Westwood Email Template

Westwood Weekly Update – Week 14 🐬

Dear Westwood Families,

We have another busy few weeks ahead at Westwood! As we move through November, we want to make sure families are aware of some important dates, upcoming activities, and opportunities to support our students and school community.

📚 Report Cards & Important Dates

• Wednesday, November 4: Minimum Day

• Wednesday, November 11: No School in Honor of Veterans Day

• Friday, November 13: Student Report Cards Go Home

• Wednesday, November 18: Minimum Day

🔒 Upcoming Lockdown Drill – Wednesday, November 4

On Wednesday, November 4, Westwood will be conducting a lockdown drill. While our lockdown drills are typically scheduled in advance, this particular drill will be intentionally unscheduled. This allows us to evaluate our safety procedures and ensure that our protocols are being followed effectively. Our district safety experts will also be on campus to assist and support this process.

If your child comes home and mentions the lockdown, please know that this was an intentional, unscheduled safety drill. These exercises are an important part of ensuring that we are prepared to keep our students and staff safe. Thank you for your understanding and partnership as we continue to prioritize campus safety.

🍧 Kona Ice Is Coming!

Kona Ice will be visiting Westwood on Friday, November 6, after school! Be sure to stop by and enjoy a refreshing treat!

❤️ Kids Heart Challenge – Making a Difference Together!

Please take a moment to read the information below about our upcoming Kids Heart Challenge! As we work to raise funds and awareness for heart health, we also want to highlight the importance of service to others.

Teaching our students to give back, support meaningful causes, and make a positive difference in the lives of others helps build empathy, compassion, and self-esteem. When children learn that even small acts of kindness can have a meaningful impact, they begin to see themselves as important contributors to their community. Thank you for helping us encourage our Westwood Dolphins to lead with heart!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership. We are grateful to have such a wonderful school community!

Go Dolphins! 🐬

Your Westwood Team

Warmly,

Mrs. Azevedo
Westwood Elementary School

Proud local sponsor of Kids Heart Challenge.

Dear families,

I am excited to help create a community of lifesavers and am asking you to join me today. Check this off your list in less than one minute and receive your Kids Heart Challenge character stamp pal just for joining the team!

1. Sign Up Today! Download the Heart Schools app or visit http://www2.heart.org/goto/WestwoodElementary to join our school team.
2. Complete Your Challenge! Follow all the steps in Finn's Mission and invite 10 family and friends to donate. Your family will also learn lifesaving skills, including how to call 911 in an emergency and how to B.E. F.A.S.T. when someone is having a stroke.

Sign up before Nov. 6th to be recognized by the American Heart Association during our assembly!

We are excited to share some wonderful news about student behavior at Westwood! When comparing our discipline data to this same time in November 2025, we have seen over a 50% reduction in both student citations and suspensions! This is tremendous progress, and we are incredibly proud of the positive choices and improvements our students are making.

We know that creating a positive school culture is a partnership between home and school, and we want to thank our families for the continued support, encouragement, and reinforcement of our school expectations. Your partnership makes a difference!

As we head into the holiday season, we encourage families to continue talking with their children about making good choices and following our three important Westwood expectations: Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Safe.

We also want students to know that positive choices are recognized and celebrated! Students have opportunities to earn Dolphin Tickets that they can use to shop at our Dolphin Store. In addition, we host our Dolphin Arcade once each trimester, providing students with another fun opportunity to celebrate positive behavior and their commitment to our school expectations. We typically have approximately 40 students participate!

We are proud of the progress our Dolphins are making and look forward to building on this success together. Thank you for being such an important part of the Westwood community. Let's keep swimming in the right direction! 🐬

🚗 A Reminder About Student Drop-Off Safety

As a reminder, we ask all families to please follow our established traffic and drop-off procedures. Our morning drop-off can be busy, and we appreciate everyone's patience and cooperation in helping keep our students, families, and staff safe.

Please remember the following expectations:

• Drive slowly: Please observe posted speed limits and avoid rushing through the drop-off area.

• Be courteous: Honking, cutting in front of other vehicles, or engaging in unsafe or impatient driving behaviors creates unnecessary stress and safety concerns for everyone.

• Pull forward: Please continue moving forward into the designated yellow drop-off zone so we can maximize space and keep traffic flowing.

• Remain in your vehicle: For everyone's safety and to keep the line moving, parents should remain in their vehicles during drop-off.

• Use designated drop-off areas: Please do not drop students off in the staff parking lot. This area is reserved for staff parking and is not a designated student drop-off location.

We understand that mornings can be hectic and that everyone is eager to get their children to school on time. However, taking shortcuts or moving ahead of families who are patiently following the procedures creates unsafe situations and sends the wrong message to our children. Our students are always watching us, and the way we navigate these situations provides an important opportunity to model patience, courtesy, and respect for others.

We ask that all families do their part to follow these expectations, be considerate of one another, and help us make arrival a safe and positive experience for everyone.

Thank you for helping us keep our Westwood Dolphins safe! 🐬

📣 An Important Message for Westwood Families

As a Title I school, Westwood is required to share our Parent and Family Engagement Policy with families. This policy outlines how we will work together to support student success and create meaningful opportunities for families to be involved in our school community.

📖 Please take a moment to review the policy included in this week's S'more.

Your voice and participation matter! We value your partnership and welcome your ideas about how we can continue to strengthen family engagement at Westwood.

Together, we can help every Westwood student learn, grow, and succeed! 💙

Please work with us to Board Policy states that a student is allowed 14 illness days for the school year. After this time a medical note is required or the absence is NOT excused.

Examples of unexcused absences include missing school due to:

• Going out of town or on vacation
• Attending weddings
• Oversleeping
• A parent/guardian/sibling having an appointment
• Not having a babysitter
• Attending a graduation

Guardians have 10 days to clear an absence before it is considered unexcused regardless of reason. After 10 days, the absence cannot be changed.

If a child is on an intra-district transfer from another school, regular attendance is mandatory and required to approve the intra-district agreement.

If your child is riding an E-Bike or scooter to school, please review the following information provided to Lodi USD by law enforcement to ensure that your child is following regulations and is riding with safety.

• E-Bikes - There are three classifications of e-bikes. All e-bikes must have an electric motor of less than 750 watts.
• Class 1 and 2: These e-bikes are similar to regular bicycles. They can be identified as pedal assisted with an electric motor that reaches a maximum speed of 20mph. Class 1 and 2 riders must wear a helmet while riding and adhere to the same regulations as regular bicycles.
• Class 3: These e-bikes are pedal assisted with an electric motor that ceases to provide power at 28mph. These e-bikes have age restrictions, riders must be 16 years or older, and must be wearing a helmet at all times when riding.

• Motorized Scooters - Motorized scooters are two-wheeled devices with a floorboard or seat, and are powered by an electric motor.
• Riders of motorized scooters must be 16 years of age or older, and must have a valid driver's license or learner's permit to legally ride. Riders must also wear a helmet.

Please help us keep students safe by ensuring these regulations are followed. Thank you!

English

The School Accountability Report Card (SARC) provides parents and the community with important information about each public school.

Lodi Unified School District’s SARCs are available on the District’s webpage at https://www.lodiusd.net/about/sarcs. If you have questions regarding Lodi Unified’s SARCs or would like to receive a printed copy of a particular school, please contact Accounting at (209) 331-7141. For further information on School Accountability Report Cards, please visit the California Department of Education's web site at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/.

Spanish

Resumen del Reporte de Rendición de Cuentas Escolar (SARC) provee a los padres y a la comunidad con información importante sobre cada escuela pública.

Los informes SARC del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Lodi están disponibles en https://www.lodiusd.net/about/sarcs página web del Distrito. Si usted tiene preguntas con respecto a los SARC de Lodi Unified o le gustaría recibir una copia impresa de una escuela en particular, por favor póngase en contacto con el departamento de Contabilidad al numero 209-331-7141. Para más información sobre School Accountability Report Cards (SARC), por favor visite el sitio Web del Departamento de Educación de California en https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/.