Westwood Email Template

🐬 Westwood Weekly Update – Week 15

Dear Westwood Families,

We have another exciting week ahead at Westwood! As we head into the middle of November, we have a few important reminders, celebrations, and upcoming events to share with our families.

Honoring Our Veterans

There will be NO SCHOOL on Wednesday, November 11, in honor of Veterans Day. We are incredibly grateful to all the men and women who have served and sacrificed to protect our country and our freedoms. We thank you for your service!

🍧 Kona Ice & Report Cards – Friday, November 13

Kona Ice will be visiting Westwood on Friday, November 13, after school! I also want to apologize for the incorrect date shared in last week's update. Thank you for your understanding!

On Friday, students will also be bringing home their trimester report cards. We encourage families to take some time to talk with their children about their progress. Celebrate their successes, recognize the areas where they have grown, and work together to set goals for the remainder of the school year. These conversations help students take ownership of their learning and continue striving for growth!

❤️ Westwood Healthy Heart Challenge

We are in the middle of our Westwood Healthy Heart Challenge, brought to us by the American Heart Association in partnership with Lodi Memorial!

Students should have brought home a flyer with information about how to sign up and participate. Students have the opportunity to earn fun prizes while raising funds to support the American Heart Association and its work in promoting heart health.

We also had a wonderful assembly on Friday! Students learned about the importance of keeping their hearts healthy and even had an opportunity to learn about CPR. We appreciate the opportunity to bring these important lessons to our students and encourage healthy habits that can last a lifetime!

🦃 Save the Date – Annual Westwood Turkey Trot 11/20!

Keep an eye out for a flyer coming home soon about our Annual Westwood Turkey Trot, held in loving memory of Julie Ming, a former Westwood teacher who remains an important part of our school community.

We are looking forward to another fun community event! In addition to our Turkey Trot, we will have an opportunity to raffle off turkeys and pies just in time for Thanksgiving. More information will be coming home soon!

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. We are grateful for our Westwood families and all the ways you help make our school community such a special place.

Have a wonderful week, and Go Dolphins! 🐬

Warmly,

Mrs. Azevedo
Westwood Elementary School

The Student Services/SELPA Department invites families, educators, and community members to attend the upcoming Special Education Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting.

Topic: VMRC, DOR, and Transition to Adult Services

Presenter: Lisa Chaves, Special Education Coordinator

Date: December 14, 2026

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Microsoft Teams

This meeting will provide an opportunity to learn more about Valley Mountain Regional Center (VMRC), the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), and the transition process from school-based services to adult services.

Join the meeting: Click the Join the meeting now link to participate from your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

For questions or additional information, please contact the Student Services/SELPA Department at (209) 331-7061. We look forward to your participation!

Proud local sponsor of Kids Heart Challenge.

Dear families,

I am excited to help create a community of lifesavers and am asking you to join me today. Check this off your list in less than one minute and receive your Kids Heart Challenge character stamp pal just for joining the team!

1. Sign Up Today! Download the Heart Schools app or visit http://www2.heart.org/goto/WestwoodElementary to join our school team.
2. Complete Your Challenge! Follow all the steps in Finn's Mission and invite 10 family and friends to donate. Your family will also learn lifesaving skills, including how to call 911 in an emergency and how to B.E. F.A.S.T. when someone is having a stroke.

Sign up before Nov. 6th to be recognized by the American Heart Association during our assembly!

We are excited to share some wonderful news about student behavior at Westwood! When comparing our discipline data to this same time in November 2025, we have seen over a 50% reduction in both student citations and suspensions! This is tremendous progress, and we are incredibly proud of the positive choices and improvements our students are making.

We know that creating a positive school culture is a partnership between home and school, and we want to thank our families for the continued support, encouragement, and reinforcement of our school expectations. Your partnership makes a difference!

As we head into the holiday season, we encourage families to continue talking with their children about making good choices and following our three important Westwood expectations: Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Safe.

We also want students to know that positive choices are recognized and celebrated! Students have opportunities to earn Dolphin Tickets that they can use to shop at our Dolphin Store. In addition, we host our Dolphin Arcade once each trimester, providing students with another fun opportunity to celebrate positive behavior and their commitment to our school expectations. We typically have approximately 40 students participate!

We are proud of the progress our Dolphins are making and look forward to building on this success together. Thank you for being such an important part of the Westwood community. Let's keep swimming in the right direction! 🐬

🚗 A Reminder About Student Drop-Off Safety

As a reminder, we ask all families to please follow our established traffic and drop-off procedures. Our morning drop-off can be busy, and we appreciate everyone's patience and cooperation in helping keep our students, families, and staff safe.

Please remember the following expectations:

• Drive slowly: Please observe posted speed limits and avoid rushing through the drop-off area.

• Be courteous: Honking, cutting in front of other vehicles, or engaging in unsafe or impatient driving behaviors creates unnecessary stress and safety concerns for everyone.

• Pull forward: Please continue moving forward into the designated yellow drop-off zone so we can maximize space and keep traffic flowing.

• Remain in your vehicle: For everyone's safety and to keep the line moving, parents should remain in their vehicles during drop-off.

• Use designated drop-off areas: Please do not drop students off in the staff parking lot. This area is reserved for staff parking and is not a designated student drop-off location.

We understand that mornings can be hectic and that everyone is eager to get their children to school on time. However, taking shortcuts or moving ahead of families who are patiently following the procedures creates unsafe situations and sends the wrong message to our children. Our students are always watching us, and the way we navigate these situations provides an important opportunity to model patience, courtesy, and respect for others.

We ask that all families do their part to follow these expectations, be considerate of one another, and help us make arrival a safe and positive experience for everyone.

Thank you for helping us keep our Westwood Dolphins safe! 🐬

📣 An Important Message for Westwood Families

As a Title I school, Westwood is required to share our Parent and Family Engagement Policy with families. This policy outlines how we will work together to support student success and create meaningful opportunities for families to be involved in our school community.

📖 Please take a moment to review the policy included in this week's S'more.

Your voice and participation matter! We value your partnership and welcome your ideas about how we can continue to strengthen family engagement at Westwood.

Together, we can help every Westwood student learn, grow, and succeed! 💙

Please work with us to Board Policy states that a student is allowed 14 illness days for the school year. After this time a medical note is required or the absence is NOT excused.

Examples of unexcused absences include missing school due to:

• Going out of town or on vacation
• Attending weddings
• Oversleeping
• A parent/guardian/sibling having an appointment
• Not having a babysitter
• Attending a graduation

Guardians have 10 days to clear an absence before it is considered unexcused regardless of reason. After 10 days, the absence cannot be changed.

If a child is on an intra-district transfer from another school, regular attendance is mandatory and required to approve the intra-district agreement.

If your child is riding an E-Bike or scooter to school, please review the following information provided to Lodi USD by law enforcement to ensure that your child is following regulations and is riding with safety.

• E-Bikes - There are three classifications of e-bikes. All e-bikes must have an electric motor of less than 750 watts.
• Class 1 and 2: These e-bikes are similar to regular bicycles. They can be identified as pedal assisted with an electric motor that reaches a maximum speed of 20mph. Class 1 and 2 riders must wear a helmet while riding and adhere to the same regulations as regular bicycles.
• Class 3: These e-bikes are pedal assisted with an electric motor that ceases to provide power at 28mph. These e-bikes have age restrictions, riders must be 16 years or older, and must be wearing a helmet at all times when riding.

• Motorized Scooters - Motorized scooters are two-wheeled devices with a floorboard or seat, and are powered by an electric motor.
• Riders of motorized scooters must be 16 years of age or older, and must have a valid driver's license or learner's permit to legally ride. Riders must also wear a helmet.

Please help us keep students safe by ensuring these regulations are followed. Thank you!

English

The School Accountability Report Card (SARC) provides parents and the community with important information about each public school.

Lodi Unified School District’s SARCs are available on the District’s webpage at https://www.lodiusd.net/about/sarcs. If you have questions regarding Lodi Unified’s SARCs or would like to receive a printed copy of a particular school, please contact Accounting at (209) 331-7141. For further information on School Accountability Report Cards, please visit the California Department of Education's web site at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/.

Spanish

Resumen del Reporte de Rendición de Cuentas Escolar (SARC) provee a los padres y a la comunidad con información importante sobre cada escuela pública.

Los informes SARC del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Lodi están disponibles en https://www.lodiusd.net/about/sarcs página web del Distrito. Si usted tiene preguntas con respecto a los SARC de Lodi Unified o le gustaría recibir una copia impresa de una escuela en particular, por favor póngase en contacto con el departamento de Contabilidad al numero 209-331-7141. Para más información sobre School Accountability Report Cards (SARC), por favor visite el sitio Web del Departamento de Educación de California en https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/.