WILDCAT NEWS
March 2024
News from Ms. Harcus
Hello Westside Family,
I hope this newsletter finds you healthy and doing well. I hope you have been enjoying the sunshine and warmer weather as much as I have!
We had a wonderful time celebrating Black History Month in February. We held our 10th Annual Read Your Heart Out and had more readers than ever! In addition to celebrating Black History Month, we also did our All School Identity Project. For this project students learned about what it means to be a community and our amazing Community School. We culminated this learning with a lantern walk and celebrated our very own Stacy Darga who is retiring at the end of this school year.
Our Wildcats continue to make us proud with their academic and social emotional growth. Thank you to all of you for partnering with us in this work! Westside is truly a special place to be!
I hope you all have a wonderful month and enjoy Spring Break. As always if you need anything, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
With Love and Gratitude,
Nikki Harcus
Principal
Read Your Heart Out
On Friday February 9th Westside Elementary held our 10th Annual Read Your Heart Out event.
It truly was a celebration of family and community!
Westside was lucky to have Terrance Sim's take beautiful photos.
Here is a link to his gallery.
Thank you to everyone involved!❤️
Important Dates
SPRING BREAK
First Day of Spring Break
Monday March 25, 2024
First Day Back from Spring Break
Monday April 1, 2024
The Right to Read Event
The Sun Prairie Area School District is hosting a viewing of the film The Right to Read, and we would love for you to join us. This film is directed by Jenny Mackenzie and produced by Sabi Habib-Lowder, Kareem Jabbar Weaver, and Jenny Mackenzie. It tells the important stories of an activist, a teacher, and two American families working hard to ensure our youngest generation can read well, which is crucial for their future success.
Because the film is a bit long, we’ve split the event into two parts. At each viewing, we’ll show 45 minutes of the film, followed by a group discussion.
The two-part event will take place on Thursday, March 7th, and again on Thursday, March 21, at 6:00 p.m., in room 200 at the Professional Learning Center, located at 220 Kroncke Drive. A meal will be served, and childcare services will be available for children aged two and older, so we are requiring all attendees to register in advance.
We hope you can join us for this important conversation about the right to read!
STEAM Family Fun Night
Full STEAM Ahead Family Fun Night
Tuesday, March 19 from 5 - 6:30 pm
Plan to spend the night at school having fun with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Music!
Save the Dates
Save the Dates for more Family Fun:
- Spring Fling on Friday, April 5
- Westside Fun Run on Friday, May 24
- Westside End of Year Party on the Playground on Tuesday, June 4
- Westside Night at the Madison Mallards game on Thursday, June 27
More details to follow on all of these fun events
School Day Hours
ARRIVAL
Supervision outside starts at 7:30 am
First Bell rings at 7:35 am - Students enter the building
Instruction starts at 7:40 am
DISMISSAL
2:40 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday and Fridays
1:30 pm on Thursdays
Yearbook Order
Order your copy of the 2023-2024 Westside Elementary Yearbook!
Yearbook store: https://shop.yearbookmarket.com/westsideelementaryschool
All yearbooks will be handed out at the end of the school year.
Please call/email Empire Photography if you have any questions.
608-257-2941
Dual Language Immersion Program
Westside Families do you have an incoming Kindergartner?
If so, please consider learning more about our Dual Language Immersion Program at Westside Elementary.
The window to apply for our DLI Lottery will be open from Friday, February 26- Friday, April 26. Here is the link to apply for the Dual Language Immersion Program!
Resources:
- District DLI Website
- DLI Video - The Future is Bilingual and DLI Information Slides (family friendly)
- Information Night at Westside March 14 from 6 pm to 7 pm. Any eligible and interested families are welcome to attend either session. Please Invite Families!
- District Contact Tony Jennaro (awjenna@sunprairieschools.org; 608-318-8134)
Westside Specials
Please take a moment to check out this information newsletter about your students "Specials", and all of the amazing things they do each day.
District School Bus Information
Please take moment to review the District's Bus Discipline Procedures.
If you have any questions and/or concerns please feel free to reach out to Kobussen Buses in Sun Prairie, 608-825-8700 or Westside Elementary, 608-834-7503.
Reporting a Student Absence
Parents/Guardians may report a student absence to Westside Elementary 24 hours a day by calling our Attendance Line at
(608) 834-7500, press 1 to report a student absence.
Please leave a short message with the following information:
- Child's name
- Teacher's name or grade
- Reason for absence
- Who is calling
Please contact the office, 608-834-7509 before 7:30 a.m. any morning your child will not be in school, even if they will be joining us late. If we do not hear from you, a safe arrival call will be made to you at home and/or work. We want to make sure every child is safe!
Student Appointments
- Name of Student
- Teacher's name or grade
- Time of pick up
- If the student will be returning to school
If you are picking up a student during the school day, you will need to sign them out in the main office and please bring your ID with you. We do ask that you give yourself adequate time for check out before your appointment.
Cafeteria Connection
Please take a moment to check out information from our School Nutrition Department. March 4-8 is National School Breakfast Week.
Did you know children who eat breakfast are more likely to…
Reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math
Score higher on standardized tests
Have better concentration and memory
Be more alert and maintain a healthy weight
Reminder: ALL WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS receive FREE MEALS.
Westside Families DO NOT need to complete Applications or Pay for Food Service through Infinite Campus. Thank you!
Volunteer Background Checks
If you are interested in volunteering and/or being a chaperone, please check out the District's Volunteer Procedure.
Here are the links from the District website to the Background Check Form(s).
Thank you for considering!
Westside OPTS Updates
Who We Are & What We Do:
Westside OPTS is the parent-teacher organization at Westside Elementary School. All members are volunteers, made up of parents, grandparents and caregivers of Westside students, as well as teachers and school staff. Our mission is to support education for Westside Elementary School students by fostering relationships between the school, parents, and teachers.
How To Get Involved:
We are committed to supporting our teachers, students and families and we would love your help!
- Volunteer your time and/or talent! If you have a special skill, want to help with fundraising, or like to work on teacher appreciate activities, please let us know.
- Board Members:
Presidents - Chiquita Hall
Vice President - Matt Weyer
Secretary - Nikki Wachter
Treasurer - Cathy Weyer
Volunteer Coordinator - Holly DeGroot
OPTS Meetings
Westside OPTS meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month (except December) from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday March 12, 2024 at Westside Elementary.
We hope to see everyone there!
Mark Your Calendars to Support Westside OPTS this school year!
Share Nights – dine out and mention Westside – a portion of sales will come back to OPTS
• Wednesday, March 20th & Thursday, March 21st – Jersey Mike’s
Let’s Connect!
Via Email: westsideopts@gmail.com
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/westsideOPTS/about/?ref=page_internal
Fundraisers
Box Tops - Download the new Box Tops app and scan your receipts when you purchase any foods with a Box Tops label on the package.
Shoparoo - Free app where you scan any receipt, get bonus points, and pick Westside to receive funds. Monthly/yearly drawings.
Community Schools Reference Guides
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