Westwood Intermediate/Middle School

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November is almost here. Please remember that we do not have school this Friday, November 1. Staff will be engaging in professional learning. Grades 5 and 6 teachers will continue their learning and implementation of reading strategies. Grades 7 and 8 teachers will be learning and working on designing engaging work for students.

Tomorrow is Halloween, and we know many students and families participate in a variety of Halloween-inspired activities. Please remember that we do not celebrate Halloween during the school day. Please keep any costumes and treats at home to enjoy after school.

If you are picking up your child early from school, we ask that you plan ahead when possible and be aware of our practices for dismissal:

• Send a note, enter the dismissal into Campus Parent Portal, or call the school so we can write a pass for your child to be waiting in the office for you at the designated time.
• Grades 7 and 8 students will be dismissed at 2:30 p.m. (regular dismissal time) if notification is received after 2:15 p.m.
• Grades 5 and 6 students will be dismissed at 3:15 p.m. (regular dismissal time) if notification is received after 3 p.m.
• You need to enter the school and have an ID ready so we can confirm you are an authorized person to pick up the student.

Have a safe week and enjoy the long weekend,

Tom Larson

Principal

If you have bus riders in your household and use the MyStop app, please be aware that the app is experiencing issues. Due to a software configuration problem, the MyStop app (that provides real time bus route information) is not functioning properly. All of the entities that support the app are actively working to correct the problem. Transportation will notify bus riding families when the issues has been resolved. Thank you for your patience. Any questions can be directed to transportation@district16.org.

We've been using a tool called Talking Points to text with parents and guardians about things like attendance. Our teachers will be starting to use the tool to communicate with families as the year progresses. It's one way we can support more real-time communication and connections to support student learning and success.

Talking Points supports real-time translation. Families can text in their native and/or preferred language and communicate with staff using their preferred language.

There is nothing parents and guardians need to do to receive messages as basic SMS text messages. If you choose to, you may download the Talking Points app. The app and website are not required to receive and send text messages with school staff. If you download the Talking Points app, it's important to know that you will no longer receive SMS texts. Messages will go through the app instead.

You can learn more about Talking Points on their website. If you have questions, contact communications@district16.org.

Orders for Westwood Yearbooks may be placed online or scan the QR code (see attached). Questions may be directed to Kristine Powell at kpowel@district16.org.

• November 1-2 - SLPHS fall play: Puffs (for Young Wizards), SLPHS Fine Arts Center - purchase tickets
• Friday, November 1 - No school
• Monday, November 4 - Grupo de Padres Hispanohablantes de SLP reunion, 5 p.m., Woodcrest Spanish Immersion School
• Thursday, November 7 -
• Office Hours, 3:30 - 5 p.m.
• Fundraiser Delivery, Cafeteria, 3-6 p.m.
• Monday, November 18 -
• Grupo de Padres Hispanohablantes de SLP reunion, 5 p.m., Woodcrest Spanish Immersion School
• 7/8 Grade Choir Concert, SLP High School, Fine Arts Center, 7 p.m.
• Monday, November 25 - PTO meeting, The Den, 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 26 - End of Trimester 1
• November 27- December 2 - No school, holiday
• Wednesday, December 4 - Live on 65: North Country Christmas Ft. Kat Perkins, Fine Arts Center, 7 p.m. - purchase tickets
• December 23-January 1 - No school, holiday

A group of students have been working on sequencing, following directions, building descriptive language, and expanding sentence length by creating silly monsters. They have intermixed both fun and success!

Red Team science students raced through a hallway scavenger hunt to uncover the jobs of different cell organelles. They are using their learning about cell parts to create their own analogies and models of the cell as a system.

Team 6B teaching our Journey students to play 4 square. Such a fabulous community!

As a reward for reaching more than 50 percent of our fundraising goal, PTO sponsored BINGO at all lunch periods last Friday. We reminisced about all the acts of kindness that had been completed and more than 150 students won a prize.

Thanks to everyone who joined our meeting last Monday. We heard from the principal about upcoming days off and school events. We also heard how this spring, PTO will sponsor a recess equipment shed to be built by high school students. If anyone has connections to someone who can move it from the high school to the middle school once it is complete, please reach out!

We also talked about upcoming events PTO is helping with such as the Maud Hart Lovelace reading challenge taking place now until the end of March.

WW PTO is Westwood’s Parent Teacher Organization, whose goals are to increase parent involvement and enhance student learning and experiences. WW PTO focuses on family enrichment, staff/student support, and community engagement. It is free to participate and any staff/student guardians are welcome to join the fun.

Join our BAND app at to get all the volunteer sign-ups and information throughout the year. We are also on Facebook. Or contact us any time with questions or ideas at slp.westwood.pto@gmail.com.

Do you have an incoming child or family or friends exploring enrollment in a Spanish Immersion program? Spring Lake Park Schools has approximately 1,100 PreK-12 students in Spanish Immersion programming. Over the years, we've discovered several reasons why families choose immersion. For many, beyond language acquisition, immersion programing comes with a variety of other benefits that set students up for success in a diverse, multilingual world.

Check out eight of the most common reasons families choose immersion and make sure to share this article with family, friends and neighbors who may be considering immersion for their child.

Opening weekend of "Puffs" was a success! The final weekend of this magical performance is this Friday, November 1, 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 2, 2 p.m. For seven years a certain boy wizard went to Wizard School. This, however, is not his story. This is the story of the Puffs - those never meant to be the hero. Get your tickets today!

Christmas is Kat Perkins’ favorite time of year! A Kat Perkins Christmas is an incredible blend of traditional Christmas songs with Kat’s modern spin. She incorporates her audience in fun crowd participation holiday songs and even features an up-and-coming young star at each venue. Together she has created a fun, rockin' show to celebrate the holidays filled with great music, laughter and even her own original Christmas songs! It’s a must see all ages opportunity to bring the entire family! Get your tickets for the show on December 4, 7 p.m. at the Fine Arts Center.

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