K-12 Announcements

Field Lessons and School Supplies: CLICK HERE to make your Field Lessons and School Supplies donations today. Last year, our school spent over $180,000 on Field Lessons and School Supplies, and to make this year just as amazing, we need your help! Please make your donation today, and if you have the ability, feel free to sponsor a student who may not be able to make a donation this year! Thank you #ExplorerFamilies! 

Free and Reduced Price Meals: Families, each year it is incredibly important to our school that we are able to account for every student during this form collection process. We are authorized by the Natomas Unified School District and as a part of our partnership, we commit to collecting these forms from every family. Physical copies of the 2024-25 application were sent home last week. So, please, complete this form for every student in your family. While meals remain free for all students this school year, this is important data for our Charter authorization.

• CLICK HERE to complete the Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM) acknowledgement form which will allow us to ensure everyone has received this information. Even if you don’t think you qualify for free or reduced priced meals, please complete the form for our tracking purposes. 
• CLICK HERE to complete the FRPM application online.

Family Handbooks: Please be sure to CLICK HERE to read our WCS K-8 Family Handbook and/or CLICK HERE to read our WCHS Family Handbook. Our Family Handbooks include important information such as our WCS Core Values, dress code information, attendance, health and safety protocols, and so much more.

Fall Picture Day: Kindergarten-12th grade picture day will be on Tuesday, August 20th at both campuses. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package. CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your picture.

K-8 Announcements

After School Live – Explorer Enrichment & Middle School Athletics Sign-ups: Our fall Explorer Enrichment and Middle School Athletics programs are starting soon!

• CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.
• HOOPS are here! All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Explorers are invited to come play basketball! The season starts the week of August 26th. Athlete packets, including a doctor’s physical clearance, are required for participation.
  • CLICK HERE to sign a middle schooler up for basketball!
  • CLICK HERE for the digital athlete packet, or pick up a hard copy from the front desk or Coach Sterling.
  • Email Coach Sterling with any questions at swynne@westlakecharter.com and check back next week for more information!

Arrival & Dismissal Reminders/FAQs: When dropping off or picking up students, please help keep our Explorers safe by pulling forward as far as possible and remain in your vehicle.  Staff will help your student to and from your car if needed. We appreciate your support on this.  Please be respectful and mindful of others during our arrival and dismissal process.  Following traffic rules is an essential part of maintaining a safe environment for children. This includes parking in designated areas, adhering to the instructions of school staff, and obeying traffic laws. Traffic rules help to ensure that students are not in harm’s way when they are entering and exiting vehicles. When drivers obey traffic laws, they are less likely to be in an accident or cause a disruption in the flow of traffic. Additionally, traffic laws help to reduce congestion and provide a safe environment for pedestrians.

• CLICK HERE for the Arrival and Dismissal Quick Glance.
• Please Note:  The K-8 Parking Lot will be for staff only from the hours of 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM, as the number of staff has increased resulting in our allocated parking spots being fully occupied.  CLICK HERE to visit the parking section on our Ways to Westlake website for more information.
• Walking School Bus: Join our daily Walking School Bus! The adult supervised walk departs from Burberry Park, Monday-Friday, rain or shine. Students can be dropped off between 7:45 and 8am to allow plenty of time to safely walk to our K-8 campus. Not only do families avoid and decrease congestion near campus, but students also earn points to use towards prizes. We need volunteers to walk and check students in near our campus entrances. Please email westlakew2s@jibe.org to get involved today! Need a card? Please CLICK HERE to register.

K-8 Back to School Night: Our K-8 Back to School Night is on Wednesday, August 21st. To the best of our ability, we would like to keep this event distraction free by encouraging families to make this a non-student event. This will allow for teachers and families to connect in a distraction-free environment. For families that need supervision, our BASE program will be available to help, however, space is potentially limited. If you know that you will need childcare to attend this event, please CLICK HERE to RSVP for BASE as soon as possible so that we can properly prepare. 

• Kindergarten through 5th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 6:00-6:30 pm, session two is 6:40-7:10 pm. You will watch a video from your child’s specialty teacher.
• 6th-8th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 5:00-5:40 pm, session two is 6:00-6:40 pm. During these sessions, you will meet with your student’s core teachers and specialty teachers. Your students are creating your schedule for the evening.

9-12 Announcements

Senior Information Night: Senior Information Night will be taking place on Tuesday, August 13th at 6:00 PM at WCHS.  During this meeting we’ll review both academic and social information on what is to come and what is expected during this year.  Please CLICK HERE to RSVP.  While this is not required and the slideshow from the evening will be available following the event, we would love to have you and your senior join.

Student Drop Off and Pick Up: As we mentioned, now that we are fully built out, 9th-12th grade, the WCHS parking lot is now ONLY for staff parking and student drop off/pick up. Student and visitor parking is available along West Entrance Road, right next to our campus. CLICK HERE to see a map with detailed information. While we offer pick up and drop off in the parking lot, many of our WCHS families choose to use an alternative location such as West Entrance or a nearby shopping center, to save time. However, please remember those alternative pick up locations are not staffed and we encourage families and students to be safe and courteous, obeying all driving and parking laws, and ensuring students are using sidewalks and crosswalks to maximize safely when navigating this choice. 

Course Change Requests and Honors Courses:  CLICK HERE for the Course Change Request form. Course Change Requests will be accepted until August 20th. Please note that students must be logged into their Westlake accounts to complete the form.  Additionally, beginning in 10th grade students at WCHS can opt into embedded honors courses. During the first two weeks of school, teachers will be sharing their honors syllabi and exposing students to honors level work.  Students may opt in to taking an honors course by using the Course Change Request form. 

Co-Ed Cross Country:  It’s not late to join our Cross Country Team for the fall season! Our head cross country coach, Mr. Schoenberg, has room for more Explorer Athletes who are interested in running with the team.  If you’re interested, email our Athletics Team at athletics@westlakecharter.com for more details and to get started on your athletic clearance requirements.

Meet with our Counseling Department: Our incredible WCHS counseling department which includes Ms. Parwana Daud and Ms. Carli Fabbri are excited to partner with families. CLICK HERE to connect with your student’s counselor for a meeting or a phone call. Counseling caseloads are split as follows:

• Students with last names A-K: Ms. Daud
• Students with last names L-Z: Ms. Fabbri

Uniform Swap Opportunity: If you have WCS K-8 uniforms in your closet that you no longer need, and you’d like to donate them to the clothes closet for future Uniform Swaps, please drop them off at the WCHS front office and we’ll deliver them to the K-8 campus to be put to good use.

WAVE Facebook Group: WAVE has a private Facebook Group which is a fantastic resource for our families. The page is full of questions, ideas, pictures, and more. Please CLICK HERE to join the page. Facebook has added a new security feature which will require new group members to complete a questionnaire to be admitted to the group.

Class Ambassadors and K-8 Grade Level Liaisons: WAVE seeks Class Ambassadors and K-8 Grade Level Liaisons for the 2024 – 2025 school year.  Be the representative for your child’s classroom, helping WAVE to bridge the communication gap between parents, teachers, and the community.

• What is a Class Ambassador or Grade Level Liaison?
  • Class Ambassadors serve as the classroom liaison between the teachers, the parents, and WAVE. They are important members of the Westlake parent community, becoming the source of information for upcoming events and activities in their child’s classroom. We hope to have at least one ambassador per classroom. Class Ambassadors will report to a Grade Level Liaison for their respective grade levels.
  • Grade Level Liaisons will be the lead coordinator and communicator for the Classroom Ambassadors.
• What is the time commitment for the Class Ambassador or Grade Level Liaison?
  • Monthly WAVE Meeting – 1 hr/month
  • Communicating with other parents – 0-2 hrs/month

As a Class Ambassador, you will help to foster community at Westlake. Class Ambassadors can leverage relationships to make Westlake the best possible school for our kids (all while getting to know other parents in your child’s class better!).

Board Positions and Committee Chairs: WAVE is excited to offer some fantastic leadership opportunities for anyone passionate about making a difference in the Westlake community. We’re looking for Committee Chairs for several exciting events, including:

• Fall Festival
• Themed Nights
• Family Dance
• International Festival
• Classroom Ambassador Program
• Social Media & Communications

Additionally, we’re eager to welcome parents to our WAVE Board who are interested in supporting our efforts in areas like Treasury, Parent Engagement, Fundraising, and Community Partnerships. Whether you’d like to contribute as part of a committee or in an advisory role, we’d love to hear from you! If you’re interested or have any questions, please contact us via the email below.

CLICK HERE to sign up or learn more; or email us at wavewcs@gmail.com.

Save the Date:

• Monday, August 19th @ 6:30 PM: WAVE Meeting – K-8 Library

Kudos: A huge thank you to Cristi Rodda, Toni Elgamiel, and their families for graciously hosting our Uniform Swap at Meet the Teacher. Thanks to their generosity, dozens of families were able to exchange uniforms this week. This uniquely helpful community event wouldn’t have been possible without their support. Be sure to take advantage of the next uniform swap at Back to School Nights and Open House!