Mise à jour | le 28 septembre – Weekly Update | September 28  

In the effort of making our school website more bilingual, we will be changing the title “Weekly Update” to “Mise à jour”, which simply means “update”. It will be accompanied by the date in French. An email will still be sent to parents each week so it will continue to be easy to access and understand. The messages will continue to be communicated in English.  

School Council Meeting – All Westgate Families Welcome 

Our first School Council meeting is tonight, Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 6:30pm. A reminder was sent yesterday along with the link to agendas. Our tentative plan for the 2023-2024 school year is for the first one to be in person then alternate in person and virtual meetings throughout the year. Each monthly School Council meeting will also include a Leadership Report. For the September meeting, Julie Muhlberger, Principal, and Stephanie Leech, Assistant Principal, will be discussing the following items: 

• Meet the Teacher Night – Parent feedback 
• September start-up 
• New Curriculum  
• Class configuration and sizes  
• Grade 3 to 6 Physical Education  
• Grades 1 to 4 Literacy and Numeracy Assessments  
• New furniture – thank you to Parent Society 

We really would like to encourage more parents to join our School Council meetings. It is very important to us to connect with parents and gather input and feedback in order to continue to make Westgate a great school community. Particularly if you are new to the school, it’s a fantastic way to get to know the leadership team, familiarize yourselves with school programs and learn about highlights. Looking forward to seeing many parents attend! 

Casino Fundraiser

We are currently recruiting volunteers for our upcoming casino dates on Saturday, November 11 and Sunday, November 12 at Cowboy’s Casino. There are vacancies in all areas and on both days. Parking and a free meal are included with all positions. No knowledge of gambling or previous experience is necessary. Volunteers can work more than one shift but must remain in the same position. Please consider signing up today as one casino shift generates the greatest financial return on your time - a low estimate would be about $135/hour worked. Other benefits include time spent with other adults - no kids allowed and getting to know other awesome members in our school community! You can sign up directly online at https://signup.com/go/vfrSwZR. If you have any questions, please email  Marnie at westgateschoolcasino@gmail.com.  Thank you in advance for your support of our society’s largest fundraiser!

Terry Fox Run 

What a wonderful event today, all our students together and running for Terry Fox. Thank you also to those parents who were able to run along or cheer us on! We will update families next week with fundraising totals.  

Students with IPPs – We will send IPPs home with students on October 13, 2023 for review. Please return the signature page by October 16, 2023. Thank you. 

Traffic Safety  

We are so happy with our new sandwich boards helping us to highlight crosswalk and parking/stopping zones. We continue to be visible in our yellow vests, available to support student safety and connect with families at the beginning of the school day and at dismissal.  Please do say hello! 

In order to keep students safe and  neighborhood community happy, kindly continue to pay attention to and be respectful of the following: 

• respect posted speed limits, playground zones and no U-turn signs  
• park 5 meters from stop signs, intersections and crosswalks and 1.5 meters of driveways and garages. 
• avoid parking on corners as it makes it difficult for vehicles to navigate around  
• do not park or stop in the bus zone in front of the school between 7:40am - 8:00am and 2:30pm - 3:00pm 
• use marked crosswalks to cross the street  
• ensure your children do not walk through parking lots to the compound or playground 

Best practice is to arrive at school early, park a short distance away from the school and walk the remaining distance to alleviate congestion.  

Important Dates 

September 28 - School Council Meeting 6:30 pm 
September 29 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Day in Lieu | no classes)
October 3-6 - Grade 6 Oudoor School
October 9 - Thanksgiving Day 
October 16 - Hip Hop begins 
October 20 - Non Instruction Day 
October 26 - Grade 6 Vaccinations 
October 26 - School Council Meeting 6:30pm