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Good Afternoon Westgate Families,
I hope this finds you having a wonderful week. The wait is finally over! Tomorrow, April 28, the Westgate staff will play the Freedom Hill staff in a fun game of volleyball at Marshall High School. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. and the game starts at 7:00 p.m. We hope to see many of our students and families there cheering on our school!
We are quickly approaching many end of year activities so see below for upcoming events and how you can still get involved this school year!
As always, thank you for your continued support of all things Westgate and wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead!
All my best,
Hallie Demetriades
Principal
Staff Volleyball Game vs. Freedom Hill ES - Friday, April 28
Come cheer on Westgate staff in a volleyball showdown with Freedom Hill Elementary staff. The event will be hosted in the Marshall High School gym on Friday, April 28th at 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Tickets and pizza can be purchased either in person or pre-ordered. Please consider pre-ordering your pizza to ensure your family is accounted for. There will be a limited supply of extra pizzas (pre-order pizza by Thursday, 4/27 at noon).
Tickets: Tickets are $5 each. All adults and children over the age of 5 need a ticket to attend. Pizza is $13 each.
Use this link to pre-purchase tickets/pizza: https://westgatewolves.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true
Westgate Spring "Buy One Get One Free" Book Fair - April 24 - 28
The Spring Buy One Get One Free Book Fair is going on now! For each book that you buy, you get another for the same price FREE! Students will visit the book fair to make wish lists and may make purchases during the week.
❖ Spring Book Fair April 24 - 28
❖ Book Fair Website visit our site for information and to set up ewallet
accounts.
eWallet
Give students a secure, cash-free way to shop by setting up an eWallet
account. There is no charge to set up an eWallet. Parents simply create
an account on the website and authorize a spending limit on their credit
card. You can set up an eWallet for your student’s teacher as well!
Donate
Looking for a way to help all students buy books? Make a donation to the
Westgate All For Books eWallet. Funds are used to get books to more of
our students in all grade levels.
Teacher Appreciation Week
Help us make teacher appreciation week extra special! Have your student record a quick message to staff by Friday, May 5th to help us make teacher appreciation week (May 8-12) extra special. Use this link https://flip.com/fadccceb to record your message. Students should "sign in with google" and use their FCPS google account. *Please note that a signed Digital Consent form for the beginning of the year is required to use Flip.
Springfest - Save the Date- Friday, May 12th
Springfest Planning Committee
We are planning another outdoor movie and Springfest for May 12th on the baseball field behind Westgate. We are hoping to recruit a few people to help organize the event. Our theme will be PAJAMA PARTY and we are making the event simple, yet fun, so hopefully no job will be too much of a burden on anyone. Please consider signing up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0948aeaa2aa4fec16-springfest#/
PTA Board Members
To ensure the success of planned events we need parent and family volunteers. Please consider sharing your time and talents. If you are interested in hosting a committee, chairing an event or becoming a board member, please email president@westgatewolvespta.com. **Nominations for 2023-2024 PTA board positions are due by May 1st and will be voted on at the May 9th PTA meeting.
Audit Committee
Help us complete the responsibilities of the year! We need three PTA members to form an audit committee. No math background or experience required. The PTA provides a checklist to follow. The time commitment is 1-2 hours this summer (an agreed on date in July/August). Please email president@westgatewolvespta.com if interested.
AAP Updates from Ms. Sutton
Are you interested in hearing more about what is going on in our Advanced Academic Program (AAP) at Westgate? Sign up for Talking Points to receive updates about the advanced and rigorous learning experiences that are provided to students across all grade levels. We look forward to sharing more about what this looks like at Westgate and the many different opportunities that are students are given.
Click HERE to sign up.
SOL Spring Testing Dates
SOL Testing dates are below. Please plan to have students in school on these days whenever possible.
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Grade 3
Reading-May 18
Math- May 23
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Grade 4
Reading- May 17
Math-May 24
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Grade 5
Reading-May 25
Science-May 12
Math-May 19
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Grade 6
Reading- May 16
Math-May 26
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Dates are subject to change, as needed. Make-ups will happen through out the window, May 1-26. Retakes are scheduled for May 30-June 2.
Design Palooza - Register to Participate - May 4th
Design Palooza is our annual design and engineering fair. DesignPalooza supports STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/Architecture, and Math) learning as children of all ages are challenged to use their design and creativity skills. The fair will happen on Thursday, May 4th, 2023 in the cafeteria. Every student is invited to participate and present their project at the fair. If your student doesn’t want to create a project we still encourage them to attend, view classmates’ projects, and partake in fun design puzzles and challenges. Click here to register your child here.
Westgate Attendance Information
Report an Absence/Tardy:
Absences and Tardies should be reported to school by 9:30 A.M. Automated Attendance Notifications are sent out by the county if school is not notified by this time.
Report an Absence or Tardy in one of these manners:
-Student’s First and Last name
- Grade or Teacher’s name
- Reason for the absence/Tardy: Include symptoms if they are ill, especially if they have fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat and/or cough. If your child has a diagnosis from a Health care provider, please include that information.
NOTE:
Your child may return to school when they have been symptom free without the aid of medication for 24 hours.
Share Program
Can you name a local McLean organization that started over 50 years ago, is 100% run by volunteers, and serves about 1500 local families a year?
It's Share! Check out shareofmclean.org to learn about our food and clothing room, furniture program, technology program and much more.
Whether you can donate time, furniture, or money, we'd love to have you Share! If you find yourself in need of help at this time, our website has information on how to "Get Help."
FCPS CARES
The FCPS CARES Program is an opportunity for families, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story, so we can all acknowledge the good work of FCPS employees at Westgate. We love our staff members; let's tell them how we feel!
Zones of Regulation
This year we are excited to have implemented the program, Zones of Regulation at Westgate school wide. This program teaches students how to name their emotions and build strategies to help manage them. Emotions are categorized by blue, green, yellow, and red and each color represents a state of alertness. The green zone is the calmest and a place where we are ready to learn. You can find out more by clicking this here (English) or here (Spanish).
Free, On-Demand, Online Tutoring
Does your child need homework help or feedback on their writing? How about a practice quiz to get ready for a test? FCPS students who’ve used Tutor.com have provided positive feedback:
- “This tutor was very helpful! She didn't tell me the answers. When needed, she helped me solve them! She was very kind and she really helped me!” –Elementary Math Student
- “This was an awesome tutor! She explained why I needed to do specific steps, and she gave me practice problems! Best tutor I have had!” –IB Chemistry Student
Unless they’ve been opted out, students can access Tutor.com through Schoology. Every session is personalized to meet students’ needs from remedial to advanced levels. Sessions focus on conceptual learning and critical thinking—not quick answers.
Learn more on FCPS’ Tutor.com webpage.
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Want to Work for FCPS? Subs, Monitors, and Others Needed!
FCPS is always looking for kind and caring substitute teachers and substitute instructional assistants to ensure our students continue to thrive when teachers and instructional assistants need to be out of the classroom. Substitute teaching is a great opportunity for future teachers, stay-at-home parents, retirees, college students, part-time employees, and anyone who wants to make a difference.
FCPS has started offering bonuses for substitutes who are available to teach on high volume days. Additionally, substitutes who work more, will earn extra bonuses when they reach 50, 100, or 150 days worked in a school year.
Substitute Teacher and Substitute Instructional Assistant information sessions are held virtually on Wednesdays from 1 to 2 p.m. Candidates will receive an email link to the virtual information session the Monday before the session. Sign up for an information session.
Join the PTA Today!
Our PTA is amazing and we would love for you to join and be a part of this great community of Westgate families. Signing up is easy and help us reach our goal and sign up today! You can sign up here.
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