West Middle School e-Bulletin

It was great to see so many supportive parents at our Curriculum Night last night. We hope you learned a lot about your student's teachers and the classes they're taking this school year. We look forward to a great 24-25 school year .

Tuesday, 9/17 - West vs. Discovery XC Meet @ 4 pm @ Northridge (note: new location)

Monday, 9/23 - NWEA Map testing begins in ELA;

Monday, 9/23 - Parent/Student Washington D.C Pre-Trip Meeting @ 7 pm

Monday, 9/30 - NWEA Map testing begins in Math

This past Wednesday, students were sent a link in their school email to apply for the 2024-2025 West Middle School Student Council. The Student Council provides West with a great team to support and plan events, provide opportunities for leadership, and more! If interested, apply now! All applications are due September 24th, 2024. Thank You

For questions reach out to Mrs. Hine @ Corrie.Hine@pccsk12.com. Have a great day!

Apply here: https://forms.gle/NEaRVAjEAZNvgnQU6

We are getting ready to roll out our PBIS program in meetings with students in primetime soon. This year, we are handing out 3 green cards each quarter to students. Whenever students demonstrate negative behavior in school, staff members will apply corrective feedback by re-teaching the school expectations (see attached behavior matrix). Students may also be asked to turn in a PBIS card to the staff member observing the behavior.

Parents/Guardians, you will be notified through verbal or written correspondence each time a green card is taken. These contacts are simply a way to document the behavior with home, as well as, ensure that you, the family of the student, are aware when a situation arises that warrants a green card be taken. Please know it is okay if a green card or two is taken at some point this year. The green cards act as a warning system for the students and opportunities for correction and redirection. While it may be initially alarming to receive these notifications, please do not worry, it is a natural part of growing up to make mistakes, the green cards allow for those mistakes to be corrected. The notification home is simply a way to help foster a partnership between yourself and the school community so that we can best serve your student(s).

Part of PBIS is acknowledging the great things kids are doing so we'll also be launching Bulldog of the Week beginning next week and students can earn Bulldog bucks to "purchase" items from classroom "stores". Students who have at least one green card remaining at the end of the quarter are able to use it for admission into the big quarterly reward activity.

During the weeks of September 23rd and September 30th, every student enrolled in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools in grades 6-8 will take two core subject tests called Measures of Academic ProgressTM (MAP). Our English Language Arts and Mathematics teachers will be administering the Reading and Mathematics Core Subject MAP online tests to determine your child's instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year. MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for your child's level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing.

During the testing weeks, your child will spend about two and a half hours completing each of these two tests. Each school year, students in grades 6-8 will take the MAP tests in the fall and again in the spring. The results will be used to help students set academic goals, help teachers inform instruction, and help the school to align resources to support student learning. Following each testing period, you will receive a report showing your child's growth. We are truly excited to utilize this to focus on every child's individual growth and achievement. For more information on resources for parents, download the Parent Toolkit at http://www.nwea.org.

In addition, please note the following testing information for your West student:

• Students will take the reading assessment during their Language Arts class. Students will take the math assessment during their Math class. Your child’s teacher will inform him/her about the testing date several days prior to the test administration.

• If your West Middle School child is participating in the 1:1 Chromebook program, they will be using their Chromebook for the MAP testing. As such, having a full charge on the device when he/she comes to school is expected.

• Finally, the standard pre-test message to parents applies here – 1) Make sure that your student eats a healthy breakfast on the day of the testing; 2) Make sure that your child gets enough sleep on the night prior to the testing; and 3) Engage in some conversation about the upcoming test and what the results will mean for your student.

As always, if you have questions regarding this information, please feel free to contact me via

e-mail (cheri.steckel@pccsk12.com) or phone (734.416.7599).

8th grade parents and students who are registered for the Washington D.C, please attend the meeting on Monday, September 23rd at 7 pm. This information will cover packing list, expectations, roommates, bus assignments, chaperones, health information, and itinerary.

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools has partnered with Qustodio to enhance student safety online. Using Qustodio, families can monitor and restrict the content that their students can access on district-issued take home Chromebooks, as well as one personal device. Formerly, that monitoring of P-CCS Chromebooks had been available via Securely Home. Families will soon receive emails from Qustodio with instructions on how to access the free Qustodio Parental App. Please note that all Qustodio features for P-CCS Chromebooks are available to families for free. Personal devices, however, only receive the basic features for free. Premium features are available for personal devices should families elect to pay for them.

Grades 6-12: Canvas Observer Accounts Auto-Created for Families of Secondary Students

Our teachers have a new digital classroom tool, Classwize. Classwize empowers teachers to create more engaging lessons and seamlessly share digital resources. It also helps students stay focused on their schoolwork by allowing teachers to monitor browser activity during class time.

Classwize functions on both P-CCS-issued devices and personal devices brought to school. As a reminder, when using personal devices for school, students are expected to only use Google Chrome for their web browser and to be signed into that browser using their Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Google account. This ensures they can access essential school resources and enables teachers to support their learning effectively. Please be assured that Classwize monitoring is limited to school-issued devices and P-CCS Google accounts on the school network. Activity outside of these bounds remains private.

Over the summer, Canvas Parent Observer accounts for students at the secondary level were updated so that families no longer need to seek out a pairing code to get connected to their student(s)' account(s) in Canvas. If you already had a Canvas account, you might have received a merge request email. This is a legitimate email and you can proceed with merging the accounts. If you are unable to access your Parent Observer account, please use the “Forgot Password?” on the Canvas login page. Please note that your account will be under the email address listed for you in MISTAR Parent Connection. For additional information and screenshots on how to sign in, please review these more detailed set of directions.

We are in need of special education paraprofessionals at West Middle School. Please consider applying for one of our open positions. Or, if you're unable to do 5 days a week, you can also apply to be a paraprofessional substitute through Edustaff. If you do, we know you'll love working with our kids as much as we do. Thank you for considering.

Until construction is complete, please come to door #28 to enter West Middle School. You will need to call 734-416-7550 and someone will come and let you in. We appreciate your patience!

Though fall might be a little cooler, the fun and excitement of this event remain! We invite all P-CCS students, families, and community members to join us for an afternoon filled with games, food, and plenty of fun. This is a great opportunity to meet school and district leaders, learn about the many programs P-CCS offers from preschool through high school, and kick off the school year together.

Additionally, we’re offering tours of the P-CEP campus—a perfect way for younger families to get a sneak peek of the high school in a fun and engaging setting. It's not too late to start the school year with a bang! We can't wait to see you there.

Key benefits of daily attendance:

Stress reduction

Stronger connections with peers and teachers

Enhanced learning experiences

Let's work together to make daily school attendance a habit. Your child's success starts with showing up.

The Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education is seeking district residents to fill a vacant board seat. Applicants must be at least 18, U.S. citizens, registered voters in the district, and have lived in Michigan for at least 30 days. Letters of intent and/or resumes should be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, either via email to Diane Robertson or hand-delivered to the E.J. McClendon Educational Center. Interviews will take place at a public Special Board Meeting on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at 6 p.m. For more information visit: https://www.pccsk12.com/Home/Components/News/News/27647/19

The P-CCS Parent Council is a district-wide group open to ALL families and caregivers of the students of the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district. Parent Council serves as a liaison between P-CCS families and administration to provide a forum for open communication and act as an advocate for all parents, students and schools. Parent Council is a representative group of parents from each school building in the District. Members bring issues from their individual schools to discuss with the School Council representatives. Programs and speakers inform members about educational issues that concern P-CCS students and parents. All meetings are open to the public, and our guests often include School Board Members, District Administrators, Program Specialists, and Community Leaders.

Parents and students play a key role in our efforts to keep our schools safe. With that in mind, we want to again remind parents and students about the State of Michigan's OK2SAY Tip Line. It is a 24-hour source designed to empower all members of the community to report safety concerns so that appropriate local personnel can respond. The OK2SAY number is 1-855-565-2729, you can text to 652729, or you can send an email to ok2say@mi.gov. Student safety is our number one priority at P-CCS.

In its first year after launching in July, the district’s Summer Harvest Packs program invites families to pick up a big bag of free produce every Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. (or while supplies last) at Discovery Middle School. P-CCS volunteers give out bagged produce to the first 100 people who come to the school’s front drive. The program runs through Friday, Oct. 11.

There are still openings in the popular two-year-old Stay and Play program, as well as the Youth Dance program for ages 2.5 up to 18 years. Weekly classes begin in September and conclude in May.

Fall basketball leagues for third through eighth grade also start in late September. Volunteer coaches are needed so additional teams can be formed. Head to the Community Education website for league details and to enroll. Winter leagues open in October. Be sure to sign up for Community Education e-notifications for regular updates. Follow us on Facebook @PCCSCommEd to stay in the know.

West Middle School

Principal: Mrs. Cheri Steckel

Assistant Principal: Mr. Patrick Calzone

Dean of Student Support: Ms. Jennifer Haynes

Counselor A-K: Mr. Josh Bechtel Counselor L-Z: Mrs. Stacy Brooks

General Office: Mrs. Tracy Visnaw, Mrs. Lisa McGee, Mrs. Lisa Cambell

Staff Directory: CLICK HERE

Website: https://www.pccsk12.com/our-schools/middle-schools/west

Location: 44401 West Ann Arbor Trail, Plymouth 48170

Phone: 734-416-7550