Windy Hill Middle School Newsletter

Hello Knight Families!

Thank you to all the families who attended our Open House on Wednesday! It was fantastic to see such strong support for our students. Your presence and engagement truly make a difference.

Attached to this document and also found on our WHMS website is our Parent Handbook with lots of information about WHMS.

ANNUAL FUNDRAISER STARTS MONDAY

Our annual school fundraiser kicks off on Monday, and I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible generosity of our WHMS community over the past three years. Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to purchase books for ELA classes, enhance our instructional technology, and update classroom furniture.

This year, I aim to direct our funds towards enriching our clubs and extracurricular activities. I am committed to being transparent about how the funds are allocated. Your participation in this year’s fundraiser is deeply appreciated. Thank you for your continued support!

HEARING AND VISION SCREENING
All 8th grade students and any student new to WHMS this year will be screened for hearing and vision the first week in October. There is more information about this attached to this newsletter. Questions should be directed to our nurse, Ms. Tillini.

WHMS SPIRITWEAR

Our PTSO spiritwear store is NOW OPEN. It will be open for one month. Check out this link for some fun, new WHMS spiritwear! https://wearyourspiritwarehouse.com/WHMS22/shop/home

ATTENDANCE

Attendance updates are handled by Mrs. Madison, WHMS Guidance Secretary. Notes should be delivered to the Guidance Office or sent to madisonw@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 Mrs. Madison.

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.

Tardies - in the next few weeks we will begin enforcing our tardy policy. 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

PTSO EVENTS UPCOMING
PTSO will host our Back-to-School Food Truck Event on Friday, September 20th, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. See the attached flyer for details. This is a fun, family event to kick off the year. The first dance will be October 11th 5:30-7:30.
CLUBS
Our chess club is starting in October and permission slips are in the main office for students to sign up for chess as well as attached below. Cooking club will be held in January-February this year. Please be on the lookout in December for instructions on how to have your name in the cooking club lottery. Book Club starts up September 6th and the flyer is in the main office and attached here as well for this club. Fellowship of Christian Athletes, FCA, begins on September 17th. This is a morning club, so no permission slip is needed. Students are dropped off at 7am. We also have a boys basketball clinic for three sessions in Oct/Nov for any boy interested in some court time. See attached flyer for details. All that's needed to stay for this is the permission slip returned.

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.

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

Thank you

Mark Whidden,

Principal, Windy Hill Middle School

• Clinics will start right after school and run until 5pm.
• VOLLEYBALL CLINIC DATES: 9/9, 9/16, 9/18, 9/23, and 9/25.
  Information from Volleyball coach:

  My name is Cynthia, the Head Volleyball Coach at Windy Hill Middle School.

  Every year, the school hosts five-day volleyball clinics that everyone is welcome to participate in. These clinics are a great opportunity to come out and learn some basics about the sport.

  However, there are a few things to keep in mind when attending the clinics:

  * You will need to bring water, athletic clothing (no jeans), and athletic shoes.

  * Knee Pads are optional.

  Once again, this five-day clinic is just to learn about the sport. I hope to see you there!
  
  

• SOCCER CLINIC DATES:

  Clinic day 1 - Sept 4

  Clinic day 2 - Sept 5

  Clinic day 3- Sept 10
  

  Clinic day 4- Sept 12
  Clinic day 5-Sept 13

  Tryout day 1 - Sept 16 (we will make first cuts)

  Tryout day 2 - Sept 19 (we will make final cuts)
  Information from soccer coach:
  

  For those students planning to attend soccer clinics please ensure the students sign up and complete all necessary paperwork with the office prior to the first day of clinics September 4th. Students are encouraged to have the following items:

  - Size 5 soccer ball (optional)

  - Shin guards (required)

  - Soccer cleats are not required but are highly recommended. Metal spikes, baseball, and football cleats are not authorized.

  - Water (it will be hot so please have enough for two hours)

• COACHES NEEDED - at this time we are looking for a poms coach for the winter sports season and 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.
• 
  

Our next PTSO meeting is Tuesday, September 16th 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.