That loud roar you heard last Friday was all of us celebrating the end of the standardized testing for this year!  Our teachers and students deserve a solid “Well done!” for all of their efforts put forward this year to do well on these exams.  While testing isn’t our ultimate goal, it is certainly the standard by which our children and our school are measured.  Like many of you, I believe we over-test, however I also believe we are doing our children a disservice if we do not prepare them to do the very best they can do on these measures of student performance.  We know that when our children leave West U, they are prepared to excel at any middle school they choose to attend.  The teachers and I appreciate their focus and the support of our parents without whom we could not perform as well as we do.

Four years ago I hosted the first of what has become an annual tradition; the West U Elementary High School Seniors Reunion.   A small group of teachers also attended that first reunion in 2009 and it turned out to be one of the best events we ever hosted at West U. 

This year’s reunion will be held on Thursday, May 23, from 4:30-7:00 p.m. in the school Multi-Purpose Room.  Any high school senior who attended West U Elementary, whether for one year or for all six years of elementary school, is invited to attend.High School Seniors are encouraged to wear a shirt from the college or university they will attend next year.

Tomorrow is the last PTO Meeting of the year.  I want to thank President Jennifer Gatto and her Executive Board for the great job they did this year.  One of the hallmarks of our school is our extremely active PTO.  Parental involvement and support is critical to the success of our school.  I deeply appreciate the work of Jennifer and the rest of the board as well as the numerous volunteers who contributed their time and effort to our many activities this year.  Well done!

Have a grand week!

John T. Threet, Principal