Welcome Back Assembly 

Yesterday, on Thursday, September 7th we had a wonderful whole school assembly. We introduced the teaching and administrative teams, sang songs together and watched a skit and video about the book “How to Fill your Bucket” by Carol McCloud. The students were extremely respectful and it was a lovely way to start the school year together. 

First Fire Drill – Wednesday, September 13  

Next Wednesday we will have our first of six required fire drills throughout the school year. Teachers have reviewed the procedures with students and those in the younger grades have practiced together as well.  

Meet the Teacher Night – Thursday, September 21 

We are really looking forward to welcoming parents to the school in person for our Meet the Teacher Night on Thursday, September 21, 2023. During the evening, there will be two sessions for parents to come to the school to meet their child’s teacher and learn about the classroom routines, curriculum and program highlights, proposed field trips, how you can support your child at home and provide an opportunity for parents to ask questions.  

The two sessions for Grades 1 to 6 will be between 5:00-5:30pm and 5:45-6:15pm, enabling parents with more than one child at Westgate to be available to meet with two teachers. There will be a separate message regarding Meet the Teacher next week with further details. 

The Grade 6 team will be including their Outdoor School session during this night. More details will be communicated to Grade 6 parents shortly. 

Kindergarten teachers will be following a different schedule, providing 10-minute conferences for families on Thursday after school, evening and during the day on Friday. More details will be communicated to Kindergarten parents shortly.   

Calendar Correction 

It has come to our attention that the Westgate calendar sent home earlier this week indicated that Thursday, September 21 is Meet the Teacher Evening but was color coded as purple, meaning Student Learning Conferences and that there was no school for students. Although it is Meet the Teacher Night, there is school for students that day. The calendar has been corrected and is posted on our website. 

School Buses 

Due to bus driver shortages to cover for driver absences, from time to time our school buses may arrive late. Please see the information below which will help keep you posted about your child’s school bus before and after school. We do not receive daily updates from Southland in the morning and do not have the resources to notify families. 

Bus delays are posted on My School Bus Monitor. 

MyBusStop app is a GPS tracking service that provides parents real-time school bus location reporting. The app provides subscribers with information on bus location, route stops, traffic, route schedule, bus progress and possible delay.  

A new unique school code for our MyBusStop app has been created for the 2023-24 school year. Each user that is registered will be prompted to enter this year’s code and select their route again. Please make sure to select your “my stop” as these change yearly. This must be completed on a desktop for the first time at www.mybusstop.ca.  

Families not registered for MyBusStop can register online and download the app to get school bus information at your fingertips!  

The Unique code for Westgate School is CBE113KF64. 

Field Trips & Classroom Presentations  

There are many offsite activities and classroom presentations. Dates for these events can be found on the Westgate School website calendar. Please refer to messaging and/or correspondence sent by your child’s classroom teacher and if you have any questions related to these activities, please contact them.   

Important Dates 

September 13 - Order deadline for the Apple Fundraiser 
September 18 - Demographic Verification & Annual Authorization forms due in SchoolEngage 
September 19 - Photo Day  
September 21 - Meet the Teacher Night – this is a regular school day for students 
September 21 - Outdoor School Parent Meeting  
September 22 - Non-Instruction Day 
September 26 - Apple Pick Up 
September 28 - Terry Fox Run 
September 28 - School Council Meeting 6:30 pm 
September 29 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Day in Lieu)