Westlawn Elementary School Newsletters
Update on Westlawn Elementary Remodeling
By Gwen Hutchison, April 2012
The five-year project to remodel Westlawn Elementary School is nearly complete! Changes to the interior of the school are finished including new lighting, new tiles on the walls, new special flooring in the gym, a new library, and the expansion of the cafeteria. Most importantly, the new wing for 5th and 6th graders is finished, and for the first time in many years the entire student body is inside the school building!
Westlawn is working to incorporate more technology into the school, and has made sure that laptops are installed and available to students in every classroom. Also, they have a room set aside for the production of West TV – a closed-circuit station where students can give the school news and announcements over television instead of just over the PA system. School leaders are working on getting a grant so that Dominion Power can install a display on green energy so the students have a hands-on learning tool for learning about ‘being green.’ This will require some additional funds, as will a number of other enrichment programs that Westlawn would like to provide for their students.
The plan for the rest of the renovation is for the new roof to be installed as soon as possible after school gets out, and then to upgrade the playground. During that time the access road between Oak Ridge Road and Westley Road (used for kiss-and-ride during the school year) will be closed, but the roof installation should be finished by the end of the summer break.
Westlawn Elementary Open House
By Jeanette Black, Principal, January 2012
Happy New Year from Westlawn Elementary School! We are thrilled to announce that our inside renovation is complete and that all of our students have moved into their new classrooms. I learned that our sixth grade team has not been located inside the building since 2002, so they are especially excited to be in our beautiful new building.
The construction site is being emptied, and all of the trailers and quads will be moved away in the near future. One quad will remain until the end of the school year that will house our band and strings classes, and will provide a temporary home for our construction site managers.
Once the trailers are moved we will begin work on our new playground, which will be enjoyed by the entire Westlawn community. A committee of knowledgeable teachers, parents, and administrators will collaborate with FCPS Design and Construction and approved vendors, to create a plan for the playground. There is a great deal of site work involved, but the playground should be complete for the 2012-13 school year.
Our renovation has truly been a community affair, so we would like to invite Westlawn residents for a “sneak peak” of our new school, and to join us in a reception to say thank you for your patience during this monumental endeavor. The reception and tour will be on Monday, March 26th from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. and will begin in our library. Please call the school office at 703-241-5100 to RSVP.
I look forward to seeing you March 26th!
Greetings From Westlawn Elementary School
By Jeanette Black, Principal, September 2011
Greetings from Westlawn Elementary School! My name is Jeanette Black, and I am the new principal of Westlawn. I was formerly the principal of Vienna Elementary School for six years, and I am pleased to join the Westlawn community. I grew up in Arlington, and I have early memories of visiting my relatives who live down the street from the school, and visiting my relatives in Monticello Gardens. I feel, in many ways, that I have come back home.
I want to begin by thanking you for your patience during our renovation process. The construction noise and traffic is an inconvenience, and you have been most patient. We are grateful that our parking lot has been completed, and that we have opened a newly remodeled cafeteria, kitchen, gym, and new wing of classrooms.
Our entire renovation is in the final phase, which is scheduled to be completed late winter to early spring. At that time the trailers will be moved and our student body will all be inside our beautiful new building. We plan to invite our school “neighbors” on Westley, Weston, and Oak Ridge to a reception and tour in the spring once the renovation is complete. We will also host a ground-breaking and rededication of our building in the fall – all are welcome!
I appreciate your willingness to support the renovation process. It will provide our students with a beautiful and safe learning environment that will grace the community for years to come. I look forward to meeting you! Please contact me at jmblack@fcps.edu if you would like to visit, or if you have any questions.
Elementary School Construction Updates
By Thomas Ours, Fairfax County Public Schools, June 2010
At the 13 May PTA meeting held in the Westlawn Elementary School cafeteria, Thomas Ours, a representative from Fairfax County Public Schools, Office of Design and Construction, explained how the school construction would be phased in, and he answered a number of questions.
The Oak Ridge entrance to the school will become a doorway to access the new media center, which will have no exit to Oak Ridge Drive. The media center building will extend from the current Oak Ridge entrance (now closed) all the way to the sidewalk just opposite the school driveway at the end of Oak Ridge Drive.
The main entrance to the school will extend out to where the flag pole used to be. There will be a larger open area indoors between the entrance doors and the cafeteria. There also will be more meeting and office space for the front office, including new admin and lobby areas.
Classrooms and more restrooms will extend into the playground area, ending about halfway along the side of the huge concrete slab where the old modular classroom building used to be. The playground equipment has already been removed and cannot be reused because of safety issues. The equipment was getting old and starting to wear.
The playground will be lost until the summer of 2011, and kids are now playing on pavement with a greater risk of getting hurt.
Thomas said that he would consider any ideas parents had to provide some alternatives to the playground, but options are limited due to cost and space limitations. For example, anything that a child could fall from, even a half-buried tractor tire, requires a mulched area underneath to cushion the fall, adding to the cost, and there is limited space away from the construction area to place any temporary play equipment.
Any asbestos removal will have large HEPA air filters to ensure that no particles get into the environment.
Many rooms in the school will be shifted around to take advantage of the new space once construction is completed. For example, the SAC rooms will become music rooms.
The renovation project involves the whole school, not just the addition of extra rooms. Because the kitchen area needs to operate throughout the school year, it will be renovated over the summer of 2011 when school is closed. Construction is ahead of schedule with an estimated completion date of August 2011.
Renovation Update
By Westlawn Elementary, June 2009
Prepare to see a lot of movement on school grounds this summer as construction crews prepare for Westlawn’s upcoming renovation project scheduled to begin next March 2010. All existing trailers (Grades 4 & 6 and music) will be removed and replaced with 4 quads and 2 trailers giving a total of eighteen outdoor classrooms. The trailers will be placed in the field adjacent to the tennis courts and will be ready for occupancy by the start of the start of the new 2009-2010 school year. The phasing of the construction project will necessitate 3 grade levels in outdoor classrooms – grades 4-6.
Help Local Schools Every Time You Shop!
By Dave Conway, June 2009
Giant has a program where a small part of the money you pay for purchases is donated to one or more schools of your choice. You have to re-enroll each year. The program ends in the spring and begins again in the fall, so enroll by late summer. Enrolling is easy—if you have a card for the store and access to the Internet, it takes just a few minutes.
Web site address: www.giantfood.com/aplus/
To register you need your Giant card number and first three letters of your last name. Choose up to three schools by using the pull down menu, one school at a time. You can also enter the school codes directly. For example, here are the school codes for our public school pyramid:
# 01923 Westlawn Elementary School
# 01920 Luther Jackson Middle School
# 01916 Falls Church High School
Westlawn School Renovations
By Dave Conway, based on remarks by Acting Principal Cecilia Vanderhye, January 2009
Big changes are coming to the buildings at Westlawn Elementary. Renovations paid for by previously approved school bonds will begin in spring 2010 and finish about 18 to 20 months later.
The entire building will be renovated and look brand new.
A new, large media center will be built on the grassy area near the Oak Ridge entrance on the west side of the school.
The large modular and small trailers on the southeast corner will be removed and the playground shifted north.
The southeast corner will extend into part of the current playground, adding a whole new corridor of classrooms.
The SACC (before and after school care) will move to the side by the Kiss & Ride.
The lower parking lot will add 20 more spaces.
The entrance will be remodeled to look more distinct from the kitchen area.
The inner courtyard will remain untouched.
With these changes, the school will add 23,000 ft2 to its existing 73,000 ft2—a 1/3 increase in floor space. These renovations will ensure that our school facilities are as outstanding as our school teachers and enhance the children's education, making Westlawn an even more desirable place to live.
School Tip Line
By Fairfax County Public School, June 2008
Rumors • plots • drugs • violence • theft • sexual harassment • bombs • gangs • guns • knives • vandalism • etc.
Call 703-658-3636. Your name is not taken. Your call is not traced. Now is the time.
Visit www.4saveva.org for more information.
Great Things Happening at Westlawn Elementary
From remarks by Kim Dockery, School Principal, June 2005
Before the next school year starts, Fairfax County is building a modular unit on a concrete slab next to the playground. Built in North Carolina, the modular unit will be shipped in parts and enter the school grounds via the Nottage Road entrance near the tennis courts. Once completed, it will hold six classrooms and boys and girls bathrooms for next year's sixth graders. Modulars are much nicer than trailers!
Our last newsletter described the new one-way drive that will connect the end of Oak Ridge Road to Westley Road, allowing parents to enter Oak Ridge, drop off students, and leave on Westley. There will be a gate at the Oak Ridge entrance, and it will be open only in the mornings when school is in session. It will not be available for use as a cut-through road.
Have you ever seen the courtyard in the center of the school with its beautiful cherry trees? The school is transforming the area into an outdoor teaching area, and Westlawn residents can help!
Using a grant from the Virginia Department of Agriculture, a pond is being installed with circulating water. The pond will become the home to fish, tadpoles, and turtles. Several gardens will be planted—pumpkin gardens, butterfly gardens, and native Virginia plants. There also will be a Web cam to allow both staff and students to see what is going on in the courtyard without having to go outside.
The school must find private funds for some of these projects, including a flagstone patio area for students to stand on during outdoor classroom sessions. For only $20 each, you can buy one or more flagstones and have your name, your child's name, or your company's name listed on a plaque.
If you are interested in helping out, drop off or mail a check made out to Westlawn PTA along with a short note with your name, address, phone number, and the name you want engraved on the plaque (25 letters maximum). Please put the word "Flagstone" at the top of your note. Contact the school (3200 Westley Road) or email the principal at Kim.Dockery@fcps.edu if you have any questions.
Inside the school, great things are already happening. In the 2003-2004 school year, Westlawn Elementary showed better progress on its standardized test scores than other, more affluent schools in Fairfax County. Indeed, the results were impressive compared to any school in the country!
Success is occurring because of the concept of Equality of Opportunity. The teachers focus on students learning, not on teachers teaching. The guiding philosophy is "Every child is my child." When a student is not performing adequately, the teachers ask "What am I going to do differently if they didn't get it?"
For each grade level, the teachers form teams who plan together and come up with common assignments for their classes. That way, less experienced teachers gain the benefit of the expertise of more senior teachers, experienced teachers gain the benefits of new insights and ideas that newer teachers bring to the table, and the students get all the benefits.
While many schools promote teacher collaboration, Westlawn excels in part because of the training it has provided its teachers. For example, one of the most important skills they have learned is how to disagree. Too bad we all can't take this training!
Enrollment is up, with close to 600 students and 100 staff. Staff from other schools are coming to Westlawn to learn what they are doing to ensure that all students pass their standardized learning tests. Some people have called the school to find out the school boundaries because they are interested in moving to our neighborhood and enrolling their children at Westlawn Elementary.
Hats off to Principal Kim Dockery and her staff for doing such a great job. Let's help them out and buy a flagstone!
Improvements Coming to Westlawn School Facility
by Kim Dockery, Westlawn Principal, April 2005
Westlawn Elementary is scheduled for a much needed upgrade this summer. While the building is not scheduled for renovation until 2013, six of the eight trailers are being replaced with a 6-classroom modular that will contain classrooms, bathrooms for students and teachers, a conference room, and small tech area.
The modular unit will be placed near the playground (in the area currently occupied by a baseball diamond) with a covered walkway leading to the building. This modular unit will house the sixth grade classrooms and specialist classrooms.
The removal of six trailers will allow for a makeover of Westlawn's difficult "Kiss and Ride" facilities. In addition to regaining parking spaces on the north side of the school, the Kiss and Ride will be reconfigured to allow cars to enter on Oak Ridge, drive around the building, and exit up Westley Rd. This will alleviate the difficult situations that occur on Oak Ridge when two-way traffic must navigate a narrow street with cars parked on both sides of the street.
Installation of the modular will begin as school ends in June. This construction will mean that Westlawn's summer school will be held at Falls Church High School. It is expected that the modular, new parking, and improved "Kiss and Ride" will all be complete in time for school opening in September 2005. If you have any questions about these upcoming changes please contact Kim Dockery, Westlawn Principal, at 703-241-5100.
Support Westlawn Elementary Students
by Janet Sims, January 2004
There are a number of convenient ways in which you can help the Westlawn PTA earn money to pay for field trips, assemblies, etc. If you like to shop on-line, go to www.schoolpop.com and register to help Westlawn School. Then do your shopping through the site. A percentage of your purchases will be donated to Westlawn. Many area stores support schools such as Giant, Safeway, and Target. Please register at these stores to support Westlawn Elementary.
Also, collecting General Mills Boxtops for Education is fast and easy. Simply cut out the boxtops and give them to an elementary student to turn in at school. Westlawn receives 10 cents for each boxtop collected. Thank you for supporting our students!
Tutoring at Westlawn Elementary
By Miriam Dewhurst
Westlawn residents are invited to participate in the tutoring program that takes place on Monday afternoons (2:45-3:45) and evenings (7-8) at Westlawn Elementary School. This program meets in the school cafeteria and is in its eighth year. Tutors are teachers, parents, middle and high school students, and members of the community who volunteer an hour a week to help one or more students with homework and reading and math skills.
Tutors give their time, attention and expertise, and in return they receive the satisfaction of helping a child learn and the pleasure of spending time with some really great kids. New tutors are always welcome. For more information, please call Miriam Dewhurst at 703-560-0871.
Labels for Westlawn School
By Kelly Lesperance
Westlawn Elementary School is collecting Giant and Safeway receipts, General Mills "Box Tops for Education" and labels from Campbell's products. The school plans to purchase computer products, playground equipment and other school supplies. Help support our schools and children by giving any of these to local students or dropping them off at Westlawn.
Crossing Guards--We Need You!
By Betty Drexler
The Police are in need of men and women who would be interested in part-time employment in a rewarding job serving as school crossing guards in the Mason District. Do you know someone who has time on their hands and would like to earn a little extra money? This could include someone who has children in school and a few hours a day that they could devote to helping both the police and their purses. It might be someone who has retired and would like to stay active. If you or someone you know meet these requirements, call Lieutenant Ed Roessler at 256-8035 to learn more about the duties, hours required, and compensation. Both training and uniforms are provided for those meeting the requirements.
Westlawn Elementary Updates
By Janet Sims, September 2003
Westlawn Elementary has recently hired Ms. Kim Dockery as its new principal. Ms. Dockery comes from Haycock Elementary in Falls Church, where she was vice-principal for three years. She has extensive experience as a classroom teacher and in special education. Please welcome Ms. Dockery into our community as she leads our children and the Westlawn staff into the future.
If the Facilities Bond is passed this coming November, Westlawn Elementary's external, detached trailer classrooms will be replaced with an attached, modular unit. This would enable students to move back and forth from their classrooms to other instructional areas without having to go outdoors-especially beneficial during inclement weather.
Westlawn Elementary Celebrates 50 Years
By Janet Sims, September 2002
A guinea pig loose in the hallway... a conga line of "raisins" chirping "Heard it Through the Grape-vine"... a governor's commendation for outstanding academic achievement... students raising the flag for the first time in September 1952... These are a few memories of Westlawn Elementary.
To commemorate Westlawn's 50th Anniversary, a community Fun Fair will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2002, from 11:00 to 3:00. Everyone is invited to attend and celebrate the anniversary of a genuine neighborhood school.
Trashing Westlawn Park
By Dave Conway, September 2002
Unauthorized soccer leagues have been plaguing the county park system, and Westlawn is no exception. On one weekend afternoon in early September, for example, over 300 people-soccer players, family, and friends-descended on our park. What they left behind was outrageous: broken whiskey bottles, used condoms in the parking lot, and trash all over the playground, the field, and behind the trees surrounding the field. Their playing also has helped to destroy much of the reseeding that took place last year to restore the fields.
Every Monday morning, the janitorial staff at Westlawn Elementary must do what it can to clean up the debris after these unauthorized weekend games. They can't catch everything, and kids are finding things like small clear vials in the playground. While these vials apparently held candy, the kids think they were used for drugs!
The soccer league in question knew that it was not approved to play at Westlawn, but that did not stop them. Nobody is authorized to use Westlawn Park for adult soccer league games. The county plans to deal with this problem in several ways:
The entrance to the school parking lot will be closed over the weekends.
New signs will be placed around the park indicating that anyone using the fields without approval is subject to prosecution.
If you see any adult soccer games on the fields during the weekends, please call the police non-emergency number at 703-691-2131. The police need our help in notifying them as soon as possible, and they will take action.
The park is intended to serve the school and our community. It's a great place to kick around a soccer ball, toss a football or baseball, throw a Frisbee, or fly a kite on the weekends. It is not a place for organized adult sports. Let's help keep it that way.
Westlawn Elementary Updates
By Janet Sims, April 2002
Westlawn Elementary School will hold its Kindergarten open house and early registration on May 2, 2002, at 7:00 p.m. Children turning five prior to 9/30/2002 and their parents are welcome to attend. The open house provides an excellent opportunity to explore the classrooms, meet the teachers and obtain information regarding the kindergarten curriculum.
Westlawn Elementary School will celebrate its 50th anniversary this September. A mailing list is being developed for any past students or parents interested in attending this event. Anyone interested in being on the mailing list or planning for this celebration, please contact Janet Sims by email at smshouse@erols.com or by phone at 703-207-3098.
Area Schools Improve Scores
By Dave Conway, January 2002
Westlawn Elementary, Luther Jackson Middle, and Falls Church High all showed dramatic improvements in their Standards of Learning (SOL) scores from tests taken last spring.
Falls Church High School increased pass rates in 10 of 11 reported testing areas, including significant increases in chemistry pass rates.
Luther Jackson Middle School increased pass rates in four of the five reported testing areas.
Westlawn Elementary School had gains in each of the nine testing areas compared to 2000 scores, resulting in full accreditation by the Virginia Department of Education for 2001.
Schools like Westlawn with extended learning time are, in some cases, also paying teachers more, have smaller classes, and have a computer-assisted reading program, among other extras. It all helps, according to Jean Hall, the principal at Westlawn, but she believes the most important factor is simply having more time for learning.
At Westlawn Elementary, time for student learning has increased in several ways. The school implemented a uniform school day by extending Mondays and extending every school day by a half hour. The PTA provides tutoring on Monday afternoons and evenings. Westlawn conducted a 12-week after-school SOL recovery program and offered remediation classes through a summer school program. The school also has had full-day kindergarten for the last several years.
Falls Church High School Gets an Early Start
By Dave Conway, June 2001
In a change from previous years, Falls Church High School will begin two weeks early on 20 August 2001 and end two weeks early in early June 2002. Practice for extracurricular activities like sports and marching band will begin in early August.
The change will give the school two extra weeks of teaching before the Standards of Learning tests in May. It also will lengthen the first grading quarter, which typically gets off to a slow start. The fourth quarter will be two weeks shorter, but the lost time comes after the SOL tests are completed and should not impact fourth-quarter grades.
Westlawn School Updates
By Dr. Jean Hall, Principal, April 2001
This spring, Westlawn Elementary is offering an after school remediation program for grades 3, 4, and 5 on Mondays and Tuesdays after school. The curriculum is entitled "Soaring with Success" and concentrates on helping students to become better readers. Teachers are learning new strategies for teaching reading and math, and the courses will include pre and post tests. Teachers also will use new board games that have questions similar in content to the Standards of Learning exams so that students can review important material in a fun way.
This summer, the school will offer a five-week summer school program for remedial reading and enrichment in language arts and math. Referrals will be made to students in grades 3, 4, and 5 who need the extra help, but the summer school classes are open to all interested students who already attend Westlawn. Teachers from Westlawn will teach the classes, which hopefully will each be 12 students or less in the special reading classes.
Parking at Westlawn School
By Dave Conway, November 2000
The Fairfax County school system was unable to come up with a way to increase parking at Westlawn Elementary. (It's easy to see how the tennis courts block any chance of extending Nottage Lane to create a parking area on the south side of the park.) Please do not hesitate to call someone at the school if you live on Oakridge, Westley, or Weston Roads and are having daytime parking problems because of the school. Also, I would appreciate it if you would keep me informed as well.
Westlawn Park Update
By Dave Conway, September 2000
The Westlawn Park mudpatch is once again a grassy field! Fairfax County, working with the Little River Soccer League, regraded the field and planted grass seed over the summer. They also fixed the beat-up baseball infield that adjoined the soccer field, and they replaced one of the two missing nets on the tennis courts. With the exception of the large cracks and missing net on the tennis courts, Westlawn Park has never been in better shape!
All is not well, however. Many groups use the park over the weekends, and they leave a mess for the school custodians on Monday mornings-dirty diapers, beer bottles, and a variety of other filthy and disgusting trash. The park has no toilet facilities, but that doesn't stop some people from urinating behind the trailers on both sides of the school. Yuck!
The Westlawn Civic Association will work with the school to see if there is a way to place one or two new trashcans around the park in places where the trash tends to accumulate the worst. If you see anyone drinking beer or relieving themselves at the park or school, please call the police non-emergency number at 703-691-2131. It's great to see the park being used, but not abused.
No Year-Round School at Westlawn
By Dave Conway, June 2000
Earlier this school year, the staff at Westlawn Elementary began to investigate the option of year-round school as a way to improve the education of students at the school. At the outset, the staff voted that they would not pursue the issue if less than 70% of the staff approved of this option.
After many meetings and discussions, a vote was held last April. The staff did not support the move to a modified school calendar. Even if the staff had supported the concept of year-round school, the majority of parents of students at Westlawn would have had to support the move as well.
For the foreseeable future, Westlawn Elementary will continue on the traditional school calendar withl full-day Kindergarten and Monday hours. Plans are under way for summer school to be offered at the school for Westlawn students only next summer. The summer program would include remediation for students who did not pass the SOL tests during the 2000-2001 year.
Parking at Westlawn School
By Dave Conway, June 2000
The elimination of parking spaces last year by the addition of an outside trailer has caused daytime parking problems on Oakridge, Westley, and Weston Roads. As enrollment increases next year, more teachers than ever will be parking at Westlawn Elementary. If nothing is done, parking will be woefully inadequate next year.
The fact is, the school staff and volunteers have to park somewhere, and the only place they can go now is to spill over into the neighborhood. They are just as unhappy about the situation as the nearby residents are, and the principal is working hard to do something about it.
Dr. Hall has repeatedly asked the school administration to find a way to increase parking on the school property. There are limited options to add a significant number of new parking spaces. The situation also is complicated by the fact that much of the area east of the school parking lot is owned by the Parks Department.
Residents are welcome to call our school board member Kaye Kory at 703-246-4785 or e-mail board@burkholder.fcps.k12.va.us to express your concerns.
What's the Deal About Year-Round School at Westlawn?
By Dave Conway, April 2000
Year-round school is an option that teachers and administrators at Westlawn Elementary are actively exploring, with the possibility of starting in the 2001 school year. Despite an exceptionally skilled and experienced staff, our school has some of the lowest test scores in the county. There are many reasons for these low scores, including mobility, poverty levels, and the high number of children who speak other languages as their primary language.
Teachers at Westlawn will vote at the end of April. If most of the teachers are in favor of the year-round calendar, then the parents will vote in November of 2000. If most parents are in favor, then the school would move to the new calendar in August of 2001. In this modified calendar:
The students would have the same number of required school days as they had before.
The students would have the same holidays off as in other schools, including winter holiday and spring holiday breaks.
The summer break would be only five weeks long, during the month of July, but three two-week breaks would be added during the year-mid October, early January (after winter break), and early April (before spring break).
For just the cost of supplies (around $25 each session), students could go to school during the two-week breaks and attend special classes called intersessions, with the same SACC and bus schedule, but students would have to bring their lunch.
Students can choose from a variety of classes to attend during intercessions.
At Timberlane School, statistics show that about 80% of the students attend intersessions. These intersessions help struggling students to catch up in areas where they have fallen behind, and other students learn more about things not taught during the normal school year or just have fun with a break from the usual schedule!
The goal of the program is "continuous learning" to avoid the loss over the 10-week summer, requiring a lot of time at the beginning of each year just to relearn last year's subjects.
The downsides of year-round school all have to do with schedule. The intersessions are essential for keeping the children learning during the two-week breaks. The biggest issue is summer, where childcare and vacation schedules will be different. Monday afternoons are another issue, as Westlawn would have to go back to early Monday dismissals. All-day kindergarten would remain unchanged.
In November 2000, parents of Westlawn students will vote on whether to adopt year-round school for the following year. Between now and then, parents will have plenty of opportunities to discuss and evaluate the issues. The new program would be adopted only if at least 70% of the voting parents approve of it. Such a high percentage was chosen to ensure that a major change like year-round school had strong, enthusiastic support from the parents.
Westlawn Elementary Kicks Off A New School Year
By Dave Conway, September 1999
The kids are back in school, with a number of exciting changes starting this year. Westlawn is one of 20 elementary schools that has full-day Kindergarten and no early release on Mondays. The students seem to have adapted well to the changes.
To accommodate full-day Kindergarten, the school needed more classrooms. The solution was to add trailers in the parking lot next to the library. Most of the second grade classes meet in these new trailers, which have nice interiors but no plumbing connections. The biggest downside is the loss of precious parking spaces!
Stay tuned for the next issue of Westlawn News where you will find out more about a new reading program that promises to produce dramatic improvements in students' reading retention.
Westlawn is Selected for Project Excel
By Dr. Jean Hall, Principal, July 1999
Dr. Daniel Domenech has proposed a plan called Project Excel to give students in certain schools more time to learn. Westlawn Elementary School has been selected as an Excel School. In his proposal, the 20 Project Excel schools in Fairfax County will receive $8.5 million in staffing, computer equipment, resources and curriculum innovations in order to raise student achievement.
For Westlawn, this means several important changes for our school in September of 1999:
Our Kindergarten students will come to school for a full day instead of a half-day, with a maximum of 24 students per class.
All our students will receive a full day of instruction on Mondays. (Other Fairfax County elementary schools will continue to release students at noon on Mondays.)
Our Kindergarten and first grade students will receive systematic instruction in phonics that will help them to learn to read.
Our teachers will work extra time each day and will receive staff development in selected new curriculum options.
Westlawn will also receive at least 40 new computers during the coming school year.
The goal of the program is to raise achievement test scores and improve learning. Our hope is to raise test scores over the next three-year period. Dr. Domenech is putting together a task force in September to help each school to set goals and monitor students' progress towards those goals. The task force will include teachers, administrators, parents and community members.
We are excited about being selected for Project Excel. Please call the school office if you would like to volunteer in September to help with this important project. The telephone number is 533-3613.
We appreciate the continued support of the Westlawn community!
What's Happening at Westlawn Elementary
By Dr. Jean Hall, Principal, April 1999
Westlawn Elementary School is having a fantastic year! Our students are enjoying their outstanding teachers. A significant number of parents are very involved in classroom and school activities. Our PTA supports many school functions such as field trips and assemblies. All of this effort means that our students are enjoying learning.
A new approach to research was implemented two years ago. Students at every grade level engage in a five-week research project on a curriculum topic of their choice. During that time, the classroom teacher, the librarian, the computer teacher and the reading teacher help each child to formulate an outline for the topic they will study. Students use books, CD-ROMs, computer software, videodiscs, and the Internet to find information about their topics. Each child is then required to create a final project to share the information. All student projects will be on display during an open house on May 18 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Parents and community members are invited to come to school to see this fabulous student work. Students will be available to discuss their projects with visitors.
During the past two years, we purchased new classroom furniture, installed a new playground, and renovated the office. In addition, we have two Parent Liaisons who speak Spanish and Vietnamese. Please stop by to see us! We're so proud of our school!
Westlawn Elementary Off to a Good Start
By Dave Conway, February 1999
Results are in for the first round of tests for Virginia's new Standards of Learning (SOL), and Westlawn Elementary School did well! The first round of tests in the state were intended to collect baseline data on where the schools stand before they had a chance to tailor their instruction to the SOL standards.
To nobody's surprise, few schools in Virginia are already to the point where the students' scores meet the SOL standards. Westlawn Elementary's scores were comparable to other schools in the greater Falls Church/McLean area of Fairfax County. All the schools are working to modify their curriculum to better address the SOL areas most in need of improvement. More on this later.