GORILLA GAZETTE NEWSLETTER
Haysville West MS l September 2024
Parents & Guardians,
By now your middle school student should be settled into a daily routine. You can help us by making sure that they charge their Chromebooks nightly. By logging into your Powerschool Parent Account at www.usd261.com you can check their grades, and by clicking on the grade in blue you can access the assignments tied to that grade and the score your child received. Mostly, ATTENDANCE MATTERS! Making sure your child is at school everyday and on time will help them be successful academically, socially and emotionally and prepare them for their future in the workforce.
What's Happening at West???
SURG starts Wednesday, September 4th
SURG—SORRY U R GROUNDED
Students will start being assigned to SURG on Wednesday, Septemeber 4th.
As many of you already know we have an academic component called SURG, (Sorry,
UR Grounded); however we would like to explain this intervention to our new families and
remind you of the guidelines for this program. We provide additional support for any student
who is failing any class by assigning them to a SURG room during Guided Study.
Guided Study is the last hour of the day and is basically a study hall for all students. Students
will spend Tuesday through Friday in SURG when assigned; core teachers will be there to assist/tutor them in any area where support is needed. Not only will these students get extra academic help, they will also be limited in what extra-curricular activities they can participate
in. If your child is assigned to SURG, they will not be able to attend any special
assemblies or GO DO IT! activities for that week. If your child is assigned to SURG, you will
be notified by our internet based calling system. While we encourage all of our students
to get involved in extra curricular activities, the expectation is for all of our students to
be academically successful. Our goal is to have empty SURG rooms! Please help us in
this endeavor by being actively involved in your child’s education, using Power School
to keep track of your child’s grades and assignments, and by staying in constant communication with your child’s teachers. Our goal is to help each and every student at HWMS to be successful and it can happen if we work together. Please contact any of us at HWMS if you have any questions
or concerns. As always, “Thank you” for your continued support.
The First G3 of the Year is Friday, September 27th
G3
At HWMS students have the opportunity to participate in a fun way to acknowledge their hard work and dedication to their academic achievements. This is an initiative that HW started last year to encourage students to take accountability for their attendance, behavior and grades and it was a huge success. The first G3 of the year will be Friday, September 27th and the students will go to Dorner Park where they can fish, play cornhole, pickleball, volleyball or just hang out with friends.
A picnic lunch of hot dog, single bags of chips, and individual wrapped cookies with a bottle of water will be provided. If you are able to donate any of these food items please contact our school office at 316-554-2370. Please deliver donated items to the HW office by Monday, September 23rd. Thank you in advance for your contribution.
The Requirements for students to be able to attend are:
1. No unexcused Absences - find the USD 261 District Attendance Policy here:http://www.usd261.com/Parents/attendance.php
2. No missing assignments. This includes Waggle minutes.
3. No ODR's (Office Discipline Referral).
4. Passing all classes.
There will be a "G3" day each 9 week grading period. You can help your child qualify for the next G3 by checking Powerschool and following up with them about their grades and assignments, and making sure they have regular attendance. We are looking forward to all of our Gorilla students meeting the qualifications to attend this fun event.
G3 May 2024
"G3" Wind Surge Game 2024
Fall Picture Day - Wednesday, September 18th
Jostens will be at HW on Wednesday, September 18th to take pictures of the entire student body. These are the pictures posted in the yearbook and parents have the opportunity to purchase a picture packet at a later date. We will send out notification via ReGroup our messaging system, and include the school code when these are available for viewing. All students will have their picture taken during their science class.
🦍 Athletics Highlights 🦍
All Athletic competitions start in September
Tuesday, September 3rd - Volleyball
- 8th @ McPherson
- 7th @ Home
Thursday, September 5th - Cross Country, Football and Girls' Tennis
Cross Country
- CC @ Clearwater 3:30pm
Football @ Home
- 8th @ 5:30pm
- 7th @ 4:00pm
Girls' Tennis
- Tennis @ Prairie HIlls 3:30pm
Come out and support all of our Gorilla athletes in their competitions. GO - RILLAS!
Capturing Kids' Hearts
Capturing Kids' Hearts is a program adopted by USD 261 Haysville Schools to concentrate on building student connectedness in order to help create high-achieving centers of learning by strengthening students' relationships to others and enhancing healthy bonds with their teachers as well as establishing collaborative agreements of acceptable behavior. HWMS includes a monthly CKH flier within this monthly newsletter throughout the year. At HW we are very proud to say that we have been the recipient of the Capturing Kids' Hearts Showcase School Award since we adopted this program in 2016.