Dolphin Weekly Waves
West End News- Week of Aug. 7-11, 2023
We had a great first week of school!
From the Principal
We had a great first week of school! Our students jumped right back into their routines - it seemed like they never left! Our new K4 and K5 students did a great job and were eager to get started.
We are excited for how well the car line is going and appreciate all who are letting one car merge. It makes such a big difference! Thank you! What we have noticed.....
- In the mornings, if you are pulling in the car line at 7:50, your child may be late because the traffic has picked up on Highways 8 and 135 and it is difficult to get cars out of the parking lot and on their way. Just a reminder that the car line begins at 7:20 and is easiest to get through between 7:20 and 7:40. Don't forget we serve breakfast at no charge for all students beginning at 7:20 and our students go into their classrooms at 7:30. Let us help you in the mornings!
- In the afternoons, we work to call numbers ahead so we are loading one group and moving the next group up for loading. We rely on seeing numbers hanging or being held up. Unfortunately, we can't see numbers displayed on the car dash or in the side windows in time to call the numbers in a timely manner. Please work to hang your car tags or hold them up so they can be seen by the person calling numbers. (A clothes hanger with clips helps when displaying multiple car tags.) We are working to move the line faster in the afternoons!
Volunteers Needed!
- YAMs Program (Young Appalachian Musicians), we need volunteers to help manage instruments, supervise students while waiting for lessons, etc. The YAMs Program is a wonderful opportunity for our students - we need help making it happen!
- Extra Hands at Lunch - We could use help watching students in the cafeteria during lunch on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
If you would be interested in helping with YAMs or Lunch, please contact me.
Our goal at West End is to provide a safe environment coupled with an outstanding instructional program in order for each of our students to be the BEST they can be. We are excited to be on this journey with each of you!
We are thankful for a great beginning! As we go through the year, please let us know how we can help!
Angie Garrison, EdD
Principal
West End's Mission: Our West End Community maximizes students’ potential by providing instruction that builds our students’ knowledge, strengthens their skills, and develops in them career-ready characteristics for success in an ever-changing world.
Check out these first week pictures!😍
This Year, We Are Working to Be Our Best!
What are our behavior expectations at West End?
NEW THIS YEAR! Positive Behavior "Brag Tags!"
West End students will have the opportunity to earn "brag tags" this year for meeting and exceeding expectations in different categories. We will be tracking attendance, being to school on time and staying all day, noting exceptional behavior in all areas of the school building, being their B.E.S.T, checking to see if students are meeting challenges like our summer bingo challenge, and more! Our first opportunity to earn a brag tag this year was for completing the summer reading and math bingo challenge. Students that turned this in on time will have a visit from Mrs. Simpson and Dr. Garrison this week to be presented with their backpack cable and brag tag. If your child has this on his or her backpack, please ask them all about it! We hope they can earn a lot of these all year long and fill up their cable! A sample of these is pictured.
Attendance Matters!
We are working on improving our overall attendance at West End this school year. We realize there are times when your child is sick and unable to attend school, but we want parents to be aware of how important being at school on time and staying the whole day matters. Here are some numbers to think about:
Information, Reminders, Links
- MySchoolBucks - Sign up for a MySchoolBucks account for online payments for tech fees, field trip fees, t-shirt sales, etc.
- All students K5-5 will be assigned a device for classroom and home use. Before sending the device home, a $25 Tech it Home user fee to cover accidental damage to the device, charging device, and carrying case should be paid. More information about the Tech It Home Fee.
- Schoology is a learning platform that allows parents to communicate with teachers, stay on top of student assignments, and monitor student progress (grades 3-5). Access Codes will come home soon. Please let us know if you need help getting connected.
- Securly is a powerful tool designed to help parents monitor and set limits on their child's school-issued device. Please let us know if we can help with the program.
We Welcome Volunteers!
If you would like to volunteer, you will need to attend a 30 minute training session. Volunteer training sessions are included in the Family Events Calendar. Our first Volunteer Training of the Year will be Thursday, August 24, at 4:00 p.m. Please remember all field trip chaperones must be volunteer trained yearly and have an updated background check ($25) through the district. If you wish to chaperone a field trip, please complete this process well in advance of the field trip. (Note - The number of chaperones needed for a trip varies by trip. Teachers will work with trained volunteers to fill needed spots.)
Our first family engagement event is scheduled for Thursday, September 7! This will be our annual Open House and Title 1 Meeting. We will have dinner together along with a lot of fun! Please be on the lookout for a flier to reserve your spot for dinner.
Connect with our West End Family!
Be sure to follow West End on Facebook!
Twitter- @westendelem
Instagram- @westendelem
Phone (864)397-2500
Dr. Angie Garrison, Principal Email: angiegarrison@pickens.k12.sc.us