Westside Pack Post

September was a powerful month at Westside! Our students are showing grit, especially when things get tough. We have spent a lot of time figuring out what students know and what they need to be taught. We are ready to rock October as our students learn and grow.

In October, our staff members are looking forward to two professional development days. These days will help them improve their instruction for your students. Our students are looking forward to Halloween on October 31. We want to give a big shoutout to our volunteers who are going to be helping on Halloween. We appreciate you!

Kelsey Anderson

Principal at Westside Elementary

October 11, 18, 25, and November 1 - Early Release Friday

October 3 and 4 - No School for Professional Development

October 10 - PTO Meeting at 2:45 in the library at Westside

October 14 - Kindergarten Pirate Reading Night

October 23 - Wendy's Night Fundraiser

October 31 - Halloween

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

We have several fun activities planned for Halloween on Thursday, October 31. We will be doing a costume parade from 12:45 to 1:15. Parents are welcome to watch the parade as students show off their costumes. More information about the parade will come home with your student. After the parade, each classroom will have a Halloween party sponsored by the PTO. Classroom parties will go from 1:15 to 2:15. Students are welcome to wear their costumes for the parade and class parties, but not all day (unless your child's teacher says it's okay).

Here are the costume guidelines while at school:

• Students should choose costumes that will have minimal interference with their ability to participate in their education.
• Students should not bring masks, weapons, and/or use excessive blood or gore.
• Students may not bring makeup to share with others or costume accessories such as weapons, brooms, etc.
• Students who do not adhere to these guidelines will be asked to change into their regular school clothing.

If you have questions about these guidelines or questions about your child's Halloween party, please reach out to their teacher. Teachers will be sharing more information with their classes individually.

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. 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!

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

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/

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

Happy October from PTO! We wanted to thank Westside for all the support that you gave during the Fall Carnival. We made $4,251.64 at the carnival! This will let us continue to do class parties, teacher appreciation, and activities like Donuts With a Grownup this year.

We are continuing to work towards getting new playground equipment and want to thank Mountain View Hospital for donating $5,000 towards our new playground. PTO is looking for businesses or individuals who would like to donate to or sponsor our new playground equipment. Because PTO is a 501c3 nonprofit many companies will match employee donations. If you know of anyone please send them our way!

In October we are looking forward to our first set of class parties! The Halloween class parties will be Thursday October 31. We will also have our Westside Wendy’s night on October 23 so mark your calendars.

If you haven’t yet, please join our Westside PTO! The Westside PTO is now a 501c3 (which allows us to apply for grants to help with playground equipment and other expenses) and we need you to join! You can do so by filling out a quick form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSctzJNRCWsSK1Ipnc8md-loYCR8o7Q4adwY3hDZU_bueuhABA/viewform

You can also join our remind text group by texting @PTOWestsid to 81010.

Please consider joining us for our PTO meetings! The next meeting will be Thursday, October 10 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/