Westridge Wildcat News

Hello All,

I want to thank everyone who was able to participate in the National Walk/ Bike/ Roll to School Day yesterday. The weather held up for us, and we had a great event. It was a fantastic way to get some fresh air and start a school day. October has been a busy month and there is more to come still. It has been fun watching kids as they respond to all of these events as they pop up. Please make a note of all of the events that are coming up in the next few weeks below. And one quick clarifier-- October 21st is a No School/ Conference Prep Day in case there was confusion about this.

In addition to all of the other things, October is 'goal season' for educators. This is the time that all school staff members set goals for the year. I'm in the lucky position to have conversations with everyone about these goals. And I can tell you it's inspiring. We have an incredible staff here who are dedicated to improving in their craft-- from the way we hold reading groups to the way we set up interventions for behavior-- and ultimately all of these improvements are for the betterment of your students. Westridge is a great place to be.

Thanks all and have a great weekend,

Noah

New or Updated Information:

Save the Dates

Fitness Month

Conferences

Picture day

Dyslexia Awareness

Counselor's Corner

Continuing Reminders:

Nurses notes

Meet the Westridge Staff!

OBOB is coming!

STEM Supplies: Donations needed

Reporting Tardies and absences

Statewide Assessment Notice

10/14: No School

10/19: Lunchtime Sock Hop

10/20: PTSO General Meeting 7-8pm @ Westridge library and on Zoom (https://loswego-k12-or-us.zoom.us/j/83294107329)

10/21: No School

10/27 & 10/28: No School- Conferences

10/26: Picture day

A special shoutout to all Westridge staff and parent volunteers who have helped make our first two events of Fitness Month such a success! Our students loved running laps with Principal Hurd at last week's Fun Run, and it was a joy to see so many students (and families!) bike and walk to school this week. Walk & Bike Coloring Contest winners will be announced early next week.

Get ready for our last Fitness Month event... our Westridge Sock Hop is BACK!

• This coming Wednesday, October 19th during students' lunch recess.
• Students may wear their favorite pair of socks and students will have the opportunity for an epic dance party during their lunch period.
• Students are encouraged to decorate a pair of socks, but all socks are welcome! There will be small prizes awarded for Most Creative Socks and Most Enthusiastic Dance moves!
• Note: The event will take place on the blacktop with students keeping shoes ON, so please plan your sock decorating accordingly.

We've opened up a couple more volunteer slots for this event, you can sign-up here.

We also are still in need of the star of the show -- ROCKY! If you're up for wearing the Rocky costume for a couple hours (10/19 from 10:30AM-12:30PM), please email meganscaldwell@gmail.com

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held October 27th and 28th. Sign Up Genius links will be sent out directly from your child's teacher. Please note: this is the allotted time for parent-teacher conferences. Teachers will not be hosting conferences outside these two days. Thank you!

What are the signs of Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a common condition that affects the way the brain processes written and spoken language. It can be associated with trouble reading, but it also can affect writing, spelling and even speaking. Many children have one or two of these issues on occasion. But kids with dyslexia have several of these issues, and they don’t go away.

Here are some signs to look for:

Preschool, Kindergarten, & First Grade:

Difficulties:

• Difficulty learning (and remembering) the names of letters in the alphabet

• Seems unable to recognize letters in his/her own name

• Mispronounces familiar words; persistent “baby talk”

• Trouble learning common nursery rhymes

• Doesn’t recognize rhyming patterns like cat, bat, rat

• A family history of reading and/or spelling difficulties (dyslexia often runs in families)

• Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters on the page—will say “puppy” instead of the written word “dog” on a page with a picture of a dog

• Does not understand that words come apart

• Cannot sound out even simple words like cat, map, nap

• Does not associate letters with sounds, such as the letter b with the “b” sound

• Complains about how hard reading is; “disappears” when it is time to read

• A history of reading problems in parents or siblings

Strengths

• Curiosity

• Great imagination

• Ability to figure things out; gets the gist of things

• Eager embrace of new ideas

• A good understanding of new concepts

• Surprising maturity

• A larger vocabulary than typical for age group

• Enjoys solving puzzles

• Talent for building models

• Excellent comprehension of stories read or told to him

Second Grade through High School:

Reading

• Very slow in acquiring reading skills. Reading is slow and awkward

• Trouble reading unfamiliar words, often making wild guesses because cannot sound out the word

• Has a tough time sounding out unfamiliar words

• Avoids reading out loud

• Gets tripped up by word problems in math

School and Life

• Trouble remembering dates, names, telephone numbers, random lists

• Struggles to finish tests on time

• Extreme difficulty learning a foreign language

• Poor spelling

• Messy handwriting

• Low self-esteem that may not be immediately visible

Speaking

• Searches for a specific word and ends up using vague language, such as “stuff” or “thing,” without naming the object

• Pauses, hesitates, and/or uses lots of “um’s” when speaking

• Confuses words that sound alike, such as saying “tornado” for “volcano,” substituting “lotion” for “ocean”

• Mispronunciation of long, unfamiliar or complicated words

• Seems to need extra time to respond to questions

Strengths

• Excellent thinking skills: conceptualization, reasoning, imagination, abstraction

• Learning that is accomplished best through meaning rather than rote memorization

• Ability to get the “big picture”

• A high level of understanding of what is read to him/her/they

• The ability to read and to understand at a high level overlearned (or highly practiced) words in a special area of interest

• Improvement as an area of interest becomes more specialized and focused—and a miniature vocabulary is developed that allows for reading in that subject area

• A surprisingly sophisticated listening vocabulary

• Excels in areas not dependent on reading, such as math, computers and visual arts, or in more conceptual (versus fact-driven) subjects, including philosophy, biology, social studies, neuroscience and creative writing

If you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s learning, please contact the school principal and/or literacy specialist. Another great parent resource would be to contact your school’s Special Education Advisory Committee representative. Please see here to learn how to contact your school representative.

Hello LOSD Families! As we return to community gathering, we are seeing some

cases of Lice and Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Please review the links below

for more information on how to prevent, identify and treat either. Please see

your medical professional for diagnosis, treatment and more information. Also,

it is very important for you to bring your students medications to school if they

may be needed during school hours.

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease - CDC Lice Information for Parents

Contact your District Nurse

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. This is a month-long event to prevent bullying and promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. Our school counselor, Gary Kieser, is introducing STOP! WALK! TALK! If students feel hurt by someone's words or actions they can use this strategy.

How can you help? You can help by reinforcing this strategy. Please ask them if they 1. Told the other child to stop, 2. If they walked away, and 3. If they talked to an adult if the problem did not stop. It is our sincere desire to have a school environment which is characterized by respect and caring.

What is OBOB?

The Oregon Battle of the Books is a reading and trivia competition that serves as

a statewide celebration of literacy and good books. 3rd to 5th grade students

form teams of three to five members, then read and study from a common list of

16 books selected by the State OBOB committee each year. Teams then square

off in a series of "Battles" to show off how much they have learned by answering

questions about the books.

Parents of 3rd through 5th graders please see teacher’s newsletter for more

details. Just note that battles begin at lunch recess in mid-January and then we

will have the remaining battles on Saturday February 4, 2023.

Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/wrOBOB23

***All team members need to be signed up by their parent or guardian.

***If your child does not have a team, we can help! If they want to participate, we

will work to find them a team.

Please email Rebecca Weinstein rebeccaweinstein2@gmail.com with any

questions.

Our fabulous STEM Teacher, Mrs. Lang is collecting a supply of toilet paper and paper towel rolls, cupcake liners, googly eyes and playdough. Please drop any donations off in the lobby.

Each week we will get to know a few Westridge staff members with a Q&A session!

This week, we met up with the Third Grade Team:

Britta Jaques, Kristen Shambaugh and Karen Carter

Britta Jaques:

Q: What is your job here at Westridge?

A: 3rd grade Teacher

Q: How long have you worked at Westridge?

A: This is my 10th year

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: Portland, Oregon

Q: What did you do after high school?

A:I attended Oregon State University (Go BEAVS!) and then Lewis & Clark College for Graduate School

Q: Tell me about your family or any pets!

A: I have the most amazing parents, a grandma that I idolize, a loving brother and sister-in-law and I am an aunt to the cutest 7 and 5 year old niece and nephew!

Q: What are some interesting or fun facts about you?

A:I have never had a cavity nor have broken a bone. I played tennis all growing up. I once hiked around Mt. Hood along the Timberline Trail which is 41 miles long!

Q: What are somethings you love to do in your free time?

A: I enjoy going on runs and walks around town!

Kristen Shambaugh:

Q: What is your job here at Westridge?

A: Third Grade Teacher

Q: How long have you worked at Westridge?

A: This is my 16th year

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: West Linn, Oregon

Q: What did you do after high school?

A: Oregon State (BS) and University of Portland (MAT)

Q: Tell me about your family or any pets!

A: Ryan and I have been married for 15 years. We have two kids: Stella, who is 11 and in 6th grade and Nolan who is 9 and in 4th grade. We have two cats.

Q: What are some interesting or fun facts about you?

A: I wake up early and walk 3+ miles before school each day with my neighbor (a 3rd grade teacher in a neighboring district).

There are another Kristen and Nolan Shambaugh within the Lake Oswego School District but they are not me nor my son (distant relation though crazily enough).

Q: What are some things you love to do in your free time?

A:I enjoy going on walks and reading. I love to shop, listen to live music, spend time with family and friends, and travel.

Karen Carter:

Q: What is your job here at Westridge?

A: Third Grade Teacher

Q: How long have you worked at Westridge?

A: 20ish years

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: Southwest Portland

Q: What did you do after high school?

A: Went to the University of Oregon, Studied Abroad my junior year in Sevilla, Spain, and went to Concordia University for teaching.

Q: Tell me about your family or any pets!

A: I have an older sister that lives in Portland, cousins and an aunt that live in Hillsboro.

Q: What are some interesting or fun facts about you?

A: I hung out with Magic Johnson in Maui, Hawaii for a week at the Westin pool. I was pen pals with the President of the United States when I was in second grade. I backpacked for three months through Europe with friends.

Q: What are some things you love to do in your free time?

A: I love to travel, being near the water, walks/hanging out with friends, reading and road trips.

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)

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.

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Zoom Link for PTSO Meetings

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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: hurdn@loswego.k12.or.us weaverl@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org/wr
Location: 3400 Royce Way, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: 5035342371