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"Parents are KEY to Bulldog Success"

News from our President, Jennifer Campbell

April 2010

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Happy spring! As you receive this newsletter, you'll be in the midst of a well deserved Spring Break and the 3rd quarter ends next week.  Report cards will go out during students' 7th period classes on April 19th

We had a well attended program for parents, “Saturday Night in the Suburbs”, a couple of weeks ago with 110 high school and middle school parents in attendance.  Thank you to Tim Thomas & Eric Johnson for their continued support in educating parents about substance abuse and teen issues, to Jen Cooper of the Westfield Community Coalition for moderating and our seniors, Kevin Katz, Hadley Zamperini, Garry Turner, Kaylin Newman, Musa Ghazmavi, Desirae Roane and Yara Tawfik for agreeing to be on our student panel.

Due to the amount of snow days used, Monday, April 12, will be a full day of school to make up for one of the four missed school days lost due to poor weather.  The State Board of Education is now considering FCPS’ request to waive one of the makeup days, on which they will vote April 22. If the waiver is granted, the last day of school will be June 24. If the waiver is not granted, the last day of school will be June 25.  You will receive more information via a Keep in Touch message after the decision is made. There is no change in the exam schedules or graduation dates for seniors, but for grades 9-11, the end of year exams will take place on the four days prior to the last day of school.

For the next 10 days, you will hear about MULCH! Check out our spiffy web site http://ptsa.westfieldhs.org/ and click on the red highlight to see a video that Veronica Delaney put together. You may begin to understand why some of us go through so much effort to put on this event (as well as the After Prom Celebration) and do the fund raising. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The deadline for ordering mulch, which raises funds for the Class of 2010 All Night Grad Celebration, is Monday April 5th. We will be shutting down Paypal orders on the web site and will be limiting the amount of bags sold and delivered, in contrast to previous years.

More on MULCH!  Please come join us on Mulch Day itself – we need adult and teen volunteers to help us deliver mulch in the community on Saturday, April 10 from 7 am until completed.   Also needed is the use of trucks for mulch delivery and donations of food items to feed volunteers all day long.  Come in join us the student parking lot and take in our community spirit. There are random prize drawings, and you'll be fed all day and meet a lot of fun high school teens and parents during the event.  Mulch Day is also the only day that seniors who had earned Bulldog Bucks in previous years can collect their reward as we are phasing out the Bulldog Bucks program.  Volunteer signup for Students online and Volunteer signup for adults. Volunteer your WHS-sponsored group and earn Special Incentives!

WHS sponsored groups can benefit from helping out with our special program, called the Team Incentive Program (TIP). Find out more.

Dress up for Prom; earn donations for After Prom and ANGP! The PTSA ANGP and After Prom Celebration committees have partnered with Annalees Formals.  Until May 25th, for every gown purchased, tuxedo rental, or alteration, between $5 and $20 will be donated to ANGP and APC.  For more information, go to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or contact Jenet/Kathy at 703-722-2588.  Please tell them you're from Westfield so we get credit!

Please don't forget or avoid completing a U.S. Census form, which you should have received by mail in mid-March.  The amount of federal funding for education, including school funding for states and communities can be affected by census data, so completing the census not only fulfills our civic duty but also ensures that we receive our fair share of resources.  For more information, go to http://2010.census.gov/2010census/ or to http://www.sec.state.ma.us/census/index.htm.  Please encourage your neighbors and friends to do so as well!  For information on funding issues and our school budget, go to http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=1384.

PTSA Scholarship applications are now posted on our web site; click on the left side for Scholarship applications or get a copy from Diane Villars in the Career Center at school. We are giving out 8 scholarships (including one for Special Ed) totaling $6,600 thanks to the money raised last year at the annual 5K Run for Scholarships and donations from the community.  By the way, this year’s 5K is just around the corner on May 8th.  Information and sign up forms are on the web site or in the main office.  http://ptsa.westfieldhs.org/committees/5k-committee.html

Nominations are still being accepted and are needed for the following PTSA positions: Treasurer, ANGP, Mulch, After Prom, Bulldog BBQ, BBQ Silent Auction, Legislative, Newsletter, Budget, Parent Programs, Special Ed, and Webmaster.  Please contact Salma Ashmawi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you'd like to step up for a committee position or know of someone who would. The majority of us on the PTSA Committee Roster have full or part time jobs, so it is possible to work and volunteer. What better place to do it than where your kids are?  It is also a great place to meet other parents and find out what's going on...

We are also looking for a parent who understands non-profit taxes who can help us out next fall with our taxes or in February if an extension is filed. Knowledge of Quicken is helpful.

Come join us at our next PTSA meeting on April 15th, 7pm in the library. School Board Chairman Kathy Smith will be present to answer questions and discuss the current budget situation.  We've received teacher requests to fund academic materials and student related activities, with more in the pipeline.  We will also be going over our proposed By Laws and presenting the proposed Executive Board slate for President, Vice Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Hope to see you there!  Contact me with questions at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

As always, contact me with any issues or questions. Thanks!

Jennifer Campbell
PTSA President
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