Dear Westview Community,
I love numbers. Did you know that I began my educational career as a math teacher? I spent over 12 years teaching middle school math. Think things such as statistics and probability and linear equations. With that in mind, I have some numbers to share with you.
(88) 88 percent of our Westview families have chosen in person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year.
(20) We have 20 days until The Westview School welcomes your children back to campus.
(16) There are 16 days until the start of the long Labor Day weekend.
(14) The CDC has stated 2 to 14 days is the window of time when a person exposed to COVID-19 could be contagious and start exhibiting symptoms.
So, let’s do a small exercise. Pull out your calendar and count 14 days after Labor Day. Your children will have been back to school for two weeks. Settled into the new normal of routine. Getting the much needed in-person instruction that has been missing for the last 5 months. This is good and what 88% of our families are asking of The Westview School.
The two previous holidays, Memorial Day and Fourth of July, caused a surge in cases throughout our country. Our hope is that Labor Day is not more of the same, especially for our Westview community. My take home point is this - we are working hard to set up our campus and train our teachers to have the best possible success for maintaining face to face instruction with your children.
The Westview School is committed to doing our part. This includes wearing a mask, cleaning and disinfecting regularly, social distancing on campus and off as much as possible, and multiple other big and small changes specifically outlined in our Child First Reopening Plan.
However, we are in this together. So, we have a strong ask for our families: Please stay home. Math and science tells us that social distancing is our key to successfully reopening.
We miss having a campus filled with your lovely children. The joy that has filled our halls adding just our teachers this week was truly awesome. Adding back your children can only make that JOY grow exponentially. So, while that Labor Day gathering with friends and family may seem appealing, we ask that you use the upcoming, long holiday weekend to remain socially distanced and prepare to send your kids back to The Westview School campus.
Stay safe and stay well,
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Head of School
The Westview School
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Calendar at a Glance
Friday, August 28
- Teacher Informational Videos sent to families
Wednesday, September 2
Thursday, September 3
Tuesday, September 8
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WELCOME BACK TO OUR WESTVIEW TEACHERS
We welcomed our TEACHERS back to school with much anticipation on Monday. Non-contact greetings were encouraged but it sure was tough for our school family not to be able to hug it out. Elbow bumps, jazz hands and lots of smizing (smiling with your eyes) was the next best thing for a greeting.
Due to COVID-19, our teacher in-service looked a little bit different, but it was not unlike what school will look like for your children when they arrive in a few weeks.
There was quite a bit of professional learning on the schedule this week and a few new topics added to our normal training which we felt were essential in lieu of the current COVID -19 climate. Russell Avery, 1830 principal trained on "Zoom: Tips & Tricks". Michael McKee, behavioral specialist and Carol Harrison, 1900 principal, covered our updated "Employee Handbook and Cleaning Protocols", and Mimi Le, behavioral specialist, took time to get a pulse on our staff and teachers with her "Self-Care" sessions. It was a fruitful week of preparation, and we are excited to share with our families a sneak peek of our week.
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ZOOM: Tips & Tricks with Mr. Avery |
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“Remote learning could be a possibility for our staff and students this year, and we want to make sure our staff is equipped to use this technology to seamlessly transition, if needed, to remote learning,” said Mr. Avery
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Among the words 2020 has introduced into our everyday vocabulary, ZOOM may be the one that highlights the biggest change in the world of your school-aged child. Russell Avery, 1830 principal, took time to provide "ZOOM: Tips and Tricks" training for our teachers in all grade levels. Using Breakout Rooms is one way that teachers can differentiate instruction for students, this feature also provides an opportunity for students to work collaboratively or socialize in small groups.
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Handbook and Cleaning Protocols |
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“We are all in this together,” said Mr. Michael, “Keeping our campus clean requires everyone working together - our staff, our students and our families.”
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Our Child First Reopening Plan has a section on cleaning and disinfecting protocol. Our first line of defense on this front are our teachers. Carol Harrison, 1900 principal, and Michael McKee, behavior specialist, led this new and detailed training for our staff. Set up in socially distanced small groups, the duo talked the what, where, and how we will stay on of top of our cleaning protocols.
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"Self-Care" with Mrs. Mimi |
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When asked about the importance of this added session to teacher in-service, Mrs. Mimi said, “Self-care is important now more than ever because we have been physically distant from our support groups during quarantine. Practicing self-care will help our staff build and grow together.”
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If you’ve been around Westview long enough, you may know Mimi Le as one our behavioral therapists. Mrs. Mimi holds the concept of “self-care” as an essential piece to overall personal health and wellbeing.
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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
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The mission of The Westview School is to provide a unique, specialized learning environment offering outstanding educational and social opportunities for children on the autism spectrum. |
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NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION: Based on receipt of federal financial assistance through a Paycheck Protection Program loan administered through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the CAREs Act, the School acknowledges its obligation to prohibit discrimination, harassment, or retaliation on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, citizenship status, genetic information, handicap or disability in admissions, access, employment, tuition assistance, educational policies, or other school administered student and employee programs and activities. Questions regarding the School’s compliance with the application and administration of the School’s nondiscrimination policies should be directed to Carol Harrison, Principal, charrison@westviewschool.org, 713.973.1900 x100, 1900 Kersten Dr., Houston, TX 77043, or to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) or to the SBA. Please refer to the School’s SBA Non-Discrimination Compliance Policy on the School’s website for information on how to file complaints with OCR or the SBA. This notice will remain in effect until the School has satisfied and paid off the SBA Paycheck Protection Loan.
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