Cindy Washinowski, Principal Joe Malsam, Assistant Principal Katie Towler, Assistant Principal Mission Statement: West Middle School educates the whole child with the belief that all children can learn. WMS exists to meet the social, physical, emotional, and academic needs of all students. WMS—3301 W. 19th St.—Sioux City, IA 51103 Phone 712-279-6813 FAX 712-277-6138 Winter Break: Dec. 23: 1:45 P.M. Early Dismissal Dec. 24-Jan. 3: No School Jan. 4: Classes resume 7:45 A.M. Nondiscrimination Statement: The Sioux City Community School District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. It is an unfair or discriminatory practice for any educational institution to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, age (for employment), disability, socioeconomic status (for programs), marital status (for programs), or veteran status in its educational programs and its employment practices. Inquiries or grievances may be directed to Jen Gomez, Director of Student Services & Equity Education at 627 4th Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, (712) 279-6075, [email protected]. 1st Quarter IXL Winners The following students were honored during an assembly November 5th for their posi- tive behavior at West Middle School. Congratulations! 6th grade Purple Team: Holly Duax & Brady Larson 6th grade Gold Team: Sydney Helt & Hailey Levasseur 7th grade Purple Team: Virginia Olivares & Gabriel Vasquez 7th grade Gold Team: Yesenia Montes & Fredi Bautista 8th grade: Carlie Anderson, Vanessa Hernandez-Guevara, Felisha Wainwright & Micah Williams McCarthy WMS—3301 W. 19th St.—Sioux City, IA 51103 Phone 712-279-6813 FAX 712-277-6138 www.siouxcityschools.org Teacher’s Professional Development 12/7—Will it Blend? / Pick Two 12/14—Common Formative Assessments 12/21—Student Achievement Showcase 1/4—Will it Blend? / Exploratory Museum Walk 1/11—Iowa Assessments Goals 1/18—Departmental Meetings 1/25—Building Based Home to School Communication Tool If you have questions about your child’s progress in school, please feel free to contact your child’s team or their counselor at 279-6813. 6th grade team time: 8:10-8:50 A.M. / Ms. Galloway (counselor) 7th grade team time: 9:45-10:25 A.M. / Ms. Lichty (counselor) 8th grade team time: 8:55-9:35 A.M. / Ms. Petersen (counselor) A December 2015/January 2016 note from the Principal… What an exciting time of the year! We had amazing attend- ance at our Winter Choir Concert. Our gym holds approxi- mately 900 people, and we had that place packed during each concert. I would guess we had over 3,000 guests here to enjoy a wonderful concert. Our Lego League quali- fied for the state competition, wow! Our light show is up and running, and it is incredible. The show is over 20 minutes long each week and includes more lights and structures than last year. Our Business & Marketing clas- ses have their own small businesses up and running and are selling out of product each time they set up. Our teach- ers are embracing technology and are implementing crea- tive, engaging lessons for our students. Kids are excited about learning, and the energy is amazing! I am constantly in awe of the wonderful things happening at WMS. We’ve had a great first semester, and we look forward to an even better second half of the year. Thank you for sharing your students with us.—Cynthia Washinowski 279-6813 Light Up the Night Outdoor Light Show @ WMS * Shows programmed by students * Different show each week * Donations collected for various charities * 6-8:00 P.M. / Dec. 4 & 5 / Dec. 11 & 12 / Dec. 18 & 19 WMS Business Classes are Up & Running The WM Business classes debuted their products Monday, November 9th, during the Girls’ Basketball game. They are calling opening night a success since they sold out of products a full 30 minutes be- fore closing time! These classes are offering stu- dents practical, hands-on training in business and marketing strategies. Common Assessments will be given Jan. 7, 8 & 11 Semester Ends Jan. 12 / No School (Teacher Workday) Jan. 13
Transcript
September 2012
Cindy Washinowski, Principal
Joe Malsam, Assistant Principal
Katie Towler, Assistant Principal
Mission Statement: West Middle School educates the whole child with the belief that all children can learn. WMS exists to meet the social, physical, emotional, and academic needs of all students.
WMS—3301 W. 19th St.—Sioux City, IA 51103 Phone 712-279-6813 FAX 712-277-6138
Winter Break:
Dec. 23: 1:45 P.M. Early Dismissal
Dec. 24-Jan. 3: No School
Jan. 4: Classes resume 7:45 A.M.
Nondiscrimination Statement: The Sioux City Community School District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. It is an unfair or discriminatory practice for any educational institution to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, age (for employment), disability, socioeconomic status (for programs), marital status (for programs), or veteran status in its educational programs and its employment practices. Inquiries or grievances may be directed to Jen Gomez, Director of Student Services & Equity Education at 627 4th Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, (712) 279-6075, [email protected].
1st Quarter IXL Winners
The following students were
honored during an assembly
November 5th for their posi-
tive behavior at West Middle
School. Congratulations!
6th grade Purple Team:
Holly Duax & Brady Larson
6th grade Gold Team:
Sydney Helt & Hailey
Levasseur
7th grade Purple Team:
Virginia Olivares & Gabriel
Vasquez
7th grade Gold Team:
Yesenia Montes & Fredi
Bautista
8th grade:
Carlie Anderson, Vanessa
Hernandez-Guevara,
Felisha Wainwright &
Micah Williams McCarthy
WMS—3301 W. 19th St.—Sioux City, IA 51103 Phone 712-279-6813 FAX 712-277-6138 www.siouxcityschools.org
Teacher’s Professional Development
12/7—Will it Blend? / Pick Two
12/14—Common Formative Assessments
12/21—Student Achievement Showcase
1/4—Will it Blend? / Exploratory Museum Walk
1/11—Iowa Assessments Goals
1/18—Departmental Meetings
1/25—Building Based
Home to School Communication Tool
If you have questions about your child’s progress in school, please feel free to contact your child’s team or their counselor at 279-6813.
6th grade team time: 8:10-8:50 A.M. / Ms. Galloway (counselor)
7th grade team time: 9:45-10:25 A.M. / Ms. Lichty (counselor)
8th grade team time: 8:55-9:35 A.M. / Ms. Petersen (counselor)
A December 2015/January 2016 note
from the Principal…
What an exciting time of the year! We had amazing attend-ance at our Winter Choir Concert. Our gym holds approxi-mately 900 people, and we had that place packed during each concert. I would guess we had over 3,000 guests here to enjoy a wonderful concert. Our Lego League quali-fied for the state competition, wow! Our light show is up and running, and it is incredible. The show is over 20 minutes long each week and includes more lights and structures than last year. Our Business & Marketing clas-ses have their own small businesses up and running and are selling out of product each time they set up. Our teach-ers are embracing technology and are implementing crea-tive, engaging lessons for our students. Kids are excited about learning, and the energy is amazing! I am constantly in awe of the wonderful things happening at WMS. We’ve had a great first semester, and we look forward to an even better second half of the year. Thank you for sharing your
students with us.—Cynthia Washinowski 279-6813
Light Up the Night Outdoor Light Show @ WMS
* Shows programmed by students * Different show each week
The WM Business classes debuted their products Monday, November 9th, during the Girls’ Basketball game. They are calling opening night a success since they sold out of products a full 30 minutes be-fore closing time! These classes are offering stu-dents practical, hands-on training in business and
marketing strategies.
Common Assessments will be given Jan. 7, 8 & 11
Semester Ends Jan. 12 / No School (Teacher Workday) Jan. 13
WMS WILDCAT NEWSLETTER, DECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016
Highlights from the 8th Grade Teams
Putting it together and Tearing it apart!
This is what 8th grade Chemistry students have been doing for the last couple of weeks. Students have been creating various solutions, studying them, and then learning different techniques to tear them back apart. One technique cre-ated very colorful results. Ask your student
how they created these colorful pictures.
6th grade GOLD Team Highlights
Each month, each 6th grade Gold Team teacher selects a student to receive a “Cracker Jack” award. This award is based on the prize you re-ceive in each box of “Cracker Jacks”. We feel that each student holds a prize within themselves. We choose students based on many facets of our edu-cational day here at WMS. For example, students may be chosen for this award based on academic success, academic improvement, class participa-tion, carrying out directions, accepting responsibil-ity, thinking before acting, showing kindness, being prepared for class, turning in homework on time, following school rules, being a friend to all, having a great attitude, by modeling the 6 Pillars of Educa-tion, and many more prizes we teachers see within
each and every student in our classrooms.
October winners were: Kylee Achuff, Andrea Alonso Alvarez, Sydney Helt, Jaiden Larson, Diana Le, Princess Plowman, Niurka Ramirez, and Emma Smallcomb.
November winners were: Tionna Barnes, Yerlis Blanco, Giovanny Brambila, Tekkalyon (T.J.) Frazier, Serenity Frazier, Conner Jensen, Kim-berly King, Ivan Ruiz, and Jamie Vo.
Looking Ahead into 2016
Music Department Fundraiser: Starts January 21
Yearbooks: Group pictures for the yearbook will be tak-
en January 14. Yearbook orders will be taken in Febru-
ary. Yearbooks will be distributed to students the last
week of school.
Conferences: February 24 3:05-5:45 P.M. / February 25
8:00 A.M.-8:00 P.M. (No school for students 2/25 & 2/26)
Spring Break—No School: March 24, 25 & 28
Last Day of School: May 26 (1:45 P.M. Early Dismissal)
Fitness / Health Tip: Tired of the family complaining that the
healthier foods taste boring? Try adding spices, fresh herbs, and lemons to your snack and meal recipes. A little dash of spice, a sprinkle of herbs, a pinch of lemon zest, or a squirt of lime juice can really liven up a dish. Feel free to have fun as a family experimenting with lots of different combinations as spices, herbs and citrus add hardly any additional calories!
The winter in Iowa provides us with some days that make it a challenge to hold classes at the regular time, and sometimes we must close our schools early, late, or close school for the entire day. As you know, our weather is not only challenging at times, it is constantly changing.
Please remember that parents and guardians have the right to make the decision to keep their child home on any day that they feel it is unsafe for their student to be in school because of weather conditions. If you believe the weather provides a sincere reason why you may have to keep your students at home, or take your student home when classes are scheduled to continue, you as a parent or guardian will simply need to contact your child’s school to let them know.
Parents and guardians notification
Blackboard Phone Message: In the case of late start or school cancellation, a call is sent between 6 - 6:15 a.m. If school is dismissed early during the day, a call is sent to all phone numbers listed with your child.
Iowa School Alerts: You may subscribe to this free service by clicking on the “Weather Related School Dismissals” button on the right-hand side of the district web site’s front page at www.siouxcityschools.org. Iowa School Alerts sends out email notifica-tions to all subscribers.
Social Media: A post is made on the district’s Facebook and Twitter social media pages.
Mobile App: An alert notification is sent to all those who have downloaded the district’s mobile app (available for iPhones and androids.)
If the schools are dismissed early or if school is called off entirely, there will be NO EVENING ACTIVITIES. If you have before and after school care, please check your provider about their procedures. Please avoid calling the school about delays, cancellations, or dismissals. Unless you see an announcement or receive a phone call, assume school is running as usual.
WMS WILDCAT NEWSLETTER, D ECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016
Red Ribbon Week Activities
WMS students made many wonderful and creative posters to display on their locker doors during Red Ribbon Week. The theme of their posters emphasized respecting oneself. Since so many great posters were created, choosing only one winner from each grade proved to be a very challenging task. Please see the pictures below for the final three picks.
Wednesday, October 28th, was “Wear Red” day. Each homeroom class was asked to take a creative photo of their students wearing red. Again, many fun and innovative pictures where tak-en and most were posted on Twitter that day. Mrs. Mozak’s class won!
