Canned Food Drive

November 1st-15th

Going along with our Kindness theme for the month of November, we will be having a canned food drive at Westfield Elementary. We will be donating the items we collect to the Lodi Good Samaritans so that they can distribute the food to individuals who need it in our community. All students are encouraged to bring in non-perishable food items. If we collect 1000 items or more, the school will win a Crazy Hat Day!

Students hard at

work making

pizzas at the Sam’s

Pizza Fundraiser.

Students “mixing it up” at lunch!

Westfield Elementary Counseling Newsletter

Elissa Ray, School Counselor November 2011

Monthly Theme: Kindness

Mrs. Ray’s

Counseling Corner Can you believe it is already November? It feels like school year just began! I have definitely been enjoying

the school year so far, and I hope all of you feel the same. Throughout October, we did a lot of fun and interactive activities at Westfield Elementary.

Throughout the month, students built on their organizational skills in a variety of ways. With the help of “Disorganized Donna’s” book bag, students learned ways to get organized as well as consequences to not being organized. Students also learned how to use their student planners to remember their assignments and manage their time effectively and were asked to clean their lockers out at the end of the month. In addition to that, we began a classroom homework challenge. The classroom with the best weekly homework completion percentage gets a visit from our traveling homework bear, Butterscotch! (Butterscotch was given her name by Mrs. J. Perry’s class who was the first class to win!)

Students also worked hard to earn money for their Camp NuHop trip coming up in March by participating in Sam’s Pizza Fundraiser. On October 13th, students, with the help of CEPTO and some Westfield staff members, made about 800 pizzas and raised $4,000!

On October 18th, students participated in Mix It Up at Lunch Day. The theme for the event was, “We Could Learn A Lot From A Box of Crayons” based on the idea that like a box of crayons, humans are all different but we all live together in the same world, just as crayons live in the same box. Students were handed a crayon as they walked into the cafeteria and they had to sit at the table that matched their crayon color. Hopefully, students got to know some classmates that they don’t normally talk to!

Last, but certainly not least, we celebrated Red Ribbon Week during the last week of October. Students participated in different dress up days, signed a pledge, and wore red ribbons and wrist bands to show their commitment to being drug free. We also had a lot of fun at, “The Power of Positive Choices” pep rally during which some of our very own Cloverleaf high school students and staff encouraged Westfield Elementary students to be drug free with cheers, speeches, and songs.

The counseling theme at Westfield Elementary for the month of November is kindness. To work on being kind this month, we will be doing some activities and lessons that emphasize the importance of kindness. Be sure to talk with your child to find out what’s going on here at school!

With warm regards,

Mrs. Ray

Be Respectful. Be Responsible. Be a Problem Solver. Be Safe.

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Happy Birthday to the Following Students with November Birthdays:

Student Spotlight!

Be Respectful. Be Responsible. Be a Problem Solver. Be Safe.

Westfield Elementary 9055 South Leroy Rd.

Westfield Center, OH 44251

Building Administrators: Jamie Lormeau & Bob Falkenberg

Important Numbers: Main Office: 330-721-3940

Fax: 330-887-1049

School Counselor: Elissa Ray

E-mail: Elissa.Ray@cloverleaflocal.org

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Claire Smith, 11/1 James Bell, 11/2

Donavan Nichols, 11/2 Kiel Wells, 11/2

Taylor Staab, 11/3 Matthew Oravec, 11/5 Haleigh Farren, 11/7

Erich Jesse, 11/8 McKayla Yugulis, 11/9 Emily Plummer, 11/10

Nicholas Bailey, 11/12 Leslie Shimko, 11/14

Mark Gray, 11/16 Kyle Skidmore, 11/22

Reese Toth, 11/22 Tommie Kurtz, 11/24

Zachary Gilbert, 11/27 Cathryne Blackburn, 11/28

Emily Seamon, 11/29 Steve Liptak, 11/30

The Home Connection: Instilling Kindness in your Children

Parents play an important role in helping to instill kindness in their children. Parents can show their children how to be kind through their own personal actions and words. Something as simple as holding the door open for someone else can model the importance of showing kindness towards others. Below are some ideas on how parents can help their children to understand the importance of being kind towards others.

• Participate in service activities as a family. Work together to donate old clothes to a local collection agency, volunteer at a soup kitchen as a family, or make cards for residents at a local nursing home.

• Hold discussions with your child about kindness. When reading or watching movies or television with your child, discuss with your child how the characters showed kindness towards others.

• Reward children for acts of kindness. If you witness your child doing something kind for someone else, reward them for their efforts. Rewards do not have to have a monetary value to them. A simple “good job” or “I’m proud of you” motivates your child and instills a sense of pride and accomplishment which, in turn, raises your child’s self esteem.

Important Dates ♦ 11/1-11/15 – Canned Food

Drive

♦ 11/3 & 11/8 – Parent Teacher Conferences (4:30-8:30PM)

♦ 11/8 – Veterans Day Essays Due!

♦ 11/9 – “Do The Right Thing” Pizza Party

♦ 11/10 – Veterans Day Assembly

♦ 11/11 – No School: Parent Teacher Conferences (8:30AM-4:00PM)

♦ 11/16 – No School: Waiver Day

♦ 11/23-11/25 – No School: Thanksgiving Break

Congratulations to the

winners of the Red Ribbon

Week Poster Contest!

1st Place Winner:

Alex Kungl

2nd Place Winner:

Leslie Shimko

3rd Place Winners:

Taylor Rudolph and Grace Winrod

Building Character: Kindness Being kind or caring means helping others unconditionally, having empathy for others, and showing compassion to others.

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” (William Shakespeare)

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill)

“From caring comes courage.” (Lao Tzu)

“Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him up.” (Jesse Jackson)

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” (The Dalai Lama)

Source: The Organized Teacher’s Guide to Building Character by Steve Springer, Michael Becker, and Kimberly Persiani-Becker