WFMS Family Newsletter
Keep up with February Events!
Upcoming Events
February 11 Rising 6th Grade Orientation 6 PM - Snow date
February 12 8th grade fundraiser at Pizza Blitz 4PM - 10PM
February 17 (Monday) Schools** and Offices Closed
February 19 Coffee and Conversation with Officer Branche 8:30 AM - Topic: Human Trafficking
February 20 - Combined PTSA and Community School Steering Committee Meeting 6 PM
February 21 (Friday) 2-Hour Early Dismissal for Students (Modified Pre-k schedule)
March 27 (Thursday) 2-Hour Early Dismissal for Students (Modified prek schedule)
March 28 (Friday) Schools* Closed for Students
Administrative News
Mark Your Calendars
Testing season is fast approaching starting with the MISA assessment on March 3rd and 4th. Please encourage your 8th grader to get into the routine of coming to school with a charged chromebook.
The 8th grade class will be taking a field trip to Harpers Ferry, WV on April 7th. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information!
FCPS Accepting School Counselor of the Year Nominations
National School Counseling Week and FCPS School Counselor of the Year Nomination Form
National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week 2025 (#NSCW25), from Feb. 3-7, 2025, focuses public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors. The theme this year is: School Counseling: Helping Students Thrive.
During the month of February, FCSCA, the Frederick County School Counselor Association, welcomes nominations for Frederick County School Counselor of the Year. Please consider nominating a deserving counselor using this link.
Thank you for supporting and recognizing our amazing Frederick County School Counselors who work tirelessly every day for our students!
MTSS News
What is MTSS?
MTSS stands for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. It stands for all of the ways that we support students here at WFMS, including academic, emotional, and behavioral supports. The umbrella of MTSS covers everything from tutoring to counseling to celebrations for success.
Is this PBIS?
One aspect of MTSS is positive behavior supports (PBS) which is all about celebrating and and the culture and climate of our school - which includes great behavior and academic success.
What has the MTSS team been up to?
The Spooktacular Showdown in October and the Abominable Adventure in December gave cadet class teams a chance to compete with each other while solving challenges that focused on teamwork, resulting in the winning class for each grade getting snacks!
The Beautiful Tomorrow assembly in October and the November Dance were both huge hits with students.
Ice Cream Rewards - Students who earned honor roll for term one received a coupon for a free ice cream treat in the cafeteria.
What is Coming Next?
The Winter Classic 2025 staff vs. student floor hockey tournament will be coming up on February 26th. In order to play, students must be referral free between 2/5 and 2/26. The signup form was shared in Cadet Central on Schoology.
The March Madness staff vs. student basketball tournament will take place in March - stay tuned for more details!
Parent and Student MTSS Team Members -
Would you like to be part of our planning for upcoming events and activities? Join us in the front office conference room at WFMS on February 18, March 11, March 25, April 8, and April 29! We meet from 3:15 - 4:15pm.
Clubs and Other Announcements
Our school spelling bee winner is Sean Adams, and the runner up is Nazaha Huda. Congratulations to those students and all who participated! We will continue to meet in February to help our champion prepare for the county spelling bee. 6th grade book club met for the first time at the end of January, and we will meet again in February. We had a lot of fun playing bingo and discussing the current book. The West Frederick SGA is celebrating academic excellence at WFMS by hosting a pizza party for students in each grade level that got top honors on their term 2 report card. Also we are gearing up to have school wide elections for our club officers starting in mid February.
Community School News
News from the WFMS Community School Nurse
Hi Cadet Families! I am the Community School Nurse for West Frederick Middle School. I have recently returned from maternity leave, and I look forward to helping the children and families in our community. My primary focus will be to provide care coordination for students and families with complex health conditions and barriers that impact their education. Whether you need help picking up medications for your child, contacting any kind of doctor, obtaining insurance, following up with a doctor, I am here for you. If you do not have insurance, we have options as well and I would love to share that with you. I will also work closely with our Community Coordinator to help implement school-wide preventative and support initiatives for families and students in our community. It is important to me that we eliminate health barriers outside of school so our children can focus and learn inside of school. My office is located inside of the health room at WFMS. You can contact me at 227-203-2721 (office) or text me at 227-226-9145, and I am always available by email. I look forward to getting to know you, your family, and your children and hope to meet you at some community engagement events in the future!
Steering Committee Meeting
The WFMS Community School Steering Committee will meet Thursday, February 20 at 6:00 PM in the Media Center. The committee, consisting of parents, staff, and community members, works to address needs and improve support for students and families based on the Family Survey. Future meetings are scheduled for March .20 and April 10 at the same time and location.
WFMS Family Support Request
Did you know that you can complete a form to let us know of needs you may have as a family? We had a few technical difficulties with the form but we are back up and running! Use the link below to access this form.
Needs that you can communicate are as follows:
- Food items/comida
- Housing/alojamiento
- Free medical appointments/resources/citas Médica Gratuitas/recursos
- Mental health resources/Recursos de Salud Mental
- School supplies/Útiles escolares
- Clothing items/ropa
- Seasonal clothing (coat, jacket, hats, scarves, gloves, etc)/
- Ropa de temporada (abrigo, chaqueta, gorros, bufandas, guantes, etc)
- Resources that can help with immigration needs/Recursos de Ayuda con inmigración
School Counseling
WFMS is celebrating Black History Month by celebrating Black heritage, tradition, and achievements of Black people throughout history. We will be highlighting these achievements every day on our morning announcements.
Registration forms for rising 7th and 8th graders will be sent home the week of February 10th. Counselors will be going into classes to give a presentation on how to choose courses for next year. Forms will be due to the student's grade level counselor by February 21st (6th grade - Mrs. Irwin; 7th grade - Mrs. Hessong). If you have any questions, please contact your student’s counselor.
6th - Dawn.Irwin@fcps.org
7th - Jessica.Hessong@fcps.org
There are several opportunities to share a family meal or enjoy some fun while also fundraising for our school! See flyers below!
News from Mr. Hill, Career Coach
Every morning throughout the month of February there will be a Schoology post in connection with Culinary Arts. Students will be able to learn about different jobs within the career cluster.
Volunteer Opportunities
Ms. Shroeder is looking for a volunteer to help with weekly photocopying. Ideally, this volunteer could work on Wednesdays or Thursdays in order to return the copies to her by Friday afternoon. If you are interested in volunteering please reach out to Ms. Shroeder directly via phone or email brenda.schroeder@fcps.org
Reminder that all FCPS volunteers have to complete the FCPS volunteer training. Information about that process can be found here: https://www.fcps.org/student-services/volunteer-in-fcps
FCPS Announcements
FCPS Special Education Family Resource Center
The Office of Special Education is excited to announce the opening of the FCPS Special Education Family Resource Center! This is a space for families to come and receive help and resources. An Open House is being held on Friday, February 21, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. to unveil this resource for families. We welcome you to share this Save the Date to families via your schools' newsletters so we can spread the word about this resource for families of students with disabilities in our community!
School Improvement Updates
The School Improvement Planning (SIP) team was excited to welcome our new student members at our most recent meeting! Students joined different SIP squads focused on family engagement, student experience, and health and wellness with teachers, administrators, and other school leaders. They helped to analyze and interpret data from our culture and climate survey, and provided valuable input as we planned next steps. We look forward to their ongoing participation and leadership in our work to improve our school!
A highlight from our middle of the year English Language Arts iReady Reading data is below:
This shows data from the beginning of the year (diagnostic 1) and middle of the year (diagnostic 2) iReady Diagnostic Reading assessment. Our students have made great growth! Notice how the students performing 3 or more years below grade level went from 40% to 34%, meaning they are moving closer to grade level. We had students in the one grade level below band increase from only 109 students at the beginning of the year to 140 students at mid-year. Our goal is to increase the % of students proficient in reading on the MCAP test by 10% from last year. (MCAP and Iready data correlates.)
Title I News
If your child recently entered a Read 180 Reading Intervention Course for Term 3, please read the following welcome letter:
Specialists
Literacy Specialist - Ms. Utz
Students are working through the new units learning how to read and write analytically. Recommendations for next year' ELA placements have been made. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me or your student's teacher directly.
Math Specialist - Ms. Gladhill
Students are in the middle of taking the middle of the year iReady to see how much they have learned over the past year. We are eager to see how much growth our students show on this assessment. Please continue to encourage your child to complete at least 5 ALEKS topics a week. Recommendations for next year will be coming out this month. If you have any questions and/or concerns please contact your child’s math teacher or myself at Jenifer.Gladhill@fcps.org
Media Specialist - Ms. Weber
In the library, we will highlight African American writers and artists for Black History Month. Students are learning how to locate resources to fulfill an information need. They are familiarizing themselves with nonfiction books, databases, and other sources.
6th Grade
Language Arts
We will continue working on unit 2, during which students will examine the ways in which individuals overcome challenges. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to visit the library to research a significant figure as part of a Black History Month project. They will also have the opportunity to present their project to the class. Make sure to ask your student(s) about their chosen figure and the information they discovered!
Math
Science
Social Studies
Hello Cadet Families! February will see our kiddos continue to learn about our 4th Unit of the year: Ancient China! More specifically, our students will be learning about the unification of China under Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, the Han Empire, and the Silk Road.
7th Grade
Language Arts
As part of our English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum, we will soon begin a unit titled Inspired by Nature. In this unit, students will explore nature’s inspirational and destructive sides while considering our impact on the natural world. The texts we will read center on the Essential Question “What does it mean to be in harmony with nature?” This open-ended question is intended to spark thoughtful discussion. You may wish to explore this question with your student at home as well.
Math
7th Grade Math will be starting Module 6, focusing on solving one and two step equations. Properties of equality are a key idea when solving equations.We will be sure to include opportunities for understanding properties of equality (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) and why they are an essential part of understanding solving equations.
Checking solutions is an important part of justifying the students' thought process.
Science
Our marking period 3 unit is on chemistry! The students are very excited about chemistry labs (not as explosive as they are imagining) and the opportunity to experiment with different chemicals. Please check the Schoology gradebook or reach out to your child’s teacher to ensure their Science Safety Agreement was returned. Here are some chemistry experiments to try at home:
Social Studies
We are continuing our study of Unit 5: Mesoamerica in the Middle Ages Through 1750 and will be testing out of it early in term three. After this we jump into our study of Europe with Unit 6: Europe in the Middle Ages. During this unit the students will be exploring Europe after the fall of the Roman empire with a focus on feudalism. They will be testing out of this unit with our second benchmark. In this benchmark essay assessment the students will need to argue what brought the decline of feudalism in medieval Europe. They will be working with different sources that relate to the Bubonic Plague, the signing of the Magna Carta and the 100 years war. Additionally, social studies classes will be completing a research based African American History Month lesson using the artwork of Jacob Lawrence and the National Archives collection.
8th Grade
Language Arts
Math
8th grade math is finishing up Unit 6 and moving into Unit 7 which will be angle relationships.
Science
Students have begun their study of the interactions of the solar system. They will first create scale models, then move on to an exploration about gravity.
Social Studies
In 8th grade American Studies, students are currently working on their second and final benchmark essay. Students will argue whether they think the social, political, or economic aspects of Westward Expansion had the greatest impact on the United States while utilizing text evidence and historical thinking skills to convince readers. After the completion of this benchmark, we will begin our Causes of the Civil War unit, where students will learn about how sectional differences and growing tension over the institution of Slavery caused our country to break into a brutal Civil War.
Physical Education
Ms. Geisz, Mr. O'Rourke and Mr. Richards
We started term three with team building activities. All classes banded together to achieve common objectives in games like Titanic, where students have to collaborate and employ strategy to move everyone safely across the gym. In the coming weeks, the students will be rotating between classic team sports units and the cardio/ weight rooms.
PE REMINDERS BELOW
Please be sure your student is prepared to go outside (jacket/ hoody) if the weather breaks.
Students need proper footwear. Athletic shoes or crocs, no slides or slip on shoes.
Students may not wear headphones or use cell phones. Lockers are provided to the students in the locker room, but a lock needs to be provided from home.
Guardians - Please check schoology for updates and comments regarding your student.
Health-Mr. Ball and Ms. Katzenbarger
Students will be wrapping up learning about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and finishing up the term with grade level family life units. Information will be sent out by health teachers.
Reading Intervention
Our Read 180 6th grade students have started their new workshop “Water Fight”. They are learning new vocabulary that will help them read about droughts and identify the central idea. Seventh grade Read 180 students are working on a research paper about a dystopian author and identifying what may have influenced them to write in that genre. They will then begin their new workshop “The Hunt for Lincoln’s Killer.” Eighth grade is starting a new unit on Extreme Sports.
Math Intervention
7th and 8th graders have conferenced with Ms. Schroeder and Ms. Gladhill, our Math Specialist, to look at where they stand at the end of the first semester. 6th graders will be conferencing with us soon. We looked at the ALEKS percent mastered and grades in both Common Core Math and Math Readiness. Parents, please ask your child to show you the topics mastered on ALEKS. All students are to be doing at least 5 topics per week. This counts as 10% of the Common Core Math class grade. By now, the goal is for students to have at least 100 topics mastered or 50% of the topics mastered. Please encourage them to work on it at home and in Cadet Class on tutoring days.
Multilingual Learners
For Term 3 in Foundations of SS and Science, we are back to our science unit, specifically Earth and Space. We are studying landforms, climate, bodies of water and space. In Foundations of English we have finished our family and home unit. In Term 3, we will learn how to write an argumentative letter, identifying claim, evidence and reasoning.
Electives
World Languages
World Language/WLEX:
Students have started their unit on Spanish Language & Culture. We will be exploring the countries that Spanish is spoken in and completing a KWL on Spanish language and culture. Students will choose a Spanish name and a Spanish speaking country to help them learn about the culture. They will use these names and countries throughout the unit. We will begin basic Spanish conversation/expressions before moving on to colors, numbers, family members and the alphabet. They will complete a project at the end of the unit on the Spanish speaking country they chose.
Spanish 1 Where is…? When is…? How do I get there…? Who is coming along? Students will learn lots of question words (interrogativos) and the vocabulary they need to get around to different places in the city, introduce friends, and talk about where to go and how to get there… all in Spanish, of course! !Por supuesto!
Spanish 2 Perdón, Señor. ¿Dóndé está la estación del tren? Where is the train station? Students will learn lots of places in the city, and how to ask and give directions to get to them. They will get to tell others what to do, and make suggestions of things to do together using the imperative mood.
STEM and Engineering Explorations
6th grade Engineering Explorations: Students began our class in January to start semester #2. This unit began with shop and classroom safety before beginning our unit on measuring with accuracy and precision. We will continue into the design process with architectural sketching and into our hands-on problem solving product designs. In order to help your child be as successful as possible, please remind them to bring in their charged Chromebook, charger, and engineering notebook each day.
7th grade STEM Innovators: Students began our class in January to start semester #2. This unit began with shop and classroom safety before beginning our unit on designing with aesthetics in mind. We will begin our first group project with a design challenge for a very particular client. Students will need to follow the design process and track their daily accomplishments as they work through the challenge. In order to help your child be as successful as possible, please remind them to bring in their charged Chromebook, charger, and engineering notebook each day.
Applied Engineering
Applied Engineering
Students have begun working on Engineering tool box skills such as measurement, drawing and standards of workmanship in the classroom. These skills will help prepare them for upcoming design challenges including designing & constructing their own Mouse Trap Cars, Hovercrafts, Straw Bridges and Table Top Cardboard Hoop It Up Game. All units are hands on Project Based Learning and STEM related activities which students will find fun, engaging & challenging.
Agribusiness
Computer Science Exploration - 6th Grade
CSE is an introductory computer science course based in the Scratch programming language that empowers students to create authentic artifacts and engage with computer science as a medium for creativity, communication, problem-solving, and fun. We will be using ProjectSTEM, a mission-based organization focused on equity in computer science and STEM education through programs that help students engage, learn, build confidence and persist in these fields. Students are working in Scratch, a coding website, to design their own programs. They are making their characters, called Sprites, do different things (move, make sounds, turn) and then go back to their original starting point.
Computer Science Investigation - 7th grade
In CSI, students are introduced to computer science as a vehicle for problem-solving, communication, and personal expression. We will be using Code.org®, an education innovation nonprofit dedicated to the vision that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core K-12 education. Students are working in Code.org to explore the Problem Solving Process in Design. They are learning to write code by exploring various animations and games.