What's Happening at Western?
Dear Western families,
Now that we are one week into the start of the school year, I want to share just how excited I am to be starting my first school year as the principal of Western Middle School. The three months I spent as the interim principal this past spring confirmed that this is the role I was meant to have at Western. My ten prior years as the Assistant Principal have prepared me well for this new role and I can’t imagine working at any other school. I truly believe there is no better school in town because of the teachers, staff, students and families of Western. Many of you already know that my husband and I sent our three daughters to Western as magnet students instead of sending them to our home middle school in town. I knew how special Western was before most people in town discovered this secret and decided to send their own child as magnet students. It turned out to be the best decision my husband and I have made for our three daughters. To say that I am invested in Western and its success is an understatement.
As I openly share with anyone who will listen to me, Western Middle School has the best staff in town. They are the most dedicated, talented individuals I have ever worked with in my 28 years in education. Mrs. Rizio (formerly Ms. Montague), our assistant principal, is a Western alumni and just as invested (if not more) in Western’s success. She is extremely skilled in her role and does an excellent job connecting with our students and parents to help guide our students to being the best versions of themselves. Mr. Cerruto, our other assistant principal, is starting his first full year with us, but he quickly demonstrated how talented and dedicated he is while as the interim assistant principal last spring. You will hear from Mrs. Rizio and Mr. Cerruto throughout the year in my weekly SMORE. Our amazing staff has chosen to work with middle school children (which takes special people) and they have specifically chosen to work at Western. This is because the students and families hold a special place in their hearts. They believe that all students can perform at high levels and strive to provide a caring and nurturing environment while pushing our students to reach their full potential. Your children are in very good hands during their time at Western.
I shared my thoughts on the importance of middle school when I first took over as Interim Principal, but I want to share this with you again. As a parent, as well as an administrator, I believe that the middle school years are three of the most important years in a student’s life. What they learn during this time will set them up to be successful in high school and beyond. This is the time for your children to learn effective student habits, how to become good friends, how to advocate for themselves and how to problem-solve situations that arise. It is also a time where they will naturally start pulling away from their parents to become more independent, which is expected and what we actually want them to do. Personally, I am lucky if I can get my three daughters to come out of their rooms long enough to give me a one-word description of how their day was or to find out what is going on in their lives. However, I feel comforted because Western shaped them into capable, responsible students who know how to manage their time and advocate for themselves. I believe Western is the reason they have been so successful in high school. Our goal is to send your child off to high school performing at their full potential with as much independence as possible. During their middle school years, your child will most likely make one or more bad choices, have a conflict with a friend, not hand in some assignments, do poorly on one or more assessments and experience a challenging situation in a class. They are expected to make mistakes and navigate challenging experiences during the middle school years, but learning from these mistakes and experiences in order to prevent similar situations in the future is what we hope they will accomplish while in middle school.
As we enter a new school year together, we look forward to partnering with you to help both you and your child navigate the middle school years. We will take this ride together through all the ups and down. You know your child best, and we need your involvement and collaboration to ensure that we are pushing your child to reach his or her full potential and learn from any mistakes they make. We are always here if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Suzanne Coyne
suzanne_coyne@greenwich.k12.ct.us
PS: Morning drop off has gone VERY well this week and tardies to school were very low overall. Thank you all for your cooperation!
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Monday, September 9, Tuesday September 10, Thursday September 12, 2024: Fall Sports Tryouts
Wednesday, September 11, 2024: ELA LinkIt Testing, 8:56am-10:56am
Wednesday, September 11, 2024: 7th & 8th Grade Open House, 6pm
Thursday, September 12, 2024: ELA LinkIt Testing, 8:56am-10:56am
Tuesday, September 17, 2024: Math LinkIt Testing, 8:56am-10:56am
Tuesday, September 17, 2024: 6th Grade Open House, 6pm
Thursday, September 19, 2024: DC Parent Meeting, Auditorium, 6:30pm
Tuesday, September 24, 2024: PTA General Membership Meeting, Media Center, 6:30pm
Below are the dates and times for our Open Houses this year:
Wednesday, September 11th: 7th & 8th grade
Tuesday, September 17th: 6th grade
6:00-6:30 pm: Presentation by Western administration about what we do at Western to support our students' academic and social emotional growth, such as our AVID school-wide program and our Restorative Practice approach to teaching and reinforcing student behaviors. A translator will be provided.
6:30-8:30 pm: Visit classrooms by following your child’s schedule. Your child will bring home their schedule for you to follow.
During our Open House, student volunteers will be on hand to share information about voter registration and Early Voting, which begins on October 21 in Connecticut. Please look for them in front of the school upon arrival and departure.
Sports tryouts begin on Monday, September 9th. A student will not be able to try out unless he or she has been cleared to try out.
Boys soccer:
- Monday 9/9- Tryouts are for 6th and 7th graders only. Athletes will meet in the auditorium. They will walk over to Strazza (Dorothy Hamill skating rink) and will be dismissed from there.
- Tuesday 9/10- 8th grade only
- Thursday 9/12- 6th and 7th grade only
- Friday- 9/13 8th grade only
Girls soccer 9/9: All grades and players will meet in the gym and walk to Strazza.
Volleyball:
- Monday 9/9- 6th and 7th grade only. Athletes meet in the gym.
- Tuesday 9/10- 8th Grade only
- Remaining players on Thursday and Friday
Field Hockey 9/9: All grades and athletes will report to the fitness room.
Volleyball and Field Hockey players will be dismissed from Western Middle School.
Thank you and Good Luck!!
If your child needs to come to school late because of an appointment or other excused tardy (not because they woke up late or you left the house too late) OR you need to pick up your child early for an appointment, please follow the procedures below:
Late arrival:
Please call the attendance line and leave a message if they are coming in late because of an appointment or other reason.
Your child can enter the building by themselves and sign in at the main office.
Have your child bring a note from the doctor if you are coming from an appointment
Early Dismissal:
- Ring the front buzzer and the office staff will have you come into the main office and sign your child out in our Dismissal Log. We cannot send students out of the building to meet a parent in their car.
Over the next month, your children will be participating in numerous lessons and activities around various topics to set them up for success this year. We call these our Bootcamp lessons, and they started right away on the first day of school during our extended Advisor Base. They will continue in Advisor Base for all of September. Students will learn organizational strategies (one-binder system, use of planner), safety procedures, school behavior expectations and procedures, and much more. There will also be fun activities to help students get to know one another and the teachers.
The Western fields are looking beautiful!! Below are some aerial pictures and a more recent picture I took from our staff patio that shows the turf laid down. I never realized how much I love the sight of green turf! It is the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time. The fields are still scheduled to be completed in December. I told all our students in our back-to-school assemblies that they will be the first Western students to play on Western fields in over 8 years and to get ready for the best Field Day this school has ever seen. The article below that was released in August with more details:
We are excited to kick off our 2024 Breast Cancer Awareness fundraising early this year with the return of our Special Edition PINK West Side Best Side shirt! All orders will be placed directly through this CustomInk link (no cash will be accepted!). You are welcome to purchase as many shirts as you would like! Your shirt(s) will be available for pick up at WMS at the end of September.
The deadline to place your order is September 10th. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Click here to order a PINK West Side Best Side shirt!
Thanks for your support!