Lookout Hollywood!
by Peggy Messenger | Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Primary Multiply Impaired Class at Olympia West is full of budding thespians. The class enjoyed dressing up and acting out their fall story " The Three Pumpkins ". It is one of the stories in the Matt and Molly series. The children had fun dressing-up, while they worked on their language skills. Students work . . . read more
Dental Clinic
Olympia West hosted a dental clinic on Friday, May 16, 2008. Students' oral health was checked and treatment needs were noted. A dental hygienist cleaned the students' teeth. Each student was given a new toothbrush to take home. . . . read more
Safe or Break at Oly West?
The Third graders at Oly West ended their special week of egg hatching with the Fourth Annual Egg Drop. The students were assigned to create a special container that would protect a raw egg as it was thrown off the roof of the . . . read more
Third Grade Hears a PEEP!
Mrs. Hieser’s and Mrs. Swatzendruber’s third graders at Olympia West started hearing peeps last Monday morning as they walked in to their classrooms to start another week of school. They are now the proud parents of 20 baby chicks. . . . read more
OWE Blood Drive a Huge Success
Olympia West Elementary hosted a blood drive for the Red Cross on April 24th. Student Council sponsored this worthy event and the community responded enthusiastically. Over 58 people signed up to donate, and 48 pints of blood . . . read more
Olympia West First Grade Honors Poetry
Mrs. Brand’s and Mrs. Patterson’s first graders at Olympia West Elementary have been honoring the month of April with poetry. The students embraced the Shel Silverstein book, Where the Sidewalk Ends, by creating beautiful chalk . . . read more
Olympia West Change War
Last week Olympia West held a Change War between all of the classes. Monday the students brought pennies, Tuesday nickels, Wednesday dimes, and Thursday quarters. Friday was a pizza party for the winning class. It was a . . . read more
Let’s Go Shearing With Oly West Kindergarten!
Have you ever wanted to understand how a sheep or lamb was sheared? Well, just ask the kindergarteners at Oly West. This past week our kindergarten classes received a visit from some of these white fluffy friends. Lenny . . . read more
Olympia West Student Council Sponsors Blood Drive
Olympia West Elementary School Student Council is sponsoring a blood drive on Thursday April 24th from 2:00pm to 7:00pm at the school. If you would like to donate you can call 309 392-2671 x. 6263 or visit . . . read more
Kindergarten Students Participate in Parent Conferences
Kindergarten students in Mrs. Graber’s class were not let off the hook for parent conferences. Parents were instructed to bring their student on conference night. As part of the conferences, students demonstrated for their parents . . . read more
Olympia West Pre-K/ECE Dr. Seuss Week
In the Olympia West Pre-K/ECE classroom, we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss with a week of Dr. Seuss activities. We made Cat in the Hat hats and looked like Daisy Head Maizey with daisies growing out of our . . . read more
Jump Rope for Heart
Olympia West physical education classes have been jumping rope for those who can not. We hold a Jump Rope for Heart event each year to help the students become aware of people who have difficulty jumping, walking and running because . . . read more
Family Fun Night
Family Fun Night will be held on Saturday, March 1 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm. This is a great way to spend a Saturday evening with family and friends. Food will be available for purchase from 4:00 – 7:00 pm and includes pulled . . . read more
Relay for Life Valentine's Day Lunch
Jessica Ballard, our very own pre-K/ECE blended program teacher, will be participating in a three day walk this summer in Chicago to support the Susan G. Komen . . . read more
Spelling Bee Winners
The annual school Spelling Bee was held on February 13 th in the gymnasium. Students were selected to participate in the school Spelling Bee after placing first, second or third place in their classroom Spelling Bee. This . . . read more
DIBELS...What's DIBELS?
DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills and is a formative assessment given to all West students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. The universal assessment given in the fall, winter and spring of each . . . read more
D.A.R.E. Graduation at West
D.A.R.E. graduation was held at Olympia West on Wednesday, January 23rd at 12:45 PM for fifth graders in Mr. Figura’s and Mrs. Johanson’s classes. Fifty-three students graduated from the program which required a semester of . . . read more
Students Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Olympia West
Teachers and students at West celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day in a variety of ways including reading stories and watching videos that told the story of the late Martin Luther King Jr. Mrs. Johanson’s fifth grade class studied . . . read more
Pizza Math
Who doesn't like pizza! Mrs. Nelson's class at Olympia West made pizza in the classroom after a math unit featuring fractions, measuring, and classifying the food groups. Everyone enjoyed snacking on the results. read more
Wonderful ESPs at West
If you’ve been at West this year you’ve probably noticed a lot of Educational Support Personnel (ESP) working with our children. The students at West are very fortunate to have the dedicated, caring support of these . . . read more
Our Reward
On Friday, November 30th, 13 safety patrol students, and 5 adults went to AMF Bowling Alley and then out to eat pizza at Monical’s. There were four adults who volunteered to drive students to and from our field . . . read more
Santa Shop
December 6th and 7th PTO sponsored the Santa Shop co-chaired by parents Marcia Schopp and Sarah Nickols. This yearly event allows students to do a little Christmas shopping on their own. Prior to December 6th each . . . read more
Fifth Grade Builds Cabins
Determined, courageous, and trustworthy are only a few of the qualities of the twelve-year old boy Matt in the book by Elizabeth George Speare, The Sign of the Beaver . Mrs. Johanson’s Fifth Grade class at Olympia West relived some of . . . read more
Red Ribbon Parades
The students of West Elementary traveled to Armington and Hopedale for the annual Red Ribbon parades. Students walked by class behind the student decorated banners made this week during school. The Armington-Minier . . . read more
Red Ribbon Week October 21-October 26
Red Ribbon Week: Look at Me, I'm Drug-Free! Olympia West's annual Red Ribbon Week will kick off on Sunday, October 21, with Red Ribbon Week Prayer Day. Each day of the week will offer special activities for the students and communities . . . read more
New Blended ECE/PreK Program at West
West is proud to be piloting a new early childhood program in Olympia. The new blended ECE/PreK program is a half-day program offered to students qualifying for either ECE services or PreK services. Through the . . . read more
Third Graders Receive Dictionaries
Third grade students at Olympia West received free dictionaries on Thursday. Walter G. Wright Telecom Pioneers received funding from the Verizon Foundation allowing them to provide dictionaries to third grade students in McLean . . . read more
Welcome to World Book Online
World Book Online is a reference web site for students and families. This web site is designed to help locate articles, pictures, maps, and other sources students will need for research papers and projects in the classroom. The . . . read more
Beating the Heat
The first full day of school brought with it temperatures that topped 90 degrees outside. Inside, teachers and students worked through the heat learning classroom rules and expectations. For . . . read more
Community Member Thanks Master Gardener
If you drove by Olympia West in the early morning hours this summer, you likely saw Sharon Swartzendruber, a third grade teacher, out in the school garden. Mrs. Swartzendruber has donated many hours over the years to care for and . . . read more
Opening Day Ceremony
The Olympia West Elementary staff welcomed in the new school year with the help of both students and parents. At 7:50 AM teachers and staff greeted both new and returning students on the front lawn of the school. The opening . . . read more

