Westside Elementary

Red Ribbon Week is Sept 28th-October 2nd

October

• 2nd: Spirit Day (Wear Westside or Panther apparel)
  
• 5th: Fun Run Fundraiser begins
• 6th: Picture Retakes
• 8th: End of First Quarter
• 9th: NO SCHOOL
• 12th: Report Cards go home
• 12th: P/T Conferences and Book Fair (4:00-7:00 pm)
• 13th: P/T Conferences and Book Fair (4:00-7:00 pm)
• 15th: Westside Fun Run (9:30 am)
• 15th: 11:30 Dismissal
• 15th: P/T Conferences and Book Fair (1:00-4:00 pm)
• 16th: NO SCHOOL
• 19th: NO SCHOOL
• 19th: Fun Run Fundraiser Final Donation Turn In
• 30th: Fall Room Parties

Westside Families,

October is full of special dates. We have Conferences, the Book Fair, the Fun Run Fundraiser, days off, early dismissals, and of course...Halloween. It will go fast.

One of the best parts about living in the midwest are the seasons. Fall is especially appealing. The days are a bit shorter. The leaves are turning. The evening temps have a bit of a chill. There is nothing like attending a Friday night High School Football game. I hope you enjoy the change.

We look forward to seeing (or hearing) you at conferences. We do understand that emergencies come up. However, please make every attempt to meet at the time you will be scheduled. Our days will be scheduled with very little wiggle room.

Let's have a wonderful month.

Mr. Lichty

Principal

Westside Families,

As I mentioned in my September newsletter, we are trying to lower the number of students who are chronically absent. Chronically absent means they miss 10% of the school year. That equates to 2 days per month or 17 days. If your child is in school, we can teach them. If they are absent, we can't.

Obviously, illnesses are going to happen. However, we want to avoid unnecessary absences.

To help with that, we have added an attendance challenge to our school. Any day we have 96% of all students here, we will add a letter to a certain word or phrase. When students have completed that particular word or phrase, they get that reward.

Starting on September 28th, we are trying to complete the words "Crazy Hat Day". If students can finish the words, we will have a crazy hat day for all classes. We want to emphasize to students that it is important to be here, on time, every day. Any student missing a half or whole day will count against the attendance goal. We look forward to seeing how long it takes to complete our first challenge of the year.

Mr. Lichty

Principal

The Westside Fun Run is a Fundraiser for our school. Information will be coming home on Friday October 2nd. The Fundraiser will "run" between October 5th-19th. The Fun Run will take place on October 15th at 9:30am in the field south of the Elementary.

Everyone is welcome to attend and cheer all students on.

Pizza Hut Night is coming up on November 3rd from 5:00pm-8:00pm. Dine in or Carry Out.

Please save the date and skip cooking that night. You can go to either Pizza Hut location in town.

The only requirement is to mention you are calling to support Westside Elementary!

Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place on...

Oct 12th (from 4-7 pm)

Oct 13th (from 4-7 pm)

Oct 15th (from 1-4 pm)

A note with your conference time will go home by October 2nd.

On October 15th, we have an 11:30 dismissal.

We will be having the Scholastic Book Fair at Fall Conferences. This will be held in the Westside Library. The Fair will be open during conference hours. (See schedule above.)

If you would like to sign up to help work the Fair, please see the sign up HERE. The only times left for helpers are on Thursday October 15th from 1:00-4:00pm

Each month we have an assembly to honor our Bucket Fillers of the Month. One student from each classroom is selected for the award. The students who are selected do a great job of following the Behavior Expectations in the area we are focusing on that month.

For the month of September we focused on Behavior Expectations in the Classroom.

The Classroom Behavior Expectations are below and will be at the bottom of every newsletter.

At Westside, we want to reinforce good behavior daily. To do that, students can earn bucket filler slips.

They put their slips in a basket and then each morning, Mr. Lichty will draw 5 names (one from each grade) and read off their achievement on the daily announcements. We also take all slips that have been drawn and add them to a bucket. At our assemblies, we play a "Minute To Win It" game. The participants are drawn from our bucket and invited to play. We draw four names per assembly.

The Pink Panthers shared their talents at our assembly.

Our Panther Pride group doing their first performance of the year.

I have included photos of students receiving their Birthday Books for the month. I will make every effort to get photos of all students on their birthday. However, sometimes I am in a meeting or out of the building when the student comes down. I apologize if I miss getting a photo of your child.

We had a wonderful time at Grandparents' day. The students were excited to show their guests around the building.

Picture day was in early September. If that didn't go so well or if your child was absent that day, never fear. We have Picture retakes on October 6th. Hopefully round two will go much better!

Please be sure to dress nice for the occasion!

The Westside PTO is always looking for more members.

We have a great group of parents leading the PTO this school year. Now we need your help with planning and running events. This includes assisting with small events like room parties or large events like the fundraiser or Grandparent's day.

If you would like information about upcoming PTO meetings or to help out with various school events, attend this month's PTO meeting on November 17th at 6:30 pm in the Westside Library. You could also contact PTO President, Lacy Kimes, at WestsideFast.gmail.com. Thank you for your consideration!

Go Westside!

In addition to our X (Twitter) page, we have an official Facebook page. We will be posting pictures and announcements throughout the year. There is also the Westside PTO page that is run by our PTO. They will post about upcoming PTO events and information.

Westside Facebook Page

Westside X (Twitter) Page

Westside PTO Facebook Page

Here is a link to the lunch menus for NPS.

https://www.norfolkpublicschools.org/calendars/

7:50 am - All students go to the blacktop in the back of the school. Breakfast served in gym.

8:05 am - Tardy bell rings

3:15 pm - Dismissal bell rings (M, T, Th, F)

2:00 pm - Dismissal bell rings (W)

If you have had a change of address, phone number, or place of employment, please send a note or contact the office at 402-644-2561 so we can keep our emergency information updated. This is for the safety of our students.

Thank you!

The safety of our children is of utmost importance. We have many students with a wide range of severe, life threatening allergies to various food products. To keep our children safe we are asking that any food products that are brought into the classroom as treats are prepackaged items with ingredients listed.

Thank you for your support in keeping our kids safe.

The image is almost entirely a 19th-century invention, popularised by theatrical costume designers and Romantic-era painters. The one well-preserved Viking helmet ever found has no horns whatsoever.

Email: TracyLichty@npsne.org
Website: http://www.norfolkpublicschools.org/schools/westside-elementary/
Location: 1703 Phillip Avenue, Norfolk, NE, United States
Phone: (402) 644-2561

X (Twitter): @WestsideElem

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563256821533