Westmeade News
Feb/Mar. 2015
News at a Glance
Volume 14 Number 1
From the Principal
So much exciting is happening here at school. April signals the
start of spring and TCAP. It is the month when we celebrate
our unique campus as old forrest comes to life around us,
students plant and measure growth in our garden, meet our
bluebird families. All these activities amplify the classroom
curriculum and help us all share the joy of learning.

Mark Your Calendar
Dates for testing are on the school calendar which can be
found on our new webpage at http://www.westmeadees.mnps.org Several of you
reported you couldn’t access our new wewbsite. This most likely is because you
have the old address in your computer’s cache memory. You can clear your cache or
simply type in the correct address. The new site will make it easier to stay in touch
with what is happening here at school, and offers a secure environment. Let me
know if you have trouble.
TCAP begins April 28th. Be sure your student has plenty of sleep and a good
breakfast before arriving at school.
Wimpy Kid-
 May 5th – Lunch Bunch –
Snicker of Magic 11;30
 May 12th – PTA Meeting
6:00 pm
 May 14th 5:30 Garden to
Table dinner in the garden
 May 21st AR Beach Party
 May 22 – Field Day
nd
May 25th Memorial Day
May 27th Last ½ Day!
Students are working to earn the biggest AR party of the year. It is a beach
party with a water slide and fun activities! We are breaking records Maya Zuo-yu
has broken an AR record of 14 years standing. She has already acquired 745
points beating the old record by over 100 points! She earned a $25.00 gift
certificate at Parnassus books to spend on anything she likes. All 216 students
who made their goals took home a marigold in a pot they decorated in addition to a
book of their choice!
Be sure to read the exciting announcement about the Academy@ Westmeade an
exciting partnership with Warner parks and USN educator Cynthia Lee.
Book Fairs & Grants add value to our campus….
People often ask how much we make at a Book Fair. Here is the total for this year
including the small grants we received for various projects on the right. If you
add in the hours of volunteer time offered by various groups
Boock Fair
Grants
$2,000.00 Cash profit,
$2,923.01 in books & prizes
$ 487.00 in Scholastic order
$4,923.01 total goods and services
$ 500.00 Cumberland Compact Cistern
$1,000.00 – TN Arts Commission Grant
Garden/Outdoor Classroom is busy place
Web Presence
School Website
http://www.westmeadees.mnps.org
FB pages Westmeade Elementary
Westmeade Elem. Library
Westmeade Elem. Garden
Twitter;
@WestmeadeDragon - school
@WESDragons-Library
Student Links Page
http://www.westmeade.net
Check out our Highly
Qualified Staff!
View information about the
qualifications of each
Westmeade faculty member
and educational assistant by
clicking on this website:
http://www.k12.state.tn.us/tcertinf/search.
asp
Just type in the teacher’s last
name and first name to look at
their qualifications.
If you receive this online
simply Press Ctrl and click on
green links.
Students from all grade levels have been visiting, tasting, and planting. With a lot
of help from our friends we installed a new and improved compost bin, and raised
one of the beds so that a student in a
wheelchair would have access. Ms.
Rebecca Newton has been helping with
both the program and planning. Thanks
to the parents and kids who participated
(Allen Brown, Alex Dedman, Mina and to
Gardens of Babylon who built the new
Compost Castle! Gardens helped design
and lay out our original gardens and have
supported us with both plant materials
and employees time to work in the
garden for over six years now.
For our
spring
garden
students
have
planted
carrots,
cucumbers,
beets,
sunflowers, mari-golds, garlic, onions, and radishes.
We have picked lettuce, spinach and onions. Garden
helpers have prepared Spinach Frittata and a delicious salad featuring our garden
products and adding apples, almonds, and feta cheese. Soon the Cumberland
Compact will install our cistern.
We will be having work parties for the rest of the year on Saturdays. If you would
like to help in the garden please check our Westmeade Garden Facebook Page for
the latest information. Remember he who works gets to reap the benefits of the
harvest!
Celebrate our Outdoor Garden Classroom
Join us as we celebrate our first six years of growth and change
in the garden! Dinner will be served at 6:30 in the garden and
many people who have contributed to our success will be honored.
Seven years ago PE Instructor, Darlene Nall and Librarian, Karen
McIntryre wrote a grant to begin a school garden. Gardens of
Babylon designed the first space, and in the spring of 2009 we
planted two raised boxes and began our pollinator garden. Six
years later we have 5 raised beds, an expanded pollinator garden,
a strip of native berries, a rain garden, and a partnership with the Westmeade
Conservancy to share the wild area around our campus each year with the second
2nd grade students using their book, Noah’s Arc. Three years ago we added the
fledging of Eastern Bluebirds to help bring back this endangered indigenous
species. Thanks to Sam Jones and the Tennessee Trails Bluebird Association we
built our first bluebird boxes. To see more history you can check out our Garden
Wiki at https://westmeadegarden.wikispaces.com/home
For corrections or
comments about the This year we are adding a cistern, installed by the Cumberland Compact, to help rechannel water run-off into our garden! All these things have been the result of
newsletter contact:
Karen.McIntyre@mnps.org
Westmeade Elem.
many individuals who have contributed and worked with us to slowly develop in
sustainable steps forward. Please make your reservations for dinner by letting Ms.
McIntyre know either via email or phone. 615-353-2066 ext. 3 or email Karen.mcintyre@mnps.org
6641 Clearbrook Dr. Lunch Bunch to talk to Author Natalie Loyd via Skype!
Nashville, TN 37205 Henry and Mudge is our selection set
(615)353-2066
ext. 3
Twitter: @ WESDragons
Face Book: Westmeade
Elementary
Westmeade Elementary
School Garden
for April 27th at 12:00 pm, Alex the
Parrot April 24th 11:30, is for 2, 3rd,
4th graders who are interested in
animals and science; Diary of the
Wimpy Kid the Long Haul is set for
May 6th at 11:30 am. Snicker of
Magic is May 5th 11:30 Which gets a
remake because of the snow!
Students will Skype interview author
Natalie Loyd. Thanks to Ms. Gray
for setting this up!
Westmeade Elementary
Libary Earth Month @ Westmeade – Help Walden’s Puddle
This is our Earth
Month Website. We
have a number of
activities centered on
Earth Month here at
Westmeade so don’t
be surprised if your
students want you to
recycle or cut down
on energy use. We
are fledging bluebirds
and have five eggs in the nest, feeding birds, planting and harvesting in the
garden, observing the changes of spring, and becoming aware of the many things we
need to do to help our earth. Watch for things you can send to Walden’s Puddle
to help them rescue baby animals this spring! We’ll collect until Friday, May
1st.
We have a contest to see what class brings in the most for this wonderful all
volunteer wild animal rescue group.
Walden’s Puddle List
Liquid Bleach
Liquid laundry detergent
Tall kitchen trash bags
Heavy-duty large trash bags
Stamps “forever” ones are great.
Jars of baby food (meat pureed)
Hills Brand A?D canned pet food
Dry Dog food
Paper towels
Gift cards to (Kroger, tractor supply, wal-mart, home depot, lowe’s big Lots, or gas
cards –for when they do programs at schools.
Music Notes
We end the school year with a big show this April 30th at 6:30
with 2nd grader.
Thanks to all the students and parents that made this a
wonderful year. Special thanks to Mrs. Ragsdale for her help
the last program! None of this would be possible without the
support of our fantastic Westmeade faculty.
at
PTA
Be sure to mark your calendar for the next PTA meeting, May 12th at 6pm. We
will elect Board members for the 2015-2016 school year, discuss upcoming events,
discuss spending, and make plans for next school year!
Plan now for summer FUN with NPL
Looking for something to do
this summer? Sign up for the
Nashville Public Library’s
Summer Challenge and
complete different activities to
win prizes. Do things like
attend a library program, visit
a park or a museum, or even tell
someone about the library – and
you can win a Choose Your Own pass to one of 6 different Nashville fun spots, a
library book bag, AND entries into a drawing to win a gift card – or even a trip for
4 to Dollywood!! You can sign up @ your school library, at any NPL Branch, or online
at www.library.nashville.org/summerchallenge. Are you up for the challenge??
If you like to read books, you might want to sign up for A Novel Idea and write
your very own NOVEL this summer. We’ll send home more information about
Summer Reading as we get closer to the end of the year. For more details check
out www.ANOVELIDEANASHVILLE.com or call Tama Tappan @ 615-414-5053
Nature Academy @ Westmeade
The most exciting thing to happen at
Westmeade in a long time is unfolding
over the summer as we plan the launch
of the Nature Academy@Westmeade.
Cynthia Lee, University School’s
Outdoor Educator, is retiring this year,
but she has had a dream for some time
of creating a model outdoor education
program for Metro Schools. She is
proposing to pair us with the Warner
Nature Center to create an immersive
model for a school-wide focus on nature.
st
Representatives from Kindergarten, 1 and 2nd Grade went to observe the program
at USN and came back eager to work on the planning and implementation.
This year has been one of happy coincidences. First, We were fortunate to have a
new parent with vast experience in organic gardening volunteer in our garden.
Rebecca Newton, just happened to know Cynthia and she brought her out to the
campus. Rebecca has worked tirelessly to help write grants, look for possibilities
and always to be on deck for work in the garden. Not only did Rebecca know
Cynthia, she also had ties to both Gardens of Babylon who have been a sponsor
since the inception of our garden in 2009, and to Stewart Transportation.
Stewart Transportation has graciously committed to provide transportation for
three field trips a year to Warner for each grade level. There will be three “field
trips” here at our own campus which is rich in opportunities for budding naturalists.
A NOVEL Idea
Another fun and engaging activity this summer is the
program for young writers called A Novel Idea. If you
would like to unleash your child’s imagination and get them
involved in writing and writing well this might be the
program for your student.
I have watched the young man who leads this group each
week after school in the library --- he is great with kids
and it has been fun to watch their imaginations and
writing skills blossom.
Whether their cup of tea is slaying dragons or solving
mysteries here is the place to begin! Contact
http://www.ANOVELIDEANASHVILLE.com.