Westfield Academy and Central School

WACS Middle and High School Material Pick-Up Information regarding material pick-up for students can be found at https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/883435/WACS_MSHS_Sept_2020_Material_Pick_up.pdf

Safety is the top priority for our District. Check out some of the additions to our building to keep our students and staff healthy and safe as we return to school.

2019-2020 Kindergarten Drive Through Graduation

The Board of Education meeting on Monday, August 24th is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Please click on the link below to view the meeting. We are able to accommodate 5 in person guests. Please contact Mrs. Julia Murphy at 326-2151 for details. Social distancing and face coverings are required. https://ensemble.e2ccb.org/hapi/v1/contents/permalinks/westfield/view

Schedule Information

Middle and High School schedules will be available through PowerSchool Portal on Friday at 3pm. In addition, information about the 2020-2021 including high school drop/add dates are on PowerSchool and our website. If you need a copy of schedule or have a question about Powerschool Portal, please contact the Guidance Dept ASAP.

August 26th - Class of 2021 Senior Portraits!

Today marks the end of our Summer School program. Thank you to our students, staff and families that worked hard to make this such a fun, safe and successful six weeks for our students. We are so very proud of you all. #westfieldstrong

WACS is hosting additional PARENT/GUARDIAN meetings via Zoom to discuss plans for September. Please see the information below for more information about what is being covered at these meetings, as well as how to register. Each of the meetings will cover the same agenda/discussion items as listed below: • Provide and clarify direction for families who are interested in the 100% remote learning option. • Provide direction on hybrid or 100% in-person learning for families who are not interested in the 100% remote learning option. • Provide an overview of our plans as previously presented at our family Zoom meetings including highlights of changes that have been made to our plans. • Q and A with families. We will use the Zoom chat function to answer questions during the presentation. To Register: • Please contact Mrs. Tina Winslow at twinslow@westfieldcsd.org. In your email, please indicate your name, your child’s name/grade level and any questions that you would like answered at the meeting. o Tuesday, August 18 at 8:00 a.m. o Tuesday, August 18 at 1:00 p.m. o Tuesday, August 18 at 5:00 p.m. PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING REMINDER/CLARIFICATION: WACS is offering a 100% remote learning option for families who do not want their children to attend in-person schooling. If you wish to sign your child up for the 100% remote learning option, please click on the link below or call your child’s principal at 716-326-2151 so we can plan accordingly. Please only click on the link below to indicate if you are choosing 100% remote learning for your child. The deadline to complete the form has been extended to 5:00 p.m. on August 19th. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXG5QJlabbFo5_E3dUuqVEoFl5tMJy8jdOcTahAYS7eryC1g/viewform #Wolverinepride #thankyouwacsfamilies

Dear Westfield Parents and Guardians, Thank you for your feedback, questions and information shared throughout the past few weeks. Governor Andrew Cuomo, the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the NYS Education Department (NYSED) released detailed health and safety guidance for reopening schools; specifically, mandating that students be six (6) feet apart and wear face coverings in classrooms. As a result of the Governor's guidance on social distancing, we are working on a model that permits the greatest number of students to attend school as safely as possible. As we enter into the final stages of planning for the 2020-2021 school year, we are requesting some additional information from you related to your plans to pursue the option of remote learning. Specifically, we have developed an online survey for you to complete in order to indicate your plans to opt-in to WACS remote learning for the upcoming school year. The link for the survey is below. Once completed, a representative from our school will be in contact with you in the coming days to begin coordinating your child’s educational details for 2020-20201. Please submit a separate survey for each child in your household by Friday, August 14, 2020. It is important for us to hear from every family interested in remote learning so we can best prepare for our in-person enrollment. We thank you for your continued support as we strive to balance maximizing student learning in a safe and healthy environment. As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions that may arise. SURVEY LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXG5QJlabbFo5_E3dUuqVEoFl5tMJy8jdOcTahAYS7eryC1g/viewform Sincerely, Michael Cipolla Superintendent of Schools

Good evening WACS school community: NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that schools may return to in-person learning in September. His announcement permits school districts to make the determination about how to open school buildings in September. We will continue the planning process which will include updating our plans for September. These updated plans will be communicated to you in the very near future. There will be additional meetings scheduled with our families and staff to review the updated plans and to gain further input. Please stay tuned for further information. The safety of our students and staff will remain our number one priority as we continue to work through this process. Have a wonderful weekend.

A lot of great learning is happening this summer!

Good morning Westfield, We are holding two virtual parent/guardian Zoom meetings to review the district’s opening plan for September. Meeting Times: Thursday, August 6 at 8:00 a.m. Thursday, August 6 at 6:00 p.m. To Participate: Email Mrs. Tina Winslow at twinslow@westfieldcsd.org to register and receive the link. Please be sure to include in your email the time you would like to attend. Additional Information: We will use the chat feature in Zoom to answer questions during the presentation. Additional questions should be sent to michaelcipolla@westfieldcsd.org. We look forward to seeing you Thursday!

Good afternoon WACS Families: Our District reopening plan is now posted and can be viewed below. As September approaches, we will continue to use our plan as a foundation for discussion and be certain to make any necessary revisions along the way. We invite you to join our next Board of Education meeting, virtually, on Monday, August 3 at 7:00 pm. At this meeting, a presentation will be made to our Board of Education and the Westfield Community about our plans for reopening. You may view the meeting by using the link below. Additionally, we are scheduling Zoom meetings for WACS families to discuss the details, procedures of our plans and answer any questions. Meeting dates and times will be shared in the near future. Our governor plans on announcing a direction for NY schools and reopening by August 7, 2020. We will continue to keep you updated and will make the necessary changes to our plans as the situation evolves. We are appreciative of your continued support, feedback and patience as we work through this process. VIEW our Reopening Plan: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:34763883-3e5d-4e9d-bab2-ce1b7f215c97 VIEW our BOE Meeting: https://ensemble.e2ccb.org/hapi/v1/contents/permalinks/westfield/view

This link will take you to a document that contains a compilation of questions and the District's answers from the six Re-Opening Parent Meetings that were held on Zoom. The District Plan that is referenced will be shared tomorrow. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JGbfi5AfCdHNRzXabUuCY7adWA4nFfBpzwrGqfqQitU/edit?usp=sharing

Good morning Westfield! We would like to provide clarification in response to the article posted in today's edition of The Observer. The article explored the topic of school resource officers in our county. WACS indeed has a fully funded school resource officer in partnership with the Westfield Police Department for the 2020-2021 school year. This position provides support to our school community and our students. Have a wonderful weekend WACS.

Good evening WACS, We are sharing the guidance below as a follow-up to our parent/guardian meetings. This week, the New York State Education Department released guidance on the reopening of schools in September. We are in the planning phases and will continue to keep you updated on our progress. Have a wonderful weekend! July 16, 2020 http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/reopening-schools/nys-p12-school-reopening-guidance.pdf July 13, 2020 https://www.regents.nysed.gov/common/regents/files/2.%20Recovering%2C%20Rebuilding%2C%20and%20Renewing%20the%20Spirit%20of%20Our%20Schools%20School%20Reopening%20Guidance.pdf

Please see below for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association's announcement of changes to school athletics, including the delay of fall sports seasons. You may want to visit their website for more information. http://www.nysphsaa.org/

We apologize that our live-feed connection is unstable this evening, preventing us from streaming the Board of Education meeting live at this time. The meeting is being recorded and will be posted at the conclusion of tonight's meeting.

Congratulations to Westfield's first two Seal of Biliteracy Graduates, Katie Bodenmiller and Eliora Brown. This prestigious program is formal recognition of students who have studied and attained a high level of proficiency in two or more languages (English plus a Foreign Language) by high school graduation. This program requires students to complete a portfolio of carefully designed tasks that allow them to demonstrate their proficiency, and culminates in a formal presentation of their research in both languages to a bilingual panel. Westfield is one of only a handful of schools across the region to offer this honors program to students and we are so proud of our recipients and their dedication to this honor. Congratulations to the senior recipients, Katie Bodenmiller and Eliora Brown, and to the junior recipients, Emma Heim and Elber Lopez Hernandez.