Continue To Grind

We talk with our students all the time about how the choices and decisions that they make on a daily basis impact their future. Those actions and behaviors - no matter how big or small - become habits which will follow them throughout their life. I continue to be impressed with what I see from many of our students during a challenging time. Most of our students are showing up and working hard each and every day, even when things aren’t easy. That’s what it’s all about! 

Let’s all continue to encourage, motivate and support our kids as we all work through the ups and downs of school during a pandemic. If you or your child need support for any reason please reach out to us in the Main Office or Guidance Office. We are here to help.

Here are a few items I want everyone to be aware of:

Calls for Commentary

For thirty years, the West Genesee School community has employed Strategic Planning for Educational Improvement. The Plan is the driving force behind every District initiative.

This year the Strategic Planning Committee is utilizing a 3-2-1 format to help inform the team as they look to re-launch some of the work that was begun last year. Lisa Craig, East Hill Principal, and I are facilitating the Strategic Planning process and would greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to fill out this form as your unique viewpoint and perspective regarding the District's next steps will be a huge help to the team. Here is the link. Thank you for your participation!

Yearbooks

Click here to place your order for your 2020-2021 WGMS Yearbook! Yearbooks are currently $25, but the price will increase to $30 on January 1st. Order your Yearbook now through January 29th to be entered to win a $50 Visa Gift Card.

School Spirit Tastes Great

Join us for a fundraiser to support our WGMS PTA. Come in to the Chipotle at 3600 West Genesee Street on Wednesday, December 16th between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm. We will email out a flyer that you can either bring in, show on your smartphone or tell the cashier you’re supporting the cause to make sure that 33% of the proceeds will be donated to the WGMS PTA. 

Week Prior to Holiday Break

Monday, December 21st: Our MON-TUE students will be attending classes in-person

Tuesday, December 22nd: Our THU-FRI students will be attending classes in-person

Wednesday, December 23rd: This is a full day of school with students following their regular Wednesday schedule

 

Fully remote students will also follow this schedule on these days.

 

Let’s continue to take care of one another, stay healthy, be smart and mask up. Happy Holidays!

 

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Time For Gratitude, Time For Sacrifice

 As we head towards the Thanksgiving Break next week I continually remind people how grateful I am for the opportunity to have students in school, if even only for a few days per week. Thinking back to August, we really didn’t know what the year would bring. We all digested the different models that each District in the area presented based on stringent guidelines that were in front of them. We liked parts of some models and wondered about parts of others. Most were similar, but none were the same. Given the guidelines it was almost like asking for the impossible. 

With so many moving parts and considerations it sometimes felt like nobody would be able to pull it off. As parents, staff and/or community members all of us either overtly or covertly expressed our satisfaction or displeasure with the different plans. It’s all anyone could talk about. What was good about it? What was bad about it? Is it going to work? Is it safe? The debate raged on in every community leading up to Labor Day. Then we had our first day of school. Then we had a second day and a third and a fourth. The days turned to weeks and the weeks to months. August seems like such a long time ago now, especially as the flurries start to fly in CNY. We are now three months into the school year. It isn’t perfect, but it is school during a pandemic. Our students light up the room with their learning and curiosity just as they did pre-pandemic. Students, staff and families have stepped up to help make our schools as safe as anywhere in the community. In fact, schools are actually doing what the guidelines suggest and we are not taking unnecessary risks. Schools remain a consistent, safe place even as the world around us appears to be losing the battle to the spread of the virus. 

This is the part where I get preachy and I’m ok with any criticism that follows. I want my own kids and your kids to continue to go to school in-person. As a spike in cases across the country and our region surges, we have to make a decision about how the rest of the school year plays out. Believe it or not, this isn’t going to be a decision by a Board of Education, a Superintendent or even the Governor that determines whether schools stay open or not. Our personal behavior ultimately is going to determine whether or not schools stay open. Or whether or not there are winter sports. Or school concerts. Or musicals. Or formals and semi-formals. If we are not willing to make sacrifices in our behavior, if we are not all following the guidelines, then we know that over the next few months the virus is going to spread faster and further than it has since this whole thing started. 

This isn’t about hoping we stay open or wanting activities and events for our kids. We actually control what happens. We need to keep our small bubble of contacts to a minimum. Every social interaction outside of our immediate family or household without a mask and social distancing is a risk for spreading the virus. We need to refrain from unnecessary travel. We need to stay home if we have any symptoms. If we think we may have been exposed to someone positive we need to stay home from school and work. It actually is that simple.

Right now the only thing that is really working is schools. The virus is not being spread in our halls and classrooms. The virus is being spread in the community. What our students and families do outside of school is what leads to students and staff in schools having to quarantine, and it’s the amount of quarantining that ultimately shuts down a building. If the community in general all followed the guidelines as stringently as we are in schools, right now we would not be seeing a surge in the number of cases. 

This is up to us. We all have a responsibility to do the right thing. We all have the power to help stop the spread and bring our schools and community fully back to what we want them to be. Let’s decide to do this together. Let’s make a choice to keep our schools open by making smart choices and making short term sacrifices each and every day. It isn't easy, but it's the right thing to do. The alternative is people doing whatever they want to do in the name of freedom. If we choose that road we know the outcome won't be good and we'll only have ourselves to blame.

Let’s continue to take care of one another, stay healthy, be smart and mask up! 

 

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

October Treat

It’s scary to think that tomorrow is Halloween! The first few months of the school year have been spooktacular and have absolutely flown by. In addition to picking out your favorite candy this weekend and hiding the wrappers, remember to set your clock back one hour for Daylight Savings Time.

Halloween Fun

We were able to have some fun this week with three different Halloween Costume Contests for our MON-TUE, THU-FRI and Fully Remote students. Winners were recognized at each grade level in the categories of Funniest, Scariest, Most Creative and Best Character. Students and staff brought their Halloween spirit and a lot of CREATIVITY. When you can have fun while being safe and looking out for one another, you can’t ask for anything more! A big shout out to our students who were awesome! Here are a few of the many outstanding costumes we saw this week:

FAST Screening

All of our students in 5th and 6th grade will be taking part in the FAST CBMreading. This is an efficient and effective way to screen and monitor students’ oral reading fluency progress. The CBMreading assessment measures reading rate and accuracy and is expressed in terms of the number of words read correctly per minute. Oral reading fluency has consistently been found to have a high correlation with reading comprehension and the CBMreading measure serves as an accurate and powerful indicator of overall reading competence. Those results will help us to better target student needs as we move through the school year.

Picture Retakes Reminder

• For our MON-TUE in person students Picture retakes are Tuesday, November 3rd during the school day

• For our THU-FRI in person students Picture retakes are Thursday, November 5th during the school day

• For our Fully Remote student Picture Day is either Tuesday, November 3rd or Thursday, November 5th from 3:00 to 5:00 PM

We are very pleased with how our students and staff have handled the health and safety guidelines that are in place at school. From limited movement to wearing masks throughout the day, everyone has been consistently doing their part to protect themselves and others around them. Statistics and tracing throughout the region show that COVID is NOT being spread in schools. The spread that is taking place is in the general community. As we head into the holiday season and cold weather keeps us inside more than we would like, it is essential that we all continue to be smart, to wear masks, to socially distance, and to make good decisions while both IN and OUT of school. Keeping our schools open is the responsibility of all of us. Thank you to our students, staff and families for staying disciplined. Let’s keep it up!

Let’s continue to take care of one another, stay healthy, and be smart. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please

email me or give me a call. Happy Halloween!

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms