WESTSIDE PAWPRINTS
770-748-0831
http://www.polk.k12.ga.us/school_home.aspx?schoolid=9
Westside Elementary is a Title I School
We learn. What’s your superpower?
 May 19: Pre-K
and
Kindergarten
Field Trip to
the Circus
 May 19: 5th
Grade Field
Trip to Berry
College
 May 20-21:
CRCT Retest
 May 22:
Renaissance
Fun Day for the
4th grading
period
 May 23:
Renaissance
PROWL
 May 26:
School Holiday
 May 28: 5th
Grade Sells
Snow Cones
 May 29: 5th
Grade
Commencement10:00
 May 29:
Kindergarten
Recognition1:00
 May 30: ½ Day
– Last Day of
School
Reward and Recognize
Monday, May 12:
Gabby
Murphy, Brandon Garner, Ricky
Lucas
Wednesday, May 13:
Dante’
Walker,
Meagan
Hindmon,
Kelsey Escutia
Snow Cones for Sale
The 5th grade will once again be
selling snow cones to the entire
school.
They will be sold on
Wednesday, May 28th after
lunch. The cost will be $1.00.
Students who choose to buy will
go out after their lunch is over
according to their teacher’s
directions.
Congratulations to the 2014
– 2015 Westside Today Crew
Nellie Abdul
LaShenia King
Tori Blankenship
Graci McElwee
Katelyn Davis
Cody Ledet
Efrain Iglesias
Rylee Barrett
Marycille Brumby
Kenlyrica Davis
Katie Pruitt
Harley McGee
Summer Pollard
Kaylee Nikolopolus
Miriam Hernandez
Brooklyn Garner
McKaya Huggins
Amy Mendez
Rhiannen Dorsey
Eziquiel Andres Lopez
Way to go! We can’t wait to
see you on tv next year!
May 16, 2014
Volume 20 Issue 28
5th
Grade
Commencement
Change
The 5th grade commencement will
still be on Thursday, May 29th.
But the time it begins has
changed from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m.
4th Quarter and Yearly PROWL
Schedule
The 4th Quarter and Yearly
Renaissance PROWL will take
place on Friday, May 23rd. The
schedule is as follows:
9:00-1st Grade
10:00-2nd Grade
11:00-3rd Grade
1:00-4th Grade
2:00-5th Grade
Parent Volunteers Needed
Thursday,
May
22nd,
is
Renaissance Fun Day, for the 4th
Quarter. We need parents who
are willing to stay at Westside
from 10:00 – 2:00 and monitor
one of the blow ups such as the
bouncy house, obstacle course,
etc. Please send a note to your
child’s homeroom teacher if you
can help out and the teacher will
give your name to Mrs. Sanders.
Let us know if you can help for
the entire time or just a couple of
hours. Thank you in advance for
helping the children of Westside!
School Holiday
Monday, May 26th will be a
school holiday in observance of
Memorial Day.
Last Day of School
Friday, May 30th, is the last day
of school. It will be a half day of
school.
3. Show Your Child You Think School is Important
Taking time to set expectations and goals with your child clearly communicates your interest in helping
her to be her best. Build on that by showing your enthusiasm
for education in a variety of ways. These include:
• Maintaining a relationship with your child’s teacher. Tell the teacher about your expectations and
your child’s goals. Ask her for suggestions on achieving them. Also ask the teacher to clearly state her own
expectations and goals for your child. Agree on a way for the two of you to exchange information about
your child. After an initial face-to-face meeting, many teachers and parents find that email is an efficient
way to keep in touch.
• Supporting the programs at your child’s school. Attending events such as back-to-school night,
conferences, plays and family math night show your child that being at
school is a priority for you. If schedule and resources allow, also consider volunteering at
school and participating in school fundraisers.
• Creating a suitable environment for homework. Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to
study. Ask her to let you know which supplies she needs, and offer to pick them up for her. Be available
during homework time to look over homework and give suggestions, but never do your child’s homework
for her. If your child has difficulty doing his homework, write a note to her teacher explaining the problem.
• Keeping up with your child’s assignments. Doing school work is your child’s responsibility, but you
should be aware of what she is studying as well as the status of homework assignments, tests and class
projects.
• Staying positive about school and schoolwork. You may not always think so, but your attitude does
rub off on your child. Whenever possible, mention that the latest social studies unit sounds interesting or
that the upcoming field trip should be exciting. Say a good word about your child’s teacher, too. ―I really
like the way Mr. Thomas always sends home a study guide before your science tests. I know it helps you to
feel more prepared.‖
4. Support Your Child’s Learning Style
Your child is more likely to want to learn if he uses the learning style that feels most natural and makes
the most sense—to him. Help him figure out, and use, his best learning style.
Does your child learn best by:
• Hearing, such as listening to a talk or a book on tape? If so, he may be an auditory learner. He enjoys
music and hearing stories. He can probably follow oral directions very well. He is comfortable talking. He
would probably prefer spelling his words aloud to the teacher to taking a written quiz.
• Seeing, such as reading a book or a graph? If so, he may be a visual learner. He appreciates artwork,
movies and the live theater. He can probably follow a map like a pro. He likes to have something written on
paper to back up oral lessons. He would probably prefer studying a chart of the times tables to repeating
them out loud with the class.
• Doing, such as building a model or preparing a chart? If so, he may be a kinesthetic learner. He loves to
move, making recess and exercise critical parts of his school day. He would much rather participate than
sit and watch. He likes using his hands to create things. He is probably much happier during his hands-on
science lab than he is during the theory lesson that preceded it.
Auditory learners feel motivated and engaged when they can incorporate more listening into schoolwork.
Here are good ways to motivate an auditory learner:
• Have your child record himself reading a chapter out loud. Then review by listening to it.
• Use rhymes, songs, and associative words (letters or words that make you think of other words) to
remember facts. Example: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas to remember Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
• Have him ask friends and family members to give you an oral quiz or
listen to you recite math facts.
• When assigned to read fiction, suggest that he see if a book on tape is
available. He can follow along in the book as he listens.
• Suggest that he “talk himself” through a problem. ―Let’s see, multiply
30 Fun, Free or Cheap Things to do This Summer
Page 2 of 2
1.
 May 19:
Pre-K and
Kindergarten
Field Trip to
the Circus
 May 19: 5th
Grade Field
Trip to Berry
College
 May 20-21:
CRCT Retest
 May 22:
Renaissance
Fun Day for
the 4th
grading
period
 May 23:
Renaissance
PROWL
 May 26:
School
Holiday
 May 28: 5th
Grade Sells
Snow Cones
 May 29: 5th
Grade
Commenceme
nt-10:00
 May 29:
Kindergarten
Recognition1:00
 May 30: ½
Day – Last
Day of
School
Remember: you now
have two
opportunities to
purchase breakfast at
school:
Monday: Bojangles
Sausage biscuits for
$2.00 by the student
council
Wednesday: Chick-filA biscuits for $3.00
by Renaissance
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Pick your own...whatever. Find a farm with blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes,
flowers, etc., and get picking.
Play outside in the rain. Smell the rain on the pavement; splash in puddles;
make mud pies.
Make your own rain. Douse everyone with the hose or sprinkler.
Take family naps. Parents nap too!
Have daily quiet time. Big kids need rest too.
Cook out...frequently. Go beyond the burgers. Try veggies or fish. The kids
might like them!
Make ‘smores. Chocolate + marshmallow + graham cracker=summer
Camp out. First-timers, try backyard camping.
Camp in. Put the sleeping bags on the floor and have a family slumber party.
Stargaze. Invite friends and make a party of it.
Catch lightening bugs. And then watch them flicker away into the night.
Rearrange the furniture. Give the kids graph paper and have them draw out a
plan first.
Make your own pizza. Try this recipe.
Invite friends over for a game night. Have a kids' games table and an adult one
too.
Go to the demolition derby. And expect to see some major crashes.
See an air show. And hope for no crashes.
Stop to smell the flowers. (Go to a botanical garden.)
Talk to the animals. (Go to the zoo.)
Get wet. (Go to a water park.)
Have a puzzle race. Use 100-piece puzzles and see who finishes first.
Play a card game. Maybe crazy eights, spoons or poker. Take your pick.
Play a board game. Candyland, chess or Monopoly, depending on age and
inclination.
Make good use of nearby parks. Go to your local parks website, print the
schedule of activities and tape it to the refrigerator.
Pack a picnic. And plop down to eat it just about anywhere, at a free concert, in
a state park or in your own backyard.
Start the back-to-school shopping early. The farther from the start of school
the more fun my kids think it is.
Get the summer homework done. Not exactly fun, but get it out of the way.
Experiment with new hairdos. Let the kids try out not-permanent colors or
braids. Or maybe a spiked look.
Dig in the sand at the beach. Doesn’t matter if it is on the ocean, lake or bay.
Set a goal and complete a home project. Find ways to let the kids help.
Take an early morning bird walk. Choose the right field guide.
Westside Breakfast and Lunch Menu
Menu for May 19 - 23
Polk School District is an equal opportunity employer.
Breakfast
Lunch
Monday: Cereal bar, honey
graham
crackers,
fresh
fruit, juice, milk
Monday:
Hot dog and
individual cheese pizza,
tossed salad with lite ranch
dressing, steamed broccoli,
pineapple tidbits, milk
Tuesday:
Muffin,
Mozzarella string cheese,
fruit, orange juice, milk
Wednesday: Pop tart, Apple
cinnamon graham crackers,
apple, juice, milk
Thursday: Breakfast bagel,
banana, juice, milk
Friday:
Sausage biscuit,
apple, juice, milk
Tuesday:
Crunchy
Hawaiian chicken wrap or
beef soft tacos, lettuce,
tomato,
cheese,
refried
beans, corn, fruit mix, milk
Wednesday:
Turkey and
cheese deli sandwich or
chef salad, lettuce, tomato,
pickles, carrot sticks with
ra
Ranch
dressing,
sweet
potato rounds, applesauce,
milk
Thursday: Chicken
or barbecue pork,
potato rounds, green
tossed salad, fresh
milk
strips
sweet
peas,
fruit,
Friday:
Oven
roasted
chicken or corn dog, oven
baked French fries, green
beans, peaches, milk