WERAWC
Last Friday we kicked off our WERAWC festivities with a whole-school assembly. The event began with Dr. Cobbs reading a story and was followed by an impressive WERAWC skit from our Student Council, songs and the announcement of our bookmark contest winners. The energy was high and it was the perfect way to end our week! We look forward to welcoming multiple authors, illustrators and artist to our school and are grateful to our PTO for funding such an extravaganza.
Welcome Monty!
West Elementary welcomed their newest community member this week – Monty! Monty is a five-year old black Labrador Retriever and certified therapeutic support dog who will visit the school once a week. His first visit was in Ms. Dziadosz 3rd grade classroom. Monty also posed for his West El yearbook photo in between visits to classrooms.
Monty has been trained and licensed with the Therapy Dog International Organization and has earned the ‘American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Title' certificate. Monty has experience in classrooms and you may have seen him with his owner, Sue Wartman, at Memorial Hall Library. Monty’s hobbies include giving kisses and finding socks! Monty will be at West El for class visits and hopes to become a buddy reader.
APS K-8 Redistricting Vote
Redistricting Information shared in All Around APS
During the March 20th meeting, Dillinger RAD presented to the Committee final elementary and middle school scenarios for consideration and a vote. The presentation can be reviewed here. To watch the meeting, visit Andover TV's website. The Committee voted 4-1 to support scenario E6/M5. This approach attempts to balance school capacity, provide for larger groups of students moving on to middle school, minimize long-term costs, and ensure safety for students who walk to school.
The Committee also voted 5-0 to support the first phase of an implementation strategy. This strategy would permit students starting Kindergarten in the fall of 2025 to enroll at the elementary school to which they will be zoned in fall 2026. This strategy would also provide for “legacy enrollment” for students who will be in 5th grade or 8th grade in the fall of 2026, so that they may complete their elementary or middle school career in their original school. A second implementation phase concerning student placement for the fall of 2027 is expected to be discussed at the April 17 meeting. These implementation phases will be supplemented by events, programs, and other supports to help students make transitions, whether from an old school to a new school or from elementary to middle school.
The Committee acknowledges that this has been a challenging and emotional process for all and is grateful to the public for its participation and support.
https://www.aps1.net/o/aps/page/aps-redistricting-process-2024