W.E.stchester Weekly
News from the Principal
Greetings WE Families,
We have made it through one week of school. It was nice having the two days last week to settle in. As I visit classrooms, I am so grateful for the time and effort the teachers have already taken to intentionally and thoughtfully plan for the start of the school year. The students are settling in each day with the routines and expectations.
As an EL Education school, we focus our work with students on the Three Dimensions of Student Achievement, which are the Mastery of Knowledge and Skills, Character, and High-quality work. We believe that our role in helping our students develop character is to empower them to become effective learners and ethical people who contribute to a better world. An ethical person engages with others through respect, responsibility and safety, which are the Westchester schoolwide expectations. Effective learners actively develop the habits of scholarship such as perseverance, collaboration and craftsmanship.
Our staff is committed to making sure that all students are successful each day, both academically and socially. We are refining our school-wide expectations and systems of support to first check in on our emotional regulation. The students have been learning about the school-wide expectations of respect, responsibility, and safety. They will be learning more about managing individual zones of regulation and emotions. We can solve any problem that comes our way when we recognize and regulate how we are feeling in the moment. I look forward to sharing more about this with parents during our Curriculum Night and our first Community Circle.
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events.
August 28, 2025: Curriculum Night
August 29th, 2025: Community Circle - all are welcome
From your very grateful principal,
Christine Knox
Teacher Wishlist
Westchester Elementary is committed to ensuring every classroom is stocked and ready for students and teachers to have what they need to be engaged and successful. We do this by using our allocated state and local funding to fulfill classroom needs. Funding covers essential classroom supplies, any specialized materials needed for educational programming in different grade levels/subjects, individual or team requests for specific supplies, professional learning and general operating costs.
In addition to this, some staff at Westchester have customarily shared supply wish lists with families via email or online. Please know that these are optional and individualized by the staff member. Wish lists should not be interpreted as an indication that classrooms at Westchester or our programming lack supplies or funding. Instead, the lists reflect individual preferences for extra items. Any purchases made from these lists are considered gifts to staff and must follow state guidance and Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) rules around gift-giving to public employees, including monetary limits.
If you have any questions about how supplies are funded or how you can support our classrooms, please contact Christine Knox at cknox@csdecatur.net
Star Testing
Dear Westchester Families,
During the week of August 11 through August 15, we will be administering the STAR Math (K-2), Early Literacy (K-2), and Reading (2nd grade) tests. STAR is a computerized adaptive test which helps teachers, parents, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child's academic growth. Students take the STAR tests in the fall, winter, and spring. By taking it 3 times a year, teachers and parents are able to see how their student is growing in the areas of reading and math throughout the school year. We will use this data to help us make informed instructional decisions for our students. The tests will be administered by classroom teachers and proctors in their classrooms. STAR family reports will be shared on August 21st.
If you have any questions please reach out to our Instructional Coach Christie Manasso cmanasso@csdecatur.net .
Annual Data Update: WE is in the lead with 75%!!!!!
Reminders
School Lunch Policy: Please be sure to maintain a positive lunch balance for your child. This will help us avoid any unexpected lunch changes for students. Check your Parent Portal frequently to make sure your child has adequate funds for the cafeteria. You may also find the Parent Portal app (for Apple or Android) to be more convenient.