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 Volume 1, Issue 17
Leadership Ledger
Westlawn Families:
The spirit of the holidays filled our halls with music on Tuesday night! We thank all our families in attendance for your participation in the Winter Concert! It was truly inspiring to witness the joy and dedication our students poured into their performances. Their hard work in learning an instrument was evident on stage, and it was a testament to the incredible music program we have here at Westlawn.
Speaking of celebrations, the Book Fair is in full swing, and it's wonderful to see our students' excitement as they select new books! A huge thank you goes out to our dedicated parent volunteers and the PTA for their tireless efforts in making the Family and Friends event on Tuesday such a success!
We encourage all our families to join Principal Hill for our weekly Community Conversation. Every Wednesday at 11:00 AM, we discuss important topics and answer your questions in an open forum. For those who miss it live, slide decks and recordings are conveniently available on the Westlawn Elementary website. Principal Hill is always joined by Tech Coach Alanna Dushok, and Family Liaison Hilda Reyes provides Spanish interpretation.
Stay warm, and thank you for being part of our Westlawn Family.
Sincerely,
Christoph Hill, Stephanie Carpenter, and Erin Theiss
Proud Principals
 The winter band and strings concert was a hit! We are so proud of our students who participate in our music programs!
Computer Science Education Week and Westlawn Winter Challenge
December 9-13 is Computer Science Education Week, and also kicks off the Westlawn Winter Challenge. Any student who completes an Hour of Code between now and January 6 can complete the challenge! Learn more on the Challenge slide deck. Students can complete the challenge from any computer, not just their FCPS-assigned one.
Tax Season Resources and Winter Break Resources Now on Website
We have created some pop-up announcements to store information related to tax season resources and winter break resources on our website. Our school office will only be open for limited hours during winter break, and we will not be sending a Feather Report during this time, so please take note of them today!
FCPS News
Are you curious about what’s happening more broadly in FCPS? This week’s In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) FCPS roundup covers:
- Family Academy Orientation
- Literacy Resources
- Winter Programs and Activities
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
December 9-13: Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair will be held December 9-13 in the Westlawn library! We still need book fair volunteers for Friday!
December 13: Protecting Kids Against Digital Exploitation (Webinar)
Join us for this important webinar from 10-11:30 AM presented jointly by Fairfax County Schools, the Fairfax County Police Department, the Department of Justice, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Webinar highlights include:
- What is Sextortion?
- What are FCPS and FCPD seeing in relation to sextortion?
- How can families help prevent their kids from becoming victims?
- How should families respond if their child was victimized?
December 14: Virginia Bronze Handbell Ensemble
This event is now sold out! We hope you snagged some tickets and have a wonderful time at the performance!
December 18: Hoodie Wednesdays
We finished teaching kindergarteners their colors, and now we will switch over to other fun clothing days on Wednesdays. Until winter break, all Wednesdays will be Hoodie Wednesdays! Students and staff are encouraged to wear hoodies to school to be comfortable and to remember to keep it easy during this busy time of year.
December 20: Gingerbread House Decorating
Gingerbread House Decorating is open for students in grades K-2 and will take place from 3:45-4:30 PM. Students must have a ticket, and we expect that they will sell out. Adults are welcome to help their child build their gingerbread house and do not need a ticket. Purchase tickets today! Volunteer at the event!
To see more schoolwide and community events, remember to check out our website calendar! You can also subscribe to our calendar to make it even more convenient.
Volunteer at the Book Fair Tomorrow (It’s the Last Day!)
Volunteer to help sell books, update displays, and help students complete wish lists.
Volunteer to Decorate Gingerbread Houses
Volunteer to help students in K-2 build and decorate gingerbread houses.
Join a Community Conversation
Join us on Wednesday at 11 AM on Zoom to hear the important news from the school from Principal Hill! Community Conversations happen weekly barring school holidays or weather closures. If you miss a Community Conversation, you can catch up with slides and recordings on our website.
Apps for the Brain
Screen time is hard to avoid completely these days… but why not choose apps that are fun AND educational? Here’s a sampling of some free or almost free apps you may want to consider that are reviewed by trusted sources. However, as always, we suggest monitoring your children as they try them out. Enjoy!
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SimplePhysics lets you design complex structures for everything from tree houses to Ferris wheels and then simulates your design with a sophisticated physics engine.
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Unblock Me is a puzzle app similar to RushHour. The goal is to move the red block off the board by sliding the other blocks out of the way in the least amount of moves.
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Math BINGO has 5 different types: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and mixed, and there are 3 levels of difficulty, avatars, and rewards.
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codeSpark is a learn-to-code app for kids with hundreds of activities and games designed to introduce kids to STEAM and teach them the fundamentals of computer science.
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The Foolish King is a fictional and magical explanation of the origin of the game of chess as well as an introduction to the game.
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Khan Academy Kids from the hugely popular online educational site Khan Academy, the app for kids has thousands of educational games, books, and activities.
LAST CALL: Window for Full-Time AAP Referrals Closes on December 15, 2024
Parents/guardians of students in Grades 2-7 who would like their student to be considered for Full-Time advanced academic programs may submit the AAP Full-Time Referral Form to the office or via email to Gretchen Maxwell no later than December 15, 2024. Look for the December 5, 2012 Feather Report email for further details.
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an important part of helping children develop the skills they need to succeed in school and life. This year, we are using Second Step, a research-based SEL program designed to teach students essential skills like empathy, emotional regulation, and problem-solving. Each focus for the week will share recommendations for conversations and activities families can do at home to promote SEL outside of school.
Kindergarten
In this week’s lesson, your child will show that they can use body language and context clues to figure out how someone is feeling. They’ll also show they can use slow breathing as a way to help themselves feel calm when they encounter strong feelings. Try This at Home: Ask your child to tell you how they think others around them might be feeling, for example a sibling or a character in a story, a movie, or a TV show.
1st Grade
In this week’s lesson, your child will show that they can use body language and context clues to figure out how someone is feeling. They’ll also show that they know ways to help themselves feel calm when they encounter strong feelings. Try This at Home: Ask your child to tell you some ways they’ve learned to feel calm when they get upset. Have them teach you how to use slow counting to feel calm.
2nd Grade
In this week’s lesson, your child will explain why their classmates have a different feeling from theirs in the same situation. Try This at Home: Ask your child to tell you what they learned about their classmates’ feelings and their own feelings.
3rd Grade
In this week’s lesson, your child will practice identifying different intensities of the same feeling by giving personal examples. Try This at Home: Ask your child if they can give examples of times they felt strong emotions like furious or excited.
4th Grade
In this week’s lesson, your child will work with a team to see how many different ways they can rethink a variety of situations. Try This at Home: With your child, create a “Rethink It!” chart to display at home. Make a list of questions that everyone can use to rethink when emotions are taking over and you just need a little help to see things in a different way.
5th Grade
In this week’s lesson, your child will practice identifying two changes they could make in a recurring personal situation to manage their strong emotions. Try This at Home: Ask your child to tell you about a situation at home that causes them to feel strong emotions, like anger or stress. Ask them what they could change about the situation to better manage their emotions. Talk about what you can do to help them implement the change.
If you have questions about these prompts or ideas, or social-emotional learning in general, please email Westlawn’s SEL Coach, Ms. Andrews. We can work together to create a positive and safe school environment!
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