Westwood Way
Happenings In Panther Nation - May 2019
I’m sure many of you faced the same decision I did this morning; what to wear!! Nearly every morning, I look in my closet and go through a process to determine what to wear. My process tends to involve what type of activities my day includes. From there, I begin to go down a checklist that includes:
Formal or informal events?
What colors fit the activities?
What climate will I be exposed to?
What image do I want to project?
How do I feel right now?
I know that in my world, the truth is that I have too many clothes! I stand there each day and CHOOSE what I want to wear on that day based on what I will face during the day. Some clothes fit certain activities better. Some will portray the most desirable image for our district. Some have the power to change my feelings, and honestly, others just make me feel comfortable! But in the end, I have the opportunity to CHOOSE the clothes I want to wear, and my CHOICES will help dictate my success.
I think just like CHOOSING our clothes each day, each one of us has the opportunity to CHOOSE our attitude each day. We can CHOOSE to see the world as positive or CHOOSE to see it as a challenge. We can CHOOSE to attack our situation with a growth mindset or CHOOSE to be stuck in our fixed mindset and see everything as a barrier. We can CHOOSE to embrace change and progress, or we can CHOOSE to believe that every initiative is an attack on us.
The reality is that we not only have the CHOICE, but we have the responsibility to model making the right CHOICE. We have parents that are relying on us to help them by being positive mentors to their children. We have a generation of students that face so many negatives and are craving for a positive person to interact with them.
Making a choice to have a positive attitude is not hard. It takes the same effort it takes for us to change clothes when we don’t like the way we feel in the ones we are wearing. How about we focus on CHOOSING to change to a positive attitude when we find ourselves wearing the wrong attitude? #WeBeforeMe
Thanks,
Wade
School Board Update
During the May Board Meeting, the following items came before the School Board:
The School Board canvassed the ballots from the May 4, 2019 school bond proposal.
Board members Carolyn Booker and Mike Kelly were sworn in for three-year terms.
Christine Bedre discussed Texas Lesson Study program that was implemented with the Kindergarten teachers during the 2018-2019 school year.
Kim Gilbreath delivered the annual Health Services update to the School Board.
Wade Stanford presented a reflection of the 2019 School Bond Proposal and updated the Board on the May 9, 2019 Facility Advisory Committee meeting.
Dr. Kyle Penn presented an overview of the programs that are under the special allotment funding and the Districts process for monitoring these programs. He also presented a summary of the 2018-2019 budget to date, including amounts spent and projected revenue.
Dr. Kyle Penn presented an update on the process of selecting a Food Service Management Company.
Dr. Kyle Penn presented an update on the food pantry initiative. He reported that the shared tables are very popular, and the High School will be continuing to develop the food pantry.
Dr. Kyle Penn presented a overview of the designation of fund balance for funds that exceed the recommended amount from TEA. This item was the first read and will be presented as an action item in the June meeting.
Dr. Kyle Penn, Wade Stanford, and Richard Bishop presented possible capital improvement projects to the Board. These included the renovation of the Primary campus to include a vestibule entrance and upgrades to the existing weight training area. These items were heard on a first read basis. The Primary renovation will possibly be presented as an action item in a future board, and the weight training upgrade will be presented as an action item in the June meeting.
The School Board and administrative staff continued discussing the book Instructional Rounds in Education. Chapter 4 was discussed this month, and the board and administrative staff will continue this discussion over the next several months.
The School Board unanimously voted to expand full-day four-year-old Pre-Kindergarten to include non-qualifying students for the 2019-2020 school year at no tuition expense to the attendee's families.
Teacher contracts were acknowledged as presented.
Curriculum
As the 2018-2019 school year comes to an end, plans and preparation for 2019-2020 school year, professional learning, as well as plans with friends and family during time off, takes precedence. We all are incredibly proud of the hard work that has been put into teaching and learning across the district this school year as well as excited to continue this focus in the upcoming school year.
The kindergarten finished up filming their second Texas Lesson Study with TEA/Region 7 facilitator Brooke Kinsman Friday, May 10th. This group showed dedication, growth, and teamwork as they collaborated on two master lessons. During the fall semester, we will receive information if their lessons will be published to TEA’s Texas Gateway.
Westwood University will be held on the first Monday - Thursday during the first weeks of June.
A few sessions will fill quickly so please get registered via the Euphoria link today! These popular sessions include: Dr. Wood’s CPI Refresher, Edmentum’s Roundtable + Exact Path training, Carla Cheshire’s Critical Thinking/Higher Level Questioning for Any Classroom, Mrs. Strum’s IEP Training for All Special Education Teachers, Paul Eyler’s Science/Social Studies TEKS, Doni Cash’s All Things Eduphoria and much more! Please refer to the information in the active links; we have become aware that not everyone received the original email sent out with the information regarding Eduhero compliance training, the professional learning handbook, and a continually growing schedule of professional learning offerings.
I wish you all a relaxing summer as you refill your cup in preparation to pour back into our students in the fall.
Special Programs
We have spent the last couple of months wrapping up this school year while also making preparations for the upcoming year. This allows us to think about what we can do differently at the beginning of the year to have a positive impact throughout. While this has been a great year, there is always room for growth, and we can always find ways to be more efficient.
To assist with efficiency, we will implement a web-based platform for our Section 504, and LPAC needs starting in school year 2019-2020. Frontline is the same system we use to keep track of our special education data. Using this platform for these other two special programs will allow us to continue with a system that most staff are already familiar navigating. Additionally, this system will enable us to better keep track of each student’s individual plan, accommodations, and progress through the program. Training will take place in the next two weeks so that we can roll out full implementation as soon as the school year begins.
Our Title I Planning meeting which was held last week was very productive. Each campus shared some great feedback collected from our student, parent, and staff surveys. We were excited to hear about how each of these groups feels about their school, and we look forward to addressing the concerns that were shared. Information was also provided about the impact our allotment of federal funds has had on our primary and elementary campuses. Our intervention staff went over RtI data and student growth in some of the programs we have the opportunity to implement with Title funds. We were able to take this information and make adjustments to plans for next year’s funding to best impact our students.
We are in the process of wrapping up our final round of spring testing. We are so thankful to witness several of our staff working together and helping out when needed to maintain a stress-free environment for our students. As with all areas, we are continually reflecting on our processes after each testing window, and we aim to improve each time.
The Special Programs department would like to take a moment to thank all staff for their hard work and commitment this year. We hope you all have a safe and relaxing summer!
Business & Finance
To start with, I have to brag on the Operations teams! The past month had some busy (and early) days with the boil notices and bad storms, but Operations teams pulled together in fantastic fashion to make sure school could still operate. On late arrival days, these team members were here earlier than usual to get us ready by preparing meals, checking roads for flooding and clearing drives, fixing down equipment, delivering waters, and more.
In the business department, we are wrapping up the year and preparing for next year. Creation of the contract calendars was completed so we can build payroll information for the upcoming school year into the budget. This is a time-consuming process, but the staff is already working on it. New staff hires for next year are already occurring, and we are beginning to onboard the new team members. Much of the budget is still hinging on the decisions from our legislatures, and we continue to (not so patiently) wait and see what they will do.
Financial costs were analyzed, and due to the value our students gain from full-day Pre-K, the decision was made to commit to providing this opportunity for all four-year-olds, not just those who qualify. This will show long-term positive effects for our students, and I am glad to see this commitment. Currently, there is only half-day funding in the state, which hopefully will change this legislative session, but if not, Westwood has still decided to invest in our future either way.
PEIMS
It’s the end of the year, and we are working very hard. The Primary Campus has a new team member as well as the PEIMS department. Kristen Hargrave has taken The Primary clerk position. We are very excited to have her. I want to give a big thank you to Amanda Kizer, the Elementary PEIMS clerk that has helped fill the gap for attendance when needed at the Primary campus while we were short-handed.
Pre-K and Kinder roundup is finally here! The board has approved accepting all Pre-K students living in the district. Previously we have only served those that met state qualifications. We will implement our new online enrollment platform that is now through Skyward during our round-up.
There has been a lot of preparation for implementing our new online/registration. The new Skyward platform will better serve our guardians and staff. We are appreciative for everyone that has played a part in getting this started.
Moving forward, we will be focusing on our summer PEIMS submission as well as planning for the next year. This school year has gone by fast, and we are so proud of our students and staff for all the hard work they have put in. This summer we will be planning to make next year even better!
I hope you all have a good summer!!!
Food Service
School year 2018-2019 is about to be a completed chapter in the book of life for our Westwood students and staff. The year has presented many challenges and learning experiences, we have survived, thrived and grown with facing these each day, and I am happy to report the Food Service Staff never missed a day of properly serving our students through all of this.
As we wrap up, I would like to remind everyone WISD will be offering a Summer Food Program open to all children 18 years of age and under. There will be breakfast and lunch served at the High School Cafeteria starting May 28 through June 27th. Breakfast is available from 7:15 AM to 8:00 AM, and lunch is offered from 11:30 to 12:00 noon; the program is available at no charge.
Food Service has worked hard to expand the menu offerings this past year, the participation and consumption with less food waste have been significant; the feedback has been very positive and appreciated by us.
Save the date of September 21 for the Operation Read Pancake day fundraiser. Jeff Atkinson will once again be spearheading this function with proceeds going to benefit our Westwood students. Last year’s inauguration year was a tremendous success allowing for the purchase and distribution of books to each student at the primary campus. This year they are hoping to expand to more grades, and this will happen with our community support. Jeff will be looking for volunteers and can be reached at:
The food service staff extends their congratulations to the graduating seniors and wish the best to each of student as they pursue the next phase in their lives. Everyone have a wonderful and relaxing summer break and come back refreshed and ready for 2019-2020!
Facilities Services
Ready, Set, Summer!
I recently read an article on ten tips for planning a successful summer season by Beth Davis. http://www.familytimemagazine.com/ready-set-summer/
I really liked the part about setting three to five concrete goals for the summer break, but also allowing for time to decompress. I sat back and thought that if we have been successful in our jobs, then we have worked our students’ little tails off. It seems to me that my fifth and sixth grader are learning curriculum that I learned in seventh or eighth grade. It’s also a lot of work to keep up with the daily cleaning and maintenance that comes along with all of the educating and feeding that happens around here. I often find myself working through the week, grinding through my to-do list at home, over the weekend, and waking up Monday morning to go to work as if there was never a weekend. Either way, we all need a couple of days to decompress sometimes.
We set goals in our Facility Services department frequently. We have received summer work requests, are evaluating them, and setting goals along with a timeline to complete them this summer. Our team has a proven track record of completing a very high percentage of summer work requests before school begins each fall. Our high productivity and staff retention rates reflect the way our staff feels about helping Panthers excel today so they may lead tomorrow. I have never really put too much thought into setting goals for the summer with my family, but it sounds like the responsible thing to do from now on. The last thing I want for my children is for them to sit around all summer and allow their little brains to get lazy, then have nothing to show for the summer but wasted time.
Graduation is on May 24th at 8 pm. Yay! I am not sure of the location because of this crazy weather we are having this year, but I do know that this is the biggest day of the year that we all look forward to as Panthers. We are proud to have had another successful school year here at Westwood ISD. Our team will be here this summer, preparing each of the schools for the 2019-2020 school year. Summer is our team’s time to shine, and I can assure you that all four schools will shine when you return.
Thank you for taking the time to keep up with the happenings here at Westwood ISD. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to call or email me at (903) 373-5108 jkshultz@westwoodisd.net
Transportation
As we enter into the closing of the 2018-2019 school year, I would like to say Thank You to my staff for the job they have done. All transportation needs for routes, trips, and sporting events have been met, and it's appreciated. This summer we will be beginning Summer School on May 28 and transportation will be provided. This summer, we will be busy with our bus maintenance, planning for the 2019-2020 School Year, and completing our end of the year reports.
Remember, school doesn't start when the first bell rings. School starts the moment a student steps away from their own homes and steps onto the bus. It is the school bus driver that provides the start and end of the students day. This is why we are here daily.
Our Summer Hours will be Monday-Friday 5am-130pm. If you have a transportation need, please contact me. I hope everyone has a great Summer and remember it's all about the kids.
Technology
Like I mentioned last month, our department is gearing up for Summer 2019. Summer is the time we make those necessary changes that we identified throughout the school year. It’s the time to deploy new technology, applications, and programs. One such program is called Visitor Management System by Raptor Technologies. This program focuses on the safety of our campuses by screening and tracking everyone that comes into our schools. The objective is to keep unwanted entrants out. The Visitor Management school security system screens for sex offenders, alerts staff of custody violations, and provides districtwide reporting for all visitors. Another program we will be implementing over the summer is Raptor’s Emergency Management System. This school security system combines the best practices with 21st-century technology to provide our district with a comprehensive solution for drill management, active incident management, and parent-student reunification.
Identity Automation's product called Rapid Identity is about to be online and functional. The program Rapid Identity will automate and streamline user account provisioning and de-provisioning for real-time updates to our on-premise systems and our cloud-based applications. Soon, we will have a fully automated identity lifecycle process that will ensure user accounts are automatically created and managed across all systems from beginning to end.
As we close out the year as a district, Technology has been working hard to close out open tickets. We sent out a Google Classroom Technology Report form to make sure we document the repairs needed over the summer. This ensures repairs can be completed before your return in the Fall. Staff members should have received an email outlining the classroom Technology End of Year Procedures. In short, please do not disconnect any equipment in your room. Place all remotes, smartboard dongles, smartboard pens, and any other loose electronics in a large Ziploc bag and leave on the desk. Technology will pick up and inventory these items. We plan on repairing, re-imaging, and cleaning the technology carts, classroom computers, and projectors over the summer.
State testing was fun and exciting this year. It has to be the smoothest online testing in the history of Westwood ever. My team did a fantastic job in preparing and supporting the technology for testing. I’m excited about going 100% online testing in the future. Our department is working hard to get more Chromebooks and carts to make that future vision happen.
While looking to the future, we continue to maintain and support our current systems and infrastructure by monitoring, tweaking, and resolving problems as they arise.
Athletics
We are focusing on building Champions instead of Winning Championships.
We have reached a pivotal phase in our athletes’ training regiment (the mental training).The athletic department focus during this phase (BOOT CAMP) is two-fold:
1.YOU WILL SINK TO THE LEVEL OF YOUR TRAINING.
2. F.A.M.I.L.Y. - Forget About Me I Love You.
We are excited about the opportunity to watch them GROW through this phase when faced with adversity.
Philosophy
The Panther Mission Statement: (program/coach’s part)
To GROW men and women of integrity who relentlessly pursue excellence.
The Panther Vision Statement: (athlete’s part)
GROW Everyday
Execute Westwood DNA
Be the toughest program in Texas
WESTWOOD DNA (core values):
Energy/Tempo Monday - relentless effort. We will attack with tenacity and make them quit.
Competition Tuesday - 1-0 Mentality. We are one play warriors who always compete.
Toughness Wednesday - comfortable being uncomfortable. We will impose our will and dominate with toughness.
Family Appreciation Thursday - value others above ourselves. We are a team of ‘foxhole’ brothers.
Discipline/Finish Friday - Discipline - always doing what needs to be done. We will continue to row the boat every day.
Finish - do more than is expected. We are a freight train that terrorizes with our finish.
Updated results from Softball and Girls and Boys Track.
Softball:
The Lady Panther Softball finished season at 7-5 in the district standings and ended up as the fourth seed overall. The Bi-District playoff game vs. Rogers is where the Lady Panthers’ season ended with a 2-0 loss. Congrats to those ladies on a terrific season and looking forward to next year.
Girls and Boys Track: The boys and girls Panther track team had a great showing at the Regional Track Meet in Waco. We had multiple athletes make the finals in their respective events and ultimately ended up coming up just short of a trip to Austin for the state track meet. Jaysa Coney finished 3rd in the 400m as well as the girls 4x200m Relay. Tomy Umanzor ran a PR in the final of the 800m to finish 6th. Although we came up short of a trip to Austin, the track program is primed for a bright future in the coming years.