Wildcat Weekly: 2025-02-16

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Wildcat Weekly 2/23/25

Westport Mission & Vision

Mission: Leverage the strengths of the Westport community to ensure academic growth for ALL!

Vision: Westport will be a venue for academic success!

Westport’s Collective Commitments: Our Team will:

Make decisions which are student-centered and aligned to our WHY!
Be present to model consistent processes and expectations!
Leverage learning opportunities to increase instructional minutes!
Presume positive intent in order to maintain positive mindsets!

Click On

Reminder to pay attention to the clickable links to the right and along the top. As we continue to add sections making the BLOG a one-stop-shop for all Westport information. We still have several sections UNDER CONSTRUCTION…This means the link may be there, but there is nothing to see yet.

Key Spots for the Start of the Month:

Cooperative Learning Corner
Westport Social Committee
Instructional Coaches
Monthly Instructional Highlights
Staff & Student Spotlight
Social Committee
PBIS Lessons located in PBIS (ELEM)
Attendance Information

Key Spots for the Start of the Week:

Week at a Glance - WAAG
Must Do/May Do - Action Required
Nurses Notes
Counselors Notes
Elementary Events Page - Action Required

Update Student Events

As all are aware the snow day events over the last week have caused many adjustments to be made to our activities and events. Below are the major items to make sure you are aware of over the next few weeks.

Attendance Challenge: Updated dates! Tuesday - Friday

ACTION REQUIRED:

Teachers, please ensure you request a substitute for the dates of your trip (School Business - School/Dept/Dist). We estimate that only half of the class will attend, and we will combine classes if numbers permit.

Student Groups HERE

If you haven't already, send permission slips home with students on the list and then mark off when it is returned. MS Teachers: Please send the permission slips home with your 8th-hour students.
On the day of the field trip, if a student who is to attend is not at school, please remove them from the list so we can rearrange groups to ensure staffing
LUNCH: students will get a sack lunch, please update the student list if students need a school lunch (checkbox)

MS Teachers: Please send the permission slips home with your 8th-hour students.

Middle School Dance

Smartpass Updates - MS

SMARTPASS UPDATES:

Students will have only 2 passes per day instead of 3. Please make sure you announce this.
Pass procedures:

When students sign up for a smart pass, they need to bring you their computer/turn it towards you so that you see they DO have a pass created with their own name on it.
Confirm the pass has been issued before allowing them to leave the room. Some use other students’ ID numbers. Some leave immediately after putting in for the pass even though they may have been put in line for the pass.
If a student has an emergency, you may override the pass limit so the student can leave the room.
Substitutes must use Smartpass. Please have a computer dedicated to Smartpass use when you are gone. This would be a great “school job” for 1-2 students in each class period.

Attendance Buddies - MS

We’re introducing a new Attendance Buddy initiative! Please sign up to support a student from the designated list. Each teacher will spend just 10 minutes each week during grade-level team time for a quick check-in with your buddy. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OcvziWZ63tOdF_KCZ3dxwNIdvheQ9lRJ87zq_QWpUPU/edit?gid=1934799809#gid=1934799809

Why? Connection is the #1 human need, and your support could be the reason a student shows up each day. Let’s make a difference together! 💙📚

Thank you for your commitment to our students!

Guest Readers

Guest Readers for ELE Classrooms: ACTION REQUIRED

In conjunction with SPSRead2Succeed, special education teachers and support staff will be available to be guest readers in your classrooms over the next few weeks during their duty times!

Please sign up for a guest reader (or two) HERE.

Drury Title 1 GRANT

Drury University grant opportunity for SPS educators!

Below you will find information on our SPS Title-I Grant opportunity and information on our certification path for SPED paraprofessionals. The SPS Grant is for 50% off tuition for current Title-1 educators seeking a Master’s in Education degree at Drury University. What an incredible opportunity!

Last year, we had Title-1 Grant recipients from Pipkin and Bingham.

Parental Contact

Please share in your Parent Communications:

Please share out with students frequently and in your Seesaw & Remind App communications.

ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARBOOKS on sale now! 🧡🐯💙

ELE Link to order: https://www.yearbookforever.com/school-store/vpq1M33fyab5BAGwpetMQS90
MS Link to order: https://www.yearbookforever.com/school-store/3m7jr6X9FBdImyTYY0wNx1Rv

Memory Book Ad Purchases:

Own a business, or know someone who owns a business and would like to buy an advertisement in the elementary and/ or middle school school memory book? Please share the information below!

Spring Parent Involvement Night:

Save the Date! On March 13th, from 4-6pm, we will be hosting our first-ever Art in the Park event! The event will take place around the Westport Track, and our goal is to showcase the incredible artwork created by Westport students, as well as highlight various forms of artistic expression from within our community.

Sign up for an activity at Art in the Park [here].
Additionally, please remember to log your Parent Involvement Night attendance [here].

ITEMS NEEDED: if anyone has any of the following that they are willing to let us use for the evening of the event please let Mrs. Ross or Dr. Mitchell know!

Sight Word Bingo
Addition/Subtraction Bingo
Pop Up Tent - Example:

Westport K-8 Food Fight

Ozarks Food Harvest FOOD FIGHT FOOD DRIVE: K-8

This event will be sponsored by Coach C and his Young Men Empowerment Club.

GOAL: The goal is to raise awareness about hunger and support our community, while gathering food and funds for Ozarks Food Harvest.

DONATIONS: Donations can be either non-perishable food items or monetary contributions.

DATES: February 28th- March 13

Bins in the commons to collect food items and a bin in the office for monetary donations.
Important: Please track how much your class (MS 1st Hour) has donated HERE, as there will be a PRIZE for the class that brings in the most donations!
To celebrate the end of the drive, Coach C and his group will have a booth at Art in the Park.

Please share this event via SeeSaw and Remind, and encourage your students to participate. Coach C and his group will be sending flyers home with students this week.

Teach Forward - MARCH 14

All SPS-certified staff members will participate in 2 hours of professional learning on Friday, March 14.

Please make note of the location and plan to arrive at your session for an 8 AM or 12:45 PM start. With sessions spread out across the district to accommodate enrollments, plan to bring your own drink(s), snacks, and a charged device.

Please register for your designated Teach Forward session in Kickup and bring your Unit 7/8 Teacher Manual (TRS) to the session.

Teach Forward-March 14, 2025 - Martha Doennig

The Teach Forward catalog is now available. Questions regarding how sessions will run on March 14? Feel free to reach out to the Professional Learning team.

Westport MAP Test Prep

LINK - Follow this link to review grade level specific Test Preparation processes.

MAP Test preparation tool; day by day plan - COMING SOON!

Canvas Grade Passback Support

Robin Robertson, Application Trainer, has created Knowledge Base Articles and videos to support teachers with the use of Canvas Grade PassBack.

You can find these resources here: Canvas Grade PassBack Help

Please share with your staff and reach out to Robin with any individual site support needs.

25-26 School Year Planning

Professional Learning Needs Assessment Save the Date

The annual needs assessment window will be March 2-28. Providing time for certified educators to take the survey during a staff meeting is helpful. Campuses who have 100% engagement will be entered into a drawing for lunch to be provided to your staff during the fourth quarter. The PL Advisory thanks you in advance for your support in getting 100% input!

Elementary Specials Grams Information:
Specials teachers will be tracking daily progress for each class, using a rating of 3, 2, or 1 based on classroom behavior. The goal is to earn 5 threes within 3 weeks!

You can view your class's progress [here]

FYI: Upcoming Events

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Wildcat Weekly - 2/16/25

Westport Mission & Vision

Mission: Leverage the strengths of the Westport community to ensure academic growth for ALL!

Vision: Westport will be a venue for academic success!

Westport’s Collective Commitments: Our Team will:

Make decisions which are student-centered and aligned to our WHY!
Be present to model consistent processes and expectations!
Leverage learning opportunities to increase instructional minutes!
Presume positive intent in order to maintain positive mindsets!

Click On

Key Spots for the Start of the Month:

Cooperative Learning Corner
Westport Social Committee
Instructional Coaches
Monthly Instructional Highlights
Staff & Student Spotlight
Social Committee
PBIS Lessons located in PBIS (ELEM) - ACTION REQUIRED
Attendance Information

Key Spots for the Start of the Week:

Week at a Glance - WAAG
Must Do/May Do
Nurses Notes - Please review the illness information.
Counselors Notes
Elementary Events Page

AMI Updates

As we prepare for potential inclement weather, we have received a request for clarity about teacher responsibilities on AMI Days. While students in grades K-12 have one more snow day available before an AMI Day is necessary, the following details outline expectations for when an AMI Day is declared.

Connecting with families on days when school is canceled will help ensure that Alternative Method of Instruction (AMI) Days provide a successful learning experience. As a teacher, you play a critical role in communicating with parents and reminding them of the expectations on an AMI Day.

A printed copy of the AMI packet was provided to families in December for students in grades PreK-8.

All AMI resources are also posted at sps.org/AMI.

When an AMI Day is implemented for students, please take the following steps to support parents and students throughout the day:

At 8 a.m., please communicate the learning expectations and assignment for the day via Seesaw/Remind/Canvas (depending on your grade level/content area) with a reminder to return the completed work to school the next day school is in session.
At noon, send an email/Seesaw/Remind/Canvas message to remind students and parents that you are available to answer any questions they may have.
At 3 p.m., send an email/Seesaw/Remind/Canvas message about the assignments that should have been completed and a reminder that if the work is not done and turned in, the student will be counted absent for the day.

*Please Note: As you receive communication from students or families throughout the day, please be available to respond.

Thank you for supporting our families by maintaining consistency and clearly communicating on AMI Days. If you have any questions, please let me know.

School-Wide Celebration

DESE Bottom 5% Release

I again want to say a HUGE AWESOME JOB to the whole Westport Team in the celebration of Westport MS being released from the Bottom 5% measure from DESE. This shows how impactful every move we make can have a positive impact on our students' growth. I am sooo proud to work with this amazing group of teachers and your deep dedication to our students and families.

Candy Gram Success:

Let’s all join in thanking Mrs. Foster for an incredibly successful Candy Gram fundraiser that benefitted the Social Committee! Mrs. Foster sold over 300 candy grams and made over $900 in profit, which was used to purchase Valentine's Day treats for teachers and will also go towards Teacher Appreciation Week gifts.

A huge thank you to Mrs. Foster for her hard work and dedication!

ALSO, stay tuned for spring bunny gram fundraising information 🙂

School-Wide Attendance

Attendance Challenge: Updated dates!

Action Required:

Teachers, please ensure you request a substitute for the dates of your trip (school business). We estimate that only half of the class will attend, and we will combine classes if numbers permit.

If you haven't already, send permission slips home with ALL students. While we won’t know the final list of attendees until the end of the week, having all permission slips returned is essential in case we need them.

MS Teachers: Please send the permission slips home with your 8th-hour students.

You will receive trip group assignments from your AP at the end of the week. Per The Discovery Center guidelines, trip groups must consist of 1 adult for every 5 students.

Westport Cleaning

Disinfectant Procedures - Last week we communicated a need for staff to frequently spray, clean surfaces within their classroom to ensure we are disinfecting surfaces as our community deals with illness. Please continue these practices throughout the illness seasons, so we can continue to protect ourselves and others.

Additionally, the custodial team will begin disinfecting Westport using a stronger sanitary spray, QT5. They will be applying the solution with a misting gun to all high-contact surfaces, including door handles, seating and tables, restrooms, and any sleeping areas, focus rooms, and serving lines for Nutrition Services. Please note that this spray will not be used on any food or drink items.

Parental Contact

Please REMEMBER!!!!

Any illness or medical concerns MUST come from SCHOOL NURSES. Many parents are upset that students are being marked elective absent when picking up their children because the nurses have not even assessed them for illness.
We are having an increase in the number of parent pick-ups when not medically needed or a miscommunication between nurses and parents. Due to this, we cannot monitor illnesses, speak to parents regarding symptoms, or keep accurate logs.
Before referring students for minor behavior, call/text/email parents to enlist their support and help with improving the behavior.

Please share in your Parent Communications:

Please share out with students frequently and in your Seesaw & Remind App communications.

ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARBOOKS on sale now! 🧡🐯💙

ELE Link to order: https://www.yearbookforever.com/school-store/vpq1M33fyab5BAGwpetMQS90
MS Link to order: https://www.yearbookforever.com/school-store/3m7jr6X9FBdImyTYY0wNx1Rv

Memory Book Ad Purchases:

Own a business, or know someone who owns a business and would like to buy an advertisement in the elementary AND/or middle school school memory book? Please share the information below!

Friday 2/21: Middle School Dance

Spring Parent Involvement Night:

Sign up for an activity at Art in the Park [here].
Additionally, please remember to log your Parent Involvement Night attendance [here].
ITEMS NEEDED: if anyone has a pop-up tent that they are willing to let us use for the evening of the event please let Mrs. Ross or Dr. Mitchell know! Example:

Ozarks Food Harvest FOOD FIGHT FOOD DRIVE: