Thursday, September 29th - Grade 7 & 8 Back-to-School Night 
Monday Morning Minute
September 26, 2016
From Assistant Principal Benzie

Good morning,

It was great seeing and meeting so many 6th grade parents on Thursday evening. I look forward to the same at this coming Thursday’s Back to School Night with the 7th and 8th grade parents.

Through many conversations, it was plain to see parents were very excited about the coming school year. It was nice to hear from so many that they would like to come back as students again. Clearly a testament to our wonderful teachers!

We cannot stress enough the importance of the home-school connection. Coming to a Back to School Night and putting names to faces is important to the development of your child. Over the next nine months, we hope that you reach out to your child’s teachers whenever you have a concern.

A big thank you to the PTO and our amazing parents for providing dinners for the staff. It is a long day for our teachers, and the delicious food really keeps them going!

Warm regards,

George

Grade 7 & 8 Back-to-School Night 
Thursday, September 29 at 6:30 / 6:45 

If you child takes Band, Chorus, Orchestra, Lit Boost or Org Skills, please come at 6:30 to meet with those teachers. Then all parents of 7th & 8th Graders will join the evening at 6:45. Students will bring home a schedule for your to follow on Wednesday, and we will also have copies for you in the office for your convenience. 

There will be Wayland gear from our Boosters for sale in the lobby, A PTO table (see below) as well as sign up for Stop & Shop A+ rewards. The front office will be open for you to fill our CORI forms.

Chromebook Update

We hope to distribute on or after October 4th. We would like to be able to give them to all students, so please make sure that you:

1. Have a case.
2. Have signed and returned the  WMSChromebook Care & Use Agreement .
3. Paid the insurance fee HERE , or signed the liability waiver HERE and returned the signed document. 

We will not be able to distribute the devices to students who do not have all three of these things completed. As of this past Friday, about half of 8th graders and one-third of 7th graders have not completed the required paperwork. Please help us get the Chromebooks to your students as soon as we can by making sure your paperwork is complete. Thank you!

Questions? Contact Bethann Monahan at bethann_monahan@wayland.k12.ma.us

Important Traffic Reminder
Afternoon Pick-up

For the safety of our students, please do not text or call your students to meet you in the DPW lot. When this happens, students cross two lanes of traffic to get to the lot, and this is not safe. We appreciate your patience and attention to the safety of all of our children during the afternoon pickup. Thank you.

Seeking School Council Members 
Please Respond by October 14

We are currently seeking parent/guardian volunteers to join this year's WMS Council.  In accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 71: Section 59C, Wayland Middle School will have a School Council that meets regularly and is responsible for the following:

  • Assist in the identification of the educational needs of the students attending the school
  • Review the annual school budget
  • Approve the school improvement plan
  • Review the student handbook

School council meetings typically take place quarterly, on mutually agreed upon dates, from 5:00 to 6:15pm. If you are interested, kindly submit your name and a short biographical paragraph to Betsy Gavron by October 14. Thank you in advance for your support.  
From the PTO 

PTO NEWS 

Gift Your Child

This year there will be no sales-based fundraisers at the middle school – no cookie dough, no wrapping paper, no collecting orders and money or delivering goods!  We will be joining the elementary and high schools in Gift Your Child – a direct donation fundraising campaign, where 100% of your donation is tax deductible and will directly benefit Wayland Middle School students.  You can donate with a credit card when you register at www.myschoolanywhere.com or through www.waylandpto.org, or visit the PTO at our table at your Back to School Night and donate with a check made out to “Wayland PTO”.  The suggested donation is $100 per middle school student.   

The PTO relies on your donations to support all of our programs at Wayland Middle School, including our Cultural Enrichment performances, support of grade level activities (Walden Pond bike trip, Cape Cod Night, D.C. Night, 8th Grade Community Service Day, etc.), support of extracurricular activities (Rocket Club, Science Olympiad, Anime Club, etc.), upkeep for the Green Team’s gardens, and to support and celebrate our wonderful teachers and staff, to name a few.  Any donation within your means will have a direct impact on the PTO’s programming and funding.  Please donate today!

Other News

Like the WMS PTO Facebook page to stay up to date on events, news and volunteer opportunities, and visit http://waylandpto.org/middle-school-pto/ for this year’s Middle & More Coffee schedule, current volunteer opportunities, and more!

Upcoming Events 

Back to School Nights

The PTO will be at Thursday’s 7th & 8th Grade Back to School Night.  Stop by our table to Gift Your Child, purchase a directory, meet board members, or to learn more about what the PTO accomplished at Wayland Middle School last year.  We look forward to seeing you! 

Middle & More Coffee
Tuesday, October 18th, 8:45 - 9:45 AM
In the Library

Save the date for our first Middle & More Coffee on Tuesday, October 18th from 8:45-9:45 am in the library.  Principal Betsy Gavron, along with staff members, will be discussing the new study skills curriculum being implemented in the Middle School this year.  We hope you can join us!  Find the entire year’s schedule of parent coffees at http://waylandpto.org/middle-school-pto/middle-and-more-coffees/. 

Volunteer Needs

Teacher Appreciation Lunch

The PTO is looking for 2-3 parents to coordinate our Teacher Appreciation lunch in May.  This is a lot of fun for friends to work on together, and is a great way to show the WMS teachers and staff how much we appreciate them.  Please contact Amy Simmons (simmons221@comcast.net) to sign up!

PTO Appreciation 

Thank you to the 6th Grade Parent Reps for organizing a potluck dinner for the 6th grade teachers and staff on Back to School Night last week, as well as many thanks to all of the parents who donated food or supplies for the dinner.  It is a great way for us to thank the teachers for their work with our children, and allows them to focus on preparing for the evening with parents – it is greatly appreciated!
REMINDERS (from previous emails)

Register Your Stop & Shop Card and Earn Money for Wayland Middle School

Do you shop at Stop & Shop?  If you do, please consider registering your Stop & Shop Bonus Card to earn money for our school through their A+ School Rewards Program.  Registration is easy and it won’t affect your Stop & Shop gas points program in any way.  Our Stop & Shop school ID is 09946.  To register your card: 

Go to:  http://www.stopandshop.com/aplus  

·  Under "Customer Zone" click on "Register Your Card"

·  Enter the first 3 letters of your last name

·  Enter your 13-digit Stop & Shop Card # (on the back of  your card, underneath the      barcode)

·  Click on "Continue to Listings"  

·  Enter 09946 under "School 1" 

·  Click on "Register"

·  Click on "Confirm my Information"

Last year, WMS participants in the A+ School Rewards Program earned over four thousand dollars for our school!  Please consider signing up - The program runs from October 7, 2016 - March 16, 2017.

Thank you!!!  

All Grades: Fitness Testing, Sept 26 - 28 in Wellness

If your child has a history of exercise-induced asthma and has an inhaler in the nurse's office, please remind him/her to see the nurse 20 - 30 minutes before pacer testing to pick up the inhaler and bring to Wellness class.  If your child does not have an inhaler at school, then please provide the nurse with a WPS medication order form so that your child may use his or her inhaler while at school. The Wellness Staff would also like to ask all families to be sure their children eat breakfast and stay hydrated especially on fitness testing days.  This testing is vigorous and failure to eat or drink adequate amounts of fluids can result in headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness or fainting. Thank you!  

We utilize the FitnessGram protocol found HERE. ~The Wellness and Health Room Staff

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BUS RIDERSHIP
2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR

Does my student need a bus pass to board the school bus?
Y es.  Every student who has registered to ride the bus has been issued a bus pass that must be shown each day upon entering the bus, beginning on Monday, September 19, 2016.  The pass entitles the student to ride to and from school on an assigned bus with an assigned bus stop. Beginning on Monday, September 19, 2016, bus drivers will ask each student to display his/her pass before boarding the bus.
 
Can my student bring his/her large instrument or project on the bus?
No.   Due to the narrow width of the school bus aisle and the height of the seat backs, no large instruments (e.g. cellos, french horns), large projects, large athletic equipment or other large objects may be brought on the bus.  Students may carry items on the bus that fit comfortably on his/her lap or at his/her feet during the course of the ride to and from school. 
 
For more information about school bus transportation, please check out the
posted on the Wayland Public School website .

Artist of the Week
Artist: Yulia Yuvsechko
Grade: 7
Medium: Mixed Media
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events .
All Grades
10/03: NO SCHOOL, Rosh Hashanah
10/10: NO SCHOOL, Columbus Day
10/11: NO SCHOOL
10/12: NO SCHOOL, Yom Kippur
10/13: Math Meet @ WMS - 3:00 PM
10/14: Q1 Progress Reports

Grade 6
9/30: Thoreau Cluster Walden Pond Trip
10/6: Henry Cluster Walden Pond Trip
10/7: David Cluster Walden Pond Trip

Grade 7
9/29: Gr. 7 & 8 Back-to-School Night, 6:45 PM
10/20: RLC Days of Wonder Trip (1/2 Grade)
10/21: RLC Days of Wonder Trip (1/2 Grade)

Grade 8
9/29: Gr. 7 & 8 Back-to-School Night, 6:45 PM
10/25: NY Caves Field Trip (1/3 grade)
10/27: NY Caves Field Trip (1/3 grade)
10/28: NY Caves Field Trip (1/3 grade) 
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