Windy Hill Middle School Newsletter
November 8th
Dress Like a Friend Day Last Week
Red Ribbon Week Jersey Day!
Some of our 8th graders during Red Ribbon Week!
Hello Knight Families!
Thank you to the many veterans in our community and their families for your service and dedication. We appreciate your contributions and are grateful for your sacrifices. This morning, students viewed the slideshow during the morning news show, and it was truly special for them to see and appreciate the service of our staff and community members. To view the presentation, click the link below. Your participation and service are deeply valued. A big thank you to our social studies teacher, Ms. Caitlin Reid, for organizing this presentation.
WHMS Veterans Day Presentation Community .mp4
Make-up Picture Day
Make up pictures are Thursday, November 14th between 8:00-10:00am. If your child has pictures from the original picture day, they will give them to the photographer at retakes. Our parent volunteer will go class to class asking if anyone wants to come to the library for retakes. Anyone can get retakes done.
No School:
November 11th schools are closed for Veterans Day.
YEARBOOK
Our yearbooks will go on sale shortly, but the yearbook cover contest is underway now! See the attached flyer for details.
GIVING TREE
WHMS will be collecting gift cards for our families in need this holiday season. There is a flyer attached with more information. Gift cards should be dropped off by December 13th. Thank you
Carson Scholarship nominations
The purpose of the Carson Scholars Program is to recognize and reward outstanding students in the United States who exemplify academic excellence and humanitarian qualities. The goal of the Carson Scholars Program goes beyond instilling an interest in college early on and assisting with the costs of college.
Students must first apply to be the nominee for Windy Hill Middle School before they can apply to the actual Carson Scholar Award. Only one nominee per school may be selected. Students must go to the attached link and read all information thoroughly prior to beginning their application. All applications to be the school's nominee are due Dec 4th, 2024. https://forms.office.com/r/kW6mnTrw8p
Any questions about the scholarship program can be addressed to their grade level counselor or to Mrs. Dean at deana@calvertnet.k12.md.us who is overseeing the nomination process.
Annual Fundraiser Allocations:
Our check from the Annual Student Fundraiser has arrived, and as promised, I’m being transparent about how the funds will be allocated to directly benefit our students. Please open the attachment below to see the details. Thank you again for your generosity and support.
WHMS FACEBOOK PAGE
CCPS has set up Facebook accounts for schools and ours is up and running. The link for our page is https://www.facebook.com/WindyHillMiddleSchoolCCPS/
LAPTOPS
Students need to bring their laptop to school daily. If they forget, they can use the phone in the main office to contact their parent to bring their laptop. Our loaners will be held for students whose laptops are out for repair and we do not have enough to loan them out for forgotten laptops.
LAPTOP CHARGERS
If your child loses their charger, they need to purchase a replacement through the school. The cost is $39 and your student can bring in a check payable to WHMS, exact cash, or you can pay online at this link Windy Hill Middle School (osmsinc.com). We understand that there is less expensive charger available through Amazon; however using these chargers will void the warranty on the laptop. When the 8th grade students turn in their laptops at the end of the school year, the original CCPS issued charger must be returned with the laptop.
PICTURES FOR YEARBOOK
If you are at a WHMS event, game, field trip etc. and get some pictures, we'd love for you to upload them to this link so we can use them for our yearbook, school posters, etc. Thanks!
LATE ARRIVAL/EARLY DISMISSAL
When students are dropped off late or returning after an appointment, they can come in without an adult and sign themselves in. The parent/guardian does need to come in with them when signing the student out. The latest a student can be picked up for early dismissal is 2:45. Thank you
ATTENDANCE ***** Update effective 10/18/2024 *****
Attendance updates are handled by Mrs. Madison, WHMS Guidance Secretary. Notes should be delivered to the Guidance Office or sent to WHMSAttendance@calvertnet.k12.md.us
When your student arrives late or leaves early due to a Health-Related Appointment (Doctor/Dentist/Therapist/etc.): A note is required to code as Legal. Please send a note in with your child when they return to school or email a note to WHMSAttendance@calvertnet.k12.md.us
Please refer to Student Code of Conduct Policy #3005 for Lawful Causes of Absences as defined by COMAR 13A.08.01.03. It is the responsibility of the parents/guardians to provide school authorities with verification of the reason for each student absence. Any absence not certified by the parent, guardian, physician, court or other appropriate person/agency will be considered unlawful. Students returning from absences without notes with appropriate signatures certifying lawful absences will be given three school days to provide such certification. Absences not certified at the end of three days will be considered unlawful.
For students illegally tardy:
3 tardies = 1 day lunch detention
4 tardies = 3 days lunch detention
5 tardies = after school detention
6 tardies = Saturday School
LOST AND FOUND
Our lost and found is kept on the stage on the cafeteria and donated or discarded every other Friday. Your child is always welcome to check the cafeteria before school or during lunch for missing items.
CAFETERIA
Please make sure you child has money on their lunch account if they are buying lunch. More information about the Child Nutrition Department and link to set up an account can be found here. School Meal Information - Calvert County Public School District (calvertnet.k12.md.us) Our cafeteria manager has also given us our WHMS menu for the first week of school which is attached below for your reference.
VOLUNTEERS
Calvert County Public Schools uses Raptor for visitors and volunteers to sign in and sign out. Volunteers must apply annually to be an approved volunteer. You will need to apply for the 2024-2025 school year. All volunteers will need to review the volunteer handbook and watch the volunteer training video before completing and Online Volunteer Application. Volunteers must be approved before they may begin service as a volunteer in any school buildings.
CCPS Online Volunteer Application & Process: https://www.calvertnet.k12.md.us/departments/human-resources/become-a-volunteer
SAVE THE DATE
The incoming Freshmen Registration Night for NHS will be Thursday, February 6th at 6:00pm. More information to come.
Thank you
Mark Whidden
Principal, Windy Hill Middle School
Athletics
Dates for upcoming clinics are:
Cheer 11/12, 11/13, 11/14, 11/18, 11/19 tryout 11/20.
Poms 12/2-12/6
Girls Basketball 11/18-22
Boys Basketball 12/2-12/6.
- COACHES NEEDED - We are looking for girls and boys track coaches for the spring. If interested, please reach out to our Athletic Director, Mrs. Merewitz at mailto:merewitzk@calvertnet.k12.md.us.
Windy Hill Middle School PTSO Updates
Our next PTSO meeting is Tuesday, November 19th at 4pm here at WHMS. All are welcome to join us in the WHMS library for the meeting.
You can email the PTSO officers at any time at mailto:windyhillptso@gmail.com.
Join the WHMS PTSO Facebook Page to keep up with information - Windy Hill Middle School Parents Teachers Students is the group name.
We encourage you to join PTSO. Joining PTSO does not obligate you to volunteering, but we certainly welcome your support with any events you are interested in helping with.
https://checkout.square.site/buy/PWK2E77ZYGDGEBG5FMT5KHKK.
Your PTSO officers this year are Mary Rooney, Michelle Dyro, Andrea Hoover, Cheri Kline and Karen Merewitz.