Westwood Intermediate/Middle School
Westwood Families,
It’s homecoming week for Spring Lake Park Schools! Many students and staff have been participating in our theme days. Thursday is team color day, and Friday is SLP spirit day. We will end the week with a pep fest for our students at the end of the day for both middle (1:45 – 2:30 p.m.) and intermediate students (2:35 – 3:10 p.m.).
Our friends at Spring Lake Park High School invite younger members of the Panther Community to attend and support our teams, with the following understanding:
- Elementary and middle school students may attend high school athletic events, IF they are accompanied by a supervising adult throughout the event.
- All school rules and behavior expectations extend to SLPHS athletic events. For example, running around, throwing objects, using profanity, or physical contact with others will not be permitted. Students who violate school rules or behavior expectations will be escorted out of the event without a refund.
- Backpacks, skateboards, balls, etc. may not be brought into Spring Lake Park High School athletic events.
- For Friday’s football game, entrance gates open at 6:15 p.m. The cost of admission is $5.
During this homecoming week, you can win $500 for our school! The Panther Foundation is giving away $500 to each of our Spring Lake Park schools. There’s still time to enter the daily Panther Pride Trivia Sweepstakes and have your entries included in the random drawing. The winning entry will win $500 for our school and a $50 gift certificate to the Panther Store.
At homecoming time, learning is well underway for the year. Our Physical Education teachers have students assess how they did each day on the competency they are teaching and students are learning in class. On the way out the door, kids hit a Beginning, In Progress, or Proficient sign as a way of self-reflecting on their learning.
You’ll hear more about student progress around competencies at upcoming conferences. Conference sign ups are available now. Please be aware that you MUST select your student's teacher name when signing up for conference times. This step is not optional.
Grades 7 and 8 Conferences (Webex Links for all staff - Click here)
- Tuesday, October 17 – 4-7:30 p.m., drop-in, in-person, no sign up necessary
- Wednesday, October 18 – 8-11:30 a.m., drop-in, in-person, no sign up necessary
- Wednesday, October 18 – 1-3:30 p.m., online via WebEx, sign up here
- Thursday, October 26 – 4-7:30 p.m., online via WebEx, sign up here
Grades 5 and 6 Conferences (Webex Links for all staff - Click here)
- Tuesday, October 17 – 4-7:30 p.m., in-person, sign up for homeroom, no sign up necessary for specialists (art, music, PE, band, academic supports)
- Wednesday, October 18 – 8-11:30 a.m. – in-person, sign up necessary for homeroom, no sign up necessary for specialists (art, music, PE, band, academic supports)
- Wednesday, October 18 – 1-3:30 p.m., online via WebEx, sign up necessary
- Thursday, October 26 – 4-7:30 p.m., online via WebEx, sign up necessary
Finally for this week, parents of our middle school students may be especially interested in the “Let’s talk: Career, College and Life” event series hosted by counselors at Spring Lake Park High School for parents and guardians. These 1-hour sessions are offered in person at the high school and online through WebEx. Check out the dates and topics in this week’s newsletter.
Enjoy the rest of this homecoming week! Let’s go Panthers!
Tom Larson
Principal
Upcoming Event: Mental Health Awareness & Coping Skills, Oct. 11
If you haven't signed up already, make sure to sign up for the Mental Health Awareness & Coping Skills event on Wednesday, October 11 at 6 p.m. in the Den at Westwood Intermediate and Middle School. October is mental health awareness month, and in this session, you will learn to recognize common warning signs of mental health needs and basic coping strategies to support your child. RSVP for this event.
Let's Talk: Career, College and Life event series
Parents of grade 7-12 students, warm up with a cup of coffee and casual conversation with high school counselors about career, college and life topics that are on your mind. Through these informal opportunities to connect, we hope you will learn more about opportunities your student has at SLPHS and help prepare you and your student for career, college and life at - and after - high school.
Events take place at 7:30 a.m. at Spring Lake Park High School or 11:45 a.m. on WebEx.
- Wednesday, October 25
- Wednesday, December 20
- Wednesday, February 28
- Wednesday, April 24
All sessions are general and open discussion is welcomed and encouraged. You bring the questions; we bring the coffee. Please fill out this form to let us know you'll be joining us.
Connection through Band
Jacob Hayle, an 8th grade trumpet player that is bilingual in English and Spanish, has been helping Mrs. Seiler with translating for a new-to-band Spanish speaking student who also plays trumpet. Mrs. Seiler says Jacob has been amazing at translating and connecting with this student and it's also a great opportunity for Jacob to practice his Spanish in “real time."
Getting to Know You
Kindergarteners chant each others’ names in morning greeting. Third and fourth graders learn what kind of candy they each like (split between sour and chocolate). High schoolers share adventures they’d like to have and qualities they value in a friend. Across schools and classrooms everyone is getting to know each other.
All the things we know and can learn about our students to personalize their experiences and build partnerships is what we call a “learner profile” in Spring Lake Park Schools. The process of getting to know each student can take a variety of engaging and fun forms – especially at the beginning of a new school year.
Read more about the creative ways staff have gotten to know students and the difference it makes to learning.
Hop in and let’s go “7,000 Miles to Broadway!”
Tony Award nominee and original “Jersey Boys” star J. Robert Spencer will take you on a musical journey across genres and decades with his show “7,000 Miles to Broadway" this Saturday, October 7 at 7 p.m. at the Spring Lake Park High School Fine Arts Center.
You’ll be transported back in time on a road trip in the family wood-paneled yellow station wagon where J. Robert grew up singing classic country, rock and Broadway hits along to the car radio and 8-tracks. This is the music that helped pave his way to starring in some of the biggest hits on Broadway – originating the role of Nick Massi in the Tony and Grammy Award winning show “Jersey Boys,” and earning his nomination for Best Leading Actor of a Musical in the Pulitzer winning “Next to Normal.”
From Willie Nelson’s country twang to the smooth crooning sounds of Frank Sinatra and the pop favorites of Franki Valli, “7,000 Miles to Broadway” is chock full of radio and Broadway hits! Get your tickets today!
Tickets available for SLPHS fall play "Letters to Sala"
Get your tickets now for the Spring Lake Park High School fall play “Letters to Sala." This theatrical experience kicks off the 2023-2024 theater season! Purchase tickets online or day-of at the box office for a dollar more.
Message from the Director: For this year's fall play, we chose "Letters for Sala," which tells the true story of the Holocaust through a different lens. Most of us are familiar with Anne Frank's tragic story and it will be an honor to present another survivor's story. It will be quite an endeavor - two different stories are told simultaneously: the present and the past. There are a lot of difficult roles, which fits our program because we have so many exceptional actors!
Synopsis: "Letters to Sala" is a remarkable story of a young girl’s survival during wartime Germany. Sala Kirschner kept her secret for over fifty years, concealing her painful history in a box full of letters. "Letters to Sala" is a powerful and life-affirming story of survival and grace.
Performances (All performances take place at the Spring Lake Park High School Fine Arts Center):
- Friday, October 27, 7 p.m.
- Saturday, October 28, 7 p.m.,
- Friday, November 3, 7 p.m.
- Saturday, November 4, 2 p.m.
Panther Store Homecoming Sale goes through Friday!
Save 15% at the Panther Store now through Friday, October 6 using code 23Homecoming online or make an appointment to do some personal shopping by emailing PantherStore@district16.org.
Panther Pride Sweepstakes is on
The Panther Foundation Sweepstakes began on Sunday. Each day visit the Sweepstakes webpage to complete the daily entry form. There will be one student winner drawn for each school. The more days you play the better your odds of winning. Students will win a $500 prize and will chose where to direct the funds from several pre-determined projects identified by the school. The winning student will also win a $50 Panther Store gift card to purchase future Panther gear. The winners will be randomly drawn on Thursday, October 5. Good luck and go Panthers!
