West Hills S.T.E.M. Academy · classroom to deliver lessons about bullying. On Wednesday October 12, West Hills STEM Academy will partici-pate in a nationwide anti-bullying event

October

2011-12

West Hills S.T.E.M. Academy Home of the Griffins

OCTOBER SPECIAL DATES

Tuesday October 4th SCHOOL PICTURE DAY

Thursday October 6th VISION AND HEARING SCREENING

Monday October 10th NO SCHOOL (Supplemental Day)

Wednesday October 12th NATIONAL UNITY DAY & FAMILY NIGHT

All School Day Nationwide anti-bullying event UNITY DAY

5:00 - 5:30 Pizza with DADS & Watch Dog Recruitment (Share some Pizza with

your Pop and learn about the Watch Dog Program!)

5:30 - 6:30 Family Night Program - Taste of Washington

There are incredible Farm-to-School program, projects and initatives happening all throughout

the state. School cafeterias are featuring salad bars and special local lunches, farmers are

hosting students at their farms and are guest speakers in classrooms, parents and teachers are

working with students to build school gardens, students are creating delicious seasonal recipes

and food grown in schools gardens are appearing in school meals.

October 25th - 28th FALL FUNDRAISER

October 27th PTA meeting 4:00pm

October 28th PTA’s Trick or Treat Street, 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Halloween, Costumes

and West Hills.

There are no costumes or props of any

kind allowed at West Hills during the

month of October. Please do not allow

your student to come to school in a

costume, they will be asked to change.

Halloween props will be taken and re-

turned only to parents.

PTA’s Trick or Treat Street

On Friday, October 28th, West Hills hosts Trick or Treat Street. We set

up door “hosts” that give out candy to our spooky visitors. Providing

a safe and dry location for trick or treating. We are currently taking

donations of bagged Halloween candy for our Trick or Treat Street on

October 28. Please bring your donations to your students teacher or

to the office. Every donation is appreciated!

And if you or your family is interested in hosting a door, email our

PTA president at [email protected]

October is National Bullying Prevention Month!

During the month of October the School Counselor will visit each classroom to deliver lessons about bullying.

On Wednesday October 12, West Hills STEM Academy will partici-pate in a nationwide anti-bullying event UNITY DAY. The purpose of

Unity Day is to unite against bullying, to show those who are being bullied that they are not alone and that we care about them.

To show our support the West Hills STEM Academy community will:

Wear the color orange and/or an orange ribbon.

Sign a Unity banner – The End of Bullying Begins with Me

Staff and students will receive a special BULLY FREE bracelet.

Information on bullying will be available at the FAMILY NIGHT also on the 12th. Stop by

and meet the school counselor. If you are wearing the color orange I will have a treat for you!

Want to know more about bullying? Check out these websites:

http://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/bullies.html#

http://www.girlshealth.gov/bullying/index.cfm

Think your child is a bully?

http://www.education.com/reference/article/my-child-is-a-bully/

Interactive sites for elementary and secondary students

http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/

http://www.pacerteensagainstbullying.org/#/home

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Our front parking lot is congested during arrival and dismissal times. Here are some

things that we can all do, that would help reduce the traffic in front of the school.

Only busses are allowed in the Bus Lane at the front of the school, this lane is

NOT to be used for parking at any time.

Consider an alternative to picking up your child by car, like walking.

The old fire station parking lot at the East end of the school can be used to park

and wait for students.

There is a gravel parking lot on Preble by the baseball fields. Preble street has

wide parking places next to the school property. Please look at the map to see sug-

gested meeting areas.

A couple more reminders:

If you enter the building between 9:05-3:30 p.m., please use the front entrance

and check in with the front office to obtain a visitor’s badge.

Please do not pick up your students between 3:00 and dismissal without calling

WEST HILLS S.T.E.M. ACADEMY

Park

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Parking next to

Pick Up outside

lower floor exit

Kindergarten

Pick Up at

Pick Up at

Play Shed

West hills

S.T.E.M. Academy

Misbehaving or Sleep Deprived?

Signs of sleep deprivation in children

difficulty managing emotions

inability to manage pain

difficulty controlling the body and impulses

inability to stay focused and perform well

diminished mathematical, verbal, and memory skills

difficulty getting along with others, increased accidents and injuries

How much sleep do children need?

Kindergarteners 11-13 hours, 1st – 5th graders 10-11 hours

What can parents/caregivers do?

Make sleep a family priority.

Establish regular consistent bedtime routines.

Take televisions and computers out of the bedroom.

Eliminate caffeine from your child’s diet.

Don’t feed your child just before bedtime. Food requires time to digest.

Cut back on after school activities.

Talk to your family doctor

Need more information?

Read Sleepless in America by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka.

Check out these websites. In addition to helpful information, theses websites have activities for children.

http://www.sleepforkids.org/index.html

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/starslp/index.htm

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/

Don’t have computer access? Call me at 473-4663 and I will get some printed information to you.

Just What DO Elementary School Counselors DO?

Elementary School Counselors work as a team with the school staff, parents, and community to create a caring climate and atmosphere. We pro-vide education, prevention, early identification and intervention to help all children achieve academic success.

What does that look like at West Hills STEM Acade-my?

Students receive instruction in personal safety, con-flict management, bullying, decision-making and problem solving.

School Counselors provide responsive services for children who are experiencing stressors in their life such as divorce or death in the family.

We work with individual students, their families, and school staff to set academic and behavior goals or plans.

Please call or email me if I can be of assistance to you! I can be reached at:

[email protected] or call me at 473-4663

Ms. Langford’s

Ms. Debbie Langford, 360-473-4663

Notes from

the Office

Just some quick notes from the office to help the school year go

smoother.

Make sure your contact phone numbers, both parent and

emergency, are up to date. We need to be able to contact you in

the event of an emergency.

Please do not drop your student off earlier than 8:40.

The breakfast room opens at that time, until then there is NO

supervision for your student.

Regular dismissal is 3:35 PM (1:30 on Wednesday’s), if at all

possible do not pick up your child the last 30 minutes of the

school day. If timing for an appointment dictates your need to

pick up your student during those times, please realize that it

may take longer to have your student report to the office.

If your child is tardy (arriving after 9:10 am), please bring them

to the office in order to correctly reflect their attendance for

that school day.

All visitors need to check in at the office, sign in, and wear

a “visitor” badge when in the building. This includes if you

are on the playground in the mornings (after 8:40) with your

students.

OPTIONAL / ENCOURAGED DRESS CODE

means that we are expecting students and staff to wear our school

colors on a regular basis. Every Wednesday is going to be our

School Colors Day, so if you can, please send your student to

school wearing Navy blue with Turquoise accents for tops &

Khaki bottoms.

To give you some ideas on options, enter the words “School Uni-

forms” in the search box of

www.target.com

www.walmart.com

www.sears.com

www.jcpenney.com

Or try your favorite online or storefront retailer!

Unique Experience (http://www.companycasuals.com/Science//

start.jsp), has our logo and will embroider it on any item of cloth-

ing for $15 an item. They also sell numerous products that can

have our logo embroidered on them. You can check their website

or visit their retail location at 329 N Callow Ave in West Bremerton

If you are interested in ordering a STEM t-

shirt, please email the office,

[email protected], for further

information.