Westside Elementary

We have added a Volleyball Camp to our summer options. Check out the details on our webpage. https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/page/summer-camps-programs #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Yearbooks for sale! $25 per yearbook. Checks can be made out to Westside Elementary. If you send cash, please send exact change, and label it "yearbook". #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

🦩🦩❤🦩🦩 Send a stampede to a family member, a friend or a neighbor! You can send a gorgeous flock of Claremore Zebra colored flamingos for a one-time suggested donation of $30 to a yard within Claremore city limits or up to 5 miles out of city limits. Return this form and donation in an envelope labeled "Flamingo Fundraiser" to school by 5/27/2021 to get you or someone else's yard on our list of Summer 2021 flamingo stampedes. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Sometimes we all need this reminder! Today as you go off to school or work....Remember.... 🦓Don't compare! 🦓Be grateful! 🦓Be present! and most of all... ❤Be yourself! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Do you have a child you want to enroll in Pre-K for the 2021-22 school year? OR Do you have a child you want to enroll in Kindergarten for the 2021-22 School year! Don't wait! Enroll them today! Spots are filling up! Save your spot now! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Reading helps children in a lot of ways. Make sure to keep reading every night and even read in Summer! It's so important to not lose what you have over the summer. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Give yourself the same attention that you give to others and watch yourself bloom! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Parent & Family Leadership Series This month we are partnering with NCCEP to bring you a special series of FREE Parent & Family Leadership workshops. These virtual sessions are designed to give parents and family engagement professionals fresh tools for helping youth and families recover from challenges. Seeds will provide four engaging one hour sessions on SEL topics that cover brain-based learning, improving empathy, building better habits and turning adversity into opportunity. Now is the time to work with families, support parents and prepare youth for better times ahead. There are only 300 100 spots remaining so gather up some community members and join today. https://www.seedstraininghub.com/e/BAh7BjoWZW1haWxfZGVsaXZlcnlfaWRsKwexfZ%2Bj--530a7108571f6a27aaea2c01b656125cdb7d940b?skip_click_tracking=true #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

The second Friday in May is #schoolprday, also called National School Communicators Day. A day where schools recognize the work behind the scenes of those who tell our school's story, share celebrations, and keep us informed. Yesterday we celebrated the team behind the communications curtin. Our Communications Specialists or as some often refer to them, "the Facebook lady" or "the website lady" or because they play many roles at their site it could be the "front desk lady", the "library lady", the "camera lady"... you get the picture (see what I did there?). As a team, we want to thank all of our Claremore Public School staff, students, and community, for sharing their #CPSZEBRAPRIDE through excellent pictures, updates, and content. For without you, there wouldn't be a story to tell. 📷Jamie Brace - District / CHS 📷Vanessa Mudd - Roosa 📷Ashley Troyer - Claremont 📷Rachel Salcido - Catalayah 📷Sayre Whitaker - Westside (not pictured) 📷Melissa Jauquet - WRJH (not pictured) Thank you, ladies, for everything you do to connect, communicate, celebrate, and create a partnership with our CPS families and the community.

Congratulations to Westside's running club leaders for the 2020-2021 school year. It takes commitment and dedication to complete the miles these students did, and we could not be prouder. Just look at those grade level totals. Amazing! Join us in celebrating our top runners for the year! Our teachers and staff even joined in on the fun! Top Girl Runners: Finley Faulconer: 23 Miles Keigan Britto: 22 Miles Halle Campbell: 21 Miles Top Boy Runners: Josh Long: 19 Miles Zeke Hepler: 18 Miles Roman Martin: 11 Miles Teachers and Staff: Mrs. Britto: 22 Miles Mrs. Hopper: 21 Miles Ms. Palmer: 19 Miles Grade Level Totals: First Grade: 109 Miles Second Grade: 76 Miles Third Grade: 74 Miles Kindergarten: 73 Miles Fourth Grade: 73 Miles Fifth Grade: 11 Miles Way to go, Westside! 🏃‍♀️🏃❤️ #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Students at Westside created these stained glass hearts and I don’t know about you but I find them beautiful! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Reading 20 minutes after school becoming a chore? Go outside and read! Find a great spot! The garden, the porch, a hammack or a swing are great spots! Enjoy! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Today we are going take about the benefits of cooking with your children. Letting them help in the kitchen can be fun! Read through these rules with your child. If they can follow these rules you'll have a successful and safe experience with your child! When kids cook, everyone has fun! They learn about following directions, cooking skills, food safety, nutrition, math, reading, science, and motor skills. 1. Before we start *Wash your hands. *Roll up your sleeves. *Set out your utensils and ingredients. 2. While We're Cooking *Be careful with sharp knives! Only touch a knife by the handle. *If you have to sneeze or cough, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue and aim away from food. Then wash your hands right away before touching anything! 3. After We're Done *Clean all dishes and untensils. *Clean the countertops and wipe them down. *Wash your hands. Teach kids 6-8 years old how to mix. Teach kids 9-12 years old how to bake. Teach kids 13+ advanced skills. Cooking Tasks by Age: Ages 2-5: Kids in this age range are working on their motor skills. Make sure to watch them closely! What they can do: 1. Pour ingredients into a bowl. 2. Sprinkle seasonings, sugar, and flour. 3. Rise fruits and vegetables. 4. Cut with a plastic knife. 5. Mash foods. 6. Spread butter or icing. 7. Mix ingredients with their hands or spoon. 8. Knead or shape dough. 9. Use cookie cutters. 10. Use a pastry brush to oil food and pans. Ages 6-8: Between 6 and 8, your child is turning into a little chef. Their motor skills are more developed, so they can handle more complicated tasks. What they can do: 1. Read simple recipes aloud and follow instructions. 2. Measure ingredients. 3. Crack eggs. 4. Use paring knives and scissors. 5. Whisk eggs and mix batter. 6. Use tools like juicers and garlic presses. 7. Grate cheese. 8. Melt Chocolate in the microwave. 9. Boil Eggs and pasta with help. 10. Roll meatballs or cookies. Age 9-12 Starting around age 9, kids can work in the kitchen without much supervision. They'll understand most food safety rules and will begin to understand some of the science. What they can do: 1. Help plan meals. 2. Read and Follow most recipes. 3. Find ingredients in the kitchen. 4. Trim, slice, and chop vegetables. 5. Use the stove and oven. 6. Use most kitchen appliances. 7. Use a thermometer. 8. Bake microwave foods. 9. Scoop batter into muffin or brownie pans. 10. Work with moderate supervision. Ages 13+ By 13, most young chefs have an understanding of basic skills and can begin experimenting with their own ideas. What they can do: 1. Follow more complex recipes. 2. Use kitchen appliances. 3. Develop knife skills. 4. Plan meals by themselves. 5. Work with minimal help. 6. Understand food safety rules. 7. Cook with friends or siblings. 8. Help younger kids in the kitchen. 9. Experiment with new flavors and create new recipes. 10. Complete simple box recipes on their own. If you have or continue to cook with your kids in the kitchen. Send us a picture and we will post it to the Westside Facebook page and website! Email them to swhitaker@claremore.k12.ok.us #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month. When you hear someone say..."I'm a Speech Pathologist." and you hear someone reply, "So you teach people how to talk?" Here's a response that fully explains what the job of a Speech Pathologist is. They are not a Speech Teacher. They are so much more! Let me tell you what a Speech-Language Pathologist pours their heart into day after day... They help a person, whose brain can no longer send the correct signals to produce basic sentences, answer the simplest of questions so he can participate in social activities with others... They teach memory strategies to someone with dementia so she can remember the names of her grandchildren... They help a child on the autism spectrum with their social skills, in the hopes that the bullying will stop and they will make one friend before the end of the school year... They rehab someone's swallowing muscles so they can have a sip of McAlister's ice tea, because it is their absolute favorite... They give hope to the parents who have finally accepted their child is delayed, after the doctor repeatedly tells them he is just a late talker... They teach someone with new cochlear implants how to communicate without sign language after a lifetime of deafness being all they know... They ease a stuttering child's anxiety when they are preparing to stand up in front of their class to give a book report... They show someone how to apply a passy-muir valve to their tracheostomy so they can use their voice to tell their family "I love you."... They have the difficult conversation with a family to tell them that grandma's cognitive impairments make her unsafe to go back to her home alone... They help a child pronounce certain sounds correctly, after years of others reinforcing the wrong way, when they reach an age where their impairment is no longer considered cute... They help a young, intelligent woman who has had a massive stroke learn to use a speech-generating device so that she can return to her vibrant and capable self.... and they think about these people when they're falling asleep at night and they pray for them and they spend time off the clock and their own money on things that they think may help them even the slightest... and they constantly put up with being misunderstood and overlooked. So if you know a Speech Pathologist, tell them thank you and give them a hug, because I promise you, after spending their days pouring their hearts into others, they need someone to replenish theirs." May is Better Speech and Hearing Month❤️💙❤️ #bshm Thank you Nicole Arthur and Angela James for your "heart" work this year! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

🌞ＣＰＳ Ｚｅｂｒａ Ｓｔｒｉｐｅｓ Ｓｕｍｍｅｒ Ｃａｍｐ🌞 Now Accepting Applications Kindergarten - Fifth Grade 2 Sessions 🌞June 1 - July 2 🌞July 12 - August 6 6:30 AM - 6 PM Full Time l Part-Time l Drop-In Rates Available Find more information here: https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/page/zebra-stripes-child-care #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

198,235... That is the number of free meals our School Lunch Superheroes have served up this school year. Happy School Lunch Superhero Day!

This is a reminder that Friday, May 21st, is a FULL DAY of IN-PERSON learning for traditional and hybrid PreK -12th grade. Students and staff are expected to be in the school buildings on that day for instruction. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Wouldn't it be great if we were sent text messages like this when we need them? Today's reminder is: Everyone's journey is different. Some might need more time in First grade, some might fly through sight words with no problem. Some might excel in Math, others might do better at Reading or Science. It might take you 10 tries to pass those multiplication timed tests , and your classmate might finish in 1 try. Some might have a hard childhood, others might have a hard adulthood. No matter what your path has been, focus on the road ahead! You've got this! We believe in you! YOU can do it! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Big Shout Out and thank you to Claremore First Baptist Church for treating Westside Teachers to Cinnamon Rolls from Front Porch Bakery! They were SO yummy! As you can tell! We've really had the best Teacher Appreciation Week! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Life cycles are a very big and interesting unit for our first graders! They discuss frogs, butterflies, plants and chicks. Before they begin the chick unit, the classes predict how many will hatch and how long it will take to incubate them. They use ova-scopes to chart their development in the egg as they grow. They have “chick journals” that they use to write their progress and our observations as well. During this unit the students learn vocabulary words like albumen, oviparous, incubator, brood and pullet. What a great way to bring real life experiences into the classroom and what a fun way to make this unit more memorable! Great job First Grade! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE