5th Grade Promotion Letter
Kindergarten Promotion Letter
Parent Letter May 22, 2008
Parent Letter April 4, 2008
Parent Letter January 24, 2008
Kindergarten Orientation Letter April 16, 2007
STAR Testing Schedule April 9, 2007
School Climate November 13, 2006
Budget Good News October 18, 2006
Construction Update September 25, 2006
Back to School Letter September 7, 2006
First Day Letter August 30, 2006

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May 22, 2008

Dear Parents/Guardians of Fifth Graders,

You are cordially invited to attend our Fifth Grade Promotion Exercises on Friday, June 13, 2008 at 10:00 A.M.

There are approximately one hundred fifth grade students. We have a limited seating capacity in our auditorium and are requesting a limit of two adults for each student. In addition, brothers and sisters enrolled in our school are invited guests.

No special attire is required. School clothes are certainly acceptable, but children can and many do dress up for the occasion.

Immediately following the ceremony, parents and students are invited for juice and cookies. Students may leave with their parents if they wish. Please notify the teacher if you are taking your child home and sign out in the office.

We look forward to seeing you on this special, memorable day.

Respectfully,

William Lucey, Principal

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May 22, 2008

Dear Parents/Guardians of Kindergarten Students,

Please join us on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 10:45am in the school auditorium for West Portal’s Kindergarten Promotion exercises.

Following the program in the auditorium, you are invited to a celebration in your child’s classroom. Teachers will present their students with their promotion certificates during the classroom festivities.

Dismissal is at our regular time; however, some parents have requested their children leave with them after the promotion activities. Please let your child’s teacher know if you plan to take your child early, and sign out in the office.

Thank you for all your help, support, and encouragement this school year.

Sincerely,

William Lucey, Principal

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May 22, 2008

Dear West Portal Parents/Guardians,

Campus Clean-Up and Beautification Day
On Saturday, May 31st West Portal School will be conducting a campus clean-up and beautification day from 10am-2pm. We will be spending the day cleaning, beautifying and organizing various areas of the campus. We are looking for volunteers to help. If you are available please just show up anytime between 10am and 2pm. The more help we get, the more we get done. See attached flyer.

Lost and Found
There is a large amount of clothing in the Lost and Found which is located in the metal storage cabinet near the boys’ bathroom on the bottom floor of the main building. These items will be put out along the wall of the auditorium from May 28th through May 29th. On Friday morning, May 30th, the remaining items will be bagged and donated. Please take some time to come by and look to see if any of the items of clothing belong to your child.

Principal for the Day, Isabel Saylor
The winner of the “Principal for the Day” auction item at the Spring Festival in April performed her duties admirably. Principal Isabel Saylor (4th grade) spent the day performing tasks including visiting classrooms, mediating student conflicts, sitting in on meetings, cafeteria/yard duty supervision, making school-wide announcements over the intercom, directing and supervising of Bertha and office staff, and other administrative tasks. Principal Isabel also enjoyed a lunch provided by Assistant Principal Lucey. Third grader, Holly Anderson, will be “Principal for the Day” this Friday, May 23rd. Look out for Principal Anderson roaming the halls.

Sincerely,

Will Lucey, Principal

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May 15, 2008

Dear West Portal Parents/Guardians,

Red, The 2008 Spring Musical
West Portal School is proud of its long tradition of great musicals and this year is no different. Red, West Portal’s 2008 spring musical, has been in the planning since the early part of the school year. Students, parents and staff have been working hard to prepare for this year’s musical and it promises to be yet another fabulously entertaining show. Show times will be Tuesday, May 20th at 9:30am and 1:15 pm; Wednesday, May 21st at 9:30am and 7:00 pm: and Thursday, May 22nd at 7:00 pm. Doors for all performances will open 15 minutes before show time. Due to the fact that the two night performances are usually crowded, family and friends may choose and are welcome to come to any of the day performances.
Much to Appreciate on Ability Awareness Day
It was a wonderful day this past Friday at West Portal where all 548 students participated in an Ability Awareness Day. Students participated in activities that gave them an appreciation of what students with various learning challenges have to overcome and how they over come them. Many were involved in making this great event a positive, fun, learning experience for the students. A big thank you goes to Lauren Tobin who spearheaded the whole event and Marge Fujikawa, Madeline Cabading, Holly Baird, Katie Roe and Claudio Moreno who helped it run smoothly. Thank you to Joanne Woo, Ellie Lee, Jean Bishop, Michelle Strickland, Cindy Neeley, Kara Bidstrup, Annie Sein, Luiselle Yakas, Sarah Liljedahl, Eileen Klafter and Rolf Keltner who hosted booths. Finally thanks to Connie Hennessy, Kim Nguyen, Francis Yang, Nancy Lee, Anthony Fong, Buff Harding, Melany Castro and Tony Moir for their volunteer work through out the day.
Teacher Reassignments
Due to Ms. Adams’ pending retirement and to provide the best possible program for the West Portal students, there will be some changes to the general education teaching assignments for the 2008-2009 school year. Ms. McCue will replace Ms. Adams as one of our 1st grade teachers. Ms. Chiappellone will teach 5th grade. Mr. Hansell will be moving to 4th grade with the idea of remaining with those students through their fifth grade year in 2009-2010. Ms. Bernstein will continue as a fourth grade teacher. We will be hiring a new fifth grade teacher. I am excited about this change because I believe it will strengthen these grade level programs while maintaining the excellent academic and social experiences of all West Portal students. If you have any questions regarding this, let me know.

Sincerely,

Will Lucey, Principal

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April 10, 2008

Dear West Portal Parents/Guardians,

Congratulations to the Chinese Performing Arts Program; Winners AGAIN!!!

Through driving rain and wind the CPAP performed wonderfully during the Chinese New Years Parade on the night of February 23 rd. For the second year straight, they were awarded First Place in the Marching Unit Division. Many thanks go out to Coordinator Jennie Lee and all of the Parent Volunteers, alumni teachers and participants. The many students who participated in this yearly event should be both proud and honored to be apart of something so special. This event each year not only brings a sense of Chinese cultural appreciation but continues the tradition of a strong West Portal community.

Spring Festival is April 12 th 11:00 – 3:30PM

Please make sure to attend this event in that it showcases our arts programs at West Portal while also raising much needed funds for our school. Please see the attached flyer for more details regarding the event

STAR TESTING STARTS ON APRIL 23rd

The yearly State mandated STAR testing will take place from April 28th till May 16th. It is important that your child is at school on time during this testing period. Testing will be taking place in the morning each day. Please do not plan any long weekends, trips or morning appointments during this time. It is very important that we have all of our 2 nd-5 th grade students take these tests. A schedule of the testing times will be forth coming.

Garden Program Highlights

Please look at the back of this newsletter for information regarding our Environmental Garden Program.

Sincerely, Will Lucey, Principal

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November 13, 2006

 

Dear West Portal Parents/Guardians,

 

Rain, Rain Go Away!

The rains have come and West Portal is prepared. When it is raining in the morning, the students who are dropped off before 8:40 are to report to the auditorium where ample supervision will be provided from 8:25 to 8:40. The students will then be walked to their classrooms by one of the morning supervisors. It is important that they not be in the hallways or out in the yard at that time.

 

School Climate Assemblies

This year West Portal School Climate committee is looking at different ways to improve and maintain a positive climate at school for both the students and staff. The school will have monthly themes related to school climate that will be school specific but also follow district wide themes developed by School Health Department of the SFUSD. There are monthly assemblies, which would involve students performing skits and discussing the month’s theme. Classroom teacher’s would then spend time in their individual classrooms discussing and possibly do activities relating to the themes. Example: creating posters that could be displayed, role-playing, community circle discussions, etc… October’s Theme was awareness of school-wide and classroom rules. November/December’s theme is “Social Responsibility: How to Respond to Negative Situations”. An assembly is scheduled for this Friday.

 

In Thanksgiving

In all cultures, in the entire world, people celebrate a season of sharing. We set aside the fourth Thursday of November for America’s day for giving thanks.  We have been celebrating Thanksgiving at school through our studies, our contributions, and our classroom reflections and discussions.  Our students joined together to donate to the canned food drive so that others may have a happier Thanksgiving.  Our families are most generous in their donations to the San Francisco Food Bank. Many classes are studying the history of how people celebrate Thanksgiving and harvest festivals. Some classes joined together in traditional feasting.  This day of Thanksgiving is traditionally a day when we sit down with members of our families, enjoy each others’ company and share our cultural favorites in a “traditional feast.”  The Thanksgiving Day celebration is a joyous occasion and gives us the opportunity to remember to say “Thank You.”    The West Portal staff members, in this time honored tradition; send our most heartfelt thanks to West Portal students and their families.  Thank you for your support and for the joy you share with us.  We wish you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY.

 

Sincerely,

 

Will Lucey

Principal

 

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October 18, 2006

 

Dear West Portal Parents/Guardians,

 

GOOD NEWS 2005-2006 School Site Budget

I received the Final Budget Allocation for the 2006-2007 school year. Due to our student population increase we received an additional $22,528 in our Site Budget, $5,520 in Prop H and $23,184 in a one-time Discretionary Block Grant. After receiving input from our staff and Parent Club, the school Site Council allocated these monies for the following:

Site Budget: $22,528

• $11,915 added to Instructional Supplies
• $5,613 added to Sub days for teacher planning and collaboration.
• $2,000 has been added for teachers to attend workshops/conferences
• $3,000 has been added for the purpose of having a garden coordinator

Prop H Options: $5,520

• $4,000 for Sub Days for teachers to work on the Spring Musical.
• $1,520 for Instructional supplies for Art Supplies

Discretionary Block Grant Options (one time monies): $23,184

• $8,539 for Equipment for Technology
• 13,500 for extended hour for after school instructional support for targeted students
• $1145 for Stipend to pay for cleaning and basic maintenance of the garden and equipment.

Friday Art Studio Volunteers Needed

Our wonderful new inclusion teacher, Mr. Dyer hosts a painting studio for 10 students every Friday. The students are different each week and are from all grade levels. It has been extremely popular and successful. Mr. Dyer needs one volunteer on Fridays from12: 45-2:00 to assist him in setting up the room, making sure the students have their aprons on, names on their papers and help students with clean up. Other volunteers are needed to help display the kid's paintings which entails putting the paintings in pre-cut mats, typing display labels and hanging the paintings in the main building. Times and days are flexible for these tasks. Exhibit will change every 2 weeks or every week, if possible. Let Mr. Dyer know if you’re interested.

Construction Update

Below are projected completion times for various major tasks with regards to the Prop. A Bond construction project at West Portal.

Activity	Completion
Elevator	End of October
Permanent Interior Handrails	End of October
Ramp from yard 1 to elevator corridor	Middle of November
Casework and sinks in rooms 1,2,3,4,5,6,10,12,14,20,22,23,24,25,26	Completed
Casework and sinks in rooms 15, 17 and 18	End of October
Exterior Drinking Fountains	End of November
Exterior Handrails	Middle of November

 

Sincerely,

 

Will Lucey
Principal

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September 25, 2006

 

Dear West Portal Parents/Guardians,

 

A Great Back-to School Night

It was great to see the large turnout at our Back-to School Night. The teacher and I were very pleased with the clear commitment the West Portal Community gives to the education of our student population. Thank you for your attendance and commitment to your child’s education. A special thanks goes to the teachers who spent time preparing their classroom presentations. We are fortunate to have such a wonderful group of educators.

 

New Updated Web Page

Thanks to one of our wonderful parents, Rose Lacy, we now have a newly updated school web page. Please take a moment to look it over at www.westportalschool.com to get the most updated information about West Portal School. A new addition is the Principals Podium page which will have all the newsletters and other important information directly from the principal.

 

Construction Update

Below are projected completion times for various major tasks with regards to the Prop. A  Bond construction project at West Portal. See letter attached from Bond Program Manager Leonard Tom for further details.

 

Activity	Completion
Elevator	End of October
Permanent Interior Handrails	End of October
Ramp from yard 1 to elevator corridor	Middle of November
Casework and sinks in rooms1,2,3,4	Middle of October
Casework and sinks in Rooms 5 and 6	Middle of October
Casework and sinks in rooms 15 and 17	Middle of October
Case work and sinks in rooms 10,12,14,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26	Middle of November
Exterior Drinking Fountains	Middle of October
Exterior Handrails	Middle of November

Sincerely,

Will Lucey
Principal

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August 30, 2006

Dear West Portal Parents/Guardians,

The staff at West Portal School welcome you and your children to the 2006-2007 school year. We hope it will be a rewarding year for all the students. We look forward to getting to know you and your children.

Even though we had major construction over the summer with many delays, we were able to have a safe and positive opening of school. Construction will continue through November with all work being done after school and weekends so as not to impact student learning.

The traffic and parking has always been a problem especially during the first few weeks of schools. If you are able to park your car a couple of blocks away and walk your child to the school, it would be helpful in alleviating some morning and afternoon traffic issues. More information will be sent out regarding how you can help improve the traffic around West Portal School.

Included in the first take home folder are several important papers and Parent Club information. Please take a moment to review them and return the necessary forms such as emergency card, emergency release form, Free/Reduced Lunch Application, and Parental Consent Form for Media Access, etc. to your children’s teachers as soon as possible, but no later than Wednesday, September 6^th please.

Parent Club Meeting is scheduled for September 7^th at 6:30pm. I will being giving a construction update and information regarding our school STAR Testing scores. Childcare will be provided. Please make an effort to attend.

Back-to-School Night is scheduled for Thursday, September 14^th at 6:30 pm. Please mark your calendar for this important evening.

Labor Day falls on Monday, September 4^th. No School.

Picture Day is on September 26^th & 27^th. A flyer is included in the folder.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if either you or your children have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Will Lucey
Principal
for the West Portal Staff

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