Calendar
10/20 Softball vs. Pyle. Girls home; boys away. 3:15pm
10/22 7th Grade Parent Coffee. 8:30-10:30pm La Madeleine, Bethesda.
10/22 Guardian Circle Dinner 6:30-8:00pm, followed by talk by author Susan Stiffleman (see below), 8:00-9:00pm. B-CC Cafeteria.
10/24 Second Time 'Round Sale. 8:00am-4:00pm. Westland Cafeteria.
10/26 PTA Magazine Sale kicks off!
10/27 Fall Play Audition. 2:50pm. Westland Cafeteria.
10/29 Fall Play Read Through. 3:00pm Westland Cafeteria.
10/30 6th Grade Field Trip to Baltimore Aquarium. All day.
10/30 SGA Halloween Dance. 7:00-9:00pm. Westland. |
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Red Ribbon Week
 Next week, Westland kicks off Red Ribbon Week, the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation. Red Ribbon Week is celebrated at the end of October each year. DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena will be honored during Red Ribbon Week. Agent Camarena died at the hands of drug traffickers while fighting the battle against illegal drugs. People began to wear red ribbons as a tribute to Agent Camarena and his work. Click here for more information and resources regarding this effort.
Westland is asking that all students and staff wear red on Monday, Oct. 19th. Please consider taking part in this special cause to recognize the importance of a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. |
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Guardian Circle Dinner & Speaker
The first Guardian Circle dinner and meeting of the 2009/10 school year will take place on Thursday, Oct. 22 from 6:30-8:00pm in the B-CC Cafeteria. The Guardian Circle is a joint effort between the PTA and Westland to ensure that all families have access to the resources they need to help their children succeed at Westland.
 The dinner meeting will be followed by a talk at 8:00pm, co-sponsored by the Guardian Circle and the Westland PTA, by Susan Stiffelman, author of "Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm and Connected" to which the entire Westland community is invited. You can read more about Ms Stiffelman's work by clicking here. It should be a great talk, and I hope many in the Westland community will be able to attend. |
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Westland Entrance More Beautiful!
 As you dash in and out of Westland dropping off forgotten lunches and instruments, please take a moment to appreciate our new landscaping! Our "native" plantings had gone a little too wild, so we had to regroup and start over.
We are thrilled to have 4 beautiful White Natchez Crepe Myrtles and 2 October Red Maples. Many thanks to Terra Lawn & Landscape for cleaning out the beds and transplanting what they could (at a very generous discount), and to American Plant for donating and planting the maples. And, of course, thanks to the PTA for orchestrating the whole renovation, especially Judy Levey & Alysa Emden!
Look up as you come in and you'll notice that the peeling paint around the skylights has been replaced by new plaster, etc. That one's courtesy of MCPS! | |
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Another busy week at Westland, and another round of heartfelt thanks are due! First, many thanks to all who made it to the Open House on Monday, Oct. 12th. It was great to see so many families attend throughout the day. While most teachers were conducting business as usual, more than a few were felled by some version of the flu and had to call in substitutes. I know some parents were disappointed at not being able to meet their child's regular teacher, but believe me, the teachers would have much rather been at school than home in bed!
On Tuesday, 8th grade parents enjoyed coffee at Cosi and a chance to chat with Assistant Principal Maniya Desroches about what's in store this year. Thanks to all for coming out and thanks to PTA VPs Patty Craver and Laura Ginns for organizing!
On Thursday, Danny Vogelman held the first of his monthly principal coffees - coffee and breakfast snacks courtesy of Jan Eisner. These coffees are a chance for both current and prospective parents to chat with Danny about what's going on at school. Given the different interests of these two groups, however, Danny is considering reformatting these coffees, perhaps alternating months between current and prospective parents - stay tuned!
On Thursday evening, many Westland families and staff gathered at Rock Creek Forest ES to enjoy a potluck dinner and celebrate the culmination of Hispanic Heritage Month. Everyone who came had fun - and enjoyed great food and entertainment. If you haven't tasted fried yucca, you are really missing a treat (and a lot of calories- but so worth it!) Thanks to all who worked so hard to make the evening possible, especially Jeneen Stewart, Cindy Villavicencio, and Danny Vogelman, whose homemade soup was definitely the culinary hit of the evening!
I'm excited about everything coming up this week as well - if you're a 7th grade parent, we hope to see you at La Madeleine on Thursday morning. I hope to see lots of Westland families at the Guardian Circle dinner on Thursday evening, and I hope to see even more Westland families at Susan Stiffleman's book talk on Thursday evening.
And I REALLY hope to see EVERY Westland family at the first annual Second Time Around Sale on Saturday from 8:-00am - 4:00pm! How often can you send your kids shopping and say "Buy whatever you want!" - and have them come home with bags of clothes and a total bill under $20????!!! We do need your help to make this event a success, however, so please read the story below.
Finally, I'm so relieved to get the Student Directory out. I hope everyone likes the new format and that it is relatively error-free! Many thanks to all our advertisers whose support underwrites the cost of the Directory. If your information changes over the course of the year, please update your listing through www.studentmasterbase.com ; if you can't remember your username and/or password, just contact me!
As always, please contact me or Exec. Vice President Alex Weiner if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or especially offers of help! - Alysa Emden
PTA President |
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7th Grade Parent Coffee on Thurs. 10/22/09!
The 6th and 8th grade parents have had a chance to get together - now it's the 7th grade parents' turn!
Please join 7th grade VPs Ari Antonelli and Pooh Shapiro, as well as Principal Danny Vogelman and Assistant Principal Ben Costa, at La Madeleine in downtown Bethesda from 8:30 -10:30am for great coffee and conversation! |
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Westland Student Directories are In!
 Westland's PTA enjoys the distinction of being one of the first in the area to complete and send its Student Directory home!
Directories were handed out in STAR class on Thursday, 10/15. If your child was not in school that day, he or she should stop by the front office to pick up a copy. Every copy is labeled with the student's name & grade to help minimize misplacement.
Each family received one free Directory, and it was handed out to the youngest child in each family. If you would like to purchase additional Directories at a cost of $5 each, you can stop by the Front Office any time during school hours. Alternatively, you can send in a check (payable to Westland PTA) or cash with your child in envelope marked "PTA - Westland Directory" and a Directory will be delivered to your child's STAR class within a day or so.
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Only 4 More Days to Make Your Views About Math Known!
In an effort to improve its K-12 mathematics teaching and learning program, MCPS has established a multi-stakeholder work group. The work group is currently investigating issues related to mathematics curriculum, instructional practices, assessment, professional development, and acceleration.
As part of this effort, the work group is conducting a brief, five-question survey of parent opinions about the MCPS math program. The work group has asked each school's PTA to help gather this important information and submit it by Oct. 23rd.
To facilitate the collection of this information (and to save a few trees!), the Westland PTA has created an on-line survey. Please click here to voice your opinion not later than Thurs. Oct. 22nd! |
 Westland's First Annual
Second Time 'Round Sale!!! The Westland PTA is sponsoring its first-ever Second Time 'Round Sale on Saturday, Oct. 24. It's a great opportunity to be out with the old and outgrown, and in with the new and affordable!
We will accept all clothing, shoes, and sports equipment in GOOD, CLEAN, CONDITION - if you wouldn't buy it, please don't donate it! You can drop off donations at Westland's front office any time during school hours from now until Friday Oct. 23. You can also drop off donations at 5216 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814 any time.
Alex Weiner & Alysa Emden are masterminding (sort of!) the sale, but are in need of many helpers to sort, display, and sell the goods on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. We promise fun working conditions, no pay, and a first look at what's being offered. Please contact either or both of us if you can help! | |
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Support Our Community Partnerships!
The PTA relies on the support of its community partners to help underwrite our many programs. But it takes two to make a partnership successful! Westland partners with the following organizations: 
- Giant A+ - This program applies to purchases made between Oct 9th through March 25th. But you can still sign up!!! Click here to register your card! It takes two seconds. Westland's code is 00660.
- Safeway E-scrip - You can still register. Just click here! Designate Westland MS, Group # 6586159.
- Wordex Corporation - Go green and save green with this great ink cartridge refill program. Just take your empty cartridges to Wordex (4808 Auburn Ave.). You'll get a refilled cartridge at a cost that's less than half of buying new and Westland will get $3 for every refilled cartridge!
- Target "Take Charge of Education" - Register your red card today and earn money for Westland. Just click here!
- Snider's Supermarket and Chevy Chase Supermarket - Westland earns 1% of everything you spend! All you have to do is SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS. Then, send them into school in an envelope marked "PTA - Grocery Receipts."
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THANKS TO OUR 2009/10 WILDCAT SPONSOR!
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 Westland Wildcat Archives
If you missed an issue, or just want to refer back to one from last year, click here for the Westland Wildcat Archives! | |
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