School Life

Boulder Valley School District does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, religion, ancestry, need for special education services, age, marital status, genetic information, or physical characteristics in admissions, access to, treatment, or employment in educational programs or activities. The Compliance Officer for students, parents and members of the public is Dr. Rob Anderson, Superintendent, BVSD, 6500 Arapahoe Road, Boulder, CO 80301, 720-561-5114. The Compliance Officers for BVSD employees the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, or Director of Human Resources, BVSD, 6500 Arapahoe Road, Boulder, CO 80301, 720-561-5114. Complaint procedures have been established for students, parents, employees and members of the public. ( AC , AC-R ) 

Welcome to Whittier! We look forward to partnering with your family in learning! Check out our website at whe.bvsd.org for lots more Whittier information

● Vision : Whittier International’s engaged community members improve the world through intercultural understanding, kindness and respect. We all cultivate our unique abilities to discover and pursue our dreams. 

● Mission : Our school provides an international perspective and a creative, inquiry-based approach to learning. Through collaborative partnerships, we inspire and empower reflective, action-oriented, lifelong learners.

https://whe.bvshttps://whe.bvsd.org/about/special-programs 

The IB PYP is a world-renowned educational program. It consists of 6 inquiry-based Units of Study for which the overarching theme is repeated each year K-5. The Units of Study are: Who We Are, Where We Are In Place & Time, How We Organize Ourselves, How the World Works, How We Express Ourselves and Sharing the Planet. These larger philosophical approaches give students a broad perspective on topics studied and are integrated with content across the day (science, social studies, math, literacy and specials).

The program also includes a focus on Key Concepts, Approaches to Learning and taking Action - components of IB that allow for deeper learning across content areas. The end goal of being an IB student is to become an active, internationally minded citizen of our world who embodies the IB Learner Profile attributes. These attributes that IB learners are supported to embrace are open-minded, balanced, risk-takers, principled, caring, thinkers, reflective, knowledgeable, communicators, and inquirers.

Whittier is committed to fostering an inclusive and caring community welcoming all families. Whittier’s 300+ students represent many countries from around the world, speak more than 20 languages, and are diverse in many ways: linguistically, culturally, socioeconomically, religiously, in gender expressions/identities and in learning needs.

In order to model the idea that citizens take action in their communities, we hope that all of our families embrace the Learner Profile described above, and we encourage everyone to take action as a citizen of our wonderful community via volunteering, giving to our PTA or otherwise finding ways to proactively build this amazing school. Since we are uniquely international, we ask all families to reach outside their cultural norms to try and get to know others around them. Our families are already amazingly active in creating so much of the Whittier experience. We are always open to hearing even more ideas about how we can promote more connections for our diverse families!

School Hours 

Colorado law requires that children in grades 1-5 attend school for the full day. It is important to attend school regularly and be on time. 

School hours (K-5) are from 7:50 a.m. – 2:50 p.m. (Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/ Friday). On Wednesday is Late Start from 8:50 a.m.- 2:50 p.m. 

Morning playground supervision is from 7:40 - 7:50 a.m. Tardy Bell is at 8am. Afternoon bus supervision is from 2:50 - 3:00 p.m. Students are not to be left unattended on the playground/outside area outside of the hours of 7:50-3:00. If a student is unattended after 3:00, they will be escorted to the office and a parent/guardian will be called to pick them up. 

Attendance 

When your child is absent, it is imperative to report the absence to the school. You can report the absence via the attendance line, 720-561-2465, or the quick link https://whe.bvsd.org/parent-information/report-an-absence on the Whittier website or your Infinite Campus parent portal. If you do not report the absence, you will receive an automatically generated phone call notifying you that your child is not at school. We appreciate your careful attention to this process so we know all children are safe. 

We discourage any absence other than significant illness, particularly if your child is struggling academically or socially. State law has a maximum of 10 days allowed absences per school year without formal documentation (medical or prearranged). For more information click here: https://www.bvsd.org/about/board-of-education/policies/policy/~board/j-policies/post/student-ab sences-and-excuses. 

Prearranged Absence 

Completion of a prearranged absence form (from the office or Whittier website) is required when you plan for your child to be out for an extended period of time, in excess of (3) three school days. This absence must be approved and signed by the principal or designee for the absence to be considered excused. Upon approval, please discuss this absence with your child’s teacher so that arrangements may be made to assure that missed work can be completed in a timely manner. 

Whittier follows the guidelines that are outlined in the BVSD document "How Sick is Too Sick".

If you have questions about whether or not to keep your child home from school, please contact the Main Office.

Students should not be on the playground when there is no supervision, including prior to 7:40 a.m. and after 3:00 p.m. Parents should wait with children until staff are present and, as an additional safeguard, please tell children to go to the main office if they are ever on the playground and do not see a staff member present.

We encourage walking and bike riding whenever possible and have bike racks on the northwest corner of the school. All bikes/scooters or other wheeled apparatus should be dismounted and walked once on campus which we consider the entire city block we occupy. Bus drop off and pick up is on Spruce Street. Pine Street is reserved for parents picking up and dropping off students in the Hug ‘n Go Lane. Please use pedestrian crosswalks at the light on Pine and at the four-way stop on Spruce. Do not pick up or drop off students in the staff parking lot, the bike lane, or beside another car. This is unsafe. Please do not park or pull through the staff parking lot behind the school for drop off or pick up. For your safety, please use the sidewalk and avoid walking through the parking lot at these busy times.

There are no dogs allowed on our playground in order to keep student play areas safe and sanitary. If you are walking the dog during drop-off or pick-up we request that you keep your dog outside all play areas. 

Please do not make U-turns in the school zone, especially in the drop off area on Pine between 20th and 21 ^st. Please do not park across the street and walk directly (J-walk) to the school. Always use the crosswalks during Drop-Off and Pick-Up. 

We need your help!! Volunteers are needed for both Hug N Go shifts: morning Drop-Off (7:40am-8:05am) and afternoon Pick-Up (2:35 pm - 3:00 pm). Volunteers are only expected to do one shift per week. Please sign up online at HelpAtSchools.com. 

Hug ‘N Go Drop Off Lane Guidelines 

For the safety of our kids, we ask for full cooperation from each and every parent and student. Please read and understand the following rules for the Whittier block between 20th & 21st St. on Pine St. 

Drop Off (7:40-7:50 AM) 

· Please arrive in plenty of time before 7:50 am, and not before 7:40 am . · Enter the Hug ‘N Go lane at the far west end (towards 20th street). Exit the Hug ‘N Go lane at the far east end (towards 21st street). 

· If you are in the coned off Hug ‘N Go zone, please stay in your car. Allow your child to exit the vehicle themself. 

· Please pull forward as cars in front of you pull out and drop your student off at the far (east) end by the entrance gate to the playground. 

· Do not block the bicycle lane or stop at the intersection of 20th and Pine. During high drop off volume times, if the Hug ‘N Go zone is full, proceed past and either find a parking spot in the neighborhood or go around the block for another pass at the Hug ‘N Go.

· Do not idle your car while waiting for your child

Students wait outside in front of the school in their classroom lines until the first bell rings at 7:50 am and then they will enter the classrooms. Students arriving after 8:00 am will be marked TARDY. All students arriving after 8:00am must check in at the office and receive a pass before heading into class. If your student is tardy due to a doctor’s appointment, you can turn in the doctor’s note to the office to have it excused. Please make every effort to get to school on time as late arrivals are most difficult for your child as they miss important morning greetings and information about their day. Students who have frequent tardiness (and absences) will become part of the district mandated attendance process. For more information, please refer to the BVSD policy here. 

BVSD will make and communicate decisions regarding bad weather or public health shutdowns. Please tune into your local television station or radio, or the BVSD website for information. Depending on your School Messenger settings you set through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, you should receive a call, text or email if school is canceled or delayed 2 hours.

Review of protocol when changing pick-up/bus routine after school:

Email the teacher and contact the office at 720-561-5431 if your student is not taking the bus and getting picked up instead. Please inform teacher and the office who is going to pick-up your student. Please communicate to the teacher and office if you have made arrangements to pick-up another student besides your own. If you are picking up students in the office after school, please make sure to communicate with an office staff member that you are leaving with your child.

Thank you for helping make the after school pick-up go safely and smoothly for everyone!

Sign Out Procedures 

Students must be signed out at the office if they need to leave the school grounds during the school day. The parent will remain in the office while we get the student to the office. Adults must also come into the office and sign students out if you are late to pick them up after the 2:50 pm dismissal. 

Written Permission Needed for Going Home a Different Way 

Students need to have written permission to go home with someone not on their Parent Portal contacts. Please make plans for transportation home and play dates prior to the start of the school day. Students who do not go home on the bus daily are not allowed to ride the bus to go home with a friend.

As a school, we use Seesaw for communication about student work, classroom activities and schoolwide happenings because it allows 2-way messaging in most languages. Attached please find a Seesaw video on how you can download and use the Family seesaw app and stay connected with the important announcements from Whittier and your child’s class work. Getting Started With Seesaw for Families 

Communicating Concerns 

If you have a concern to raise, we request you follow these guidelines: 

1) Use email/Seesaw to schedule a best method/time to connect if it is a topic requiring conversation (e.g. phone call, Google Meet, meeting) 

2) Consider including positives alongside any concerns. 

3) Assume positive intent - we assure you that every staff member at Whittier wants to support you and your child! 

4) If a conversation is too emotionally charged, teacher or parent is welcome to stop and reschedule the meeting for when emotions have calmed, and/or to invite another staff member to help with problem-solving. 

We also always welcome student agency in the form of feedback and students can appeal school decisions with their teacher or the principal. 

District Communication 

Our district uses Infinite Campus Parent Portal (accessed through bvsd.org) for all emergency contact information and preferences (email, text and/or phone calls) as well as for important processes such as Free and Reduced Lunch applications.

The Whittier Website calendar is the most up to date place to get basic information about upcoming events and can be accessed at whe.bvsd.org. Did you know that you can add the school calendar to your google calendar and all the school event dates will pre-populate to your calendar? How do I do this? Go to the school website (whe.bvsd.org). Find the School Calendars Section (left side of website) and click on the +GoogleCalendar button (bottom right corner). The calendar will be added to your phone or computer calendar.

The Whittier PTA is excited to partner with https://helpatschools.com/, an online school directory and volunteer coordination site. Both event organizers and volunteers now have a one stop shop for managing events, including sign-up lists, sending emails to volunteers and so much more. 

Optional Directory Sign Up - SUCH A GREAT RESOURCE FOR FAMILIES TO BE IN CONTACT! 

BVSD partnered with https://helpatschools.com/ to allow for family contact information to be pulled directly from your Infinite Campus account and can show the following if you allow:

● Student name and grade 

● Parent names

● Parent phone numbers 

● Parent email addresses

Sign up to volunteer at Whittier at https://helpatschools.com/. Please help model our IB program goals by giving back to our school. 

Please visit https://helpatschools.com/ to: 

● View all the ways you can help, via a “catalog” of opportunities 

● Sign up for the jobs/time slots that work for you 

● Easily view all your Whittier sign-ups in one place 

● Receive automated notifications & reminders 

● Access the secure online parent/student directory (must opt in) 

Visitor/Volunteer Policies 

Parents can enter our building during school hours as needed and to visit for lunch and recess if desired. To visit in any other capacity, to talk with a teacher or visit a class, visitors must schedule in advance. 

As a reminder, all visitors/volunteers will need to use our new check-in system, Raptor, for security purposes. Here are the details on how the Raptor system works: 

Visitor Procedures - RAPTOR 

Visitors entering the building will be asked to provide an ID. If they do not have an ID, they can simply share their name and date of birth. 

The RAPTOR system will: 

● Electronically log visitors at check-in 

● Print visitor badges 

● Screen all visitors against a national sex offender database 

● Provide school personnel and BVSD Security with real-time offender alerts The RAPTOR system will Not: 

● Share data with outside agencies* 

● Store the information you share 

*BVSD’s practice is to never ask for a student or parent’s citizenship or immigration status. If we learn of a student’s immigration status we would never share this with immigration officials. 

Volunteer Procedures - RAPTOR 

In order to chaperone a field trip, you must complete a background check from RAPTOR. Please fill out an application here: 

https://www.bvsd.org/parents-students/get-involved/volunteers. 

The volunteer application requires a $32 fee. If this presents a financial hardship for you, please contact the Whittier office, as we have scholarships available. Volunteer applications must be submitted once a year by the same date as the original application. Please allow at least 48 hours for your application to be approved. We appreciate parents helping to keep our students safe, so if you are volunteering in the building, please close a propped door if you see it open.

We are lucky at Whittier to receive extra funds from a City of Boulder partnership for a Family Resources School program. This program provides assistance to families in need in a wide variety of ways. If your family or a Whittier family you know needs assistance of any kind, contact our FRS Coordinator, Alexis Batko at 720-561-2422. Alexis can also connect you with our in-building Family Resources Schools Therapist if needed.

We have a full-time school counselor available to all students' social, emotional and academic needs. As a parent, if you are looking for support for your child, feel free to talk with the classroom teacher and/or contact the school counselor directly. Her name is Laura Smith (Reinacher) (laura.reinacher@bvsd.org or 720-561-2464)She may be able to provide direct support to your child individually or in a small group or she can help you find the right resources.

Whittier supports Talented and Gifted learners through the development of an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) which identifies yearly goals for a student’s strength areas with input from teachers and parents and the student (generally at fall parent teacher conferences). Students are identified for GT through a testing process conducted by the GT coordinator. All students are screened in second grade but other requests for testing can come through a classroom teacher.

The Whittier PTA works to enrich each child’s experience at Whittier. This includes planning community building events, recruiting volunteers and raising funds to support additional faculty that reduce staff/student ratios, classroom enrichment, faculty professional development, the IB program, and various student support programs among many others. Additional details about the PTA can be found at:https://whe.bvsd.org/parent-information. 

Fundraising Initiatives for Whittier run by PTA 

We are budgeting for an average tax deductible donation of at least $300 per child. We believe that 100% participation is crucial and encourage you to give what feels comfortable to your family, whether that’s $1 or thousands! Below are the different ways you can contribute. 

● Pledge Drive 

The annual pledge drive is the direct-ask for money that pays for resources instrumental to keeping Whittier International Elementary the school it is. You can make a donation by: 1. Bringing a check (made out to Whittier International PTA) or cash (in an envelope with your name and “Whittier PTA Pledge Drive” on it). 

2. Online through our secure payment system; this link will be communicated throughout the school year.

Many Companies Match Charitable Contributions - does yours? Many employers will match an employee’s charitable contribution up to 100%. Some companies even match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses. Please be sure to check with your company to see if this is a benefit you can take advantage of, increasing your substantial support to Whittier. Use this link to check! http://www.matchinggifts.com/unh/ 

● Read-a-thon 

Watch for more information about the schoolwide Read-a-thon fundraiser this spring. Students will get pledges and companies can sponsor us as we read, read, read. 

While the above 2 fundraising events comprise our main efforts, we also offer other opportunities for families that we hope make it easy to give back! These include: 

Whittier Family Nights Out 

Several local restaurants partner with Whittier PTA for these fun evenings out. You will receive communication about a night out on a given date at a set restaurant (we have several of these each year). Simply have dinner out that night at the restaurant, mention Whittier Elementary and the restaurant will donate a portion (some donate 50%) of what you spend to Whittier. On these nights, you are: 

● Having a fun night out with your family 

● Not having to cook or clean up 

● Bumping” into other Whittier families/friends 

● Giving back to our school 

Grocery Cards 

Thanks to the King Soopers and Safeway Neighborhood Reward Program, for every dollar you load onto your grocery card, 5% will be contributed to Whittier and be used toward improving your children's education. 

How does the program work? 

● For King Soopers 

1. Create a digital account. If you already have a digital account, skip to step 2.

2. Link your Card to an organization by signing in to your digital account and searching for your organization here. 

3. Then click “Save.” Your selected organization will also display in the King Soopers Community Rewards section of your account. If you need to review or revisit your organization, you can always do so under your Account details. 

● For Safeway Program 

1. Purchase a $10 grocery card for Safeway from the PTA. 

2. At the checkout counter, BEFORE GROCERY SCANNING BEGINS, ask the cashier to RELOAD (add value) to your card (using cash/check/credit card) for up to $500. 3. Use the loaded gift card to pay for your groceries. 

Grandrabbit’s Toy Store

Grandrabbit’s Toy Store, a local Boulder business located 2525 Arapahoe Ave. offers a Grandrabbit’s Bunny Bucks program which donates 5% of your purchase to the school of your choice. Just be sure to mention Whittier School at the register. In January a gift card is issued which can be redeemed by teachers for toys, books and enrichment materials for their classrooms.

● Student bus rules and expectations are given out by the bus driver each year. Students must follow those rules and not interfere with the safety of others. Bus riding is a privilege and may be revoked for inappropriate or unsafe behavior. 

● Students who do not go home on the bus daily are not allowed to ride the bus to go home with a friend. 

● Students should wait away from the curb until the bus is completely stopped and doors open. Then students should board in a single file line. 

● No food or drink. No objects or trash of any kind should be left on the bus. ● Use a neighbor voice when talking, not a loud, outside voice. 

● Stay seated and out of the aisle the whole time. This is the safest place to be. ● Always keep your entire body inside the bus window, as well as all objects. ● Never try to get something from underneath the bus. Unless boarding in single file, always walk 10 feet away from the bus edge so the driver can see you.

(Kitchen Manager: Sara Fontaine - 720-561-2417) 

School breakfast and lunches are free for all students, and families have the option to pay $2.50 for seconds by putting funds into your child’s school lunch account at https://food.bvsd.org/meals-nutrition/meal-accounts. The school lunch menu can be found here: Learn more at food.bvsd.org. Students are also welcome to pack lunch. 

You are encouraged to complete the Free and Reduced Lunch application for free seconds and other benefits may be available for those qualified. Help will be available for those who need guidance filling out the form during the BVSD Help Center in August. For more information visit the Free and Reduced Price Meals. 

Details on how breakfast will be provided to students will be communicated at the beginning of the school year. While lunch is in the cafeteria daily, all students have the option to eat school breakfast from 7:40-8am daily and on Wednesday from 8:40. 

We are an allergy-aware school and our students have a variety of food allergies. In particular, our lunchroom does not serve peanut products. We ask that students do not share any of their food and are aware of allergies so they can take care of those around them. 

We do not allow families to send in birthday treats. Each grade and classroom has their own unique way of celebrating your child and their birthday that does not rely on food. If you want to take part, please check with your child’s teacher.

Joining Your Child For Lunch at School 

If you want to join your child for lunch, you can bring your own food or get school lunch. If you want school lunch, it costs $5.50 and they can accept cash or checks made out to BVSD.

● Students will be sent to the health room for injuries or illness and must have a pass from the teacher. 

● All medications must be housed in the health room. Students must have a note from a doctor with all required documents on file in the health room in order to be given medications by school staff. 

● Students should stay home or will be sent home if they have any signs of illness (See the BVSD document "How Sick is Too Sick".) 

If you have a student with a significant health condition, please be in touch immediately with the main office to set up the appropriate health plan for your child.

Students only need a water bottle, a backpack and good shoes for running. We have backpacks available through the main office if your family is unable to purchase one. School supplies are all purchased by the classroom teacher and we ask families to donate for the supplies. Supply donations can be made at the beginning of each year through cash or check to the classroom teacher or a link from our Whittier website  (https://bvsd.revtrak.net/elementary-schools/elementary-schools-g-z/whe/#/list ). 

Also note: 

● Toys and personal items should not come to school as they can be easily lost or go missing. Please tell students that any personal item they care about should stay home.

● You may ride bikes or scooters to school. These are to stay locked up and unused during the school day, and, for the safety of others, may not be ridden on school property.

● We continually have an overflow of lost items. Please label your children’s clothing so we can help get it back to them. We donate lost items to a local charity. We will inform you ahead of donations 

Homework Policy 

In our own community, some of us want more homework and the others want less. As a staff, we value two main priorities of homework: 

1) Creating a daily reading habit for all students K-5 of 20-30 minutes (or more) per night. This includes parents reading aloud and all forms of reading for fun! It should be enjoyable! 

2) Students learn the executive functioning habits of studying, organization and being responsible for taking home and returning work by the time they head off to middle school. Often this looks like math games or worksheets since math facts and fluency are so foundational to student learning.

Please know that we also want to value families in their unique situations. If, at any time, any homework expectation is not working for your family or it is too hard for the student, please just sign the homework and have the student hand it in incomplete. Your signature may lead to more conversation with the classroom teacher as well about how to be most supportive of your family values and your child’s learning. 

Technology 

As a school, we recognize that technology is increasingly useful educationally and that practices are changing quickly. We want to continue to be clear and open with you about our policies and practices regarding technology usage, releases of information (specifically we do release parent emails), and media publishing (i.e. picture/video taking and publishing). 

● Social Media Opt-Out: Link to their guidelines and BVSD Technology Policy/Cellular Policy here
 

● Devices at School 

Whittier has the technology students need with the proper security settings, therefore we request that students do not bring technology to school including phones, ipads, laptops and any device that accesses the internet. Whittier is not responsible for electronic equipment brought to school. One exception is that we do allow the wearing of smart watches for watch purposes or family communication before and after school. Cell phones are not recommended but are permitted to be off and in backpacks during the school day so families can use them for communication before and after school.

Generally speaking, we will not release any of your family’s private information in any form without your approval. However, parent emails are permitted to be released to our PTA to enhance communication from PTA and room parents. Therefore, the parent email distribution lists are considered okay to share with room parents and may be visible publicly. If you do not want your email visible on the classroom distribution list, please contact the office to let them know. PTA will ask for you to give consent to join the online directory HelpAtSchools.com so that your phone numbers and names can also be shared from Infinite Campus. We recommend this way of connecting with our community. 

● Photography and Videography 

As far as picture and video taking, as a staff we do not put full student names on pictures posted publicly but we do post student pictures in various forms on blogs, in our hallways, on social media and on district publications. Parents have the right to opt out during the beginning of year ADU process so that no photo or video be taken of their student. This means every student will be in our yearbook and could be published on our website or in the newspaper unless we hear from you. 

Additionally, we have noticed more and more of our parents taking photos or videos at school activities. Obviously, we cannot control the use of this content but we will generally allow parents to take photos and videos unless it becomes disruptive to the students. We kindly request that parents use the same standard as us and do not post full student names if they choose to share their photos or videos online.

● Usage of Internet Resources 

We will be using a variety of district-approved web-based resources, a list of which can be found on this website: https://www.bvsd.org/departments/information-technology/software. If we use additional resources, we will seek appropriate district approval and notify you in our classroom newsletters. We are well-aware of the need for student data to be kept private and our district approval process is specifically meant to protect students. If you would like more information on data privacy, here is our district data privacy website: 

https://www.bvsd.org/departments/information-technology/student-data-privacy-in-bvsd .

Your child may receive a “Caught You” card for showing IB Learner Profile traits. We celebrate these “Caught You” cards with our students as a sign that they are becoming the IB Learner they aspire to be. 

Basic School-Wide Rules 

● We are kind. 

● We respectfully communicate. 

● All equipment is used safely and according to the direction of the playground supervisors. 

● We respect the rights and property of others. 

● We play without hurting ourselves or others. 

Conflict Resolution 

At Whittier we believe that students should gradually develop the ability to resolve normal, everyday conflicts using the Peace Place steps. 

Peace Place 

Will be used on the playground and in the classroom for conflict resolution.

Step 1 : We agree to solve the problem with respect and cooperation. 

Step 2 : What is the problem? 

Step 3 : What I think would make it better. 

Step 4 : Agree to solve the problem by: “___”, shake hands, say “thank you”. Ask an adult if you are unable to solve the problem on your own. 

Behavior Support 

At Whittier, we try to proactively support student learning around behavior. We use lots of positive behavior support and focus on creating meaningful classroom communities that help students self-regulate and frequently reflect on choices. 

If a major issue occurs, staff will refer a student to the office. In these situations, the principal will speak to all students involved. The principal will also always communicate with home when a student is referred to the office in order to discuss what happened and any follow-up. Occasionally, students are asked to take a break in the office/or participate in a Restorative Conversation. This is not considered a formal office referral, but it is an opportunity for a student to reflect and improve on their own behavior.

Conduct and Discipline 

Whittier follows the BVSD Student Conduct and Discipline code. To learn more about the BVSD Conduct and Discipline Code, please visit the following link: 

https://www.bvsd.org/parents-students/student-rights-and-responsibilities

 (See the master calendar for dates and times for all school events at whe.bvsd.org ) 

● Meet Your Teacher for K-5th Grades - Families are invited to this open house style event to meet their classroom teachers, learn about ways to get involved, and complete important family information. 

● Grade Level Playground Parties – A common event early in the year put on by Room Parents and a great opportunity to meet or reconnect with friends and meet families with kids in your child’s grade! 

● Student-Led Parent Teacher Conferences - These happen twice a year, once in Fall and once in Winter. Each family gets at least 20 minutes to meet with the classroom teacher. As an IB school, we believe in students owning their learning and their goals, therefore students typically run the conferences sharing their accomplishments and their next steps. Note: We are unable to accommodate more than one conference time per child due to time constraints and because we do not believe a child should be burdened with presenting more than once in this formal setting. If you are unable to attend your child’s time, we are happy to share the online portfolio with you as a means of you seeing their learning. Report cards are also a good source of information that comes around conference time. 

●FET Meetings (Familias y educadores juntos): este grupo se reúne mensualmente para continuar profundizando las formas en que las familias de color y los educadores pueden conectarse a través de una mayor comunicación y relación. 

● Heritage Night – This fantastic potluck event truly highlights the many cultures represented at Whittier. We ask students to dress in traditional clothing from their family country of origin and bring a dish to share from that country as well. This is also a schoolwide musical performance. 

● Family Nights Out – You will receive communication about these fun family dinner-out events at local restaurants! Simply take your family out to dinner, bump into other families from Whittier, and mention our school and participating restaurants will give a portion of the proceeds to Whittier! 

● Harvest Festival Parties - Since Halloween is not celebrated in all cultures, we instead focus on the idea of a Harvest festival which is much more common around the globe. These parties typically include fun, celebratory activities for students during the school day run by our PTA room parents with the help of all parents in the classroom. 

● Trick or Treat Street - If your family does want to celebrate Halloween, stay right after pick up on this day to change into costumes over your clothes and enjoy a trick-or-treat hallway followed by Halloween themed games. This event is put on by the Boulder High Student Council! Goodie bags are provided, but students are always welcome to bring your own reusable bag to collect treats as well! 

● Scholastic Book Fair - During Winter Parent Teacher conferences, the library is transformed into a bookstore. A portion of all proceeds go to the school library program.

● IB Fair - Exhibition - As a culmination of their IB career, Whittier 5th graders share the Unit of Inquiry they self-created including the actions they took as a result of learning and their reflections on themselves and who they have become at Whittier. While this is a 5th grade event, all of the community is welcome to share in the celebration of IB learning!

● Whittier Wellness Day - Our version of field day, this event encourages students to engage in all forms of wellness from physical to emotional to social wellness. 

● 5th grade Graduation - 5th graders and their families come together to celebrate the end of their career at Whittier. 4th grade parents traditionally host the party afterwards serving cake and drinks. 

● Book Swap - A day to trade up your library and give your old books to a younger reader! This event is meant for students to donate their gently used books in order to get new ones. Even if students do not bring donations, everyone gets to choose something new to read!