A note from our Principal
Happy October, West Side families!
I'm not going to sugar-coat it: I can't stand the change from summer to winter, so fall is NOT my favorite season. True, the temperature is much milder than the extreme heat of summer, but I absolutely loathe how we lose 2 minutes of sunlight every single day. For me, I get excited when I wake up at 5:00 AM, and I can see the light already creeping around our window blinds. Fall is just a stark reminder that winter is coming, and so are the days of 8 hours or less of sunlight ... and sub-zero temperatures. 😒
Okay, now that I have all of my Debbie-Downer comments out, let's talk about the GREAT reasons to love October! First, our School Safety Week is the week of October 7: our kids practice how to move through a smokey interior, shoot water through a fire hose, and try out some safety gear from our local law enforcement. Second, we have parent-teacher conferences coming up on October 14, 15, and 16: we love the face-to-face interactions with all of our West Side family members! Finally, we have picture retakes on October 29 just in case we were absent or didn't smile our best smile.
On a personal note, October is the start of the NHL season, and if you know me at all, you know that is a tremendous source of joy for me 🙂. Besides that, a few of us are going down to Denver for a Broncos game and an Avalanche game. We may even stop and watch the Cowboys play a night game against Utah State, which would allow me to see my daughter down in Laramie. Hmmm 🤔 ... maybe October isn't such a bad month after all.
Brian Gunderson
Principal
West Side Elementary
307-347-4298 (office)
👻👀🎃
October 1: PTO Meeting at East Side 5:30 pm
October 7 - 17: Mrs. Cramer's Class Swimming 8:50 - 9:50
(No Swimming on Friday's)
October 7 - 17: Mr. Campbell's Class Swimming 9:50 - 10:50
(No Swimming on Friday's)
October 7 - 11: Fire Prevention Week
October 11: End of 1st Quarter
October 14 - 16: Parent Teacher Conferences
October 18: NO SCHOOL / Fall Festival
October 21 - 31: Mrs. Mountford's Class Swimming 9:50 - 10:50
(No Swimming on Friday's)
October 26: PTO Monster Mash
Welcome to Fall and hopefully a bit cooler weather! This month in Guidance, we will be focusing on Respect, what that looks like, and who should get it. We may also have a visit from the Washakie Prevention Coalition. Kindness Squad is up and running for our 5th graders, and so far we have put on a scavenger hunt and lunch art hub for all the students. They are also excited to help teachers out by vacuuming their classrooms once a week. Way to go Kindness Squad!
A quick note to Parents and Guardians: if you aren't already, please consider limiting the amount of screen time your student uses daily, as well as monitoring/restricting the sites they can go to. There are so many things kids share with me that they see online that are inappropriate/questionable, give them nightmares, or cause them to negatively tease others more, etc. Some students are even waking up at night and getting on electronics, which makes them very tired the next day. I've also had parents contact me because excessive use of video games has caused their children to have anger outbursts/issues.
Heather Rollema
K-12 School Counselor
