Rolling into October

And just like that we are five weeks into the school year! Our fall modified sports seasons are starting to wind down, most of our clubs and activities have had initial meetings and are underway, and rehearsals for our annual musical that takes place in November are in full swing. If you are a middle school student and not getting involved in activities after school then you’re not trying very hard. Please continue to encourage your kids to get involved! Sign-ups for Winter 1 and 2 modified sports seasons are now taking place in our Health Office and this link is an overview of the different clubs and activities that take place at different times throughout the year. Please contact me directly if you need some help getting your middle school student involved and engaged with something outside of the classroom. It's that important!

Progress Reports and Report Cards

The first progress report of the year is now available for viewing on SchoolTool. This is a terrific opportunity to log on with your child so that together you can monitor their academic progress, set goals and adjust habits early in the school year. Once you log into Schooltool click on the Grades tab, select Progress Report Grades and make sure you are looking at Marking Period 1. Progress reports and report cards will no longer be printed and sent home with students. We will send an email notification that grades and comments have been finalized for viewing every five weeks. The dates for progress reports and report cards can be viewed through this link. If you need a SchoolTool password or have any questions related to Schooltool please contact our Guidance Department at 487-4622. 

If this was the Jeopardy answer the question would be: 

What is the number of books every student should read outside of school during the year? 

Why 10? Well, the generally accepted rule of thumb is 20 books per year – for every student – every year. And that’s the minimum. If we read the equivalent of 10 books per year in school then that leaves the other 10 books for reading outside of school. We need to continue to increase the amount of time our students have with eyes on text. Reading and writing are the most critical aspect of student growth and learning in preparing them for their future. Our students need to make reading a habit and we need to support, encourage and model it for them.

A great way to help our children is to create a literature rich household. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to this is just finding some book titles that interest the young adult reader. Click here for some really good suggestions on books to include in your home library. Ten books in a school year - it’s non-negotiable and it is the most important thing we can do to set all of our students up for success. We need your help at supporting this and promoting reading as a part of every student’s daily life. This isn't rocket science -  it’s simple, but we have to do it!

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
sdunham@westgenesee.org
@Sdunhamwgms

Open House Re-Cap

Packed hallways and limited parking = good problems

One of my favorite nights of the year is our Open House.This is an opportunity for parents to "check us out". As a parent myself, we (parents) are less interested in hearing about every "thing" that is taught and every "policy" that we have, and more interested in the belief that our kids are in good hands and being cared for. Parents want to know about us as people, our willingness and ability to connect with kids, our efforts at preparing students for their future, how we  communicate, our focus on higher level thinking, and important literacy skills of reading, writing and speaking that are embedded in all that we do. Open House, and anytime we connect with our parents, is our opportunity to show people that we are caring, supportive, flexible, committed professionals.

Unfortunately some of our parents were unable to attend and several had asked me for an overview of the evening. Below are some highlights of the welcome that I gave everyone in homeroom at the start of our Open House. 

"First of all, thank you for being here this evening. For those of you that are new to our building welcome to the WGMS family. We are excited to have you here! For those of you that are returning, welcome back. We have an incredible community here at West Genesee Middle School made up of a dedicated and talented faculty and staff as well as involved and supportive parents. Your presence this evening and your ongoing involvement with your child’s education is a testament to the commitment you have made to make education a priority. We thank you for that. The journey from a young child in elementary school to a young adult in high school is not an easy one and we certainly need your support in helping us to maximize the potential in all of our students as they make that challenging journey through the middle years."

PTA table was busy all night

"We are passionate about what we do here at WGMS, we care about your children, and we all want this to be the best year that they have ever had in school. A focus of ours is continuous improvement; trying to get better at everything that we do, constantly reflecting on our practices, listening to feedback and having a willingness to evolve and grow.  We ask the same of our students. We continually talk with students about the role that they play in doing the things necessary to be as successful as possible and we try to build a capacity in them to have a willingness to try new things and strive to get better. Together we need to continue to encourage them to get involved with sports, music, clubs, and other activities and to stay connected with other events like our dances, Family Fun Night, 3 on 3 Basketball tournaments, and everything else that we have to offer. We talk to them about the importance of connecting with other people, about putting down their phones once in awhile and looking up from their screens to connect with others. Speaking and listening are still essential skills." (link to clubs and activities: WGMS Clubs & Activities)

"You can expect us to support them, but also to push them to be their best; to not accept the minimum, to challenge them and encourage them to be extraordinary. Your role as parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles and older brothers and sisters is vitally important . Your involvement and commitment to making your child’s education a priority is crucial. We can’t do this alone, we have to do it together. We look forward to working and getting to know all of you throughout this school year. It’s going to be a great year, a wonderful evening, and it’s always a great day to be a Wildcat!! Thank you and enjoy your night."

Thank you again for the incredible turnout and a big thank you to our teachers and staff for being Champions for our kids!!

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

Simply The Best!

The Queen of Athens
& the Heart of our building

One of our beloved teachers and friends, JoAnn Macaluso, died yesterday morning. Ms. Macaluso, or Miss Mac as we called her, has touched the hearts and minds of our students, staff and our entire school community for over forty-eight years. She was a mentor, a friend, a teacher, a leader and a member of the family for thousands of students and colleagues over her career. Miss Mac is loved and respected by so many not just because of what she did as a teacher, but because of how she did it and how she made us all feel. She made you feel like you were the most important person in the world because to her, you were. Miss Mac lived her life with passion, grace, humility, class and a contagious energy that filled up a room. She was my mentor when I started my career in the classroom, she was my role model for the kind of teacher I wanted to be, and she was one of my biggest cheerleaders and advisors when I stepped into administration. We are all better people because we had her in our lives.

As you can imagine this is going to be a very difficult time for many who were touched by her. This morning at school we had the opportunity to share our feelings and memories of Miss Mac as we work through our grief. As students and staff were talking, telling stories and sharing their greatest memories of her, our tears are beginning to turn to laughter and our heavy hearts are slowly becoming a little lighter as we reflect on all of the happy times with our dear friend.   

Miss Mac lived her life doing what she loved with the people that she loved. And we all loved her.

Steve Dunham