WILDCAT NEWS
September 2023
News from Ms. Harcus
Hello Westside Family,
Welcome to the 2023/24 school year!! I hope you have all had a wonderful summer and are as excited as I am for the start of the school year ahead!
I was sad that I was unable to make it to Ready, Set, Go to see all of you. I was dropping my youngest daughter off at college. I am excited for our Back to School BBQ on September 13 from 5-6:30. I hope to see all of you there!!
Our first day of school is Tuesday September 5th. Supervision starts at 7:30 and instruction starts at 7:40. Please make every effort to get your child to school on time. Academics for many start right away in the morning and we don’t want them to miss out.
I am incredibly honored to start my 8th year as Principal of Westside and look forward to watching our Wildcats grow and learn this year!
As always if you need anything, have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here for you! We are one Family!
With Love and Gratitude,
Mrs. Harcus, Principal
Important Dates
Tuesday September 5, 2023 - First Day of School
WELCOME BACK WILDCATS!!
Start Time, 7:35 am
Dismissal Time, 2:40 pm
School Day Hours
ARRIVAL
Supervision outside starts at 7:30 am
First Bell rings at 7:35 am - Students enter the building
Instruction starts at 7:40 am
DISMISSAL
2:40 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday and Fridays
1:30 pm on Thursdays
Picture Day - Wednesday September 20, 2023
School Picture Day is Wednesday September 20, 2022
Empire Photography
- Picture day is paperless and 100% contact-free.
- Caregivers will receive an email from Empire Photography containing a link to their student's private, PIN-protected online photo gallery.
- Ordering photos will be completed online, and the orders will be mailed directly to the home address provided.
Please view the attached flyers for more information.
Time to Update Infinite Campus Information
This year Westside Teachers & Staff are using the Remind App as a way to communicate with caregivers. Having up-to-date information (i.e. phone numbers, email address, etc.) in Infinite Campus is important for your child's teacher to be able to contact you.
If you need assistance with updating Infinite Campus, please contact the office, 608-834-7509.
If you are not already connected with your child's teacher, be looking for texts or emails asking you to connect, or ask for the class code.
Spread Kindness, Not Germs
Please keep your child home if they have symptoms of respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, such as cough, fever, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Let your child's school know if they test positive for any communicable disease, such as COVID, influenza, strep, or pertussis. Your school's health assistant can provide guidance on when your child can return to school after testing positive.
Reporting a Student Absence
Parents/Guardians may report a student absence to Westside Elementary 24 hours a day by calling our Attendance Line at
(608) 834-7500, press 1 to report a student absence.
Please leave a short message with the following information:
- Child's name
- Teacher's name or grade
- Reason for absence
- Who is calling
Please contact the office, 608-834-7509 before 7:30 a.m. any morning your child will not be in school, even if they will be joining us late. If we do not hear from you, a safe arrival call will be made to you at home and/or work. We want to make sure every child is safe!
Student Appointments
- Name of Student
- Teacher's name or grade
- Time of pick up
- If the student will be returning to school
If you are picking up a student during the school day, you will need to sign them out in the main office and please bring your ID with you. We do ask that you give yourself adequate time for check out before your appointment.
Volunteer Background Checks
If you are interested in volunteering and/or being a chaperone, please check out the District's Volunteer Procedure.
Here are the links from the District website to the Background Check Form(s).
Thank you for considering!
Free Preschool Playgroups
Are you looking for a fun, enriching, social opportunity for your preschooler? For registration information please click here.
Westside OPTS Updates
Who We Are & What We Do:
Westside OPTS is the parent-teacher organization at Westside Elementary School. All members are volunteers, made up of parents, grandparents and caregivers of Westside students, as well as teachers and school staff. Our mission is to support education for Westside Elementary School students by fostering relationships between the school, parents, and teachers.
How To Get Involved:
We are committed to supporting our teachers, students and families and we would love your help!
- Volunteer your time and/or talent! If you have a special skill, want to help with fundraising, or like to work on teacher appreciate activities, please let us know.
- Board Members:
Co-Presidents - Katie Rikli
Vice President - Chiquita Hall
Secretary - Renee Gilman
Treasurer - Cathy Weyer
Volunteer Coordinator - VACANT
OPTS Meetings
Westside OPTS meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month (except December) from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday September 12, 2023 at Westside Elementary.
We hope to see everyone there!
.
Let’s Connect!
Via Email: westsideopts@gmail.com
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/westsideOPTS/about/?ref=page_internal
Fundraisers
Box Tops - Download the new Box Tops app and scan your receipts when you purchase any foods with a Box Tops label on the package.
Shoparoo - Free app where you scan any receipt, get bonus points, and pick Westside to receive funds. Monthly/yearly drawings.
AmazonSmile - Visit smile.amazon.com, enter your Amazon credentials, and select Westside OPTS in Sun Prairie as your charitable organization. Then, when you shop on Amazon, AmazonSmile will donate .5% of eligible purchases to Westside OPTS!
District Math Focus Group Report
Across the 2022-23 school year, our math steering committee, composed of 4K-12 educators, developed and delivered a process to collect student, staff, parent, caregiver, and community (from the Business Education Partnership group) voice regarding their experience with math education in SPASD.
We received over 1,000 responses through interviews and surveys, and the math steering committee utilized the information collected to compile a summary report of the data. This data will be used in part to help inform our math curriculum and coursework in future years.
We invite you to watch this video overview to learn more about what our community has to say regarding what’s going well, the challenges and areas for improvement, and students’ overall opinions about their confidence as mathematicians. This video also explains the future of our math steering committee’s work in upcoming years. The math focus groups report may be accessed here as well.
Annual Asbestos Notification
Any District Operations and Maintenance questions, please contact Kevin Sukow, 608-834-6567 or kcsukow@sunprairieschools.org
Community Schools Reference Guides
Like and follow us here to keep current on all the wonderful things happening at Westside!
STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION
No student may be unlawfully discriminated against in any school programs, activities or in facilities usage because of the student’s sex (gender identity, gender expressions, and non-conformity to gender role stereotypes), color, religion, profession, or demonstration of belief or non-belief, race, national origin (including limited English proficiency), ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, homelessness status, sexual orientation, age, or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability. Harassment is a form of discrimination and shall not be tolerated in the District. It is the responsibility of administrators, staff members and all students to ensure that student discrimination or harassment does not occur.
(SPASD District Policy JB
If a student or parent/guardian would prefer to have this information translated into Spanish, please contact us at 608-834-6620. Si un estudiante, padre ó guardian prefiere tener esta información traducida en Español, por favor contactenos en el 608-834-6620.
If a student or parent/guardian would prefer to have this information translated into Hmong, please contact us at 608-834-6630. Yog tus me nyuam lub xiv los yog niam thiab txiv/tus neeg muaj cai saib xyuas tus me nyuam xav tau qhov ntawv ntawm no ua lus Hmoob, thov hais rau peb paub rau ntawm 608-834-6630.
NEW NOTICE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICIES ON SEX DISCRIMINATION, THE DISTRICT’S TITLE IX COORDINATOR, AND PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING OR FILING A COMPLAINT OF SEX DISCRIMINATION
The Sun Prairie Area School District (“District”) does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that the District operates. Title IX’s requirement not to discriminate in any education program or activity extends to cover, but is not limited to, District students, certain admissions processes, and District employment. To access the relevant policy and procedures you can go to the District’s website. For inquiries regarding how Title IX and the federal Title IX regulations apply to the District please contact the District’s Title IX Coordinator, (the Director of Student Policy & School Operations, 501 S. Bird Street, Sun Prairie, WI 53590, 608-834-6624 or by email at titleixcoordinator@sunprairieschools.org.)