Westfield Arrow
Aiming to Keep You Informed
November 12, 2021
From the Office
Next week, our Fall Play production will be performing 4 shows of The Enchanted Bookshop. On Wednesday, November 17th, we will hold two separate shows for our students during the day. Evening performances will be held on Thursday, November 18th & Friday, November 19th for family members of our cast and crew. Tickets for the evening performances will be distributed by our Drama program sponsors. We appreciate the cast and crew putting together 4 shows over the course of 3 days, so that our entire staff and student body is able to see the show along with family members at night!
A special thanks to Connor, Frankie and Zoe for being the PE teachers for a day. Great job working with the teachers to lead classes today. (Pictured)
Parent-Teacher Conferences
The window for Parent-Teacher Conferences opens next week on Monday, November 15th and runs through Friday, December 3rd. Parents have the option to attend conferences In-Person or virtually. Hopefully you were able to find a time to meet with your child's classroom teacher(s) to discuss student growth and progress. If you have not signed up for conferences yet, please see the Grade Level News section of the Arrow to schedule a time with your child's teacher(s).
Before the conference
Talk with your student about how they feel about school and how they would assess their own performance up to this point in the year.
Let your student know conferences are an opportunity for you and the teacher to meet and learn how to best support them.
Have a list of topics or questions that you want to discuss with the teacher.
During the conference
Be on time (or early) for the conference. If the conference is scheduled after school hours next week, the classroom teacher will meet you in the vestibule.
Wear your mask. We are required to follow the indoor mask mandate.
Maintain social distance.
Be understanding of time. There is probably another conference scheduled before and after your conference.
Ask the most important questions first & ask for clarification, if necessary.
Leave the meeting with a plan or suggestions for how you can help your child at home.
After the Conference
Discuss the conference with your child.
Share all the strengths and positive comments, along with areas for growth.
Share your expectations and how you will help ensure continued success.
Stay in touch with the teacher throughout the year.
End of the Trimester and Report Cards
The 1st trimester ends on Friday, November 19th. Teachers will finalize grades by December 3rd and Report Cards will go home with students by Friday, December 10th.
Student Chromebooks
Please remind your student to charge their chromebooks every night and remember to bring them to school the next day. Students should also bring their charger with to school every day in order to charge their chromebook during the day, if needed.
Holiday Fundraiser - We would love your help!
In December, Westfield will ask all students, parents, and staff to pull together to support our local Food Pantry and Toy Shop organized by the Bloomingdale Township. We will be asking for donations ranging from canned goods to paper products for the Food Pantry, along with new, unwrapped toys or gift cards for the Toy Shop. We will share specific details and a list of sought after items with you next week. Please consider joining our effort to support needy families in our community. Students who bring in qualifying items to donate will be invited to a Holiday version of our Warrior Games as a thank you for their participation. The donation time frame will be from November 29 - December 8th. More info on the fundraiser and our games will be shared next week!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Stefan Larsson
Principal
Amanda Vreeland
Assistant Principal
WARRIOR OF THE WEEK
Each week the staff recognizes students for demonstrating outstanding character based on attitudes or actions that fall under the Character Counts Pillars and our WARRIORS Mission and Vision: '"We are W.A.R.R.I.O.R.S.; our mission and vision for the future is for all staff and students to be Welcoming, Ambitious, Respectful, Responsible, Innovative, Optimistic, Reflective and Successful."
UPCOMING DATES
Please visit our Google Calendar for all activities and schedules!
- Virtual Book Fair: November 8th -- November 30th (see flyer below)
- World Kindness Day: November 13th
- National 'Block It Out' Day: End Social Media Bullying: November 14th
- Performance "The Enchanted Bookshop": November 18th 7:00pm
- Wear Orange for COPD Awareness: November 19th
- Early 1:40pm Dismissal: November 19th
- End of Trimester 1: November 19th
- Performance "The Enchanted Bookshop": November 19th 7:00pm
- 8th Grade PSAT Makeup Test: Saturday, November 20th at Lake Park HS
WESTFIELD THIS WEEK
Blown Ink Design in 6th Grade Art Class
Fitness Equipment Orientation
8th Grade Robotics
7th Grade Veteran's Day Poetry
Floor Hockey Face-Off
Veteran's Day Activity
Cell Organelles in 7th Grade
Mixed Media in Art
Artwork Display
The Kickball Pitch in PE
Group Work in the Library
First-Chapter-Friday with Dr. Bartelt
Grade Level News:
The teams will also be updating the links weekly during the school year with news and any upcoming information.
>SIGN UP FOR CONFERENCES BY CLICKING ON THE TEAM BELOW TO SCHEDULE A CONFERENCE WITH SOME OR ALL OF YOUR STUDENT'S TEACHERS<
Conferences take place online or at Westfield Monday, Nov. 22nd, and Tuesday, Nov. 23rd.
Conference Sign-up for Specialists:
Otus: Student Progress for 6th & 7th Grade Parents
How Parents Can Log in to Otus:
- Sign in to Otus (if you have not set up your family account, please follow the directions in this video or this article to do so.)
- PLEASE READ FIRST: Your student already has an Otus account from the school district. To avoid confusion, it's best to use your own name rather than your student's name when creating the Family account. Both the video and the article have the same information. Please view whichever is more convenient for you.
- (If you have created your family account, but need to connect your student's code, have your child log in to Otus and click Edit Profile. Their student code is located at the bottom of that page.)
- To check your child's progress on Otus, click on Gradebook, then choose which class you would like to see progress in.
- To check your child's completed assignments on Otus, click on Gradebook, then click the three dots in the top right corner to change the "Grading Scale" to "Completion Scale."
STUDENT INFORMATION
A BIG Thank You!
Make a Thanksgiving Wreath in Club Create
- Your son/daughter has been invited to participate in a Westfield Middle School Club Create T.E.K. (Teachers Encouraging Kids) sponsored activity where various Westfield Staff participate along with students.
- The following activity, Wreath Thankful Chalkboard Paintings, will be taking place on Wednesday, November 17th 2021 from 3:30pm-4:50pm at Westfield Middle School in the Art Room #506 with Mrs. Matt and Artist & Teacher, Abby Adams, who owns Make You Brush, hosts creative traveling Paint pARTies. Make You Brush hopes to make the world more colorful one brushstroke at a time.
Create Ornaments for Our Tree!
Boys Basketball Tryouts Info & Signup Form
Questions? Please contact Basketball Coach, Mr. Buchholz tbuchholz@sd13.org
PARENT INFORMATION
Is Your Student Missing a Coat, Jacket, Water Bottle??
NEW MENU ITEMS FOR HOT LUNCH!
Please use this link for ONLINE ordering information:
- HOT LUNCH INFO & ORDERING
- Questions? >>Email Linda Korbel at sasha0708@yahoo.com
Students Will Need Their P.E. Shirt for Gym Class Each Day
- Students started changing for P.E. class in early November. This year, the students are only required to change into a P.E. shirt. However, they do have the option to purchase P.E. shorts, bring their own athletic shorts, or simply wear the pants/shorts they wear to school that day.
- P.E. shirts and shorts are $10 each and can be purchased: through your PushCoin account OR write a check to Westfield Middle School and have your child give the payment to their PE teacher.
- If you purchased a uniform for the 2020-2021 school year, the money has been refunded to your PushCoin account, and you will need to purchase a new uniform. If you purchased a uniform for the 2021-2022 school year, you do not need to purchase another uniform. If you are unsure if you have received a refund or have purchased a uniform, please check your PushCoin account.
To Order Girls Basketball Team & Individual Pictures:
Info for Parents: 24/7 Online Student Tutoring
1. Parent Webinars [English | Spanish] - 45-minute live sessions for parents
2. Parent Handout PDF - helpful to print and handout at parent meetings
3. Pre-Recorded YouTube [English | Spanish] - helpful resource for parents
Order a Westfield Yearbook Today
Yearbooks will be delivered in May 2022 so that students can get signatures from teachers, friends, etc.
If you need a School Code: 1014041382501890
FROM THE WESTFIELD NURSE
If Your Child Wants to Tryout for Westfield Sports
- For 7th and 8th graders to be eligible to play sports, they need only a current sports physical on file with the Nurse. Students CANNOT attend tryouts without a current physical on file.
- All 6th graders automatically are able to try out for sports with their State-mandated, full physical on file with the Nurse.
- Questions? Email our Nurse, Mrs. Jones at bjones@sd13.org
Thank you!
FROM WESTFIELD TECHNOLOGY
Chromebook Trouble?
If you need assistance from the Technology Department, please have your student use this link to request support:
Students: Please log out of your Chromebook and log back in daily
See this video on how to log in and out of your chromebook.
Get the Parent PowerSchool App
Similar to the PowerSchool Parent Web Portal, parents can download the PowerSchool Mobile App from the App store on your iOS device or the Play Store on your Android device. Simply search for “PowerSchool” to find and install the mobile app on your smartphone or tablet.
- After downloading the mobile app to your device, connect the Mobile App to the correct PowerSchool server for Bloomingdale School District 13, by entering our unique, four-character code: G M K T
- You can also search for Bloomingdale SD13 by district or school name.
- The PowerSchool Mobile App will display your child(ren)’s schedule and assignments.
- PowerSchool Mobile app users can also enable Push Notifications to receive alerts when attendance is recorded or a final grade changes. To setup notifications within the app: Tap Account, then tap Notifications to configure the notifications you want to receive. Use the slider icons to turn the notifications on or off.
- Note: Parents must have a PowerSchool Parent Web Portal account created and students linked to their account before using the PowerSchool Mobile App. Click here for instructions on how to create a parent Portal account.
'How-To' for Parents/Guardians:
FROM THE WESTFIELD SOCIAL WORKER
Want to give someone a shout out?
Teenage Depression and Anxiety
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
- Night Custodian at DuJardin School
- Hours - Mon - Fri, 2:30 pm to 11 pm, 12 months/year
- Salary - $16.00 to $17.00 per hour based on experience
- 90% board paid single health and dental insurance
- Pension plan participation
- Two weeks vacation after 1 year
For more information go to https://www.sd13.org/Employment.aspx or contact Greg Leyden, Director of Buildings and Grounds at 630-582-5188
Reminders
Social-Emotional Supports
If you feel that your child is struggling on a social-emotional level, please do not hesitate to contact our Social Worker, Mrs. Sheila Zagotta,
Academic Supports
Paper is academic support that connects students in grades 1-8 to a live, human tutor in that content area via chat. Please see this video for Parent Information on Paper tutorial for more information. (Papel para Padres en Español)
Daily Attendance
Please contact the Main Office at 630-529-6211 or email Laurie Spejcher to report any student absences. This will help us to keep accurate records of every student present in our building. Thank you!
School Improvement Goals for 2021-2022
On Monday, 10/25, we presented our School Improvement (SIP) goals to the D13 Board of Education (BOE). This year, our 3 main areas of focus are: Student Academic Success, Social-Emotional Learning, and Standards-Based Grading. If you would like to see more details related to our goal areas, the metrics used to measure each area, and the supports we have in place, please reference this SIP slideshow used as part of our SIP presentation to the BOE.
Quarantining due to Close Contact
A Close Contact is anyone with whom the confirmed COVID case had close contact, within 3 feet, for at least 15 minutes throughout the course of 24 hours. Exposure on a bus must include everyone who sat within 3 feet of the confirmed or probable COVID case for 15 minutes or longer. At lunch, with masks removed, close contacts are anyone within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer.
Westfield Middle School does not have to exclude all students in a classroom from attending school because a student in the classroom tested positive for COVID...Only those students who were Close Contacts with the confirmed student will be required to quarantine for 14 days. It is important for students to wear a mask & maintain 3-feet of social distance from others at all times.
If your child is quarantining at home:
A Remote Learning Support Teacher (RLST) will provide two and a half hours (2 ½) of daily contact for students using Google Meets.
A RLST will email each student and their parent/guardian with the link to join the support sessions.
Students are expected to work independently on their school work in conjunction with the 2 ½ hours of direct contact they receive from our RLST.
- Student work will be made available by each of their classroom teachers.
- Students and their parents/guardians should stay in regular contact with each teacher to determine the best method to access materials and resources.
- Individual teachers may exempt students from portions of the work that is missed or provide alternative activities for lessons that are difficult to recreate at home.
- Students will receive extended time to complete school work upon their return to the classroom.
The Glenbard Parent Series
Join other parents, high school and middle school students, and professionals to learn about issues facing today’s youth such as Student Social Skills and Anxiety, Rethinking Parental Pressure.
The Glenbard Parent Series engages top experts, parents and school staff to become proactive and informed in pursuit of the mutual goal to strengthen our communities. Programs are free and open to the public.
Local Food Pantry at Bloomingdale Church
Roselle Community Food Pantry
WESTFIELD'S PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION (PTO)
Board Contacts for Westfield PTO
Vice-President: Linda Baker, parent of a 6th grader sasha0708@yahoo.com
Secretary: Loriann Hoyle, parent of a 6th grader hoylefamily04@hotmail.com
Treasurer: Ranna Kothari, parent of 6th & 8th graders ranna3@yahoo.com
Volunteering is Back!
- Westfield Parents and Guardians! Sign up to volunteer for school year 2021-2022.
- CLICK HERE to fill out what you would like to do.
- Questions? Email Loriann Hoyle or Linda Baker for information.
Volunteer for Hot Lunch Helper
PTO Membership Dues
- All-school parties
- Teacher appreciation
- Scholarships
- Field Trips
- Student awards
BLOOMINGDALE PARK DISTRICT
WESTFIELD SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION
How-To Videos
Gmail:
- How to delete all email (6th grade)
- How to appropriately write an email
- You can only email other sd13.org email addresses
- Creating Bookmarks
- Starring and snoozing Emails
Google Classroom:
- How to Join Classroom(with Code)
- How to Join with Teacher Invite
- Check Stream and classwork page
- How to Turn in assignments
PowerSchool: Coming Soon
- Logging in
- Checking grades
- Seeing assignments
- Comments from Teachers
FlipGrid:
Chromebook: