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The Feather Report

Volume 2, Issue 38

Our spring musical, JOUST!, was a smashing success!

Leadership Ledger

Westlawn Families,

What an incredible week of celebration and accomplishment at Westlawn! I am thrilled to share that our multilingual learners have made school history. This year, 60 students in grades K–6 demonstrated English proficiency on the WIDA assessment—the highest number our school has ever recorded! This achievement represents years of hard work, perseverance, and growth. Reaching English proficiency means these students have developed language skills comparable to native English speakers and will no longer need to take the WIDA assessment. We are so proud of each student and deeply grateful to our dedicated teachers, staff, and families who have supported them every step of the way.

We are also celebrating the tremendous success of our spring musical, JOUST! Congratulations to every student who took the stage and helped bring this wonderful production to life. Under the leadership of Mrs. Cutler and Mrs. Layton, our students delivered a delightful performance that showcased their talent, teamwork, and creativity. With a standing-room-only audience for the evening show, it was inspiring to see our community come together to support the arts and cheer on our performers. View the JOUST! program.

As we look ahead to summer, I want to remind families that our Westlawn clothing store remains open year-round. If your child has outgrown their Westlawn gear, please consider donating those items so they can be shared with another Westlawn family. Our family liaison, Hilda Reyes, is happy to collect and redistribute donations. Thank you for continuing to support one another and for helping make Westlawn such a caring, connected community. Have a wonderful week!

In partnership,

Christoph Hill, Stephanie Carpenter, and Erin Theiss

Proud Principals

News

School Medication Reminder

If your child has medication at school, you will need to pick it up by the last day of school, June 17. Otherwise, it will be destroyed. Medication cannot be stored over the summer.

Reminder: Free Meals Again in 2026-2027

Great news! Westlawn will provide free breakfast and lunch for all students again in 2026-2027!

Even though families do not need to apply for free breakfast and lunch, we encourage all families who qualify to fill out the paperwork for free and reduced meals in order to take advantage of other benefits, such as free or discounted FCPS summer camps and other forms of care. Fill out the application for 2026-2027. You can change the language of the application by clicking on the Language link at the top right of the screen.

Our school maintains its Title I status in part because of families who fill out the free and reduced meals paperwork. The large number of qualifying families ensures that we can keep offering universal free meals and receive Title I funds to help make each child’s experience at Westlawn even more meaningful. If you need help to fill out the paperwork, please contact Ms. Cortez or Ms. Reyes. Their contact information is at the bottom of this newsletter.

Reminder: Field Days Are Coming!

Lower grades field day (K-3) is on June 10, and upper grades field day (4-6) is on June 12. On field day, please send your child to school:

• In sneakers that are safe for physical activity
• In clothing that can get wet or sweaty
• With a water bottle
• Wearing a hat and/or carrying sunscreen

Please note that staff cannot apply sunscreen to children. Students must be able to apply their own sunscreen, or families must apply it before school.

FCPS News

In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:

• Calendar Survey
• Summer Resources
• Deadline to Request Accommodations for SAT School Day

Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.

Dates and Events

June 8: The Kindergarten Ceremonies for Ms. Juarez and Ms. Perkins will take place from 12:30-1:30 PM. Ceremonies will be help in the teacher’s classroom.

June 9: The Kindergarten Ceremonies for Mrs. Gaither, Mrs. Phuong, and Ms. Rubinger will take place from 12:30-1:30 PM. Ceremonies will be held in the teacher’s classroom.

June 9: The Spring Band and Strings Concert will take place at 6:30 PM in the Westlawn gymnasium.

June 10: Fun Clothing Wednesday: sunglasses and sun hats

June 10: Lower Grades (K-3) Field Day

June 11: Sports Night will take place outside at Westlawn from 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM.

June 12: Upper Grades (4-6) Field Day

June 16: The 6th Grade Promotion Ceremony will take place in the Westlawn gymnasium from 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM.

June 17: The last day of school! Wear Westlawn clothing or Westlawn colors (red and blue). School will be dismissed at 1:30 PM.

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. Click on the little calendar icon in the top right corner of the calendar page of our website to add all current and future events to your cell phone calendar.

Engage with Westlawn

Join the Last Community Conversation for the Year

Join us on Wednesday, June 10 at 11 AM on Zoom to hear the important news from the school from Principal Hill! If you miss a Community Conversation, you can catch up with slides and recordings on our website. The June 10 Community Conversation will be the last one for the year! We will have the occasional Community Conversation over the summer, but the dates have not yet been decided. Stay tuned! We will send more information via email.

Volunteering in FCPS in 2025-2026 requires you to fill out an online application, and then select the school(s) where you want to be. Learn more and apply today!

Mind Matters

Exploring Passions Through Enrichment Clusters

Sometimes students—and teachers—want the opportunity to explore topics they love beyond the curriculum. This year, our second graders piloted an Enrichment Cluster program that allowed them to do just that. Students selected a topic of interest and joined a cluster focused on dogs, gymnastics, international foods, writing and publishing, or building and crafting. The only requirements were curiosity and an open mind! In addition to learning about their chosen topics, students explored a variety of related career paths through their enrichment clusters. This experience supports one of our goals as an AVID school while also aligning with FCPS' commitment to expanding access to algebra and STEAM pathways for students who demonstrate interest and aptitude in these areas, including fields such as engineering. On Thursday afternoon, families and staff were invited to attend the students’ Share Fair and see the results of their hard work throughout the year. A key component of the Enrichment Cluster model is a community action project that allows students to use their learning to make a positive impact. This year, students built marble runs for the library, organized food donations for a local shelter, learned about therapy dogs, published a book for the library collection, and shared their gymnastics knowledge with others. Their projects demonstrated an important lesson: giving back to the community feels good!

Tech Talk

Summer Reading on the Road

Want a quick educational win this summer that works with children of all ages? Consider “reading on the road.” Here’s how it works: borrow a book-on-tape from the library, play a read-aloud from an app such as Libby using your car radio, or play a story podcast while your family is traveling by car.

Audiobooks are considered “reading” just like physical books, but the lack of pictures also gives children the opportunity to create their own “movie” in their head.

For younger children, you will know if they understand the story or not based on their reactions: do they laugh when something funny happens, or get mad when a likeable character is wronged? You can help your child make sense of the story by reacting to it yourself: gasping when something surprising occurs, or lamenting that something upsetting has happened to a character. By doing so, you will build your child’s ability to recognize others’ emotions and states of mind, helping them grow socially and emotionally.

For older children, who enjoy listening to more complex books, you can use the story as an opportunity to talk about peer pressure, friendship, and your family’s values by discussing what the book characters are doing throughout the story. When listening to nonfiction podcasts, such as those about historical figures or finances, you can also model being a learner by sharing the things you learned from the podcast with your child.

If you are wondering where to start with podcasts, we have many recommendations at the bottom of our student technology links page. If you have one to add, please send a message to Ms. Dushok!

Is there a technology topic you want us to tackle in a future issue? Email your questions to Ms. Dushok (school based technology specialist) and Mr. Dinkins (technology support specialist).

Soaring Staff Spotlight

This week it’s a double feature!

This week the Soaring Staff Spotlight is on Kate Flegal! Ms. Flegal is a specials teacher at Westlawn. Let’s learn more about Ms. Flegal! What was your favorite subject in school? English/language arts What is your favorite children’s book? The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton (middle grade)  What is your favorite memory from elementary school? My 5th grade teacher pushed me to work on creative writing.  If you weren’t in education, what other job would you want? Writer What is your favorite hobby? Reading and writing What is your favorite family-friendly video game? Mario Kart What is one thing that always makes your day better? Reading a fun book and/or playing with my cats.

This week the Soaring Staff Spotlight is also on Mikayla Bushner-White! Miss White is a long-term substitute teacher at Westlawn, most recently in fourth grade. Let’s learn more about Miss White! What is your favorite thing about working at Westlawn? All the relationships I've built with students in every grade level.  What is your favorite children’s book? The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt  What is one talent or skill you have that most people don’t know about? I'm really good at reading the room.  If you weren’t in education, what other job would you want? To own a play cafe. What is your favorite memory from elementary school? SACC; I enjoyed going to the GYM (P.E) and we would play a game similar to the PE game now called ketchup! I also enjoyed SACC because I built relationships with the SACC teachers that I still have today.  What is your favorite snack? Birthday Cake Drizzalicious  If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go? Thailand  What is one thing that always makes your day better? Talking with my best friends, listening to music, or playing volleyball.

Connect with Westlawn

• Contact the main office: 703-241-5100
• Submit an absence: 703-241-5151 | email the absence box | using ParentVUE
• Contact Ms. Caballero (student information assistant): email Ms. Caballero | 703-241-5100 | TalkingPoints: Silvia Caballero
• Contact Ms. Reyes (family liaison): email Ms. Reyes | 703-241-5125 | TalkingPoints: Hilda Reyes
• Contact Ms. Cortez (social worker): email Ms. Cortez | 703-241-5190 | TalkingPoints: Pamela Cortez

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