Next Steps in Health and Safety: Please see our Health and Safety Guidebook and our COVID Dashboard on the Return to Schools website.

• Masking Update: CDPH announced that the state is shifting its masking guidelines from “required” to “strongly recommended,” beginning after 11:59 PM on March 11th. Therefore, on Monday, March 14th, in alignment with the CDPH and Sacramento County Public Health, as well as our partners in Natomas Unified, Westlake Charter School will no longer require students, families, or staff members to mask at school regardless of vaccination status. Masking will, in accordance with the guidelines from CDPH, be strongly recommended. However, each family member, student, and staff member will be allowed to make their own decision regarding masking. 
  • In alignment with the core values of our school, we will require all persons on our campus to be respectful of the individual decisions made by each of our community members. We will show respect to those who continue wearing masks and we will show respect to those who decide to not wear a mask. Per California guidance, no person can be prevented from wearing a mask, nor required to wear a mask during this next phase of the K-12 masking guidelines beginning on March 14th.
• Sacramento County Public Health (SCPH) Decision Tree: Our partners at SCPH released a streamlined Decision Tree (yes, one tree, not a forest!) on March 7th. CLICK HERE to read the decision tree that our Contact Tracing team uses regarding symptoms, exposure, testing, and notifications.   

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

K-8 Spring Picture Day: Spring picture day is Monday, March 21st, all students will have free dress. Only students who have prepaid AND filled out the form will be sent to the photographer to have their picture taken. CLICK HERE if you would like to have your student’s spring picture taken by Excel, please fill out the form above AND prepay online or send payment in the packet. Picture packets went home this week. Prepay today at excelphotographers.com and use the access code: WESTS22. All 8th grade students should dress to impress – pictures for promotion certificates will be taken that day.

Parent Survey: The Parent Survey is taken 3 times a year. CLICK HERE to answer six questions to rate your family’s experience at Westlake Charter School during the 2021-22 school year. The deadline is TOMORROW, Monday, March 14th.

Enrichment Sign ups: We just wrapped up a fantastic winter session of enrichment classes and there’s more to come! The spring session begins Monday, March 14. CLICK HERE to see what classes are being offered and for registration information. Space is limited, so sign up now to save your spot. Scholarships are available; please email Allison Chavez directly to request a scholarship or with any questions: [email protected].

In Person Coffee Talk – Save the Date: Tuesday, March 15th at 8:30 AM join us for our in-person K-12 Coffee Talk in the covered dining at our K-8 campus. This is a great opportunity to hear from our admin team and WAVE parent leaders, as well as ask questions and give feedback. 

K-9th Spirit Day – Wacky Sock Day: Wacky Sock Day is Friday, March 18th! Take a picture of your silly socks, post your picture to your social media accounts and use the hashtag #WcsSpiritfriday. 

Call for Flag Football Coaches: We’re recruiting volunteer flag football coaches for our 6-8 athletics program! If you or someone you know is interested, please reach out to Allison Chavez ([email protected]). CLICK HERE for our recruitment flier with more information.

WCHS Athletics Schedule: Come support our WCHS athletics! Attending a sports event counts toward the Path to High School punch card. Any WCS 8th grade students who participate in at least six activities will receive a personalized piece of WCHS merchandise! CLICK  HERE for the March Explorer Athletics Boys Volleyball and Girls Soccer schedule. 

High School End of Year Trip Meeting:  We will hold a family informational meeting to share the details of our End of Year Trip.  Please join us on Wednesday March 30th  at 5:30 PM to learn more about this trip!  

In case you missed it…

Reporting COVID-19 Positive Tests and Exposure: If your student has tested positive to COVID-19, or has been exposed to someone who tested positive off campus, please CLICK HERE to complete this form and our contact tracing team will follow up. 

Walking School Bus-Help Needed: We desperately need adult volunteers to join our daily Walking School Bus. Can you walk to school with your student and other Explorers 1-5 mornings a week? The walk begins at Burberry Park at 8am and adults arrive back to the park by 8:30am. It is a fantastic way to start the day and volunteer with students. Please email [email protected] to get started. 

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 1:30-2:00 PM. Email [email protected] with any questions. 

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.

Volunteer Opportunities:  Do you have a passion for planning events? Do you prefer focusing on fundraising? Can you help an ha at our a month from home? We have an opportunity for everyone to get involved! CLICK HERE to take a look at committee descriptions to decide which one is the best fit then send an email to [email protected] to learn more or get started. Not sure which committee sounds best? No problem, we can help! Just send an email to let us know what you are looking for. We can’t wait to hear from you!

WAVE Board Elections: Help us make the 22-23 school year amazing by joining the WAVE Board. All board positions of President, Vice President of Business Operations, Vice President of Parent Participation, Treasurer and Secretary are coming up for election in April. If you are interested in learning more or finding out how to get involved, please contact Amber Hustead, WAVE President, at [email protected]. 

Kudos: Thank you to the parents and guardians who joined us for the first in person WAVE meeting of the year. We are so excited to work with our amazing community to plan some community events.