That’s
the one word that I have said to myself several times over the last month and a
half at different events that our students have been involved in. From concerts
and sporting events, to our school musical and First Lego League, I am blown
away by how talented, poised and committed our middle school students are in a
wide variety of activities outside of the classroom.
First Lego League (FLL)
West
Genesee Middle School students took part in West Genesee School District’s
first ever First LEGO League (FLL) competition. Our FLL team, West GeNXT, is a group of 7th
and 8th grade students that strategized, designed, built and
programmed autonomous LEGO robots to perform a series of tasks in competition
with other schools. Over the course of several months the West GeNXT team focused on real-world math, technology and science
concepts in preparation for their first tournament. We are looking forward to
adding some teams at the middle level down the road and hopefully getting some
of our elementary schools involved as well.
FAME Jr.
In November 125 students worked together to put on three
amazing productions of FAME Jr. There were 90 students performing on stage as
musicians, dancers and actors and 35 students behind the scenes working lights,
sets, curtains, security and as ushers. We also had at least five former WGMS
students from the high school on hand helping in a variety of ways at each
rehearsal. The high-energy show focused on the last years of New York City's
celebrated High School for the Performing Arts, telling the inspiring story of
a diverse group of students who commit to four years of grueling artistic and
academic work.
Concert & Athletics
November
and early December saw all of our performing groups in all three grades take
the stage at the high school, while our winter sports teams have their seasons
well under way. As impressive as they
are in concert or on game day, the most impressive thing to me is the time and
effort that goes into all of the countless hours practicing without an
audience. It’s easy to get excited about a performance or a big game, but it
takes true commitment and dedication to show up and work hard every day.
Our
teachers and coaches deserve a great deal of credit and appreciation for all of
their time and effort in working with our student-performers and student-athletes.
The passion and enthusiasm of our teachers and coaches shines through in our
student’s performances. It really is impressive and it is all of these
opportunities, in conjunction with the incredible things that take place in our
classrooms, that really make the middle school experience so special.
Continued
Success,
Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms |
| Every good coach is a GREAT teacher |
 |
| 6th Grade Chorus taking the stage at the High School |
