Happy September Westside Families! Thank you to all who made time to attend our Open House and Book Fair event last week. We hope you found it informative and an opportunity to connect with your child's teacher.

We will be having FOOTBALL FRIDAY this week with some fun activities! On Friday, students can wear their favorite football swag or even their own team's jersey.

Our VPK through 2nd grade students will be taking their first state Progress Monitoring assessment this week, beginning on Wednesday. This is an assessment to inform you and your child's teacher about current placement and progress. Please make sure your children are at school on time, as many students will be testing first thing in the morning. You can read more about FAST and this Progress Monitoring assessment on the FLDOE website: https://www.fldoe.org/fast/. See more information below.

Headphone request: Students will need a set of headphones for these assessments. Earbuds are not recommended for younger students. If you have a preferred set of headphones your child's likes to wear, we kindly ask for you to send them into school on Tuesday. Please be sure they are labeled with your child's name. The inexpensive headphones work just fine, as long as they are the type that cover your child's ears. We do have extra headphones at school if your child cannot bring a pair, but we appreciate you sending them in if you are able to do so.

Our first interim period ends on September 8th, and Interim Reports will be posted to FOCUS on September 15th for 1st-6th graders. If you have questions or concerns about your child's progress, please request a conference with your child's teacher.

As always, thank you for your support! Our office will be open Monday-Friday from 7:30AM-3:30PM. Please come on in if we can assist you in any way.

~Mrs. Stephanie Woodbury, Principal

(321) 956-5050 or Woodbury.Stephanie@BrevardSchools.org

Free or Low-Cost Health and Dental Insurance for Kids!

Your children could be among the 176,000 kids who may be eligible for low-cost health and dental insurance through Florida KidCare – even if one or both parents are working. Millions of children count on Florida KidCare for the high-quality health and dental insurance they need from birth through their 19th birthday. Florida KidCare is designed to provide services to children at each stage of growth and development. Health and dental services are delivered through quality plans that offer a choice of local doctors, dentists, specialists, hospitals, pharmacies and other health care providers.

Benefits include but are not limited to:

• Doctor Visits • Checkups • Vision & Hearing • Dental Care • Hospital Stays

Florida KidCare includes free, subsidized and competitively priced options based on family income and household size. Most families pay nothing at all for coverage, and many others pay only $15 or $20 per month. Families who do not qualify for free or subsidized coverage may purchase a competitively priced plan.

Lawfully residing immigrant children are eligible without a waiting period, and information about a parent’s immigration status won’t be asked. With no application fee and year-round enrollment, the time to apply is always now.

Simply fill out the application, and Florida KidCare will match your child with the right option. Apply online at floridakidcare.org or call 1-888-540-KIDS (5437).

**Check 0ut the brochure at the end of this newsletter**

On Tuesday morning our PTO will be selling our Spirit Shirts in the Commons from 7:30a-8:00. Please send in cash (preferred) or checks payable to Westside PTO and what size(s) you'd like to purchase. If the item is in stock, students will receive their shirt the same day. If you have questions, please email Mrs. Knowles at: Knowles.Roxanne@BrevardSchools.org

$10 for cotton (black or teal) and $12 for dry fit (black).

This month students in grades Pre K - 6th will be taking Progress Monitoring 1 of Florida's Assessment of Student Thinking (F.A.S.T.)

Testing Dates:

Sept. 7th - VPK - 2nd (ELA)

Sept. 8th - VPK - 2nd (Math)

Sept. 13th - 3rd – 6th (ELA)

Sept. 14th - 3rd – 6th (Math)

Please review the following policies with your student before testing:

• Electronic Devices—Students are not permitted to have any electronic devices, including, but not limited to, cell phones, smartphones, smartwatches, and Bluetooth/wireless headphones/earbuds, at any time during testing or during breaks (e.g., restroom), even if the devices are turned off or students do not use them. If your student is found with an electronic device, his or her test will be invalidated.
• Working Independently—Students are responsible for doing their own work during the test and for protecting their answers from being seen by others. If students are caught cheating during testing, their tests will be invalidated. In addition, FDOE employs Caveon Test Security to analyze student test results to detect unusually similar answer patterns. Student tests within a school that are found to have extremely similar answer patterns will be invalidated.
• Leaving Campus—If your student leaves campus before completing a test session (e.g., for lunch, an appointment), he or she will not be allowed to return to that test session. If your student does not feel well on the day of testing, it may be best for him or her to wait and be tested on a make-up day. Please remember not to schedule appointments on testing days.
• Testing Accommodations—If your student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), a Section 504 plan, or is an English Language Learner (ELL) or a recently exited ELL, please contact the school to discuss the testing accommodations that will be provided for your student.

We are excited to reopen the opportunity for parents/guardians to have lunch with their child!

At this time, we must follow the parameters listed below per BPS guidelines:

• This opportunity will only be available on Fridays, starting 9/9.

• Only adults on the approved pick-up list for a child will be allowed to have lunch with students. You will need to present your photo ID at the front office and receive a visitor's tag. When done, you must sign out before leaving campus.

• A designated area will be provided for the adult and student.

• Adults will only be allowed to each lunch with THEIR child and we request only two adults per child please.

• Adults who are not registered volunteers will be monitored by school staff at all times.

• Adults will be permitted to be on campus for lunch for their child's 30-minute lunch block (times listed at end of newsletter for all classes). Once your child's lunch is over, we kindly as you to sign out and exit campus. If you have multiple children and want to have lunch with all of them, you must wait for additional lunch times in the front office, glass booth, or your vehicle.

• You may bring in food from outside sources for your child only. Any leftover drinks or snacks will not be allowed back in class however.

• September 5th- Labor Day-Holiday for ALL!
• September 15th- Interims Issued
  
• September 15th- PBIS Event #1 (Movie/popcorn)
• September 21-22- Hearing/Vision Screenings
  
• September 26th- SAC Meeting
  
• September 29th- Science Fair Orientation Night (4th-6th)
• October 13th- Science Family Engagement Night
• October 29th- Ghostly Gecko 5K at 6p (Support Westside Elites)