From the Desk of Dr. Cobbs & Dr. Donaher

West El Families,

It has been such a joy to see our hallways filled with smiling faces, busy classrooms, and the energy that comes with the start of a new school year. Our students are settling into routines, getting to know their teachers and classmates, and beginning to make West feel like home. A special welcome to our kindergarten students and families and all those who have begun the WEL journey this summer! We are so excited to officially welcome you to the West family.

Thank you to all of our families for the trust, support, and partnership you bring to our school each day. There is so much ahead of us this year—so many opportunities to learn, grow, laugh, and build our wonderful school community together. Please keep an eye out for upcoming information, including details about our Open House on Wednesday, September 16th. We can't wait to see you there!

Here's to a terrific year ahead. We are so happy to have our Lions back!

Warmly,

Dr. Cobbs & Dr. Donaher

Arrival and Dismissal Reminder

If you are picking up your child, your car must be in the car-pick up line. Please do not pick up your child from the parking lot. Students dismissed as "walker" are only for those students who will be walking home.

WEL families picking up from the BRIDGE Program must enter the line closest to the building. All others are to be on the outside pick up loop.

All early disissmal and dismissal changes must be entered in Pick Up Patrol. All early dismissals should be complete by 3:10 PM.

Introducing ParentSquare: APS New Communication Platform

APS is excited to share that we’ve adopted a new communication platform called ParentSquare to help us keep you better informed and more connected with your school community.

The district’s goal is to improve how families receive information, making it more accessible, timely, and responsive to different needs. With communications automatically translated into families’ preferred languages, and options to receive updates by email, app, voice, or text, ParentSquare supports meaningful engagement across the APS community.

To get the most out of ParentSquare, we encourage you to download the free mobile app, available for iOS and Android. You can also access ParentSquare from your web browser at www.parentsquare.com.

Throughout the school year, we will be adopting enhanced features to communicate with our staff and families. Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting your success.

Lunch

All students are able to receive 1 free breakfast and 1 free lunch daily during the 2026-2027 school year. Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria from 8:45 - 9:00 and does not need to be ordered ahead of time.

Lunches will need be preordered. It is very important that our cafeteria has an accurate lunch count each day. Please review with your children each morning what you have ordered for them.

Please click below for the monthly menu and more information about Andover's Nutrition Program including how to sign up. https://family.onlineordering.linq.com/

VOLUNTEERING AND VISITING WEL

Cori Forms

Also, as a reminder, CORI Forms need to be filled out every school year to volunteer and participate in school activities, such as chaperoning a field trip. If you would like to fill it out at home before coming over, here is the link to print the form: CORI FORM

Visitor Aware

All parents who would attend the school for any reason including volunteers, concerts, grade level presentations, etc. will need to register through Visitor Aware. This was rolled out last year but all data is deleted at the end of each school year.

To get a head start, please fill out this form: Visitor Aware

West EL PTO

Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year at West Elementary! A special welcome to our new families—including Kindergarten families, Andover families new to West through redistricting, and those who are new to Andover altogether!

We are so excited to kick off another year and look forward to working together to make this a wonderful year for our students, families, teachers, and staff. This year, we will send an email out on the first Friday of every month with all the upcoming information you will need, so please sign up.

Create a West Elementary PTO Family Account

This is your first step—and an important one! Creating a family account gives you access to our very active West Elementary PTO and everything it has to offer. Already have one? Lets' update your teacher then!

WestElPTO.com is the website for the West Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and is hosted on a platform called Membership Toolkit.

The West Elementary PTO exists to enrich our children’s educational experience by providing programs, events, and opportunities that go beyond what is covered by the school budget. But you won’t hear about these opportunities—or be able to participate in many of them—unless you create a parent account at WestElPTO.com.

Click “Register/Login” to get started. Once your account is set up, you can add or update your child’s information, including their teacher.

Through Membership Toolkit, you’ll be able to:

Stay informed about PTO news, programs, and upcoming events
Sign up for before-school programs and other activities
Purchase tickets for family and adult-only events, including Spooktacular, Heritage Night, Oak & Iron Trivia, West El at the Celtics nights, etc.
Access the online student directory...think playdates and birthday party invites!
Sign up for volunteer opportunities like Food Recovery, the Library, etc.
Connect with your child’s room parent and receive classroom communications
Order West Elementary spirit wear
Make a PTO donation
Learn about and access PTO-funded programs and opportunities

Best of all, Membership Toolkit makes it easy to manage everything online—no stacks of PTO paperwork or check writing like in years past! Take a few minutes to create your family account today so you don’t miss everything the West Elementary PTO has planned throughout the school year.

PULL OUT YOUR CELL PHONE

The Membership Toolkit app is also available for free through the Apple App Store and Google Play, making it easy to stay connected right from your phone.

We are also excited to continue building our presence on Facebook and Instagram (@westel_pto). Our Facebook page is linked through our website and will be a great place to find timely updates, reminders, and information about upcoming events. We will also continue to share a monthly PTO newsletter throughout the school year.

Get Involved!

Throughout the year, the PTO will host a variety of community events, fundraisers, enrichment programs, and family activities designed to support our students and bring our West community together. You do not have to be on the board to play a key role in our school community. Just an hour every other month is helpful!

We invite you to:

Join us at PTO meetings, held in person and via Zoom
Volunteer at an event or program
Help behind the scenes from home
Share your ideas and talents
Attend PTO events with your family
Connect with other West families

Every contribution makes a difference. Whether you can volunteer once, help with a committee, attend a meeting, or simply participate in PTO events, your involvement helps make these opportunities possible for our children.

As our West community continues to grow, so does the opportunity to make a difference. We truly believe that many hands make light work, and we hope you'll find a way to be part of the PTO this year!