We’re singing our hearts out with the addition of Mrs. Jazmen Weidman as West Elementary’s music teacher! 🎶
Jazmen grew up in Tyler, Texas and attended ORU for music education. Mrs. Weidman just got married on July 10th 🎉 and went on the best honeymoon to Barbados!
Outside of school Jazmen likes to read, practice singing and piano, and snuggle with her cat and new dog! Mrs. Weidman already has a fan club of young Westies (her new nieces and nephew) and we can’t wait to watch that grow. 🥰
Welcome to the West Family, Jazmen! You are going to love it here! ❤️💙
Happy Friday, Westies! Today we introduce our newest special education teacher Ms. Gillian Edmoundson! 👏🏻
Gillian has lived in Bixby since she was a year old and attended Bixby all the way up through senior year. Ms. Edmoundson attended OSU and graduated with a major in elementary education and a minor in Spanish. Gillian recently graduated with her masters in special needs education also from OSU. 🤩
On a more personal note, Gillian recently became engaged to Jordan Wiesman whom she has known since first grade. 🥰 Gillian and Jordan are the proud parents to 2 energetic rescue dogs , Koda and Charlie. When not busy planning a wedding or playing with their dogs, Ms. Edmoundson enjoys baking, trying out new recipes, and swimming!
We are ecstatic that Ms. Edmoundson is coming back to her Bixby roots! It’s going to be a great year! ❤️💙
Also joining the 2nd grade team this year is Ms. Kayla Cardwell! Kayla joins Kinnamon, Kelly, George, Hamilton and Banister to make up the second grade squad of dreams! Ms. Cardwell is not new to the West Elementary family...she joined us last spring as a paraprofessional and we are thrilled to have her back in this new role.
Ms. Cardwell grew up in Artesia, NM and taught kindergarten there for 6 years. Kayla moved to Bixby in January and she loves it! Ms. Cardwell is so excited for the new challenge of teaching 2nd grade and to be a part of the Bixby West team!
When not at school, Kayla spends a lot of her free time with her family and following her 2 (now 3 as of a week ago!) nephews around to their various sports and activities! Ms. Cardwell loves any activity on or near the water, shopping and sitting out on a patio somewhere enjoying live music and good company. Kayla is so happy to be in Oklahoma and is looking forward to becoming a member of this community and all it has to offer!
Kayla, it is a GREAT day to be a Spartan and we are so happy to call you ours!
We’re starting the week off by introducing one of our newest 2nd grade teachers, Mrs. Renee Kelly! Renee joins Kinnamon, Hamilton, George, Cardwell, and Banister to make up the fabulous 2nd grade team.
We are very excited for Renee to be joining West Elementary and returning to her roots teaching 2nd grade!
One of Mrs. Kelly’s favorite quotes is accredited to Theodore Roosevelt which states, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Mrs. Kelly strives to create an atmosphere in her classroom where her students know they are important and loved. Renee believes building this foundation leads to success for every student. 🥳
Mrs. Kelly and her husband just celebrated their 19th anniversary and have four awesome kids that keep them extremely busy…from wrestling to cheer, gymnastics to soccer… they are almost always chasing them from one event to the next and that is pretty much their life outside of school.
All of Mrs. Kelly’s children are Bixby Spartans! Her oldest, Caden, will be a junior at the high school, Skylar will be in the 8th grade at the middle school and Renee will bring her two youngest, Bentley (3rd) and Colten (1st) with her to WE!!! 👏🏻
We are SO excited to have Renee join our West family! ❤️💙
Our newest Westies spent the week learning and growing at Great Expectations training! 🎉 They’re going to do AMAZING things this year. ❤️💙
Next up we would love to introduce Ms. Emily Wells to the West Family! Ms. Wells joins the first grade team of Campbell, Stanhope, Zeigler, Inbody and Wagner. Could it get any better?! 🤩
Ms. Wells graduated from Emporia State University in Kansas. This is Emily’s 10th year teaching with 9 of those years being in 1st grade. Emily LOVES her firsties!!! ❤️🥰Ms. Wells started her teaching career in Kansas and then moved to Oklahoma to be closer to family.
Outside of school Emily loves to travel and explore new places. Often times during the summer she spends her time helping her parents with their ministry in Guatemala. Emily enjoys being with her family and cuddling up with her little dog, Lily. Ms. Wells has the most adorable nieces who have completely captured her heart!!! 😍
Emily is so excited to be a part of the Bixby West family and is looking forward to a great year!
Welcome to West, Ms. Wells! We are SO excited you are a Spartan! ❤️💙🎉
Today we have the pleasure of introducing West Elementary’s newest Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Shelly Sumler! Shelly will join Henderson, Scully, Cooper, and Coupe to make up the kindergarten team of dreams! 🤩
Mrs. Sumler grew up in Cherryvale, KS (one of the tiniest towns in Southeast Kansas)! Shelly attended Kansas State University-GO CATS!💜
The Sumler family moved to Bixby almost 8 years ago from the Kansas City area, and they LOVE it! ❤️💙
Rick and Shelly have been married for 23 years!❤️❤️ Together they have 2 beautiful children, who have grown into wonderful adults! 😘Lawson is 21, and he is a Senior at the University of Oklahoma!☝🏻Lauren is 19, and she is a Sophomore at Oklahoma State University! 🤠
When not at school, Shelly loves to spend time with her family and friends, read, and she loves to nap!😴😍
Shelly, we are overjoyed to have you spread your joy and sunshine to all of us at West! It’s going to be an amazing year! ❤️
We begin our week by introducing someone who isn’t new to West but will be taking on a new role as our EL (English Language) teacher…Mrs. Caitlin Diffee! 🥳
Mrs. Diffee is a graduate of NSU with a degree in Early Childhood Education. This is Caitlin’s second year to be a “Westie”! When Caitlin is not at the school you can find her enjoying free time with her husband and 2 kids. Caitlin loves spending time at their family lake house at Tenkiller, cheering on OSU, shopping, and reading.
Caitlin gives her best to everything she does. Mrs. Diffee, we cannot wait to see you shine in this new role! 🤩
Our next introduction is someone who isn’t new to Bixby but we are thrilled is moving to West, Mrs. Jessica Thorton will serve as our new speech pathologist! 👏🏻👏🏻
At a very early age Jessica learned the importance of being able to communicate with others and the frustrations of not being understood by, and not understanding, others in foreign countries. The first eleven years of her childhood were spent moving, traveling, and learning how to adapt to new environments, cultures, and languages. 🌎
Mrs. Thorton holds a strong belief that every human being is important and has a purpose, is in awe of the impact all people have on each other, and has great empathy for people who have difficulty communicating with others.
Jessica worked as a school speech-language pathologist for 2 years in Texas, worked for 9 years in the Broken Arrow Public School district, and began working for Bixby Public Schools in 2016. 🥳🥳 Mrs. Thorton and her husband have 2 amazing daughters who attend Bixby Public Schools.
When not at school, Jessica enjoys spending time with her family, reading, cheering for Texas Tech, and traveling!!!
Welcome to West, Mrs. Thorton! We are SO thrilled you are here! ❤️💙
Congratulations to these sporty field day champs!! Our students had a grade level specials competition during the last week of school. It’s safe to say everyone had a blast! 🏅 🏆
Spartan families,
BPS is hosting a free COVID-19 vaccination clinic for students ages 12 and over, and their families.
Visit www.bixbyps.org/article/477242 to learn more and sign up!
On Monday, we honored our Life Principle award winners for the month of May. ⭐️
These students were honored for their demonstration of RESILIENCE and we couldn’t be prouder. 👏🏻👏🏻
⭐️Don’t forget! ⭐️
Today Ms. Cooper’s kindergarten students visited with Mrs. Stanhope’s 1st graders. Our 1st graders were able to share all the tips and tricks for making first grade the very best! They even showed off their reading skills! 😍🥰 We are so proud of all the growth our kids (& teachers 😜) have shown us this year! 👏🏻❤️💙
It's Yearbook Time!!
Exciting news from West Elementary...MODEL SCHOOL STATUS!
Spartans, don't forget registration for Academic Summer Camp for students currently in grades PK-8 closes tomorrow, 5/14!
Review the details: bixbyps.info/summercampinfo
Register: bixbyps.info/summercampsignup
It’s Police Week👮🏽👮🏻♂️ and Bixby is lucky to have some of the greatest officers ever! 🥳 West Elementary 1st graders learned from Officer Wood and Officer Adcock yesterday. It’s safe to say they had more than a little fun—and we don’t just mean the kids! ❤️💙
👀 for all of our summer offerings in ONE place?! Visit bixbyps.info/communityed! Browse camps in various athletic areas as well as academics and fine arts!
We are rebuilding our Community Education Program and look forward to crafting a catalog that truly has something for everyone! For now, browse our current options at the link above for everything from Athletic Skills Camps to Broadway Bootcamp!
Registration for Academic Summer Camps for students currently in grades PK-8 is now open!
Review the details: bixbyps.info/summercampinfo
Register: bixbyps.info/summercampsignup
