Thursday, September 27, 2012

"It's All About Reading and Writing"



With the shift to the Common Core Learning Standards, the push to infuse literacy into all content areas has been our main focus from last spring through the summer and into this school year. Whether you are a student in an English classroom, a Science classroom, or a Technology classroom, the ability to read, write, listen, and speak is imperative to your success. It is no longer about memorizing information, rather, it is about analyzing, interpreting, describing, arguing, and synthesizing information from a variety of sources and expressing yourself orally and in writing. This isn’t the same old Middle School that you and I went to (actually, I did go to school here, I was just a little bit shorter then and a lot younger!). As a result, we are trying to support literacy in a variety of ways and with a spectrum of resources.  One of those incredible resources is our school library. Please complete the quiz below.
Library Quiz
Since the beginning of the school year (2 half days and 15 full days), how many total items have been checked out of our library?                  (answer: below picture)
Answer: over 1,100 items!!!
Were you even close? I was way off. Our students and teachers are making reading and utilizing the library a priority. That is awesome!! Please continue to push, promote, and encourage your kids to read. Our library has an extensive list of audio books that can be just the thing to get those hesitant readers diving into literature. We also have a number of magazine subscriptions and other digital media through our library web site to really get students excited about reading. Even though they are in middle school, our students still love to be read to. I would encourage you to read with them, read to them out loud, throw on an audio book in the car, and read the same book as them so that you can have some really great conversations about the wonderful stories and information that they are learning. Thank you for all that you do to support your children and for being so involved!
On another note, the days are getting shorter, there is a chill in the air, and I am seeing pumpkins all around. Time to start thinking about my Halloween costume!
Continued Success,
Steve Dunham

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

We Are Off and Running


It’s the second full week of school and we are back in the swing of things. Other than me forgetting to get my lunch out of the fridge some mornings, this has been a wonderful start to the school year. Walking into classrooms during the school day you see energized teachers and engaged students. The sounds of instruments and singing from the music wing float down the hallway and put a little bounce in your step (whether you want to bounce or not). Head out on the athletic fields after school and you see our student-athletes competing and working hard as their coaches prepare them for their first games later this week and next. The building is alive and well!
All of our students will take part in our AIMSweb universal screenings in both Mathematics and Reading this week. These screenings will provide us with really useful data that goes beyond the state assessment results to ensure that we are providing necessary interventions for students as well as helping us make informed decisions about instruction. All good stuff!


If you are not connected to us through SNN please take the time to do so by clicking on the SNN logo on the West Genesee Homepage. The number of people connected to us continues to grow and as you can see below, we had a stream of people getting connected during our Open House last week. Even more good stuff!


Long lines at Open House to get connected!








Saturday, September 8, 2012

It's A Great Day To Be A Wildcat!

Opening a school for the beginning of a school year brings with it a great deal of work, preparation and careful planning for everyone from the secretaries and custodians to the bus drivers, teachers and everyone in between. It all comes together and makes it all worth it when students start walking into the building on the first day. And even though it was a short first week, it once again confirmed what I already knew: we have great students, we have an amazing faculty and staff, and we have involved and supportive parents. 
As we get back into the rhythm and flow of the school year I encourage all of you to become as involved with our school community as you possibly can. Whether you are a student, parent, or WGMS employee, we have a wide variety of things for you to get involved with and stay connected. Over the next few weeks, here are some of those things that I hope to see you at:

Tuesday, September 11: WGMS PTA Meeting at 6:30 PM in the Cafeteria

Thursday, September 13: WGMS Open House from 7 PM until 9 PM

Thursday, September 20: 6th Grade Dance from 3 PM until 4:30 PM


Thanks for a great first week and I hope to see you soon. It’s a great day to be a Wildcat!
Steve Dunham