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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
January 10
4-8 p.m.
Panera Bread
(Market Square Shopping Center - near Trader Joe's)
January 11
9:30 a.m. & 5 p.m.
Tell a friend!
January 12
Deadline for WMS sibling applications
January 18
Parent Education - The Journey
8:30 a.m.
January 20
10 a.m.
Tell a friend!
January 24
Information night for parents of rising Primary students
5-6 p.m.
Great Room
January 25
Dads' Day
Drop-off - 10 a.m.
WMS Birthday Celebration
10 a.m.
Gym
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Message from
Head of School Lisa Lalama
Our calendars have shifted to 2018. Everywhere we look, there are reminders about the new year, making changes and starting fresh. Schools are interesting places. We get two chances to begin anew, one in September and the other in January. September brings us back together to start a new school year - perhaps in new classrooms, and with new classmates and opportunities. Children and families anticipate that fresh start and all the possibilities that exist as a new school year begins.
January brings us different opportunities. It is a chance to recall what we did in December as the calendar year ended and think about what lies ahead. Believe it or not, the children come back to school after the winter break and actually appear to be more grown up, no matter their ages. They enter the building with a more confident stride, for they now know what this school year means. They understand the workings of their school day, their fellow students, their teachers and the school at large. They are ready to work. They understand that they may see friends at recess that they don't typically see at other times of the day. This knowledge allows children to ease back into the routine of school. It also gives them the chance to try new things and experience new lessons. There is time to take stock of what they know, what they might like to try and how they may arrive at the goal they have set. As the calendar resets so do our goals. Happy 2018! We look forward to sharing this year with you and your children.
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News & Notes
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Welcome Tracey Manerchia, Director of Montessori Enrichment
WMS is pleased to welcome Tracey Manerchia as Director of Montessori Enrichment. She started work this week and has assumed responsibility for WMS's extended day, School's Out and camp programs, previously managed by Cass Winner. Tracey is a familiar face at WMS - many of you
may already know her as 6-9 student Sophia Yovino's mother.
Tracey's prior work experience includes managing programming at the Claymont Community Center, where she also oversaw the James H. Groves Adult High School. She has master's degrees in education and school counseling and is looking forward to bringing her knowledge and experience to WMS.
Tracey's office is located in the hallway between the Great Room and the music room. You may also see
Cass Winner there periodically, as she will be working with Tracey over the next few weeks to ensure as smooth a transition as possible. Please pop in to say hello and welcome Tracey if you are passing by.
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On
Wednesday, January 10, from 4 to 8 p.m., Panera Bread at Market Square Shopping Center (near Trader Joe's) will
donate a percentage of its sales to support the annual sixth-grade class trip to New York City. Eat soups, sandwiches, bread and more to help WMS's current fifth-graders meet their fundraising goal!
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Financial Aid Deadline is
this Friday, January 5
The deadline to be considered for a first-round financial aid award is Friday, January 5, 2018. The financial aid committee reviews applications in the order they are completed (including the submission of tax returns).
Financial aid applications completed after January 5 will be considered as funds allow. Financial aid grants are made for one year only so you must re-apply each school year.
Please contact Business Manager
Nancy Oddo with any questions.
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Explore Learning Together With Your Infant or Toddler and Tell a Friend!
If you or someone you know is looking for a fun and educational parent-child workshop, WMS's
Learning Together program may be the perfect solution. Learning Together offers children ages 9 to 36 months a solid introduction to Montessori education in a setting designed especially for young children and their parents or caregivers. Led by experienced Montessori teachers, classes meet weekly for seven weeks. The winter session begins next Wednesday -
sign up today!
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Tomorrow's Leaders
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Brian Zankowsky (WMS '07) Rockets His Way Into Engineering
Even though he graduated in 2007, Brian Zankowsky's path has led him back to WMS many times in the last decade. Most recently, he's been sharing his engineering knowledge with students in WMS's Extended Day and School's Out programs as he seeks full-time work as a mechanical engineer.
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| Brian Zankowsky as a WMS student in 2007 |
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It's fitting that Brian is already grooming a new generation of engineers, since WMS is where he first discovered his knack for figuring out how things work.
"I was always into LEGOs and building things and taking things apart from an early age," he said.
Brian says it likely comes as no surprise to his WMS teachers that he pursued engineering. He graduated from the University of Delaware (UD) last May with degree in mechanical engineering.
"I decided it seemed a good fit with the classes I liked in high school, like computer drafting and physics," Brian explained. "I was also part of the FIRST robotics team."
After graduating from WMS in 2007, Brian attended Garnet Valley Middle School and High School. In addition to his involvement with the FIRST robotics team in high school, he was also a member of the marching band - playing marimbas and xylophones in the pit - and the indoor drum line.
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Brian teaching WMS School's Out students about rockets |
After high school Brian went on to UD, which had a strong engineering program. He joined UD's Mechanical Engineering Student Squad (MESS), which provides tours and
presentations for prospective mechanical engineering students. MESS also visits middle and high school science classrooms "to help promote engineering to kids on the fence or otherwise not exposed to it," Brian said.
The summer before he graduated, Brian landed an internship with Newton, N.H., with a division of Terex - an industrial equipment manufacturer - that makes grinders and wood chippers for the logging industry. There he worked in design and product inspection on the manufacturing floor.
While he continues to interview for engineering work, Brian has been working in WMS's Extended Day program since the beginning of the school year. He takes advantage of opportunities to share his engineering knowledge with some of the older students. On School's Out days, he's taught some of his students to build model rockets, complete with a lesson about the history of rockets, how they work and how they fly. Once the kids completed their rockets, they launched them from the WMS soccer field.
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Brian and a student prepare to launch a rocket from the WMS soccer field |
Brian is also well-known at WMS for his involvement with Camp Montessori. After attending camp for a number of years, he became a CIT after his sophomore year in high school. In 2011 he began working as a counselor, working primarily with the Dragons (fifth- to eighth-graders) alongside the late Mark Bomgardner. Brian has worked at Camp Montessori all but one summer since 2011 and eventually took over organizing Friday cookouts when Mark was no longer able to.
For Brian, many of his fondest WMS memories involve time spent with Mark.
"In after care, Mark had started playing a game with us called Dungeons & Dragons - a role playing game. I still play the game to this day," he said. "In fact a lot things I did with Mark are hobbies I still have to this day."
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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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