WESTWOOD
WINDOW Volume 41, Issue 1, September 2013
Inside! Do You Hoot? Westwood Players Farm to School Volunteer Committees Calendar of Events
What does that spell?
HOOT!
O
r, better known as the Westwood Charter Halloween Hoot! For those new to Westwood, the Halloween Hoot happens on Sunday, October 27, 2013. The school is transformed into a fantasyland filled with delicious food, great games, interactive attractions like giant, blow up slides, and the scariest Haunted Castle on the Westside of Los Angeles. This year the Pumpkin Patch, where every pumpkin wins a prize, will have better-than-ever goodies. The prize booth will have some very trendy, must-have items. Go to www.westwoodcharter.org/hoot for more information on this great event!
It’s not just a fundraiser…
We are famous for it! The Hoot doesn’t merely raise funds. It’s a community builder, and a showcase event for our school. We attract not just our students, but past students, people from other schools, folks from the neighborhood, and total random strangers! (In the best sense of the word…) Encourage people who are not at our school to come. Bring Uncle Charlie – bring that good-looking neighbor you’ve been meaning to get to know. Bring everyone!
Spend the day playing awesome games like Skee Ball, Slot Cars and Milk Can Soft Ball to win prize tickets. Look for a very COOL and COLD area to CHILL out on what always ends up being the hottest day in October. Remember, to make the HOOT a (Who knew you could find SNOW in Los Angeles!)
HAPPY HOOTING TO ALL! Your devoted Hoot Chairs, Kim Hoffman, Kerri Schwartz, Lisa Woods, Amy Altman , and Cathy Gopaulsingh
success, WE NEED EVERYONE TO VOLUNTEER! Be sure to sign up with your room Hoot rep for your shift. If you want to be even more involved, come to the Hoot meeting on Wednesday, September 18 at 8:15 AM, or contact us at: hoot@westwoodcharter.org
Welcome to Agrabah, the City of Enchantment, where every beggar has a story and every camel has a tail! 3rd, 4th & 5th graders are welcome to join Westwood Players! This year’s production is Disney’s Aladdin Jr. ©, a stage adaptation of the Disney hit film. Filled with magic, mayhem, and flying carpet rides, audience’s spirits will soar with excitement. If you missed parent orientation and sign up night on September 3rd, worry not. Contact caroline@westwoodcharterplayers.com to join. Rehearsals start September 10, 11 and 13. Shows are May 15-18 of 2014. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Can you sew? Cut? Are you handy with scissors, a needle and thread, paintbrush, a glue gun? If you can read this, we can use you. Many hands on deck are needed for cutting, sewing, shopping, decorating, fitting, organizing, dressing, and making theater magic. To be on the costume team, contact Paisley Taylor at paisleytaylor@hotmail.com.
Fore detailed information about rehearsal schedules, performance dates, tickets, photos and more, go to www.Westwoodcharterplayers.com
Last year’s performance of Pirates of Penzance was amazing! Congratulations to all the Westwood Players!
Look Cool, Shop Well!
How what you wear and eat helps fund Westwood programs!
Westwood T-Shirts on SALE NOW! Westwood T Shirts are on sale now! Contact Kim Hoffman at kimhoffman@verizon.net or go online to www.westwoodcharter.org/products to purchase tee shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, license plate holders, and bags!
Hoot T-shirts will go on sale in October!
All proceeds benefit WISE!
Principal’s Coffee Get to know our principal, Kathy Flores, at the monthly Principal’s Coffee. Upcoming coffees are October 2, and November 6 at 8:15 am. Meet in the auditorium. Find out more about Ms. Flores at www.westwoodcharter.org/about/principals-perspective
JUMP IN! Have you gotten involved yet? There’s room for you and whatever you can bring to the table at Westwood. Contact Eva Fogg at aandefogg@sbcglobal.net and let her know what you would be interested in doing at Westwood Charter!
Eat much? Register Your Ralph’s Card Cards must be registered EVERY YEAR.
Ralph’s donated over $16,000 to Westwood Charter last year!
Any classroom with 100% participation in the Ralph’s Community Rewards program will win a gift card for a party for their classroom! Go online to www.westwoodcharter.org/fundraise-while-you-shop for instructions. Our community contribution number is 80592;
How Does Our Garden Grow? ,
Our students learn about science in our own living gardens – paid for by WISE!
Giving to WISE makes you happy… Ariella Silver, one of our chairs of the Education & Enrichment Fund Drive
Did you know we raise over $350,000 per year to support programs at Westwood charter that are not provided by LAUSD? Our extra dollars support Teacher’s Aides, Yard Time, P.E., Art, Music, Tech Support, a Nurse, a Library Aid, and the Gardening Program. We even provide the school with PAPER! Raising money for the school is an important part of being a parent in the Westwood Charter Community. Engage, volunteer, donate – keep our school the amazing place that it is. Read on to find out about all the opportunities to contribute and make lifetime friends!
ENGAGE,VOLUNTEER DONATE!
PARENT WORK PARTIES First Friday of the month, beginning at 8:15 AM. Help our teachers with cutting, pasting, copying, laminating, or whatever is on their list, and for that you get the excellent company of fellow parents, coffee, and baked goods! Contact Mady Phillips at mady93@aol.com or Sharon Rosas at sharonbeth0819@me.com. Don’t miss the first party this Friday, September 6th!
PICTURE DAY Picture day is around the corner (Sept. 11th) Aside from remembering bath night, tips for a good picture day include dressing nice and not doing weird things with your kids’ hair. And please, remember those forms!
FAMILY SOCIALS These are so fun – don’t … DON’T …. DO NOT miss out! It’s an adult-only evening, where parents get to mix and mingle and get to know each other. Hosted by a family in your class. Family 1, 1-2 & 2: Family 3: Family 4 and 5:
week of September 30th. week of October 7th. week of October 21st.
Your room reps will contact you via email with the details on your class’ party.
Editor’s Corner Alas, both editors of the Westwood Window will be graduating this year. We are looking for volunteers to help publish the monthly magazine, and take the reins for next year. Contact Jennie Fahn or Paisley Taylor at jenniefahn@yahoo.com or paisleytaylor@hotmail.com. We look forward to meeting you! The Window is published monthly. Our next deadline is Sept. 25th. Please send submissions (text and photos) to westwoodwindoweditor@yahoo.com. Content subject to approval and editing.
WHAT’S UP AT EMERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Emerson Launches New Academies By Maureen Feldman
As part of Emerson Middle
School’s bid to become an affiliated charter, Principal Dimone Watson, his teaching staff, and members of the parent body developed two additional academies based on the years of success of its sports academy. All students entering this fall will select between Emerson Sports Academy (ESA), STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Academy, and the Performing & Media Arts Academy. ESA was started by two Emerson teachers, an English teacher and a Physical Education teacher, to motivate academic achievement through their students’ interest in sports. Students learn note taking skills using Cornell Notes, are
exposed to Sports marketing from agents at CAA, tour college campuses and spend the day at UCLA with student athletes. WWC alumna and Emerson 6thgrader Isabel Bollinger has applied to be in ESA because of her love of soccer. “I want to be in ESA because they go on great field trips, you make friends with other kids who love sports as much as I do, and I love being part of a team,” she says.
“Ever since the first time I visited Emerson, I knew I wanted to be in the drama program,” Many Westwood parents and students know Emerson for its elaborate play productions. The drama program, including the costume design class, now falls under the Performing & Media Arts Academy. 8th grader Sabrina Malinda, a WWC alumna looks forward to acting in the upcoming production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Emerson’s
first Shakespeare production. “Ever since the first time I visited Emerson I knew I wanted to be in the drama program. Now that I am in it, I have made so many new friends and learned so many new things that I will take with me through my acting career,” says Sabrina.
“I want to be in ESA because they go on great field trips, and I love being part of a team,” Stella Kraus, a Fairburn alumna and current Emerson 6th grader, has opted to enter the STEAM Academy. “Dissecting sounds cool,” says Stella about her upcoming lab project. The STEAM Academy will also be expanding the
Robotics program which was begun last year by two parents as an afterschool club. This year it is being integrated into the school day by Mr. Ezell, a new 6thgrade science teacher. “I took a robotics class last summer and really liked it,” says Stella. Students in the robotics class are mentored by members of UCLA’s robotics team and will learn to build and program using Lego robotics. Emerson will hold its first school tour on Friday, October 25, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. To learn more about your neighborhood middle school, please come to the next parent meeting on September 23, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. in Emerson’s library, or contact Maureen Feldman, Westwood’s liaison to Emerson.
As part of Emerson Middle School’s bid to become an affiliated charter, Principal Dimone Watson, his teaching staff, and members of the parent body developed two additional academies based on the years of success of its sports academy. All students entering this fall will select between Emerson Sports Academy (ESA), STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Academy, and the Performing & Media Arts Academy.
Hi Mom! Hi Dad! Here are your friendly parent volunteer traffic valets! Thank you to all the parents who will volunteer to help keep our kids safe! Go online to
www.westwoodcharter.org/traffic-safety
for traffic information.
Fresh from Farm to School!
Sign up for a weekly delivery of ORGANIC farm fresh fruits and vegetables from California farmers. A rainbow of produce is available at Westwood Charter each Monday at pick up. Later deliveries can be made to STAR. Register online at www.goodlifeorganics.org for the box size you want. Choose from the $15 or $25 All Fruit box, or a $25 Half Fruit+ Veggie box, or the big $45 Family Fruit and Veggie box. The subscription includes great recipes too! 5% is donated to the school. Use the promo code AppleAday to save $15.
Candid Camera Smiles! Oh, the excitement of the first day of school! Thank you to all of our teachers, administrators and staff for your dedication to the students at Westwood!