WEST PTC | WEST PTC CALENDAR | WEST SCHOOL | NCPS DISTRICT

Last reminder to please join us for our virtual Welcome Back Meeting on Tuesday, September 29th at 9:30 AM! Topics will include a new school year welcome from Principal Jan Murphy and Assistant Principal Ashley Furnari, district update from Superintendent Dr. Bryan Luizzi and PTC updates from board members Erica Schwedel, Lauren Erickson, Ashley Shackelton and Abbie Skidmore. The meeting will also include time for Q&A. Virtual meeting information will be shared prior to the meeting.

With our children spending increased time outdoors this school year, we would like to make the outdoor spaces at West more warm, welcoming and festive. If you would like to contribute to the beautification of the school's outdoor garden spaces and learning areas, please click here.

We hope you all enjoyed the first ever Fall Family Fun Night Scavenger Hunt. A big THANK YOU to co-chairs Natasha Coughlin and Jenn Thompson for creating an amazing new event! It was great to see so many students completing the scavenger hunt and at the prize pick up parade. It was a beautiful night and a great time for all!

Spirit Wear orders are expected to be in the week of October 5th. When your order is ready, you will be contacted to arrange for a contactless pick up. We appreciate your patience!

No School.

VIRTUAL PTC COFFEE, Tuesday, September 29th, 9:30-10:30AM

Wear your green, white or Westy!

Wear your green, white or Westy!

The new online directory is now available! Please click here to link to our directory website, Membership Toolkit. Register and pay your $30 membership fee to gain access to the site. Your support funds our programming and events, which cost over $250 per child each year. Please contact Martha Harper at directory@westschoolptc.org with any questions. Paper copies of the directory will be available for an additional $5 fee. For those who also order a printed copy of the directory, we expect those to be available the week of October 5th. Only PTC members will gain access to the online directory.

Help fill the West School library with NEW books through the Share-A-Book program! 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 during the annual Share-a-Book drive. Share-a-Book is the only fundraiser for the library at West. With every $20 donation, Mr. Murren will purchase a new book and place a book plate with your child's name inside the front cover. Please click here to donate.

A special thanks to everyone who participated so generously in our Spring virtual Book Fair. Because of you, the Media Center will be getting nearly 30 new books celebrating diversity and inclusion! These interesting books cover both topics of diversity and authors with diverse backgrounds. Each one will make an incredible addition to our beloved West School library. Thank you Mr. Murren for curating such a thoughtful collection!

Though visitors are not permitted in the building this year, there are still many ways to support our school and volunteer! You can design layouts for the memory book, support the library's share-a-book program, create our first virtual science fair, and more! We hope all parents will find an opportunity to get involved. Click here for our volunteer interest form.

The board of education held their first fully in-person meeting since March on Monday, September 21st. To begin the meeting, Jonathan Adams, Health and PE coordinator, presented an update on the health curriculum that the district has been implementing over the last several years, including the introduction of the healthy choices curriculum to students in grades 1-4. Superintendent Luizzi recapped the emergence of two covid-positive high school student cases and the process of executing the contact tracing protocols. Dr. Luizzi also recapped the move to full-time in-person classes for elementary and the continued plan to expand full-time instruction to middle school. Finally Dr. Keating provided an update on the Statement of Accounts, in particular the covid-related expenses incurred this year.

The next BOE virtual meeting is Monday, October 5th at 7:00PM. The meeting agenda and prior meeting minutes are here. Questions? Please contact the West BOE representative Erica Schwedel at edurep@westchoolptc.org.

The NC Squash K-4 fall season starts October 10th! You may be brand new to squash, have a friend who is interested in trying squash or have been playing for some time. We have room for all levels. All K-4 New Canaan public school students are welcome! Click here to register! For additional information, please contact Suzanne Koeppl.

Filling in the Blanks is a local non-profit organization that fights childhood hunger by providing children who qualify for the free or reduced lunch program with meals on the weekends. Through the Holiday Backpack Program, children in the FITB program will receive a new backpack filled with pancake mix, syrup, books, a toy and dental kits. For many children this might be the only items they will receive for the holiday. The order deadline is October 12th. Please consider donating an item by clicking here. If you would like to make a cash donation please click here. To learn more about FITB, please go to www.fillingintheblanks.org.

Calling all budding architects, engineers and building fanatics! Come join the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society and create a structure in your favorite New Canaan architectural style out of interlocking blocks (such as Lego or MegaBloks bricks). Kids’ creations will be displayed in local store windows throughout the month of October to celebrate October4Design - the month-long celebration of New Canaan’s architecture, art, community and design. (Don’t worry you can retrieve your child’s building at the end of the exhibit.) We have 50 baseplates to get you started on a first-come, first-served basis - one per family please! The Builder’s Challenge sign up (and free baseplates) are available at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society. For more information, please visit: www.october4design.org or call the NCM&HS at 203-966-1776 ext 2.