December Newsletter

Hello West Families-

It's hard to believe that we are almost done with the first semester of the this school year. From all of us here at West, thank you for the opportunity to teach your children and hopefully make a positive difference in their lives. We hope to finish the semester strong and then all enjoy a few weeks of rest and relaxation over winter break.

Here is the link to the 2nd Annual Wreaths for West from the FCCLA. This is a great opportunity to support West and bid on some beautiful decorations.

Wreaths for West

Please remember that we are a uniform school and we expect students to be in uniform when they arrive at school. The West uniform is a polo and khaki or black pants/shorts or skirts. No rips or tears are allowed with the uniforms. If your child chooses to wear a sweatshirt, it must be the West black hoodie or the 1/4 zip West hoodie. Sweatshirts from sports team, clubs, etc. are only allowed on free dress/spirit days or when approved by the administration. If you need assistance with the uniform, please contact your child's counselor.

There are days when students have free dress days. Here is what is expected on those days:

Free Dress Days: Students may wear what they want as long as they follow the Boise School District Dress Code Policy. (3223) This policy can be found in the student agenda or on the Boise School District Website. It reads in part….”Clothing, accessories, cosmetics, tattoos and jewelry that are immodest, disruptive, gang-related to displaying illegal or banned substances are not appropriate. (To clarify, clothing such as spaghetti strap tops and leggings (without along shirt) are not allowed. Also, shirts and shorts that are not at least fingertip length are not allowed.” Students are never allowed to have rips or tears on uniform days and if it is a non-uniform day, leggings must be worn underneath. No skin is allowed to show.

We also have Spirit Days and on those days students do not need to be in uniform if they are wearing or West or Borah T-shirt/sweats/shorts, but still do need to follow the Boise School District Dress Code Policy. (See above)

Thank you for your help with this policy.

Tryouts for West Boys basketball will begin on January 10th at 2:45. All students wanting to try out must have all of their forms turned in to Mr. Miller before they can try out. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Miller at mark.miller@boiseschools.org.

Please remember that if your child is sick, please keep your child home. The health of our students and staff is important. Follow the Illness Decision Tree (linked below) to determine when it is safe for your child to return to school. If you every have any questions, please contact Nurse Ann. She can be reached at (208) 854-6450 or ann.allard@boiseschools.org. You can also call the attendance line at (208) 854-6454.

Good news! Beginning December 1, we will have an additional testing resource for Boise School District students and staff to access Rapid antigen and PCR tests.

Keele Medical will be located in the Grace Jordan Community Center and will offer testing, free of charge, to any Boise School District student or employee, Monday-Friday, 9 am - 3 pm and 4 pm - 6 pm. No appointment is required. Walk-ins are welcome. Participants must register on the below site prior to being tested the first time.

Here is the link for participants to register.

gracejordan.mycommunitytesting.org.

Why Choose a PCR or Rapid Antigen Test?

PCR tests are needed for those individuals who have been exposed and wish to get out of quarantine early. Rapid antigen tests or PCR tests can be used if students and staff have been ill and wish to return to school.

Additional Resources

Boise State University will continue to provide Rapid antigen and PCR testing for Boise School District students and staff with no proof of insurance needed. Parents and other non-school age children would need to provide proof of insurance.

Any family who has Covid symptoms can call 2-1-1 to get a free home test mailed to them. Here is the info!

https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/news/free-home-covid-19-tests-are-available-idaho-dialing-2-1-1#main-content

The following documents can help you decide if it is safe to send your student to school based on symptoms, or possible exposure to COVID-19. Please see the district website for more information. https://www.boiseschools.org/parents___patrons/health_services/coronavirus__covid-19__information___resources_

What Should You Do If Your Student Reaches Out to You During the School Day?

We have an increasing number of students who are reaching out to their parents/guardians during school hours regarding an issue or concern that they face during the school day. These issues could involve conflict with teachers or peers, bullying, mental or physical health, or even disciplinary actions resulting from student behavior.

While your first reaction might be to solve the problem on behalf of your student, doing so actually diminishes multiple skills that we want all our students to learn: the ability to seek out proximate assistance, their ability to problem solve, as well as their ability to take ownership of their actions.

If your student reaches out to you during the day, please direct them to seek help in the school as we are all happy to help all students with any situation. This help could come from a teacher, the nurse, one of the counselors or even one of the administrators.

The Mustang Corral is available to anybody in the community. It is a "Grab and Go" pantry that is open 24 hours. It is located right our front by the gym doors.

If you would like to donate items to the pantry, you may drop the items off in the main office or contact Mrs. Warnock at jonelle.warnock@boiseschools.org

"I cannot hate those that believe this. If I were to hate them, it makes me no better than them. Hate makes a person ugly deep down. It’s like a festering wound. Never healing, constantly getting worse... I wonder if this will ever be changed. People get so caught up in who they hate and who they are better than, that they forget who they are. Under all of the hate and the discrimination, do we really understand the damage and hate we are instilling in our children? Our future generation, future politicians, future doctors and lawyers, future teachers... This is not just morally unjust, but it also goes against everything we try to teach our children about kindness and acceptance."

Sahara Teater-9th grade student at West Junior High (expert from longer paper)

Education is important and every missed day of school represents lost learning opportunities. However, the Boise School District’s primary concern is for the safety of all students, including students riding busses and walking or biking to school. If students cannot safely travel to school or if schools are not able to operate safely because of citywide dangerous weather conditions, school may be cancelled.

We will not cancel school on days with normal wintery conditions. Light snowfall, cold mornings or areas of ice are not sufficiently dangerous to force the closure of schools. With proper precautions including appropriate clothing, road deicing, and careful driving, students can travel to and from school safely. The Boise School District covers over 450 square miles of Ada County. We recognize that conditions vary throughout the District, even from street to street, in some cases. Conditions may be extremely dangerous in one area, while perfectly safe everywhere else. If parents believe it is too dangerous for their children to travel to school they have the option to keep their children home. If school is cancelled, it will be cancelled for the entire District, including Boise Online School. The most frequent dangerous weather conditions facing Boise schools are: SNOW: Snow levels within the City of Boise are typically light or moderate. However, there is always the potential for a heavy snowfall to make traveling by vehicle or on foot dangerous. Historically, most snowfall only results in slow traffic and minor accidents throughout the City. Normal snowfalls would not result in school closures. COLD: Frigid temperatures are more serious than snow when making school closure decisions. On bitterly cold days our concern is for students walking to school. Extremely cold weather also impairs our ability to get busses running, which causes delays in pickup routes, delays which are much more dangerous to riders because of the low temperatures. ICE: Ice is our most dangerous winter weather condition. Freezing rain and/or refreezing of melted snow make our roads, streets and sidewalks extremely treacherous for pedestrians, and vehicles. Icy conditions may force us to close, even if it appears that no other dangerous conditions exist. How is the decision made to close or not to close school? Representatives from transportation agencies, the weather bureau, the highway district, city and county law enforcement agencies, and school administrators, including the Superintendent, check the roads and monitor information throughout the night and early morning hours. We confer by telephone early in the morning to reach a decision. If school will be closed, we will communicate in a number of ways to spread the word. In addition to notifying local radio and television news stations, we will send text & email messages to parents/guardians, send an emergency alert via the District’s mobile app, post closure information at www.boiseschools.org, on each school’s website, and on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts. Parents/guardians can sign-up to receive emergency text messages by texting “Y” or “YES” to the number 67587. Non-parents (e.g., other family members, staff, news media, etc.) can also receive emergency text alerts via the Boise School District's mobile app (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store). For more information, please visit our Inclement Weather Procedures on our Emergency webpage.

Annual Notification Regarding Public Release of Student Directory Information

The Boise School District complies with federal law (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) as it relates to the release of student directory information to the public. To learn more, log on to www.boiseschools.org and navigate to Parents & Patrons > Parent Information > FERPA Form. Or, please call the Clerk of the Board at 208-854-4123 to obtain a copy of the FERPA form.

Janet Cherry - Principal

Bryce England - Assistant Principal

Email: janet.cherry@boiseschools.org
Website: https://west.boiseschools.org/
Location: 8371 W. Salt Creek Ct., Boise, ID 83709
Phone: 208-854-6450
Twitter: @WestMustangsBSD