Back Pocket

Nov 7 - Report Cards Issued

Nov 8 - School Closed (Election Day)

Nov 10 - School Picture Make-Up Day

Nov 10 - Veterans Day Ceremony

Nov 11 - WKMS Spirit Day - Wear Red, White and Blue or Camouflage for Veterans Day

Nov 18 - WKMS Spirit Day - Dress Up Like Your Favorite Book Character

Nov 23 - School Closed (Thanksgiving Break)

Nov 24 - School Closed (Thanksgiving Day)

Nov 25 - School Closed (Thanksgiving Break)

Nov 30 - 2 Hour Early Dismissal (Mid-Term)

Fall Conferences - Thank you to all who attended conferences. We want to hear from you! Please complete this short Conference Feedback Form. We value your input. Thank you in advance for your help!

We are committed to making sure that our students and families are aware of the many resources available if your child is struggling with a mental health challenge. Please check out this RESOURCES link on the WKMS Counseling website for support services as well as information on the Mental Health Association’s walk-in clinic in downtown Frederick.

HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE

If you are in need of holiday assistance for the Christmas season, please contact WKMS (240-236-5000) and ask to speak with your child’s school counselor by Wednesday, November 9, so that we can best support you.

6th grade school counselor Ms. Dayna Koshar

7th grade school counselor Ms. Ruth Travis

8th grade school counselor Ms. Leslie Meyer

DONATION DRIVE TO BENEFIT THE URBANA FOOD BANK

The WKMS Peer Ambassadors are hosting a donation drive from November 1 – 9 to support the Greater Urbana Area Food Bank. Items needed to support our community are listed below and should be dropped off in the WKMS front office between 11/1 – 11/9 during school hours. Thank you for helping our Peer Ambassadors help our community!

Suggested Donations/Preferred Items

Paper Products Cleaning Supplies

Paper towels Tall kitchen trash bags

Toilet paper Black contractor trash bags

Tissues Dryer sheets

Napkins Windex

All purpose cleaners

Clorox wipes

Toilet bowl cleaner

Dish soap

Toiletries Miscellaneous

Shampoo All sizes of ziplocs

Conditioner Heavy duty aluminum foil

Body Wash Waxed paper

Body Lotion

Deodorant

Toothbrushes

Toothpaste

GOT MINDFULNESS?

Did you know that practicing mindfulness can help students to manage their stress and improve their attention span? Check out the Benefits of Mindfulness for Kids and Teens for information on how mindfulness helps kids to cope with their daily challenges.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR 8TH GRADE

UHS IB Program Information and Deadlines

Information and the application packet for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Urbana High School is now available for all interested 8th grade students and can be found on the UHS IB website. Please follow the directions on the application closely and contact jessica.mcbroom@fcps.org if you have questions about the program or the application.

PLEASE READ THIS AS DATES HAVE CHANGED AND DEADLINES ARE FIRM! APPLICATIONS ARE DUE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 BY 2:30 PM. ALL REQUESTS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS,TRANSCRIPTS AND GRADES FROM WKMS MUST BE REQUESTED BY NOVEMBER 18TH. The request for TRANSCRIPTS AND GRADES should go to danielle.scarbrough@fcps.org . She is the registrar at WKMS and will forward this to UHS for you. Recommendations from each of your academic teachers must be requested and given, BY the student applying, to the teachers no later than November 18th. These dates and deadlines are firm due to the length of time it takes to do this for all of the students requesting them. Thank you!

Carson Scholar

Each year, WKMS nominates one of our 8th grade students for the Carson Scholarship. The Carson Scholarship is a prestigious award from the Carson Scholar Fund founded by Dr. Benjamin Carson and his wife. The award of $1,000 is given to a student who shows high academic achievement as well as strong humanitarian qualities.

In order to be considered for nomination a student must have the following:

• A 3.75 GPA or higher

• Demonstrate humanitarian qualities in their schools and communities through volunteer work and/or community service.

• A completed essay of no more than 500 words

1 What is the most significant event in American History to you? Why is this particular event meaningful to you and what can be learned from it?

2. Reflect on the best piece of advice that you’ve been given. Who gave you this advice and why was it needed? Describe how this advice helped you persevere in a situation and what the experience taught you.

Students interested in applying should submit their essays and a list of volunteer/community service activities to Mrs. Meyer at Leslie.meyer@fcps.org no later than Friday, December 2, 2022. Typed essays will be reviewed by a panel of WKMS staff.

For more information about the Carson Scholars Scholarship please visit the link below:

https://carsonscholars.org/scholarships/prospective-scholars/

Happy Fall from Mrs. Saylor in Advanced Academics & Enrichment!

Enrichment Trip

The first trip is to IFLY Montgomery Indoor Skydiving. Students will learn to “fly” and receive a science lesson on physics and motion. The date of the trip is December 1st. This is a great activity for students who are interested in STEM. There is a $50 charge for this trip. This includes 2 flights, a lesson and transportation. Permission forms are available in the cafeteria and from Mrs. Saylor. Students attending will be responsible for making up missed classwork. We will leave at 9:15 and return by 1:30. A total of 25 students will be attending this event.

Spelling Bee

WKMS will once again participate in the National Spelling Bee. Announcements will be made for students to pick up their study guides and the school Bee will be announced and students will be directed to report to our school Bee during ELT in January. The winner of the school Bee will need to be available on Saturday, March 11 to compete at the county level at Hood College on March 11th at 1pm.

International Baccalaureate

8th grade students applying to the International Baccalaureate Program at Urbana High School should follow the directions on the UHS IB website Program Information - Application Information. All applications, teacher recommendations, and transcripts are due by December 3rd to Urbana High School. Please note that the last day for students to request a transcript or recommendation from a WKMS is November 18. This will allow our Registrar and teachers ample time to prepare the requested documents. Requests after this date will not be completed.

Project Lead the Way

8th grade students interested in the Project Lead The Way Pre-Engineering Academy-Honors Program at Linganore High should look over the requirements on the LHS website for directions on how to apply to this program.

National History Day

Students who have elected to participate in National History Day on March 11th at Rose Hill Manor have started their research on this year’s NHD theme Frontiers in History: People, places and ideas. This is a challenging academic contest that has students doing research, conducting interviews, visiting historic sites and using primary and secondary sources to conduct research about their topic. This contest was open to all students.

Greetings from the English Language Arts Department. Believe it or not, second term is officially underway! Important dates for the term are as follows: midterm is November 30th and the end of term is January 10th. During this term, all students will take the first FCPS English Language Arts Benchmark in their ELA classes. Specific details and dates will be shared with students as the testing window approaches. Additionally, all students have received SoMirac Young Authors’ Contest entry information in their ELA classes, and entries are due to Mrs. Hines by Wednesday, November 30th. As always, please reach out to your student's ELA teacher, Read180 teacher, or to the WKMS Literacy Specialist, Ginny Hines, with any questions or concerns.

Happy fall families! We are very appreciative for all the families that were able to join us during parent conferences. We love seeing smiling faces and hearing about your students. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out to the math teachers or Mrs. Wurster about math progress. We are moving through the curriculum and we have all learned about the many different resources available for use in math. Ask your student about how to use My HRW Go Math online, ALEKS, Desmos, Kami, PearDeck, Delta Math, or Quizizz, just to name a few (not all grades have accessed all resources yet but we are getting there!). If any of these resources are still unfamiliar to you or your students, reach out to Mrs. Wurster (heather.wurster@fcps.org) to get support for the math learning tools and platforms.

As we start fresh with term two, we ask that you continue to monitor Schoology for progress. Students should be working on their assignments daily Monday through Friday, completing their weekly ALEKS path work, reviewing skills taught, and checking their assignments. Ask your student to explain the process worked on today in math class. You do not have to know the solutions, just having your student verbalize the process that was practiced in math class helps to solidify the learning that your student is doing daily. If you or your student feel that more support would be helpful we have options available. During school students can request tutoring during ELT time with their math teacher or Mrs. Wurster. Additionally if help is needed once students get home, FCPS provides one-on-one direct support through Tutor Me . Tutor Me (click here for more info) is available through a student's FCPS login credentials on Chrome through Clever for all curriculums twenty-four hours a day. Students have received instructions through their advisory teacher on how to access and use Tutor Me. If your student did not receive that instruction please reach out. If you would like to see how the platform works for all content areas or you want assistance with accessing any of our resources please reach out to Mrs. Wurster at heather.wurster@fcps.org for assistance as she is happy to help in person, over the phone, and via Google Meets. There are always ways to help in our learning. As always, thank you for supporting math (and all content areas) learning at home and in school.