March 23, 2023

Hello, Westview families, 


Spring is here, and we look forward to the many events planned for the last two months of the 2022-2023 school year. One event that we are proud to have on our annual spring calendar is WESTVIEW'S CELEBRATION OF LEARNING, the week of April 24-28. The development of student critical thinking and problem-solving skills is one of the top priorities identified by staff and families during our strategic planning surveys. The Celebration of Learning is an opportunity for families to see examples of their child's best work. Our homeroom teachers are curating a collection of work for each student and are very excited to showcase the great work of their students. As part of this one-hour visit, students and their families will visit the school art gallery and book fair. More details are below; make sure to save the date and time for your student.

 

Additionally, POW has been busy planning our Family Fun Day event on Saturday, April 1, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, plus the POW Spring Raffle is LIVE. Check out all the great raffle items and teacher experiences up for grabs in this year's raffle. This year, POW Family Fun Day will kick off Autism Awareness Month and usher in our annual Wildcat Spirit Week. We encourage our students to show their school spirit during the week following Family Fun Day (April 3-6) by participating in our Wildcat Spirit Week. More details are below.

 

Did you see that Music for Autism concerts are back in-person on the Westview campus? Music for Autism is a national organization, and we are the only school in Texas that is a host for these concerts. This event is open to the community and a great weekend outing for families. We hope you can join us on April 15

 

Summer will be here before you know it, and Westview Summer Camp sessions are filling up. Be sure to register your student, plus take advantage of the early bird discount for Westview Summer Camp. Register before Friday, March 31, 2023, for 10% off camp tuition. Visit our website for more details and to register your child.

 

Looking forward,





Bevan Koch

Head of School

The Westview School

Calendar at a Glance


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023

  • CAMP Smile Day Camp (Upper Elementary)


THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2023

  • POW Meeting


MARCH 29-31, 2023

  • CAMP Smile (Middle School)


SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2023

  • POW Family Fun Day - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM | The Westview School


APRIL 3-6, 2023


THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023

  • Wildcat Pep Rally - 10:00 AM | Largent Hall


FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2023

  • Good Friday (No School)


MONDAY, APRIL 10, 2023

  • Staff Development / Student Holiday


SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2023


MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2023

  • Westview EDU: Cyber Safety and Autism (RSVP)


APRIL 24 – 28, 2023

2023-2024 ACADEMIC YEAR CALENDAR

Chess Wizards is Coming to Campus this Spring

Join Chess Wizards this spring for challenging chess lessons, exciting tournaments, fun, team activities, and more! If you’re brand-new to chess, you will learn the basics and get playing right away. If you’re a seasoned checkmate artist, you will learn new ways to let your creativity show on the chessboard. Classes will be Tuesdays from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM for 7 sessions beginning on April 11. The cost is $147 per student. Chess Wizards enrollment is for Upper Elementary and Middle School students only.  Register at www.chesswizards.comSee the flyer for more details.

Get Ready for Wildcat Spirit Week | April 3-6

Hey, Wildcats! Show your school spirit from April 3-6 as a kick-off to Autism Awareness Month.


MONDAY, APRIL 3 - LOOK-ALIKE DAY

Have you always wanted to be a twin? A triplet, perhaps? Team up with some friends and dress the same. Or dress up like your favorite person at Westview!


TUESDAY, APRIL 4 - BE A SUPERHERO

WHAM! POW! BAM! ZAP! Grab your cape or costume and come to school dressed as your favorite superhero or video game character.


WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5 - FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM DAY

Root! Root! Root for your favorite team!

Grab your favorite team tee and get ready to show your team spirit. (Hats encouraged.)


THURSDAY, APRIL 6 - ROCK YOUR WESTVIEW BLUE

Westview is having a Pep Rally, so wear your Westview BLUE! Come to school in as much blue as you can and show your Wildcat pride!


Save the Date for Music for Autism | Saturday, April 15

The Westview School is so excited to once again partner with Music for Autism for in-person concerts. Music for Autism is a national organization that aims to enhance the quality of life and raise public awareness through autism-friendly, interactive concerts developed specifically for individuals with autism and their families. For the first time since 2020, Music for Autism will be holding in-person performances. These performances are live, interactive, open to the community, and autism-friendly. Westview is excited to be the host venue for the Music for Autism events. Save the date for Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 11:00 AM. The Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players will be the musical talent. The concert will be held on the Westview campus in Largent Hall. This event is open to the community, and registration is required. If you are interested in volunteering for the event, please complete this form.

Save the Date + Time for Celebration of Learning | April 24-28

We are looking forward to welcoming our families to the Westview campus for our annual spring calendar event - WESTVIEW'S CELEBRATION OF LEARNING.  Save the date for the week of April 24-28. The development of student critical thinking and problem-solving skills is one of the top priorities identified by staff and families during our strategic planning surveys. The Celebration of Learning is an opportunity for families to see examples of their child's best work. Our homeroom teachers are curating a collection of work for each student and are very excited to showcase the great work of their students. As part of this one-hour visit, students and their families will visit the school art gallery and book fair. More details to come, but we wanted to make sure you saved the date and time for your student.


The date and times per grade level are listed below: 

 

MONDAY, APRIL 24

Early Childhood - 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

 

TUESDAY, APRIL 25

Prekindergarten - 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26

Kindergarten - 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Upper Elementary - 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM

 

THURSDAY, APRIL 27

Lower Elementary - 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 28

Middle School - 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

The Stewart Center: Top Tip of the Week

The Stewart Center at The Westview School is our on-campus therapy clinic staffed with qualified professionals ready to meet the needs of families and students at Westview and the Houston community. The Stewart Center team is always ready to go above and beyond to support a child. This week our "Top Tip of the Week" comes from Carlie KruegerSpeech-Language Pathologist Clinical Fellow.  Thank you to The Stewart Center for sharing their words of wisdom with our community.

LANGUAGE USE 

Language use is one of the 3 major aspects of language, along with content (word meanings and relationships) and form (letter sounds and grammar). Margaret Lahey, a speech-language pathologist and researcher described language use as “the reasons why we speak and listen to one another.” Language functions that parents often notice first include labeling familiar nouns (“dog”) and making requests for personal wants and needs, such as pointing to a cup out of reach and saying, “Milk!” As we grow and language increases, we communicate for a variety of reasons, including playing pretend, expressing feelings and opinions, discussing interests, asking questions to gain information, joking, complaining, problem-solving, and many more reasons! In speech-language therapy, we can work on expanding language use so that the student will have access to a robust system of communication functions.  

Have You Registered for Westview Summer Camp?

Registration is OPEN for Westview Summer Camp. Join us for Westview's Summer of Fun at Westview Summer Camp. We will have two sessions available for the summer of 2023 - June 12-30 and July 10-28


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.


Camp is staffed by Westview teachers and assistants, as well as area high school and college student volunteers and former Westview students. Two three-week sessions help students to maintain skills while having fun in an engaging learning environment.


For our younger participants, the days are filled with water play, music, art, science, sports/motor activities, and much more. For older campers, our program offers engaging educational activities and social skills practice.

**IMPORTANT: If you do not receive a confirmation email after registering, please contact Candi Pettit to confirm registration.

Message from POW: Spring Events are Coming Soon

POW is gearing up for an amazing spring, and there is lots of great information to share. Don’t miss the curtain call on all of these important dates coming up this spring for our Westview Wildcats! The POW Steering Committee has been hard at work planning and organizing a memorable and fun Spring, and we can’t wait to share it with the rest of our Wildcat Family! Click here to get all the details on how you can help POW for Family Fun Day - how to sign up for a FFD trunk at Tailgate + Celebrate, how to be a Movie Merchant, and purchase tickets for our Spring Raffle.


Emily Watts and Stefanie Rugaard

POW SPRING RAFFLE

The POW Spring Raffle ticket sales are happening NOW through April 1st in the POW School Store! We have so many wonderful teacher experiences and prizes that you won't want to miss. Ticket sales help pay for Family Fun Day, which is a free event for our families. Winners will be announced on April 1st at Family Fun Day. Questions? Contact Stefanie Rugaard.

RESOURCES


Website

Calendar

RenWeb

Simply Fresh Kitchen

2022-2023 Family Handbook

Faculty and Staff Directory

POW School Store

The Westview School provides a unique, specialized, and nurturing learning environment offering outstanding educational and social opportunities for children on the autism spectrum. 
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