Westridge Wildcat Newsletter

Dear Westridge Families,

We had a full short week at Westridge with OMSI visiting 5th grade, meeting incoming families at our Kindergarten Counts event, studying fractions in 3rd and 4th grade, our PTSO meeting, beautiful Monet inspired art lit projects popping up all over the school, and more!

Our character trait this month is PERSEVERANCE. We define perseverance as pushing yourself to work through challenges and obstacles. Students across our school are demonstrating perseverance both in academics and in their social emotional learning. At home this week, try to find time to share stories about perseverance with each other (you can use the prompts below to get started).

• A time I (or someone else) showed perseverance was _____.
• An act of perseverance that changed/challenged me was _____.

Have a wonderful weekend, Wildcats!

Laura Weaver

New or Updated Information:

Save the Dates!

5th Grade All State Honor Choir

Newspaper - Issue 3

Lost and Found

Westridge: Our Heritage Celebration Info (updated!)

Dance Showcase Performance

Continuing Reminders:

Tardy Reminder

School Newspaper Contribution

Registration for 2022-2023 School Year

Pacer Jr. Dance Clinic

Opt Out Form: State Assessments

STEM Newsletter and IG Page

Reporting Tardies and Absences

Statewide Assessment Notice

SCHOOL CALENDAR:

LOSD SCHOOL CALENDAR 22-23

1/23: PTSO Fundraiser - Aji Tram 12-9pm (flyer below)

1/27: No School - Grade Prep Day

2/5: (Sunday) Wildcats: Our Heritage Celebration 2-4pm at Westridge (RSVP on Eventbrite to reserve your child's personalized passport)

2/20: No School - Presidents' Day

2/23: STEM Night 5:30-7:00 pm - More details coming soon!

PTSO Event's Page Calendar can be found here for more info on Parents Nights out and Meet Ups!

Lucy Colton, Emma Rodgers, Owen Adams, Molly Welters and Tessa Rudig joined Mrs.McMahon at the All State 5th grade Honors Choir event in Eugene, Oregon on January 14. They represented our community beautifully and joined their voices with 124 additional 5th grade students from all over the state of Oregon. Please pass along your congratulations to these talented musicians!

Please check the Lost and Found that is inside the school near the gym. Thank you!

The school building opens at 8:10am and arriving as close to that time as possible benefits your child! Allowing students time to settle in and get started with their class makes for a calmer start to the day and ensures children are a part of the community building and academic content that begins right away. In the last weeks of school, tardies have been nearing 30 per day! We appreciate your help in getting kids here on time!

Spanish and Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program Information Night

January 25th

Mandarin Chinese 6pm, Spanish 7 p.m.

Palisades World Language School

Online registration and more information can be found here

Note: If your child is currently enrolled in a LOSD school, you do not need to re-enroll for next year. Your child will automatically move up to the next grade in our computer system. The only exception to this is if your child is enrolled in the Pre-K program - then you DO need to enroll your child in Kindergarten. Please give us a call if you have any questions!

We are getting closer to our first ever Wildcats: Our Heritage Celebration event on Sunday February 5th from 2-4pm in the school gym. This event is free but we do ask you to RSVP so that we make sure we have enough passports for our Wildcats! Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/514300876767

You will have the opportunity to travel to different countries that represent our Wildcat heritage! Sample food from countries around the world, gain knowledge, and entertainment!

One of the countries featured is South Korea. Here is a little bit about that country and how they celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year, courtesy of the Hayward family!

Hello (An-nyung ha-sae-yo),

Happy New Year (Sae-hae bok mani ba-de-sae-yo)! My name is Jiminie and my husband, Greg and I have Ryder in 4th and Claire in 1st grade at Westridge.

I grew up in Korea and moved to the US in 2003. As Korea is one of many countries that celebrate Lunar New Year, I wanted to share how we uniquely enjoy this holiday, rich in many traditions. While some younger generations have embraced a modernized version of the holiday, this is a snapshot of the day from my childhood:

My extended family gathers at our house on New Year’s Eve as my dad–the first born son of the family–prepares for Jesa (a memorial service for our ancestors). We enjoy our time together over conversation and cooking special dishes for Jesa: namul (cooked and seasoned vegetables), fish, meat, jeon (egg battered and fried meats and vegetables), ddeok (rice cake), fruits, white rice and soup. Our family dedicates the entire day getting ready for Jesa, the first important step into the new year. In the morning of Seol (the Korean New Year), we dress up in our Hanbok (Korean traditional dresses) and commence Jesa. A large, low table full of food is arranged according to specific rules with photographs of our ancestors presiding over the feast. We demonstrate respect and appreciation to these ancestors by Jeol (a deep, kneeling bow) twice. Following the Jesa ceremony, we all enjoy the fruits of our labor, stuffing ourselves with the delicacies from the previous day’s work, along with a special soup called ddeok-kuk (rice cake soup).

Soon after our meal, we'll gather again for Sebae. Sebae is a formal bow of respect to our living elders on Seol. Elderly family members and relatives give the younger adults and kids Sebaedon (a cash present for the New Year) to wish them health and success.

On the morning of Lunar New Year in 2023, my parents will be on their way to mass to pay their respect to our ancestors at a local Catholic church; later, they will meet my brother's family for lunch at a nice restaurant. My mom and her sisters will drive to Geojae island to visit their 92-year-old mother for Sebae. More and more Koreans have adopted a simplified version of celebrating Seol, but the core meaning of the holiday for honoring our forefathers and reuniting with family still remains the same.

Mrs. Lang has created a newsletter so that families can follow along with the projects that are happening in STEM class! She also posts about donations needed for upcoming projects. Click here to check it out! You can also follow along on Instagram by scanning the QR code.

New Year's Day, January 1.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 16, honors Reverend King's life and commitment to equality and unity.

Lunar New Year, January 22, is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.

Saturday February 4, 2023

Lakeridge Middle School Stage

Do you like Hip Hop? How about Flamenco? YOU ARE INVITED to join us at Lakeridge Middle School for the debut Dance Showcase Performance. A select group of our talented middle school dancers will wow you with their skills in a dance extravaganza. It's coming up on Saturday February 4th, at 7 PM, and it's free!! Come to the LMS Dance Showcase and cheer on Lakeridge students as they tumble, groove, and cartwheel across the stage. One night only!!!!!

Free, all-ages show (donations gladly accepted). Please note: There is a basketball tournament that day, so please allow extra time for parking.

Each school year, Oregon students take assessments to meet federal requirements. The purpose of these assessments is to provide data that schools can use to ensure that every child is on track and achieving learning goals.

State law requires us to inform you that a form is available from the State Department of Education that allows you to opt your child out of the math and English Language Arts assessments for the current school year. Should you wish to opt out your child, fill out the form and submit it to the main office at your child’s school. Please note the submission deadlines listed on the form. Meeting the deadline will help the school with planning and preparation. If you wish your child not to participate in the science assessment for grades 5, 8, and 11, submit this request in writing to the principal of your child's school.

If you have questions or want more information about state assessments, please contact your child’s principal or teacher(s).

Click here for opt-out form for Math and English Language Arts.

Parents-guardians who have concerns about a student’s well-being are encouraged to reach out to their principal, and to maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources.

SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools.

https://www.safeoregon.com/

(Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense.)

Stay connected to the district and your school(s) and receive urgent notifications by subscribing to the Lake Oswego Schools App.

For the safety of children, volunteers are required to have an approved background check when volunteering in schools. Please click here: Volunteer Application for LOSD to start the online application and background check process.

Please contact the office any time your student will be absent or be late for school. Anytime your child arrives at school after 8:20am, they will need to report to the office to get a tardy slip and report their lunch choices. When reporting absences, please email both Andrea and Jodi.

Office phone number and voicemail: 503-534-2371

Attendance Secretary: Andrea Murphy (murphya@loswego.k12.or.us)

Principal's Secretary: Jodi Steward (stewardj@loswego.k12.or.us)

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Email: westridgeptso@gmail.com

Yearbook Photos: yearbookwestridge@gmail.com

All members of our community are committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment that cultivates empathy, creates challenging opportunities, and fosters lifelong learning.

Email: weaverl@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org/wr
Location: 3400 Royce Way, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: 503-534-2371