Fun Exploring Owl Pellets

This week our class had the opportunity to explore owl pellets!   Through our scientific findings discovered vole, mole, rat, shrew and bird bones inside of the pellets.   Who knew that a barn animal digests all of those animals?  The students will have an opportunity to take some of the bones home to show you what they found.

Enjoy the pics of our discoveries!   Also, have fun clicking on the Youtube video of the "Owl Pellet" song we learned and sang in class.

Student Enrollment Request From the Office

We are looking for new kindergarten students and new first grade students for the 2013-2014 school year!

Parents do you know a parent of a kindergarten age student? Do you know a parent of a current kindergarten student attending a full time program in another school? Do you know parents who are thinking about transferring their children to Westgate?

If so, please motivate these parents to contact Westgate's office and talk with Robyn or Debbie. We need to secure student numbers to plan homeroom sections and teacher staffing. The number of homerooms within a grade-level and teachers are dependent on our student population. 

3rd Grade Robert Crown Lessons

Below is information you can read regarding our 3rd Grade Robert Crown Lessons.   Our classes will only be participating in Lessons #1-4.   

The Robert Crown Center (RCC) is proud to announce we have updated and realigned our family life programming.  The updated lessons align to Common Core standards in math and reading/language arts as well as Illinois state social emotional learning standards.  

Lesson	Developmental  level (age)	Objectives	Time
1	6-8	1.     Students develop and understanding that humans move through a predictable life cycle as we age 2.     Students learn how our organs and systems help us to grow, change, and survive over time	50-55
2	6-8	1.     Students identify different disease transmission routes including the spread of bacteria, viruses, and parasites	45-50
3	6-8	1.     Students identify behaviors that can result from strong emotions 2.     Students identify the impact of their peers on their feelings of self-worth 3.     Students identify their role in taking responsibility for their own emotions and behaviors	45-50
4	6-8	1.     Students develop criteria to evaluate the health of their relationships 2.     Students develop skills to maintain healthy relationships 3.     Students identify situations that cause physical or emotional harm 4.     Students understand the importance of self-worth in a relationship	60-70

A Word About Placement and Parent Information from the Principal…

After reading a few parent placement letters I think it important to share a little about the IS (Integrated Services) program housed at Westgate. The IS program offers a rich and diverse learning environment for all children. It is truly a unique program that is not found in many public school districts. Independent of the IS program, a typical public school environment offers children and families the opportunity to interact with a variety of people, abilities, and values. More importantly, the IS/ Buddy Class relationship offers students an opportunity to strengthen empathy, resilience, and perseverance. The IS program is an integral part of the Westgate community. 

Westgate houses the district’s self-contained special education program for grades one through five, and uses an integrated model. Identified special education students are placed in the IS classroom at each grade-level. Students in the IS classroom have IEP (Individual Education Plans) and receive special education services. The IS classroom integrates with a Buddy classroom (a general education classroom) to form a unique community of learners. The IS and Buddy classroom relationship offers inclusive services for students with special needs and the opportunity to provide a diverse learning environment for all students. This classroom configuration also increases the number of teaching professionals within a classroom setting which benefits all students.

The IS program has been a part of the Westgate community for over 10 years. We are fortunate to “house” this unique program that contributes to our diverse learning environment. Students in both the IS and Buddy classrooms learn through activities, situations, and each other. The social components and differentiated instruction benefits students in both the IS Classroom and Buddy Classroom. Parents may not “opt” out of a Buddy Class. However, individual consideration is given to students who previously participated in a Buddy classroom. As a school community, our goal is to support diversity, celebrate the gifts of all children, and nurture diverse learning environments that prepare children for their future. 

Please remember that parent information will play a part in the placement process. Similarly, teacher and staff recommendations will play a significant role within the placement process. As in the past, using a variety of information about a child, we will create diverse learning cohorts.

We thank you in advance for your support,

Caz 

Space UBD and Solars Award Ceremony Time!

All of the third grade classes participated in a month long Solar System UBD research project.   At the beginning stages, each student was put into a specific planet group.   Using websites and books, each planet group researched information about their planet and posted their notes into Googledocs.   

Afterwards, each planet group chose 2-3 Solar Award Categories that they felt their planet could win. The Solar Award Categories were:

• Strangest Atmosphere
• Wildest Temperature/Weather
• Best Name
• Most Earth-like Planet
• Most Interesting Moons
• Scariest Planet
• Most Beautiful Planet
• Most Unique Planet

Once the categories were chosen, each planet group had to write a persuasive paragraph that proved why their planet should win that specific category award.    All paragraphs were submitted to an award selection committtee.  

Together with the entire third grade, students were divided into specific selection committees that gathered in the Commons.   (Ex.:  The Strangest Atmosphere Committee).   Each committee was responsible for reading the persuasive paragraphs and narrowing down each category to the top three planets that they felt deserved to win that specific category based off of the evidence that was given to them.   

Back in the classroom, the top three persuasive speeches for each category were read aloud.   After the speeches were read, the students voted online into a program called Survey Monkey for the planet they believe deserved to win.   They also had to provide a reason for why they felt the planet should win the specific category.   All of the third grade votes were tallied.  

For the last part of the project, the students met back in the LMC for the Solars Award Ceremony where the winners were revealed.   Please enjoy the pics below of our Space UBD project and Solars Award Ceremony.  

Walking down the red carpet at the Solars Award Ceremony with the paparazzi shooting photos.  

         

Mr. McHugh as the Solars Award announcer

The winners of the Solar Awards were...............