September 13, 2019
Welcome Back!
We are thrilled to be starting another great school year at West! As always we are humbled by the dedicated work of so many over the summer to prepare for the new year. Thank you to our tireless teachers, administrators and custodians for all their preparations in the hallways, classrooms and meeting spaces to welcome our children back to the building. We also wouldn’t have been ready for school without our parent volunteers who were active over the summer so we could start the year off right!

Get Involved
We would love to have you involved in our West School community again this year! We have volunteer opportunities big and small - from last minute “on-call” staffing to dedicated projects and events. We hope you find a way to share your talents and interests - please click here to visit our Volunteer Sign Up Hub on the PTC website or reach out to us directly.

Join the PTC
If you haven't already, please register for your annual PTC Membership! Your $30 membership fee helps to fund the many PTC programs, teacher grants, field trips, author visits and so much more! Your membership includes a copy of the West School directory.

Fall Family Fun Night
We look forward to seeing you at our first PTC family social event! Our Fall Family Fun Night is on Friday, September 20th on the back playground! Catch up with friends, meet your children's friends, enjoy music, games, bubbles and everyone's favorite food trucks for dinner and dessert. Buy your tickets early, it's an event you won't want to miss! Click here to buy your tickets.  

Outdoor Learning Center
The PTC, school administration and faculty are working in close partnership to transform the Outdoor Learning Center into a versatile space where students can learn in the fresh air, have quiet independent reading time, do a project with a buddy class, perform a play, and more. Next time you are at school, please visit the OLC to see the new functional classroom constructed over the summer (Phase One)! Phase Two will extend the transformation and provide additional small group work spaces for teams and buddies. We hope that you can support our efforts by participating in our fundraisers and making donations here. 

Glass Containers
Mrs. Murphy asked us to remind parents of the glass container policy. Please be sure to send all drinks and food to school in a non-breakable container. Glass containers invite a safety hazard for young children and often break and cause injury. Please be mindful of this to help keep our students safe.

Contact Us
Please be in touch with us anytime throughout the year at presidents@westschoolptc.org. We welcome new ideas and feedback to help make it a great day at West, and we look forward to seeing you at West events!
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OPEN HOUSE - GRADES K, 1, and 2, Tuesday, September 17th, 6:30 PM

STUDENT PHOTO DAY, Wednesday, September 18th

FALL FAMILY FUN NIGHT, Thursday, September 20th, 5:00 PM
RSVP here and volunteer here!

OPEN HOUSE, GRADES 3 and 4, Wednesday, September 25th, 6:30 PM

SPIRIT DAY, Friday, September 27th
Wear your green, white or Westy!

ROSH HASHANAH, Monday, September 30th
No school
FALL FAMILY PHOTO DAYS ARE BACK!

Capture the magic of your family right now! Arrange a photo session and get a jump start on your holiday cards. Choose from three great photographers and book your Family Photo session today – ALL sitting fee proceeds are donated to West. Sessions are selling quickly so book today! Click here for more details and to sign up.
FALL FAMILY FUN NIGHT
Don't miss the first and largest family social event of the year on September 20th at 5:00 PM! Bring the entire family to enjoy dinner from a variety of amazing food trucks plus ice cream, games, music by DJ Stella and more! Don't forget your picnic blanket! To purchase tickets, click here. Children 2 and under are free. To volunteer for this event, click here! We hope to see you there!
BEFORE/AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMMING

Robotics Programming for Grades 3 & 4 needs one additional student to enroll in order to run for the Fall Semester. The program meets on Thursday from 3:35 PM - 4:35 PM. Please contact Bill Kapp directly at either bill.kapp@newcanaanct.gov or 203-594-3604 to sign up or for more information.
SHARE A BOOK
Our Library Media Specialist, Mr. Murren, continues to build an inspiring and forward-looking space for our school. Parents and caregivers can strengthen that vision by donating books. Please look for our table in the lobby at both Open Houses this month. Share-a-Book is the only fundraiser for the library at West. With a $20 donation, donors will receive a bookplate that can be personalized. The bookplates will be placed in new books selected by Mr. Murren. Please contact Barb Rosen at ( shareabook@westschoolptc.org) with any questions.
SIGN UP FOR 3RD AND 4TH GRADE NUTMEG READING GROUPS

Sign ups for the Nutmeg Book Clubs will open Monday, September 16th at 9:00 AM! The popular clubs were established by the West PTC to give kids a chance to read some top-notch, age-appropriate literature and discuss it with their friends. Each club chooses their own books from the annual Nutmeg Book Award nominees and students vote on the annual winner. Each group will meet six times throughout the year at West either before school or during lunch in grade and gender specific groups. Nutmeg Book Clubs are only possible with parent volunteers. At present, space is quite limited and we could use additional club leaders, particularly to start new fourth grade groups. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Lisa McLean at programs@westschoolptc.org.
ODYSSEY OF THE MIND

We are excited to put together a new 4th grade West Odyssey of the Mind team for the 2019-2020 season! Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving competition that encourages teamwork and innovation. Teams of 5-7 children are given a long term problem to solve that culminates with a competition in the spring to share results along with a spontaneous problem to solve. We are currently looking for students interested in joining the team and parents willing to co-coach. To learn more about Odyssey of the Mind, please go to https://odysseyofthemind.com. Please contact Lide Goodwin at lidebanks@gmail.com .
MEDIA CENTER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Thank you to all who have signed up to volunteer in the media center. The following classes are now FULL: Creutz, Gimys, Drummond, Correa, Merritt, Willman, and Land. If you'd like to sign up for those classes, you will be "sub only". There are also classes where we need more volunteers to help your child's library session run smoothly. Please think about signing up if your child is in the following classes: O'Leary, Fortmann, Kass, Hedus, Karlson, Borges, Eldredge. It's a great way to volunteer and we provide training for new volunteers so come on board! To sign up on the PTC website, please click here.
LUNCH ROOM VOLUNTEER SIGN UP
Come help your children and their friends during lunchtime! Click here to sign up for a shift.
WEST SCHOOL VOLUNTEER HUB

The PTC needs parent volunteers throughout the year to keep our programs running smoothly. We hope all parents will find an opportunity to get involved. Click here to see the current volunteer opportunities around school.
SHOW YOUR WEST SCHOOL SPIRIT!
NEW styles/colors are available! Choose from a great selection of shorts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, flannel pajamas, socks, headbands and much more! Spirit Wear will be available for sale at school on:
  • 9/17 - Open House (Grades K-2)
  • 9/25 - Open House (Grades 3-4)
HALLOWEEN PARADE

With October coming soon, Halloween will be right around the corner! We will be hosting our annual Halloween Parade on Thursday, October 31st at 2:00 PM. Please be reminded that as your children begins to plan his/her costume for the parade, toy guns, swords, or other weaponry will not be allowed as part of a costume. Costumes must be of a non-violent nature. Also, be careful of masks and/or headgear that could block vision and/or scare others. The children will be walking a good distance and we want them to be safe in their costumes. We appreciate your cooperation and support.
LOST AND FOUND

Lose something? Don't forget to regularly check the school's Lost and Found located in the BBT. The Lost and Found will be cleaned out every 3 months and all unclaimed and unlabeled items will be donated to Person-to-Person. Click here to check out Label Daddy for easy to use clothing labels!
WELCOME BACK PTC COFFEE

It was wonderful seeing so many of you at the Welcome Back PTC Coffee this week! We heard from: New Canaan Schools Superintendent, Dr. Bryan Luizzi, who gave us an overview of New Canaan school news; New Canaan CARES Executive Director, Ellen Brezovsky, who gave us tips to stay organized and balanced at the start of the school year; Principal Jan Murphy, who updated us on the myriad of happenings in and around West. If you missed the meeting, you can visit the PTC website to join the PTC and find opportunities to volunteer. THANK YOU to Ashley Shackelton, PTC Parent Education VP, for organizing this great event.
NEW TO WEST AND KINDERGARTEN AMBASSADORS

Thank you to Chrissie Schwartz, West PTC's New to West Chair, for helping with the New to West Orientation and providing terrific communications to our new families. Thank you also to Ashley Shackelton and Lindsay Celiberti, Kindergarten Ambassadors, for welcoming our new kindergarteners and their families with play dates and events starting last spring.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES

Thank you to School Supplies Coordinator, Pratha Singhania, for her terrific organization of the school supplies for each grade. She did an outstanding job ensuring our students were ready to go on the first day of school with their new supplies.
BOE UPDATE

The next BOE meeting is Monday, September 16th at 7:00 PM in the Wagner Room at the New Canaan High School. The meeting agenda and prior meeting minutes are here. To watch the BOE meeting live on television, tune into channel 78 on Optimum cable. Questions? Please contact the West BOE representatives Jen Joyce and Susan Clarke at edurep@westchoolptc.org.
CUB SCOUTS PACK 7 BONFIRE
Interested in scouting? Please join Pack 7 Cub Scouts at our annual bonfire at the New Canaan Nature Center on Thursday, September 19th from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM. Hot dogs and s'mores for all! Learn about scouting and upcoming scout events. Hope to see you there! Any additional questions, please contact Pack 7 Cubmaster Keith Laska: keithlaska@gmail.com
NC SQUASH K-4 FALL SEASON
The NC Squash K-4 fall season starts September 25th! Registration opens soon on www.ncsquash.com (Elementary). In addition, a squash Open House will be held on September 18th. All K-4 New Canaan public school students are welcome to sign up for the Open House to try squash and learn about our programs! Head to www.ncsquash.com to learn more or email Suzanne Koeppl ( suzanne.koeppl@gmail.com) or Liz Schmidt ( ebschmidt@optonline.net).
NEW CANAAN HISTORY DAY
Please save the date for the inaugural New Canaan History Day being held on Sunday, September 29th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Visit us at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society (13 Oenoke Ridge) to learn about New Canaan's history and to show off your town pride. The museums will be open and knowledgeable docents will be at the Hanford-Silliman House, the Tool Museum, the Rock School and the Cody Pharmacy. Enjoy family-friendly activities including making corn husk dolls, lemonade and butter, as well as hoop rolling and hopscotch. The event is free and open to the entire community. Old time snacks and toys as well as our popular landmark ornaments will be available for purchase.
RUN TO E.A.T. 5K/KIDS FUN RUN TO BENEFIT FOOD ALLERGIES
Please SAVE THE DATE for a fun local food allergy fundraiser! Sunday October 6th from 9:15 AM to 12:00 PM is the first Run to E.A.T. (5k and Kids Fun Run) through Waveny Park in New Canaan. The run benefits End Allergies Together (E.A.T.), a non-profit where all money raised goes directly to fund scientific research to accelerate cures for food allergies. Please register here. Please contact Michelle at michelle@endallergiestogether.com for more details or with any questions.
CARRIAGE BARN ART CENTER
No school? Join us for Drop In Family Art Day! Kids and care givers are invited to the Carriage Barn for creative activities and to learn about some of the art in the current exhibit.  Wednesday, October 9th, 10 AM - 1 PM. Free for members / $5 per child.
YOUNG WOMEN'S LEAGUE LITTLE RAMS 3RD ANNUAL FUN RUN
The 3rd Annual Fun Run registration is open! The run will be held on Saturday, October 19th from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM at East School. The run is open to kids ages 2-10 and runners are invited to fundraise for one of our two featured beneficiaries for the run--KIDS FANS and New Canaan Mounted Troop. In addition to the excitement of the actual run, kids will enjoy a DJ and magician. Food trucks will be on hand to make for an easy, early dinner picnic! Click here to learn more.