Dear Westlake Parents and Guardians:

A huge thank you to our wonderful PTO for supporting the staff of Westlake during Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC) by providing a delicious meal!   It was a real pleasure to chat with parents/guardians during PTC and continue to nurture our partnerships for the benefits the children in our care.  Thank you for taking the time to join as at Westlake for PTC and if you weren’t able to attend and would like to chat with your child’s teachers feel free to reach out to us.

Your Pie Dine Out!

Please join us on Thursday, February 28th from 5-9pm at Your Pie at 14342 Lincoln Street Thornton, Colorado 80023 for the final WLMS Dine-out for the school year.  15% of total sales comes back to WLMS PTO. Hope to see you there!

School Accountability Committee Meeting

Join us this Wednesday for the SAC meeting at 4:15pm in our library.  We will be looking at how we are investing fundraised money, 2016 Bond Project update, and answer questions parents may have.  Please feel free to reach out to the school with any questions.  See you on Wednesday!

Upcoming Events

Click on each day to reveal the upcoming events.

[wmd-accordion tab_background=”#066196″ tab_color=”#fff” content_background=”#2196d1″ content_color=”#fff” border_radius=”4″ ls-id=”5c6991c55dd8c”][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Monday”]%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EPresident%5C%27s Day- No School%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Tuesday”]%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0D%0A%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ENAEP Testing Today%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EKids Who Code Club %40 7%3A40am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EGirls Mindfulness Group %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EFlag Football %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EMath Counts %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EClub 3%3A16 %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EDrama Practice %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EWEB Meeting %40 4pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Wednesday”]%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EEarly Release Day%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EArt Club %40 7%3A45am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EGuitar Club %40 7%3A45am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3E8th Grade Registration for Current 7th Graders%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EBattle of the Books- Fantasy%2FSci Fi Battle during lunches%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EWestlake Orchestra Academy %40 2%3A15pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ESchool Accountability Committee %40 4%3A15pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Thursday”]%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0D%0A%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ENaNoWriMo Creative Writing Club %40 7%3A30am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EFlag Football %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EGSA %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ENJHS %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EStudent Council %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ETable Top Club %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EDisc Golf Club %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EHigh School Student Panel %40 6%3A30pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Friday”]%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EMath Counts %40 7%3A30am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EStudent of the Month Breakfast %40 7%3A30am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EGuitar Club %40 7%3A45am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EDrama Club %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EFlag Football %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ESaturday School tomorrow%21%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][/wmd-accordion]

Westlake Middle School Staff

Dear Westlake Parents and Guardians:

We are looking forward to seeing you this week at our Parent Teacher Conferences!  This is a great opportunity for us to partner together around your child and determine how we can best support them as a team.  The Parent Toolkit has a nice article on the differences of conferences at the middle school level from elementary as well as a “checklist” for when conference time has arrived.  Check out the article below and we look forward to seeing you later this week.

Middle School Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are 4-8 pm on February 13th and 1:30-4 pm on February 14th. Conferences will be in an arena format in the Westlake gym, and you will have the opportunity to sign up for a half hour time slot when you will be able to speak with all of your child’s teachers for about 3-4 minutes each. Please look for an email sent last week with a link to sign up for a 1/2 our time slot on the 13th or 14th. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Save the Date! Color Fun Run Coming Soon!

Current Events

Click on each day to reveal the upcoming events.  You can also access this information and the full calendar on the yellow sticky note above.

[wmd-accordion tab_background=”#066196″ tab_color=”#fff” content_background=”#2196d1″ content_color=”#fff” border_radius=”4″ ls-id=”5c605feb1d01f”][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Monday”]%3Cp%3E%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0D%0A%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EBook Fair Open%21 8am-4pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ERobotics Club %40 7%3A45am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EDrama Club %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ENewspaper Club %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Tuesday”]%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0D%0A%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EBook Fair Open%21%C2%A0 8am-4pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EKids Who Code Club %40 7%3A40am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EBattle of the Books %40 lunch time%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EGirls Mindfulness Group %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EFlag Football %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EMath Counts %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EClub 3%3A16 %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EDrama Practice %40 3%3A45pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Wednesday”]%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EEarly Release Day%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EBook Fair Open%21%C2%A0 8am-2%3A30pm and 4pm-8pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EArt Club %40 7%3A45am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EGuitar Club %40 7%3A45am%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EWestlake Orchestra Academy %40 2%3A15pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EParent Teacher Conferences %40 4pm-8pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Thursday”]%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0D%0A%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ENo School for Students%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EParent Teacher Conferences %40 1%3A30pm-4pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3EBook Fair Open%21 1%3A30pm-4pm%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][wmd-accordion-tab title=”Friday”]%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ENo School for Students- Have a great weekend%21%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3Cli%3ENo School Monday- President%5C%27s Day%3C%2Fli%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ful%3E[/wmd-accordion-tab][/wmd-accordion]

Dr. Heide, Principal Westlake Middle School

Westlake Parents and Guardians:

Parent Teacher Conferences Coming Soon

Parent teacher conferences are 4-8 pm on February 13th and 1:30-4 pm on February 14th. Conferences will be in an arena format in the Westlake gym, and you will have the opportunity to sign up for a half hour time slot when you will be able to speak with all of your child’s teachers for about 3-4 minutes each. Please look for an email on Thursday with a link to sign up for a 1/2 our time slot on the 13th or 14th. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Save the Date! Color Fun Run Coming Soon!

Dr. Heide, Principal Westlake Middle School

Dear Westlake School Community:

I’m really looking forward to this week!  On Tuesday, we will be hosting the other middle school principals as we all work together to learn how to best implement teaching and learning practices for the best interest of our students.  I’m excited to open up our doors to my district colleagues and also to the ideas that come from inviting others into our work.

Over the course of this year Westlake has been working on developing skills around inviting students into the learning process more through the use of identifying what students should know or be able to do by the end of the lesson, how students will know they are making progress in their learning, and the use of questioning strategies to elicit evidence of learning.  Ask you child(ren) about the learning targets and success criteria being used in their classrooms and how these elements

are helping their learning.  I’d love to hear what you find out as well!

Winter Social- Help Needed!

Westlake Middle School Staff

Dear Westlake School Community:

Over the past several weeks I have spent time at Westlake and the district working with our district on our 2016 Bond Project plan.  Our school is slated to have a renovation this summer which includes items like replacing the corridor carpeting with tile, repairing/replacing various building systems, painting, and refreshing our inside main entry to name a few of the project line items.  In addition, we will be upgrading our classroom technology across the building which will begin in February of this year.  Your child(ren) will see these updates occurring over weekends and Spring Break starting in mid-February.  The technology upgrades will include an interactive white board and sound system that will most directly impact students in the classroom in enhancing their learning.   We are excited for the all the updates coming to our building and thank our community for passing the bond in 2016!

Winter Social- Help Needed!

WLMS 3v3 Basketball Tournament Registration is Open!

Follow the link to register!

https://form.jotform.com/83523710772153

• $60 per team, 3-5 players (no combined grade teams)
• Registration Deadline: January 25th
• Admissions: $5 (kids 5 and under Free)
• Concessions Available for purchase

Questions?

Contact Mary Despain @ 720.666.2391 or mary.despain@gmail.com

We can accommodate conflicting sports schedules!

ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS A NEW SOUND SYSTEM IN WLMS GYM

Dr. Heide, Principal Westlake Middle School

Westlake School Community:

What a great start the second semester of this school year!  The Spring Semester always seems to fly by to me and before we know it, it’s May!  I know we have all heard this from others and maybe even say it/recognize it ourselves, but time truly does fly by and in a blink of an eye our children are graduating high school or college or accepting that first job!  Let’s take the time to savor the moments of childhood our kids are experiencing and hold on to the memories being made.

Please know that I value your insights and input.   Feel free to reach out to me any time through phone or e-mail.

720.972.5200

rachel.e.heide@adams12.org

WLMS 3v3 Basketball Tournament Registration is Open!

Follow the link to register!

https://form.jotform.com/83523710772153

• $60 per team, 3-5 players (no combined grade teams)
• Registration Deadline: January 25th
• Admissions: $5 (kids 5 and under Free)
• Concessions Available for purchase

Questions?

Contact Mary Despain @ 720.666.2391 or mary.despain@gmail.com

We can accommodate conflicting sports schedules!

ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS A NEW SOUND SYSTEM IN WLMS GYM!

PTO Dine Out- Chipotle!

Forget about cooking dinner on Tuesday, January 15.  Join us at Chipotle on 120th and Sheridan to support Westlake.  33% of sales from 5:00 until 9:00 that day will come back to Westlake.  We know you will be hungry, but don’t forget to print the flyer before you head out.  If that happens, just pull out your digital device at checkout and open this newsletter   (LINK)   to flash the picture above. Taco Tuesday is super easy this week … YUMMY.

Dr. Heide, Principal Westlake Middle School

Happy New Year Westlake Families!

 The new year is upon us and it looks to be a great one!  I hope you enjoyed the Winter Break and that your children are ready to return for the second half of the school year.  We are looking forward to greeting students as they return from break and engaging in learning.  Staff have been hard at work developing their skills around supporting student learning and we will continue our work into the next semester.  Ask your child(ren) about Success Criteria and Learning Targets and how these elements have helped their learning.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please reach out to us at the school.  Our partnership is vital in the learning process and we are grateful for you!

WLMS 3v3 Basketball Tournament Registration is Open!

Follow the link to register!

https://form.jotform.com/83523710772153

• $60 per team, 3-5 players (no combined grade teams)
• Registration Deadline: January 25th
• Admissions: $5 (kids 5 and under Free)
• Concessions Available for purchase

Questions?

Contact Mary Despain @ 720.666.2391 or mary.despain@gmail.com

We can accommodate conflicting sports schedules!

ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS A NEW SOUND SYSTEM IN WLMS GYM!

Meet our New Campus Supervisor

Jeff Stanelle, WLMS Campus Supervisor

This school year we were fortunate to be able to hire a Campus Supervisor at Westlake.  Chris Laws has filled this role superbly and, unfortunately, will be leaving us after January 11th.  We wish him all the best in his future endeavors!

We have hired a new Campus Supervisor who will be starting right after break.  Please welcome Jeff Stanelle to our Westlake family!  Mr. Stanelle comes to us having retired from the Thronton PD and having worked with Mr. Laws in the past.  We are excited to have him join our school community.

Dr. Heide, Principal Westlake MIddle School

Dear Westlake Parents and Guardians:

As Winter Break approaches at the end of this week, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of this time “off” for our students.  Westlake kiddos have been working really hard for several months now at the challenging and, sometimes, taxing work of learning.  Winter Break is a great time for families to reconnect and for the learning to take on a different form.  Check out this article from Parent Toolkit about what learning can look like over break.  

School is Out, but Learning Is In!

On behalf of the staff at Westlake we thank you for a wonderful first half of the school year and wish you and your family the best in 2019.  Take care and see you in the New Year!

2016 Bond Update

Over the past few months I have been working with the district to plan our 2016 Bond project for Westlake.  There are essentially two parts of this bond project: 1.) Instructional Upgrades and 2.) Bond project- renovation.  As part of the 2016 Bond we were allotted money towards “Instructional Upgrades.” Our school community, staff and parents/guardians, participated in providing feedback on how to prioritize spending for this money and determined the following three areas:

• • Classroom technology
  • Furniture
  • Large outdoor spaces

Our budget dollars for Instructional Upgrades (IU) have gone far allowing us to upgrade technology in every classroom space and come in under budget!  As such, I am looking at quotes for refreshing technology in the tech labs and furniture options based on the priorities identified through our 2016 Bond process.  

In terms of the second part of the overall project we are rounding the corner on finalizing various elements of the renovation.  There are a number of elements to the renovation.  Based on the material samples and designs I’ve seen so far I do believe you will be pleased at the result. If you have any questions about either the IU or the larger bond project please let me know. This is a very exciting time for us at Westlake as our school receives upgrades and a face lift as a result of the 2016 Bond.  Thank you, voters, for your support of our school in passing the 2016 Bond!

Save the Date!

 WLMS 3v3 Basketball Tournament, Saturday, 2/9

WLMS PTO is sponsoring a 3v3 basketball tournament on Saturday, February 9^th! There will be 6^th, 7^thand 8^thgrade divisions for both boys and girls.  Details and registration will be forthcoming upon return from winter break, so stay tuned and start planning your teams!  Make sure you save the date for this fun event!

All proceeds from the event will go towards a new sound system in the WLMS gym.

We need you!  Consider substitute teaching

Westlake Parents and Guardians:

Thank you to all who provided your input around the $15,000 donation to our school and how we will invest this money.  Based on the feedback I feedback we will be investing the money in the following order of priority:

1. Subscriptions/Resources
2. Flexible furniture options
3. Additional water bottle filling stations

Many changes to our building will be occurring over the course of the next many months thanks to the passing of the 2016 Bond and this additional $15,000 will help us even further.  I am so grateful for the support of our community in making a difference in the lives of the children and families we serve.

Precious Child Toy Drive

Finance Park- Volunteers Needed!

Every year Adams 12 students have the opportunity to participate in Finance Park.  Finance Park is an amazing opportunity for students to apply the Personal Financial Literacy Standards in a real life situation.  In order to make this program a success volunteers are needed. Parents make the perfect volunteers as it is all about real-life financial situations that we find ourselves in. Training for the volunteers takes place on the same day as the field trip.   The time commitment is from 8-2 on any one of the following days:  March 18th, 19th or 22nd.  Please use the following link to sign up:    http://adams12.jacolorado.volunteerhub.com/

Westlake Parents and Guardians:

Happy December!  This time of year is busy and exciting as we near the end of the first half of the year.  There are a number of events happening this week and we look forward to seeing you at Westlake.  Please know that we value our partnership with our parents and guardians a great deal and welcome your involvement in the school.  It truly does take a village to give our children access to the future they deserve.  Below is a link to an article around understanding the middle school brain and how we can support our children to thrive in middle school.

Supporting Middle Schoolers to go From Survive to Thrive

Important change to February Conferences

I wanted to reach out to our parent and guardians to inform you of a schedule change to our Spring conferences.  The WLMS teaching staff will be engaging in professional development around how to support students with Language Development on the morning of February 14th when we originally had a session of Parent Teacher conferences scheduled.  Below is the updated schedule for our Spring Parent Teacher Conferences:

February 13th- 4-8pm (No changes made to this date)

February 14th- 1:30pm-4pm (conferences moved to the afternoon from the morning)

If you have any questions regarding this change please reach out to Dr. Heide at 720.972.5200 or rachel.e.heide@adams12.org.

Toy Drive

The WLMS PTO Toy Drive has begun!  Please consider supporting our broader community in partnership with A Precious Child.  Below are a few details regarding this drive.

Please feel free to reach out to the school with questions on this event.

6th Grade Movie Night RSVP

The WEB leaders will be holding a movie on Friday December 14th for the 6th graders only to celebrate the end of the first semester. From 4 pm to 6 pm, we will be showing WALL-E (rated G) in the cafeteria.

Please click on the link below for the RSVP for this event.

6th Grade Movie Night RSVP

Dr. Heide, Principal Westlake MIddle School