Westwood Elementary Newsletter
October 2026
Ms. Missy Swenson
Ms. Jodi Polingo
Ms. Ginger Skille
Our health office is in need of boys pants, size small through large. If you have some that your child has outgrown and would like to donate, send them to school with your child to drop off at the office. Thank you!
Thank you for all of the support and donations for this year's Walk-a-Thon! A special shoutout to Melissa Gulden, our Westwood Parent Liaison who was instrumental in coordinating the Westwood side of this event! The unofficial total raised by Westwood students is roughly $20,000! 100% of this money goes right back to our students as we avoid paying a 3rd party fundraising company. Thank you for supporting this event and our students!
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a time when our school community unites to encourage kindness, compassion and care for one another. To show our support, we invite all students and staff to wear orange on Unity Day—Wednesday, October 21st! By wearing orange, we send a powerful, visible message that we are united together against bullying and work every day to make our school a safe, welcoming place for everyone. Thank you for joining us in celebrating kindness and supporting our students!
As our students move into the upper elementary grades, homework is designed to reinforce daily classroom learning, build consistent reading habits, and help foster independent study skills. While following standard national guidelines, you could generally expect about 10 minutes of homework per night per grade level: 30-40 minutes for 3rd-5th graders, Monday through Thursday is typical. This time typically includes nightly reading along with targeted practice in math or foundational skills. If your child regularly spends significantly more time than this completing their work, please reach out to your child's teacher so we can adjust support and keep learning positive and balanced!
Westwood Student Council is teaming up at Westwood for a Socktober community outreach event. Socks are one of the most needed items in local shelters, yet they are the least donated. Throughout the month of October, we will be collecting NEW socks of various sizes and designs to donate to local organizations such as CAER, Passing the Bread, Thumbs Up, and Open Doors for Youth. Students can bring socks to their classroom where they will be counted and collected by their Student Representative.
Yearbook orders are now being accepted! If you want to cross one off your list for the year, families can order yearbooks now. Yearbooks will not be delivered until May, however the window to order will close at the beginning of April. Linked here is the link for orders!