West Side Elementary

Hello West Side families!

It has been a fantastic start to our school year these past few weeks. One of our target goals at the beginning of the year is to keep the fun going despite the end of summer vacation, and our teachers have been doing just that. Whenever I do a drop-in visit to a classroom, I see student movement, student engagement, and hear students conversing much more than I hear teachers talking. As much as I love summer fun with family members in July, I get just as excited to see students actively learning.

For those of you who were able to join us in our back-to-school carnival a few weeks ago, I wanted to thank you for attending. We had over 600 family members at our carnival! We had three main goals for the carnival, and we accomplished two of them. First, we wanted to feed everybody, and with the help from several teachers and staff members from all three elementary schools, the middle school, and Central Office, we were able to accomplish that goal. Secondly, we wanted our kids to have fun. We had three inflatables as well as several games provided by our two elementary PE teachers, Mrs. Glanz and Mr. Mortimer. Mission accomplished! Thirdly, we wanted to pass along three pieces of information to our parents and guardians. We just couldn't find the time to talk with y'all, so I was going to pass those pieces onto you in this newsletter.

1. Attendance matters. Students who miss more than 18 days of school are less proficient in reading, writing and math compared to their peers with good attendance. We need your kiddos to be here, we can't help if they are not present.

2. Reading stimulates health. Reading improves brain function, reduces stress, and improves creativity. Your student should read 20 minutes per day at home.

3. Behavior changes happen at home. When we call you to talk about an incident that involves your student, we need your help to correct these behaviors.

We will touch on these throughout the year in follow-up newsletter items. We do hope you enjoy our newsletter because it is one of the best ways for us to share all of the positive things going on at West Side. Stay tuned!

Brian Gunderson

Principal

West Side Elementary

307-347-4298 (office)

Washakie County School District #1 purchased a new District App called "Washakie1"

1. Go the your App Store on your phone

2. Search for "Washakie1" - it will pop up with our black Warrior "seal"

3. Download the app - follow the instructions on the screen to install

September 2: Labor Day No School

September 3: PTO meeting 5:30 pm at East Side

Sept 9 - Sept 19: Mrs. Douglas's Class Swimming 8:50 - 9:50

(No Swimming on Friday's)

Sept 9 - Sept 19: Mrs. Keller's Class Swimming 9:50 - 10:50

(No Swimming on Friday's)

September 19: Student Pictures

September 23 - 27: Homecoming Week

Sept 23 - Oct 3: Mrs. Whitlock's Class Swimming 8:50 - 9:50

(No Swimming on Friday's)

Sept 23 - Oct 3: Mr. Peterson's Class Swimming 9:50 - 10:50

(No Swimming on Friday's)

Parents,

Student pictures at West Side will be Thursday, September 19th. 😁

Please see picture packets below for your review. These are simply informational jpegs: they are not for purchasing online. I will be sending a picture reminder home on Thursday, September 5th, and the picture packets will be sent home Thursday, September 12th. At that time, you can return those packets to your students' teachers as soon as possible.

Thank you.

This is what we have been doing in the fourth grade.

The fourth-grade students have been working hard on collaboration and team building skills. Last week we were all able to "Save Fred The Worm!" Students had to work together in small groups to help Fred get his "life vest" on while boating. The student could only use paper clips to achieve this task. In science we conducted an amazing science experiment where students partnered up and followed the scientific method to establish a hypothesis on the reaction of a gummy bear when mixed with either cold water, hot water, salt water, or vinegar. We then reflected on their data they collected. We will continue to promote and reflect on teamwork throughout the year.

We are going to do things a little bit differently this year. Our fall Mile Run will be a practice run, and that will take place here at West Side on the field. The spring Mile Run will be their fitness test, and that will take place at the track. In fact, all fitness testing will be completed in the spring. Of course we love parent participation, especially for the spring fitness test at the track as we have done the past several years. If you have any questions, especially regarding the fall Mile Run, please call Mr. Gunderson. Also,

please be sure your student has proper footwear for PE and has a water bottle.

Mr. Mortimer

PE teacher

7:40 - Breakfast and Early Bird Reading

8:00 - Morning Bell

12:05 - 12:22 - 4th Grade Lunch / 5th Grade Recess

12:22 - 12:42 - 5th Grade Lunch / 4th Grade Recess

2:00 - 2:15 - 4th Grade Afternoon Recess

2:15 - 2:30 - 5th Grade Afternoon Recess

3:15 - Ending Bell

FRIDAY BELL SCHEDULE

7:40 - Breakfast and Early Bird Reading

8:00 - Morning Bell

11:55 - 12:13 - 4th Grade Lunch/5th Grade Recess

12:13 - 12:33 - 5th Grade Lunch/4th Grade Recess

1:45 - Ending Bell

August 19 - August 29

8:50 - 9:50

August 19 - August 29

9:50 - 10:50

September 9 - September 19

8:50 - 9:50

September 9 - September 19

9:50 - 10:50

September 23 - October 3

8:50 - 9:50

September 23 - October 3

9:50 - 10:50

October 7 - October 17

8:50 - 9:50

October 7 - October 17

9:50 - 10:50

October 21 - October 31

9:50 - 10:50

Welcome back to school! I am looking forward to an amazing year and getting to know your students! I get to teach each class once a week as their guidance special.

August and September Guidance topics include the following:

• What is Bullying? (Being Mean on purpose, Over and Over, One-Sided)
• How to Stop Bullying

• Kind words verses mean words

• Gossip

• Respect

Please take the time to chat with your kids about these topics, what they are learning at school, and how their day has been.

Heather Rollema

K-12 School Counselor