**December WESS PA Meeting and Holiday Cookie Party**  

In Person Wednesday, December 18th, 8:45 AM

NO SCHOOL: Mon Dec 23 through Wed Jan 1, Winter Recess

Middle School Parent Social: Thurs Jan 16th at Blondies 7-9 PM

NO SCHOOL: Mon Jan 20th, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

NO SCHOOL: Wed Jan 29th, Lunar New Year

High School Parent Social: Thurs Jan 30th at Blondies 7-9 PM

**SAVE The DATE**

WESS Spring Benefit Fundraiser: Thursday, March 27th

**We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season. We hope the season brings love, light, and peace to all.**

On Friday, December 13th WESS will hold its annual EL College & Career March. The March is a deeply meaningful event that we are proud to participate in. It provides an opportunity for our 12th grade students to celebrate all the hard work they have put into their postsecondary planning, and mail letters to express gratitude to people who have supported them on this journey. By participating across all grades, WESS students immerse themselves in the contagious energy of the College & Career March and start to think about the postsecondary pathways they might be interested in!

Moving forward together,

The WESS PA Exec Board

December PA Meeting:

We hope you can join us for our last PA meeting of the year, which will be held IN PERSON on Wednesday, December 18th at 8:45 AM in the WESS Cafeteria. We will have updates on PA activities, upcoming events, and present the PA Treasurers’ Report. Since the meeting is in December, we will celebrate with a Holiday Cookie Party! We hope you’ll be able to attend and bring 1-2 dozen (or more!) homemade or purchased cookies, which we will package up as holiday gifts to WESS staff. Coffee will be provided, and there could be a bit of sampling as well. If you’d like to participate but cannot attend the meeting, please feel free to send cookies in with your student on Wednesday morning to add to the collection!  

**Building Community Through Restorative Justice at WESS**

Jozef Mackie, WESS Restorative Practices and Equity Team Coordinator and Physical Education Teacher, spoke about Restorative Practices at WESS, highlighting how this transformative approach is fostering equity, accountability, and stronger relationships within our school community. Parents and members of the WESS community were treated also to four high school students talking about the impactful work they are doing as part of the Restorative Practices and Equity Team (RPET). They are part of a group of dedicated students leading initiatives from all affinity groups to address conflict, build understanding, and create a more inclusive environment. Here is a link to the slides if you missed it:

Restorative Practices at WESS 2024

PA Family Giving Drive - Give Back to WESS

Thank you to the many families who have already taken the time to Give Back to WESS so far this year. Your contributions are essential to enriching the experience of every student at WESS. If you haven’t donated yet, please follow the links below to ensure the PA can continue to support the arts, sciences, sports, Passages ceremonies, professional development, and so much more.

VENMO (Free, no fee - click icon below)

PA Treasurer Account: @wess-pa

Please indicate “Family Giving” in the Note

If prompted for a code, use: 5058

PAYPAL(This method of donating includes an automatic monthly payment option; WESS pays a small fee per each credit card donation - click gift box or PayPal icon below)

STOCK - If you’d like to donate stock click on the stock icon below or contact patreasurer@westendsecondary.com

CAN YOUR DONATION BE DOUBLED? Many employers participate in a corporate matching program. We are able to provide any necessary information. Contact patreasurer@westendsecondary.com.

Spread Holiday Cheer by Participating in Holiday Toy Drive

Aspira is launching a school-wide toy drive. Our goal is to bring joy to children in need within our NYC community. We plan to donate at least 50 new, unwrapped toys to families served by SCO Family Services. This local organization provides essential support to families (you can learn more about them here: Family of Services https://sco.org/holiday-giving-2023/ 

Donations will be collected through December 18th in the main lobby. Together, we can make a significant difference in the lives of these children. 

Each year the WESS PA supports WESS families in need during the holiday season. If you would like to help contribute to a WESS family please email Parent Coordinator, Karyn Gooden, at Karyn@westendsecondary.com.

Calling All WESS Parents and Caregivers

We are thrilled to invite you to two special Parent Socials, one for middle school parents on January 16^th from 7-9pm, and one for high school parents on January 30^th from 7-9pm. These informal gatherings are designed to foster relationships among parents and provide a platform to share ideas and experiences. Join your Parent Association representatives in the back room (reserved just for WESS parents) at Blondies, 212 West 79^th Street. There is no cost to attend or obligation to purchase refreshments. To streamline their hosting duties, Blondie’s has requested that parents pay for their drinks and/or food with cash. We look forward to seeing you there and building a strong, connected community together!

We are thrilled to announce Justin Fromm is the new Boosters Representative. This is a new role created to support and advocate for the high school coaching staff and sports teams. Justin will be coordinating with coaches, team parents, and the PA on team fundraising efforts and events planning.

WESS has a number of high school teams including: girls soccer, boys soccer, cross country, rugby, girls volleyball, indoor track, boys basketball, track and field, and school exchange teams such as swimming and girls basketball. 

Membership Toolkit and How to Use It

When a family joins the WESS community, they are automatically added to the PA Membership Toolkit database. Membership Toolkit (MT) is the program that the WESS Parent Association uses to stay in touch with WESS parents and provide you with important information via emails and newsletters like the one you're reading right now. The fact that you have received this newsletter means that you are in the MT database.

The MT database is based on but separate from the official contact information that you provided to WESS via the blue card when your student(s) enrolled. That information is for the WESS administration only and is NOT accessible to parents. So, in order to make it possible and easy for WESS parents (and students) to find and keep in touch with each other, the PA created a user-friendly directory at Membership Toolkit.

To access Membership Toolkit and, therefore, the directory, click here, click on "login," and follow the prompts based on whether you are a returning user or a new user. If you've never logged on to MT before, you are a new user. Simply create an account and then you will find your contact information already available. Once you have created an account, you can edit your contact information and customize your profile including what, if any, information is made public in the directory.

MT is available as both a desktop and app option. It’s a great idea to have both for your convenience.

Note: If ever your contact information should change, it’s most important to change it on the official DOE blue card through WESS but it’s equally smart to also update it at Membership Toolkit if you want WESS folks to be able to reach you. 

If you have any questions or challenges using Membership Toolkit, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Liz Sorem and Mary-Elizabeth Vachon, WESS PA Communications Secretary.

West End Secondary School Parent Association

wesspa.org