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Warrior Weekly
Issue 1 - August 16, 2024
Welcome Warriors!
Message from the Principal
Happy New School Year and boy what a start it has been! We are so excited to welcome all of our Warriors to a fantastic new school year and know it will be overall awesome and successful! Below are just a few things we want you to know for the school year:
WMS Zero Policy- If at any time a student is absent and misses an assignment or test, a zero will be entered in the gradebook for those items. The zero will act as a placeholder for the grade until the assignments are made up. This helps the student and parent as a reminder to get the grade updated by completing the missing work. It also avoids providing a false grade with holes in the gradebook. Per the district policy, a student has five academic days to make up missing work when absent.
Attendance Information- This is a friendly reminder about attendance, and what’s expected from each student here at WMS. Each student is only allowed five excused and five unexcused absences per semester. Excuses should be presented to the front office or to Ms. Henry prior to the beginning of school or after school. Please do not email excuses to Ms. Henry, a paper form must be turned in. Students should turn in excuses within three days of returning back to school. If your child has a doctor’s appointment, please make sure you get an excuse. Excused absences shall include the following:
The fact that attendance was impracticable or inadvisable due to any of these reasons must be confirmed by the student’s parent, guardian, or licensed physician to school officials, normally within three days of the student’s return to school. Written documentation will be required in individual cases.
documented appointments with health care professionals.
documented absence for religious instruction or a religious holiday
absence due to participation in an academic class (pre-approved)
absence due to participation in athletic tournaments and playoffs
absence due to the mechanical failure of the school bus
absence due to Court appearances (Official documentation must be provided).
absences due to illness, injury, death in the family, or some other insurmountable condition
All other absences are considered unexcused. Students with at least three consecutive unexcused absences or five unexcused absences will be classified as truant. Students will receive notification letters in the mail. All students who are absent excused or unexcused at least 10% of their days of enrollment will be classified as chronically absent. Students who miss school due to family trips please make sure to get it approved by Mrs. Haynes with a written request before the trip. Please keep in mind that it is the student’s responsibility to make up for any missed work. The student will have five days after returning to school to complete any missed work.
Retake Policy- In order to improve student learning and increase mastery of state standards, students will have the opportunity to retake major summative assessments by correcting errors on the attempted original test*. The newly corrected answers must be accompanied by a sentence to explain why the change in answer. The retake policy does not apply to projects or formal writing assessments that include multiple checkpoints and/or rubric. All students who score below a 70 will be allowed to complete test corrections, and the highest possible score a student can receive from a retake is a 70. Retakes must be completed within five instructional days after the original test took place. This does not apply to mid-term and final exams.
*The retake assessment can be determined by the teacher at their discretion.
Communication- The best way to communicate with teachers is via email as they are unavailable by phone throughout most of the day due to classroom instruction. Please allow 24 to 36 hours for a response.
Tech Connections- Please be sure to follow us on social media to stay in touch with all the awesome things we are doing! Social Media
First Day of School Assembly Slides- Please see the information that was shared with students on the first day of school. 24/25 First Day of School Presentation Slides
ID’s, Lockers and Tardies- All students should wear their IDs at all times. All bags are to be kept in lockers at all times. Teachers are taking tardies so please encourage your child to get to class on time.
We hope you and your child had a great start to the school year! As always, please let us know if you have any questions and how we can help you in any way and remember, We Just Can’t Hide That Warrior Pride!
Parent Resources
Informational Meeting
We want to thank all of you that attended the parent meetings Thursday night! We hope the information shared will help bridge the gap of understanding and help create a team between the parents and the educators for our students' success. Please see the presentation slides below and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
WMS GT and HN Information Meeting
Faculty & Staff Spotlight
The first several editions of the Warrior Weekly this year will introduce you to our fabulous faculty and staff here at WMS! Our Science teachers are already engaging our students in the scientific method during labs focusing on the absorbancy of various paper towel brands. They're sharpening those skills early on so they're prepared to use them througout the year.
Our Custodial Staff did an amazing job over the summer preparing our school to welcome everyone back. We appreciate their hard work in making our building shine and keeping our campus beautiful on a daily basis. You all are the best!
Guest Speaker
We would like to welcome Caris Snider to WMS next week. She will visit with our students on Tuesday and discuss how to incorporate health coping skills. We have partnered with Waccamaw Intermediate School to bring her message to the entire COMMUNITY Wednesday evening at 5:30 pm as well. Be sure to join us that night and see the flyers below for more information.
Nurse Notes
The DHEC recommended student health screenings will be completed at WMS on 09/24/24 through science classes. We will check vision, hearing, and dental on all 7th graders and height, weight, and BMI on all 8th graders. If you want to opt out of the screenings, please write the nurse a note or e-mail her at pmcdill@gcsd.k12.sc.us.
Sports Pass
Don’t forget to get your Sports Pass to all WHS sporting events! This pass will get you into all regular games hosted at WHS and supports all the high school's athletic programs. Get yours TODAY!
Yearbooks
PTO News
Interested in becoming a memeber of PTO and supporting WMS? Simply print, fill out the following form, and turn it in to the front office by September 9th in order to be recognized on our school sponsorship banners. Thank you for your support of our Warrior Family!
Waccamaw Middle School
Email: radams@gcsd.k12.sc.us
Website: https://www.gcsd.k12.sc.us/o/wms
Location: 247 Wildcat Way, Pawleys Island, SC, USA
Phone: 843-237-0106
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Waccamawmiddleschool/