Art Appreciation

We would like to thank Mrs. Butler for coming in to plan and conduct a spectacular Art Appreciation lesson last week! In addition, we thank Mrs. Georg for coming in to assist.

 The students had fun learning about different types of architectural structures that are all around downtown Chicago.   Afterwards, the students were given a bag of various materials and were asked to create a specific structure out of the supplies given to them.  Enjoy the pictures from our event.

Information Regarding Halloween Festivities

We are planning our annual Halloween extravaganza for the afternoon of Friday, October 31st. Students will be in costume (in the afternoon) to celebrate the special day! Teachers and parents are planning a fun afternoon of games and activities! Although most children take part in the costume parade and parties, their participation is completely voluntary. As you are planning your child’s costume, please remember we are a kindergarten through fifth-grade elementary school. Students remaining in school during lunch should plan on costumes with limited make-up accessories. We are requesting your cooperation in selecting school-appropriate costumes that avoid violence, sharp objects, weapons, unnecessary gore, etc. At the discretion of the principal, students with inappropriate costumes will not be able to participate in the parade. If you are unsure of the appropriateness of your child’s costume, please contact the office.

The costume parade will start at 1:45 PM (please note lunch changes below for Halloween). Weather permitting; the parade will begin outside on the sidewalk. Students in grades 1st and 2nd will exit the building using the Primary Doors and line up on the sidewalk along Dwyer Street. Students in kindergarten and 3rd grade will exit the building using the Main Doors and line up on the sidewalk in front of school. Students in grade 4th through 5th will exit the Grove Street door and line up on the sidewalk along Grove Street west of Dwyer Street. The office team will lead the parade and students will parade in the following order: Kindergarten, 3rd , 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th grades.

The parade will walk north on the west side of Dwyer Street to Sigwalt, and then return to Westgate walking south on the east side of Dwyer Street. Parents are welcome to line the parade route outside along Dwyer Street. (Students will exit the Primary Door, Main Door, and Grove Street Door. The entire school will meet on the southwest corner of Grove Street and Dwyer Street.) The parade will be cancelled due to rain or the route will be reduced due to extreme cold weather. A SchoolMessenger will be sent out to Westgate families at 12:00PM announcing either the cancellation of the parade or the reduction of the parade route.

Traditionally, many students go home for lunch on Halloween to change into a costume. However, in recent years, more children remain at school for recess and lunch. To ensure all children will be able to go home and return for the Halloween parade at the same time, the lunch time for ALL grades will be from 12:30 -1:30PM as follows:

Grades 1-5: Lunch 12:30-1:00/ Recess 1:00-1:30PM

If your child is in grades 1-5, then please complete the portion on the next page and return it to your child’s teacher by Friday, October 24th.

Students leaving the school for lunch will use the following exits: Main Door (Door #1), Primary Door (Door #2), and 5th Grade Door (Door #16.) The Cab Doors (adjacent to the North Parking Lot, Door #13 ) will not be used for lunch dismissal.

Remember: Students leaving for lunch should not return to school prior to 1:30PM. Returning students should line up at the Main Entrance (Door #1.) There will be no supervision prior to 1:25PM. Students may not enter the building until 1:30PM

Children who stay at school for lunch will have the opportunity to change into their costumes during the lunch/recess hour. There will be limited adult assistance for costume preparations and it is advisable to keep the costume simple.

Special Note For Kindergartens…. All kindergarten students should come to school dressed in their costumes. AM classes will have their parties during their class time and will parade outside (weather permitting) around the Circle Drive during the morning class time. In the event of rain or inclement weather, the AM parade will be canceled. There will be no indoor parade accessible to parents. THE AM KINDERGARTEN PARADE CANCELLATION NOTICE WILL BE MADE BY 9:00AM THROUGH SCHOOLMESSENGER AND EXTERIOR PA SYSTEM. The PM Kindergarten children will join the all-school parade in the afternoon. The AM Kindergarten children are invited back at 1:45 PM to join in the all-school parade if they so desire. All AM Kindergarten children participating in the afternoon parade need to be accompanied by an adult. Please refer to homeroom Kindergarten letters for more information regarding Halloween festivities.

Global Read Aloud

Last week the students started to learn what it truly means to be global.   Today,  we read an online story called What Does It Mean To Be Global? by Rana DiOrio. Through reading the book we learned that being global is........

• .....being curious about other parts of the world.
• .....recognizing that your language is just one of thousands spoken on our Earth.
• .....listening to all different kinds of music.
• .....traveling to places near and far and appreciating how special they are.  
• .....trying all types of food.
• .....experiencing other traditions.  
• .....learning about other religions.
• .....respecting that others may have different values than you do.
• ....celebrating diversity in people.
• .....understanding how your actions affect another person's experience.
• .....living respectfully and peacefully with one another.
• .....opening your mind to new possibilities.
• .....being a citizen of the world.

Throughout the school year we will continue to integrate our curriculum with being global.  Our first step involves all of the third grade classes participating in the "Global Read Aloud Program" that runs from October 6th - November 14th.   Together, all of us will be reading aloud a book called The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo to the students.   Each class then partners up with another third grade class across the nation that is also participating in the Global Read Aloud.  Together, the partnering classes plan various activities and literature discussions throughout the read aloud experience.

Our Global Read Aloud partner is Mrs. Hanson's Third Grade Class in Ottawa, Canada.  Last Friday, our class was able to meet with them via Skype.   The students had the opportunity to ask questions about each other's classrooms and learn more about our cultures.   Over the next month, we will continue to read aloud Edward Tulane to each of our classes.  Our class will also hook up with Mrs. Hanson's class via Edmodo to answer literature response questions.  

Please be sure to  have your student log into their Edmodo accounts at home to update you on our classroom experiences with our partnering class!   You can also learn more about Global Read Aloud through visiting this webpage:  http://www.globalreadaloud.com/p/faq.html

We would thank Mrs. Corwin, Mrs. Davenport, Mrs. Kuhn, and Mrs. Stahr for coming in this week to  conduct Reader's Theater groups.   The students were able to read scripts focusing on the history of Chicago.   

Edmodo Accounts

Yesterday, your child learned how to use a new online website called "Edmodo".  Throughout research time during Social Studies, the students log into an Edmodo account.    Once on the page, an assignment is posted for them to complete with their group to learn more about a topic.   (Usually the assignments involve reading a webpage, watching a short movie, or watching a slideshow about the subject they are researching that day).   Afterwards, the student groups post a few sentences in Edmodo about what they have read. Together as a whole group, we discuss our findings.     

Feel free to view their postings by going to:   www.Edmodo.com.    Once on the site, your child can log into their account to show you their postings!  All of your child's usernames and passwords for their online accounts have been stapled to the inside pocket of their Take Home folders.