WMS Weekly Newsletter

Dear Wayland Middle School Caregivers,

The theme for this week’s bright sides is joyful noise brought to us by our middle school students.

Our students were mesmerized by the Amazing Juggling Nano Brothers on our Super Wednesday last week. In the 45-minute presentation, Dan and Joel, the two performers, brought the mysteries of matter, atoms, molecules, and nanoscale forces to life. Our students’ joyful noise included laughter in response to the performer’s humor, choral responses to physics questions, and gasps at juggling and unicycle feats. Students were literally bouncing out of their seats with excitement. Many thanks to our PTO Cultural Council for bringing this wonderful learning event to our school.

On Tuesday night, the MS/HS select choruses captivated staff, students, and families, filling the theater of WHS with their joyful voices. The evening concluded with Salaam Aleikum, a traditional African folk song, performed by all of the high school and middle school students in unison. Together, the students and their choral directors physically surrounded the audience and bathed them in a choral message of peace. We hope you will be able to join us at WMS this Thursday, December 12th, for the WMS choral concert at 7PM.

We are deeply grateful for our community's unwavering support to foster the growth and development of our students through enriching cultural events and performing arts opportunities. As always, my door is open. Whether you have questions, concerns, or simply want to share in the excitement of the school year, I encourage you to reach out.

Deborah

• Thursday, December 12: WMS Choral Concert 7:00 -8:00 PM. 🎤
• Tuesday, December 17: Principal's Caregiver Coffee Cancelled - CHANGE IN DATE TO JANUARY 21 (see below).
• Tuesday, December 17: WMS Band Concert 6:00 -7:00 PM. 🎺
• Monday, December 23 - Tuesday, December 31: Holiday Break - NO SCHOOL
• Wednesday, January 1: New Year's Day - NO SCHOOL 🥳
• Wednesday, January 8: Super Wednesday. School dismisses at 12:20 PM. Grab and Go Lunch available

• Wednesday, January 8: WMS Orchestra Concert 7:00-8:00 PM. 🎻

• Monday, January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL
  MLK Celebration Luncheon 1:30-3:30 PM, Boston MA (details to come).

• Tuesday, January 21: Principal's Caregiver Coffee 9:15-10:15 AM.

• Wednesday, January 29: Lunar New Year - NO SCHOOL

Food insecurity can be a real fear during the holidays. Please join former student and 9th grader Mia Koopersmith (former Project 351 ambassador) and the 6th grade community service club in alleviating some of that fear. Donations are going to My Brother's Table in conjunction with Project 351. Please help restock the shelves for the winter holidays. Please send in donations December 2 - December 17.

We appreciate your support as partners in ensuring that our school is a device-free learning environment. Electronic devices are a concern as they impact students’ learning and social/emotional health. At the middle school, students are expected to turn off devices such as cell phones, SMART watches, Fitbits, airpods, and headphones and put them in their backpacks before entering the school each day.

As you give thought to providing your student with a device, please be sure that your student understands the school’s policy. Also, consider giving your student a device that is specialized for communication and not for internet based apps. In other words, don’t give a smartphone as a first phone. In an earlier community forum, more than one parent mentioned Pinwheel Phones as an alternative to explore. Most importantly, monitor your student’s device use and engage in conversations about their virtual experiences.

As part of our annual clean up before the December break, we will clean out WMS’ Lost and Found. There are many water bottles, hoodies, and jackets in our Lost and Found at this time. Please ask your student(s) to check the Lost and Found to see if any missing items belong to them. Also, if you are in the building for one of our wonderful upcoming events, please check the Lost and Found; the Lost and Found is found opposite the entrance to the library. On December 20th, items in the Lost and Found will be cleaned and donated when possible or discarded.

The Wayland Middle School PTO's annual holiday gift drive for kids living in residential homes of Wayside Youth & Family Support Network has begun!

Imagine if your child had nothing to open during the holidays…That’s what can happen to some of the tweens and teens living just a few miles away from WMS in one of residential homes of Wayside Youth & Family Support Network. Wayside is a group home for kids between 12 and 18 years old, many of whom will not have contact with any family members during the holiday season. There are about 85 young people who's lives we can positively impact.

How can you help? It's actually easy–the kids in short and long-term residence at Wayside Youth & Family Support Network have compiled an Amazon list of gifts they'd like. You can donate gifts via Wayside’s Amazon registry of items created especially for the Wayland Middle School PTO gift drive. Your selection will ship directly (later to be wrapped by WMS Community Service Clubs). Most gifts range from $25-100, and all are 100% tax deductible.

Please give a gift if you can. Thank you, and happy holidays!

Go to: Gift Drive Amazon Link

*Select "Wayside Campus-Gift Registry c/o Tim Hagen Address" for Shipping

Wayside Youth & Family Support Network is a local organization offering support, housing, and education to children who have experienced abuse, neglect, and trauma.

Learn more about Wayside Youth & Family Support Network.

Thirteen-year-old problem solver, Edwina, dishes out advice with the help of her friends and a little song and dance!

SHOWS:

Thursday, February 6: 7:00 PM

Friday, February 7: 7:00 PM

Have your child join the google classroom for all the info!

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NzI5NDk3MzA0MDE3

Artists: Yann Novikov

Grade: 7

Medium: Cardboard, Wood and Ink

We are so close! We are currently at 95.6% of our fundraising goal ($828 short). Please help us reach our goal so we can provide more great programs, activities and classroom materials for our students.

Grant requests

We are currently receiving grant requests form staff and will soon be putting your donations back into the classrooms.

Thank You to everyone who has donated to the WMS PTO this fall! If you have not yet donated to Gift Your Child, please help us reach our fundraising goal.

Please see more examples of what we can support with your help.

Many companies will match an employee's gift to a charity one-to-one or even more in donations! Ask your employer if they offer a charitable match!

The WMS PTO adds weekly updates in the Monday newsletter, but additional details, reminders, photos and videos are shared on the WMS PTO Facebook Group. Stay in the loop!

Other opportunities to volunteer

To see some of the descriptions, please see here.

We have many ways to get involved! Please fill out our survey below or send an email to Waylandmiddleschoolpto@gmail.com

PTO Cultural Enrichment committee members, Larina Mehta, Emily Weintraub and Jen Lux for bringing The Amazing Nano Brother’s show to WMS. Students and staff loved the educational and fun performance! Another great event funded by the PTO.

We are looking for volunteer(s) that would like to create engaging content for the WMS Facebook page and assist with other communication related tasks. The PTO uses canva.com to create fun videos, graphics and more. Please send and email to: Wayalndmiddleschoolpto@gmail.com