Hello, Westview families,
Today, Westview had a special visit from about a dozen trainees from Texas Children's Hospital, Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics and Autism. It's Community Advocacy Month, and Texas Children's is taking their developmental-behavioral pediatric trainees out into the community to visit schools, agencies, and companies that help their patients. Westview was lucky to be chosen as one of their stops. The trainees include fellows in developmental-behavioral pediatrics, neurodevelopmental disabilities residents, and social work interns. These visits aim to help trainees understand the systems that support their patients, learn more about community resources, and make better referrals.
As part of the morning's visit, we had eight of our current Middle School sit on a Q&A panel. They talked about Westview, their favorite spots on campus, their favorite teachers and classes, plus what they love about being a student here. The professionals asked several questions of the students, and the short answer was, "They crushed it!" The answers were genuine and reflective, highlighting a connection with the school and their classmates. It was a proud and memorable moment for our kids!
February has already clocked its fair share of memorable moments across all grade levels.
Our Lower School students joyfully celebrated 100 days of Westview! With our Kindergarten Wildcats counting off the days with posters and snacks and Lower Elementary dressed up as the cutest little old folks. It was a fun way for our students to recognize a big school milestone for the year.
In the celebration of Black History Month, art is paying homage to the legendary Jean-Michel Basquiat! Basquiat's connection to his heritage, his powerful messages, and his breathtaking art have made him one of the most celebrated black artists. Adding another layer of inspiration, students are also learning about the music of Miles Davis.
Also, Lower Elementary welcomed a new addition to their classroom: a class hamster named Jellybean, who is already bringing smiles and excitement to the learning environment.
Upper Elementary showcased their literary talents with a publishing party, where they proudly shared excerpts from their published book, The Multiverse: Our Planets, in front of family and friends.
Love was in the air as our students celebrated Valentine's Day with creative activities and heartfelt exchanges of appreciation. Valentine's Day parties filled the afternoon for our Westview students. It was the perfect opportunity for our students to show and share the love with our teachers and friends.
PreKindergarten went on a class field trip this month to the Nature Discovery Center. Our curious Wildcats went on a nature walk, explored the discovery rooms, and touched some live animals. It was an exciting adventure for our young Wildcats!
Here's to many more moments of learning, exploration, and celebration in the weeks ahead!
|
|
Head of School
The Westview School
|
|
FEBRUARY CELEBRATIONS AT WESTVIEW |
|
Calendar at a Glance
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
- Westview Staff Development Day | Student Holiday (No School)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024
- Presidents’ Day (No School)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2024
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2024
|
|
|
|
Don't miss the Winter edition of our school magazine, the Wildcat Chronicle. Inside, you will find a focus on our year’s theme, “Our Time to Shine.” During this reaccreditation year for Westview, we are excited to share some key takeaways from our process thus far. You will find articles from The Stewart Center about how our therapists work in various ways to support our students. Westview has grown its community involvement, and this issue shares many ways Westview was fortunate to give and receive support from organizations throughout Houston. As always, we catch up with some of our Westview alumni who are doing wonderful things! We hope you enjoy what we have to share, and we encourage you to let us know if there are topics you would like to read about in future publications. |
|
Westview EDU: Creating a Climate of High Expectations |
|
|
|
What kind of expectations are you setting for your special needs child? Are they high enough? Sometimes, when we set high expectations, our children will step up to meet them. Join us for our February Westview EDU: Creating a Climate of High Expectations on Thursday, February 22 at 9:15 AM in Largent Hall. Brandi Timmons, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, Educational Consultant for Social Motion Skills, will share tips and tools with families to create a plan for their children to meet and reach their fullest potential. We all want our kids to be successful, and it is up to give them an environment that helps them to succeed.
Any questions? Having an issue with the online registration form? Email Sarah Chauvin for assistance.
|
|
Save the Date for Music for Autism | Saturday, February 24 |
|
|
|
The Westview School is looking forward to welcoming Music for Autism back to campus at the end of February. Join us for Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM in Largent Hall. Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) will be our guests! Members from the TUTS pre-professional program, as well cast members from The River will be performing. The River is a special program through TUTS that provides accessible arts education to individuals with disabilities and their siblings. This will be a not to miss visit!
|
|
REGISTER NOW for an Out of this World Summer at The Westview School |
|
|
|
Registration is OPEN for Westview Summer Camp. We will have two sessions available for the summer of 2024: June 3-21 and July 8-26
Westview Summer Camp is an excellent opportunity to give your student a fun, structured summer filled with activities that help maintain the academic and social skills learned throughout the school year. Westview Summer Camp is open to current students and their siblings. Recent former and incoming students may also apply. The camp fee is $1650 per session, and there will be a 10% early bird registration discount available for camp sessions through March 29. We are excited to be once again able to offer several options for students over the summer break.
|
|
RSVP Now for the Fundraising Luncheon | Wednesday, March 27 |
|
|
|
Join us at The Westview School Fundraising Luncheon. on Wednesday, March 27th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at Junior League of Houston in support of The Westview School. Our Fundraising Luncheon is an annual event and is our largest fundraiser of the year.
We are looking for table hosts for this year's event. Hosting a table is easy: simply register online, invite ten or more of your friends, family, and neighbors to join you. If you have friends interested in supporting The Westview School and helping us continue to make a positive impact on children with autism, please consider hosting a table and extending this invitation to them.
|
|
Help Us Grow Our Substitute Teacher List |
|
|
|
The Westview School is looking to increase our substitute teacher list. We have found that Westview families are a perfect fit for this role. As a Westview substitute, you will primarily work as the class assistant for the day. We are so appreciative of all our parents and grandparents who have dedicated time to support our school by being a part of our sub-list. We would love to include YOU too! The pay is $15 per hour. If you are interested in substitute teaching on a preschool, elementary, or middle school level or if you know someone who would be, please contact Michelle Chapa to complete the necessary paperwork and background check to be added to our list.
|
|
Survey Request from Former Westview Sibling |
|
|
|
We recevied survey request from a former Westview sibling. Amelia Yung-Faulkner is the twin sister of former Wildcat, Brighton who completed Middle School in 2022. Amelia is working on research study for her AP Research class at Energy Institute High School. She is looking for help from autism families, so if you are interested in participating, please complete the survey here. More details are below:
My name is Amelia Yung-Faulkner and I am a student at Energy Institute High School. I'm in AP Research, which is a class that requires me to complete a research study. My project is studying how the culture of different races/ethnicities in America impact autism diagnosis, and how effective the DSM-5 is at considering those factors. The reason I chose this topic is because I have a twin autistic brother who was diagnosed very late compared to his peers. Based on this, I wanted to see if there were patterns that determined the outcome of autism diagnosis.
|
|
Message from POW - Family Fun Day |
|
|
|
FAMILY FUN DAY 2024
POW preparations are under way for our 2024 Family Fun Day! Save the date for Saturday, April 6th from 10am-12pm. At this time we are trying to get as many donations as possible from companies and families in our community for our Spring Raffle. I have donation request letters with our tax ID ready to go that can be emailed or mailed! If you know of any company that may be a potential donor, please contact Stefanie Rugaard.
Check out the companies who have already generous donated to our special day!
|
|
The Westview School provides a unique, specialized, and nurturing learning environment offering outstanding educational and social opportunities for children on the autism spectrum. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
