January Newsletter

Happy New Year and welcome to 2022! We hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing break and that everyone is ready to start off strong this 2nd semester. We ended the 1st semester with lots of energy and fun (crazy sock and hat days) and we are looking forward to starting the 2nd semester with renewed energy and excitement.

Students may pick up their 2nd semester schedules in their 1st period classes on Jan. 10th. (Lists will be posted by the main entrance and bus entrance for students to locate their 1st period class). Students may also log on to Infinite Campus to get their schedule. Please know that schedules do change so make sure your child looks either in IC or gets a new printed schedule on the 1st day back to school.

Please remember that we are a uniform school and we expect students to be in uniform when they arrive at school. The West uniform is a polo and khaki or black pants/shorts or skirts. No rips or tears are allowed in the uniforms. If your child chooses to wear a sweatshirt, it must be the West black hoodie or the 1/4 zip West hoodie. Sweatshirts/hoodies/T-shirts from sports team, clubs, etc. are only allowed on free dress/spirit days or when approved by the administration. If you need assistance with the uniform, please contact your child's counselor. Students who are repeatedly out of uniform may face disciplinary actions.

Masks are still required to be worn in the buildings at all times by students, staff and visitors. If you come to an event at West, please make sure you have a mask. Thank you for helping us keep our building safe.

Your child needs to brings his/her charged device to school every day. We do not have extra chargers in the classrooms so it is important students come prepared with a charged device every day.

We have a large collection of items in our lost and found. If your child is missing something, please have your child check the lost and found boxes located upstairs by the library. Any items remaining after January 14th will be donated or discarded.

Our Candy Cane Grams were a huge success. Not only did is raise more than $800, the students loved getting a treat and note delivered to them. Thank you. Also, our Dine Around Nights have also been successful with over $800 raised from Gyro Shack and Chipotle. If you would ever like to contact the PTBC, please email them at westptbc@gmail.com

Please remember that school starts at 7:50am. The warning bell rings at 7:45am. Please plan accordingly for traffic and weather so that your child is not late for school. Missing the beginning of a class does not set a child up for success. We want every student to be successful and not miss out on learning opportunities. This also applies to classes throughout the day. Three minute passing periods is enough time to safely get across the campus. Our goal 2nd semester is for students to be on time to every class, every day.

If your child is going to be absent, please call the attendance line at (208) 854-6454. In addition, if you need to get your child out of school during the day, please call this same number and let us know your name, your child's name, what time you will be picking up your child and another information that may be necessary, such as if they will be retuning that day or not.

If you child is not participating in an after school event, they need to be off campus by 2:40. If they are staying to watch an event, they must have a way home immediately after the event. We love having students at after schools events, but there is no supervision once those events are over and your child cannot be at school unsupervised. Thank you for your help in making sure your child has arrangements to get home.

Tryouts for West Boys Basketball will begin on January 10th at 2:45. All students wanting to try out must have all of their forms turned in to Mr. Miller before they can try out. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Miller at mark.miller@boiseschools.org.

Please remember that if your child is sick, please keep your child home. The health of our students and staff is important. Follow the Illness Decision Tree (linked below) to determine when it is safe for your child to return to school. If you every have any questions, please contact Nurse Ann. She can be reached at (208) 854-6450 or ann.allard@boiseschools.org. You can also call the attendance line at (208) 854-6454.

We now have an additional testing resource for Boise School District students and staff to access Rapid antigen and PCR tests.

Keele Medical will be located in the Grace Jordan Community Center and will offer testing, free of charge, to any Boise School District student or employee, Monday-Friday, 9 am - 3 pm and 4 pm - 6 pm. No appointment is required. Walk-ins are welcome. Participants must register on the below site prior to being tested the first time.

Here is the link and QR code for participants to register.

gracejordan.mycommunitytesting.org.

Why Choose a PCR or Rapid Antigen Test?

PCR tests are needed for those individuals who have been exposed and wish to get out of quarantine early. Rapid antigen tests or PCR tests can be used if students and staff have been ill and wish to return to school.

Additional Resources

Boise State University will continue to provide Rapid antigen and PCR testing for Boise School District students and staff with no proof of insurance needed. Parents and other non-school age children would need to provide proof of insurance.

Any family who has Covid symptoms can call 2-1-1 to get a free home test mailed to them. Here is the info!

https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/news/free-home-covid-19-tests-are-available-idaho-dialing-2-1-1#main-content

The following documents can help you decide if it is safe to send your student to school based on symptoms, or possible exposure to COVID-19. Please see the district website for more information. https://www.boiseschools.org/parents___patrons/health_services/coronavirus__covid-19__information___resources_

What Should You Do If Your Student Reaches Out to You During the School Day?

We have an increasing number of students who are reaching out to their parents/guardians during school hours regarding an issue or concern that they face during the school day. These issues could involve conflict with teachers or peers, bullying, mental or physical health, or even disciplinary actions resulting from student behavior.

While your first reaction might be to solve the problem on behalf of your student, doing so actually diminishes multiple skills that we want all our students to learn: the ability to seek out proximate assistance, their ability to problem solve, as well as their ability to take ownership of their actions.

If your student reaches out to you during the day, please direct them to seek help in the school as we are all happy to help all students with any situation. This help could come from a teacher, the nurse, one of the counselors or even one of the administrators.

The Mustang Corral is available to anybody in the community. It is a "Grab and Go" pantry that is open 24 hours. It is located right our front by the gym doors.

If you would like to donate items to the pantry, you may drop the items off in the main office or contact Mrs. Warnock at jonelle.warnock@boiseschools.org

Education is important and every missed day of school represents lost learning opportunities. However, the Boise School District’s primary concern is for the safety of all students, including students riding busses and walking or biking to school. If students cannot safely travel to school or if schools are not able to operate safely because of citywide dangerous weather conditions, school may be cancelled.

We will not cancel school on days with normal wintery conditions. Light snowfall, cold mornings or areas of ice are not sufficiently dangerous to force the closure of schools. With proper precautions including appropriate clothing, road deicing, and careful driving, students can travel to and from school safely. The Boise School District covers over 450 square miles of Ada County. We recognize that conditions vary throughout the District, even from street to street, in some cases. Conditions may be extremely dangerous in one area, while perfectly safe everywhere else. If parents believe it is too dangerous for their children to travel to school they have the option to keep their children home. If school is cancelled, it will be cancelled for the entire District, including Boise Online School. The most frequent dangerous weather conditions facing Boise schools are: SNOW: Snow levels within the City of Boise are typically light or moderate. However, there is always the potential for a heavy snowfall to make traveling by vehicle or on foot dangerous. Historically, most snowfall only results in slow traffic and minor accidents throughout the City. Normal snowfalls would not result in school closures. COLD: Frigid temperatures are more serious than snow when making school closure decisions. On bitterly cold days our concern is for students walking to school. Extremely cold weather also impairs our ability to get busses running, which causes delays in pickup routes, delays which are much more dangerous to riders because of the low temperatures. ICE: Ice is our most dangerous winter weather condition. Freezing rain and/or refreezing of melted snow make our roads, streets and sidewalks extremely treacherous for pedestrians, and vehicles. Icy conditions may force us to close, even if it appears that no other dangerous conditions exist. How is the decision made to close or not to close school? Representatives from transportation agencies, the weather bureau, the highway district, city and county law enforcement agencies, and school administrators, including the Superintendent, check the roads and monitor information throughout the night and early morning hours. We confer by telephone early in the morning to reach a decision. If school will be closed, we will communicate in a number of ways to spread the word. In addition to notifying local radio and television news stations, we will send text & email messages to parents/guardians, send an emergency alert via the District’s mobile app, post closure information at www.boiseschools.org, on each school’s website, and on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts. Parents/guardians can sign-up to receive emergency text messages by texting “Y” or “YES” to the number 67587. Non-parents (e.g., other family members, staff, news media, etc.) can also receive emergency text alerts via the Boise School District's mobile app (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store). For more information, please visit our Inclement Weather Procedures on our Emergency webpage.

Annual Notification Regarding Public Release of Student Directory Information

The Boise School District complies with federal law (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) as it relates to the release of student directory information to the public. To learn more, log on to www.boiseschools.org and navigate to Parents & Patrons > Parent Information > FERPA Form. Or, please call the Clerk of the Board at 208-854-4123 to obtain a copy of the FERPA form.

Janet Cherry - Principal

Bryce England - Assistant Principal

Email: janet.cherry@boiseschools.org
Website: https://west.boiseschools.org/
Location: 8371 W. Salt Creek Ct., Boise, ID 83709
Phone: 208-854-6450
Twitter: @WestMustangsBSD