Slow It Down

This time of year it's easy to get lost in the laundry list of things that need to get done - the shopping, baking, decorating, wrapping, sending out cards, attending parties and the list goes on and on. Making the holidays a season of chaos is a choice, but it doesn't have to be that way.  It's important that we all - regardless of your faith, background, political affiliation, or traditions, slow it down and take the time to enjoy the moment. With that, we need to stop and enjoy the people that surround us - our friends, family, colleagues and the people that we cross paths with each and every day as we go about our lives. It is those people and relationships that matter most. We all need to make sure we continue to celebrate and fortify our relationships even in the hustle and bustle of the Holidays.

We continue to focus on building relationships and making connections with our students and one another. I don't recall where I read this quote, but I absolutely love it: "Relationships are the most valuable currency we have." They are the fabric and foundation for everything else that we do. We will all be wealthier if we take the time each day and make it a priority to build relationships.

Positivity Project
P2 has been an important part of building and strengthening relationships here at school. The past two weeks we have been focusing on two character traits that go hand in hand: being HUMBLE and KIND. At home we encourage you to have a conversation with your child about KINDNESS and HUMILITY and think about the different ways that we can live our lives demonstrating both traits. To help you make connections here are the links to the Positivity Project Character Trait Card for KINDNESS and Character Trait Card for HUMILITY.

Students of the Month

Staying on the theme of positivity and celebrating those that carry themselves in a way that we can all be proud of, we recognized our new ‘Students of the Month’ as we turned the calendar to December. We continue to 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 Samantha Casson, William Schneid, Randal Smith, and Gabby Stanton; 7th graders Karolina Lata, Anthony Mangano, Chalie Searle, and Hannah Sparks; and 8th graders Michelina Colapaolo, Margaret Dalgety, Jacob Dubar, and Romeo Donaire. Well deserved and congratulations to all!

6th Grade Students of the Month

7th Grade Students of the Month

8th Grade Students of the Month

We are grateful for your continued support of our students and staff. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Encouraging all of you to slow it down this time of year and have a happy and healthy Holiday season! 

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Email: sdunham@westgenesee.org

Being Grateful

This past week and next leading up to the Thanksgiving Break it is fitting that our focus is on the character trait GRATITUDE. As a building we have been discussing what GRATITUDE is all about:

“GRATITUDE is the quality of feeling and expressing thankfulness and appreciation. It is an affirmation that there is goodness in other people and the world. GRATITUDE is not ignoring the negative aspects of life; it's simply being aware and thankful for what is good."

"The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now"

- Oprah

"When you have an ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE you wake up saying 'THANK YOU'."

- Maya Angelou

At home we encourage you to have a conversation with your child about GRATITUDE and think about the different ways that we can express our gratitude for the things and people that we are grateful for. To help you make connections here is the link to the Positivity Project Character Card For GRATITUDE.

Students of the Month

Staying on the theme of positivity and things we are grateful for, we recognized our new ‘Students of the Month’ as we turned the calendar to November. We continue to 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 Garrett Bleskoski, Gracie Burns, Tori Hulbert, and Chris Watkins, 7th graders Gary McLane, Claire Petty, Benjamin Pietrafesa, and Leah Todeschini, and 8th graders Jaden Mattimore, Nani Ross, Caleb Williams, and Yingyuan Zhang. Well deserved and congratulations to all!

7th Grade Students of the Month for November

8th Grade Students of the Month for November

6th Grade Students of the Month for November

6th Grade Student of the Month for November

We are grateful for your continued support of our students and staff. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Email: sdunham@westgenesee.org

Closing Out the Month

This past Friday was our annual Halloween Spooktacular and it was AMAZING! We had a record-breaking night with over 400 students (that's a lot of kids!!) participating. A majority of students dressed in their Halloween costumes and had a blast dancing, singing, playing BINGO, running around the gym, talking to one another (face to face without their phones) and generally just having fun. The kids were outstanding. The parent volunteers were incredible. A lot of our staff showed up to take part in the evening’s activities and connect with students. Our custodians were unbelievable in their efforts to clean up after such a huge event and have our building clean and shining as it always does to start the week on Monday morning.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who was involved in the planning and execution of this kid-centered event. The time and enthusiasm that our WGMS PTA puts into our students and staff is greatly appreciated. We couldn’t pull off events like this without an amazing team. Thank you!

The Monster Mash

Only took me 3 minutes to solve this cube

Positivity Project

This week our focus at WGMS is on the character trait CREATIVITY. As a building we have been discussing what CREATIVITY is all about:

“CREATIVITY is experimenting, growing, taking risks, making mistakes and having fun. CREATIVITY exists in all of us! There is no such thing as creative and non-creative people, only people who use their creativity and people who don’t. The key is that you have to not be afraid to fail. When it comes down to it, CREATIVITY is the POWER TO ACT and the power to

THINK BIG!" 

At home, think about different opportunities where you could have a conversation with your child about CREATIVITY to help reinforce what we are talking about here at school.  To help you make connections here is the link to the Positivity Project Character Card For CREATIVITY.

Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Happy Halloween!

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Email: sdunham@westgenesee.org