Westchester Weekly
All-Star Newsletter September 3, 2020
Principal's Corner
Greetings WE Families,
You have worked so hard to make virtual learning a success for the past 3 weeks that I'd like to give you Monday off to relax and enjoy your families. You deserve it! Monday, September 7th is Labor Day, a non-attendance day for students. Next week's schedule will be different as a result of the 3 day weekend. We will not have Wellness Wednesday. Therefore, students will follow their instructional schedule Tuesday - Friday. Classroom teachers will remind students which specials they should attend each day in order to minimize confusion.
Let's prepare to celebrate the last week of summer with spirit week at Westchester. Will you please allow your children to dress according to the guidance below? We'd love for you to share pictures to help us promote WE school spirit!
Monday (9/14) - WE Spirit Gear
Tuesday (9/15)- Team Day (Represent favorite sports team)
Wednesday (9/16) - Wacky Wednesday (Mix match patterns)
Thursday (9/17) - Be a Hero (Represent your favorite hero)
Friday (9/18) - Silly Hats
Kindly,
Kimberly R. Watson, PhD
Community Circle
Media Center Updates
- all holds must be requested by 12:00pm on Mondays (no exceptions)
- No Flybrary Tuesday, September 22nd- this means no pick up or bus deliveries on 9/22
No Wellness Wednesday 9/9
Vote for your SLT Member Today!
Voting will take place September 3rd-10th. Please take the time to fill out this quick form regarding our future SLT member.
Room Parents/Contact Information Requested
Room Parents at Westchester would like to have your contact information to inform you of what is happening in the classrooms in addition to your regular school communications. The information you provide in this form will be shared with the room parents of the specific homeroom.
WE Spirit Week
- Monday - WE Spirit Gear
- Tuesday - Team Day (Represent favorite sports team)
- Wednesday - Wacky Wednesday (Mix match patterns)
- Thursday - Be a Hero (Represent your favorite hero)
- Friday - Silly Hats
Westchester PTA
Welcome to the Westchester PTA! Whether you're a returning family or new to our school, we are excited to have you as part of the Westchester community. Please visit our website to learn more about your PTA and join us.
Our PTA has designed an online store for school spirit wear https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/lockers/westchester-elementary-school?_k=c1y67h
Stay tuned for more details on our website!
Acknowledgement of Receipt of Handbooks
On Friday, the district wide newsletter will be sent out and this will include information for parents regarding their receipt of the CSD Student / Parent Handbook, the Student Code of Conduct and Restorative Practices Handbook, and several other acknowledgements. Sign offs will be done directly through Infinite Campus.
News From Nurse Nancy
Medication Form Update from the School Health Team,
In anticipation of in-person learning, the City School of Decatur School Health Program would like to make parents & guardians aware of a change in the procedure for medication administration. For any student who requires medication to be administered during school hours, the Authorization for Medication Administration form must be completed in its entirety. This authorization form has been updated and now requires an authorized prescriber to complete and sign the designated area before prescription medication can be administered at the school. Please note, a physician’s signature will be required for any over the counter medication that is to be administered outside of the manufacturers guidelines. The schools will no longer accept the old Authorization for Medication Administration form. The new form may be found on your school’s website. The complete medication guidelines can be found in the District Handbook. We encourage parents to be prepared by having the required documents and signatures in place prior to the start of in-person instruction.
If you have any questions regarding this contact Nurse Nancy Garrison: ngarrison@csdecatur.net
News from City Schools of Decatur:
Annual Data Update:
We have moved the typical beginning of the school year household data update, medical forms, opt-out forms, and handbook sign-offs to the parent portal.
It is important for parents or guardians to complete these forms and sign-offs by September 15. Please note, only parents and guardians in the primary household will have access to fill out the information for the annual data update. Please review the 2020-2021 K-12 District Handbook and Code of Conduct and Restorative Practices Handbook prior to completing the update.
Directions for accessing the data update can be found in the graphic below (attached).
For more detailed information, please watch this video.
News from The Decatur Education Foundation:
DEF is pleased to announce that we are sponsoring two of Decatur Book Festival’s Virtual Kid events on September 5th and September 15th! Sept 5th at 10 am: The Kidnote Presentation with Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James, authors of I Am Every Good Thing, an uplifting picture book that celebrates Black boys. As part of this presentation, DEF has purchased a copy of the book for every classroom teacher in our five K-2 City Schools of Decatur! To sign up for the presentation, click here. Sept 15 at 7 pm: Raise Your Voice - a Young Adult Panel brings together five YA authors to discuss how to make yourself heard and to find your place in the world. Panelists include Elizabeth Acevedo, Becky Albertalli, Aisha Saeed, Renee Watson, Brendan Kiely. To register for this presentation, click here. You can find books from all of these authors at Little Shop of Stories and Brave + Kind Books.
The Madison Avenue Soapbox Derby’s Ramp to Success Fundraiser benefitting DEF continues through September! If you would like to help students and families face the virtual learning challenges ahead, consider donating at http://madisonavesoapboxderby.org/donate/ -- there’s a gift from Oakhurst Market for every donation level!
Black Parent Alliance
The CSD Black Parent Alliance welcomes new parents to Westchester! If you are a parent to a student that identifies as black, please contact us at CSDBPA@gmail.com to join. Our mission is to provide a safe space for our parents to share issues, concerns, highlight ideas, and formulate action plans regarding the health, safety and success of our children. We also welcome the opportunity to collaborate with other like-minded organizations and committees.
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
The CSD Virtual Meal Plan- Delivery or Pick up options available!
Did you know the CSD nutrition department is offering a week of breakfast and/or lunch to all our students! Meals can be picked up at the Decatur High School cafeteria or delivered to your bus stop. Meals can be picked up at the Decatur High School cafeteria or delivered to your bus stop.
If you choose to have your meals delivered to a local bus stop, we suggest signing up for "Predictable Ryde" through the CSD Transportation Department. For more information about predictable ryde, how to register, and how to set up your app, please visit www.csdecatur.net/bustracker.
- To order meals for the week of August 31-September 4, we will move back our ordering window. So instead of Tuesday through Thursday, the ordering window will be Monday, August 24, at 8 am until Wednesday, August 26 at 3 pm. We are changing the time frame to better coordinate with CSD Transportation. Thank you for your flexibility.
For more information on special dietary needs, frequently asked questions, prepayment, and to order, visit www.csdecatur.net/nutrition.
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