October Newsletter

Tuesday, October 3-PTBC Meeting @ 3:00 in Library. All are invited to attend.

Friday, October 6-Pink Out! Wear Pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Student Assembly during 9th

Tuesday, October 10- PTBC "Dine Around Night" at Panda Express

Friday, October 13-Picture Retake Day

Tuesday, October 17th-Parent Teacher Conferences (4pm-7pm)

Wednesday, October 18th-Parent Teacher Conferences (4pm-7pm)

Friday, October 20-No School

Thursday, October 26-First School Dance 6:00pm-8:00pm

If your child missed picture day, or would like a retake, here is the information you need from Dorian:

Students photographed for the first time on retake day who would like to place an order can do so online at mydorian.com. Students doing an actual retake please bring the original picture package with you on retake day.

Please do not wear green as the background screen is green.

Students will not be called individually to have there picture taken, but general announcements will be made, so please have your child listen for the announcements.

Parent Teacher Conference will be held in person this year on Tuesday, October 17th from 4pm-7pm and on Wednesday, October 18th from 4pm-7pm.

Parent Teacher Conferences at junior high are very different than at elementary school. Parents can come anytime between 4pm-7pm (conferences end at 7pm) and are completely voluntary. You do not need an appointment to talk with the teachers.

Teachers will be arranged alphabetically in the small gym and the cafeteria for you to go in any order you wish. You may want to talk with all of your child’s teachers or only just a few. It is totally up to you who and how many teachers you meet with on these nights. Each conference should last no more than 5 minutes. If you have something to discuss with your child’s teacher that is more in depth and will require more than 5 minutes, please contact your child’s counselor to set up a different time for all of you to meet.

We do not print 1st quarter report cards since we are on a semester grading system. Quarter grades are just a progress report at this point in the semester. Infinite Campus has the most current and up to date grade for your child as well as your child’s current class schedule and teacher names. Having your child’s schedule (electronically or a paper copy) will help you find all of your child’s teachers.

If you cannot meet in person, you are always welcome to email your child’s teacher(s) for information.

We also encourage you to check the Lost and Found for any of your child’s belongings. Any items not claimed after these nights will be donated or discarded.

This would also be a great time to drop off any donations for our food pantry or for our Days for Girls Program (see below for more information).

• The dance is from 6:00pm-8:00pm.

• The cost is $5.00 and there will be concessions available for purchase.

• Only current West students are allowed at the dance. We do not allow students from other schools to attend.

• Students will need to bring their current school ID card.

• We ask that you please pick up your child by 8:15pm, or your child may not be

allowed to attend the next dance. We appreciate your help in picking up your child

on time so that our teachers and staff who help chaperone can get home, get some

sleep and be refreshed to teach the next day.

Striving to Increase Student Agency at West

What is Student Agency?

Student Agency refers to the extent to which students believe in themselves and act intentionally to build relationships, persist through obstacles, and activate their academic, social, emotional, and professional knowledge and skills to reach their potential.

Why Do We Want to Increase Student Agency?

One of our schoolwide goals this year is to build students' college and career readiness skills by utilizing a schoolwide academic strategy/tool to increase the ownership of their academic learning. This increased ownership ties directly to Student Agency.

What is Our Plan?

We will have students complete a quick 5 minute anonymous survey in October and again in April to see if we have made any positive changes. This survey is designed to measure students' beliefs and behaviors when it comes to persisting through obstacles and applying academic as well as social awareness skills. This survey will provide insight for our educators at West to develop strategies to increase opportunity and measurable success for all students and each other.

In addition, we just started focusing on using Advisory Class (9th period) to increase organization, teach students how to ask for help and not get behind on assignments. Please see how advisory class has changed and how you know if your child is using advisory productively.

Days for Girls works to eliminate the stigma and limitations associated with mensuration. Days for Girls has provided schools, including West, feminine mensuration products free of charge in the bathrooms. It has been a huge success with our students. We would love to continue this for our students and we are in need of donations, as Days for Girls only supplied the program for last year. If you would like to donate produces (all sizes and kinds of pads and tampons are needed), you can drop those items off any time in the front office. Also, if you would like to make a monetary donation, you can make it to the Boise Schools Foundation c/o West Junior High. Thank you for supporting this program.

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