Wildcat Weekly

Westfield families:

It's hard to believe that Monday is the 100th day of school already! The year is going fast.

Don't miss the PTC meeting on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in person or online. Superintendent Doug Eccarius will be attending. Everyone is welcome!

Have a great weekend!

Kristen Ulery

Westfield Principal

Next week, students in third through eighth grades will again be participating in the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System, commonly known as BESS. Students in the same grades participated in BESS at the start of this school year.

BESS is not a tool for making a diagnosis, and there is no grade associated with it. BESS will give the school data about how your child internalizes feelings, self-regulates, and establishes good relationships. This data will be paired with class observations to help track student growth within the school year and from year to year. If the BESS screener shows any immediate concern for your student’s emotional health, a social worker will reach out to you.

If you have any questions or do not want your student to participate in BESS, please contact principal Kristen Ulery as soon as possible. We are excited to have this opportunity to support your child’s social and emotional development.

Learn more about BESS here: English Español Hindi Urdu

Video explanation: https://youtu.be/SmK_ODZdQ5c?si=p0X0Zeo9ZcAazsjP&t=791

Today was our January Character Strong assembly celebrating the theme of perseverance. Teachers recognized students in each class who have demonstrated outstanding perseverance, pushing themselves to work through challenges and obstacles. Then we watched a video created by Ms. Soukup's class introducing honesty as the theme of the month for February. Congratulations to all of our students for demonstrating perseverance this month!

Families with students who will be starting kindergarten or new to CCSD 89 in the 2026-27 school year can begin the pre-registration process at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, February 4. Registration for returning students will open April 8. More info: https://bit.ly/3O8Y7Te

At Monday’s meeting, the CCSD 89 Board of Education approved the 2026-27 academic calendar. You can view the calendar here: www.ccsd89.org/2627calendar The first day of the 2026-27 school year for students will be Thursday, August 20. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4bk3TLF

Valentine’s Day is approaching and we’re excited to celebrate a day of friendship. A few reminders:

• Time will be scheduled in class on February 13 for students to exchange valentines, if they would like to participate. If your family needs help getting valentines, please reach out to the school social worker.
• No candy or other food items can be sent to school or attached to valentines.
• Valentines should promote kind words and friendship.
• Students may include a school supply (pencil or eraser) taped to their valentine. Other items, such as toys or jewelry, should not be added to valentines.

Any specific grade-level information will be shared by your child’s teacher.

In this cold weather, families are reminded that they can track their student’s bus trips to and from school with the free FirstView 1.0 busing app. The app can track the bus, show an estimated number of minutes until the bus will arrive, and send a notification when buses get to school.

Families using the FirstView app from last school year need to download the new version called “FirstView 1.0”. The app will track both regular-education and special-education busing. The code for CCSD 89 is: N6N3I

More information, including instructions on downloading the app, are available at www.ccsd89.org/busapp

Girls on the Run is coming to Westfield for another spring season! Registration is open to all 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students. At Girls on the Run, you will make new friends, unleash your confidence, celebrate what makes you unique, build physical and social-emotional health, complete a celebratory 5K... and have fun! Check out this video for a closer look at Girls on the Run!

Practices will be on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:35 to 5:00 pm starting on Monday, March 9th. The season ends with an exciting 5K sometime in mid-May. More details to come!

Girls and volunteers must be registered by March 6th. This year, the program fee is dependent on household income. As always, families can request financial assistance when registering. Head to www.gotrchicago.org for a breakdown of fees. Use this link to register today! Our team has a limited number of spots available, so please sign up at your earliest convenience. Registration is required to be a part of the team!

We are also looking for volunteers to help with practices and preparation (ex, buying and delivering snacks). No running experience is necessary. We just need positive people to help coach the team and motivate them to reach their goals! If this is your first time volunteering for GOTR, there will be some training requirements for the organization. Let us know if you are interested! If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Spino or Miss Soukup.

CCSD 89 elementary schools are looking for parents to help with the second annual All Abilities Fair on Tuesday, March 3. Students will have hands-on activities that will help them develop acceptance, inclusion, and respect for disabilities and other differences.

Families are needed to help run stations in either a morning session (8-11:45 a.m.) or afternoon session (12:35 to 3:30 p.m.). Click here to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A44A4AC29A2FDC25-61567844-allabilities

If you have questions or need more information, please contact Amy Meek at ameek@ccsd89.org

At noon and 7 p.m. Wednesday, February 4, Amy Blankson, co-founder of the Digital Wellness Institute and author of “The Future of Happiness”, will discuss how to inspire young people to navigate the digital age wisely and step forward as thoughtful, empathetic leaders who can shape the future. Preview. Learn more: https://bit.ly/45AaTjO

Starting Monday, February 3, families of CCSD 89 students can help improve our school by providing feedback through the state’s 5Essentials survey at: https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/

After selecting the "Parent Survey", choose "DuPage" as the county. When you begin to type our school’s name, it will appear in a drop-down list. Please note that there are multiple schools in DuPage County named Westfield. Be sure to choose the Glen Ellyn school.

One parent per household may participate in the survey. If you have more than one child attending the same CCSD 89 school, you can participate in the survey more than once.

Students will take the survey at a later date. Families will be notified before the 5Essentials is administered to students.

February 4: Kindergarten/new student pre-registration opens

February 10: Parent Series: Navigating children’s mental health, noon and 7 p.m.

February 11: Parent Series: An entrepreneurial journey, noon and 7 p.m.

February 16: No school (Presidents’ Day)

February 19: Parent Series: Strategies to improve academics, noon and 7 p.m.

February 23: Board of Education meeting 7 p.m.

February 26: End of second trimester, parent-teacher conferences

February 27: No school (Teacher institute day)

March 3: Parent Series: Raising terrific kids in terrifying times, noon and 7 p.m.

March 11: Parent Series: Memoir of a chef, noon and 7 p.m.

March 13: Last day to fill out 5Essentials survey

March 16: Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m.

March 17: Parent Series: Creating healthy connections, noon and 7 p.m.

March 24: Parent Series: College admission essentials, noon and 7 p.m.

March 30-April 3: No school (spring break)

April 6: No school unless more than one emergency day has been used

April 8: 2026-27 registration opens for all students

We had a successful night at Family Bowling! Thank you to all who attended. A special thank you to Lisa Reynolds and Christine Lawler for chairing a wonderful event and to all other volunteers who helped make it a success!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Spirit wear Design Competition! We have some very talented designers/artists at Westfield, and the response was fantastic! Every entry received votes, so it was quite the competition!

Congratulations to the winning designs:

1. Alexa Dornfeld--5th grade, Mrs. Kielion's class

2. Andrea Osornio--5th grade, Mrs. Kielion's class

3. Alina Landup--2nd grade, Mrs. Stoll's class

This event is popular with our girls who enjoy the opportunity to spend the evening with a very important person in their lives (e.g. Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Uncle, Grandma, etc). There will be an event for our boy students later in the year. The Sweetheart Dance is planned for our girl students; however, if your son wishes to attend this event, please know he will be welcomed.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! IF INTERESTED IN HELPING, PLEASE SIGN UP HERE:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B4CA9AF2FA1F58-61981300-westfield#/

The theme is Totally '90's Night - Get ready for trivia, throwback hits, and nostalgic outfits.

Discounted Early Bird tickets are on sale through tomorrow, Saturday, January 31.

Regular pricing begins February 1. RSVP today: https://forms.gle/RZ1tWuRoM7gBRHx56

Silent Auction Is Live: View items and start bidding now: https://charityauctions.com/event/auction/632

Class Basket Contributions: Details about each class’s themed silent auction basket were shared with parents this week via email. Families are invited to donate one or more on-theme items toward their class basket, then get ready to bid on these baskets during the event to raise funds for Westfield. Please reach out to Maureen Jasculca with any questions or issues: maureen.jasculca@gmail.com

This is an important fundraiser for Westfield, and we’re grateful for the strong participation and support so far -- thank you!

We are looking for book donations to help kick off the first Westfield Book Swap! There is a box in the school lobby for donations. First Book Swap date to be announced shortly. Your student may bring a book that day to swap out for something new or simply choose a book to bring home without exchanging. We will be gathering and organizing books ahead of time to have available. As this concept continues, we would like for it to become a true “swap” of books so unwanted books can find a new home.

** Our next board meeting will have Superintendent, Doug Eccarius, attending!

All PTC members are welcome and encouraged to attend our monthly general assembly meeting at 7:00 pm the first Thursday of every month, as well as our Executive Board Meeting at 6:30 pm prior to general assembly. Our next meeting will be held Thursday, February 5.

For ALL information regarding the PTC please visit our website @ http://www.ccsd89.org/westfieldPTC

!!! Save the recurring Google Meet link for easy reference: Meet - nee-bfth-qqc

Next PTC Meeting

Thursday, February 5, 7:00pm

Sweetheart Dance

Friday, February 6, 7:00-9:00

Valentine's Day Class Parties

Friday, February 13, 2:15-3:15 p.m.

Adult Social

Friday, February 20, 7:00pm

Please feel free to connect with the PTC via:

• Our private group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/417506058937748/
• Our updated website: http://www.ccsd89.org/westfieldPTC
  
• Our email: westfieldptc@gmail.com
  

Resources for helping your child through difficult times

Tragedy can affect a nation or a single family. Some crises happen suddenly while others build over time. Each situation can be difficult for children to understand and challenging for families to navigate. Our school has a counselor, social worker, and psychologist available to help students and families with strategies for transparent, age-appropriate conversations. The district has also posted additional resources at www.ccsd89.org/crisis

Students, families can report crises and threats through Safe2Help

Students and families can confidentially call, email, or text the Safe2Help tip line to report bullying, threats, or classmates in crisis. Students or families can call (844) 4-SAFE-IL, (which is 844-472-3345); text SAFE2 (which is 72332); email Help@Safe2HelpIL.com; or submit tips through the online form. Safe2Help submissions are monitored every hour of every day. More info: https://bit.ly/3BPxObO

Need tech support for your student's school computer?

Families that need support for iPad or Chromebook issues should use the district’s online help system. Enter your contact information and some details about the problem at: https://bit.ly/89techsupport

Stay connected with CCSD 89 and Westfield

Stay connected with the latest news by following Community Consolidated School District 89 on Facebook (facebook.com/CCSD89), Instagram (www.instagram.com/ccsd_89/), X (@CCSD89), and YouTube (youtube.com/@CCSD89). You can also follow Westfield on X at @Westfield89

See all the CCSD 89 community fliers at www.ccsd89.org/backpack

Dodgeball-and-pizza Fridays (November-May)

Park District karate (December-May)

Job support drop-in clinic (January, February)

College of DuPage Youth Academy classes (January-May)

Park District winter athletics (January- March)

Glen Ellyn speed skating history exhibit (January-April)

Teen substance use workshop (February 5)

Daddy daughter date night (February 6)

Olympic speed skating watch party (February 15)

Winter/spring youth sports (February-April)

D89 Soccer spring league (April-June)

Park district spring athletics (April-May)

Park district spring tennis (April-May)

B. R. Ryall YMCA teen center (Tuesdays-Thursdays)

Community partners playdate at Wheaton library (fourth Fridays)

Career resources for parents

Health services for uninsured and limited income

Illinois rental payment assistance

DuPage low-cost dental clinic

DuPage free pharmacy for uninsured

Attendance phone: (630) 858-2770

Lunch menus

Supply lists

Westfield calendar

School news

District news

Email: info@ccsd89.org
Website: www.ccsd89.org/westfield
Location: Westfield Elementary School, Mayfield Lane, Glen Ellyn, IL, USA
Phone: (630) 858-2770
Facebook: facebook.com/CCSD89
X: @westfield89

Parents who need to report their student’s absence can call the school’s general number, then press 1. To reach the nurse, press 2. The main office can be reached by pressing 3.