Tomorrow begins our first day with students! WE must start the year with a positive mindset for our students, colleagues and ourselves. This week let's choose to become……
What comes next in that sentence is what you choose to fill in for yourself, as we the Westport community begin to Lead Up, Learn Up, and Level Up for ALL!
As we conquer the obstacles we know will arise, we must be there for each other and provide our compassion and support to all those around us. Let’s make this a great Week 1, TEAM WESTPORT!!!!!
#WilcatsLove2Learn
Westport K-8 Wildcat Chat Topics
Week 1 Links
Westport HUB – Bookmark this page
Policies & Procedures Slide Deck
Westport School Supply Request
Westport Communication Tree
Who do I ask or talk to?
Important Dates
Friday, August 30, Fueling the Future
Rapid Roberts will be donating 10 cents for every gallon of gas sold. PLUS, for the entire month of August, Ozarks Coca-Cola Company and Hiland Dairy will donate 5 cents for every 20oz Coke, Dr Pepper, Red Diamond Tea, and Lemonade.
Friday, September 6, #GiveSPS Day
#GiveSPS Day: This is our 24-hour online fundraiser where all proceeds will benefit Back to School Grants submitted by our educators. Donors do have the opportunity to direct their donation to your site meaning…more money that could be awarded to your site!
Friday, September 13, Grant Delivery Day
Our Christmas in September…This is the day volunteers and donors join us to surprise educators who submitted and will receive a Back to School Grant. Our office will be in touch with your site closer to date if you have a grant recipient.
Friday, May 2, 2025, Celebrate SPS
Join us to celebrate public education, highlight Springfield Public Schools, and announce the recipients of the following awards:
Linda Luke Librarian of the Year
Corporate Partner of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Counselor of the Year
Advocate for Education
Announce the 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year
And more!
Classroom Greetings
Bell procedures to follow:
Teachers will greet students in the hallway door entrance to their rooms.
Say a “Greeting”
Introduce the learning for the day
Refresh on classroom entry expectations
Students should be in a straight line along the wall/lockers
If a student misses the entry procedure:
Tardy students will be required to check in at the tardy station.
Important Nurse Information
Please fill out this form when you can and include as much or as little as you want. This is a voluntary form, but it will help us in an emergency. The last question is essential to know who in the building can help in an emergency! Thank you!!
https://forms.gle/rix9Sa3CNt19rK9r6
District Human Resources
We're excited to announce that starting on August 10, 2024, Springfield Public Schools - MO will be transitioning to a new online portal for all benefits management. This includes annual health benefits elections, mid-year changes, 401k contributions, etc.
At your earliest convenience, please click the link below to log in to Employee Self Service and ensure that you have access to the portal. If the portal confirms that your account is active, no further action is required at this time.
Additional instructions and a walkthrough of the new portal will be released next week.
Thank you all for your understanding as we work through this transition!
District Programs
Sarah Keeth will be our Naviance contact for Westport. She is located at Central High School, and will be providing support to you as you facilitate student learning around career exploration through Naviance.
These lessons are embedded in the MS social studies curriculum. Sarah will stop by Westport during the first quarter to check in and make sure things are going well. However, please reach out to me if you need any support or have any questions.
Library Procedures
Curtis Thomas, the middle school librarian here at the Port. I’m reaching out to the reading teachers to sign up for a biweekly time to bring your classes down to the library for a lesson/checkout.
Teachers typically bring their students down to the library after taking roll and going over any housekeeping things that need to be taken care of. We start with a lesson or book talk—I’ll teach library skills, host book tastings, teach research skills and tech tools, and more. Then students will have 10-15 minutes to check out books at the end of class.
Of course, I’m also always happy to teach lessons related to what you’re working on in class—just let me know and we can work on a plan!
Here is the sign up sheet. You can choose Week 1 or Week 2 on the tabs at the bottom. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FewXYraTjQuAUphApsn1CnoaGb9Hi1mPKz_FYA1fG3I/edit?usp=sharing
Once we get everyone signed up, I’ll add you to my Google calendar and share that out to you.
We’ll have classes come down starting the second week of school to give students a chance to get settled into their routines and procedures.
I’ll share more about my role and how I can support you and your students in the next few days. Please reach out or stop by with any and all questions—I’m happy to help in any way I can!
PBIS Classroom Lessons
On each day of week one, there is a district- and building-wide expectation to explicitly teach PBIS expectations. These will only take between 10 and 30 minutes each day, with the exception of Tuesday.
Monday (8/19): Classroom Procedures and Expectations. Please make sure you refer to the Westport Wildcat Pact: Respectful, Organized, Attend, Responsible. See the optional support resources below.
Elementary: YouTube: If Kids Made the Classroom Rules
Middle School: YouTube: Middle School Advice: How to Survive
Activity: Using chart paper and markers, lead students in brainstorming examples of what it looks like to be R.O.A.R. in the classroom. Organize their thoughts in a matrix with R.O.A.R. headings at the top.
Tuesday (8/20): Whole building rotation through stations; you will receive these plans later today.
Wednesday-Friday (8/21-23): You will receive these plans by Monday. See Ms. Deckard, Dr. Davis, or Dr. Mitchell with any questions.
Counselor Corner
August 16, 2024
Welcome back Wildcats!
The counselors are so happy you are here this school year!
Who are the counselors?
Miss Kelsi Watson is the Kindergarten - 3rd grade counselor. Her office is located in the “glassroom” (outside the music room).
Email: klwatson@spsmail.org Phone: 523-3160Mrs. Kirstin Hoffman is the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade counselor. Her office is in 174A (by the old entrance).
Email: kmhoffman@spsmail.org Phone: 523-3161Mrs. Jolee Jordan is the 7th and 8th grade counselor. Her office is still in 134A.
Email: jfjordan@spsmail.org Phone: 523-3162
Classroom Lessons
We get to visit classrooms to teach skills related to academics, college/career, and social emotional development. In August, elementary counselors will have time to introduce ourselves to each classroom and talk about the importance of listening. That is a life-long skill for all of us. Students will be practicing watching and listening to each other so that they can have positive learning and friend experiences. Middle school counselors will be going into classrooms to introduce themselves and talk about the 3-Hurt Emergencies, which are:
If someone is hurting you, someone is hurting someone else, or you are thinking of hurting yourself, find a trusted adult immediately.
Elementary Schedule
This year, counselors will be pushing into classrooms to conduct weekly classroom lessons that will last approximately 25 minutes.
Kindergarten:
Toomey Monday 12:40-1:10 PM
Clutter Tuesday 12:40-1:10 PM
Jones Wednesday 12:40-1:10 PM
1st:
Beckner Tuesday 9:30-10:00 AM
Bryant Wednesday 9:30-10:00 AM
Yost Thursday 9:30-10:00 AM
2nd:
Gray Monday 1:45-2:15 PM
Tucker 12:20-12:50 PM
Bair 1:00-1:30 PM
3rd:
Franklin Tuesday 1:45-2:15 PM
Stone Wednesday 1:45-2:15 PM
McGuire Thursday 1:45-2:15 PM
Morris Friday 1:45-2:15 PM
4th:
M. Brown Wednesdays 1:00-1:25
Welch Thursdays 9:55-10:20
5th:
Behrends Tuesdays 1:40-2:05
A. Brown Wednesdays 1:40-2:05
Roberts Thursdays 1:40-2:05
Middle School Schedule
Middle school counselors push into science or social studies classrooms each month for counselor lessons.
6th grade: Friday, August 30th in Science (Dove)
Meeting with Students
There are many ways students can ask to see their counselor.
On Canvas, students may go to the Westport Counseling Commons and click “Ask to see a counselor”. Students will be directed to fill out a Google Form, which is sent directly to us. Teachers are also welcome to fill out the Google Form for their students.
Middle school students may also request to see their counselor using SmartPass. Once the students’ pass is approved, counselors will notify teachers and meet with the student.
If you have any questions or concerns about a student, please contact your grade level counselor.
We are your partner in education to help encourage all students to be success-ready. Please reach out anytime!
Voyagers
Voyagers Liaison:
Teachers may apply to be Voyagers Liaisons or Voyagers Tutors for the 2024-2025 school year. Below are details related to those positions:
Voyagers Liaisons
$30 per hour, not to exceed $690 per semester
Training: August 29, 2024 (Zoom at 7:00-8:50 am or In-Person at 3:30-5:30pm or 4:30-6:30pm)
Voyagers Tutors
$30 per hour, not to exceed $1,260 per semester for a 2-day per week work schedule, and not to exceed $2,460 per semester for a 4-day per week work schedule.
Training: Voyagers ELA--September 3rd (Zoom at 7:00-8:50 am or In-Person at 3:30-5:30pm or 4:30-6:30pm)
Training: Voyagers Math—September 5th (Zoom at 7:00-8:50 am or In-Person at 3:30-5:30pm or 4:30-6:30pm)
Voyagers Dates
1st Semester
Start Date--September 16, 2024
End Date--December 13, 2024
2nd Semester
Start Date--January 13, 2025
End Date--April 18, 2025
Adopt an Administrator
The administrative team is excited to be in your classrooms and with your students. Please take a moment to sign your class up for opportunities for administration team members to participate in activities in your classroom. Example activities could include: reading books, science lab, etc.
Westport K-8 Staff Survey
https://forms.gle/URF9tUBwADc9LZT87
https://forms.gle/pdyDhSrHuhzqrii7A
Westport K-8 Professional Learning
District Approved Communication Tools
#WildcatsLove2Learn - Band App
Please join the Westport K-8 Band App group for building only communication. This is not a communication platform for student communication.
All Middle School Teachers & Staff - Remind App
This is the required district communication tool for all Middle School teachers & staff.
All Elementary School Teachers & Staff - Seesaw App
This will be the required district communication tool for all Elementary School teachers & staff.
Building Committee Reps
Several staff have emailed interest in the following teams. Please communicate with Ms. Lee ASAP if you haven’t at this point. We will be finalizing the teams this week.
Guiding Coalition - A small group of teacher leaders who serve as the school's primary working and planning group. Members of the Guiding Coalition promote the accomplishment of school goals by helping to secure agreement, support and commitment from the other members of the faculty. The Guiding Coalition will be at the center of Westport’s PLC.
PBIS Building Team - Providing support in Conscious Discipline, Restorative Practices, Trauma Informed Schools, and PBIS supports. This team will help to guide and implement behavior practices throughout the Wildcat community.
Social Committee - As Westport does not have a PTA, we utilize the Social Committee to help support staff morale and a positive culture within our building. Our Social Committee helps to plan events throughout the year, decorate the work room, celebrate staff, help run the concessions stand and Swag Shop, along with encouraging and uplifting staff culture.
Emergency Response Team - This team will be developed as part of the Crisis Team and will meet 2 times a year. The focus of this team will be to make sure the Crisis Manual is current & up to date with any new policies & practices. Additionally, these individuals will sometimes be given specific duties during crisis situations, as it pertains to strengths or job duties (ie., Nurse - Medical Triage).
Calendar Invites
You will be receiving building wide calendar invites to building activities. This will include items such as: PLC meetings, Staff Meetings, etc.
Supervisors
Master Schedule
The master schedule, as always, has had a few changes over the summer as we have adjusted to the staffing changes. Please refer to the LINK below to see what if any changes have been made to your individual/team schedule.
Keep in mind the master schedule is driven by student needs and enrollment. Changes made to the schedule are based on student data, PLC collaboration, and any staffing needs based on sharing with other sites.
District-Approved Safe Space Stickers
Dear SPS employee:
Creating a safe and welcoming environment for everyone who enters the doors of our schools is our focus at SPS. One way SPS supports this work is through the voluntary placement of district-approved safe space stickers. While all educators want to reassure students that their classrooms are safe spaces, displaying a sticker indicates that a team member is both willing and equipped to assist students in crisis.
Most recently, SPS has received questions regarding a perceived lack of clarity and consistency related to the purpose and placement of safe space stickers. As a result, the following steps will be taken to help ensure consistency throughout the district as we begin the 2024-2025 school year:
A district-approved safe space sticker has been created and is the only appropriate and approved method for staff choosing to acknowledge their classroom as a place for students to seek assistance. Any other safe space stickers currently displayed on classroom walls or district property must be removed. As part of the work to prepare sites for the new school year, the facilities team will begin removal of existing safe space stickers. Please note: The district cannot control the attributes of personal property that employees may utilize, such as book bags, lunch boxes, etc., provided there is no violation of law or policy.
Guidelines will be provided regarding where the new safe space stickers may be placed - i.e. on the outside of the classroom door, facing outward. Depending on the configuration of the door, the safe space sticker may be placed on the frame or in the glass panel, as applicable.
Staff who choose to place the new district-provided safe space sticker will be required to participate in a training session that outlines expectations for how to engage with students on sensitive topics - i.e. listening to and referring the student to available resources, including counseling.
To clarify the purpose of a safe space sticker, the following has been added to the 2024-2025 Student Handbook: “While every SPS classroom is intended to be a safe space for all students, some staff may choose to display the district-provided safe space sticker on the outside of their classroom or office door. This sticker indicates that the staff person has been trained, and is available, to connect students to resources in a time of need.”
More details will be provided soon about how staff may participate in the training that is necessary to receive a district-approved safe space sticker for the 2024-2025 school year. In the meantime, please contact your administrative leader if you have questions.
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