During the month of November, our staff and students are reflecting on what we are grateful for. We would love to hear from our valued families and community members about what and who you are grateful for at West Elementary.

A huge thank you to our committee who have donated so much of their time and effort organizing our pajama drive and planning this awesome event!

We are still collecting pajamas through November 28!

Thank you to our special readers:

Luis Pizano, School Committee

Kathy Jackson, School Committee

Dr. Adam Blaisdell, School Business Administrator

Breyaunna Hattab, DEI Coordinator

Students from the PNHS National Honor Society

Jayne Johnson, Retired PPS Teacher & West Grandparent

Sue Ellenberger, Retired West Teacher & West Grandparent

Cindy Silva, Retired West Principal

Officer Patrick Wetterberg, School Resource Officer

Kelly Learning, West CTL
Amy Jitiam, West Grade 2 Teacher

Brittney Zaniboni, West Adjustment Counselor

Julia McBride, West Music Teacher

Jennifer Bartlett, West Student Activity Monitor

Heather Mento, West Paraeducator

Brian Morse, West Paraeducator

Gail Kershaw, West Art Teacher

Martha Deusser, West Principal

Casey Racicot, West Assistant Principal

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to our staff not mentioned above, who did everything from organizing RSVPs and distributing tickets, to photographing the event, to facilitating the announcements and dance breaks, and everything in between!:

Laura McBride, West CTL

Tracy Walsh, West Kindergarten Teacher

Tiffaney Hickey, West Kindergarten Teacher

Therese Keegan, West Grade 1 Teacher

Meghan Bilodeau, West Grade 1 Teacher

Shelly Routhier, West Grade 1 Teacher

Caitlin Willis, West Grade 2 Teacher

Lauren Fitzgerald, West Grade 4 Teacher

On Monday, our school embarked on one of our favorite projects: an all-school program called “One School, One Book.” Thanks to the generosity of the West Elementary School’s PTA, each classroom received a copy of The Water Horse.

This year, West Elementary is planning TWO “One School, One Book” events! For this fall event, all reading, activities and celebrations will be done during the school day. As a community, we’ll be reading the book in our classrooms. Additionally, we’ll be taking part in a variety of activities based on The Water Horse. Although you won’t be receiving a copy of our fall title, if you would like to hear staff members reading the various chapters, you may visit https://tinyurl.com/thewaterhorse.

Then, in the spring, we’ll be celebrating our second “One School, One Book!” For this event, all students will receive copies of the book to share with you at home. This program will conclude with our traditional family celebration!

“One School, One Book” is a unique program in that the children at all grade levels will be listening to the same book. For our fall title, we have selected The Water Horse, a book that can be followed, understood and enjoyed by younger students, but that will still captivate and interest older children. In addition to reading The Water Horse, we’ll be taking a look at nonfiction text sets based on topics such as Scotland and the Loch Ness Monster. With this program, we aim to further build a community of readers. Everyone -- students, parents, teachers, office staff, cafeteria staff, and custodial staff will be participating so we can all reap the many benefits of reading!

During the month of November, there will be various activities which will further enrich the reading experience. Our celebration will conclude on Tuesday, November 22. On that day, we’ll be having our own version of The Highland Games where students will practice their athletic skills and celebrate being part of our West Elementary community! Please plan to have your child wear sneakers and bring water in on that day. In the meantime, be sure to check out our website at https://tinyurl.com/thewaterhorse and join the “West Elementary School” and “West School Literacy” Facebook pages to get more updates on what is happening with this program!

On Monday morning, as students entered, they were greeted by bagpipes and a mysterious egg to pique their curiosity about what was to come! Later in the day, students went outside with their class to retrieve their smaller egg, which contained their class copy of the book The Water Horse!

Sgt. Bob Ferguson, our School Resource Officer Pat Wetterberg with Mrs. Walsh's class and some of their fourth grade helpers!

Thank you, Sgt. Ferguson, for visiting and starting our day with such beautiful music.

The West Elementary PTA is seeking donations for raffle baskets for the upcoming Frosty Village Craft Fair! All money raised is donated to the PTA.

Sign Up Genius for Raffle Donations:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f44acaa2eaaf9c43-frosty

Students can bring in Turkey Trot can donations up until Tuesday, November 22nd!

Attending school is mandatory. Students who are absent from school miss out on key learning opportunities as well as opportunities to grow socially. If your child is sick, it is important that you call the school to tell them, or enter it into Pickup Patrol.

Regular attendance in all classes is essential to the learning process and helps to establish good student work habits. Therefore, students are expected to be in attendance every day of the school year. Parents/guardians have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child or children are in attendance each day school is in session.