Mission: The learning community of West Homer Elementary inspires and supports all students to be lifelong learners with the courage and confidence to make positive contributions to the world.

Vision: The mission of West Homer Elementary School is to build strong connections among community, families, staff, and students in a safe, healthy, nurturing environment that challenges each student.

The sweet aroma of pancakes filled the gym last Thursday morning as our dedicated parents and volunteers prepared for our pre-testing pancake breakfast. It was a heartwarming sight to witness everyone coming together in preparation for the upcoming state assessments. Seeing parents and volunteers actively supporting students as they face these challenges fills us with pride. These are the enduring values we strive to instill in our students: perseverance and grit in the face of adversity.

We are not done yet; we have two more pancake breakfast/testing days scheduled this week, with students tackling the math test on Tuesday April 1st (no joke) and Wednesday April 2nd. Please help your child get quality rest the nights before.

In addition to these academic challenges, we invite you to join us for the PTO Talent Show on Thursday, April 3rd, at 6:00pm—a showcase of our students' unique talents. Furthermore, we are excited to announce the launch of our first-ever after-school Baseball program starting Friday, April 5th. It promises to be a thrilling fourth quarter of the school year!

Thank you for being part of our supportive and vibrant school community.

Alaska State testing begins at the end of this month. There are numerous benefits to your child, the school, and the state to doing their very best on these assessments.

• Individually, accurate scores track student progress, show areas of growth and areas of need, and help us know how well our instruction is working for each student.
• Schoolwide it helps us identify trends and plan for specific areas of need. It also gives us a feedback on our schoolwide programing.
• When students do their best, it shows accurately to the public and lawmakers how much growth our students are making. If students show little growth because they didn't put forth their best effort, it could affect our funding or status with the state.

Tests generally take about 2 hours each morning.

How can you help your child get ready for these tests?

• Make sure they get enough sleep the night before.
• Make sure they eat a quality breakfast to fuel their brains.
• Remind them that it is important to put out their best effort.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for these testing dates:

We are closing in on our reading goal with 1 week left! Keep reading this week and be sure to take a quiz to contribute to the goal!

• April 1 & 2 - Pancake Breakfast @ 7:30am
• April 1 - Last Day of Shakespeare Club
• PTO Meeting 4:00 -5:30pm
• April 3 - Talent Show at 6:00pm
• April 4 - First Day of afterschool Baseball
• April 7 - Site Council Meeting 4:00pm - 5:00pm @ WHE Conference Room
• April 11 - Early Release at 1:20pm
• April 18 - Vacation Day - No School!
• April 23 - Paul Banks Step-up Day
• April 30 - Last Yearbook Club
• April 30 - 3rd/4th Spring Concert at 1:30pm @ WHE Gym
• May 1 - 5th/6th Spring Concert at 1:30pm @ WHE Gym

Ms. Corbell's 4th Grade

Mr. Richard's 3rd grade

Mrs. Settles' 4th grade

Ms. Ector's Class

Ms. Shuneson and Mrs. Ross' 6th grades

Mrs. Waltenbaugh and Mrs. Allmendinger's 3rd grades

Students earned Capture the Flag vs Teachers for exceeding their schoolwide reading goal!

Family trips are important life events and don’t happen often. When your family chooses to be away from school, our goal is to support you and your child in keeping up with their academics so they don’t fall behind when they return. Our teachers are happy to put together meaningful activities to help them keep up with their learning. We ask that you follow our procedure well in advance (a week is good) so we can be well prepared.

• 5 -9 days – pre-arranged absence form completed
• 10 + days – pre- arranged absence form completed and meet with principal

Even if you don't think you qualify, still apply as it may result in federal dollars for our school.

West Homer PTO is for everyone!

You are invited to join us in being part of the PTO. We spend the year building community here at West by celebrating staff and students, fundraising, and hosting community events. All these activities remind us how much we can invest in our schools and the people who make West Homer a place to learn and building connections. Please reach out if you would like to help organize the spring talent show, staff appreciation week, or the end of year BBQ. Email us at ptowesthomer@gmail.com.