identify English learner students, prepared by the Education Department’s Office of English Language Acquisition. This is the first chapter in a series of chapters to help state education agencies and school districts meet their obligations to English learner students.
This is the first time that a single piece of guidance has addressed the array of federal laws that govern schools’ obligations to English learners. The guidance recognizes the recent milestone 40th anniversaries of Lau v. Nichols and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA), as well as the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. The EEOA, similar to Lau, requires public schools to take appropriate action to help English learner students overcome language barriers and ensure their ability to participate equally in school.
The guidance explains schools’ obligations to:
- identify English learner students in a timely, valid and reliable manner;
- offer all English learner students an educationally sound language assistance program;
- provide qualified staff and sufficient resources for instructing English learner students;
- ensure English learner students have equitable access to school programs and activities
- avoid unnecessary segregation of English learner students from other students;
- monitor students’ progress in learning English and doing grade-level classwork;
- remedy any academic deficits English learner students incurred while in a language assistance program;
- move students out of language assistance programs when they are proficient in English and monitor those students to ensure they were not prematurely removed;
- evaluate the effectiveness of English learner programs; and
- provide limited English proficient parents with information about school programs, services, and activities in a language they understand
Upcoming Events
2/10/15 Jump for Heart (more to come)