The Wildcat Chat

The Willard Counseling Team will be holding our WMS Parent Coffee on Friday, February 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., in our library, with a focus on course selections. This is a great opportunity to speak with counselors if you have any unanswered questions from our curriculum night presentations. This event is specifically geared towards current sixth and seventh grade parents. Please RSVP by Thursday, February 15.

Beginning next week, school counselors will be presenting Course Selection Lessons to our current sixth and seventh grade students through their Health/PE (6th Grade) or FACS/Tech Ed classes (7th Grade). These lessons will include a course overview for required courses, important dates in the course selection timeline, reviewing teacher recommended courses and how/when to make changes, and elective selection. Students will have until Monday, March 4 to change their electives on their own. After this date, they will need to speak with their counselor for any changes.

All course descriptions can be found in the 2024-2025 Program of Studies. You can also find short video clips from each elective available through the Virtual Elective Fair page. All students will receive an Advisory lesson reviewing this page on Tuesday, February 13.

Rising ninth grade students will be receiving their course selection lesson from the Lightridge School Counselors on Tuesday, February 20 and Wednesday, February 21, through Resource.

You hear all the time that social media apps are bad for your overall wellness. But do you know why that is? Let's talk about TikTok — TikTok activates the neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the brain when you scroll through videos on your FYP. Dopamine is known as the pleasure center in our brain. Why worry about dopamine? Dopamine production increases during adolescence. This makes it nearly impossible to turn away from scrolling TikTok. Social media addiction can lead to mental health concerns, like anxiety and depression. Try setting a screen time limit each day. Setting a screen-time limit each day can help combat social media addiction. Our brains need a break from the constant dopamine boost that comes with scrolling. Perhaps, in an effort to avoid too much social media time, check out our Mindful Grounding Exercises.

Conversations about organization can start at any time and always be helpful. Last week we wrote about why organization skills are important. This week the focus is how and where to start. Just like deciding to be healthier or learning how to play an instrument when there’s internal motivation to do something, that’s the first step. Something to know and keep in mind throughout an organization journey is that it’s very difficult in general to multi-task. People have confidence that they can “multitask,” which can translate to “doing more than one thing badly." This is especially true for teenage brains that are firing on all cylinders already, so why challenge that kind of brain to try to do two or three things when one is plenty?

With the myth of “multitasking” behind us, let’s focus on a plan of action for organization such as finding a paper planner or committing to keep a phone or computer calendar up to date and setting reminders to look at it. Think about when your dentist is telling you to floss. It was hard at first. You’d forget. You may have to write yourself a note on the bathroom mirror to remind yourself, but once you established the habit and it was securely fixed into your routine it’s something that you can do without even thinking about it. That’s the goal, looking at a calendar or planner — more on that next time.

We want to send a huge congratulations to our more than 140 scholars who earned CLAWS Awards for the second quarter. These scholars were selected for exemplifying exceptional character, leadership, attitude, work ethic, and service. After receiving their awards, they were treated to sweet treats and game time. To view the presentation with student pictures, please click here. The event video may be found here.

Do you like grabbing your pencil and scribbling your way to another dimension where anything is possible? Well, we have a day for you! ScribbleCon24 is a writing workshop that welcomes students of all levels (middle school and above) and anyone (parents and guardians) who love writing. It is a creative hands-on experience led by writing professionals. Come and write alongside 16 professional writers, authors, poets, and teachers. Students will engage in the writing process by selecting topics, drafting, revising, and editing their original work. ScribbleCon24 will take place Saturday, February 10, at Benton Middle School. ScribbleCon24 is from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. To get started, click here.

On Saturday, February 17, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., selected seventh graders will share their research at the Loudoun Museum about Loudoun County's historical context during the Jim Crow Era. Students will present their findings and be able to share what they have learned about our community. All are welcome to attend this informative event and to cheer on our scholars!

The activity bus routes for the upcoming WILDLife Spring Clubs may be found here. The drop off point will likely be different than your child’s normal bus stop. Prior to clubs meeting next week, please review with your child how they are getting home. As a reminder, clubs end each day at 4:30 p.m., meaning students should be picked up by this time. For those using our Kiss & Ride line, we would suggest carpooling to reduce traffic. If you have any further questions regarding clubs, please contact Willard Middle School PTA Programs.