April 15, 2021
Hello, Westview families,

If you were to ask a Westview staffer what led them to a career in special education, you would get varying answers with an underlying theme - a love and passion for the children we serve and a willingness to make a difference. For many of our faculty, this experience is a bit more personal. 

This week, we continue our focus on awareness, understanding, and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorder. We are excited to share our most recent post to the Westview blog, which offers a glimpse into the lived experiences of three of our Westview teachers who have siblings with special needs. We are thankful to Caelyn Pho, Lexi Doré, and Jared Dawkins for sharing their words of wisdom and love of family with our community this week. 

Enjoy, 




Head of School
The Westview School
Westview Blog: The Kids Are Alright
As we continue to recognize World Autism Month and strive to increase awareness, understanding, and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorder, we are excited to present our latest blog post, The Kids Are Alright: Words of Wisdom from Special Needs Siblings. We interviewed several staffers on their experiences growing up as a special needs sibling, how it shaped them as adults, and advice on the positive impact having a sibling with specials needs has had on their life and career in special education. We hope that by sharing their stories of growing up with a special needs sibling, our families may see the positive influences a sibling with special needs can bring to your child’s life. 

Calendar at a Glance
April 22-23
  • Camp For All Camp 2 U

April 30
  • Summer Camp Payment Due in Full

May 3-15
  • Scholastic Book Fair (Online)

May 3-7
  • Spirit Week
  • Teacher Appreciation Week
May 6
  • Westview EDU: Summer Plans and Camps

May 21
  • Spelling Bee (1830 Building)

May 31
  • Memorial Day (No School)

June 3
  • Last Day of School

June 4
  • Teacher Work Day (No School)
Let's Talk Westview Wonder Wall
We have had so many questions about our Westview Wonder Wall. What it is? How are students chosen? What's it all about? Wonder Wall is a big deal, and we use it to highlight and recognize our wonderful students. We see the great things they are accomplishing every day, and we want to showcase our students in big way by using this opportunity to give them schoolwide recognition! Every month all our teachers and staff have a chance to nominate the student or students who routinely demonstrate characteristics of excellence. 
We have seven different categories to choose from, including Great Friend, Heart of Gold, Mindfulness Master, Out of this World, Rockstar Rule Follower, Social Butterfly, and Super Flexible. The teachers and staff send in their nominations, including a written explanation on why their student or students should receive the award. A team then reviews all the nominations, and the recipients are chosen for the month. 

The award recipients are then surprised by a schoolwide announcement and meet with their building principals and staff to receive their certificates. They have their photos taken, and their photos are framed and displayed in both buildings until the end of the year. On the last day of school, their framed photos are wrapped and sent home with them. Our award recipients also have a celebratory lunch with their principals and fellow award recipients. We are so proud of our students and love the tradition of making this special for them. 
Have You Completed Your Survey?
On Monday of this week, our families, faculty, and staff received a reminder email with a link to our Strategic Planning Survey. Thank you to everyone who has completed the survey and given valuable input. We encourage everyone to take time to complete the survey. The survey window will close tomorrow, Friday April 16. Your input and feedback will be of great significance to guide us through this process. We want our Strategic Plan to incorporate the best thinking of everyone in the Westview family. 

We are using a planning format called a Strategy on a Page (SOAP). This process calls on us to identify our most important major goals and priorities.
By listening carefully, we hope to take your wisdom and perspective as a guide to help us identify those goals to best meet the needs of every constituency.

Additionally, to help us better understand the data we collect from surveys, we will be holding a series of focus group meetings. If you wish to be part of one of those, you will have an opportunity to opt-in at the end of the survey. We hope to accommodate as many participants as possible. 

Thank you in advance for giving us your honest feedback. The more we hear from you, the better prepared Westview’s Board will be to act in positive ways to ensure our bright future. 
Countdown to Camp For All 2U for Upper Elementary + Middle School
Camp For All Camp 2U is coming to The Westview School. The dates are set for April 22 and 23. The two days of camp are exclusively for our 1830 Wildcats, students in Upper Elementary and Middle School. Camp For All 2U is a program designed to bring camp to the Westview campus and will provide our students an opportunity to engage in some camp fun during the school day. Upper Elementary and Middle School parents: An informational email went home Monday that included the waiver for your camper plus a t-shirt size survey. Both forms need to be completed to get your student ready for camp next week. If you have questions on Camp For All 2u, please email Russell Avery.
Save the Date for Spirit Week to Celebrate Spring Book Fair
Mark your calendar because Spring Book Fair is coming soon. Let's support our library and show some school spirit with a Spirit Week to celebrate May 3-7. Here's a rundown of Spirit Week! More details of the book fair will be posted in next week's weekly.

Monday, May 3 - Aloha Summer Reading

Tuesday, May 4 - Favorite Sports Team Day

Wednesday, May 5 - Be a Superhero Super Reader

Thursday, May 6 - Dress Like Your Favorite Book Character

Friday, May 7 - On Fridays We Wear Blue
1830 Spelling Bee Finalists Announcement
The preliminary rounds of the Upper Elementary and Middle School Spelling Bee are complete, and we are excited to announce our finalists. Finalists will participate in our social-distanced Spelling Bee on Friday, May 21, in Largent Hall. The Bee will be live-streamed for students and parent viewing. We are excited to find a way to continue with our Spelling Bee tradition for this year. Finalists were sent home with a Spelling Bee packet last week to prepare for the event. If you have any questions about the Spelling Bee, please contact Kori Spurgers.

Buzz! Buzz! Congratulations to our Spelling Bee finalists!! You all are un-bee-lievable!
Middle School Finalists: Yellow Group - Soham Mediwala, Anastasia Blumberg, Purple Group - Brighton Yung-Faulkner, Finley Hazeldine, Red Group - Cason McKee, Irvin Soeriawinata, Green Group - Michael Batey, Satvik Raayasa
 
Upper Elementary Finalists: Mrs. Minns' Class - Hunter Howell, Thibault Descamps, Mrs. Brown's Class - James Debeir, Gabe Ortiz, Mrs. Aschman's Class - Asten Goodhue, Preston Hogan 
Westview Blog: Reasons to Love Trains
As we continue to celebrate World Autism Month, which strives to increase awareness, understanding, and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorder, long-time Westview parent, Teresa Cortez shares her story of learning and connecting with her son, Julian. Reasons to Love Trains: A Mother's Journey with Autism is a beautiful, heartfelt, and moving post that clearly demonstrates a mother’s love for her child. Thank you, Teresa, for so eloquently sharing Julian’s story with us.

Westview Champs Summer Camp - Don't Delay. Register TODAY!
If you are registered for one of our camp sessions for 2021 Summer, you should have received an email from Crystal Irvin confirming your child's registration. If you have not received an email and should be registered, please contact Candi Pettit to confirm both registration and payment.

All camp payments are due on April 30, 2021. After April 30, registration will remain open with a $250 late fee as follows: Session 1 deadline: May 31, Session 2 deadline: June 28.

If you haven't registered for Westview Champs Summer Camp yet, what are you waiting for?! This summer Crystal Irvin and Liza Reyes are teaming up as your Summer Camp Coordinators. If you’ve been thinking about signing up for this year’s Summer Camp – Be a Westview Champ, let this serve as your encouragement to DO IT!

We are all dreaming of summer days, and including Westview Champs Summer Camp on your summer calendar is a fabulous idea. Our camp sessions are jam-packed with exciting things to keep your kiddo entertained and learning over the summer months.

In-school field trips, cool and creative arts and crafts, water activities, and super fun PE games are all on the agenda. We also will focus on maintaining your child’s progress from the previous school year with Math, ELA, Science, and Social Skills as part of our daily camp schedules. This is an excellent opportunity to keep your child busy and on routine for the summer.

We have several options for students over the summer break. Visit our website to learn all the details and to register your child.

Westview is Hiring!
Westview is looking to increase our substitute teacher list. Applicants for a substitute teacher at Westview must be over 18 and a high school graduate. Experience working with children is a plus. References are required. As a Westview substitute, you will primarily work as the class assistant for the day. If you or someone you know may be interested in substitute teaching on a preschool, elementary, or middle school level, please email a resume to Russell Avery.
 
Any additional questions/inquiries regarding job opportunities at The Westview School can be directed to Russell Avery.
Resources


Please refer to COVID-19 tab on The Westview School website for the most up to date information regarding our Child First Reopening Plan.


For the Kids