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W E D N E S D A Y W E E K L Y
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In this Issue
Upcoming Events
5-6 p.m.
Great Room
December 7
9 a.m.
Learning Commons
Celebration of Reading
3-6:30 p.m.
Learning Commons
December 11
5 p.m.
Learning Commons
December 12
December 15
6-9 Winter Concert
9:30 a.m.
Gym
December 19
3-6 p.m.
December 21-22
Winter vacation
December 25-January 1
Winter vacation - school closed
Happy holidays!
January 2
Teacher professional development day - no classes
Pre-registered child care available
January 3
Classes resume
January 5
January 10
4-8 p.m.
Panera Bread
5619 Concord Pike
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Message from
Head of School Lisa Lalama
Tomorrow many of us will come together for the WMS Celebration of Reading. Just as the name implies, it is a time to gather and celebrate all that reading brings to our lives. Last week the 9-12 students wrote letters to the authors of their favorite books to share their insights and connections about the stories. These letters will be entered into
Letters About Literature
, a reading and writing contest that challenges students to explain how they were personally affected by a book they've read. What an opportunity!
Some of my best memories are about reading. To this day, when I have time off I make sure I have plenty of books to accompany me wherever I travel. Many children learn to read while attending WMS. Many others come to appreciate the beauty of the written word through their multiple experiences with picture and chapter books. Whether children read on their own or have a book read to them by a caring adult, reading expands their world.
We hope that you will join us in the Great Room tomorrow afternoon to share the wonder of reading with your child.
Celebration of Reading
We hope you will join us for the fourth Annual Celebration of Reading!
When: Thursday, December 7, 3- 6:30 p.m.
Where: Great Room
Look for the following special events and offerings:
- A hand-picked, curated collection of the finest children's literature provided by the Hockessin Bookshelf
- A spotlight on the Syncretic Press book collection of high-quality Spanish and English children's literature
- Local author, John Micklos, will offer a read aloud of his well-reviewed book, "One Leaf, Two Leaves, Count with Me," with a book-signing to follow.
- Crafts for kids with a focus on books and reading
- Pizza will be on sale, so dinner will be covered!
- Guest readers - teachers, students and community members - sharing favorite, read aloud books. Come enjoy the pleasures of a good story.
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News & Notes
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Get Your Holiday Orders In: the School Store is Open Through Friday
The WMS School Spirit Store is open! Get your WMS holiday gifts - including fleece jackets, blankets, beanies, long-sleeve t-shirts, ornaments and more - while they're available. Crewneck sweatshirts are available in 10 colors. All orders must be placed by Friday, December 8, to ensure we receive them by December 20. If you order an item that you do NOT want delivered to your child's classroom, please email Lori Oberly and she will hold it in her office for you.
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Help Plan the 2018 Auction & Gala
Get involved
in planning WMS's annual auction and gala and earn co-op hours in the process! We're ready to kick off the 2018 auction planning season and would love to have input from all those interested. Attend one of two upcoming planning meetings if you're willing to lend a hand:
December 7, 9 a.m., Learning Commons
December 11, 5 p.m., Learning Commons
We hope to see you there! Please contact
Lori Oberly if you have questions or cannot attend either meeting and would like to get involved.
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Join the WMS/PRIED LEGO League
WMS and PRIED Middle School are teaming up to form a non-competitive FIRST LEGO League for 9- to 14-year-olds. Please read the flyer and contact Anna Quisel or
Jeff Politis
as soon as possible if you are interested in participating as a member or coach. The league plans to begin practices this month.
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Lockdown Drill - Tuesday, December 12
WMS will hold a school-wide lockdown drill on Tuesday, December 12. The lockdown procedure is used in the unlikely event that there is a dangerous situation inside our building.
 You do not need to prepare your child for this drill. Classroom teachers have practiced the procedures with the children using age-appropriate language. For security purposes, we cannot publicize the full procedure of the drill, but we wanted to share the language we have used with the children in case it should come up at home:
Toddlers: At this age, children are unable to process the purpose of the drill, so information is kept to a minimum. Teachers play a silent game that the children already know so they can be engaged while silently waiting.
All other students: Teachers explain to the children that we have lockdown drills just as we have fire drills. We practice different drills so we are prepared in case of any emergency. A lockdown is used in case someone comes into the school who is not allowed to be here and we need to be safe. It is unlikely that this will happen, but it is the teacher's job to keep everyone together, safe, out of view and quiet.
Children ages 7 and up are able to process this more than the younger students. For the older kids, we do our best to minimize any fear that may be attached to this drill. Teachers answer questions in a simple, clear-cut manner, sticking to the process of the drill itself, not the "what if" possibilities. This drill is about being prepared for anything - not about a specific threat.
Important note for visitors:
For the short time the school is in lockdown mode, outside doors will be locked and not accessible with keycards. Thank you in advance for your understanding of this minor inconvenience. If you happen to be in the school during the drill, please take shelter in the nearest office, classroom or other room immediately. It is important that you participate in the drill fully and serve as a positive role model to the children.
If you have any questions, please contact
Noel Dietrich or your classroom teacher.
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Tomorrow's Leaders
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Delaney Strange (WMS '10) Rediscovers a Love of Learning in Boston
Delaney Strange was the rare high-schooler who had figured out the career she wanted to pursue by her junior year. Now a sophomore at Northeastern University in Boston, Delaney is preparing for her first co-op job as part of Northeastern's nursing program.
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Delaney Strange as a WMS student
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"I knew I wanted to do nursing - I liked learning about the human body and I knew I liked working with people," she said. "And I knew I didn't want to be a doctor because I wanted more patient contact."
It's this type of focus and determination that has driven Delaney's success since her WMS days. Following her graduation from WMS in 2010, Delaney went on to Talley Middle School, where she enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB)
Middle Years Programme - a five-year academic program that encourages students to make practical applications between their studies and the real world.
She continued
with the IB Programme - a continuation of the Middle Years Programme - at Mount Pleasant High School and earned her IB diploma in 2016.
Throughout her elementary, middle school and high school years, Delaney was an avid singer and dancer. She sang with the Mount Pleasant Chorale and the Elite Eight - an eight-person a cappella group - and studied dance through Anna Marie's Dance Studio in Wilmington until she left town for college.
"I
always liked being able to go to dance after school, " she said. "It was a good therapeutic release."
She's lucky to have found a new outlet for that therapeutic release - soon after arriving at Northeastern, Delaney landed a spot with the Northeastern University Dance Company (NUDANCO), an all-student group of dancers and choreographers known within the Northeastern performing arts scene for their bi-annual showcases.
When she's not unwinding in the dance studio, Delaney is focused on pursuing her nursing training. She chose to attend Northeastern in part for its reputable co-op program and the allure of getting on-the-job experience. She will begin her first co-op job as a patient care technician on the adult general surgery floor at Tufts University Medical Center in January.
"It's a good process to interview and apply to jobs," she said. "I interviewed at three hospitals and went in person for the interviews. It was my first time wearing a blazer - I felt very professional!"
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Delaney today, a sophomore at Northeastern University
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Delaney hopes to specialize in geriatric nursing - an interest she nurtures through her involvement with Northeastern's Student to Seniors volunteer group.
Through Students to Seniors, Delaney visits local nursing homes on weekends, where she spends time talking and doing crafts with local seniors.
While Delaney feels the IB program prepared her well for college, her college experience has more in common with her Montessori days than she expected.
"A big takeaway from Montessori for me is an interest in learning and excitement for learning," she said. "That lessened in high school, but it's coming back now in college. I'm picking my own classes, which is a lot more fun. It feels more similar to Montessori to have excitement for classes."
One activity she remembers fondly from her Montessori days that she hasn't found much time for as a college student is knitting - a skill she learned as a 9-12 student at WMS.
"When you arrived to class there were different morning activities you could do that were meant to calm your brain and get ready for the day," she explained. "I liked that they gave us the time to do it and we could relax in the morning."
Delaney's college mornings may not always get off to quite as calming a start, but she's drawing from experience - from her Montessori days and beyond - to strike the right balance.
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 The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.
Please send submissions to
[email protected]
by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior
to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length
and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints.
For more information, contact Noel Dietrich, Director of Advancement & Communications.
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