Map to Westfield Elementary School
Commonly Asked Questions and Answers About Westfield Elementary Procedures, Routines, and Rules
Welcome to Westfield Elementary School. If you are a first time Westfield parent, or if you have children who have previously attended Westfield, you may have some general questions about the procedures, rules and routines we follow. For more information about any of the topics listed below, please call the Westfield Office at 447-3350.
What time does school start and end? School begins at 8:45 a.m. and dismisses at 3:30 p.m. Students are allowed to enter the building at
8:25 a.m.
When should students arrive at school? Students are encouraged to arrive between 8:25 and 8:40 a.m. Students who arrive before 8:25 are asked to wait in the entryway by the Multipurpose Room until 8:25. Staff members are in the halls before school to welcome children to Westfield. (During the first few days we assign extra staff members to help all our new kindergarten students.)
How are students dismissed? Students who ride home from school in cars are dismissed at 3:30 p.m. Car riders leave the building through the east front doors (by the office). To help ensure the safety of our students, we ask parents to please only pick children up from school on the east side of the building. We also ask that car riders be dropped off at that same door in the morning. Students who ride home from school on a bus are dismissed as soon as the buses arrive at Westfield - approximately 3:30. (Westfield staff members escort all bus students to the buses.)
If my child rides the bus? Typically, bus assignments are mailed out or distributed at Registration. It would be very helpful for your son or daughter to know his/her bus number on the first day of school. Brian Cruise, Transportation Director, has also asked that you please go over the bus rules with your child(ren) prior to the start of the school year. (Bus rules are included in the “Back to School” packet.) Bus assignments are based on your residence. If you have any questions about special situations, please call Brian at 447-3031.
Can I visit my child’s classroom? You are always welcome to visit Westfield. To help coordinate your visit with music, gym, art, counseling and library schedules and to minimize classroom disruptions, we ask that you communicate with your child’s teacher to determine the best time for your visit. For safety reasons, all visitors need to check in at the office. To minimize classroom disruptions, if you have something that needs to be delivered to your child, please leave it in the office and we will make sure your child receives it.
Can I volunteer in my child’s classroom? You are more than welcome and encouraged to volunteer. If you have time, but cannot make it to school, we also appreciate at home volunteers to help with cutting, coloring, etc. Teachers ask for parent volunteers at the beginning of each school year. All volunteers need to complete the district volunteer registration process.
How do we know what is being served for lunch? Monthly lunch menus are sent home with students. You can also view current menus by visiting the Linn-Mar website at www.linnmar.k12.ia.us and following the Hot Link, Menus. The lunch menu is also a good reminder of days when school is not is session.
What does school lunch cost? Student school lunch costs $2.15 each and includes one carton of milk. Milk for cold lunch costs 40 cents per carton. A family lunch account is opened for every family with students who buy school lunch or milk. You do not need to send lunch money in with each of your children; the money you put in the lunch account is shared with all children in the family. Each student is given a lunch card to charge their meal to the family lunch account. With their parent’s permission, 4th and 5th grade students can purchase an extra serving of the main dish for $1.30. Permission slips will be sent home with students after school begins. Extra main needs to be paid for, even if your child receives free or reduced lunch.
Can I eat lunch at school with my child? You are welcome to eat lunch at school with your child at any time. Once again, we request that you please let your child’s teacher and the office know of your plans. It would be very helpful if you would let the office know by 9:00 a.m. on the morning that you plan to come to school. The cooks in the kitchen need to know how much food to prepare. If you are not going to be eating the school’s hot lunch, please bring a sack lunch from home. Please do not bring a lunch from a fast food restaurant such as McDonalds or Burger King, Subway, Panera, etc.
What are the details for breakfast at school? Breakfast costs $1.45 and is served in the Multipurpose Room at 8:25 a.m. The cost of each breakfast is charged to the student’s lunch account.
Can my child celebrate his/her birthday or half birthday at school? Many children celebrate their birthdays at school. A common practice is for the birthday child to bring treats for the entire class. If your son or daughter has a summer birthday, he/she is welcome to celebrate his/her half-birthday at school. Every morning we announce the names of Westfield students who have birthdays or half birthdays. Please do not send party invitations to school unless you invite all the classroom’s boys if your child is a boy or all of the girls if your child is a girl. Please do not have flowers or balloons delivered to school because they disrupt class and they cannot be taken home on the bus.
What should I do if my son or daughter is going to be absent, late to school, or leave school early? If your child is going to be late to school, or absent from school due to an illness, please call 447-3356. We will ask for your child’s name, his/her teacher and the nature of the absence. If your child is absent from school (e.g. illness, appointment, out of town, etc.) and we do not hear from you, it is our practice to call home/work to double check the nature of the absence. It would be greatly appreciated if parents could also send a note to the classroom teacher when a child needs to leave school early.
How much are Westfield’s materials fees and what are they used for? Materials fees are $45.00 per child. We use this money for a variety of things - art supplies for children to use during art class, construction paper and art supplies for classroom projects, and materials for science projects and experiments. Registration money is spent during the current school year on materials your child(ren) use each year.
After School Arrangements
It’s very important that your child’s teacher has accurate information about their after school arrangements. Please make sure they know if your child will ride the bus, be a car rider, go to Kids, Inc., etc. Additionally, teachers need to be notified of any changes from your child’s regular after school arrangements. Please send a note or call the office at your earliest convenience to notify us of any changes. Teachers will not make a change based only upon your child’s notification because we have found that children can sometimes be confused about changes to their usual routines.
How will I know if the start of the school day is going to be delayed or school will be let out early due to weather? Due to inclement weather, school may start late, be dismissed early, or not be in session at all. The Linn-Mar School District includes a number of country bus routes. The weather may look okay in town but it may be unsafe to pick up students on country routes. We are not able to telephone parents to let them know when we are having an early dismissal. Please check local television, radio stations and their websites for current information on school closings/delays/early dismissals.
How does my child’s teacher know where my child should go in the event of an early dismissal? It is very important that your child’s teacher and the Westfield office staff know where each and every Westfield student is to go in the event of an unexpected or planned early dismissal. All Westfield families have been asked to provide us with this information on the Registration Card. The office provides teachers with this information. Please notify the Westfield office staff if this information changes.
How is information sent home? In an effort to reduce the amount of paper we send home, Westfield sends information/flyers home with only one child in “Family Folders.” Every Thursday or Friday, newsletters, menus, flyers…..etc. are stapled together and sent home with the oldest child in each family. In addition, the office composes a monthly newsletter that can be downloaded from our website at www.linnmar.k12.ia.us/schools/westfield/Westweb/Newsletters.html. Calendar changes can be found in our monthly newsletter.
Help me understand the school calendar?
What are Teacher Work days? Teacher work days are scheduled throughout the year. Depending on the time of year, these days are used by teachers to get their classrooms ready for the beginning of the school year, to prepare for parent teacher conferences, or to organize classrooms for the summer.
What are Staff Development Days? Professional Development days are scheduled district-wide learning opportunities for the Linn-Mar staff. These opportunities range from attending educational conferences, to learning new computer skills, to analyzing data to help us determine how we are doing at meeting our building and district goals.
What are Teacher Comp Days? Since teachers work evenings for parent/teacher conferences, they are given compensation days.
What is a conference window? At two scheduled times during the school year, teachers at Westfield hold parent/teacher conferences. Conferences are held during a two-week period. This two-week time frame is called a conference window. Conferences are scheduled to take place during the midpoint of the first trimester and at the end of the second trimester. However, if at any time during the school year parents have school related questions and/or concerns, they are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher. Please do not wait until a scheduled conference to have your questions answered. Westfield will identify two common nights for conferences. The majority of conferences will be held on these nights.
We hope that we have been able to answer your questions. We look forward to working with you to help provide your child(ren) with the best possible education. Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions and/or concerns. Once again, the Westfield Elementary School telephone number is 447-3350.
Westfield Elementary
901 E. Main St. NE
Robins, IA 52328
Principal: Ed Rogers
(319) 447-3350
