Westchester Weekly
All-Star Newsletter January 6, 2022
Dear Westchester families,
Happy New Year! We have so much to be grateful for in our Westchester community. All of your offers of support, feedback, and communication of needs have been helping us to stay focused on our goals of keeping students safe, healthy, and thriving. It is a privilege to work with your children every day in partnership with you. We continue to wish all of your families health and happiness in 2022.
We have some good news about some building repairs: We are getting a new roof installed! We have struggled with the existing roof for the past couple of years but the materials are in and the workers are ready. They will be working from the cafeteria side of the building, so for the next few weeks please heed the caution tape and avoid walking on that side of the school. You may walk around the auditorium side to the front or back of the school as an alternative route.
As Term 3 ended in December, teachers assessed student progress through MAP testing and IRLA assessments. Next Thursday you will receive your child’s MAP report for Math and Reading, as well as an IRLA report for Reading. Term 4 progress will be communicated through a parent-teacher conference before February break, and a report card shortly after the break. Your teacher will reach out to you at the end of January to sign up for your conference.
Thank you for all you do to support your child’s learning. As always, take care of yourselves and others, and please reach out anytime.
Sincerely,
Spotlights
Staff Spotlight on : Sarah Chandler
Position at WE: Special Education Teacher
Hometown: Columbus, Georgia
Education/Background: Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education from Spring Hill in Mobile, AL and Master's in Early Childhood Special Education from GSU
Family: My husband, Chris and my daughter Ellie
Favorites: A few favorite books: Persuasion by Jane Austen, The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, and A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers.
Hobbies: Reading, walking and hiking, gardening, watching British panel shows
Hero/Inspiration: Ally Henry
Favorite thing about Westchester: You never feel like you have to do anything alone. I feel like my strengths are valued and my weaknesses are filled in by others' strengths.
Happy New Year!
Resolutions
Social Justice
More Resolutions
Upcoming Calendar Events
January 17th- Martin Luther King Day Celebrated- No School
February 1st- Black History Month Begins
New from Nurse Nancy
Thank you to everyone for their due diligence during this unprecedented time. All of us at Westchester appreciate all of you! As we continue to navigate the ever changing landscape, I want to send out a few reminders...
Symptoms:
Keep your child at home if they are experiencing ANY symptoms. This includes fever, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, etc. Keeping everyone safe is our highest priority, and we will not be able to allow symptomatic students to remain in school, even with a recent negative COVID-19 test. If you are contacted by Nurse Nancy, please have arrangements in place to have your child picked up from school within one hour.
If your child does have any symptoms, please monitor and keep your child home when they are experiencing even mild symptoms and get them tested. Please wait until you have the results before sending your child to school. Testing is available for staff and students daily at the Wilson Center, 6:30-8:30 am. Register here: Wilson Covid Testing
New GUIDELINES
CSD will follow the new CDC guidelines Guidelines on Isolation and Quarantine
If at anytime you are unsure whether to keep your child home due to an exposure, feel free to call me to discuss. I know the changing guidelines... plus vaccinated or not , boostered, etc. can get confusing.
Thank you,
Lunch Plan Updates
Prior to the latest surge, in discussion with SLT we made the decision to default to indoor eating once we returned to school in January unless the weather was 50 degrees or above. In accordance with CSD Mitigation Strategies, we will now default to providing outdoor lunch as much as possible when the temperature is 45 degrees or above and no rain, snow, or other precipitation occurs. We remain confident that the plan we have will continue to provide students with the best indoor eating option (i.e. active eating only during lunch, utilizing both the auditorium and cafeteria, maintaining a safe distance between students, and increasing the number of air purification systems in both areas). We ask that you send your child(ren) to school dressed weather appropriate for outdoor lunch and recess. Also, at this time we will not need parent volunteers for lunch but will communicate if that need changes. Thank you for your continued support in keeping our Westchester community safe and healthy.
Note: We will utilize the current temperature during lunch to determine indoor vs outdoor eating. The lunch times are listed below (exact times vary by class).
Kindergarten: 10:55-11:19
First Grade: 11:28-11:52
Second Grade: 12:00-12:29
Updated Mitigation Rubric (Mask Policy)
In accordance with the CSD Multi-Layered Mitigation Strategies, masks will be required indoors and outdoors for every individual at Westchester. Masks may be removed when students are actively eating or drinking. We ask that you ensure your child(ren) has a mask that is properly fitted over their nose and mouth. Please send your student to school with additional replacement masks.
Isolation/Quarantine Learning Plan
Westchester has a plan for providing concurrent or direct live instruction while a student is isolating or quarantined due to direct exposure or infection from Covid-19. The Learning Plan for isolating or quarantined students will begin once contact tracing is completed, close contacts are identified and informed, and the teacher has communicated all pertinent information to the family.
The first part of the Learning Plan is communication between the family and the teacher to make sure the student knows how to join virtually and has access to the materials, technology and platforms needed for virtual learning. Students may learn concurrently throughout the school day via Google Meet, or the teacher will schedule an hour of direct instruction. Your child’s teacher will provide guidance and details for this plan should the need arise.
Please review Dr. Fehrman’s Friday Follow-Up for information regarding Covid-19 mitigations, isolation/quarantine guidelines, and CSD Test to Stay. https://www.smore.com/rwf1q
Google Classroom Guidance/Directions
We have several resources that help you and your student access Google Classroom.
CSD Special Education
Pre-K & Kindergarten Check-In
Mr. Frank DeFilippo, Special Education Coordinator, and Cheryl Grant, Parent Mentor, will host the second meeting of the three-part check-in with parents/guardians of Pre-K and Kindergarten children. Families will be able to submit questions on the RSVP form.
Our staff members look forward to connecting with CSD families in this meeting. Click the button below to RSVP and submit any questions you may have.
Target Audience: Parents of Pre-K & Kindergarten students who have an IEP
Date: January 20, 2022
Time: 6-7pm
Location: Virtual
RSVP Link or Email Cheryl Grant cgrant@csdecatur.net
PTA News
MASK DRIVE
The wonderful community at Westchester Elementary School would like to make sure that all students have the opportunity to wear the safest mask in helping prevent the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, the PTA has added KF94 masks* (similar to KN95 but sized better for children) to our amazon wishlist and are asking for your support in getting those masks ordered. We will then have them available to teachers, Nurse Nancy, and at the front office for distribution when needed or requested. Again, here is the link to order: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/31QU8RQ6QJLBQ?ref_=wl_share.
Thank you! WE are grateful for your support!
*All masks that are on the wishlist have been third-party tested for quality.
MTSS dept. presents CSD Super Saturdays for K-5
Please complete the form to register your K-5 CSD student(s) for a Super Saturday session. CSD teachers and highly recommended staff will conduct engaging hands-on enrichment activities with small groups (1:10) of students on one (1) Saturday per month. The instructional focus will change from month to month (Math, STEM, ELA/Reading, etc.). All sessions will run from 9:00am- noon. This is FREE to all CSD K-5 students, but space is limited based on teacher availability. Registration will close at noon on the Friday before the session OR when all spaces have been filled. You will receive a confirmation email from Google upon successful registration.
REGISTER HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfYbU9CnNyx9e-u_qgoCTzjpS2cizbb2IkpppQJaWcitw8n0g/viewform
Register TODAY for Run With the Dogs 2022!
Register TODAY for Run With the Dogs 2022!
The race is Saturday, January 29, 2022, with a new course in MAK and Oakhurst that starts and finishes at Renfroe Middle School. This year's race will be chip timed for the first time and all 5K participants will receive the coveted long-sleeved T-shirt with original artwork by Adam Pinsley.
Thank you so much to everyone who voted for the 2022 Face of the Race. We are pleased to announce that Trout is our winner, and his adorable face will be featured on the race T-shirts, posters, and water bottle stickers.
Run with the Dogs 5K is an annual fundraiser of the Decatur Bulldog Boosters and supports student-athletes on 45 sports teams at Decatur High School and Renfroe Middle School.
For more information and to register for Run With the Dogs, click here!
Decatur Education Foundation
Happy New Year from Decatur Education Foundation! We hope everyone had a safe and relaxing break and is ready for learning! Here are some things happening in the next week:
Pop-Up Takeout for DEF! Our friends from NaanStop and Greg Kodesh Realty are partnering with DEF for a dine-out/take-out on Thursday, January 13th, for which they'll be donating 20% of sales to DEF! They offer family meals, including 2 entrees, fresh-baked naan, handmade samosas, basmati rice, and chutneys (feeds 4). Just place your order before 5 pm on Wednesday, January 12th, and your order will be available for pick up between 5 – 5:45 pm on Thursday, January 13th - Link to menu: https://bit.ly/NSorderDecatur - Pickup at Avery/Bucher in Winnona Park neighborhood - masks/distancing required at pick up. It's first-come, first-served, so get your orders in before they sell out!
As the Snickers commercial says, "We're not ourselves when we're hungry." It's also hard to learn and concentrate! That's why DEF is teaming up with the counselors at Talley Street, Renfroe Middle, and Decatur High School to keep the snacks stocked at those schools. We are also accepting donations to our weekend backpack program, which provides supplemental food for students who need it. If you'd like to help with a donation to your students' school, click HERE for links to each school's Amazon Wish List. Your orders will go straight to the schools. Together, we make a difference for our kids!
Decatur Farm to School:
Decatur Farm to School is currently recruiting new members to its committee. Joining the Decatur Farm to School (DF2S) Committee is a great way to get involved with the work of getting our students outside in their school garden and making the connection to what they are learning in the classroom and eating in the cafeteria/at home. Click on the link to find out which volunteer positions are available and show your interest. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfPzRwurjgUc8IWvReQ0lNltEkijYSoRfUvbTWvq0iBvRczg/viewform
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Lacrosse
Reminders from Last Week
Building access after school hours
We love that many families enjoy playing on the school grounds after picking their child up after school. For the safety and security of the building, no students are allowed to re-enter the building once dismissed to their parents unless they and an accompanying guardian are buzzed in through the front door for specific school purposes. We have had a few students who are not in Animal Crackers re-enter the building to use the bathrooms. Only Animal Crackers students may re-enter the building, accompanied by an Animal Crackers staff member, to use the bathrooms after school. Thank you for your help in keeping our students safe.
Visit past newsletters for answers to your questions🤗
Westchester Elementary School
Email: bnation@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/Westchester
Location: 758 Scott Boulevard, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-370-4400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westchesterelementarycsd