Parent and Family News
October 16, 2023
YWCA Afterschool Program starting 10/16
Parent Advisory Council Meeting
Join in person or online to discuss school activities for the year.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88228247284?pwd=GtRsPS4KUJC6VDvhxtiVPnRfQU3adB.1
Meeting ID: 882 2824 7284
Passcode: 305747
Wednesday, Oct 18, 2023, 05:30 PM
24 Westminster Avenue, Buffalo, NY, USA
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Trunk or Treat
Saturday, Oct 28, 2023, 09:00 AM
24 Westminster Avenue, Buffalo, NY, USA
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Upcoming Events
Oct. 16 - YWCA program and afterschool clubs start
Oct. 18 - Farmers Market 9-10
Oct. 25 - Farmers Market 9-10, School Board Meeting 3:30 at WCCS
Oct. 28 - Super Saturday - Trunk or Treat
Oct. 31 - Dress like your favorite Book Character
Nov. 8 - Bingo Night
Character Day
Attendance 8:00 am - 2:45 pm
- Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
- Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
- Communicate regularly with your child's teacher, to know what is happening each day.
- Develop backup plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor, or another parent.
- Try to schedule non-urgent related medical appointments and extended trips when school isn’t in session.
- If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors, and other parents for advice on how to make your child feel comfortable and excited about learning.
- If your child must stay home due to illness, ask the teacher for resources and ideas to continue learning at home.
- If you are concerned that your child may have Covid-19, call your school for advice.
Farm to Table Farmers Market
Wednesday, Oct 18, 2023, 09:00 AM
24 Westminster Avenue, Buffalo, NY, USA
DESSA
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
We are thrilled to let you know that we will continue to use the DESSA SEL Assessment Program with students this year. Over two decades of research has helped us understand the important roles social and emotional skills play in each child’s success in school, in the community, and, eventually, in higher education and the workplace. Skills such as demonstrating self-control, persisting at challenging tasks, making good decisions, and working well in groups are all necessary for being successful students and adults. The process by which students learn these and other similar skills is called social and emotional learning. To support our students in developing essential social and emotional skills that will help them become successful and responsible adults, we will be implementing a social and emotional learning program throughout our school.
As part of this program, our teachers will be using a tool called the Devereux Student Strength Assexrment, or DESSA, which was developed by the Devereux Center for Resilient Child This tool asks teachers to rate how often a student has demonstrated specific social and emotional skills in the past month.
Sample DESSA questions include:
• How often did the child keep trying when unsuccessful?
• How often did the child offer to help somebody?
• How often did the child get things done in a timely fashion?
• How often did the child work well in groups?
The purpose of the DESSA is to identify which social and emotional skills your child has already learned and what skills he or she might still need to develop. Our goal is to ensure that your child is continuously developing the social and emotional skills that they need for lifelong success. While the DESSA is just one component of our social and emotional learning program, we want to make sure that you are informed of our use of this instructional tool. We believe that the information gathered from the DESSA will be beneficial to your child’s overall success both inside and outside of the classroom.
Aperture Education publishes the DESSA. To view additional information about the DESSA, visit https://apertureed.com/dessa/
Sincerely,
Joe Fabiano, Counselor K-2
Julie Schaefer, Counselor 3-5
Linda Morgan, Counselor 6-8
Brianna Pumputis, Social Worker K-8
Academic Corner - 5 Week Progress Reports
First-quarter progress reports will be available in the parent portal starting next week. That means there are about 20 days left in the quarter. Please review your students' reports with them and support them to do their best. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with their teachers as soon as possible.
The Progress Reports are available on the parent portal. You can sign up on the website if you have not registered for the parent portal. https://parentportal.wnyric.org/WestminsterCSD
If you do not have your child's 900 number, please ask them; it is their login for the school computer, or reach out to the school, and we can get it for you.
Fall Clubs Starting 10/16
We will hand out permission slips for the following fall clubs on Monday. Below is the list of clubs for students to sign up for. Ms. Lewis will visit the students' homerooms to explain the clubs and the process. She will hand out permission slips at that time. Additional permission slips will be available in the main or Ms. Lewis's offices. Students are to hand them back to Ms. Lewis or the main office.
Fall Clubs: October 16th to December 22nd.
Student Council- Mondays (6th-8th graders)
Flag Football- Tuesdays and Wednesdays (4th-6th graders)
Passport to Adventure- Tuesdays (2nd-5th graders)
Soccer Club- Mondays and Thursdays (6th-8th graders)
Choir- Mondays and Tuesdays (3rd-8th graders)
Green Team (Recycling)- Wednesday (5th-8th graders)
Cooking Club- Thursday (6th-8th graders)
All clubs run till 4:15