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Calendar
Be sure to bookmark the
for up-to-date news!
4/27-5/11 Shakespeare Residency.
5/2-5/6 Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week!
5/2 Staff Meeting. PTA provides refreshments.
5/3 Soccer vs. Hoover. Girls @ Westland; boys @ Hoover. 3:15pm
5/4 Film Screening - Out in the Silence. B-CC Auditorium. 7:00pm
5/5 Soccer vs. Frost. Girls @ Westland; boys @ Frost. 3:15pm.
5/6 Staff Appreciation Luncheon hosted by the PTA. 10:50-1:00.
5/9-5/13 PTA Book Fair. Media Center. Open throughout the school day; special evening hours on 5/12.
5/11 Soccer vs. North Bethesda. Girls @ Westland; boys @ North Bethesda. 3:15pm
5/12 Science Night. Westland. 6:30-9:00pm.
5/14 Westland Family Volunteer Day. A Wider Circle. 10:00am-1:00pm.
5/17 Soccer vs. Julius West. Boys @ Westland; girls @ Julius West. 3:15pm.
5/19 & 5/20 Spring Play - Alice in Wonderland. Cafeteria. 7:00pm.
5/21 Spring Play - Alice in Wonderland. Cafeteria. 2:00pm.
5/30 Memorial Day. No school! |
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PTA's Bookworm Bookfair Opens May 9th!
 The fourth annual Westland Book Fair is just around the corner and it's going to be great! Working in partnership with Bookworm Central, PTA chairperson Karen Dubrow has put together a week featuring fantastic books and interesting events.
The Bookfair opens Monday, May 9th and features browsing hours before school and during the school day through Friday, May 13th. All students will attend the Fair with their English class once during the week. In addition, there are special evening hours on Thursday, May 12th (during Science Night).
You'll find all the recommended and required summer reading books, as well as other wonderful selections for the teen reader. Please plan to stop by the Westland Media Center early and often - a percentage of every purchase goes to support the PTA's programming. |
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THANKS TO OUR 2010/11 WILDCAT SPONSORS!
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 Westland Wildcat Archives
If you missed an issue, or just want to refer back to one, click here. |
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It's still Monday, but I'd better hurry up and get this newsletter out the door. Clearly I was a little too much in spring break mode!
There's lots going on this week - the Shakespeare residency continues, and the special screening of "Out in the Silence" is Wednesday, May 4th at B-CC. And, it's Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week! The PTA has a special treat for our teachers coming up Wednesday (which I can't reveal as many of them read this), and then we sponsor a gourmet luncheon for our teachers and staff on Friday. Please see below for how you can help with the lunch.
Next week, the PTA Bookfair runs from May 9-13th. And Science Nite is Thursday May 12th. See below.
This last month of newsletter writing is a bittersweet time for me. I've been a parent at Westland for five years, three of those as PTA President. Danny Vogelman and I talked about how best to celebrate those years, and we decided to tackle a couple of issues facing the school - one longstanding and one new. The unsightly dust and dirt in front of the school has been a perennial source of aggravation to both of us, and Westland is going to need some new technology in its soon-to-arrive portable classrooms. So, we're going to solve both problems with an engraved brick-selling campaign. See below for more details! In all fairness, Danny really just wanted to have a party...
And along that same line, we are still working to get volunteers matched up with all the jobs available for next year. I know I keep saying I'll send out descriptions, but I haven't had time! You can look on the PTA website for a description of last year's jobs, most of which will remain the same next year. But please, don't wait on me! Feel free to contact me if you'd like to throw your name in the hat or claim that special job you've been eyeing - whether existing or one you want to create. My e-mail is alysa@comcast.net and the nominating committee ( Pooh Shapiro, Pattie Koh Friedman, and me) would love to hear from you.
PTA President |
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Special Screening of "Out in the Silence"
THIS Wednesday, May 4th, the Westland PTA joins with the B-CC PTSA to sponsor a free community screening of OUT IN THE SILENCE, a film that captures the remarkable chain of events that unfold when the announcement of filmmaker Joe Wilson's wedding to another man ignites a firestorm of controversy in his small Pennsylvania hometown.
Drawn back by a plea for help from the mother of a gay teen being tormented at school, Wilson's journey dramatically illustrates the universal challenges of being an outsider in a conservative environment and the transformation that is possible when those who have long been constrained by a traditional code of silence summon the courage to break it.
The film will be shown at the B-CC auditorium beginning at 7:00pm.
The screening will be followed by a Q & A session with filmmakers Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer.
The film, produced in association with the Sundance Institute, premiered in the 2010 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival at New York's Lincoln Center and has been broadcast on PBS. It has won praise from critics and film festivals around the world, as well as an Emmy Award for Achievement in Documentary.
"A stunning documentary" - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Film Critics Pick-of-the-Week" - New York Times
"Tough. Wrenching. Inspiring." - OUT Magazine
"Out in the Silence is recommended for all viewers and deserves a place in all library collections, particularly those libraries serving small and rural communities." - American Library Association
Click here for more information about the film. |
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Teacher Appreciation Luncheon - Friday, May 6th!
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week and, to cap off the week, on  Friday, May 6th, the Westland PTA is sponsoring a lunch for the teachers and staff. The Westland PTA Staff Appreciation Committee is seeking donations of food and drink to serve at the lunch (or cash, if you are feeling generous, but are stretched for time). We also would like to have flowers or plants to brighten the lunch tables. Please e-mail Carole Klein or call her at 202.739.5517 to let her know what you may be able to donate. She will be collecting contributions next Thursday at her home in Bethesda by arrangement, or at Westland on Friday between 9 - 11 a.m. She also would appreciate an extra few pair of hands for set up (starting at 10:00 a.m. on Friday), or clean up (starting at 1:00 p.m. on Friday), or for replenishing the tables in between those times. Please let her know whether you can assist. Thanks! |
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Bricks R Us - Really!
Any of you who have been at Westland recently, particularly on a rainy day, are familiar with the muddy paths many feet have created in front of the school.  For those of you who have forgotten how bad things can get, here are some photos from a recent rainy day.
It's time to reclaim that path using a design of engraved bricks set in concrete! For just $50, Westland families can purchase a brick with up to three lines of a personalized message in honor of a student(s), special teacher(s), or event you'd like to commemorate. We are hoping to get the installation work donated so that all funds raised can go towards the purchase of a Promethean board for at least one of our two new portable classrooms. We need to sell at least 225 bricks for one Promethean board - it we sell more, we can buy more!
Ordering information will be forthcoming on Westland-net in the next day or so. But start thinking about who you'd like to honor, and what you'd like to say. It's going to be a short, but intense, campaign as we hope to install the sidewalk over the summer so it's ready for next fall. Thanks! |
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New Partnership with A Wider Circle
Westland has established an exciting new partnership with a local non-profit - A Wider Circle ("AWC").
Based in Silver Spring, AWC's mission is to help children and adults lift themselves out of poverty. AWC provides furniture and other home items to families moving out of shelters or otherwise living without their basic need items. Families are referred by more than 230 local social service agencies, and furnishings are provided to more than 1,000 children and adults each month. A Wider Circle has been named "one of the finest small charities Greater Washington has to offer" by the Catalogue for Philanthropy.
Monthly Family Volunteer Days. Come volunteer at AWC each month with other Westland families. We will alternate between Saturdays and Sundays (from 10am-1pm) to best accommodate busy family schedules. AWC is approved for SSL hours.
Our first three dates are:
-Saturday, May 14
-Sunday, June 12
-Saturday, July 9
Due to the age of our middle schoolers, all kids must be accompanied by an adult. Small groups with one adult are fine. We will also have a Westland parent on hand to accommodate parents who are unable to stay on site - more on that to follow.
Monthly Featured Collections at Westland. Look soon for a new collection box at Westland where we will be featuring a monthly theme. For May, AWC has put out the call for baby items (newborn to age 3). Gently used clothing, bedding, feeding items and furnishings are all greatly needed. We will post a note on WestlandNet when the collection box is up and running.
And last but not least, check out this great article about Westland students who volunteered at AWC on Westland's recent "Make a Difference Day."
For more information about Westland's partnership with AWC, please contact PTA chairperson Pam Holland. |
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