It’s unbelievable to think that the majority of the school year is now behind us. Today we are officially on day 2 of the second semester. With the jump to the new semester we start to live in two school years simultaneously; we obviously still have a great deal of work to do as we push, grind and grow through the 2017-2018 school year, but we also are now heavily into our planning for the 2018-2019 school year.
A big part of the planning process for next school year is working with our students and their families to identify course requests as our 6th graders move to 7th grade, our 7th graders move to 8th grade and our 8th graders prepare to transition to the High School. Each in their own right a pretty significant step.
The transformation of the middle school that has taken place over the last few school years has opened up some new opportunities for our students that started when our current 8th graders entered the building as 6th graders in the fall of 2015. The Reader’s Digest version of what those opportunities are going to mean down the road for our students is this: greater flexibility in terms of accessing wider breadth of high school & college level courses, and opening up additional diploma endorsement opportunities for our students. Some of those new opportunities for our students at the middle level are outlined in a blog post from earlier this school year: http://wgmsprincipal.blogspot.com/2017/09/new-opportunities.html
Earlier this month we started the planning process for the 2018-2019 school year by meeting with our 8th grade parents and guardians. The purpose of the meeting was to provide and overview of graduation requirements, discuss 9th grade course requirements & electives, and outline the scheduling process for our 8th graders as we start their transition to the High School. Our School Counselors will be meeting with our 8th grade students to review the same information and then ultimately meet with each student individually to make their High School course requests. That entire process will be completed by late February. Here is a link to the presentation if you’d to check it out:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JdV6bp9vUiXASpEwEmryBRACxpFwWcx8Js9VqlgBKDM/edit?usp=sharing
School Counselors will also start to work with our 6th and 7th grade students to take a look at the different options that they have in terms of course requests for next school year. Parents and guardians should look for course request information coming home from us in early March.
Students of the Month
The end of the month and start of the new semester also brings with it our new ‘Students of the Month’ for January. We continue to have students, who through their actions and character, help to create a positive school environment. Choosing ‘Students of the Month’ isn’t about grades and athletic or musical prowess, it’s about demonstrating all of the qualities that we value and celebrate - exemplary work ethic, citizenship, character, compassion, honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility, optimism and/or leadership in creating a positive school environment. Yesterday we recognized 6th graders Dillon Collier, Hannah Kenna, Anthony Mangano and Ella McIntyre, 7th graders Aidan Gartner-Baca, Lana Hussein, Margaret McDonough and Peter McMahon, 8th graders Kylee Barry, Aidan Braun, Carolyn Coffey and Nicholas Personte. Well deserved and congratulations to all!
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| 6th Grade Students of the Month |
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| 7th Grade Students of the Month |
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| 8th Grade Students of the Month |
Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms
