The View—Volume V, No. 5 | January 2007

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PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Happy New Year! This is typically a time for resolutions, and I’ve been giving that some thought during the time we’ve had off. I’ve been reading a book by DuFour, Eaker, and Karhanek called Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don’t Learn.

In the last few months I have used this space to share the many, many successes that Westview has enjoyed in the last year. Our students and teachers have earned accolades and honors in academics, sports, and the performing arts. One of the awards that we are most pleased about is the recent “California Business and Excellence/Just for Kids” award for being one of the rare high schools in the state to reduce the “achievement gap” between under performing subgroups.

And yet, not every child at Westview is 100% successful. Our goal at Westview is that every student will learn. I believe that our response when some do not do so will ultimately define us. Just as there are many reasons that students struggle, a number of support mechanisms will be needed to address this problem. The many stakeholders who developed our WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) Action Plan last May have laid the foundation for the development of a continuum of Support and Intervention Resources. This is a work in progress, and the first draft is now available (click here to view). We will continue to work in the next couple of years to build support systems that ensure that all students will learn.

Our New Year’s Resolution is that there will not be “a crack to fall through” at Westview . And unlike my annual (and usually short-lived) vow to exercise daily, we’re going to work hard all year long to keep this promise. Have a wonderful 2007!

Dawn Kastner
Principal

Winter Sports

The following Winter Sports are underway.
Visit the links below for more information and game schedules:

• Basketball (Boys)

• Basketball (Girls)

• Roller Hockey

• Soccer (Boys)

• Soccer (Girls)

• Water Polo (Girls)

• Wrestling

SPRING SPORTS

Spring Sports begin February 17th. Anyone interested in playing a Spring Sport should visit the Westview Athletics page for more information. 

• Baseball
• Dive
• Golf (Boys)
• Gymnastics
• Lacrosse (Girls)
• Lacrosse (Boys)
• Softball
• Swim
• Tennis (Boys)
• Track & Field
• Volleyball (Boys)

What’s coming up...

Check the school calendar for more events

Jan. 15   Martin Luther King Day-NO SCHOOL
Jan. 26   Semester Break-NO SCHOOL
Feb. 3     Mock SAT & ACT Exams
Feb. 19-23  District Recess-NO SCHOOL
Mar. 16   Professional Growth Day-NO SCHOOL
Mar. 31  Mock SAT, ACT, & PSAT Exams
Apr. 16-20  Spring Break-NO SCHOOL
May 25  Professional Growth Day-NO SCHOOL
May 28  Memorial Day-NO SCHOOL
Jun. 20  Last Day of School

Quick web links

Daily Bulletin – visit the daily bulletin to see what’s happening today!
School Calendar – see what events are coming up throughout the year.
General Information – can’t find what you’re looking for? Try this link.
Athletics – support your Westview Wolverines – visit the athletic pages to see when your favorite team is playing.
Counseling – graduation requirements, colleges visiting Westview, scholarships, course catalog, etc.

College Readiness

College fairs and expo events are listed on our counseling website.

PTSA PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

HAPPY 2007!! I'm thinking of 7 reasons that I am looking forward to and am thankful that it is 2007!  

1.  Student/Staff Recognition -- our ceremony will be January 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the Theater. Join us for this very heartwarming celebration of students and staff.

2.  Staff Grants -- PTSA has awarded over $2,000 in grants to teachers and staff. Please see Debbie Govea's article for details.

3.  Mock College Exams (PSAT, SAT and ACT) are coming up on February 2 and March 31. Cathy Carpenter will keep you informed.

4.  February 13 is an Association Meeting with a special program put on by our Safety and Wellness Chair, Rima McCrady. It's February 13 at 7:00 p.m. in the Theater - mark your calendar!

5.  Grad Nite -- our committee is working hard to make sure that our Seniors have a fun and alcohol, drug and tobacco-free celebration. We still need help with this committee, so it you are interested, please call Cindy Kodama at 484-3335, or contact her at cebk@pacbell.net.

6.  You are PTSA members and are reading this newsletter. Thank you for your support!

7.  If you're not members of our PTSA, there are membership envelopes at the front desk! Check out last month's newsletter for all the reasons you should join!

I want to thank Cindy Koenig and her committee for their coordination of our Holiday Home Tour that benefits Grad Nite. What a wonderful evening it was!|

Have a wonderful 2007!

Carolyn Epple
PTSA President

PTSA STAFF GRANTS AWARDED FOR 2006-2007

On behalf of Westview PTSA and the Staff Grants committee, it is our pleasure to announce the classrooms being awarded a Staff Grant for the 2006-20007 school year.

The grants process was very competitive this year with the total funds requested being eight times the amount of our budget. The committee tried to award as many recipients as possible with the budget we had. The total amount being awarded is $2,045.34.

The award letters were delivered in December. Those staff members being awarded grants for the benefit of students are:

Cheri Tomboc-Brownlie, Library
Tammy Neuhaus, Science/Business
Cathi Dow, English
Katie Sangalang, English
Keith Opstad, Visual Arts
Barbara Fletcher & Doreen McCarty, Performing Arts
Sarah Layne, Visual Arts
Kim Curler & Sarah Layne, Visual Arts
Jeri Webb, Performing Arts

Congratulations and thank you to all who participated!

Staff Grants committee members:
Debbie Govea (Chair), Christine O'Hara, Cindy Ruecker, Colleen Salzetti, Patsy Romero and Carolyn Epple (President)

CHARACTER COUNTS!

PILLAR - RESPECT

As mentioned in previous newsletters, both the Student Services staff on campus, as well as the Westview PTSA, help to implement the Character Counts! program recently adopted by our school district. This national character education program consists of six ethical values (or “pillars”) - Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. This month’s newsletter article concentrates on the second pillar – Respect.

Everyone knows how important self-respect is. Bestowing respect on those around us is equally important, and it can be as simple as following the Golden Rule – “treat others as you wish to be treated”. Showing civility, courtesy and dignity in our dealings with others, being considerate of their feelings, and accepting their personal differences leads to a harmonious social environment, where any conflicts which arise can be dealt with peacefully and successfully.

Character education at school can be complemented by similar character development at home. Our teens continue on their path to young adulthood, and it is important for them to have adults guiding them along the way. We invite you to support our efforts by talking about respect at home. Take the opportunity to discuss how it feels when someone your child knows has shown them disrespect. Talk about people you admire who are respectful individuals, and, most important, remember to show respect to others yourself. Our behavior speaks louder than our words!

Feel free to visit www.charactercounts.org for more information about the Character Counts! program in our schools.

Cindy Ruecker
Westview PTSA Character Counts! Liaison

STUDENT SERVICES

We hope everyone had the opportunity to rest and spend quality time with friends and families during the holidays.

Many students received gifts they are excited about and want to share them with friends and are bringing them to school. Unfortunately, many items brought to Westview recently have been reported as missing. We highly recommend that parents encourage students to leave their iPods, cell phones, cameras, and other expensive items at home.

We also encourage parents to continue discussing ethics and morals with their children. Ideas on how to easily incorporate this into your daily routines are: discuss ethical issues while watching TV, model values you want your teen to develop, participate in activities that reflect your family’s beliefs, compliment your teen when he/she makes decisions based on morals, and by pointing out other people, especially those they look up to, who live according to values you admire. 

Bunco Fundraiser

Character Counts

College Deadlines

College Readiness

Community Colleges

Counselor's Corner

Dance Clinic

Financial Aid

Grad Nite Fundraisers

Health Insurance

Juniors

Mock Testing

Principal's Message

PTSA Staff Grants

PTSA President's Message

Scholarship Assistance

Seniors

Sophomores

Spring Sports

Quick Web Links

What's Coming Up

Winter Sports

A NOTE FROM WESTVIEW COUNSELORS...

The Princeton Review and the Westview PTSA are offering several dates for mock SAT, ACT & PSAT tests during the 2006-2007 school year. Mock SAT or ACT tests do not get sent to colleges and give students a chance to get accustomed to standardized tests and learn valuable test-taking strategies prior to the actual exams.

On February 3, The Princeton Review will offer a mock SAT and mock ACT. These tests are strongly recommended for sophomores and juniors.

On March 31, The Princeton Review will offer a mock SAT, mock ACT, and mock PSAT. The mock PSAT is strongly encouraged for freshmen and sophomores so that they will be ready to take the PSAT in the fall.

If you would like to take the SAT or ACT multiple times, please check with The Princeton Review to verify the test code in order to avoid taking a test you have already taken!

Each test will have its own registration. A $20 donation to the PTSA is required for each test a student wishes to take. Currently, we are accepting registrations for the February 3rd test only.

The registration form is available on the PTSA website.

BUNCO GRAD NITE FUNDRAISER

Bunco Tournament
February 9th
6:30PM-9:30PM
Location: Cena To Go
11808 Rancho Bernardo Road #110
 San Diego, CA  92128
$25.00 Per Person
Food, Wine, Fun

RSVP by February 1st: Yvonne Weinstein
858.538.6990 or yweinstein@san.rr.com

BAMBOO HUT PACIFIC GRILL & SUSHI BAR FUNDRAISER FOR GRAD NITE 2007

The wonderful people at Bamboo Hut in Mira Mesa would like to invite you to visit the restaurant. Every time you go bring one of the coupons and they will donate 10% of your total bill to Westview Grad Nite! 

Print out all three coupons and give them to your friends. See coupon for map and restrictions. If you have any questions email Beth Byloff.

P.S. You can find the Wades and the Byloff's there most Friday evenings, come and join us!
View Coupon

DANCE CLINIC

Save the date & mark your calendars

The Westview High School Dance Troupe cordially invites you to attend our 

3rd Annual Dance Clinic
Friday January 26 & Saturday January 27

More information to come on the Westview Dance Troupe web page

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT

"People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going."
                                     - Earl Nightingale

PSAT Results:   If your student took the PSAT in October, all test results were distributed to students either through the Wolverine Center or their Home Room teacher. If your student has not received their results, please ask them to check with their Home Room teacher.

Quarter 2 Ends:  Quarter 2 ends January 25th;Term 2 begins January 29th.  Begin to talk with your student about course selections for 2007-08 based on their 4-year plan and their first term (quarters 1 & 2) grades.

Scholarship Assistance:  If you have a student who is interested in scholarship opportunities, please have them complete a Westview Scholarship Application and return to Miss Bloomfield in the Wolverine Center. Students will be emailed information on scholarships in which they meet the minimum eligibility criteria. In addition, they will receive other information via email, such as internship opportunities, conferences, colleges coming to campus, a weekly counseling e-newsletter and more.