Energized for the Second Half

Just like that January is in the rearview mirror, the Kansas City Chiefs (from Missouri) won the Super Bowl and Puxatony Phil did not see his shadow so we are optimistically looking forward to an early spring. There is a lot going on as we jump into February and head into the second half of the school year.

Scheduling

Earlier in January we had our 8th Grade Parent Night to start the scheduling process for our 8th graders moving to the High School next year. If anyone is interested in what the presentation entails you can check it out by going to the West Genesee Middle homepage, scroll down to ‘School Links’, click on the ‘Counseling/Students Services’ link and select “8th Grade Parent Night: High School Planning & Scheduling Process” presentation. 8^th Grade students have started meeting individually with their School Counselor to make course selections for next year. Those course selections should be available to view on Schooltool by the end of the month.

6^th and 7^th grade students also have some decisions to make about their schedule for the 2020-2021 school year. All of them should have received a scheduling letter and course selection sheet in the mail in January. Those course selection sheets should be returned to student’s homeroom teacher by Friday, February 7^th. If you have any questions regarding scheduling please give our Guidance Office a call at 315-487-4622.

Information for Parents

This is a pretty good article that outlines How Childhood Has Changed for Tweens: “In some ways, kids are growing up faster today. Parents can no longer shield their children from bad news, particularly if they’re carrying a computer in their pocket. In other ways, they’re growing up slower. As they spend more time communicating online, they’re spending less time together experimenting, taking risks, playing, and dating.” What our kids are experiencing growing up today is so significantly different than what any of us experienced. The more informed we are as parents the better we can help to guide and support our kids.  

Students of the Month

As a building we celebrate those that carry themselves in a way that we can all be proud of. Last week we recognized our ‘Students of the Month’ for January. We continue 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. As a school community we are extremely grateful for students who day in and day out show up, work hard, do their best, and make our school a better place.

This month we recognized 6th graders Eliana Freeman, Lena Kent, David Bosak and Will Madden; 7th graders McKenzie Pomplas, Bella Vallely, Evan Powers and William Schneid ; and 8th graders Camille Bohli, Hannah Kenna, Luke Calkins and Dillon Collier.

6th Grade Students of the Month

7th Grade Students of the Month

7th Grade Student of Month

8th Grade Students of the Month

Important Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, February 12^th - WGMS Science Fair (Public Viewing 6:00 PM)

Friday, February 14^th - Valentine’s Day: No Interaction Time

Monday, February 17^th- Friday, February, 21^st - Winter Recess

Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please give me a call or send me an email. 

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham 
sdunham@westgenesee.org
Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Jumping Into 2020

As hard as it is to believe that we have turned the calendar to 2020, it’s just as hard to believe that we are two weeks away from the first semester of the school year coming to an end. The second Winter sports season has started for many of our middle school student-athletes and many students will be completing any half-year courses in their schedule and starting new courses later this month. Please be on the lookout for scheduling information to be mailed home to all parents in early February as we are beginning to plan for the 2020-2021 school year.

Strategic Planning Calls for Commentary 
For many years the West Genesee Central School District has engaged in a reflective and goal-oriented review process which culminates in a Strategic Plan for Educational Improvement. You can view the 2019-20 Strategic Plan here. A critical component in the development of this plan comes from the feedback we receive from all stakeholders: our staff, students, community members, and parents. The Strategic Planning Team would appreciate a few moments of your time to tell them about our areas of strength and where we need to grow and improve. Please click here to complete the brief survey by January 24th. Your feedback and input is greatly appreciated.

Transitions

Some of the most important moments in a student’s journey from Kindergarten through graduation are the transitions that take place when they move from one building to another. At West Genesee we currently have two transition points that take place as our 5^th graders move to middle school and our 8^th graders move to the high school. In both instances, we have spent a lot of time working between the different buildings to ensure highly effective and smooth transitions for students.

8th Grade Parent Night

Last night both middle schools held an 8^th Grade Parent Night to start the process of getting our 8^th graders ready for the high school. There was a standing-room-only turnout of highly engaged and involved parents who had great questions and want to be a partner in the process. The purpose of the evening was to explain the scheduling process, develop and understanding of graduation requirements, and build an awareness of the different course offerings that our High School has. You can access the presentation by going to the West Genesee Middle School homepage, scroll down to ‘School Links’, click on the ‘Counseling/Students Services’ link and select “8^th Grade Parent Night: High School Planning & Scheduling Process” presentation. If you have any questions relative to this process please give our Guidance Office a call at 315-487-4622.

As always, if you have any general questions or concerns please give me call or send me an email. Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Celebrating Success

The last few weeks have been a blur of activities including Thanksgiving Break and our first snow day of the school year. As we work our way through the first week of December I wanted to share some of the successes that we recently celebrated. 

Wizard of Oz: Curtain Call

Wizard of Oz

The week prior to Thanksgiving we were fortunate to have three wonderful performances of the musical, The Wizard of Oz. Over 110 students were involved in either the cast or the stage crew. It was so gratifying to see teachers, parents, and students all working together to make such an incredibly well done production a reality. Opportunities like these that provide students a chance to develop their skills and a platform to share with others are incredible. A special thank you to our Director, Mrs. Christy Knowlton, who takes anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of the production. To manage and direct 110 middle school students and create such an amazing production is incredible. I had to remind myself several times that these are middle school students! Bravo!!

Wizard of Oz cast performing for their classmates during the day

Optimist Award Winners

Earlier this week we the honor and pleasure of recognizing two of our 8^th grade students and one of our staff members with the Optimist Students and Teacher of the Year Awards. The biggest challenge we face is that we have so many outstanding students and staff members to consider it is a very difficult process.

Some of the selection criteria that we consider when nominating students is challenging to quantify - optimism, integrity, perseverance, caring, creativity, initiative - all noble qualities, and characteristics that we should all aspire to, yet they are difficult to really assess.  When talking about someone’s character the best measure in my opinion is the eye test - you see it, you feel, you sense it. It’s not very scientific, but when you are in the presence of young adults who embody what is most important...you just know it. This year our two student winners were Nicole Vasilev and Joey Paoli. Congratulations to both of them and we appreciate them adding so much to our school community!

The simple dictionary definition of a teacher describes a teacher as a person who teaches, especially in a school. But there is so much more which the dictionary can’t describe. In real life, a teacher is a guardian, caretaker, instructor, mentor, coach, role model, and the list goes on. It has been our philosophy for many years that all of us, and any of us in our schools that work with students are teachers. Regardless of your job title, you are a teacher. With that as some background, it is easy to understand why so many people nominated John Lizzi, our Head Custodian, for the Optimist Teacher of the Year Award.

He goes above and beyond his duties all the time. You can see Mr. Lizzi out front each morning saying hello to students, waving at parents as they drop kids off and being a friendly face for anyone arriving at West Genesee Middle School from about 7:00 AM to 7:30 AM - rain or shine, sun or clouds, Mr. Lizzi is out there. Not because he has to be, but because he wants to be. 

Mr. Lizzi takes the time to listen to students and interact with them in our cafeteria, the hallway, and school events. He knows them by name and they know him. Mr. Lizzi has been a staple at our 8th Grade Career Fair where he shares his experiences as an actor. His stories sparking curiosity and wonder in the hearts and minds of 13 year-old wanna-be actors and actresses. He elicits realistic, useful advice, but inspires those young eyes to Dream and to Think Big.

Mr. Lizzi’s thoughtfulness, work ethic, compassion, initiative and sincere caring for our students, staff and entire school community is remarkable. Through his actions and leadership he has helped to create a culture of caring and learning. Congratulations to Mr. Lizzi for being the Optimist Teacher of the Year!

Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please give me a call or send me an email. 

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