Westlake Weekly Podcast: CLICK HERE for this week’s Westlake Weekly Podcast.

Health and safety: Please see our Health and Safety Guidebook and our COVID Dashboard on the Return to Schools website. As we consider health and safety, we are keeping a close eye on the California Department of Public Health for any indication that we may be able to adjust our practices. Our community is doing a fantastic job and we appreciate each of you. Meanwhile, we have been working in the background imagining what we may be able to open next. Might we be able to hold in person outdoor events such as Coffee Talks? What about potential on campus outdoor volunteer opportunities? We are even asking Sacramento County Public Health about their recommendations for potential events like Olympic Triathlon. We will continue to draft potential next steps, run them past our partners at SCPH and we will let you know what we find out! 

Vaccination Announcement: On Friday, October 1, 2021 Governor Newsom announced a statewide mandate that will eventually require, with limited exceptions, all California school-aged children to receive a vaccination against COVID-19.  CLICK HERE for the Governor’s complete press release. At the time we are writing this newsletter, this news is only a few hours old. When we receive additional information on this new mandate we will communicate updates through the Westlake Weekly.  If you have any questions on the Governor’s mandate or announcement, please reach out to [email protected].

Weekly Surveillance Testing  After School: It’s not too late to participate in the weekly surveillance testing for students. CLICK HERE to pre-register your student. Testing takes place on Wednesdays – at the high school from 1:00-1:30PM and at the K-8 from 1:30-2:00PM. Email [email protected] with any questions. 

6th-8th Grade Athletics: Girls basketball starts Monday, October 11th; boys basketball starts Tuesday, October 12th! To play, students must have a completed athlete packet on file. CLICK HERE for the digital packet. CLICK HERE to print the packet; paper copies are available in the front office. Please update School Dismissal Manager to “AS Live: Athletics” on days your Explorer has practice or a game. Email Allison Chavez at [email protected] with questions.

Picture Picture Retake Day – Tuesday, October 19th: Our Picture Retake Day is Tuesday, October 19th. Retake packets will go home next week. Retakes are for the following:

• Students who are new to our school since the original picture day
• Students who were absent on the original picture day
• Students who are now purchasing photos
• Students who would like to retake their photo.  (Students should be returning their original package)

Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) Fare-Free transit program: Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) is offering free transportation to all students who attend a school within the city of Sacramento from October 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. The card will allow your student to ride for free on the entire SacRT network. This includes SacRT buses, light rail, and SmaRT Ride microtransit service. The program is available all day, any day of the week, and all year during regular SacRT service hours. Cards will go home with students next week. 

Walk-tober: In the month of October, or “Walk-tober”, we are encouraging students to walk to school and have their Jibe card scanned. Participating students can win prizes and classes with high participation will win a class prize. Students can have their card scanned or register for a new card at our daily Walking School Bus at Burberry Park or at our brand new scanning station near the front office. We will also be competing with other schools for a grand prize! Let’s get moving, Explorers!

Scholastic Book Fair: Our Online Scholastic Book Fair opens October 11th! Support Westlake Charter School and discover new books, favorite characters, complete series, and more! Shop for Book Fair exclusives directly from the interactive booklist and enjoy free shipping on book-only purchases over $25. Click HERE to visit the Westlake Charter School Scholastic webpage.

K-8 Progress Reports: Progress reports were sent home with your child on Friday October 1st! After reviewing the documents, please reach out to your child’s teacher via email to help answer any questions you may have.  In addition, a teacher or parent can also request a follow up conference to discuss your child’s current progress.  These meeting details can be set up by connecting via email with your child’s teacher.

9th Grade Conference Week: Progress reports will be sent out on Monday October 11th with all 9th graders. Mid-Semester Conferences will be held the week of October 11th, 2021.   These conferences will be  virtual student-led with your students’ advisory teacher.  The sign up for conferences will go live on September 20th for families to register for their conferences. 

• Click HERE for the online scheduler
• Click HERE for the parent directions
• Click HERE for the Conference Week Bell Schedule

9th Grade Otus Family Account:  Instructions and access codes were sent home  with your students last week. These instructions will help you get logged into the Otus Family account.  This will allow your family to access your student’s grades.  If you need support or haven’t received the access information, email [email protected].  We will also have a virtual Otus information session for families on October 18th at 6PM.

In case you missed it…

School Supplies Donations: Thank you, families for your support! Every student has the pencils, folders, chromebooks, pens and supplies they need thanks to your support. We are 55% of our goal for school supply donations with our Kindergarten families leading the way at 100% of their grade level goal. CLICK HERE to make your School Supplies donation today.

COVID Symptoms: If your student has any COVID-19 symptoms, please keep them home until they are symptom free for 24 hours. Symptoms include: Fever over 100.4, sore throat, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle/body aches, cough, difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell. If your student has any of those symptoms, please keep them home until they are symptom-free for 24 hours and email [email protected] to report their absence.

Monthly WAVE Meeting: Once a month we host a parent/guardian meeting to discuss community building activities, fundraising, events, and so much more. If you are interested in learning more about WAVE or finding out how to get involved, this is a great opportunity to ask questions and learn more about our fantastic parent group. Please join us on Tuesday, October 12th at 6:30pm by CLICKING HERE. A copy of the meeting agenda can be found by CLICKING HERE.

Spirit Store is Open: Fall is officially here and our spirit store has gear to keep everyone warm. CLICK HERE to choose from over 70 items. That’s right, 70 items! We are thrilled to add Everest and our new High School logo to the Spirit Store. WAVE does not have an inventory so please be sure to check sizing information before placing your order. All items are made to order and shipped directly to you. We cannot wait to see this new gear on campus and out in the community!

Mountain Mike’s Fundraiser:  Our next restaurant fundraiser is coming up on Wednesday, October 20th from 11am-9pm at Mountain Mike’s (2609 Arena Blvd). To order please call the store or walk in and mention you are with WAVE. We will receive 20% of the total sales. Thank you for the continued support!

Olympic Triathlon Fundraising Committee: Each year we host an Olympic Triathlon to celebrate our three speciality programs and raise money for Westlake Charter School. This is our only large fundraiser of the year and we need a lot of help to make it fun and successful. We are looking for a team of volunteers to start planning our event day, prizes and fundraising methods. Please reach out to Amber Hustead [email protected] to get involved today!

Kudos: Thank you to our incredible staff for ensuring drop-off is quick, easy and safe every single morning. Explorer families are greeted with a wave as they arrive on campus and our staff members make sure students have what they need to have a successful day of learning. Thank you for helping our students have such a positive start to the day!