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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
May 31
Elementary Field Day
9 a.m.
WMS sports field
June 5
End-of-Year Assembly
11:15 a.m.
Gym
June 6
Last Day of School
Graduation ceremony -
9:30 am,
Gym
All are welcome!
June 7-8
Child care days (registration required)
June 11-15
Pre-camp child care
(registration required)
June 18
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Graduation Day
Message from
Head of School Lisa Lalama
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for more from Lisa.
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Next Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., the sixth-grade class will graduate from WMS. Each year we look forward to graduation with excitement, eagerness and a bit of sadness; it's bittersweet. This year's class has the honor of being the last sixth-grade graduating class because next year we will have eighth-grade students graduating from the WMS middle school. Our sixth-graders are looking forward to carrying out the traditions they have watched each year since they were small children.
Please join us for the graduation ceremony if you are able. All are welcome! It is inspiring to see just how accomplished these young people are as they share their experiences with us. Our alumni speaker, Laurel Brown (WMS '06), will be addressing the graduates. WMS has a strong history, and our graduates experience great success throughout their lives. This is the beginning of their story and one you want to be sure to witness. We hope to see you there!
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News & Notes
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Co-op Hours: Final Reminder
As the 2017-18 school year comes to a close next week, please ensure you have submitted your co-op hours.
Co-op hours are due June 6.
30 Hours Submitted = $0 Billing
0 Hours Submitted = $900 Billing*
*Families will be billed
$30 per unfinished co-op hour.
If you haven't submitted your co-op hours, please do so today via the
co-op report form.
Graduation Co-op Opportunity: Log co-op hours by providing food and beverages for the 2018 graduation. Email
[email protected]
for more information or sign up on the co-op bulletin board.
If you are in need of additional hours to fulfill your 30-hour requirement or have questions, please email
[email protected].
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Remembering WMS Toddler Teacher Jane Miner
 It is with deep sadness that we share news about the loss of a beloved member of our WMS family, retired infant/toddler teacher Jane Miner. In the words of her daughter Cait, Jane battled cancer "relentlessly" and "
greeted tremendous pain each day with a smile
." She passed away on Friday surrounded by family.
During her 26 years at WMS, Jane created a beautiful environment in her classroom for our youngest students, served as a mentor for many of our newer toddler teachers and was a dear friend to many of us. After retiring in 2015, she continued to visit WMS often, working as a substitute teacher in our toddler classrooms. We will remember her as kind and patient in her interactions with children and adults.
Jane loved watching her former students grow during their years at WMS, and they loved to greet in the hallway, comforted, like all of us, by her peaceful presence. Her memory will live on in each of those children - her impact on WMS has been tremendous.
All are welcome to attend a memorial service for Jane, which will take place on June 9 at 1 p.m. in the WMS Great Room.
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Today's Learners
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Compose Yourself: The Making of a Musical
by Music Teacher Joe Ambrosino
The lights go down and the overture starts, and by the end the audience is applauding a job well done. Last week, the 9-12 students successfully staged the musical "Compose Yourself," as some of you were lucky enough to witness. But did you stop to think about what it takes for these young people to produce a musical?
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| The 9-12 students performing in the musical, "Compose Yourself," last week |
The first and perhaps most obvious skill is acting. Actors need to develop a range of emotional responses. In music class, all the students participated in a series of exercises to develop their characters. Students recorded each other doing things in character such as walking, talking or reacting with different emotions. Then they watched the videos and gave each other feedback.
All student actors and production crew members participated in the choral numbers. Students learned and memorized the melodies, harmonies and lyrics in choir class on Mondays and practiced at home. In addition to acting and singing, some students learned to perform waltz steps in the grand Viennese tradition for "Come Waltz With Me," one of the featured songs in this year's musical.
Acting wasn't everyone's first choice: many students also explored non-acting activities on stage and behind the scenes. There were many roles involved in the production of the musical, including stage manager, properties master, costume manager, sound chief, lighting manager, digital design and stage crew.
Whether on stage or behind the scenes, all students had to learn to be flexible and adapt to different environments for rehearsal and performance. Selecting light colors and brightness, or knowing where to aim the spotlights could only be done when the gym was transformed into a theater. Similarly, selecting, editing and running the slides that are projected behind the action could only be fine-tuned when the stage and lighting were properly set up. Finally, student actors had to transfer the stage directions they practiced in the confines of the Great Room or music room to the actual dimensions of the stage.
We practiced bits and pieces of the play for about 10 weeks prior to the performances. However, we didn't run the musical in its entirety until the week before the play opened. Putting scenes, musical numbers and dances together with costumes, scenery, lights, digital imagery and sound had to be mastered in only a few short rehearsals.
Our students are incredibly busy, and adding the challenge of producing a musical at the end of the year is extraordinary. Yet somehow, our resilient young people did it all. As the workload increased, the students rose to the occasion and helped each other make things work in the classroom and on stage. It was a privilege to see how they worked together to solve the many challenges set before them at a time when most students are looking forward to finishing the year and taking a well-deserved summer break.
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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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