Weekly Wrap Up at West Side!
For Parents/Guardians- 3/9/26
West Side Elementary Mission and Vision
Mission: West Side Elementary ensures high levels of learning for all students!
Vision: West Side Elementary is devoted to educating the whole child. As a Model PLC School, we commit to creating a culture where faculty and staff members collaborate with one another, parents, students, and community.
West Side Elementary School ~ A place where excellence is the norm, not the exception!
Happy Monday We had a great week with our Read Across America Battle this past week and STEM night on Thursday! Thank you all for coming and participating STEM night! Everyone seemed to have such a wonderful time!
Remember that this Thursday, March 12, we will dismiss at 11:00 and there will be no school on Friday, March 13. It will be a teacher inservice day.
Pre-K
Have a student ready to begin Pre-K this upcoming year? Applications will be available online beginning April 6- May 7th. The drawing will be May 8, 2026. If chosen, parents/guardians will receive an email. Parents/guardians must accept or decline the spot within 48 hours.
Kindergarten Registration
Who needs to register?
- All new students to CCPS register online
- Current CCPS Pre-K students
Registering Students Also Need:
- Birth Certificate
- Social Security Card
Keep in Mind:
- ALL registration is online
- Monday, May 4th 3:30-5:30 pm school staff will be on site at West Side Elementary to assist students with kindergarten screening.
- If you have questions, please reach out to sridley.wse@catoosa.k12.ga.us or call Shavon Ridley at (706) 866-9211
Character Trait
The character trait for the month is cooperation. This month's focus is working together to achieve goals.
For any parents that need assistance on accessing parent portal, the following is a guide:
Parent Portal Instructions, and add this URL link: https://app.smore.com/n/nwd8
Please reinforce our school wide expectations with students. Our PBIS expectations are "H.O.W." we behave. We Have Respect, Own our Behavior, and Work towards Success. We encourage students to follow these expectations. Our faculty and staff reinforce this behavior by giving positive office referrals to random students when they are caught following these expectations!
We are in peak season for respiratory illness. December through March is the peak season for multiple types of respiratory viruses, common colds, and the flu. Our weekly attendance was down in the month of January. This year Flu A is the most common strain. The flu is a contagious virus and spread through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. How can we prevent the spread of the illness?
Practice good hygiene :
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow.
Wipe common touch surfaces with a disinfectant frequently- don’t forget about your cell phone!
Please make sure that your child's name is written on all coats, sweaters, backpacks, lunchboxes, water bottles, etc. If they do lose something, please have them check the Lost & Found the next day. You are always welcome to come check our Lost & Found as well. Items not claimed will eventually be donated .
Georgia Legislature Regarding Student Attendance
Please read the following document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iQWUVhh85Tpb661A2BCwb7lz2O0kRd_H8KKojFyR3hc/edit?usp=sharing
Attendance Rate : The following was our attendance rate last week : 93%% Our goal is to have at least 98% of our students at school each week. Please help us meet this goal! I will update you weekly as we strive for success! Classes are now competing for the Grin and Attend Award. Classes with 100% attendance receive a sticker on the attendance board daily. The class in each grade level with the most 100% attendance stickers earns the weekly All Star award. The monthly prize will go to the class in each grade level that with the most stickers for the month. Monthly prizes may include, extra recess, a dance party, a popsicle party, a special treat, etc.
Our Grin and Attend class winners for January/February were
Kindergarten- Mrs. Simpson
1st- Mrs. Brown
2nd- Mrs. Dunn
3rd- Mrs. K. Thompson
4th- Ms. Strawbridge
5th- Mrs. Josephsen
Safety: I am resharing a video that Mr. Nix, our superintendent, made in the past concerning safety. Please feel free to use this as a guide for age appropriate discussion with your students about using safe and kind words at school.
The following are some parent resources from ProTech available for your viewing!
Learn more here:
March Pro Tech
Scam Awareness
Would your child fall for a phishing scam? Pop up and fake messages are everywhere. Show your child how to think before they click.
Grades K-2: Show your child what fake ads or links can look like in games and videos. Help them pause before clicking.
Grades 3-5: Scam alerts! Teach your child to ignore pop-ups and fake giveaways promising free items in games or apps.
Get tips on Parent ProTech: https://app.parentprotech.com/932/catoosa-county/en/signup?source=admin
Just a few important reminders:
- IMPORTANT: Please do NOT exit the vehicle during arrival/dismissal. If you need to exit the vehicle in the morning, please park in a spot and then walk your child in to the school. In the afternoon, you can pull up to the front if you need to exit your vehicle to assist your child with buckling.
- Please read over the Beginning of the Year Information that was sent home (specific for WSE). Please sign any papers that you still have and return them to your child's teacher. The information we sent home includes important guidelines & procedures that we follow.
- Doors open at 7:00am. Tardy Bell rings at 7:50am and announcements begin at 7:40am. Instruction begins at 7:50 this year. Students need to be in their seats ready to learn at this time. We would love to have students here by 7:35 so they can listen to announcements. We will count tardies this week. If the car rider line is closed. Please drive to the front to walk your student inside.
If you would like to eat breakfast, ID will be required to enter the building and you must sign in at the front office. Your visitor sticker allows you entrance to the cafeteria only. After you eat, please let your child walk to class alone while you sign out at the front office and exit the building. This policy is for safety purposes. It is important that I know who is in the building and where they are.
In the afternoon, please remember that all students should be picked up by 3:00 pm unless they are enrolled with the YMCA at West Side.
Join us as a sub!
We would LOVE to have you sign up to be a sub at WSE! If you are interested please sign up on the link below!
Check out this link!
Other opportunities!
Click here to learn about other open positions with Catoosa County Schools.
Bus Drivers Needed! If interested, please reach out to the Transportation Dept. at the District Office!
If you are interested in paraprofessional or custodian positions, please click here for openings.
Attendance General Information
- Reasons to keep child at home:
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Diagnosis from a doctor of a contagious illness (strep, stomach bug, flu, COVID, etc.)
- Death in the family
- Reasons to NOT keep child at home:
- Tummy ache w/ no other symptoms
- Worry/anxiety about coming to school
- Tired or sleepy
- Doesn’t like school
- Vacations
- See Catoosa County Handbook for other acceptable attendance excusals.
- Attendance Letters are automatically generated.
- Procedures when a student is absent:
- Must have a parent excuse OR doctor’s note
- DOJO to the teacher will not work
- Allowed 5 parent notes per semester
- 5 before Christmas
- 5 after Christmas
- After all parent notes have been used, must have a doctor’s note or will be unexcused.
- Communicate with your child's teacher about absences. Communicate with Dr. Huffstutler about chronic absences.
- School is a resource and we care! We want our students here learning!
- If there are 6 or more unexcused absences a Catoosa County Attendance Contract will be required.
- Follows student for 2 years
- Doctor’s notes ONLY accepted as excuses
- Continued chronic absences leads to truancy referral
Safety
At WSE, our number one priority will always be the safety of students and staff. Some of the procedures may seem inconvenient, but they are necessary and I hope that you will understand and be patient with us. This is the normal procedure after this week:
- If you would like to enter WSE, you must bring your ID.
- Parents are required to drop students off in the car rider line instead of walking students to class. No visitors will be allowed in hallways during arrival.
- If you would like to eat breakfast or lunch with your child, please bring your ID and sign in at the front office for a visitor's pass. This pass will allow you entrance to the cafeteria only. Once you eat with your child, please sign out at the front office. Your child will walk to class by themselves after breakfast and then at lunch will walk with the rest of their class.
- If you would like to eat lunch with your child, please call ahead and let the receptionist know you are coming. Please remember you must have your ID to enter the building.
