The Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program provides unique educational opportunities for students who have been identified as gifted and talented. GATE students at Westlake are clustered into classes by grade-level, facilitating differentiated instruction and dynamic interaction among students. Focus is placed on the development of critical thinking skills and problem solving activities. Westlake students are able to participate in once a month GATE lunch bunches, which exposes students to a variety learning experiences with depth and complexity.  In addition, students can participate in Noetic Math, a nationwide math competition that develops students' problem-solving skills, encourages their interest in math, and inspires them to excel in math. 

Westlake holds a GATE parents meeting once a year in September. Additionally, CVUSD has a GATE District Advisory Committee that meets once a month to discuss program goals and needs. A parent representative from Westlake attends these meetings and brings back information to share with parents. Westlake also has a teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Barber - 3rd grade, who serves as our GATE facilitator, who attends monthly meetings, shares information with the staff, helps coordinate the GATE lunch bunches, and the parents meetings. 

Students are first assessed for GATE in the spring of their 2nd grade year.  Once identified, they are able to begin participating in the GATE lunch bunch meetings.  If you are new to Westlake Elementary and your child is in grades 3-5 you can fill out a referral to have your child  tested for the GATE program. The following link will take you to the referral form on the district website CVUSD GATE . Once students are identified, they remain part of the GATE program throughout the duration of their academics in CVUSD.

Elementary Program Happenings
Students are encouraged to participate in optional activities provided by the school, district (Fun Fridays), and local colleges and/or community events:
"Solve It Day" sponsored by the District at different school locations.
"Invention Convention" is a STEAM focused district program open to ALL students in 3rd - 5th grade.
Noetic Math Challenge - Spring (Date TBD) - 2:45 in the MPR 

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Teams bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program. 

At Westlake Elementary, all students and parents are welcome to participate in Odyssey of the Mind (OM). Passionate about expanding our students' learning potential, WLE is encouraging students and parents to utilize this opportunity for enhancing creativity and problem solving.

The Noetic Learning Math Contest (NLMC) is a semiannual problem solving contest for elementary and middle school students. The goal of the competition is to encourage students' interest in math, to develop their problem solving skills, and to inspire them to excel in math. During the contest, students are given 45 minutes to solve 20 problems. Many problems are designed to challenge students and to enrich their problem-solving experiences. The contest is for students in grades 2-5.

Calling all GATE students to Lunch Bunch. Westlake Elementary hosts special activities designed to engage the gifted child in a variety of disciplines. 

Some activities planned for 2024-2025 include:

October - Landing a Paper Airplane as slowly as possible on a specific target

November - Build a Pringles Ring - If you are interested in donating Pringles please see Mrs. Barber

December - Scattergories and Hot Chocolate Holiday celebration

January - Snowflake Challenge

February - Heart Cup Tower Challenge

March - Shark Experience with VR goggles

May - Levitating Ping Pong Balls

June - End of the Year Pizza Party and Breakout Box - If you are interested in donating pizza, see Mrs. Barber