We are so happy to have your family join our Westview community!
While you can find many of these topics in our student calendar and on our website, our hope is that this guide provides an overall insider peek into the ins and outs of Westview, helping make this an exciting and successful transition.
We truly believe that the education of each child is a partnership between our school and your family. We look forward to working together to celebrate your child’s academic successes and help in the development of their connection to our community.
1)
Before School Begins in September
2)
It’s all about Communication
3)
What to Know About Drop off & Pick Up
4)
Absences 101
5)
SchoolView – Why to Love it!
6)
Lunch and Recess
7)
What is Bulldog Strong?
8)
Specialists Classes and Enrichment
9)
School Events to Look Forward To
10)
Before & After School Activities For Students
11)
All About PTO & Volunteering at Westview
12)
A Little Bit of Everything Else
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If you have an incoming kindergarten student, kindergarten registration will happen in early February. Registration dates and information will be mailed to your home in
December. If you are registering a 1 st -5 th grader or registering a student after the registration time in February, just stop by the school office for registration paperwork.
Kindergarten students, 1 st -5 th grade students registering over the summer or returning students receive a letter from the school in early August with your child’s classroom placement information, info about the upcoming school year and assessment dates.
Assessment Days Are Important!
There will be two consecutive assessment days in mid-late August. In your classroom placement letter, you will be asked to please sign your child up for an assessment time.
The 30 minute assessment allows our teachers to meet your child and assess where they are in their learning. While your child is being assessed, parents are invited down to the school cafeteria to fill out necessary paper work, get information to set-up lunch accounts, order yearbooks and more.
If you do not have access to a computer to set up your child’s assessment time, contact the school office at 952-431-8380 and they will be happy to schedule a time for you. If you are unable to make the assessments, please contact the school as well.
School Supplies 101
A copy of our school supply list will be included in your classroom placement info in August and can be found on our website at the beginning of the school year. Please know that many of our grades purchase classroom supplies in bulk and ask that parents simply play a small fee for the supplies. Please refer to the classroom supply list to know is required for your child’s grade.
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Bulldog Folders
At your child’s assessment, you will purchase a $2 Bulldog Folder (except 5 th grade who use a binder). This folder is used for all communication coming to and from the school in your child’s backpack. The inside of the folder has two pockets, one labeled ‘Take Home’ and one labeled ‘Return to School’.
Teachers use the take home side of the folder to send homework, important notes, class calendars and more. The ‘Return to School’ side should be used at home to return homework, notes for the teacher and more.
An often overlooked but very helpful part of the Bulldog Folder is the white insert on the front cover which has your child’s teacher name, email address and voicemail number.
Who Do You Contact When…
Your child will be absent due to an illness, vacation or other reason?
Call the main school office at 952-431-8380. You may also email your child’s teacher to let them know.
You have a concern regarding your child at school?
We recommend that you always start with your child’s teacher whenever you have any kind of concern at school. If, after discussing it with the teacher, you still have concerns, you may also talk to the school principal, Tami-Staloch Schultz. We take each child’s needs and successes personally at Westview and want to know if there is an issue. While we are able to monitor and catch many things, sometimes something slips under our radar.
Please know that we welcome your insight and feedback.
You have a question about bussing?
Please call the district’s transportation department at 651-423-7685 with any questions about bussing.
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Backpack Online & Bulldog Bulletin
Our school sends out weekly emails with info about what is happening at Westview. To sign-up to receive these emails, go to the Westview website under Parent
Resources/Backpack Online or click here .
We also send home in backpacks a monthly newsletter. Some months a shortened version is sent home. The full version can be found on the Westview website under What’s
Happening/School Newsletter or by clicking here
Helpful Numbers
Westview Main Office
Westview Fax Number
School Nurse (Eileen Johnson)
Transportation
YMCA After School Care (SACC)
952-431-8380
952-431-8338
952-431-8380
651-423-7685
952-898-9622
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Dropping Off in the Morning
A student’s day officially begins at 9:25am. This is when students are expected to be in their seats and ready to begin the day. Students should be dropped off at a time that allows your child enough time to get settled in their class for the day. If you are dropping off your child after 9am, please use the back door circle area on the north side of the school to drop off your child. After 9am, the front (or south) lot of the school is for busses only. Having students walking between busses to get into school is not a safe situation! Please help us keep our school and your child safe by dropping them off at the back door.
Breakfast
Free breakfast is available to all Kindergarten students and breakfast is available to purchase for all 1 st -5 th grade students. If your child intends to eat breakfast here at school and you are dropping them off, he/she may enter the building at 9am via the front doors or via the lunch room on the north side of the school. All students not eating breakfast will not be allowed to enter the school until 9:10am. Students who ride the bus may head to breakfast immediately after getting off the bus
Pick Up at the End of the Day
Walkers and students picked-up by car are excused at 3:40pm. All other students are excused at 3:45pm. If you are picking up your student with a car, please do so at the back door circle. To ensure the safety of students and to keep traffic moving, please …
-Have your child enter/exit your vehicle once you are next to the yellow curb.
-Do not cut into an open spot, wait your turn in line.
-Drive slowly and have patience! Respect others who are entering or exiting the back door driveway. You are a role model for our future drivers.
-At 3:50, all students who are still waiting for a ride will be brought into the office. If snowy traffic is making you late, phone the school office at 952-431-8380. Your child will be waiting in the school office.
If you are walking home with your child, please wait for them outside the front doors or, if you must come in, please sign in at the office before walking down the hall.
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Who To Call When You Child will be Absent
If your child is going to be absent or late in getting to school, please make sure to call the school office at 952-431-8380. If you wish, you may also call or email your child’s teacher. If we have not heard from you, the school will call you to find out the reason for the absence.
When Should My Child Stay Home
Keep your child home from school when:



They have experienced vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours;
They have had a fever of 100.0 degrees or more within the last 24 hours;
They have signs of contagious diseases such as strep throat, pink eye, impetigo, ringworm, etc. - children may return to school after they have been on medication
 for 24 hours;
They are waiting for a strep throat culture to be read;

They have head lice- children may return to school when 1st treatment completed and no live lice are present. Re treat in 10-14 days

They have had chicken pox for 7-10 days or until scabs are dry.
I Need to Pick Up My Child Early. What do I do?
If you need to pick up your child early from school, please send a note to school with your child. When you come to pick them up, please go to the school office to sign them out.
Someone from the school office will call down to your child’s classroom and have them excused to the office.
What is a Tardy?
If your child arrives at school later than 9:25am, the student is considered ‘Tardy’ and they need to check in at the school office before heading to their classroom. Students who miss less than 2 hours of school for any reason are also considered Tardy. If your child is absent for more than 2 hours of a school day, it is considered a half day (up to 4 hours) or full day (4 or more hours) absence. Absences and tardies are considered excused or notexcused depending on the reason.
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Wait, What’s SchoolView?
SchoolView is a district-wide parent portal that allows parents to access their child’s student information and the district’s electronic payment system. Student test history, health records, emergency and bus stop info can easily be found on SchoolView. Included in your SchoolView account is FeePay. With FeePay, you can deposit money electronically into your child’s lunch account and set up alerts to notify you when the account is getting low on funds! This account follows your child throughout middle school and high school as well. Registration and payment for District 196 community ed activities is also managed through FeePay. It’s a really handy tool to have! Trust us!
Where Can I Find SchoolView?
The link to login into SchoolView can be found on the Westview Website under Parent
Resources or by clicking here .
How to Set-up a SchoolView Account
In order to set up a SchoolView account, you first need to get your 12 digit ‘access key’ from Westview. Access key info will be available to parents during Assessment Days. If you do not get your access key at assessments, just stop or call the Westview office. You only need one access key/SchoolView account for all of your children attending District
196.
The first time you login into SchoolView, you will need to need to enter ‘0196’ for the district and your 12 digit ‘access key’. Once entered, it will ask you to create a username and password as well as answer some security questions in case you need to reset your password at some point. SchoolView will automatically have you review and update your child’s emergency contact information at the start of each school year.
If you run into any problems setting up your SchoolView account, please contact
Westview.
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What’s For Lunch?
A lunch calendar for the month of September will be available at the assessment days. After September, we ask that families print their own lunch calendar at home. Lunch calendars can be found online at http://district196.nutrislice.com/menu/westview/lunch/ . Nutrislice creates the district lunch calendars and there is a wonderful app that you can download to your smart phone to view the school lunch calendar from your phone. If you are unable to print a lunch calendar at home and do not have a smart phone, you can stop by the school office for a copy of the lunch calendar.
How do I Pay for Lunch?
Each child is assigned a 5 digit pin number to charge to their lunch account. Your child will use this same pin # throughout all their years in school within District 196. New students are not expected to know their pin # right away. Teachers and lunch staff will help them learn it.
Money may be deposited into your child’s lunch account in two ways:
1) You may send a check to school with your child. There is a lunch money deposit box just inside the front doors below the Bulldog Buffett Dog House.
2) You may also deposit money electronically into your child’s account using
SchoolView/Feepay. Log into your child’s SchoolView account and click on ‘FeePay’ to access your child’s lunch account.
Free and Reduced Lunch Program
District 196 does offer a free and reduced lunch program. To apply for Free and Reduced
Lunch, you need to fill out an online application on the District 196 website at http://www.district196.org/District/Departments/FoodNutrition/index.cfm
. If you do not have a computer at home, you can come into the Westview office to use a computer.
Recess
Students at Westview enjoy a 20 minute recess outside each day. Classroom teachers participate and supervise their own classes at recess to build stronger community.
Students do not go outside for recess if it is raining or if the temp with wind chill is below zero. Please remember that in our cold and snowy months, students do need appropriate gear (snow pants, hats mittens, jackets) for recess.
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Bulldog Strong is a program at Westview that is used to support and encourage positive behaviors and values. Our staff has committed to using common language around positive behaviors in all areas of our school and encouraging and reinforcing these across the building. We also have a school chant and a school song to further build Bulldog Strong.
Students and classrooms recognized as demonstrating Bulldog Strong behaviors are rewarded with ‘Bulldog Strong’ tickets which can be turned in for different rewards throughout the school year. Below is the Bulldog Strong matrix outlining the characteristics we are reinforcing throughout the school year. This is something we encourage you to reinforce at home as well! Ask your child how they were Bulldog Strong today! Strong mind, strong body, strong character all year long!
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Specialist Classes
Westview follows a rotation of specialist classes including Art, Physical
Education, Music, and Library. Our specialist classes are designed to integrate and support classroom curriculum and offer enriching learning experiences.
Specialist classes follow a scheduled six day rotation with one specialist occurring twice in the rotation.
As part of Music, each grade except kindergarten and third grade participate in a music concert. We highly encourage you to attend as they are the demonstration of months of hard work by your student and are always a favorite event of parents. Third grade participates in a Specialist Night which features fun activities for parents and students that highlight all of the specialist classes at Westview. Kindergarten students have a
Celebrate Learning event in May to demonstrate their many areas of growth during their first year.
Technology
Westview has two computer labs in addition to having computers available for student use in many of our classrooms. In Kindergarten through 2 nd grade, technology lessons are integrated into the library curriculum. Students learn internet safety, computer basics such as keyboarding skills and how to research topics and create presentations. In the older grades, technology is taught by the classroom teachers and integrated into the classroom curriculum.
Westview also has a 4 th grade beta-classroom in which each student is issued an iPad for educational uses in the classroom and at home. In addition, we also have an iPad cart that can be checked out by teachers for classroom use.
Enrichment
There are enrichment activities at each grade level which are designed to encourage students to take their learning to the next level. For example, in 1 st grade, all students create a hard covered ‘All About’ book which involves researching an animal, recording facts and illustrating and writing the book. In addition, each grade takes part in field trips designed to extend learning concepts. Field trip destinations include the Science Museum, the Minneapolis Art Institute and more.
District 196 Gifted and Talented enrichment begins in 2 nd grade for children with qualifying test scores. GT lessons take place once or twice a week and involve group learning activities that build problem solving and logic skills.
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There is always something fun happening at Westview! We have numerous student and community building events throughout the school year. These events make for some of the biggest highlights of our students’ school year and parent volunteer help is always appreciated!
Bulldog Breakfasts - September & October
Bulldog Breakfast with Families is a great opportunity to meet and connect with other families in your child’s grade level. Each grade level staff is host to one Tuesday morning in September or October from 8:30am to 9:00am. A light breakfast is provided to everyone in your family while you mingle with other parents and children. The menu is usually a variety of cereal, breads and pastries, milk, coffee and juice.
International Walk & Bike To School Day – Early October
International Walk to School Day is a global event that involves communities from more than 40 countries walking and biking to school on the same day. This event is part of a movement for year-round safe routes to school and a celebration – with record breaking participation. We invite parents and students to walk or bike to school with their children that day. In addition, our entire school takes an outdoor walk after the morning bell to help celebrate the day and encourage physical activity and healthy habits.
Fall Parade and Parties – Last School Day Before Halloween
In celebration of Fall, Westview has a costume parade at 2:00pm followed by a party in their classrooms. Parents are welcome to view the parade from the Westview lunchroom or from outside on the sidewalk (weather permitting). Students follow a regularly scheduled school day until 1:45pm. There is an alternative activity for students who do not wish to participate in the Fall parade and party activities.
Turkey Bingo – Day Before Thanksgiving Break
Turkey Bingo is a treasured tradition here at Westview and one of our student’s favorite events! At 2pm, students take part in a school wide turkey-themed Bingo game broadcast over the classroom televisions.
Older students buddy up with a younger student to help with the activity and plenty of turkey jokes keep the fun going.
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Spaghetti Dinner
Come for the food, stay for the company! Let Chianti Grill do the cooking and enjoy a delicious dinner (salad, spaghetti & meatballs, break, cookie and lemonade) at a reasonable cost. This community-building event is hosted at the Westview cafeteria and is a wonderful opportunity to get to know other Westview families.
Westview Carnival – May
This is a favorite event of our students! Our annual school carnival is held on a Thursday after school from 5pm to 8pm and features games, food and activities. It takes many volunteers to help make this event a success! Please consider volunteering.
5 th Track and Field Day – May
The 5 th grade track and field day takes place at Apple Valley High School. Students participate in both individual and team events against other District 196 schools. It is a fun day that builds a lot of school pride amongst our students.
Bulldog Fun Run – Last Week of School
Westview celebrates the last week of school with a school wide fun run event. Students participate in an all school pep rally and one mile run followed by a bag lunch picnic outside and DJ dance party. Our Pennies for the Playground fundraiser is also conducted in tandem with this event. Money raised goes toward updating playground equipment.
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Achievers Classes
Westview Achievers is a program dedicated to promoting academic achievement and engagement opportunities for Kindergarten through 5th grade students who qualify for additional academic support through targeted services.
Community Education After School Classes
Westview offers after school classes for children in collaboration with District 196
Community Education.
Da Capo Choir
If your 3 rd , 4 th or 5 th grader loves to sing, Westview’s Da Capo Choir provides an opportunity for him or her to share their passion for music with others! Da Capo meets on
Monday mornings from 8:10 - 9:10 A.M. for seven weeks, and end with a performance.
Destination Imagination
Destination ImagiNation is a community-based, school-friendly program that builds participants' creativity, problem solving, and teamwork in enjoyable and meaningful ways. Students in grades 3, 4 & 5 can join in the Fall and form teams of up to 7 members to solve one of six different Challenges, which they perform in front of appraisers at tournaments.
Guys Read
Guys Read is a book club open to all interested 4th and 5th grade boys.
Teachers Mr. Hoeppner, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Lovmo and Mr. Gorman lead the group. Meetings are usually held in the Library at 8:30 am on the third
Thursday of each month.
Kindness Club
Kindness Club encompasses many projects and ideas that allow our 3 rd , 4 th and 5 th grade students to learn to give and help others. Some of their activities include games to build teamwork, painting Peace Rocks, Playground Patrol, and Peer Mediation.
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Lego League
Using LEGO bricks and other elements such as sensors, motors, and gears, teams gain hands-on experience in engineering and computer programming principles as they construct and program their unique robot inventions. Students will participate in a Lego
League tournament at school in late November. There is also a regional tournament against other schools in early December.
Westview TV
Westview TV is our live, daily news broadcast that airs through our entire building. Two student news anchors and one student technology team member is assigned for a two week commitment. Students learn all the skills necessary to be successful and then go live!
Maud Hart Lovelace Book Club
In conjunction with the Maud Hart Lovelace Award, sponsored by Minnesota Youth
Reading Awards, 3 rd , 4 th and 5 th grade students are invited to participate in our Maud Hart
Lovelace Book Club. The selected books have a variety of genres, lengths and subjects and multiple copies of each nominated book are available in our library, as well as at the
Dakota County branch libraries. Our book club has twelve meetings during the school year where children will discuss the nominated books, share insights and opinions, and ask their burning questions and students who read all twelve books and attend our meetings will be invited to attend our Overnight event in May. There is no cost to participate.
Student Council
The Westview Student Council is made up of selected representatives from 3rd and 4th grades, and all interested 5th graders who are Bulldog Strong. Our goal is to serve both our school and community through service and team building opportunities. Mandatory meetings are held at 8:15 am once a month. There is no fee to join.
Two Step Girls Group
Two Steps is a free group for 5th grade girls. The purpose is to prepare these young ladies for middle school. Many things change in the lives of girls this age due to peer pressure, social issues and body image. The need to make sure our girls are making good choices is critical. Two Steps will equip the girls with the tools to think ahead (two steps) at the possible consequences of their actions and decisions before making them.
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PTO
Westview nurtures a lifelong learning atmosphere for students and their families. The
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a strong and active force that supports students, classrooms, teachers, and families through fundraising activities, monthly newsletters, fine arts enrichment, and volunteers in classrooms. Meetings are held in the Library on the second Monday of most school months from 4:00 - 5:30 pm.
Volunteering at Westview
Whether you work in or outside the home, there are so many opportunities to be involved at Westview! For those of you who like to interact with children, there are programs that allow you to work directly in the classroom. Parent volunteers also provide a wide array of support serviced to teachers and staff and support fund raising activities.
Westview volunteers also help organize and staff many of the events which make our students learning experiences special! You will receive a packet in
September with condensed descriptions of the many ways you can be involved and a signup form to fill out. Whether you have just a few hours a year or several a month, we can help you find something!
PTO Fundraisers
Our PTO group coordinates many fundraisers for our school including Box Tops, Labels for Education, Milk Moola, Scholastic Book Fairs in the fall and spring, a Chip Shoppe fundraiser in the Fall and a Butter Braid fundraiser in the spring. These fundraisers provide funds for many great things including technology upgrades for the school, staff funding and more. Help is always appreciated to help make these fundraisers a success!
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We have so many great things happening at Westview – it’s hard to fit it all in! Below are a few things we just couldn’t leave out.
Westview Community Garden
Westview has developed a wonderful Community Garden program.
Each spring, our students help with the planting of the garden, giving them the opportunity to learn about growing food and healthy eating choices. Families can also volunteer to help water and weed the garden over the summer in exchange for a part of the harvest!
Band
Band starts in 5 th grade at Westview. Students register for band in the Spring of 4 th grade and the option to take summer lessons is available but not required. Small group instrument lessons take place weekly during school and band group practice takes place on Wednesdays from 8am-9am. Instrument rental is available.
Social Worker on Staff
Westview is lucky enough to have a full time Social Worker, Patsy Ryan, on staff. If you are a family in need of school supplies, snow gear or other support, please contact Mrs. Ryan by calling the main office. Mrs. Ryan also works with classrooms on anti-bulling, friendship building and overcoming obstacles.
Visitors at Westview
We are often asked if it okay for parents or grandparents to come have lunch with a student. Our answer is YES! We love when parents and grandparents come to visit a student. We only ask that the visitors please check in at the office beforehand to sign in and grab a visitors badge to wear while in the school.
Always Know What’s Happening at Westview
There are many ways to keep in the know with what is happening at Westview. Like us on
Facebook and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on all the happenings here.
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