What's Happening in November

• President's Message
• Minority Achievement News
• Membership News
• Clinic News
• Library News
• Booster News
• BBQ Silent Auction News
• Community Programs
• Events Calendar
• Links of Interest

• Fairfax County Public School
• Fairfax County Council of PTAs
• Northern Virginia District PTA
• Virginia PTA
• National PTA
• US Department of Education
• FCPS Inclement Weather Plans

• Athletic Boosters
• Band Boosters
• Choral Boosters
• Guitar Boosters
• Orchestra Boosters
• Theatre Boosters
  
  

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President's Message

Phew! What a busy couple of months for our PTSA volunteers! Thank you to all who have devoted themselves to getting the job done, with Back to School packets, Bulldog BBQ, Back to School nights, unbundling Emergency Care forms, and putting together the Student Directory. Special thanks to Amy Coulbourne for the BBQ, Suzanne Olijar and Brenda Page for their paper sorting patience and expertise, and Jeanette Schutte for the Bulldog café at Back to School Nights. Thanks as well to Kym Sunday, Membership Chair, and Dana Cimino, Treasurer, for their continued assistance in getting things up in order and running smoothly during our “PTSA Busy Season”. The work could not be done without volunteer power!

     Our tireless and faithful volunteer coordinators, Suzanne Olijar and Pam Murdock are currently gearing up to obtain volunteers for 10th grade Health Screenings on November 7th & 8th. Please mark your calendars for Monday, November 19th if you can assist in the morning until 1:00pm with the 10th grade Ethics Day at the Westfield Marriott, Ethics Day has always proven to be a spectacular event; you hear about current ethical dilemmas our kids are faced with, and you get fed a scrumptious and complimentary turkey lunch for devoting your time to our kids! More information will be forthcoming.

Westfield parent “To Do List”: 

1. Sign up for the PTSA (with a current email address. We do not share this info with others) http://ptsa.westfieldhs.org
2. Join the parent booster organizations that your student is involved with and get to know some other parents
3. Sign up for Keep In Touch on the school web site or at http://www.fcps.edu 
4. Read The Watchdog newspaper that gets mailed home once monthly
5. Buy a Student Directory to help you connect with the students/school and other parents. Get to know your students’ friends
6. Check out the Westfield Web site, including your students’ Blackboard account http://fcps.blackboard.com and sign up for Parent View.
7. Get Involved in whatever way your schedule allows. Volunteering with the PTSA and the Boosters is the quickest and easiest way to get to know other parents and hear what is going on at school. This sets a positive tone for your student that you believe their education is important.

     Contrary to rumors floating around the community about redistricting the high schools, including Westfield, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Madison, no decisions have been made yet about boundaries. The decision will not be made until boundary studies have been conducted and information compiled from town meetings. Parents are encouraged to attend the town meetings Nov. 12th @ Chantilly, Dec. 3rd @ Westfield, & December 19th @ Oakton. The meetings are at 7:30pm. Parents are encouraged to attend all 3 meetings and to get the facts and be part of the solution, when recommendations are made to the School Board in mid January.

     Planning sessions have already begun for the All Night Grad Party. Tracy Porter and Jan Guthrie and Tammy Aid are actively seeking parents from all grade levels to help with this fun, yet important event. They especially need parents to join the decorating and prize committees. Contact them at angp@westfield.org for more information.

     Thank you to those who have contributed thus far to the the school’s We are Westfield Marquee . Campaign. We are steaming ahead, raising $44,635.50 towards our goal of $49,000. Once funds are raised, installation can take up to 6 months. The electronic sign will enhance communications with the WHS community and be a lasting symbol of our Bulldog spirit and pride!

     We hope you will like our new E-Newsletter. Thank you to Alana Heng for this quicker, crisper format. This will help us strive to be kinder to our environment, as well as bring you news in a more timely fashion.

     Our PTSA meetings are usually the 3rd Thursday of every month at 7pm in the school library. Everyone is welcome- hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Jennifer Campbell, WHS PTSA President
ptsa_president@westfieldhs.org

Minority Achievement News

MAC Holds Fall Parent Coffee

     The Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) held its annual Fall Parent Coffee on Wednesday, October 17.  We had a wonderful time as we were entertained by the Latino Dance Club and also members from the Theatre Club who provided snippets from the performance "The Wiz".  Principal Thomas presented the school's vision for closing the achievement gap and information was shared on a variety of programs at Westfield geared toward closing the achievement gap. 

      Our first bi-monthly newsletter should have arrived at your home.  Please take a look as it is filled with information that you can use.  Planning is under way for our annual December Holiday party and you are invited.  Place Tuesday December 18, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. on you calendars now.  You won't want to miss out on this festive occasion as we share holiday foods from around the world and update everyone on the status of closing the achievement gap.  The MAC continues to work hard to ensure that all Westfield students achieve the highest level of academic achievement.   For more information on MAC happenings, please visit our Minority Achievement Homepage.

College Resource: The Federal Student Aid web site located at: www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov will help families explore their financial aid options as early as the freshman year of high school. A free database of scholarship opportunities for FCPS students is located at: http://www.fcps.edu/ssseapps/scholarshipdb . Local sponsors have created opportunities specifically for Fairfax County students. These local, as well as state and national scholarships, are updated weekly throughout the school year.
     Open houses for African American and Latino students at UVA may be of interest and value to minority students. http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/outreach.html

Student Achievement

In today’s changing economy the need for advanced skills and technical knowledge is growing. Showing our children that we value learning and education is important and will pay off in the long run as they mature. When you’re involved in your child’s education, your child achieves more. (Read more)

Sincerely,
Mark Richardson, MAC Chairperson
Minority Achievement Homepage

Membership News

THANK YOU to everyone who has supported the WHS PTSA by first joining and then buy your generous donations to the Bulldog Bankroll. A fully funded bankroll supports many beneficial programs for your children DIRECTLY AT WESTFIELD HIGH SCHOOL!!!

     GREAT NEWS!! To date we have about 49% participation in the PTSA. It is an awesome start, but our goal is STILL 1 member per student. If we work together as a team we can reach our goal. Please check with your friends and neighbors to see if they have joined. If they haven’t, please extend an invitation. Sometimes personal invitation is all people need to decide to join. Membership forms and information are available on the PTSA Membership Page.

     Congratulations to the Winners of the Membership Raffle from the Bulldog BBQ  — Dee Korch won the Beautiful Planter donated by Layng’s Flower Farm; Jewelry donated by Bead Geeks was Beth Fitzpatrick; Cute Bulldog Buddy was Andrew Schwartz. Student winner of the $25 Best Buy Card was Colleen Hanlon. Staff Winners were Debra Youngberg for the $25 gas card, and Tracie Schaeffer for the mini dry erase board

     For up to the minute information, please check out www.pta.org or Westfield PTSA Homepage Questions?  Feel free to email me at membership@westfieldhs.org.

Thanks for your support!
Kym Sunday, Membership Chair

Community Service Hours for November

Plus a Heartfelt Thank You to Rulyscapes

I would like to thank Raul Berrios of RulyScapes Landscaping for helping me to make our school look beautiful. Raul contributed over half the materials and costs of the landscaping this year again. If you need landscaping help, I would highly recommend his company. He can be reached by calling (703) 675-6024 or email Raul@Rulyscapes.com

     The next scheduled clean up date for November for landscaping is November 10 (17, Rain Date) from 9 to 12 PM.  A sign up table will be located across from the flag pole at the front of the school.  We will replant the planters and add some plants to stop erosion near a drain in the front.  We will also do some trash pick up around the campus. Go Green Westfield and show you care about our environment by showing up to help me keep Westfield beautiful and trash free.  

     If you have any questions, please contact me via email at landscapecoord@westfieldhs.org ~ Mona Miller

BBQ Silent Auction News

The Westfield BBQ Silent Auction was a huge success this year. It could not have been so if not for the many generous donators and volunteers. The auction raises money for the PTSA’s many projects during the year such as technology, tutoring (BITS), scholarships, and much more. Westfield is a large school, and there are many needs to be met! I am pleased to say that this year we rose over, $5,000.00!
     I would like to thank the all the people who gave generously to the auction this year. Many are parents of WHS, a student at WHS, and some are companies and local businesses looking to support a good cause! Thank you. (view list of contributors)

Nancy Bennett			WHS SGA
Molly and Emily Cash		Charlie Hutchison
TTracy and Maggie McInturff	Cindy Alls
Stacy and Tom McDonald		David Kruchko
Nancy Kruchko
Mary Young
Katrina Koons
Meg Curry

Nancy Hutchison, WHS Silent Auction Chairperson

A Word from the Clinic

We’re off to a great start this school year. Our annual vision and hearing screening will be done in early November for all 10th graders and all students new to Fairfax County.

   We continue to accept medications. Medication forms are available in the clinic or on-line at http://www.fcps.edu/forms.htm.

   We have already begun to see students with fever and vomiting. A fever is any temperature of 100°F or above. Please keep your sick child at home. It is recommended that your child be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school.

   Any student who comes to the clinic with complaints of an undiagnosed rash will be sent home for medical evaluation. Since a rash can be a symptom of a contagious illness, it is necessary to have a doctor’s note before returning to school.

   School policy requires that students come to the clinic to call their parents and to await pickup. Please remind your student that they may not use their cell phones to call home from the classroom. For our students that drive to school, we must receive faxed parental permission before we can release a student.

More information about the Staph Infections (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus - MRSA) is available.

Nancy Bennett, Clinic Room Aide
Mickey Leigh, Clinic Room Aide
Jeanne Frost, RN, School Nurse

Library News

A warm thanks to our Westfield High School Librarian, Joy Sibley, for a wonderfully informative presentation at our October PTSA meeting.  As usual, those present enjoyed learning the factual content of library services interspersed with Joy's sense of humor in assisting our teens with their research endeavors! 

     Several emails from parents were submitted who could not attend the training, as well as requests for handouts.  Because our knowledge and use of technology has increased, and the librarians continue to enrich our lives more easily accessed information, everything you need to help your student can be accessed from home and on line.  So, handouts are not needed!

Read more for some instructions to access library resources.

Booster News

News from the Guitar Boosters ~ Kym Sunday, President

   Did you come to the 2007 WHS Homecoming Parade?  The Guitar Booster float featured members from the Bulldog Guitar Jazz Ensemble. A huge THANK YOU goes out to the Hatfield Family for providing the transportation and coordinating the decorating efforts and Chris Cuppan for making sure that we had the power to drive the amps. (read more)

Community Programs

 

Westfield Community Coalition - Free Parent Program

Due to continued parent interest, and incidences of concern regarding teen behavior in the community, the Westfield PTSA along with the Westfield Community Coalition is co-sponsoring another free parent program, Trends of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Substance Use by Our Youth, on Monday, November 26th, 7:00pm at the Westfield High School Lecture Hall. (read more)

Underage drinking parties can be reported anonymously to the police at 703-691-2131 where they will disperse police assistance, or 703-246-2333 for the "Shut it Down" Hotline, to report date, time, and location of an underage drinking party. To report WHS security concerns, contact Ray Clements at 703-488-6307 or Ray.Clements@fcps.edu

BARNES & NOBLE BOOK FAIR (download Voucher)

Friday, December 7, 2007

12193 Fair Lake Promenade Drive

Fairfax VA 22033 * 703.278.0300

Come Support Westfield High School and Westfield HS PTSA

SIGN UP FOR GIANT BONUS Bucks

You can turn your grocery shopping into cash for Westfield through Giant’s A+ BonusBucks program. Sign up for the program and designate Westfield High School. Go to A+ Bonus Bucks Homepage, click on A+ BonusBucks ["designate your schools"], provide the first three digits of your last name and your 12-digit card number (if you already have one) with no spaces and. To designate Westfield  enter  for the School ID number 03798. You can designate up to three schools and your BonusBucks will be divided equally among them. If you don’t have a Bonus Bucks card, you can pick one up at any Giant grocery store. The program runs from October 5, 2007 through April 3, 2008. Even if you have signed up in the past, you must do this each year to allow Giant to designate funds to the school of your choice.

Office Depot 5% Back to Schools Program

Every time parents, students, faculty, and other Westfield High School supporters make purchases at Office Depot, the school receives 5%  of the qualifying purchases to use for free supplies. All you need to do is tell them at the cash register when checking out that you want Westfield High School to get credit for the purchase. They will look up the Back to Schools ID number for our school and enter it into the system at check out.  

GoodSearch.com

Search the Web?  Westfield can earn a penny every time you searched the Internet.  GoodSearch.com is a search engine  (similar to Google) that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it’s powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results. Go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Westfield High School PTSA, Chantilly VA as the charity you want to support. Just 500 of us searching four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime! And, be sure to spread the word to family and friends who want to support our high school.

Watch D.O.G.S. (Dad’s of Great Students)

WATCH D.O.G.S.® (Dads Of Great Students) is the safe school initiative of the National Center for Fathering that involves fathers and father figures to help create a more safe and secure learning environment in our nation's schools. A great starting point to explore ways to get more men involved in PTA.

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