WMS Friday Forecast

August 23, 2024

Between Two Schools

Why Middle School Matters for Your Child's Development

We are (lucky) to have two outstanding middle schools in D303! Middle school is an exciting and crucial time in a child’s growth, both academically and socially. It's when students build on the basics from elementary school and start tackling more challenging subjects. This is also when they explore new interests and develop critical thinking skills that set the foundation for high school and beyond.

Socially, middle school is just as important. It’s a time when students start figuring out who they are, and what they want to become. It's a time when social growth is significant as adolescents make new friends, and learn how to navigate more complex relationships. These years help shape their sense of self and teach them skills like empathy, teamwork, and problem-solving.

To make middle school at Thompson and Wredling a positive experience, parents and teachers need to work together. Here are a few tips:

Stay in touch: Keep communication open with teachers. Regular check-ins can help you stay on top of your child’s academic and social progress.
Support learning at home: Encourage good study habits and help your child stay organized with homework and projects.
Monitor friendships: Be aware of your child’s social life and address any concerns, like bullying or isolation, with teachers.
Encourage involvement: Support your child in joining clubs or activities to help them connect with peers and explore new interests.
Foster a positive mindset: Help your child see challenges as learning opportunities, not setbacks.
Talk positively about middle school to your child: Even when there are challenges, be sure to point out the many good aspects of their middle school experience!

By staying involved and partnering with teachers, you can help your child thrive during this critical stage. At Wredling and Thompson we work together to help make middle school a positive experience for your child, and we are committed to partnering with you to ensure that success!

Enjoy your weekend-

Tim Loversky, Principal Wredling

Matt Clark, Principal Thompson

Picture Retakes Rescheduled

Which applies to your family?

1) My Student DID NOT get their school photo taken at Material Pick-Up

If your student did NOT get their school picture taken at Material Pick-Up either July 30th or July 31st, they will be taken on Monday, August 26th during the morning at school. The order and prepay form below is ONLY for students who will have their pictures taken and order on August 26th.

2) My Student DID get their school photo taken at Material Pick-Up & I ordered pictures

You only need to place an order if you did not purchase from our original picture days during Material Pick-Up or if you are unhappy with the photo order - which were distributed to be sent home with your student this week. If you choose to have a picture retake you will need to return the original photo package. Your student MUST bring the photo package with them on August 28th to the photographer. DO NOT USE THE CODE FROM THE ORDER FORM BELOW AS IT IS NOT FOR THE MATERIAL PICKUP DAYS.

3) My student DID get their school photo taken but I DID NOT order

Your student will recieve a preview photo on a small calendar. These will be distributed next week at school along with the photo packets. We will notify families when those have been distributed. Many students don't bring them home so be sure to ask your student for it. If you like the preview and would like to order prints, there will be directions on the calendar for ordering. DO NOT USE THE CODE FROM THE ORDER FORM BELOW AS IT IS NOT FOR THE MATERIAL PICKUP DAYS.

If you have further questions, please contact Color Portraits directly. Their customer service phone number is 1-847-382-7505 Ext 7.

Notes From The Office

Parent Parking in the Morning

Unfortunately, we have pretty limited parking at WMS. We are finding that some parents are arriving, pulling into parking spots in our front lot, then waiting until the students are allowed to unload. We would like to request that our parents please do not take the parking spots, rather wait down at Norris Center until the time for our students to unload (around 7:35 am) and pull through the drop-off line a that time. This will help insure that our staff and any D303 substitutes are able to secure parking spaces to be ready to greet our students. Thank you!

Bus Dismissal Safety

We need your help keeping bus riders safe. We know students have a smaller window of time to find their buses this year. We have many staff members out and boards with route order at the 7th grade entrance and main entrance to help them. We still need your help with a few things. If you could talk to your students about the following, it would help things go more smoothly and keep students safe: 1. Have your student add the Google Drive app to their phones. This way they can access the PM dismissal document and see buses order to expedite them finding their buses quickly. For those students without a phone, encourage them to stay in sight of one of the bus boards where our staff document the bus locations. 2. Speak to your students about not running towards moving buses and entering the dismissal zone. Once the buses are moving, we cannot stop them. Thank you for your support in keeping our students safe at dismissal.

ThinkCerca Testing Next Wednesday

Next week will mark our first ThinkCERCA diagnostic. Please see BELOW for information regarding our Fall administration from our district Executive Director of Assessment and Accountability, Dave Chiszar. The letter details what the ThinkCERCA assessment looks like and how we will use the information. You can also find our schedule for that day included here.

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Dear Parents and Guardians,

To be able to support student learning in the area of written expression students at both middle schools will take an online writing assessment three times a year. The first time the assessment will be administered is this fall with the assessment window opening August 25th.

The D303 Assessment Calendar can be found on the D303 Assessment page: https://district.d303.org/departments/assessment.

Students will have 60 minutes to complete the assessment. Students will have up to 30 minutes to read a grade level passage and answer some multiple choice questions. This helps identify a student's level of understanding of the passage they will be writing about. After completing this section students will have 30 minutes for the writing which is a response to the prompt.

Students and staff will use the information from the assessment to help understand each student’s current writing level, and plan for writing instruction. The winter and spring assessments provide information on how well students are responding to writing instruction.

If you have any questions please contact your building administration or myself.

Sincerely,

David Chiszar

Executive Director of Assessment and Accountability

Health Office Wish List

Please consider sending in an item from the Health Office Wish List. On occasion, students visiting the WMS Health Office need more than an ice-pack or a bandage. We keep a limited supply of additional items on hand for emergencies, but need to replenish our stash. Any donations can be sent to the Wredling Main Office labeled for the Health Office.

small water bottles
plain white socks (various sizes)
crackers / goldfish crackers
fruit/granola bars (No Nuts)

Thank You Red Shirts!

As our school year begins, we have been very fortunate to have parent volunteers come in and help out. Thank you for calming students who could not get their lock unlocked, helping students find the right class, and just being a kind face in a crowded hallway! Your help is always deeply appreciated!

Daisy Alvarado

Carlota Rodelo-Bristol

Tiffany VanDeMark Challenger

Xochitl Cortes

Desiree Danesi

Amanda Eakins

Carlota Foreman

Kelly Hadfield

Daphne Heffner

Letsy Laracuente

Grachelle Linton

Mirella Newman

Staci Olson

Christina Quiroga

Tony Quiroga

Carrie Schneider

Alicia Schwartz

Jessica Shanahan

Shamberi Smith

Mara Spaccaferro

Natasha Street

Chris Tom

If we missed saying a personal "thank you", please know that we truly are glad you gave up some of your time to help.

Again, Thank you from the Grateful Wredling Staff and Students

2024-2025 WMS BELL SCHEDULES

Attendance: Two Important Reminders

Please call in your child's absence daily to 331-228-3700 and provide concise, detailed information

Speak slowly, clearly and include the following:

First and Last Name (spell name for clarity)
ID# if you have it
Specific reason for your student's absence - if they are sick, please state their symptoms.
You must state an absence reason when calling in your child absence. If you do not leave an absence reason, your student's absence will be marked unexcused.

Bring in a Dr's Note or Appointment Slip

When your student is arriving late to school due to a Doctor's appointment, please have them bring an appointment slip or note when they sign in.
If your student is out for 3 or more days, they will need a Doctor's note for us to mark those absences "X" - Excused.
In the absence of a Doctor's note or appointment slip, we will mark your student's attendance as "M" - Unexcused - Absent w/out Medical Note

CLUBS & ACTIVITIES

New Club at Wredling: Disc Golf Club

Wredling's newest club is for anyone who wants to play or learn to play Disc Golf. This club will give students the opproturnity to play disc golf every Thursday the weather allows. Mr. Schilb and Mr. Bozic, along with other guest teachers, will introduce the game of disc golf or help other students improve their play. We will play here on Wredlings grounds with our moble disc golf baskets. We met for the first time Thursday August 22nd. Come that day or you are welcome to join any week after.