Westchester Weekly
All-Star Newsletter December 16, 2021
Dear Westchester families,
As the 2021 year comes to an end, we have much to reflect upon at Westchester. We have opened our school doors and remained a safe space during a pandemic, ALL of our staff returned in person and we had only 3-4 positive COVID cases. Our staff continues to do an amazing job supporting our students' emotional and social well-being, as well as, holding high standards of excellence for every scholar. We noticed our students are very excited to be at Westchester and this is demonstrated in their perseverance in their work, collaboration with their peers and their kindness towards themselves and others. Congratulations, on 85 awesome school days at Westchester this school year! We hope you all take this precious time to rest, rejuvenate and reflect on family and loved ones. Peace and love to all as you end 2021 and begin 2022!
Sincerely,
Spotlights
Staff Spotlight on : Joelynn McKay
Staff Spotlight on : Joelynn McKay
Position at WE: EIP (Early Intervention Program) teacher
Hometown: Holley, New York (Upstate!)
Education/Background: Virginia Tech In Early Childhood Education/ Orton- Gillingham trained/ Math and RTI Endorsed
Family: My husband and I have been married for 29 years. He works at Emory. We have three children, Liam, Olive and Clara. Liam is in advertising, Olive is a biologist and Clara is finishing her degree in business at GT.
Favorites: Pride and Prejudice and Les Mis
Hobbies: Walking, Cooking for family and friends, decorating
Hero/Inspiration: My third grade teacher- she made everyone feel special!
Favorite thing about Westchester: The Staff!! We have a lot of fun together- everyone works really hard and jumps in! It is a pleasure to work beside these super qualified, extremely gifted and kind- hearted staff! I'm so thankful to be at WE!
Gratefulness around WE
Craftmanship
Kindness
Collaboration
Upcoming Calendar Events
December 17th- CC with Ms. Montgomery's Crew
December 20th-January 3rd- December Break- No School
December 25th- Merry Christmas
December 26th- Boxing Day
December 26th-January 1st- Joyous Kwanzaa!
January 1st- New Year's Day
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.
CSD Special Education
LOOK AT THIS!
The CSD Special Education Newsletter is up! Take a look here:
https://www.csdecatur.net/cms/lib/GA02000365/Centricity/ModuleInstance/40/special%20education%20.pdf
CSD Transportation
"Transportation would like to thank all parents/guardians that have signed up for Bus Planner and downloaded our Here Comes the Bus App. Parents who have not registered and need bus service can register at https://csd.mybusplanner.com. When we return from the Christmas Break ALL bus riders will be required to register for bus service and use an RFID card to enter the bus. RFID cards are issued by the students attending school. If you need help or have any concerns, please contact the transportation department at hctb@csdecatur.net."
PTA News
SWEETEN YOUR HOLIDAYS WITH JIMELLA’S BAKERY
10% of all orders placed will be donated to the Westchester PTA! Support the PTA and take care of all your dessert needs! Share the fundraiser with colleagues, friends and family and they can also support the school. Order online at jimellasbakery.com and put WEST in the notes section. Or you can also order by calling 404.290.8725 or email info@jimellasbakery.com and mention WEST.
FIELD TRIP SHIRTS
The PTA would like to continue our tradition of providing a free orange Westchester field trip shirt to all new students. This includes incoming kindergartners, 1st graders who did not receive one last year due to the pandemic, and any new student who has transferred into the school and has not received one. If your child(ren) meets this criteria, please complete this form for each child so we can get your student our signature orange shirt! When they are all in, shirts will be sent home in your student's backpack.
PUBLIX PASSIVE FUNDRAISING
Do you shop at Publix? Do you crave their subs once a week like I do? Make sure you choose Westchester Elementary school as your Publix Partner! You need to re-enroll every year so please make sure you double check. Publix is our largest source of passive fundraising for Westchester. Click here to do it now!
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
In this season of giving, DEF has several ways in which you can donate your time:
As a Virtual Pals tutor -- we need tutors to be paired with a 2nd- 8th grade Decatur student for a one-hour weekly session. Click here to apply: https://forms.gle/LoiZxoi6WvSe6WEr6
As a Virtual Pals Coordinator -- we need one person who checks in with the tutor pairs on a weekly basis. Time commitment is 1 hour per week. Email muslimo@decatureducationfoundation.org to apply.
As an AIM Mentor -- we need adult male and female mentors to be paired with a third-grader to have new experiences and find their passions. The time commitment is just 2-4 hours per month.
As a REACH Mentor -- we need just one more adult male to mentor an 8th grade student who has been nominated by his teachers for the REACH GA program. REACH mentors help their mentees through the rigors of high school and college applications. Time commitment is just 2-4 hours per month.
If you've got a little extra time to share your life wisdom with a Decatur student, we've got opportunities! Please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org/mentoring to learn more and apply.
Reminders from Last Week
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