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Mrs. Heather Westheimer
I grew up on the Peninsula and enjoyed playing behind Hilton Elementary as a child. Before teaching, I worked for nearly ten years in the Child Watch at the Y. I graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2007 with a degree in Early Childhood Psychology and in 2008 with a Master’s in Teaching. This will be my eighteenth year as a teacher at Hilton! Much of my career was invested in teaching second grade, with a loop to third, but am happily working with fifth graders. In my spare time, I bike, read, and share adventures outside with my husband and 15 year old son Reed. Both my husband and I work for NNPS. We are environmentalists who enjoy nature and the beauty our planet has to offer! Our family also includes a Siberian Husky, Forest, and Australian Shepard, River. We love their excitable personalities and how inquisitive they are. As an educator, I aim to facilitate tolerance, mindfulness, gratitude, curiosity, and creativity. Each year, I enjoy learning alongside my students. In the words of Ms. Frizzle, "seatbelts everyone"!
(757) 591-4772 ext. 35202
Important Information
Important Information
Our school implements a "heron" reward system where students or classes exhibit LEADing by example behavior. These are bartered weekly within our class for privileges students vote on and then rewarded by the school quarterly.
Learn Excel Achieve Dedicate
The most important homework task your child can complete is getting into the routine of reading each day. Help establish a reading routine with your family. You can also acess programs like IXL for additional math support or enrichment, at home.
For the health and safety of our students, Hilton has a no food policy. We do have severe food allergies in 5th grade this school year! On birthdays or special occasions, non-food items may be provided (books, erasers, “goodie bags”, etc.).
You can stay informed about your child’s progress by checking the Thursday Folders. A behavior report will be sent each week, along with student work. You can also access your child's grades using ParentVUE/StudentVUE. Please sign up in the office and you can read more here: http://sbo.nn.k12.va.us/parentvue/ . Our district-wide grade weight has two categories: Assessments 45% (district/teacher tests/quizzes) and Classwork 55% (assignments, projects, performance assessments). Per NNPS policy, no grades may be entered below 50%. If you see a discrepancy between work samples graded in the Thursday folder and ParentVUE/StudentVUE, that is why. This is an effort to allow students an opportunity to bring up grades and recover after lower scores. I advise monitoring averages weekly to be aware of mastery of skills and current academic progress.
NNPS Grading Scale
A = 90-100%
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69%
F = 59% and below
My Classwork Rubric
4: Satisfactory = I fully understand.
3: Satisfactory = I have some understanding.
2: Progressing = I am still confused.
1: Unsatisfactory = I don’t understand.
Communication Arts
Communication Arts
Hilton is a Communication Arts magnet school, which means we put emphasis on giving students the opportunity to collaborate, create, and present ideas and projects to class audiences. We work toward being active listeners who can present, debate, and communicate our ideas.
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