Dear Westview Hills Families,

We continue to strive to make Westview Hills a community where students want to be every day. As we enter the third trimester, we need your continued support to ensure students are attending school daily and follow the expectations of being responsible, respectful, and ready to learn.

As a reminder, spring break is March 31–April 4, and the first day back is April 7. We kindly ask that you plan family vacations during this time to minimize absences.

As we begin the third trimester, we would also like to remind everyone of the importance of coming to school on time. Being on time and prepared for school is essential for student success. Arriving promptly ensures that students do not miss important instruction, allowing them to stay engaged and keep up with their lessons. Punctuality helps foster responsibility and good habits that extend beyond the classroom into future academic and professional settings. Additionally, arriving on time minimizes disruptions, creating a more focused and productive learning environment for all students. Consistently being punctual sets a positive tone for the day, helping students feel more organized, confident, and ready to learn.

School doors open at 7:30, and students need to be in their classrooms by 7:45.

As we enter the third trimester, we ask our Wildcat families to ensure their students have all the necessary supplies. Please make sure your student still has the following items:

1. Dry erase markers

2. Pencils and pens

3. Erasers

4. Highlighters

WHMS Boys’ and Girls’ Track & Field Assistant Coach

Start Date: March 24, 2024

End Date:  May 24, 2025  

Timeframe: Practices will be held from 2:30 – 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at Westview Hills. Meets will be held throughout the season typically starting at 4:15 or 4:30 p.m.

We have 3 Community-based initiatives that we want to share with you:

1. Maercker D60 is kicking off a career series with the goal of introducing students from Kindergarten through 8th grade to a variety of career paths to spark their interests.

2. Westview Hills is excited to kick off "student incentive days" as a way to reward our students for meeting expectations. During these days, the last hour of school will be dedicated to fun activities such as Bingo, sports, and karaoke.

3. In partnership with the PTA, we are seeking community volunteers who are interested in leading or facilitating an activity for a potential community day. Possible activities include craft workshops, cooking demonstrations, fitness classes, or any other engaging presentations or demonstrations.

If you are interested please complete the form here

As part of our commitment to student safety and well-being, we will be implementing Erin’s Law presentations in the coming weeks. Erin’s Law is a state-mandated program designed to educate students on personal body safety, empowering them with knowledge about safe and unsafe touches, recognizing unsafe situations, and identifying trusted adults they can turn to for help.

Presenters from the YWCA will be leading these age-appropriate presentations in a supportive and informative manner. Presentations for all grades will take place over two days in ELA class. The goal is to equip our students with the tools they need to stay safe while fostering open communication about this important topic. Please see specific information about each grade levels presentation below.

6th grade - Shifting Boundaries - Handout - Parent Presentation Password: WHSBE2025

7th grade - Teens Taking Charge - Handout - Parent Presentation Password: WHTTCE2025

8th grade - Safe Dates - Handout - Parent Presentation Password: WHSaDE2025

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) will be given to every District 60 student in grades 3-8. The IAR is designed to measure a student’s progress toward mastering the New Illinois Learning Standards. Teachers use the results of this and other assessments to help tailor instruction to your child’s specific learning needs, and to help prepare students for college and careers.

School leaders have developed testing schedules to meet the needs of their individual buildings. This year, IAR will consist of three units of Math and two units of English/Language Arts assessments. Make-up tests will be administered as needed.

Testing Schedule

We will be testing on Monday, March 17, Tuesday March 18, and Wednesday, March 19.  

Students will take one ELA test and one math on Monday, and Tuesday and one math test on Wednesday.

Most students in District 60 will take the test using Chromebooks. Students should bring their own wired (not wireless) headphones or earbuds to school on testing days, as some parts of the assessment include audio/video elements. We are also asking for students to make sure to fully charge their Chromebooks the night before and to bring their Chromebook chargers for the testing days. When students have finished interacting with the test, they may read a school-appropriate book or magazine, or work on homework that is not related to the subject area being tested that day.  

Parents can help their students by:

• Encouraging them to stay positive and do their best on these assessments

• Making sure they get a good night’s sleep before testing

• Eating a good breakfast each morning

• Ensuring that students arrive at school on time

All public schools in Illinois are required by state and federal laws to administer the Illinois Assessment of Readiness. You may contact the Illinois State Board of Education’s Assessment Division with questions about this mandate toll-free at 866-317-6034.

The adolescent years are marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions – difficult for students, their parents and educators. It is easy to misinterpret depression as “normal” adolescent moodiness; however, depression (among the most common of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age. Depression – which is treatable – is a leading risk factor for suicide. In addition, self-injury has become a growing problem among youth.

To proactively address these issues, Westview Hills Middle School is offering depression awareness and suicide prevention training as part of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program. The program aims to increase help-seeking behaviors among students concerned about themselves or a friend. Listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, the SOS program showed a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40-64% in randomized control studies (Aseltine et al., 2007 & Schilling et al., 2016).

Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:

• To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness

• To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression

• To provide students with the training on how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in themselves or a friend

• To impress upon youth that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns

• To help students know whom in the school they can turn to for help, if they need it

This program will be presented to all 8th graders on  Tuesday, January 14, 2025, all  7th graders on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, and all  6th graders on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. The SOS program is brought to us by Elyssa’s Mission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention. Elyssa’s Mission is the only organization in the state of Illinois to fund, distribute and implement SOS. To get more information on suicide prevention, visit their website at www.elyssasmission.org. Make sure to view their online Parent Presentation 

at https://elyssasmission.org/for-parents/ for specific information on warning signs and how to keep your child safe.  We also encourage you to visit www.sossignsofsuicide.org/parent for information on warning signs for youth suicide, useful resources, and some of the key messages students will learn. 

As part of the program, facilitators will show SOS video clips and lead students in discussion. Students will then complete a brief depression screener as well as fill out a Response Card indicating whether or not they would like to speak to an adult about themselves or a friend. The depression screening tool addresses thoughts and feelings which a parent may be unaware their child is having. This tool does not provide a diagnosis of depression, but rather alerts school staff to those students requiring further investigation. School mental health staff or a qualified community mental health partner will be available to meet with designated students; school staff will subsequently notify parents/guardians regarding any needed next steps.

If you have any questions and/or do not want your child to participate in the SOS program, please contact me via email at ascott@maercker.org by January 10. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. Let's all work together to have a great school year full of learning, collaboration, and growth!

Dr. Allister Scott
Principal Westview Hills Middle School
(630) 515 4884