A monthly e-newsletter from the Westfield Public Schools

We can't wait to see our students' smiling faces as we welcome them back on Thursday, September 5. We hope your summer break was refreshing and full of fun adventures.

Behind the scenes, we've been hard at work preparing for an exciting year ahead. Be sure to check your email inboxes for essential back-to-school details from your child's principal.

This newsletter is packed with crucial district updates and news. We encourage you to review it carefully to stay informed about our plans for the upcoming year.

Here's to a fantastic start next week!

Dr. G.

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND!

As we gear up to welcome staff and students back, we want to hear your thoughts on "What is the most important thing on your mind for the 2024-2025 school year?". By participating in this ThoughtExchange, you'll help ensure that we focus on what’s most important to our community.

Click the link to participate: https://tejoin.com/scroll/207905014

You'll be asked to respond to one open-ended question, consider and assign stars to some of the ideas shared by others (20 to 30 is ideal), and learn what's important to the group.

Your thoughts and stars are confidential. You can come back as often as you'd like to participate and, in fact, we ask that you do come back to star some of the new ideas shared since you first participated. The ratings will help us understand the most important areas to focus on.

This Exchange will close on Friday, September 13. Thank you in advance for your help and input.

We are excited to introduce the District Pulse, a monthly video snapshot of the many activities and improvements taking place around the district.

Our 30 new educators participated in a 2-day orientation on August 27-28, as part of the New Staff Institute. We look forward to welcoming all of our staff - new and returning - on September 3 at the Opening Day Convocation.

Work continued over the summer to develop proposals for the district's facilities referendum in April 2025. The feedback we have received from the Referendum Community Advisory Committee, and from a community-wide Thought Exchange survey in June, has been invaluable and has helped to inform the process. The Community Advisory Committee meets for a third and final time on September 9, with the Board of Education to consider the final referendum proposal on September 17. We look forward to sharing referendum details as soon as they are finalized.

Visitor Aware Update: As you will read in your principal's newsletter (and as mentioned in the District Pulse), we have installed visitor management systems at each of our 10 schools. Your schools will provide instructions on how to use this important safety tool, which will heighten security by streamlining visitor tracking and access BEFORE entering the school building.

Speak Up for Safety: Last year, as part of our Gaggle Safety Management System, the district launched a new safety feature called SpeakUp for Safety, which provides an easy way for students in Grades 6-12 to anonymously share concerns about school safety and the well-being of their peers. This confidential tip line is monitored 24/7 by safety professionals. Non-life-threatening tips are quickly routed to designated school staff, while severe situations result in immediate notification of district contacts to intervene. In the most serious cases, law enforcement may be contacted. Posters, like the one shown here, are now prominently displayed throughout our intermediate and high schools.

Save the Date for this important presentation for parents!

Please join us on Tuesday, October 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Wilson Elementary School Library as our K-12 Director of Counseling Falynn Balassone, WHS School Counselor/Anti-Bullying Specialist Paul Valenzano, and McKinley School Counselor/Anti-Bullying Specialist Lauren Echeverry lead an informative and important session to help parents understand the Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) process.

STEM Camp

The popular Westfield STEM Camp again welcomed students in grades 3-8 this summer, offering hands-on, problem-based learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

During the week-long, half-day sessions in July, STEM campers participated in four workshops among a selection of 12 courses, including the newly offered Solar Boat Racing, with campers exploring the world of renewable energy and engineering as they built their own solar-powered boat racer. Also, back by popular demand, was Scratch Programming, a workshop where students used Scratch, a programming interface developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to create a computer-based game. Read more

Scroll through the photo carousel for glimpses of the dynamic STEM Camp learning !

Scroll through the photo carousel for snapshots from the ML Summer Experience!

More Summer Learning

Twenty-two Westfield students in grades K-5 took part in the Multilingual Learners (ML) Summer Experience, a two-week summer camp that provides meaningful enrichment activities to help students continue their English language acquisition. Read more

EXCUSAL FROM HEALTH EDUCATION INSTRUCTION

Per Policy 5250, parents have the opportunity to request that their child be excused from "any part of the instructions in health education, family life education, sex education, or instruction that includes dissection of animals that the parent or legal guardian of the student or the adult student finds morally, conscientiously, or religiously offensive." Details from the Office of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment are included in the Back-to-School packet on the Genesis Parent Portal. The Health Education curriculum and excusal request forms by grade can be found on the department page. If you have any further questions about student excusal requests, please contact your principal.

For planning purposes, the deadline to submit an excusal from instruction request is Friday, September 6. Any family wishing to submit an excusal request after September 8 must contact the principal of their child's school.

Heritage, History and Religious Observances for September 2024

As we welcome our students back for a new school year, we also look forward to recognizing these important commemorations:

Patriot Day is a holiday observed in the United States on September 11 in memory of those who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, along with the many people who performed extraordinary acts of heroism.
From September 15 to October 15, we celebrate the rich history and culture of the American Latino community during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

There are many ways to stay connected with the Westfield Public School District. If you haven't already done so, we encourage you to download our mobile app to stay up-to-date, with access to events, school news, student stories, and more.

In addition to The NEWS Letter which is emailed monthly to families and staff, click on the buttons below for quick access to some of the more commonly requested information.

Family/Community Outreach

Website

FAQs

Student/Parent Handbook

Inclement Weather Procedures

Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment

Communication Plan

BACK-TO-SCHOOL FORMS

If you still need to complete the Back-to-School digital packet of forms emailed to parents/guardians on August 19, please remember to do so. You will find the electronic packet on the Genesis Parent Portal. You must complete it before gaining access to your child(ren)'s class assignment/schedule.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHTS

Thursday, September 12 - Intermediate Schools
Thursday, September 19 - Elementary Schools
Thursday, September 26 - Westfield High School
Tuesday, October 1 - Lincoln Early Childhood Education Center

Check for communications from your building principal for details. Additionally, the PTC Special Education Committee will hold its annual Back-to-School Night on Tuesday, September 10 at 7 p.m. at Edison.

The Board of Education held its first Regular Public Meeting of the 2024-2025 school year on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 in Cafeteria B at Westfield High School. The next Regular Public Meeting of the Board will be held on Tuesday, September 17.

Board Members

Agendas / Schedule

Meeting Live Stream / Recordings

Board FAQ

Policies

We are fortunate to have valued community partners who support our students and schools in so many ways. Please click the buttons to learn more about some of these organizations, including ways you can contribute and/or become involved.

Parent Teacher Council

Westfield Coalition for the Arts

Westfield Education Fund

The Westfield Foundation

Westfield Boosters Association

Optimist Club of Westfield

Rotary Club of Westfield

Westfield United Fund

From the Town of Westfield - Crossing Guard Information

Prior to the first day of school, please familiarize yourselves with the crossing guard post closest to your walking route. A full list of posts and information about the crossing guard program can be found on the Town of Westfield's website at westfieldnj.gov/crossing-guards.

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