Westwood Intermediate/Middle School
October 12, 2022 - Newsletter
See translation information below / Consulte la información de traducción a continuación.
October 12, 2022 - NEWSLETTER
Westwood Families,
This first half of the trimester has flown by. We are already in the days leading up to fall break. Please remember there is no school next week, Oct. 17-21. Staff will engage in professional learning and look forward to connecting with families during conferences. With the break coming up, please make sure your student is in school through the end of this week and ready to return to school on Monday, Oct. 24.
Conferences next week
We are offering a variety of options for families to connect with teachers – in-person and online. Please find something that works with your schedule. We really value this time to connect with families on student learning.
Grade 7 and 8 conferences:
- Tuesday, October 18 – 4-7:30 p.m., drop-in, in-person, no sign up necessary
- Wednesday, October 19 – 8-11 a.m., drop-in, in-person, no sign up necessary
- Wednesday, October 19 – 12-3 p.m., online via WebEx, sign up here
- Thursday, October 27 – 4:30-7:30 p.m., online via WebEx, sign up here
Grades 5 and 6 conferences:
- Tuesday, October 18 – 4-7:30 p.m., in-person, sign up for homeroom, no sign up necessary for specialists (art, music, PE, band, academic supports)
- Wednesday, October 19 – 8-11 a.m. – in-person, sign up necessary for homeroom, no sign up necessary for specialists (art, music, PE, band, academic supports)
- Wednesday, October 19 – 12-3 p.m., online via WebEx, sign up necessary
- Thursday, October 27 – 4:30-7:30 p.m., online via WebEx, sign up necessary
Find WebEx links for all staff on this page.
Other updates: Lockers, Concert opportunity
As promised at the beginning of the year, lockers are ready to go for students. The locker number and combination is in Campus for students. Students can come to conferences with you and practice opening their locker. Staff will also spend time during Panther Time to work with students, so they know how to open their locker.
On the Saturday of our fall break, don’t miss an opportunity to experience a truly world-class pianist, David Osborne, at the Spring Lake Park High School Fine Arts Center. Tickets are very reasonably priced, $12 for adults, $5 for students/children. It’s not often that we have this type of performance in the North Metro. Learn more and get tickets at SpringLakeParkSchools.org/Liveon65.
Please take 5-10 minutes to review the other information in this week’s newsletter. It’s a busy time of year, and we don’t want you to miss anything!
Enjoy the break! We are looking forward to meeting with you at conferences,
Have a great week,
Tom Larson
Principal
Upcoming adjustments to grade 5-6 report cards
In advance of conferences, we want families to be aware of some upcoming adjustments to how we are reporting on student progress and specifically report cards. There are two adjustments to be aware of:
- Grade 6 report cards will follow the elementary model for report cards. Grade 6 report cards will not use letter grades until the transition to the secondary learning model in grade 7.
- Grade 5-6 report cards will be evolving for what has been reported on for life skills to align with our career and life competencies. For each competency, the language to communicate progress will be “consistently” (I can do it on my own in various situations), “progressing” (I’m working it and can do it in familiar situations) or “emerging” (I’m just learning about it). For example, Self Direction is one of our competencies. One example of how we measure progress is a student's ability to focus attention to achieve results. This looks different at different grade levels. This model allows us to share with families whether at this point in time this skill for their student is shown - consistently, progressing or emerging.
If you have questions, please connect with your child's teacher.
Digital Equity Survey
The State of Minnesota asks all public K-12 schools to provide information about student access to the Internet and electronic devices used for schoolwork in a student’s home. If you have not supplied this information before, you will be prompted to complete a very brief survey in the next few days.
Our schools may use the information to help support a student's access to learning opportunities outside the classroom or school building. It is important that we gather accurate information from every student so that each student and family has the equipment, help and support they need.
If your family has not already provided this information, you will find the survey available to you in the Campus Parent Portal. Once logged in, select Message Center, then the Surveys tab where you will find the Digital Equity Survey. The survey should take two minutes to complete.
It's not too late: Apply now for Free or Reduced-Price Meal and Education Benefits
If your family received Free or Reduced-Price Meal benefits for the 2021-2022 school year, the deadline to apply again is October 24, 2022. A new application must be completed each school year.
Families who have not ever applied for these benefits can apply right away or at any time throughout the year. Families who were denied benefits can also re-apply anytime as well if their income decreases, household size increases or other changes that will qualify for these benefits.
Please take a few minutes to complete and submit the application - even if you don't think you will qualify. It's about much more than meals.
You could be eligible for:
- Free or reduced-price meal
- Reduced fares on Metro Transit through the Transit Assistance Program
- Reduced fees for athletics and activities
- Reduced fees for in-home internet access
- And more!
Questions? Contact the Nutrition Services Department at 763-600-5041.
Announcing Auditions - 5th and 6th Grade Musical "Snowy Off-White and the 8 Little Dudes"
Auditions:
- 5th grade: Tuesday, October 25 (after school – 5:15 p.m.)
- 6th grade: Wednesday, October 26 (after school – 5:15 p.m.)
Meet after school in the Westwood cafeteria. If your student would like to audition, please have them pick up an audition form from Ms. Howard or Ms. Geist, fill it out and bring it with them to the audition.
Rehearsals
Daily rehearsals start Tuesday, November 1 from 3:20 to 5:10 p.m. at Westwood. (Not every student needs to be at every rehearsal, but you do need to be available)!
Performances are December 1 and 2 in the Fine Arts Center. Purchase tickets today.
Catch live theater starring homegrown talent
The Spring Lake Park Schools Theater department launches an exciting 2022-2023 season of performances with Peter and Starcatcher starting October 28. The fall play kicks off a year of what are sure to be memorable performances by our local, homegrown and award-winning theater talent. Read the full story about what audiences can expect this season.
All performances take place in the Spring Lake Park High School Fine Arts Center at 1100 81st Ave NE, Spring Lake Park. Tickets for the full 2022-2023 line-up are available online or at the door, for a dollar more a ticket. View more show information and buy tickets online.
Spring Lake Park Lions Community Breakfast
Mark your calendars for the SLP Lions Community Breakfast on Sunday, October 30 , 2022 from 8 a.m.-noon at Spring Lake Park High School (door #33)
There will be an all you can eat breakfast as well as:
- Free eye screenings for children six month-six years, face painting, a balloon artist and other activities
- A baked goods sale and big coloring books
- A free wellness fair - A1c and Lipid Panel Testing, Blood Pressure checks, Covid-19 and Flu Shot Clinic, provided by HyVee
If able, please bring food donations for the food shelf, unwanted cell phones, eyeglasses and hearing aids.
The True Confessions of Charlotte
8th grade Language Arts students have been discussing and explaining their understanding of literary themes using short stories, poems, and other texts. This practice work will help prepare them while tracking a theme throughout the entirety of our upcoming novel, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.
Discovering Bugs
Dr Sean Prager joined 6th hour from Prager Labs at the University of Saskatchewan and answered our questions about bugs. The most surprising things we learned were that the mosquito is the most dangerous bug in the world, the bullet ant is the most painful, and the Hercules bug is the size of a man's fist. Dr Prager made direct ties between our healing cut unit and diseases carried by insects.
Dr Angela Burrows joined 1st and 3rd hours from Blossey lab at Cornell University to answer our questions about frogs, toad, and salamanders. We were interested to find out all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads. We also learned all frogs have toxins and amphibians dig deep in the soil or mud to survive a MN winter. Dr B made direct ties between how salamanders heal and our current healing cut unit for us.
Angie Korbik joined us from UC Davis to answer all of our questions about kelp forests. We learned how kelp forests are like forests in MN and that all kelp is edible (and can be found in some surprising things). Angie made direct ties between our healing cut unit and kelps uses in medicines.
There's still time to sign-up! Conference Meals
Thank you to the families who have signed up to contribute to Fall Conference Meals. We are still looking for more donations for this meal that will be served on October 18th to all Westwood teachers. There are opportunities to donate time, food, and/or cash listed in the Sign Up Genius. Donations can be dropped off this week in the office. Thank you so much for considering! Let's show our teachers our gratitude for all they do for our students! Sign up here!
- October 17-21 - Fall break, no school
- October 18, 19 & 27 - Fall conferences, sign up here
- October 22 - Live on 65 Performance Series - Pianist David Osborne
- October 25 - 5th grade Fall Play Auditions- Westwood Cafeteria
- October 26- 6th grade Fall Play Auditions- Westwood Cafeteria
- October 26 - Picture retake day
- October 28, 29 and November 4, 5 - SLPHS Fall Play - "Peter and the Starcatcher"
Translate This Message / Traducir Este Mensaje
To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.
Para traducir la información a otro idioma, por favor presionen en cualquier lugar del mensaje para abrirlo en un navegador web y en la parte superior de la página seleccione su idioma del menú.