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PRINCIPALS' CORNER
Jan Murphy and Ashley Furnari
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Veterans Day Celebration
Last
Friday
, West School celebrated Veterans Day dressed in red, white and blue during a patriotic presentation organized by our music teacher,
Mrs. Fitzgerald
.
Police Chief Leon Krolikowski
was the distinguished guest of honor. He served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves from 1987-1995 and served from 1990-1991 in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. His medals and decorations include: Combat Action Ribbon, Sea Service Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Southwest Asia
Service
Medal, Liberation of Kuwait Medal, and the Marine Corps Reserve Good Conduct Medal. During our assembly, students learned about the merits of serving our community and country. The entire school sang patriotic songs and learned about the importance of certain instruments in patriotic and military music. Our featured musician was Louise Barranger, Ridgefield resident, teacher, and professional trumpet play
er with the brass quintet, Revolutionary Brass. Louise has performed on Broadway, television, and even at the White House.
 
Ben's Bells - Grade 3 Students are Kindness Detectives!
West School third graders became kindness detectives for the month of November. Ben's Bells came to West School on
November 7th
to look closely at how small acts of kindness make big impacts in the community. Third graders discussed how showing kindness is a skill that needs practice. After a few interactive activities, students then painted many kindness coins to be fired and given out to the community by the organization. Third graders are each getting a kindness coin and will be on the lookout for acts of kindness in West School to pass along the coin. It was a beautiful start to our month of kindness.
Reminder: Coats, Hats, Mittens, Boots!
With the recent extremes in temperature, we want to remind everyone of the importance of wearing coats, mittens, hats and boots whenever the weather changes. Because of the unusually warm temperatures, students are coming to school without a coat or jacket with many wearing shorts and tank tops. We continue to go outside for recess during these colder months unless it is raining, snowing or below 21 degrees. Please be sure your child has the appropriate clothing to keep them warm on the playground. You can read more about this below.
Health Tips from Nurse Bell
Cold season is upon us! Here are some tips for keeping our children cold free...
-
Wipe those iPad/iPhone screens. (Germs can live on surfaces for 48 hours.)
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Hand Washing - Wash for 30 seconds with warm, soapy water. Remember to wash the tops of your hands as well.
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Rest - Children need at least 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
When is it too cold to go outside?
According to a recent article in
USA Today
, the answer varies widely based on where a school is located. Physical activity can boost student performance, and we value recess as an opportunity for students to be active and healthy. At the same time, we must consider the factors that influence our weather as well as how the weather impacts the safety of our playgrounds. (Ex: slippery playground equipment, icy patches, puddles, etc.) New Canaan Elementary School students will be going outside for recess whenever the temperature is 21 degrees or higher. Factors such as wind chill, heat index, humidity and the amount of sunshine will also be considered when making the decision for outside recess. The following link offers guidelines for public schools. Child Care Weather Watch.
December Hour of Code
Beginning
December 18th
, all students in grades K-4
will be taking part in the international event "
Hour of Code
" in celebration of Computer Science Week. The week of December 18th, students will be engaging in coding activities (plugged and unplugged) in both Computer and Library classes. Students will be expected to use critical thinking and creativity to problem solve and innovate. This is a great opportunity for students to integrate their 21st century skills in technology.
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THANKSGIVING EARLY DISMISSAL, Wednesday, November 22nd
Early Dismissal (1:05 PM)
THANKSGIVING BREAK, Thursday, November 23rd - Friday, November 24th
No School
REPORT CARD DISTRIBUTION, Friday, November 30th
SPIRIT DAY, Friday, November 30th and Friday, December 7th
Wear your
Green, White and Westy!
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES, Tuesday, December 4th - Friday, December 7th
Early Dismissal (1:05 PM)
HOLIDAY TEACHER APPRECIATION LUNCHEON, Friday, December 14th
Please contribute to the 2018 Teacher & Faculty Appreciation Holiday Luncheon.
Show your support for our wonderful teachers and staff by purchasing items for the catering order, or send in your special baked goods. Click
here
to view a list of items needed and volunteer requests. Email one of our chairs,
Kara Gilliam
and
Meaghan Kupchak
with any questions:
tahollunch@westschoolptc.org.
Thank you in advance for helping make this a special and festive event for our hard working staff!
SAVE THE DATE! THE GREATEST SHOW BY WEST SCHOOL, Thursday, February 7th, 2019
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages...SAVE THE DATE for The Greatest Show-West School's Variety Show at Saxe Auditorium. Additional details and registration information coming soon!
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CALL FOR FOURTH GRADE BABY PHOTOS
It's already time to begin the assembly of the West School Memory Book and we need your help to make it extra special for our fourth graders. Parents: please submit a favorite baby photo of your child. If emailing the photo, please include the student's last name and the teacher's name in the subject line and attach the photo in JPEG format. Ideally the photo filename should include the student's last name and teacher's name. Photos should be emailed to:
memorybooks@westschoolptc.org. Hard copies of photos are also accepted. Parents can leave a hard copy in the memory book box in the West School office and an email should be sent to let the coordinators know a hard copy was submitted. The photo must have the student's last name and teacher's name on the back! Photos will be returned.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28th. Questions, please email Memory Book Coordinators,
Paige or
Megan, at
memorybooks@westschoolptc.org.
SHOP MINTED HOLIDAY CARDS AND SUPPORT WEST SCHOOL!
 Now that you have your beautiful family photos, use them in a MINTED HOLIDAY CARD while supporting West School! Use the PROMO CODE: FUNDRAISEWEST when you check out and Minted will donate 15% to WEST School and you will receive 15% off your order! This fabulous offer will run for the entire month of NOVEMBER! Click
here to shop, and remember to use the PROMO CODE above! Promo Code expires on
Friday, November 30th, 2018.
WEST CONFERENCE DAY FUN
Conference day classes are still available and are now open for unrestricted registration! Students will have early dismissal on Teacher Conference Days from
Tuesday, December 4th to Friday, December 7th
. After-school classes, sponsored by the New Canaan Recreation Department, will be offered to keep your student busy while you attend your conference. Available classes include Super Hero Engineering, Legos, Mad Science and Chess! Class descriptions and offerings are listed on the Rec Department website
here. Classes are open to K-4 students. Contact the Recreation Department for assistance.
AUTUMN KIDS CARE COLLECTIONS
Please bring in gently used or new books for KIDS CARE book drive.
Hello West School families! Kids Care is asking for your help! In the month of
November
we will collect NEW & GENTLY USED CHILDREN'S books for the CT based "READ TO GROW" program. This program supports parents in an effort to promote literacy and language skills for children from infancy. There will be designated bins beneath the Kids Care Bulletin Board for the month of November only. We are grateful for your donations! Also, in an effort to support those within our own community, we are excited to announce that we will be collecting much needed items for the New Canaan Food Pantry throughout the school year. There will be a box beneath the Kids Care bulletin board (near the teacher's lounge) for the entire school year. The following food items are always in need: Canned tuna, canned chicken, canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, canned chili, canned stew, canned soup, pasta, pasta sauce, pancake mix (just add water type), maple syrup, brown rice, and white rice. MANY THANKS!
WEST SCHOOL STUDENT AMBASSADORS CARE PACKAGES
 This December, help those in need. Students will be assembling holiday goody bags, which will contain diapers, wipes, lotion and shampoos. All Donations NO LATER than Wednesday, December 12th.
- Kindergarten - small package of diapers
- 1st Grade - wipes
- 2nd Grade - lotion
- 3rd Grade - shampoo
- 4th Grade - white gift bags (no decorations)
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THANK YOU TO WEST SCHOOL AUCTION TEAM
Thank you West School parents for your generous support for another successful online auction. Congratulations to all of the winners! Thank you to
PTC Fundraising VP's
Meghan Gould and
Lisa McLean for their vision and energy in all aspects of the auction. Thank you to
Auction Chairs Martha Fitzgibbons and
Erica Schwedel for their tireless work over the last few months to assemble a fabulous set of items and even evaluate and deploy a new auction system! The West PTC could not operate without the auction and we are grateful to have had such resourceful Chairs overseeing one of the biggest jobs of the year!
THANK YOU TO BOOK FAIR TEAM
This year's Book Fair team went above and beyond to create a beautiful display of books in a new space. Thank you to
Book Fair Chair
Joyce Olesen and
committee members
, Anca Jordan, Beth Snyder, Kristen Hibbert and Lauren Erickson,
for once again running a successful sale! It is a lot of work, including manual labor, and we appreciate their dedication to this beloved event. A special thank you to
Anca Jordan
who shared her unbelievable talents (and a lot of time) to create an actual Enchanted Forest for the Book Fair, complete with flying fairies! The kids and their parents loved it!
KIDS CARE NOVEMBER MEETING
The West School Kids Care program held its November meeting this week, and was joined by Cathy Kangas of the Humane Society and WILDLIFE IN CRISIS of Weston, CT. Cathy Kangas works to educate the communities about different organizations like the WILDLIFE IN CRISIS. Her voice and enthusiasm for the care of animals inspired us all to learn more about how we can help! Peter from Wildlife In Crisis shared with the children how they care for over 200 species of native birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. They operate their animal hospital in Weston completely on donations. These animal care experts are a wonderful addition to our broader community. Cathy and Wildlife In Crisis prepared a very special morning for our Kids Care, sharing lots of information on our local animals, bringing them stuffed animals and then a visit from a real Owl named Gonzo! To learn more about Wildlife in Crisis, please visit:
http://wildlifeincrisis.org.
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A special Board of Education Public Hearing on school start times has been scheduled for Monday, November, 19th at 7:00PM, NCHS, Wagner Room. Parents are encouraged to attend this meeting and speak for up to 3 minutes. Stay for the regular BOE meeting after the hearing, which will include a presentation by Mark Walsh, a consultant from Transportation Advisory Services, discussing school start time scenarios and possibilities. All BOE meetings are broadcast live on channel 78 and rebroadcast on
Thursdays at 7:30PM
and
Mondays at 4:00PM
. Questions? Please contact the West BOE Reps
Janee Hunter
and
Mary Blanc
at
edurep@westschoolptc.org
.
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HEALTHY SCHOOL START TIMES NEW CANAAN
Monday,
November 19th the Board of Education will hold a Public Hearing on school start times. Parents are encouraged to attend and speak for up to 3 minutes. If you would like to learn more about this important topic, visit
Healthy School Start Times New Canaan. The site includes facts, resources and FAQs on why school start times matter.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND JR. AT SAXE
Experience the magic of Wonderland! Join dancing flowers and singing Woodland Creatures, a grinning Cheshire Cat and a helpful Caterpillar, a Mad Hatter's tea party and a White Rabbit running late for the evil Queen's croquet game, and, of course, Alice in all her various sizes as they explore the topsy-turvy, colorful world that is Wonderland. Based on the 1951 Disney film and the beloved novels of Louis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Jr. is a not-to-miss musical! Tickets on sale now. Click
here for tickets. There will be three performances:
Friday, November 30th at 7 PM and Saturday, December 1st at 11 AM and 2 PM.
Presented by 5th and 6th graders at Saxe Middle School Auditorium.
NEW CANAAN FIRE DEPARTMENT SANTA'S HELPER FUNDRAISER
 Lights, sirens and Santa to your front door!
New Canaan Firefighters will be donning
Santa suits and bringing along their elves to deliver gifts to your front door.
The first "Santa's helper" Fundraiser is open to all New
Canaan residents. Parents, please bring a small gift, wrapped in brown paper with your child's name and address clearly printed on the outside to "Santa's Helper" 60 Main Street, New Canaan Fire Headquarters.
The collection will begin on Saturday, December 1st
and end on Saturday, December 8
th.
Drop off times are between 9AM-11AM and 5PM-7PM.
A donation of $40 per gift will be collected at the time of drop-off
. Deliveries will be made
December 14th , 15th or 16th
between 5PM and
9:30PM
and will be scheduled on a first come, first serve basis.
We can accommodate up to 25 stops per night. We encourage "parties"
to maximize your experience!
For more information, call (203) 594-3140.
NEW CANAAN RACQUET CLUB YOUTH TENNIS
Give the gift of tennis to your child! Classes are held on weekdays after school and on the weekends. For more information go to:
www.ncrctennis.com/junior-clinics to ensure your child learns the "sport of a lifetime"!
ANNIE JR. AUDITION OPPORTUNITY
 Open Arts Alliance, a non-profit arts education organization that provides outreach, classes, volunteerism, and productions for students across Connecticut is having auditions for Annie Jr. Auditions will be held
December 12th, 13th, & 14th
at Round Hill Community Center (395 Round Hill Road in Greenwich, Connecticut). Performances of Annie Jr. will take place on
April 27th and 28th
at the Cole Auditorium at the Greenwich Library. Students will focus on teamwork, character study, confidence and communication skills throughout the process while connecting and building relationships. Children (ages 8-18) are encouraged to audition. Registration can be completed
here
.
WINTER REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR SQUASH K-4 PROGRAM
 Winter 2018/19 registration is now open for the New Canaan Squash elementary (K-4) program! You can register by clicking here.
The program is designed for New Canaan public school students to learn squash in a positive team environment. Players will be grouped by grade (K-2, 3-4) and practices will be held at St. Luke's Squash Club in New Canaan. Clinics are available 1 day a week or 2 days a week! If you have any
questions, please contact Liz Schmidt ebschmidt@optonline.net or
Suzanne Koeppl
suzanne.koeppl@gmail.com
.
NEW CANAAN YOUTH WRESTLING
Interested in Wrestling? Registration for our 2018-2019 season is now LIVE! You can click
here or go to the "Register Now" button
on our Club Website - www.newcanaanwrestling.org.
We are pleased to offer 3 programs again this year: Elementary (K-4th grade); Middle School (5th-8th grade) and a Travel program. Our travel program is by coach invitation only. If you have not participated before, but are interested in joining the travel team contact Coach Jason Milligan at
jason@milliganrealty.com
. Practice will begin the week of December 3rd. Register prior to November 16th to avoid a $50 late fee and to guarantee that you get the club gear included with your registration fee. New wrestlers are welcome! We always love to expand our wrestling family and get more kids out on the mats. Questions? Contact Patty Zoccolillo at
pzoccolillo@optonline.net
or 203-428-7678.
New Canaan Girl Scouts is looking for parents of girls in grades K-3 to volunteer to start new troops at West School. Your unique strengths and skills will benefit and inspire girls. Our NEW process is QUICK and EASY to get a troop up and running. Our program is very flexible and progressive, so you are able to choose a schedule that works best for you! And if you are not able to be a Co-Leader, consider being a Troop Helper. For more information, please contact: Michele Breed at
mbreen@gsofct.org.
FORMER WEST SCHOOL STUDENT'S EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT
Benjamin Clay attended West Elementary, Saxe Middle school, and is now a sophomore at NCHS. He is a Boy Scout in New Canaan's Troop 286 and is currently working on his Eagle Scout project. For his project, he has chosen to collect new and gently used winter outerwear, clothing, and boots for the Open Doors Shelter in Norwalk. The shelter needs items for ALL ages and ALL sizes before it gets too cold outside. He is hoping West School will support his project. A large plastic bin has been placed inside the lobby to collect donations. Items may also be picked up by calling 203-594-1253. For those who prefer to make a bulk purchase online, click
here
to purchase from a wishlist. All items will be donated to the Open Doors Shelter. More information can be found
here
.
EVERTON 2011-2009 GIRLS SOCCER TRYOUTS
Everton America is holding supplemental travel soccer tryouts for girls born between 2011 -2009 on Monday, November 19th 5PM to 6PM at SONO Fieldhouse, Norwalk. There are a few spots open on the team for girls looking to play premier soccer this winter and spring. Register here. If you have any questions you can email Leanne Campbell - lcampbell@evertonamericact.com or call the office on 203 529 3330.
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