For the 2023-2024 school year, West Elementary will be working on targeted practice on some “life” skills in addition to academics. Every week, we will practice a skill that will help us all be a little better. This week’s skill is READ THE ROOM.

Most people are pretty good at READ THE ROOM but a reminder never hurts. This week we will be practicing.

3/18/24 -- Read the Room

3/11/24 -- Joining In

3/4/24 --Being a Good Sport

2/12/24 -- Empathy

2/5/24 -- Flexible Thinking

1/29/24 -- Avoiding Trouble

1/8/24 -- Apologizing

1/2/24 -- Reacting to Problems

12/18/23 -- Being Polite

12/4/23 -- Introducing Yourself

11/6/23 -- Offering Help

10/30/23 -- Expressing Your Feelings

10/23/23 -- Knowing Your Feelings

10/16/23 -- Giving a Compliment

10/9/23 -- Review

9/25/ 23-- Following Instructions

9/18/23 -- Asking for Help

9/11/23 -- Listening

Having a hard time feeling anxious or helping your children navigate these feelings?

On Tuesday, April 30th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm, West Elementary will host Dr. Meichenbaum from the Summit Center. Dr. Meichenbaum will present, Helping Your Child Manage Anxiety -- providing information to increase understanding of anxiety and the tools to help your child manage it. School-age children attending will have an opportunity to do some "mindfulness" activities with school staff.

Congratulations to the West Elementary Grade 5 students who participated in the 3v3 basketball tournament! The girls team took first place. The boys team took second place. Way to represent West Elementary!

Selected Grade 5 students recently participated in the Erie County Music Educators Association concert. These students worked with Mrs. Safford, and they rehearsed with other students from around Western New York to prepare for a concert earlier this month.

Grade 5 West Elementary team (pictured below) won the highest score in total points for the district's 24 Game Tournament held earlier this month. Additional Gold medals were awarded to 4th grader Rayyan Alam and 5th Grader Bently Suchan for the highest scores overall. Congratulations!

Thanks to the Black Knights chess club, Mrs. Griffin, Mrs. Goodman, and our Grade 4 and Grade 5 chess players who have been practicing.

Apex is coming in May -- Power Up!

West Elementary will be fundraising to equip our new multipurpose/gym space (the filled in pool area).

Don't miss out on the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th. Please use these resources to learn a little more about what to expect.

https://www.smore.com/n/yx2vm

West Elementary is celebrating Literacy!!!

We do this all the time, but in March we are going all out -- Olympic Style!

Friday, March 1 : OPENING CEREMONY / PEP RALLY

Friday, March 8: DIVE INTO A GOOD BOOK AT HOME (No School)

Wednesday, March 13: READING COMES TO LIGHT

Wednesday, March 20: READING OLYMPICS IN PARIS

Wednesday, March 27: CLOSING CEREMONY / GLENN COLTON

Don't forget to keep your reading log.

Remember to follow along with Mouse and the Motorcycle for ONE SCHOOL, ONE BOOK.

Check out the attachment below for more specific information.

1. Each FAMILY will be receiving one copy of The Mouse and the Motorcycle to keep. The copy of the book to the oldest sibling in the building to take home and share. These books will be labeled and distributed to each class on March 1st. Please do not be surprised at the primary levels if you do not have a full class set of books delivered, as many of our youngest students have older siblings.
2. Students will be receiving a take home packet that has been created with optional recipes, book reflections, and activities to complete on their own time. These packets should be coming home on March 1st.
3. Inside of the packet there will be a reading log and The Mouse and the Motorcycle Bingo. Any student who completes the reading log or a bingo sheet will receive a prize from me in the library. Students can return these logs to their teachers or to Mrs. Warren.
4. There will be trivia questions on the morning announcements during the month of March. Students may fill out a paper answer sheet that I will provide for grades first and kindergarten. Students in grades second through fifth, are asked to fill in their answers using the online form that will be posted on the library website and in Google Classroom. Two or three winners will be selected from the correct answers each day.

For One School, One Book materials -- visit the library webpage linked below:

ELA

Grades 3 through 5 -- 4/10 and 4/11

SCIENCE

Grade 5 only -- 4/23

Math

Grades 3 through 5 -- 5/6 and 5/7

Order your West Elementary yearbook now -- $13.

Please visit https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/Order/SelectJob

Enter our school code -- 13752724

This Form has been fixed to accept answers --

Please use the following link to fill out the West Seneca School District Volunteer Acknowledgement Form. If you plan on coming in as a guest reader, to volunteer with PTA, or to work in your child's classroom for holiday parties, please adhere to the obligations and expectations of a responsible parent volunteer. The following guidelines/procedures shall serve as a review of your important role in our schools:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdxcVhc_HrwLPRtnhODkr3nB-Y3aYQJ1Y62bV3RMrP3HDi1tA/viewform

Classroom Placements for the Next School Year-Placement Input Survey

West Elementary School faculty members regard the placement of students into classroom groups one of our most important professional responsibilities. Our goal is to make the best possible decisions, not only for an individual child but also for groups of children. We are committed to developing classroom combinations that are balanced with regard to strengths and needs. It is our belief that balanced classes maximize learning opportunities and are in the best interests of children and teachers. We are professionally committed to creating heterogeneous classes for each grade level.

At West Elementary will work together to make the best possible educational decisions about each child’s placement for the 2024-2025 school year. We thoroughly consider the following variables to arrive at a decision for individual children and to achieve a balanced grouping for each classroom:

• Teaching Styles/Learning Styles
• Work Habits & Study Skills
• Gender
• Time-Intensive Needs
• Academic Achievement
• Social/Emotional Needs
• Behavior
• Special Education Services

While we encourage parental input about each of the above variables, parent requests for specific teachers can be problematic. Do not request a teacher by name. The best information you can provide to assist in our placement of students is a description of your child rather than a focus on the teacher. Please remember that we value your input, and it will be carefully considered in class placement; however, we do have an obligation to create educationally balanced classes based on the above criteria.

If you would like to provide some input about your child for consideration as teachers build classes for next year, please complete the Google Form below, Student Placement Survey, and submit no later than Friday, May 17, 2024. All surveys received by May 17th will be given serious consideration when based on the above guidelines. If you need assistance filling out this form, please contact your child’s teacher.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSck_f5-W0ASY92rwwUhb962PF6t80fcei3VM31BQNVY2JGaCA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Ms. Elizabeth Caprio, School Social Worker

716-677-3166

ecaprio@wscschools.org

Ms. Lisa Gill, School Social Worker

716-677-3261

lgill@wscschools.org

Mrs. Nubia Cawthard, School Psychologist

716-677-3258

ncawthard@wscschools.org

Mrs. Lea O'Malley, School Counselor

716- 677-3671

lomalley@wscschools.org

April

Tuesday the 9th -- Return to School, Popcorn and Paws K-2

Wednesday the 10th -- NYS ELA Testing in Grades 3-5, PTA Meeting 6:30 in Library

Thursday the 11th -- NYS ELA Testing in Grades 3-5

Tuesday the 16th -- Popcorn and Paws 3-5

Friday the 19th -- Science Night 6:00-8:00

Wednesday the 24th -- Spring Pictures

Friday the 26th -- Dollar Day - Wear Blue for Autism

"The Mission of the West Seneca Central School District is to provide a diversified educational program which will produce literate, caring, ethical, responsible, and productive citizens who are capable of adapting to change."