Westridge Family Notes
Westridge Elementary School | September 24, 2021
Learning Highlights
6th grade students are beginning the topic of coping with stress this week in guidance. They began class with a video featuring students around the United States speaking about their stress: what it is, what kind they have, and where they hold it in their bodies. Students began an activity about what stress feels like, looks like, and is caused by.
WDMCS Homecoming 2021: Spirit Week
Join in the Homecoming fun with our dress-up days!
(HS drumline will come play as our students are being dismissed)
Tuesday, Septebmer 28: SportsTeam Day
Wednesday, September 29: We Wear Pink Day
Thursday, September 30: Beach Day
Friday, October 1: Spirit Day
(Tailgate theme lunch)
Screening Assessments: September 13 - 29
Teachers will be administering a reading and a math screening assessment to students. Screeners are a quick assessment tool to check student progress toward grade-level goals. By design, screeners will prompt consideration around a broader body of evidence of student work in order to determine next instructional steps.
At Westridge, we will continue to work hard to ensure that our classroom instruction meets the needs of all students, so they make progress on grade-level reading and math goals. Students who score below proficient may receive additional targeted support within their classroom or with a specialist teacher.
District Information: Reporting on Essential Lifeskils and Reporting for 6th Grade
Shifts in Reporting
All students in grades K-12 will now receive feedback related to our Essential Life Skills. The Essential Life Skills are aligned with our district’s Portrait of a Graduate. These skills represent the skills students will need to embody to be college and career ready by their senior year. The Essential Life Skills will replace Learner Behaviors on the pupil progress report. The Essential Life Skills are:
Communicator: Conveys ideas and information respectfully, purposefully, and effectively
Collaborator: works effectively and respectfully with others to accomplish goals
Critical Thinker: Synthesizes information to develop solutions to challenges
Global Contributor: Applies learning to real world challenges in a variety of situations
Innovator: Explores and experiments to learn, build resilience, and try new ideas
Continuous Learner: Considers feedback and works towards goals
Prepared Learner: Shows readiness for learning through self-regulation and responsibility in a variety of settings
An Essential Life Skills rubric will be used to help students, teachers, and parents/guardians in determining next steps in developing Essential Life Skills. This information is intended to inform instruction, feedback for students and families, as well as goal-setting.
As a district, we have decided to shift our grading practices at 6th grade to be more in alignment with our K-5 practices. Starting this year, 6th grade students will no longer receive letter grades; rather they will receive feedback around their demonstration of understanding at a specified level of proficiency toward the prioritized standards in all content areas. The decision to provide feedback in this way was made for a variety of reasons:
Currently, 6th grade students receive feedback around learning progress in a variety of ways with some content areas receiving letter grades and others receiving feedback related to PPR statements using beginning, progressing, and meeting. Shifting to all reporting done in a similar matter will provide greater consistency for students and families.
Shifting our practices will help us to more fully implement our first three WDMCS effective grading practices of- grades reflecting the standards in the Iowa Core (or equivalent standards), the use criterion referenced grades in which students can demonstrate understanding at a specified level of proficiency, and achievement and behavior will be reported separately.
Currently, our secondary teams are working to provide more standards aligned feedback to students through the use of tools such as proficiency scales, which is more aligned to our elementary grading using beginning, progressing, and meeting.
Westridge Spirit Wear - Final Days...Sale Ends Next Week!
Exciting news…WESTRIDGE SPIRIT WEAR is now available to shop online. Click on the link to grab your favorite tiger gear. There is youth and adult sizing available and lots of fun options to help support & show your school spirit! Go tigers!
1st & 3rd Wednesday
The third Wednesday of the month, we encourage staff and students to wear Westridge attire or school colors.
Early Dismissals
Don't forget...every Wednesday is an early dismissal at 3:10 pm. This includes the first day of school. Please make necessary arrangements.
Upcoming Dates:
September 27 - October 1: Homecoming Week
September 30 - Practice lockdown drill
October 8: Fall Parties: We will not have parent volunteers for the Fall Parties. To keep the spirit of fun & community - we will have Fall Parties in each classroom beginning at 3:15pm.
Westridge Elementary School
Beth Brewer, Principal
Jeannette Barnes, Assistant Principal
Website: https://www.wdmcs.org/schools/westridge/
Location: 5500 E.P. True Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266
Phone: 515-633-5400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wdmwestridge