Westview Wildcat Weekly

Wildcat Family Newsletter - Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Principal's Message

Vision: Success for ALL students means equity in instruction and SEL for ALL students! Achievement is they ALL CAN by any means necessary.

Mission: Westview students will be equitably empowered with the academic, social, and emotional knowledge and skills to live choice-filled lives and be successful contributors of society.

STAAR exams are just around the corner! Our core contents (math, language arts, science, and social studies) are beginning their STAAR review sessions. Teachers collaboratively plan to decide on high priority skills to review with students, and many of our teachers attended the Lead4ward Rockin' Review session last month to identify priority skills and engaging review activities.

This week, we are holding grade level assemblies. During our assemblies, we remind our students about our campus expectations, review attendance expectations, and announce our students of the month. Students are also reminded to be Respectful, Responsible, and Safe!

Parents, we encourage you to have discussions with your student about reporting safety concerns and maintaining good behavior. Fights/assaults not only result in a placement to the Opportunity Center, but may also require police involvement. Additionally, we have spoken to our students about the dangers of e-cigarettes/vape pens. Students in possession/use/distribution will be recommended to the Opportunity Center, and police involvement is required in these situations. We are in the last 9 weeks of school, and it is important that our students are on campus and in class learning daily. If students "SEE or HEAR something, please SAY something." This helps us maintain safety on our campus and investigate situations in a timely manner. Additionally, students can make anonymous reports through the Anonymous Alerts page.

Picture Day - March 31st

Westview Middle School spring picture day is scheduled for next Monday, March 31st.

All 6th and 7th grade students will go to the cafeteria during their science class period to take pictures.
8th grade students who have paid online or have an order form will be released to the cafeteria during their science class for pictures and will promptly return to class after taking a picture.

Please see the attachment for a digital copy of the Lifetouch order form. Students will receive a physical copy of the order form during their advisory class this week.

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LifeTouch Order Form.pdf

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Report Cards & UIL Eligibility

The 3rd Nine Weeks ended on March 14th just before spring break! Report cards will be published on Monday, March 31st. Families, please be aware that students will regain or lose UIL eligibility participation based on these 3rd 9 weeks' report card grades.

Families are encouraged to continue checking Skyward regularly to monitor their student's grades and academic progress. Westview holds tutorials for academic assistance on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and we have a late bus that departs at 5 p.m. on these days. Note: Students must have a late bus tutorial pass to ride the late bus.

Westview PTO Meeting - April 2nd

Families are invited to join for our PTO meeting next Wednesday, April 2nd. During the meeting, PTO will review updates from Principal Jaramillo, ways they are supporting the campus, and the PTO budget. Family engagement is very important! We hope to see you at our next PTO meeting.

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Westview Middle School Library

Date: April 2, 2025

STAAR Testing Dates and Information

All students will take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams in April. It is very important that students give their best effort on these exams. Our campus performance from the state is based on STAAR results. Additionally, students who perform at the Did Not Meets levels will be considered for intervention the following school year, meaning they could lose an elective to receive additional minutes of academic support in that particular subject area.

Please see below for upcoming STAAR dates.

Tuesday, April 15th: Reading Language Arts (all grade levels)
Tuesday, April 22nd: Science (8th grade only)
Wednesday, April 23rd: Social Studies (8th grade only)
Tuesday, April 29th: Math (all grade levels)

WMS Teachers of Year and Humanitarian of the Year

Congratulations to the following staff for being nominated as the Teacher of the Year, Rookie Teacher of the Year, and Humanitarian of the Year! This is a major honor, and we are extremely proud of all they do for Westview!

Teacher of the Year - Ms. West

Ms. West models what it means to be an exceptional teacher. Ms. West brings passion and high energy into her classroom daily for her students. Ms. West goes above and beyond to make learning fun for her students while maintaining high standards so that students go beyond expectations. Her gift extends beyond the classroom as she has worked tirelessly to create an excellent theatre program and has been instrumental in organizing campus-wide events.

Rookie Teacher of the Year - Mr. Orozco

Mr. Orozco is a naturally gifted teacher who is the perfect fit for our campus and community. Not only does Mr. Orozco strive to build strong relationships with his students, but he also seeks to learn from his team daily with a focused commitment on his instructional craft. Mr. Orozco checks on his students regularly and often attends their school events to show his commitment to students across all facets.

Humanitarian of the Year - Ms. Felicia Castillo

Ms. Castillo is a treasure to the Wildcat community. She always puts our students first before everything she does and tirelessly goes out of her way to fully support our teachers and staff. She is quick to offer help and jump in whenever a student or staff member is in need. Her generosity knows no limits and she makes Westview a better place to be every single day as the PTO president and staff member.

Pfamily Pfitness Pfest - Friday, March 28th

Student Attendance

Regular school attendance is very important for student learning. Students who miss school more frequently are more likely to struggle with learning the concepts and may also struggle as they proceed to future grades/courses. Students are expected to be at school 90% of the time, per state law.

Westview uses EveryDay Pro to track student attendance and identify students who are excessively absent. Students with repeated or excessive absences will receive a phone call and/or text message regarding the concerns. Letters will also be mailed home per guidelines, and the campus may do regular home visits to help your student attend school. Please know that campus administrators will monitor student attendance to identify chronically absent students and truant students.

If your student must miss school, it is very important that your student bring a note to excuse the absence. Please also check your student's attendance regularly through Skyward to ensure regular attendance and that absences are noted as 'excused.'

Students who attend school regularly will be eligible to attend school events (i.e., dances, Westfest, etc.) and other celebrations. Students with perfect attendance will receive an award at the end of the 9-weeks.

Chronic absenteeism and truancy will result in meetings with an administrator to discuss absences, create a plan, and provide resources. Excessive absences can also impact a student's ability to proceed to the next grade level.

WMS Yearbooks for Sale

You can use this link to begin ordering your Westview Middle School yearbook! Mr. Barriga and the yearbook class have been working hard on making this year's yearbook look great!

PBIS Rewards

Here at Westview MS, we award students PBIS Reward points for following campus expectations and rules. Students can redeem their points on Friday for prizes such as chips, wristbands, candy, stickers, and other rewards.

PBIS Rewards is a system to recognize and reward positive behavior. This system helps us focus on positive actions instead of punitive responses.

Student IDs

Our students have been doing a great job wearing their student IDs during the school day. Students who wear their ID daily will receive PBIS points and remain eligible for school function (i.e., dances, fall fest).

Consequences are in place for students who do not wear their ID more than 3 times, and parents will be contacted.

Lost IDs cost $5 and can be paid in the main office or online.

Beanstack Reading Winners

Westview uses Beanstack to log hours that students read! Our students have done an OUTSTANDING job of reading, and we want to recognize the following students on the leaderboard!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!

Tardy Tracking

Each week, we run a tardy report. Students with more than 5 tardies in a week or excessive tardies overall are assigned to Thursday after school detentions to make-up the missed instructional time. Make-up detention is held on Thursdays from 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Students who are reporting to class on time regularly will receive PBIS rewards and other incentives. Students who are repeatedly tardy will lose opportunities for campus events (i.e., dances, Westfest, etc.).

Cell Phone Policy

Per PfISD policy, cell phones must be turned off during the instructional day (start of 1st period until the end of the last period). We prioritize a focus on instruction, and cell phones cannot disrupt the learning or school environment.

Westview is adopting a new cell phone policy. Students will place their cell phone in the clear pocket chart next to the teacher’s desk to ensure it is not used during class. Teachers will have a system for how students will place and pick up their cell phones. Please know that if a cell phone is seen, it will be collected and turned in to the office.

1st Offense: Warning/Parent picks up the phone

2 or More Offenses: $15 fee/Parent picks up the phone

We understand that parents may need to reach their student. If a parent needs to contact their student, we ask that they call the front office at (512)594-2200. We will then call your student down to the office to speak with you. Similarly, students can use the front office phone to call a parent.

As noted above, cell phones can cause a disruptions and distractions in hallways, classrooms, restrooms, the cafeteria, and other spaces. We want to ensure our students are focused on learning and engaged at all times. Teachers for core classes will have Chromebook sets in the classroom, so students will be able to engage in learning using Chromebooks and do not need their cell phone.

Meal Deliveries

Please know that meal deliveries to the campus are not permitted (i.e., Door Dash, Uber Eats, etc.). If a meal is delivered the student will be allowed to pick it up at the end of the school day.

Westview PTO

The Westview Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) meets monthly to hear a principal's update, discuss the PTO budget, and review other campus agenda items. The PTO also helps tremendously with campus events, concession stand sales at athletic events, and providing food/treats for staff throughout the year.

Please join our Westview PTO! You can sign up using any options copied below.

Form Sign Up

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