Ms. Chin - Weekly Newsletter

Weekly newsletters will be posted here every Friday!

Friday, November 21st

Upcoming Dates:

November 24th-28th: Thanksgiving Break (No School)
December 5th: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
December 11th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
December 12th: WAVE Movie Night (5:30 PM)
December 19th: K-8 Spirit Day- Pajama Day

Classroom Content:

Conferences: It was so wonderful meeting with each of you for our Trimester 1 Conferences! I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me and discuss your child's progress so far this year. If you have any questions or concerns that come up, please don't hesitate to email me. I look forward to another great trimester ahead!
November Break- No School: I hope you all have a wonderful break next week from November 24th-28th. I look forward to seeing your child back at school on Monday, December 1st!
- If you are looking for resources to practice with your child over break, check out orange the Thanksgiving Break Reading Challenge sent home in blue folders! Practicing sight words, and using Lexia, Raz Kids, and Imagine Math are also great things to practice during the time off.
Family Traditions: During the month of December, each student will have the opportunity to share a special family tradition with their classmates. This project provides an opportunity for students to explore their own family traditions and learn more about the diverse traditions, customs, and cultures of their classmates. Through this project, students will continue to build community, make connections, and learn more about their classmates. I sent home information about our Family Tradition project in your child's Blue Folder today!

***If your child would like to use a video or digital pictures during their presentation, they are more than welcome to! If your child chooses a digital method to present, please send me the pictures/ videos by the morning of their presentation date.

Library: Our class checked out new books at the library on Monday! Please remind your child to bring their library book back to school by Monday after break so they can return it and check out a new book. If students do not return their library book, they are unable to check out a new book for the week.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, reading on Raz Kids, or combination of these!

Coming Up After Break- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 3- Adding and Subtracting within 20

Phonics: Unit 6- Suffixes

Comprehension: Retelling and Reading for Information

Grammar: Proper Nouns (Names of Days, Months, Holidays)

Writing: Opinion Writing

Thematic Study: Sound Waves

Assessment Information:

End-of-trimester assessment data was shared on Trimester 1 Report Cards given out at conferences. If you have any follow-up questions on your child's report card, please let me know!
Our Sound Assessment (PS 4.2/4.3) will be given the week of December 1st.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: This week we solved addition and subtraction problems with teen numbers. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 3 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Opinion Writing. Opinion pieces include stating their opinion, writing 3 details to support their opinion, and ending with a concluding sentence. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on sounds (s, z ending sounds), identifying words with suffixes, trick words, spelling trick words, sentence dictation, and Word of the Day (shells, ships). Please practice tapping out each sound in a word, saying and spelling trick words (who, what, when), writing sentences and scooping them (What did you get at the shops?, Pam hugs the pup when it is sad.), and dictating words (paths, sheds, necks, pups, pegs, mills). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 6 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on the main idea to help us more thoroughly understand what we read and what is read to us. Use this resource to help your reader at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on proper nouns to help us make sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this resource and game to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, we focused on respect. We discussed examples of being a good friend, setting boundaries for ourselves and respecting boundaries of others, and participated in activities with new partners to practice our relationship skills.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

Triannual Family Survey: Our triannual Family Survey, not to be confused with the Strategic Plan Family Survey, is taken three times each school year. CLICK HERE to answer six questions to rate your family's experience at Westlake Charter School during the 2025-26 school year. The deadline is Sunday, November 30th.

Fall Food Drive: Our Annual Fall Food Drive benefiting Joey’s Food Locker runs now through Wednesday, December 3rd, concluding at our Annual Chili Cook-Off. Food collection bins will be placed in the reception area of each campus. Suggested donations are:

Beans
Rice
Pasta
Broth/stock
Canned Vegetables and Chicken
Cooking Oil
Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.)

Thank you for helping us give back to our Natomas community!

Chili Cook-Off: We are excited for the upcoming, and always popular, Chili Cook-Off on Wednesday, December 3rd from 5:30 – 7:00 PM on our K-8 campus. We invite every family to come sample chili and vote for their favorite! The winning grade level will take the Golden Spoon to display with pride in their classrooms. All of our families can take part in making the Chili Cook-Off a success. See below for details about the event and how to participate

Each grade level, 6th - 12th, decorates one shared booth with several different chilis to sample.
The cost is $5 per person.
Families of four or more are just $20.00.
Each bowl comes with a drink (while supplies last).
Desserts can be purchased for $1.
Kindergarten – 5th Grade: CLICK HERE to sign up to donate desserts, drinks, spoons, and/or napkins.
6th – 12th Grade: CLICK HERE to sign up to supply and/or serve chili, help with booth decorations, or setup/cleanup.

Thanksgiving Break: Both campuses will be closed for Thanksgiving Break Monday, November 24th through Friday, November 28th. We look forward to welcoming staff and students back on Monday, December 1st. Our BASE program will also be closed during Thanksgiving Break.

2026-27 Lottery Application Window - Open December 1st: Our 2026-27 lottery opens on December 1st, including our freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes at Westlake Charter High School! Current students do not need to fill out an application to continue their enrollment at WCS; however, siblings do need to fill out lottery applications to attend. Spread the word and encourage friends and family to visit www.JoinWestlake.com to apply today.

After School Live - Explorer Enrichment Sign-ups: Our winter Explorer Enrichment programs are starting soon! CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up.

Attendance Challenge: HERE for the Hot Cocoa! Our Here for the Hot Cocoa Attendance Challenge is back! From December 1st - 19th grade levels will be competing to win a hot cocoa celebration. The grade level with the highest attendance percentage from K-5, middle school, and high school will win a hot cocoa celebration! More important than the hot cocoa is knowing that students who don’t show up for school regularly miss out on fundamental reading and math skills and the chance to build a habit of good attendance that will carry them into college and careers.

Friday, November 14th

Upcoming Dates:

November 17th-21st: K-8 Parent Teacher Conferences (Early Dismissal all week at 1:30 PM)
November 24th-28th: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Classroom Content:

Conference Week Next Week: Conference week will be November 17-21st. I am excited to meet with each of you next week to discuss your child's progress so far this year! We will have early dismissal at 1:30pm all week.
Classroom Volunteers: Please stay tuned! Exciting opportunities coming soon!
Library: Our class checked out new books at the library on Monday! Please remind your child to bring their library book back to school by Monday so they can return it and check out a new book. If students do not return their library book, they are unable to check out a new book for the week.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, reading on Raz Kids, or combination of these!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 3- Adding and Subtracting within 20

Phonics: Unit 6- Suffixes

Comprehension: Main Idea/Details

Grammar: Proper Nouns

Writing: Opinion Writing

Thematic Study: Light Waves

Assessment Information:

End-of-trimester assessment data will be shared on Trimester 1 Report Cards given out at conferences.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We have been solving to find the difference in subtraction in math this week. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 3 of math.
Writing: Next trimester we are focusing on Opinion Writing. Opinion pieces include stating their opinion, writing 3 details to support their opinion, and ending with a concluding sentence. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on sounds (s, z ending sounds), tapping to read words, trick words, spelling trick words, sentence dictation, and Word of the Day (jobs) . Please practice tapping out each sound in a word, saying and spelling trick words (are, were), and dictating words (Mack, bugs, sad). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 6 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on the main idea to help us more thoroughly understand what we read and what is read to us. Use this resource to help your reader at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on plural nouns to help us make sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this resource and game to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, in our Sanford Harmony social-emotional learning lesson, we focused on having empathy. We listened to a story and discussed how having empathy and understanding how someone feels can help us respond in caring ways.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

Beans
Rice
Pasta
Broth/stock
Canned Vegetables and Chicken
Cooking Oil
Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.)

Thank you for helping us give back to our Natomas community!

K-8 Conferences: Conference week is NEXT WEEK, November 17th - 21st. CLICK HERE to schedule your conference. The online scheduler is available October 27th - November 17th, so reserve your conference time now. CLICK HERE for instructions on how to use the online scheduler.

Each grade level, 6th - 12th, decorates one shared booth with several different chilis to sample.
The cost is $5 per person.
Families of four or more are just $20.00.
Each bowl comes with a drink (while supplies last).
Desserts can be purchased for $1.
Kindergarten – 5th Grade: CLICK HERE to sign up to donate desserts, drinks, spoons, and/or napkins.
6th – 12th Grade: CLICK HERE to sign up to supply and/or serve chili, help with booth decorations, or setup/cleanup.

Call for STEM Career Fair Volunteers: WCHS is planning our 2nd annual STEM career fair! If you are currently working in the STEM field or know anyone who does work in the STEM field and would like to volunteer their time for this event, please CLICK HERE to indicate interest. The tentative event date is Thursday, January 22, 2026 from 5:30 - 7:00PM.

Lost and Found: The Lost & Found at each campus is overflowing with jackets, lunch boxes, water bottles and more! K-8 families: Swing by to check for missing items behind the Admin Building during conference week. WCHS students: Look in the Commons during arrival, lunch, and dismissal. All unclaimed items will be donated over Thanksgiving Break.

Friday, November 7th

Upcoming Dates:

November 11th: Veteran's Day (No School)
November 13th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
November 14th: K-8 Spirit Day - Mix and Match Day
November 17th-21st: K-8 Parent Teacher Conferences (Early Dismissal all week at 1:30 PM)
November 24th-28th: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Classroom Content:

Conference Scheduler: Canyon Creek, our online conference scheduler, is open and ready to schedule your Trimester 1 Conference! Conference week will be November 17th-21st, with early dismissal at 1:30pm all week. If you haven't already, Click HERE to sign up for a conference. CLICK HERE for the instructions to sign up. The password is: explorers. I look forward to meeting with you!
Library: We will return to our regular Monday library visits next week! If your child has not already returned their book to the classroom, bring it back by Monday to ensure they can check out a new book!
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, reading on Raz Kids, or combination of these!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 3- Adding and Subtracting within 20

Phonics: Unit 6- Suffixes

Comprehension: Main Idea/Details

Grammar: Plural Nouns

Writing: Review/Assessments

Thematic Study: Sound Waves

Assessment Information:

Our Light Waves Assessment (P.S. 4.1) will be given next week.
End-of-trimester assessments are being conducted. Results for these assessments will be shared on report cards given out at Trimester 1 Conferences.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We began unit 3 (Adding and Subtracting Within 20) in math this week. Watch this video to learn more about concepts covered in this unit. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 3 of math.
Writing: Next trimester we will be focusing on Opinion Writing. Opinion pieces include stating their opinion, writing 3 details to support their opinion, and ending with a concluding sentence. Please utilize this resource to help your writer distinguish between fact and opinion at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on sounds (am, an), tapping to read words, trick words, spelling trick words, sentence dictation, and Word of the Day (ham) . Please practice tapping out each sound in a word, saying and spelling trick words (from, have, do, does), and dictating words (quick, man, fan, shell, ham). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 5 of phonics.
Comprehension: This week we reviewed comprehension concepts taught up to week 12 of school. Visit Raz Kids to review your skills. My teacher username is achin21. The password is a turtle.
Grammar: We have been focusing on plural nouns to help us make sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this resource or worksheet to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, in our Sanford Harmony social-emotional learning lesson, we focused on relating thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We read a story and discussed the different thoughts and feelings that different characters experienced and how those thoughts and feelings impacted the characters’ behaviors. We also discussed how we can have different thoughts and feelings than our peers.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

Beans
Rice
Pasta
Broth/stock
Canned Vegetables and Chicken
Cooking Oil
Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.)

Thank you for helping us give back to our Natomas community!

K-12 Spirit Day - Mix & Match Day: Mix & Match day will be Friday, November 14th. Dress up in wild colors, mismatched shoes, different colored socks or different patterns (for example, stripes with polka dots, colors that clash, etc.) Don’t forget to show your WCS spirit by posting pictures on all social media platforms and using the hashtag #WCSSpiritDay!

K-8 Conferences: Conference week is November 17th - 21st. CLICK HERE to schedule your conference. The online scheduler is available October 27th - November 17th, so reserve your conference time now. CLICK HERE for instructions on how to use the online scheduler.

Friday, October 24th

Upcoming Dates:

October 25th: Fall Festival
October 27th: Ms. Chin's class Pajama Day! (Our class only)
November 7th: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
November 11th: Veteran's Day (No School)
November 13th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
November 14th: K-8 Spirit Day - Mix and Match Day
November 17th-21st: K-8 Parent Teacher Conferences (Early Dismissal all week at 1:30 PM)
November 24th-28th: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Classroom Content:

Scholastic Book Orders: Scholastic Book Orders will be sent home each month. If you are interested in purchasing books from this book order, our class code is: YZ74C. Order online at: scholastic.com/bookclubs.
Library: Our class checked out new books at the library on Monday! We will not check out new books at the library next week, due to the Book Fair. Check out the Book Fair details below in the "Westlake News" section of our newsletter.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, reading on Raz Kids, or combination of these!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 2- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Phonics: Unit 4- Bonus Letters

Comprehension: Nonfiction/Ask and Answer Questions

Grammar: Plural Nouns

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: Sound Waves

Assessment Information:

Our American Symbols (SS 1.3) assessment was given week.
Our Unit 2 math assessment will be given the week of October 27th.
- - Click here for a digital copy of the study guide sent home in blue folders last week.
End-of-trimester assessments are being conducted. Results for these assessments will be shared on report cards given out at Trimester 1 Conferences.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We have been solving addition and subtraction word problems with unknowns in math this week. Watch this video to learn more about the concepts covered in Unit 2. Play this game to practice solving how many more/fewer problems. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 2 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence and a sequence of First, Next, and Last. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on sounds (ff, ll, ss, zz), tapping to read words, trick words, spelling trick words, sentence dictation, and Word of the Day. Please practice tapping out each sound in a word, saying and spelling trick words (you, your, I, they, was, one, said), and dictating words (bill, cuff, quiz, fuzz). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 4 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on comparing and contrasting to help us understand what we read and what is read to us by finding similarities and differences. Use this game to help your reader at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on common nouns to help us make sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this resource, game or resource to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, we participated in Red Ribbon Week as a school. This week focuses on making healthy choices for our bodies. You may have seen our classroom door that was decorated with the theme "Experience the magic of healthy choices!" We engaged in conversations this week during our Morning Meeting about making healthy choices for our body and mind, how we are all unique, and how to avoid peer pressure.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

K-8 Conference Week: Conference week is November 17-21. CLICK HERE to schedule your conference. We strive to have 100% of our families meet with their teacher! The online scheduler is available to families October 27th through November 17th. CLICK HERE for instructions on how to use the online scheduler. Remember, during conference week we will dismiss early to allow time for teachers to meet with each of our families. Kindergarten will dismiss at 1:00 PM and 1st–8th grade will dismiss at 1:30 PM, and High School will dismiss at 1:30 PM. Our K-8 BASE program will be open after school until 6:00 PM each day.

WCS Annual Fall Festival - TOMORROW: Join us for Westlake Charter School’s Fall Festival TOMORROW, Saturday, October 25th from 3:00 – 6:00 PM on our K–8 Campus! Enjoy games, food, a Haunted House, Dessert Walk, Silent Auction, and more — all made possible by our amazing volunteers. CLICK HERE for all the details, to sign up for a one-hour volunteer shift, and grab your presale tickets (30 for $20).

Fall Book Fair: Westlake’s Fall Book Fair is here! Please help us reach our goal and inspire a love of reading in all of our Explorers. All purchases through the book fair benefit our school. Explorers will be able to purchase books during their regularly scheduled library visits with their class using Scholastic eWallet. Cash is not accepted during school hours, so CLICK HERE to load funds onto your child's eWallet. After school, cash, Apple Pay, credit/debit cards, and eWallets are accepted. Bonus: Receive a FREE TOTE with a purchase over $30 while supplies last!

Book Fair Hours are as follows:

Saturday, October 25th at the Fall Festival, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
Monday, October 27th, 3:15 - 4:15 PM
Tuesday, October 28th, 3:15 - 4:15 PM
Wednesday October 29th, 1:30 - 2:30 PM
Thursday, October 30th, 3:15 - 4:15 PM
Friday, October 31st, 3:15 - 3:45 PM

Walktober is Here: Throughout the month of October we encourage all students to walk to school at least three blocks or join our Walking School Bus and have their JIBE trip card scanned. Be sure to walk and have your card scanned as many times as you can between now and Friday, October 31st for a chance to win. Classes with at least 60% participation will win a party-in-a-box for their entire class. Let’s get moving! CLICK HERE for the information flyer. Don’t have a card yet? No problem, CLICK HERE to register today.

Friday, October 17th

Upcoming Dates:

October 20th-24th: Red Ribbon Week- CLICK HERE for Spirit Days
October 25th: Fall Festival
November 7th: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
November 11th: Veteran's Day (No School)

Classroom Content:

Scholastic Book Orders: Scholastic Book Orders will be sent home each month. If you are interested in purchasing books from this book order, our class code is: YZ74C. Order online at: scholastic.com/bookclubs.

Library: Please remind your child to bring their library book back to school by Monday so they can return it and check out a new book. If students do not return their library book, they are unable to check out a new book for the week.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, reading on Raz Kids, or combination of these!

Coming Up After Break- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 2- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Phonics: Unit 4- Bonus Letters

Comprehension: Compare and Contrast

Grammar: Nouns

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: American Symbols

Assessment Information:

Our American Symbols (SS 1.3) assessment will be given next week, the week of October 20th.
Our Unit 2 math assessment will be given the week of October 27th.
- Click here for a digital copy of the study guide sent home in blue folders last week.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We have been comparing addition to subtraction in math this week. We have been solving equations and story problems in math this week. Watch this video to learn more about the concepts covered in Unit 2. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 2 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence and a sequence of First, Next, and Last. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on sounds (sh, ch, th, wh, ck), tapping to read words, trick words, spelling trick words, sentence dictation, and Word of the Day. Please practice tapping out each sound in a word, saying and spelling trick words (as, has, to, into, we, he, she, be, me, for, or), and dictating words (quick, puck, shock, rack, moth). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 3 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on plot to help us focus in and understand what we read and what is read to us. Use this resource to help your reader at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on nouns-people and places, to help us make sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this song, game or resource to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, we participated in "Start with Hello Week" as a school. This week focuses on bullying prevention and reducing isolation for students. We discussed and practiced how if we see someone alone, we can reach out and help, and if we don't know what to say, we can start with hello. We also participated in Mix it Up Day at lunch on Thursday where we sat with students in other classes and practiced getting to know new people!

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

Walktober is Here: Throughout the month of October we encourage all students to walk to school at least three blocks or join our Walking School Bus and have their JIBE trip card scanned. Be sure to walk and have your card scanned as many times as you can between October 20th - 31st for a chance to win. Classes with at least 60% participation will win a party-in-a-box for their entire class. Let’s get moving! CLICK HERE for the information flyer. Don’t have a card yet? No problem, CLICK HERE to register today.

Middle School After School Live Athletics - Volunteer Coaching Opportunities: We are excited to be relaunching our Middle School ASLive Athletics program, which is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. We are looking for VOLUNTEER COACHES to make this possible. Teams will meet twice a week throughout the season for practices and games. Practices and games last from 3:15 – 4:15 PM every day except Wednesdays. CLICK HERE to complete the Volunteer Coach interest form to let us know if you are interested in finding out more about coaching flag football, basketball, or volleyball!

Friday, October 3rd

Upcoming Dates:

October 6th-10th: Fall Break (No School)
October 16th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
October 17th: International Walk to School Day (Walk to School with Ms. Chin Burberry Park, 7:50 am)
October 20th-24th: Red Ribbon Week- CLICK HERE for Spirit Days
October 25th: Fall Festival

Classroom Content:

Scholastic Book Orders: Scholastic Book Orders will be sent home each month. If you are interested in purchasing books from this book order, our class code is: YZ74C. Order online at: scholastic.com/bookclubs.
October Break- No School: I hope you all have a wonderful October Break from October 6th-October 10th. I look forward to seeing your child back at school on Monday, October 13th!
- If you are looking for resources to practice with your child over break, check out the Fall Break Reading Challenge sent home in blue folders! This is optional, but a fun way to encourage students to practice reading at home over the break.
Field Lesson: We had our Life Long Ago field lesson on Thursday! Students had a blast learning about transportation, school, and home life, as well as playing games from long ago!
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, or combination of these. Our Fall Break reading challenge is a great way to encourage reading over break!

Coming Up After Break- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 2- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Phonics: Unit 3- Digraphs

Comprehension: Story Elements (Plot)

Grammar: Nouns

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: American Symbols

Assessment Information:

Our American Symbols assessment will be given the week of October 20th.
Our Unit 2 math assessment will be given the week of October 21st (study guide).

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: This week we have been solving story problems where we find “how many more” or “how many fewer.” Watch this video to learn more about the concepts covered in Unit 2. Play Shake and Spill and Shake, Spill, and Cover to develop these concepts at home further. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 2 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence and a sequence of First, Next, and Last. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on sounds (sh, ch, th, wh, ck), tapping to read words, trick words, spelling trick words, sentence dictation, and Word of the Day. Please practice tapping out each sound in a word, saying and spelling trick words (as, has, to, into, we, he, she, be, me, for, or), and dictating words (shop, ship, chin, chat, thud, thin). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 3 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on plot to help us focus in and understand what we read and what is read to us. Use this resource to help your reader at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on exclamatory sentences to help us make sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this resource, game or worksheet to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, in our Sanford Harmony social-emotional learning lesson, we focused on building community. We discussed what it means to be in a community and how we all belong to our classroom community.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

Middle School Dance: Our student leadership team is preparing for our next Middle School dance on Friday, October 17th from 4:00 - 5:00 PM in our K-8 Gym! The music, food, and photo opportunities will be so much fun! We are in need of families to volunteer to support this event. Please CLICK HERE to sign up if you are able to help set up, chaperone, clean up or donate food/drinks. Thanks for your support!

International Walk to School Day: Please join us on Friday, October 17th for the biggest Walking School Bus of the year! We will depart Burberry Community Park near Northborough Drive and Club Center Drive at 7:50 AM on a walk to school where we will join an epic dance party with a DJ. You don’t want to miss this celebration!

Friday, September 26th

Upcoming Dates:

October 2nd: Life Long Ago On Campus Experience
October 2nd: Picture Retake Day
October 3rd: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
October 6th-10th: Fall Break (No School)
October 16th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
October 17th: International Walk to School Day (Walk to School with Ms. Chin Burberry Park, 7:50 am)
October 20th-24th: Red Ribbon Week- CLICK HERE for Spirit Days
October 25th: Fall Festival

Classroom Content:

Library: Our class checked out new books at the library on Monday! Please remind your child to bring their library book back to school by Monday so they can return it and check out a new book. If students do not return their library book, they are unable to check out a new book for the week.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, or combination of these!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 2- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Phonics: Unit 3- Digraphs

Comprehension: Story Elements (Plot)

Grammar: Exclamations

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: American Symbols

Assessment Information:

Our Life Long Ago (SS 1.4) assessment was given this week.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: This week we solved put-together/take-apart story problems with missing totals or addends. Watch this video to learn more about the concepts covered in Unit 2. Play Shake and Spill and Shake, Spill, and Cover to practice these concepts at home. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 2 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence and a sequence of First, Next, and Last. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on tapping to read words, trick words, spelling trick words, sentence dictation, and Word of the Day. Please practice tapping out each sound in a word, saying and spelling trick words (the, a, and, is, his, of), and dictating words (lug, nap, zap, yes, beg, fix, quit, rob, hit, mud). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 2 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on comparing and contrasting to help us understand what we read and what is read to us by finding similarities and differences between texts or within one text. Use this link and video to help your reader at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on question sentences to help us create sentences that are interesting and precise. Please utilize this video and resource to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, we refocused our learning back keeping "bubble space" and setting boundaries with our friends. We discussed how unsafe bodies in the classroom and on the playground keep ourselves and others from our learning.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

Strategic Plan Family Survey: Families, help us Shape our Future! Please CLICK HERE to watch a quick video of Dr. Eick discussing the Strategic Plan Family Survey. Then, CLICK HERE to take the 7-10 minute survey. The grade level with the highest family participation will receive a donut party on October 3rd.

K-12 Picture Retake Day: Our Picture Retake Day is Thursday, October 2nd. See below for who should have their picture taken on October 2nd:

Students who are new to our school since the original picture day
Students that were absent on the original picture day
Students who would like to retake their photo
CLICK HERE to order pictures

Middle School After School Live Athletics - Volunteer Opportunity for K-12 Guardians: We are excited to be relaunching our Middle School ASLive Athletics program, which is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. We are looking for VOLUNTEER COACHES to make this possible. Teams will meet twice a week throughout the season for practices and games. Practices and games last from 3:15 – 4:15 PM every day except Wednesdays. CLICK HERE to complete the Volunteer Coach interest form to let us know if you are interested in finding out more about coaching flag football, basketball, or volleyball!

Friday, September 19th

Upcoming Dates:

September 26th: K-8 Olympic Triathlon Event Day
October 2nd: Life Long Ago On Campus Experience
October 2nd: Picture Retake Day
October 3rd: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
October 6th-10th: Fall Break (No School)
October 16th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
October 17th: International Walk to School Day (Walk to School with Ms. Chin, Burberry Park, 7:50 am)
October 20th-24th: Red Ribbon Week- CLICK HERE for Spirit Days
October 25th: Fall Festival

Classroom Content:

Library: Our class checked out new books at the library on Monday! Please remind your child to bring their library book back to school by Monday so they can return it and check out a new book. If students do not return their library book, they are unable to check out a new book for the week.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, or combination of these!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 2- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Phonics: Unit 2 - CVC Words

Comprehension: Compare and Contrast

Grammar: Questions

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: American Symbols

Assessment Information:

Our Life Long Ago (SS 1.4) assessment will be given next week.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We recently began Unit 2 in our math curriculum. Watch this video to learn more about the concepts covered in this unit. We have been writing expressions and equations to solve story problems and showing our thinking with drawings and numbers. Play Check It Off- Addition and Check It Off - Subtraction to further develop these concepts at home. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 2 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence and a sequence of First, Next, and Last. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on sound review, tapping to read words, tapping to spell words, and reading sentences in the correct order. Please practice tapping out each sound in a word and then tapping to write out a word (lit, lip, lap, rap, rip, nip, sip, sit, set). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 2 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on comparing and contrasting to find similarities and differences between texts or within one text. Use this poster and video to help your reader at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on statement (telling) sentences to help us make our sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this resource to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, in our Sanford Harmony social-emotional learning lesson, we discussed the value of diversity, shared what makes us unique, and learned what makes our classmates unique.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

Olympic Triathlon: Westlake families have raised over $18,000 already to support Westlake’s incredible programs. The Olympic Triathlon event is right around the corner on Friday, September 26th.

CLICK HERE to watch our Olympic Triathlon Kickoff video
CLICK HERE for a flyer with all the details
CLICK HERE to set up a family donation page on the Pledgestar website
CLICK HERE to volunteer on Olympic Triathlon Field Event Day!

Lunchtime Reminders: To help our day run smoothly and ensure all students have a safe and timely lunch, we kindly ask that you do not send food items that require cooking, heating, or preparation by staff. This includes items that need to be microwaved or otherwise heated.

Please send lunches that are ready to eat and do not require staff assistance. We appreciate your support in helping us keep lunchtime efficient and safe for everyone!

K-8 Picture Retake Day: Our Picture Retake Day is Thursday, October 2nd. See below for who should have their picture taken on October 2nd:

Students who are new to our school since the original picture day
Students that were absent on the original picture day
Students who would like to retake their photo
CLICK HERE to order pictures

Classroom Volunteering 101: We've launched Classroom Volunteering 101 to give every family the tools and confidence to step into the classroom and make a difference! Our next training session is Online: September 24th at 9:00 AM via video conference. E-mail wavewcs@gmail.com to obtain the Zoom link. If you aren't able to make it to either, or would prefer to complete this training independently, please CLICK HERE to take our training online whenever it works for you.

Once you've completed Classroom Volunteering 101 either online or in a group, you’ll complete a short form that will let our staff recognize you as a trained classroom volunteer. You can then reach out to your teacher to schedule a time to volunteer in the classroom. When you arrive on campus to volunteer, please check in at the front desk with your photo ID.

CLICK HERE to express interest in volunteering at an upcoming event

We appreciate you and are looking forward to hosting you on campus soon!

Friday, September 12th

Upcoming Dates:

September 19th: School Spirit Day (Sports Day)
September 19th: Walk to School with Ms. Chin ( Burberry Park, 7:50 am)
October 3rd: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
October 6th-10th: Fall Break (No School)

Classroom Content:

Library: Our class checked out new books at the library last Monday! Please remind your child to bring their library book back to school by Monday so they can return it and check out a new book. If students do not return their library book, they are unable to check out a new book for the week.
Blue Responsibility Folders: Blue Responsibility Folders are sent home with students every Friday! Please review and remove the papers in the "Keep at Home" side of the folder and return the empty folder to school on Monday.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, or combination of these!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 2- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Phonics: Unit 2- CVC Words

Comprehension: Compare and Contrast

Grammar: Telling Sentences

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: Life Long Ago

Assessment Information:

Our Unit 1 Math Assessment was given this week.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We have been surveying, looking at data, and answering questions about data in math this week. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 1 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence, First, Next, Last, and a Closing Sentence. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on the letters v, x, x, y, z, and qu. We learned about correct letter formation and which line to write a letter, how to grip our pencil, and how to extend the vowels. Please practice writing, saying, and using these letters in things you write, read, and see. We have been practicing how to tap to read words. Please practice tapping out each sound in a word (sad, sat, sap, sip, sit, mop, map, mad, mud). Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 1 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on setting to help us understand and visualize what we read and what is read to us. Use this resource to help your reader at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on the telling part of a sentence to help us make sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this resource to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, in our Sanford Harmony social-emotional learning lesson, we discussed how talking and getting to know others can help us discover commonalities- even with those that we may not think we have anything in common with. We read a story and played a game where we made connections with our partners.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

School Supplies and Field Lesson Donations: Great news, Explorer families! Westlake Charter School has already reached 26% of our School Supplies donation goal and 12% of our Field Lesson donation goal. Keep up the great work, Explorers! CLICK HERE to make your donation today!

Olympic Triathlon: We’re aiming for 100% student participation as we come together to support Westlake’s incredible programs. The Olympic Triathlon event is right around the corner on Friday, September 26th. CLICK HERE to watch our Olympic Triathlon Kickoff video.

CLICK HERE to set up a family donation page on the Pledgestar website. You can customize it with your student’s name, a photo, and a donation goal. It is easy to quickly request sponsors via email or text, explaining why Westlake is amazing and how they can help us meet our goal this year.
Prize Levels - Prizes starting on September 9th

🎉 25% Participation – Chips & Drinks for the class!

🍧 50% Participation – Popsicle Party time!

🍩 75% Participation – Donut Party celebration!

🍕 100% Participation – Pizza Party for the win!

$100 Goal Challenge – Prizes & Rewards!
- Every student who raises $100 or more will be celebrated with:

✅ Guaranteed Prize – A special Olympic Triathlon medal

✅ Raffle Entry – For every $100 a student raises they’re entered into a raffle for AMAZING prizes:

Top Prize for K-8: eScooter
Top Prize for HS: 🎧 Apple AirPods 4
Additional prizes: Pair of Disneyland tickets, $25 Gift Cards (Amazon, In-N-Out, Jamba Juice, and more!)

💡 The more students who hit the $100 goal, the bigger the celebration for our school community!

In Person: Wednesday, September 17th at 5:00 PM on our K-8 Campus

Online: September 24th at 9:00 AM via video conference -E-mail wavewcs@gmail.com to obtain the Zoom link

If you aren't able to make it to either, or would prefer to complete this training independently, please CLICK HERE to take our training online whenever it works for you.

CLICK HERE to express interest in volunteering at an upcoming event

We appreciate you and are looking forward to hosting you on campus soon!

Friday, September 5th

Upcoming Dates:

September 5th: WAVE Bingo Night (6:00 PM)
September 11th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
September 12th: Walk to School with Ms. Chin (Burberry Park, 7:50 am)
September 19th: School Spirit Day (Sports Day)
September 19th: Walk to School with Ms. Chin ( Burberry Park, 7:50 am)
October 3rd: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)

Classroom Content:

September Challenge: Jibe is doing a September Challenge from September 8th to September 19th. Walk, bike, or scoot to school and scan your cart to participate! Don't have a card yet? Click here to register for one! On Friday, September 12th and Friday September 19th, I will be joining the walking school bus too! We will meet at Burberry Park at 7:50am both days.
Blue Responsibility Folders: Blue Responsibility Folders are sent home with students every Friday! Please review and remove the papers in the "Keep at Home" side of the folder and return the empty folder to school on Monday.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, or combination of these!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 1- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data

Phonics: Unit 1- Letter Review

Comprehension: Story Elements (Problem and Solution)

Grammar: Sentences (Telling Part)

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: Life Long Ago

Assessment Information:

Our Unit 1 Math Assessment will be given next week.
- Click here for a digital copy of the study guide sent home last week.
Our Citizenship (SS 1.1) Assessment was given this week.
BPST and Sight Words (Trick Words) are being assessed during the first few weeks of school to gather baseline data for students.
NWEA assessments were completed this week. Students did an awesome job on both their Math and Reading Assessments! Makeups will continue next week.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We are working on Unit 1 in our math curriculum. Watch this video to learn more about the concepts covered in this unit. Students may log into Imagine Math at home to practice their math facts and skills (access Imagine Math through Clever). We have been exploring addition and subtraction in math this week. Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 1 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence, First, Next, Last, and a Closing Sentence. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on the letters e, r, p, j, l, h, k. We learned about correct letter formation and which line to write a letter, how to grip our pencil, and how to extend the vowels. Please practice writing, saying, and using these letters in things you write, read, and see. Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 1 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on identifying the characters and setting in a fiction story. Use these posters to help your reader identify story elements in books at home.
Grammar: We have been focusing on the naming part of a sentence to help us make sentences interesting and precise. Please utilize this resource to help your child at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, in our Sanford Harmony social-emotional learning lesson, we discussed what it is like to start new things and get to know new friends. We read a story and discussed our feelings on starting a new school year.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

School Supplies and Field Lesson Donations: Great news, Explorer families! Westlake Charter School has already reached 24% of our School Supplies donation goal and 11% of our Field Lesson donation goal. Keep up the great work, Explorers! CLICK HERE to make your donation today!

After School Live - Fall Explorer Enrichment: Some of our fall Explorer Enrichment classes have begun and others start soon - most classes still have space, so CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.

In Person: Wednesday, September 17th at 5:00 PM on our K-8 Campus

Online: September 24th at 9:00 AM via video conference - CLICK HERE for the Zoom link

If you aren't able to make it to either, or would prefer to complete this training independently, please CLICK HERE to take our training online whenever it works for you.

CLICK HERE to express interest in volunteering at an upcoming event

We appreciate you and are looking forward to hosting you on campus soon!

Friday, August 29th

Upcoming Dates:

September 1st: Labor Day (No School)
September 2nd: K-8 School Picture Day
September 5th: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
September 11th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
September 19th: School Spirit Day (Sports Day)

Classroom Content:

Back to School Night: It was so great to see many of you at our Back to School Night this week. Click here to view the slides that were presented at Back to School Night. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Blue Responsibility Folders: Blue Responsibility Folders are sent home with students every Friday! Please review and remove the papers in the "Keep at Home" side of the folder and return the empty folder to school on Monday.
Nightly Reading: To support reading development in first grade, I encourage students to read for 15-20 minutes every night. This can be your child reading independently, reading to someone, someone reading to your child, or combination of these! RazKids is a great online resource to find books at your child's level.

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 1- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data

Phonics: Unit 1- Letter Review

Comprehension: Story Elements (Characters)

Grammar: Sentences (Naming Part)

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: Friendship and Citizenship Wrap Up/Begin Life Long Ago

Assessment Information:

BPST and Sight Words (Trick Words) will be assessed during the first few weeks of school to gather baseline data for students.
Our Citizenship (SS 1.1) Assessment will be given next week.
Over the next two weeks, students will be completing their fall NWEA MAP assessments in class on Chromebooks. The MAP Math Assessment will be given on Tuesday, September 2nd and the MAP Math Assessment will be given on Thursday, September 4th.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We recently began Unit 1 in our math curriculum. Watch this video to learn more about the concepts covered in this unit. We have been exploring addition and subtraction in math this week. Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 1 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence, First, Next, Last, and a Closing Sentence. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on the letters c, o, a, g, d, and s. We learned about correct letter formation and which line to write a letter, how to grip our pencil, and how to extend the vowels. Please practice writing, saying, and using these letters in things you write, read, and see. Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 1 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on asking questions to help us understand what we read and what is read to us. Use this link to support your reader at home.
Grammar: This week we practiced writing complete sentences. Use this song to review complete sentences at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, we focused on friendship and citizenship. We discussed how we can show citizenship at home, in our community, and at school. We continued to focus on friendship and problem-solving with our friends.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

Fall Picture Day: K-8 picture day is NEXT Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package. CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your pictures online. Group pictures will be taken for Kindergarten through 5th grade classes only.

School Supplies and Field Lesson Donations: Great news, Explorer families! Westlake Charter School has already reached 20% of our School Supplies donation goal and 8% of our Field Lesson donation goal. Keep up the great work, Explorers! CLICK HERE to make your donation today!

Traffic/Parking Reminders: Please be respectful and mindful during our arrival and dismissal process, following traffic rules is an essential part of maintaining a safe environment for children. This includes parking in designated areas, adhering to the instructions of school staff, and obeying traffic laws. Traffic rules help to ensure that students are not in harm’s way when they are entering and exiting vehicles. When drivers obey traffic laws, they are less likely to be in an accident or cause a disruption in the flow of traffic. Additionally, traffic laws help to reduce congestion and provide a safe environment for pedestrians.

Jibe Bike Doctor: Bike Doc is North Natomas Jibe's free basic bike repair and tune up service. This basic repair service is offered at no cost to our community. Students and families of Westlake Charter School are invited to register to bring in bicycles on September 5th from 3:15 – 6:15 PM. CLICK HERE to book a spot or show up day-of for service first come, first served. (Families can register up to 4 bikes for individual appointments.) Note that not all issues are fixable by Bike Doc in the repair window. These issues can be referred to a bike shop for in-depth service.

Friday, August 22nd

Upcoming Dates:

August 27th: K-8 Back to School Night (6:00 PM- 6:30 PM OR 6:40 PM- 7:10 PM)
September 1st: Labor Day (No School)
September 2nd: K-8 School Picture Day
September 5th: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
September 11th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
September 19th: School Spirit Day (Sports Day)

Classroom Content:

Blue Responsibility Folders: Blue Responsibility Folders (Friday Folders) went home with students today! Please review and remove the papers in the "Keep at Home" side of the folder and return the empty folder to school on Monday.
Fall Picture Day: Fall Picture Day is Tuesday, September 2nd. All students will be photographed for the yearbook and student IDs. This will be a uniform picture day. Please see the "Westlake News" section below for more information on Fall Picture Day.
Back to School Night: I hope to see you at our Back to School Night on Wednesday, August 27th at either 6:00pm for Session One or 6:40pm for Session Two in our classroom, C-107! Please see the "Westlake News" section below for more information on Back to School Night.
Family Survey: If you have not already done so, please click here to fill out a short family survey so I can learn a little more about your child and your family. I look forward to partnering with you throughout this school year to make your child's year a success!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 1- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data

Phonics: Unit 1- Letter Review

Comprehension: Ask and Answer Questions

Grammar: Complete Sentences

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: Friendship and Citizenship

Assessment Information:

BPST and Sight Words (Trick Words) will be assessed during the first few weeks of school to gather baseline data for students.
History-Social Science 1.1 (Citizenship)- Week of August 25th
NWEA Reading: Tuesday, September 2nd
NWEA Math: Thursday, September 4th

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We recently began Unit 1 in our math curriculum. Watch this video to learn more about the concepts covered in this unit. We have been exploring expressions and sums in math this week. Click here for additional information to support your child throughout Unit 1 of math.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence, First, Next, Last, and a Closing Sentence. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home. Click here to access the documents we will use to organize our writing this trimester.
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on the letters t, b, f, m, n, i, u. We learned about correct letter formation and which line to write a letter, how to grip our pencil, and how to extend the vowels. Please practice writing, saying, and using these letters in things you write, read, and see. Click here for additional information and activities to support your child throughout Unit 1 of phonics.
Comprehension: We have been focusing on making predictions while reading. Good readers make predictions to help them better understand a text. Use this poster to help your reader at home.
Grammar: This week we focused on the components of complete sentences.

Social-Emotional:

This week, we focused on friendship and building classroom community. We discussed qualities of a good friend, how we can be a good friend to others, and things we value in our friends. We also co-created our Community Agreements together as a class.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

K-8 Back to School Night: Our K-8 Back to School Night is NEXT Wednesday, August 27th. To the best of our ability, we would like to keep this event distraction free by encouraging families to make this a non-student event. This will allow for teachers and families to connect in a distraction-free environment. For families that need supervision, our BASE program will be available to help, however, space is potentially limited. If you know that you will need childcare to attend this event, please CLICK HERE to RSVP for BASE as soon as possible so that we can properly prepare.

Kindergarten through 5th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 6:00 - 6:30 PM, session two is 6:40 - 7:10 PM. A video from your child's specialty teacher(s) will be available.
6th-8th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 5:00 - 5:40 PM, session two is 6:00 - 6:40 PM. During these sessions, you will meet with your student’s core teachers and specialty teachers. Your students are creating your schedule for the evening.

Fall Picture Day: K-8 picture day will be on Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package. CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your pictures online. Group pictures will be taken for Kindergarten through 5th grade classes only.

Free and Reduced Price Meals: Families, each year it is incredibly important to our school that we are able to account for every student during this form collection process. We are authorized by the Natomas Unified School District and as a part of our partnership, we commit to collecting these forms from every family. Physical copies of the 2025-26 application will be available at Meet the Teacher. Please complete this form for every student in your family and return it to either front office. While meals remain free for all students this school year, this is important data for our Charter authorization.

CLICK HERE to complete the Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM) acknowledgement form which will allow us to ensure everyone has received this information. Even if you don’t think you qualify for free or reduced priced meals, please complete the form for our tracking purposes.
CLICK HERE to complete the FRPM application online.

After School Live - Fall Explorer Enrichment: Our fall Explorer Enrichment starts soon! CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.

Learning Lab: The Learning Lab is open to Middle School Explorers after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:15 - 3:45 PM. The Learning Lab is staffed by an Instructional Aide to assist Middle School students with their classwork and homework. Families should sign up their Middle School student(s) using School Dismissal Manager.

Friday, August 15th

Upcoming Dates:

September 1st: Labor Day (No School)
September 2nd: K-8 School Picture Day
September 5th: WAVE Coffee Talk (8:30 AM)
September 11th: WCS Board Meeting (6:30 PM)
September 19th: School Spirit Day (Sports Day)

Classroom Content:

Blue Responsibility Folders: Responsibility folders were sent home today. Please have your chhild bring their blue Responsibility folder to back to school by Friday each week so that I may fill it with their work and any important papers from our class or school. Thank you so much for partnering in this!
Family Survey: If you have not already done so, please click here to fill out a short family survey so I can learn a little more about your child and your family. I look forward to partnering with you throughout this school year to make your child's year a success!
School Dismissal Manager: At Westlake, we use School Dismissal Manager to safely dismiss students to the appropriate location each day. If you haven't already, please update your child's School Dismissal Manager for this school year to indicate how your child will be getting home each day. If you need any support with updating your child's dismissal preferences, please email admin@westlakecharter.com.
- PLEASE NOTE: Every Tuesday I will have carline duty. This means that I will be outside at the first grade area of the carline ensuring your students are safe as they wait for your car. On these days, if you will be picking your child up from the classroom, and you do not see me or your child, your child will be waiting for you outside of Ms. Myer’s room right next door at C106.
Specialty Classes: Our specialty classes began this week! Our class is very excited for Spanish, Art, and PE! Students are in cohorts for Specialty Classes (Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green). Specialty class schedules went home at Meet the Teacher and can also be found here!

Coming Up Next Week- What are we learning?

Math: Unit 1- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data

Phonics: Unit 1- Letter Review

Comprehension: Making Predictions

Grammar: Sentences

Writing: Narrative Writing

Thematic Study: Friendship and Citizenship

Assessment Information:

BPST and Sight Words (Trick Words) will be assessed during the first few weeks of school to gather baseline data for students.

Schoolwork/Homework Resources:

Math: We have been focusing on number writing in math this week. Practice writing your numbers to 20 at home!
Phonics: This week in phonics we focused on letter review. Use this link to help your reader improve their letter sound knowledge.
Writing: This trimester we are focusing on Personal Narrative Writing. Personal Narratives have a Topic Sentence, Sequence of Events (First, Next, Last), and a Closing Sentence. Please utilize this resource to help your writer at home.

Social-Emotional:

This week, we focused on getting to know our classmates and learning their names. We will continue to work on building classroom community and learning about our classmates in the following weeks.

Specialty Class Information:

See weekly email for information on what your children are learning in Specialty Classes, upcoming assessments, and resources to practice at home.
Click here for Specialty teachers' websites and contact information.

Westlake News:

K-8 Back to School Night: Our K-8 Back to School Night is on Wednesday, August 27th. To the best of our ability, we would like to keep this event distraction free by encouraging families to make this a non-student event. This will allow for teachers and families to connect in a distraction-free environment. For families that need supervision, our BASE program will be available to help, however, space is potentially limited. If you know that you will need childcare to attend this event, please CLICK HERE to RSVP for BASE as soon as possible so that we can properly prepare.

Kindergarten through 5th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 6:00 - 6:30 PM, session two is 6:40 - 7:10 PM. A video from your child's specialty teacher(s) will be available.
6th-8th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 5:00 - 5:40 PM, session two is 6:00 - 6:40 PM. During these sessions, you will meet with your student’s core teachers and specialty teachers. Your students are creating your schedule for the evening.

CLICK HERE to complete the Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM) acknowledgement form which will allow us to ensure everyone has received this information. Even if you don’t think you qualify for free or reduced priced meals, please complete the form for our tracking purposes.
CLICK HERE to complete the FRPM application online.

Learning Lab: The Learning Lab will open to Middle School Explorers after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:15 - 3:45 PM beginning Monday, August 18th. The Learning Lab is staffed by an Instructional Aide to assist Middle School students with their classwork and homework. Families should sign up their Middle School student(s) using School Dismissal Manager.

JIBE Bike Doctor: Bike Doc is North Natomas Jibe's free basic bike repair and tune up service. This basic repair service is offered at no cost to our community. Students and families of Westlake Charter School are invited to register to bring in bicycles on September 5th from 3:15 – 6:15 PM. CLICK HERE to book a spot or show up day-of for service first come, first served. (Families can register up to 4 bikes for individual appointments.) Note that not all issues are fixable by Bike Doc in the repair window. These issues can be referred to a bike shop for in-depth service.

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