Student Inspired

This year we have worked to incorporate more opportunities for our students to be in positions of leadership and we have made ongoing efforts to solicit information from them. Their input has been invaluable! Recently during a conversation with students they asked about raising money for cancer research, specifically childhood cancer which several of them have had firsthand experience with. They were incredibly well informed, passionate, and inspiring. As our conversation continued and excitement grew an idea was born: to host a St. Baldrick’s event at West Genesee Middle School. The enthusiasm and passion of those students made it an easy decision to support them and for our WGMS staff to get behind the idea. It’s incredibly powerful when a student-initiated idea brings your school community together for a worthwhile, relevant and rewarding experience.

On March 28^th we will be hosting our own St. Baldrick’s event at WGMS and currently have 9 staff members willing to have their heads shaved for an incredible cause. All shavees have agreed to allow their hair to grow and not get it cut until the event. Many of us have been haircut free since Christmas; my hair hasn’t been this long since 1978! Our students have started collecting donations on Fridays during their lunch periods and are involved with promoting the event both throughout the building and the community.

Below is an overview of our event at WGMS and links to both our ‘Team Wildcat’ fundraising page and to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation page which contains information about their efforts to conquer childhood cancer. Anything that you can do to promote or support this student-inspired event is greatly appreciated.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

Our St. Baldrick's event at West Genesee Middle School took off as a result of our students looking for a way to support and stand with fellow students and members of our community who have been impacted by childhood cancer. A conversation became an idea and that idea has now become an event.  Through our efforts as a school community we are going to raise awareness, raise some money and have some fun all in an effort to help fight childhood cancer. Please support Team Wildcat in any way that you can and help us make a difference in the lives of children in our community and across the country. It's all about "The Power or WE!"

http://www.stbaldricks.org/teams/teamwildcat

http://www.stbaldricks.org/

Plowing through Winter

They say as you get older time goes by faster and faster. I must be getting really old because January went by in the blink of an eye. We had snow days, Martin Luther King, Jr. day, Teacher Workshop Day, and then suddenly it was Superbowl XLVIII and January was in the rearview mirror.

Much of the late fall and early winter were dominated by the debate on the New York State educational reform agenda. Pick up any newspaper, turn on the television, check out the latest tweets on your Twitter feed or dive into the wide array of blogs out there in cyberspace and you would have found a great deal of time and energy being spent on debating the merits and ills of the Common Core Learning Standards, State Assessments, and Teacher and Principal (don’t forget us) evaluation. Fast forward several months and it appears as though the Board of Regents is listening to parents and educators and taking another look at some of the changes that were thrust upon our schools and students so abruptly. Regardless of what you believe about the recent reforms and irrespective of any changes or relief that are made in the interests of our students, teachers, or administrators, a tremendous ‘reshaping’ of education in our country is underway. This reshaping has significant implications on how we prepare our students to enter the new workplace of the 21^st Century. It goes beyond reading in the content area, explicit instruction of vocabulary, increasing opportunities for collaboration, and re-thinking how we assess. All of those are meaningful and powerful endeavors that we are all in the middle of infusing into our practices at West Genesee Middle School and we are doing so quite well I might add. But the deep reshaping that is needed in our schools to truly and meaningfully prepare our students for the workplace is more systemic; it will require thinking about every facet of education differently. We can’t go about preparing our students today in the same way that we did in 1985. Not only has the world changed, but so have our students. One of the most exciting things about being at West Genesee is the forward thinking and commitment to continuous improvement that are embedded in our practices as a district. We are not only focused on doing great things with our students in the present, but we are anticipating what our future students will need as we continue to thrive in a world of incredible change, regardless of what the State or Federal government throws our way.   

What’s happening at WGMS?

Great Message

This past Friday we were fortunate to have author Ben Mikaelsen come to WGMS to talk with our 6^th grade students about becoming an author and the power of telling a story through writing. Mr. Mikaelsen shared his experiences as a struggling student and as someone who had a difficult time fitting in with his peers at times. When 231 sixth grade students are all sitting quietly with eyes fixed on the speaker, you know that he has connected with them. He left all of our students with this powerful message: “Make your life story the greatest story that has ever been told! Believe in your dreams, believe in yourself and never give up!” 

Student Leadership

We are constantly looking for different ways to provide our students with leadership opportunities. This year we initiated a Middle School Ambassadors group made up of students from all three grade levels, athletes and non-athletes, musicians and non-musicians, honor roll students and struggling students, and everyone in between. Middle School Ambassadors are student leaders within the building that work with building administrators on shaping and continuously improving our school community. Their input is invaluable at helping to inform our decision making and providing us with the unique perspective of a student. Our Middle School Ambassadors will take an active part in the school improvement process unlike any other students have before. I have met with them on two previous occasions and will be connecting with them during the school day later this week. Our agenda for this week is a review of the Seven Essential Elements of a Standards Focused Middle School Program and to evaluate how we are doing things at WGMS through the eyes of our students. As a staff we continually reflect on our practices in order to improve, now we are including our students in that conversation. They have a great deal to offer and now have another avenue to share their thoughts. I’m looking forward to learning from them.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

Email: sdunham@westgensee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of The Year

It may be cliché, but with the Holiday season upon us, this truly is the most wonderful time of the year. And by ‘wonderful’ I am really referring to the many amazing things happening at West Genesee Middle School that bring us together as a community. I’m also talking about our staff and students; how they walk through the doors each day with enthusiasm, how they support and encourage one another, and how they strive to continually improve. Last but not least I am referring to our parents and the West Genesee community at-large. The support and involvement that we receive is tremendous and it truly is something that we are all very thankful for.

Here are a few of my favorite things from the last two weeks at WGMS:              

Packing them in at the HS

Middle School Concerts

All of our different performing groups held Holiday Concerts over the last two weeks at the high school. Performances were amazing and all of them were held in front of a packed house. In fact, for one of the concerts every seat in the auditorium was filled and we had many people standing and some with obstructed views. That’s a good problem to have when so many people want to come out for a concert to support our students.

Raising Money for Those in Need

Over the last few weeks our Student Council has been selling candy canes during lunch to raise money for local families in need. To date, we have raised enough money to support four of our own West Genesee families in need  to help make their holiday season a little brighter this year.  In addition, we have made a donation to Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Galisano Children’s Hospital on behalf of WGMS. Each lunch period erupted with clapping and cheers when they were told just how much money was raised and the impact that their contributions would have in the local community. Our students rise to the occasion when given the chance to help others.

Movie Night at WGMS

Movie Night

Put on a great movie, throw in some warm popcorn on a cold night and I’m there! So were about 80 of my good friends who turned out to watch Despicable Me 2 on a Friday night last week. Admission was an unwrapped toy or clothing item for children in need. We collected just about 100 items to be distributed to local children this holiday season. This is another example of our students stepping up for others.

WGMS Students Have talent

Dance Performances

We have fun at the middle school! That is a statement I will never apologize for. Our students and staff work incredibly hard, but we mix in smiles, laughter and fun as often as possible as well. During our lunch periods this week some of our students have been performing their student-created dance routines for their classmates. Amazing stuff from our kids! The cafeteria has never been so quiet!!

WGMS Holiday Concert 

Holiday Concert 

Today was the first Holiday Concert during the school day at WGMS that I have experienced in my 15 years here as a teacher and administrator. It was awesome! Our 7^th grade band, 7^th grade chorus, 7^th and 8^th grade orchestra, 8^th grade chorus and 8^th grade band all performed to a full house of all 695 students and our staff. The gym was rockin’ with some classic holiday tunes as well as an epic performance of ‘Thriller’ by our 8^th grade band that featured a staff-wide flash mob of dancing and zombie-like behavior; memorable to say the least! 

The finale from the chorus risers

The holidays are all about getting together with friends and family, and what better way for us to go into our holiday break than having our entire West Genesee Middle School family come together to celebrate.

Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday season and a happy & healthy 2014!

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

@Sdunhamwgms

sdunham@westgenesee.org