February 1, 2024
Hello, Westview families,

It is a busy spring ahead at The Westview School. Today, we kicked off February with our Upper School Spelling Bee. We are so proud of our students showing off their smarts in front of a packed Largent Hall. Congratulations to all our finalists across all grade levels. Next week, 1900 building Wildcats will be celebrating the 100th day of school. End of the month brings with it our Annual Talent Show, and we are really looking forward to our students taking the stage again. Be on the lookout next week for an invitation to our Annual Westview Fundraising Luncheon. It is such a special event that celebrates and raises money for our school; we hope many of you can join us and we'd love for you to invite your friends and sign up as a table host. More details are below.

Looking forward,




Head of School
The Westview School
2024-2025 Academic Year Calendar
Calendar at a Glance

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024
  • POW Staff Appreciation Luncheon (Sign-Up)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
  • Westview Staff Development Day | Student Holiday (No School)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024
  • Presidents’ Day (No School)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024
  • Westview EDU | Creating a Climate of High Expectations (date change)
Note from Nurse Brooke - COVID-19 Resurgence
We are seeing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. We ask that you watch your child for symptoms of COVID-19. As reminder, if your child is sick, please keep them home.

Any of the following symptoms indicate a possible COVID-19 infection:
·    Temperature of 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
·    Sore throat
·    New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (or, for students with a chronic
·    allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline).
·    Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain; or
·    New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever. 

If any member of The Westview School community begins experiencing any of these symptoms in a way that is not typical, we encourage you to contact your physician. We encourage anyone in The Westview School community who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19, please notify our school by contacting Nurse Brooke. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Nurse Brooke or consult your pediatrician. 
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. 
Ensuring that each camper's needs are met while they're at Summer Camp, additional programs include: General Tutoring, Intensive Summer Reading, Writing and Math Clinics, Speech, Occupational, and Feeding Therapy (available through The Stewart Center).
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 the Fundraising Luncheon | Wednesday, March 27
Save the date for The Westview School Fundraising Luncheon. on Wednesday, March 27th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at Junior League of Houston, and join our community 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.

Questions? Email Roger Browning, Director of Development.
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.
Online Autism Research Opportunity
Westview has received a request to help support doctoral student Cecilia Melo from the University of Houston–Clear Lake with her dissertation. Cecilia is passionate about working with autistic children/youth and their families and is currently researching this area for her dissertation. She is looking for participants, specifically parents and caregivers of autistic children and youth who would be willing to answer questions via an anonymous online survey. 

The purpose of her research study is to understand better the relationship between race/ethnicity, family resources, family impact of childhood disability, child and youth externalizing behaviors and symptom severity, parental locus of control, and parenting stress in caregivers of autistic children and youth. 

Participants can access the below link to complete an online questionnaire. The online questionnaires/tasks are expected to take 30 - 45 minutes to complete. Participation in this study is entirely voluntary, and participants may decide not to participate or they may decide to stop participation at any time. 
Deadline for Dedications is Approaching - February 23, 2024
Don't miss out on celebrating your student with a yearbook dedication page. The price for dedications is a Full Page - $100, 1/2 Page - $50, 1/4 Page - $25, and 1/8 Page - $15. Dedications do not need to be finalized at purchase, but have a deadline of February 23, 2024.

Also, it is not too late to purchase a yearbook for the 2023-2024 school year. The link to purchase can be found on the Balfour website. The cost per book is $55.

  • Click on the Balfour School Store link
  • Scroll down and across to the Yearbook Products & ADS and click "Shop Now"
  • Enter student info & click "shop for this student"
  • Then choose yearbook and what size dedication* you would like.

Any questions about dedication pages or yearbook, please email Angela Loftin, Yearbook Coordinator.
Message from POW - February Soup-er Heroes Luncheon + Family Fun Day
CELEBRATE OUR SOUP-ER HEROES
"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart." - Hercules

POW wants to celebrate the Soup-er Heroes of Westview on Thursday, February 8 for our next Staff Appreciation Luncheon hosted by POW. We will be treating our staff to soup, salad, and sandwiches. 

Thank you to our families who have already signed-up to help make the day special for our Wildcat Staff! If you would still like to contribute, please click on the link below.
 
Check out our sign-up for how you can help celebrate our Westview staff! Any questions? Email Stefanie Rugaard.
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!