K-12 Announcements

K-12 Spirit Day – Pajama Day: Friday, December 19th is Pajama Day on both of our campuses! Students can show their spirit by wearing pajamas. Don’t forget to show your WCS spirit by posting pictures on all social media platforms and using the hashtag #WCSSpiritDay!

2026-27 Academic Calendar: CLICK HERE to reference the 2026-27 Academic Calendar which was approved at the WCS Board Meeting on December 11th.  The 2026-27 school year will start on Wednesday, August 12th, 2026 and end on Wednesday, June 9th, 2027.  If you have any questions regarding the calendar, please contact [email protected].

Attendance Challenge: HERE for the Hot Cocoa! Our Here for the Hot Cocoa Attendance Challenge is back!  From December 1st – 19th grade levels will be competing to win a hot cocoa celebration.  The grade level with the highest attendance percentage from K-5, middle school, and high school will win a hot cocoa celebration! More important than the hot cocoa is knowing that students who don’t show up for school regularly miss out on fundamental reading and math skills and the chance to build a habit of good attendance that will carry them into college and careers.

Winter Break: Both campuses and BASE will be closed for Winter Break Monday, December 22nd through Monday, January 5th. We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday, January 6th. BASE will be open on January 5th. 

Lost and Found: The Lost & Found at each campus is overflowing with jackets, lunch boxes, water bottles and more! K-8 families: Swing by to check for missing items  behind the Admin Building during conference week.  WCHS students: Look in the Commons during arrival, lunch, and dismissal.  All unclaimed items will be donated over Winter Break.

K-8 Announcements

After School Live – Explorer Enrichment Sign-ups: Our winter Explorer Enrichment programs are starting soon! CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up.

After School Live – Volleyball season: Emails went out to families and students who signed up for our Middle School Volleyball season. It’s not too late to sign up. If your student wants to sign up, please email Alejandra at [email protected]. CLICK HERE if you would like to volunteer to coach – we would love 1-2 more adult volunteers! 

The Minute Challenge continues!  Students are taking part in The Minute Challenge, using Imagine Math — an adaptive online program that meets each student at their skill level and helps them grow in math. As they complete lessons, students can earn prizes, awards, and even donate to real charities. Families can support by encouraging about 45 minutes per week (K–2) and 60 minutes per week (3–8) on Imagine Math, and by asking students about their progress and goals.

9-12 Announcements

Upcoming Home Athletics:

• Monday, December 15th @ 4:30 PM: Home – Boys JV Basketball vs. Woodland Christian
• Monday, December 15th @ 6:00 PM: Home – Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Esparto
• Monday, December 15th @ 7:30 PM: Home – Boys Varsity Basketball vs. Esparto

WCHS Winter Spirit Week: Join us for Winter Spirit Week at WCHS THIS week, December 15th – 19th! We encourage all students and staff to participate and show their school spirit.

• Monday – Marshmallow Monday: Wear white
• Tuesday – Tacky Tuesday: Wear an ugly sweater
• Wednesday – Winter Movie Character Day: Dress as your favorite winter movie character
• Thursday – Thermal/Toasty Thursday: Bundle up in your warmest winter clothing
• Friday – Pajama Day: Get cozy and celebrate with our entire K–12 community

WCHS Report Card Timeline: The end of the Semester is December 19th. Teachers will finalize grades the week of January 5th. Report cards will be sent home to families the week of January 12th. In the meantime, we encourage all families to review your child’s academic progress in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.  If you need assistance with the portal, email [email protected].

Save the Date – WCHS Spring Semester Back to School Night: With WCHS operating on a block schedule, students will have new classes for the spring semester.  Join us on the evening of Wednesday, January 14th to meet teachers and learn more about your student’s classes for the upcoming semester.

2025-26 WCHS Yearbook – FINAL ORDERS: Our final yearbook order count is due to the publisher on December 15th. If you’ve already purchased your yearbook, you’re all set!  If you haven’t purchased yet, you have until December 15th to guarantee your yearbook. After this date, we’ll order 40 extra yearbooks beyond what families have already purchased. However, these extras will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once they’re gone, no additional yearbooks can be ordered. The cost for a 2025-26 WCHS Yearbook is $65.  Don’t miss out on capturing this year’s memories!  If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Grimaldi, [email protected].  CLICK HERE to order your yearbook today!  Below are the counts by grade level of yearbooks currently sold:

• 9th grade: 36
• 10th grade: 30
• 11th grade: 23
• 12th grade: 57

“Every Minute Counts” Campaign: We’re excited to share that our Every Minute Counts campaign has kicked off at WCHS! This initiative supports students in being on time and ready to learn every class period. Each class can earn points by meeting our 90% on-time goal, and we’ll be celebrating classes and organizations that consistently show strong attendance and punctuality with fun prizes throughout the campaign. Thank you, families, for your continued partnership. Your reminders at home make a big difference. Every minute in class truly adds up to your student’s success!

Spring Semester Course Change Requests and Honors Courses:  Course change requests will be accepted Tuesday, January 6th through Friday, January 9th. If students are in an elective that they chose during course selection, they will remain in that course.  Additionally, beginning in 10th grade students at WCHS may opt into embedded honors courses. During the first two weeks of the semester, 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 from Tuesday,  January 6th through Tuesday, January 20th.  CLICK HERE for the Course Change Request form which will begin accepting responses on Tuesday, January 6th.

Save the Date:

• Wednesday, December 17th, 6:00 – 7:30 PM: WAVE Volunteer Appreciation Event at Algo Bueno, 2990 Northgate Blvd, 95833
• Friday, January 9th @ 8:30 AM: WAVE Coffee Talk – K-8 Library
• Friday, January 23rd @ 6:00 PM:  WAVE Winter Social at Frends restaurant (Natomas)
• Saturday, January 31st @ 6:00 PM: WAVE Family Dance – K-8 Gym

WAVE Volunteer Appreciation Event: Join us THIS Wednesday, December 17th from 6:00 – 7:30 PM at Algo Bueno on Northgate Blvd in Natomas! We cannot wait to celebrate YOU.

Every Westlake family who has volunteered this year — in the classroom, at a WAVE event, or anywhere in between — is warmly invited. This night is all about expressing our deep gratitude for the energy, time, and heart you’ve poured into making Westlake such a special place for our kids and our community. 💙🧡

We’ll have food, beverages, and a Westlake swag raffle to say thank you. It’s also a wonderful chance to meet other volunteers and celebrate the spirit of volunteerism that keeps WAVE strong. We can’t wait to celebrate with you! 🎉

WAVE Planning Committee Meeting: Want to get involved with WAVE?  WAVE will host a planning committee meeting via Zoom.  Every family is invited to help plan and give feedback for our future events. We’ve got some amazing events coming up — Family Dance, International Festival, and Staff Appreciation Week! If you’d like to help make the rest of the school year a success, CLICK HERE to fill out a quick form and we’ll get you connected.

Sponsorships: WAVE is looking to partner with local businesses and community members to help promote awareness of shops, restaurants and businesses in our neighborhoods and connect with our Westlake community.  We have a wide range of tiered sponsorships and opportunities to get involved.  Reach out to us at [email protected] for more info.

Logging Hours: If you’ve volunteered 30 minutes or more, please take a quick moment to CLICK HERE to log your hours. Whether it was helping in the classroom, supporting the Olympic Triathlon, Bingo Night, or the Fall Festival, every hour counts! Tracking volunteer time helps us meet our school’s charter commitments and shows the incredible impact our families make. It takes less than a minute — let’s see which grade level can log the most hours!

Kudos: Big shout out to our first grade families who are leading the school with 415 hours logged for the school year.   Make sure to log your hours and let’s see which grade level has the most hours for the first half of this school year.  And thank you to parents at Coffee Talk who offered so many great ideas and feedback on how to log hours.  We hope to begin implementing some of those ideas in the new school year.