Westland Update for Week of Sept 4

Labor Day Holiday- Monday, Sept 4th is a holiday. There is no school for students.

Back to School Picnic- Friday, Sept 8th at 6 PM. Thank you to our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for sponsoring this event. Rain or shine (we'll move inside if inclement weather.) All families are invited. Many staff members will be present to mix and mingle. You may opt to pre-order Potomac Pizza (salads, chicken tenders, pizza) by Monday at https://westlandms.memberhub.com/store or bring your own nibbles.

Westland Parent Info Session on Zoom on Sept 11- Parents and caretakers are invited to join Ms. Serino and a few other staff members for a bilingual info session about all things Westland. We will present some information and field your questions. (Info below.)

Student Directory Forms- Monday, Sept 11 is the due date to submit forms to withhold student directory information. (Info below)

Softball and Cross Country Tryouts- Tryouts for 7th and 8th grade athletes begin on September 12 after school. Forms must be submitted online by September 11th. (see below)

MAP Testing on Sept 13 and 14- We will be administering MAP-R (Measures of Academic Progress in Reading) and MAP-M (Measures of Academic Progress in Math) on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Hispanic Heritage Month- We begin our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept 15.

Hearing/Vision Screening Starts Sept 15- On Friday, we begin three days of vision/hearing screening for all 8th graders and 6th and 7th graders new to MCPS. This will occur during social studies classes.

Our July online store closed but we've opened another "August" one that will close on Sept 8.

Order Physical Education (PE) clothes or cool clothes to wear around. Items will be delivered to students at school in late September/early October.

(PE teachers will also have some t shirts, shorts and sweats to sell on site when we return to school.)

Visit the store here https://westland2023-2.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Want some Westland options with a progress flag logo? Look no further.

Visit the store here https://shop.whatsuppromotions.com/westland/shop/home

• Athletic Registration Video - A quick video for parents/guardians on how to register their students in athletics.
• ParentVue Guide - A "Quick Guide to ParentVue for Athletics" in English for parents/guardians when registering their students for athletics.
• ParentVue Guide - A "Quick Guide to ParentVue for Athletics" in Spanish for parents/guardians when registering their students for athletics.
• ParentVue Guide - A "How to Guide" for parents/guardians for Getting Started with ParentVUE.pdf
• Care for Kids - A health care program that provides access to health care services for uninsured children in Montgomery County.
• Clinics for Sports Physicals - an annual list released by MCPS Athletics, pricing is subject to change

We were grateful to talk with/to many of our parents at our zoom, parent orientation on August 17. The slides are here for you to review. We also collected some running questions and have answered them here.

We will host a second, bilingual parent session over Zoom after we are nine days into the school year on Monday, September 11 at 6 PM. Bilingual in English and Spanish!

Join Zoom:

https://mcpsmd.zoom.us/j/97324643856?pwd=cVpQM0tnMzFycFZxN0JVbHBTQll3dz09

Meeting ID: 973 2464 3856

Passcode: WMSparents

Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/westlandms/staff/directory/

SEPTEMBER

• M, 9/4- Labor Day Holiday- No School
• F, 9/8- Back to School Family Picnic (PTA Event!) 6-8 PM (No rain date. We'll just bring the party inside.)
• M, 9/11- 6:00 PM- Zoom info session for parents/caregivers (bilingual in Spanish)
• M, 9/11- Due date to submit forms to withhold student directory information
• Tu, 9/12- First Day for Cross Country and Softball Tryouts- 7th and 8th graders only
• W, 9/13- MAP-R testing in the morning
• Th, 9/14- MAP-M testing in the morning
• F, 9/15- 10/15- Hispanic Heritage Month
• F, 9/15- Vision/Hearing Screening for all 8th graders and 6th/7th new to MCPS
• M, 9/18- Vision/Hearing Screening for all 8th graders and 6th/7th new to MCPS
• Tu, 9/19- Vision/Hearing Screening for all 8th graders and 6th/7th new to MCPS
• Tu, 9/19- 6:40 PM- Parent Mtg about Family Life Health Curriculum- hybrid format- Zoom and in person
• F, 9/22- Safety Day/Team Building Day
• F, 9/22- Early Release Day- Student Dismissed at 12:30 PM
• M, 9/25- No School for Students and Teachers
• Th, 9/28- 6th Grade Team Building All Day (In School Field Trip)

OCTOBER

• Hispanic Heritage Month continues through 10/15
• M, 10/2- Open House for Current Westland Parents- Visit classes any time between 8:15 AM-2:40 PM
• Th, 10/5- Cross Country and Girls Softball, Home v. Pyle (Boys play away)
• Tu, 10/10- evening Parent Teacher Association (PTA) mtg with Principal Serino, hybrid

An IB World School

Email: Alison_L_Serino@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/westlandms/
Location: 5511 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda, MD, USA
Twitter: @AlisonSerinoWMS