School Closure Grading Information

Dear WGMS Families - 

I hope that all of you are safe and healthy. As we all adapt to how we experience school, I wanted to share some information about how teaching and learning will continue in the weeks and months ahead. Given all of the unknowns, we have looked beyond Governor Cuomo’s school closures through April 15th. We will adjust our plan as he updates his guidance to the State. 

Week of April 6-10 (previously April Break)

We will utilize the extra week of instruction for students to complete and/or make-up any assignments still open during the 3rd marking period. Teachers will reach out to individual students regarding what assignments they are looking for that most closely measure the learning standards for their courses. Not every student may have make-up work that they are responsible for completing.

Closure of 3rd Marking Period

Teachers will finalize the 3rd marking period grades on April 21st. Report cards will be available for viewing in Schooltool on April 24th. 

Marking Period 4 (April 13-June 25)

Teachers will begin to deliver new content through Google Classroom beginning on April 13. We will continue to follow these guidelines: 

Core Subject Area (ELA, Math, Science, 

Social Studies, World Languages)-

2 assignments per week, approximately a 40 minute 

completion time each

Electives and All Special Area Classes-

1 assignment per week, approximately a 40 minute 

completion time

New Grading Guidelines for Marking Period 4

Teachers will no longer be giving numerical grades for submitted assignments in marking period 4. In addition to teacher feedback, we will be using the following criteria for each assignment: 

Complete = Student has executed the task to the 

course or grade level standard

Incomplete = Student has executed the task, but it is not yet to the course or grade level standard

Missing = Student has not yet submitted the assignment

Parents and students will be able to view individual student progress through Schooltool for marking period 4 as assignments will be posted as they were previously. In place of grades, you will see a C, I or M representing Complete, Incomplete, or Missing.

At the end of Marking Period 4, students will be given a final quarter grade of Pass or Fail based on their ability to demonstrate their learning of course specific learning standards. 

The calculation of the final cumulative (4 marking periods) average has not yet been decided. 

All of us at WGMS are thinking of all of you each day. We so deeply miss all of our students and hope that we will all be together again soon. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our students and staff.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Extended School Closure

I hope this message finds everyone doing well!

As we start to make the transition to virtual learning, our teachers and staff have been working to develop remote learning opportunities for our students during this extended school closure. Counselors, social workers, and teachers will be engaging with students through Google Classroom, email, and/or virtual office hours. Contact information for our teachers and professional staff is provided here organized by department. Any questions or concerns relating to online instruction should be directed to the teacher of the course. 

While we know that many of our teachers are already checking in with students, starting on Monday, March 23rd, students will receive lessons/activities in their Google Classroom accounts. We know that families are dealing with numerous challenges, so students should expect only one to two 40 minute lessons/activities each week per class at this time. Teachers will be providing instructional feedback to all students on each assignment. Our primary goal is to maintain our connections with students and to continue developing their secondary academic skills and proficiency. Participation is expected, as teachers will be monitoring student involvement via comments, emails, and Google Classroom activity.  Participation is the key to success! An overview and link to the WG Online Learning Portal can be found here.

We ask that you continue to look for updates in the following ways: 

·         West Genesee School District website

·         WGMS Principal Blog

·        Student and/or parent or guardian emails

·        Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms and @MJMcGrathjr

In addition, we would like to recognize all of the WGCSD staff who have been working tirelessly to organize and deliver meals and technology. Also, our incredible custodial staff who continue to work to keep all of our staff and volunteers safe. Thank you to our District Level PTA/PTO’s for arranging for volunteers and creating our first virtual spirit week. We start that with Pajama Day on Monday!

Our current plan of distance learning is based on a return to school on April 14, 2020. Due to the unforeseen nature of this virus and the caution that we will exercise to protect the West Genesee family, our plans may change. These changes will be guided by both New York State and Onondaga County. Any updates, should we need to make them, will be communicated on our district website, through my blog, Twitter and through email. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Take care and take care of one another.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

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