Westside Pack Post

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. In November, we celebrated the 50th day of school, our 3rd graders had a wonderful field trip to watch a performance of Annie, and we finished the 1st Trimester of the 2024-2025 school year. We are excited to be back for three weeks jam packed with learning and fun before we have two weeks off for Christmas break. Check out the fun activities we have planned for December below.

Kelsey Anderson

Westside Elementary - Principal

December 5, 13, and 20 - Early Release at 1:25 pm

December 2-5 - PTO Book Fair

December 4-5 - Parent Teacher Conferences

December 5 - Early Release at 1:25 pm

December 6 - At-Home Learning Day

December 16-20 - Spirit Week

December 23 - January 6 - No School

January 7 - School Resumes

Our first bell rings at 8:15 am and our dismissal bell rings at 2:25 pm. On Fridays, our first bell rings at 8:15 am and our dismissal bell rings at 1:25 pm. You can find our calendar, which includes no school days, here: https://id50010859.schoolwires.net/domain/1083

I am happy to be back in school and hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving break. In November, our counselor lessons focused on introducing citizenship. After discussing what good citizenship looks like in a school setting, students were asked to write the name of one student in their class who models good citizenship and why. We then read all of the names out loud and what was said about that student. Many students were surprised to hear what others noticed about them. It gave us the opportunity to discuss how others see what you do even if you think they don’t notice and that is your character.

In December, we will continue to learn about citizenship. We will discuss what good citizenship looks like in our country, community, and families. We will also focus on being thankful and having gratitude for others citizens by telling/writing the things we specifically appreciate about them. In the lessons, students will break into small groups and be given a list of the alphabet. Their goal will be to come up with as many things as possible that they are thankful for. Towards the end of the lesson, each group will be given a word that most people are not thankful for such as dirt, rain, boredom, etc. This will guide our discussion as we talk about how we can be thankful even when we don’t like certain things or situations. I’m excited to hear all of the things that our Westside students are thankful for. Feel free to ask your child what a good citizen looks like and what things they are thankful for throughout the month!

Amy Gallagher

Westside Elementary - Counselor

This year's parent teacher conferences will take place December 4th and 5th after school. Thursday, December 5th will be a one hour early release at 1:25 pm. In November, you should have received an assigned conference time. If you haven't received a time or will be unable to attend, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Each conference will last 10 to 15 minutes and we have a lot of information about your child’s progress to share with you, including their 1st trimester report cards. As you prepare for your conference, we have a few suggestions for you:

• Plan what you would like to ask the teacher and bring your questions with you.
• Ask your child if there is anything they would like you to discuss with their teacher.
• Ask the teacher about activities you can do at home with your child to reinforce or extend new skills and concepts.
• When possible, it is beneficial for both parents to attend the conference.

All D91 Elementary students will have an at-home learning day on December 6th. This day is a compensation day for teachers after parent teacher conferences. Teachers and staff members will not be working this day.

Prior to at-home learning days, teachers will send work home with students. Work will be a review of concepts already taught in class and will be provided for all subjects. Students can complete the work on their own time and should bring that work back to school after the at-home day. If you have questions, please reach out to your student's teacher.

With the holiday season upon us, help us collect money for the Frontier Credit Union Foundation. This foundation helps better the lives of less fortunate children in our communities. As a school, we work with the foundation to get shoe vouchers for students in need.

You can donate by bringing coins or bills to Westside Elementary from now until December 18th. You can also donate online using the QR code sent home on the flyer.

December 16-20 will be spirit week at Westside! Students can choose whether or not to participate. Dress up days will be as follows:

• Monday, December 16 - Red and Green
• Tuesday, December 17 - Holiday Headgear (hats, headbands, scarves, crazy hair)
• Wednesday, December 18 - Winter Wonderland (wear all white)
• Thursday, December 19 - Pajama Day
• Friday, December 20 - Holiday Sweaters

Westside is a school wide Title 1 school. Wondering what that means? All students have the opportunity to receive Title 1 services such as interventions in subjects they may struggle with and/or enrichment in subjects they excel with. Check out this PowerPoint for more information:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1H5Rw1XUnXUwnqSCkik-LVsGAxr9TQxNL/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=108139177252455257680&rtpof=true&sd=true

This year one of our big focuses will be attendance. It is extremely important for students to be at school every single day. We understand that students can't control when they are sick and there will be some absences. Students are allowed 5 absences per trimester, excluding medically excused absences. Students must attend at least 4 hours per day for a full day of attendance to be counted and 2.5 hours per day for a half day to be counted. If your child is absent, please call the office at (208) 525-7666 to report their absence. We miss your student when they are gone because all of our students are an important part of our Westside community!

We need everyone to fill out the free and reduced lunch application! The results of this form help determine the amount of funding we receive for programs such as Title 1 and All Day Kindergarten. You may be surprised that you qualify for breakfast/lunch assistance! The form only needs to be filled out once per family. Fill out the form here: https://linqconnect.com/

Red - no drop off or pick-up (other than those using the handicap parking spot located in the staff parking lot)

Blue - drop off and pick-up zone

Yellow - crosswalks

Green - park and walk your student to their door

Come work at Westside! We have two open positions that we are hiring for:

• Lunch and Recess Duty Aide - 12 hours per week
• English Language Tutor - 19 hours per week
  

Find more information and apply here: https://www.applitrack.com/d91/onlineapp/default.aspx?AppliTrackPostingSearch=location:%22Westside+Elementary%22

In November, our PTO was awarded a $15,000 grant from the CHC foundation! We are so excited to put this money towards new playground equipment. Check out how close we are getting to our goal!

We have many fun things planned for December! Our Book Fair will be December 2-5. We will be open during school hours as well as Wednesday and Thursday afternoon/evenings for parent teacher conferences. December 18 is our Twisted Sugar Fundraiser between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm. We hope to see you there! December 20 will be class parties and Smencil sales. To make all of this happen, we need as many volunteers as possible. Please join us!

Please consider joining us for our PTO meetings! The next meeting will be Thursday, December 12th at 2:45 pm in the library at Westside.

Email: andekels@sd91.org
Website: https://www.d91.k12.id.us/16/home
Address: 2680 Newman Drive, Idaho Falls, ID, USA
Phone: (208) 525-7666
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrskelseyanderson/