In the Middle
Whitnall Middle School Family Newsletter
Whitnall Middle School Message
September 20, 2019

Hello WMS Families!

We are wishing everyone a great weekend and a Wisconsin Badger victory on Saturday! There are a couple of upcoming events taking place in the next few weeks and the start of a newer club.

September 30th Wisconsin Forward student results will be given to each student to take home. These results are from the state assessment that students took last spring. So for our 6th graders these assessments were taken while in elementary school and current 7th/8th took at WMS in the spring. October 2nd is our first parent meeting if you are interested in having your son/daughter attend the Washington D.C. trip in May of 2020. The D.C. meeting is open to all 7th and 8th grade families.

October 9th at our PTO meeting Mr. Antholine will be helping to facilitate a parent discussion around bullying. The conversation is not just about what can be supported at school, but also how parents can support one another by sharing various approaches and/or asking questions. At the end of last year we talked with our PTO about this topic and we had a great parent to parent discussion. This conversation will start at 6:30pm in the new Science Common area. If you are interested or would like to talk prior to October 9th please reach out to me at rantholine@whitnall.com

While there are a lot of things to celebrate at WMS - I did get the chance to head down to our Cross Country meet that was held at Grant Park on Wednesday, September 18. What a great showing by our students and it was nice to see so many of our families cheering on WMS!


Yours in learning,

Bob Antholine
Principal WMS
Upcoming Dates
September 23 - September 26 AND September 30 G9 Fundraiser
September 24 - Chess Club Starts
September 27 - No School/Staff Development
September 30th - Forward Results sent home
October 2 - Washington D.C. Parent Meeting #1 6:00pm Library
October 4 - Picture Retake Day
October 9 - PTO Meeting
October 14 - PTO Eat & Earn 9th Slice
October 15 - PTO Eat & Earn Cafe Zupa's
November 14 - Conferences 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Chess Club
We are launching a pilot chess club this year and it is starting on Tuesday, September 24th after school from 3:00pm-4:15pm. If interested please email Mr. Stibbe !
G9 Fundraiser
September 23rd-26th and September 30th WMS will be participating in the Gold in September (G9) fundraiser to support finding a cure(s) for childhood cancer. G9 was started by a student in the Hartland area - for more information take a look at the G9 website .
To help raise money and awareness the following activities will be taking place at WMS!
  • 9/23 - Hat Day
  • Hat Day Students and Staff pay $1 to wear a hat at school $2 to wear the hat backward
  • 9/24 - Hood Day
  • Students and Staff pay $1 to wear a hood all day at school
  • 9/25 - Gold Out...wear gold to school!
  • Donations will be collected before school and during lunches
  • 9/26 - Parent Drop Off Coffee/Snacks AND Students can buy tickets to pick a staff member to get a pie in the face. Also students can enter a drawing to be the one to toss the pie(s)for $.50 per ticket or $5.00 fo a wingspan. Sold before school and during lunches.
  • 9/30 - Connect Competition
  • The connect class that brings in the most money on 9/30wins pizza for the entire connect delivered by Mr. A and Mr. Relich
Principal topics? Assistant Principal topics?
Starting next week Mr. Antholine and Mr. Relich will be sharing a video communication alternating the weeks that we don't send out the In the Middle. We need some help! Are there questions that you think would be good for us to share some insight with our whole school community - let us know by completing this form !
Grade Level Homework Links
Below are links to each CORE areas daily homework. The information provided is meant as a quick check. More detailed information is available from each teacher and/or their google classrooms.
How was school today?
Both Ryan and I live it at home too - the question, "How was school today?" Sometimes as parents/guardians we get lucky and we learn a lot about what took place during the day. If you ever have one of those days or weeks or months where it gets really hard to find out about the life of your middle schooler(s) here are some questions that might help:)!

  1. Tell me about a moment today when you felt excited about what you were learning.
  2. Tell me about a moment in class when you felt confused.
  3. Were there any moments that you felt worried today?
  4. Were there times today when you felt one of your classmates demonstrated care for you or someone else?
  5. What was challenging about your day?
  6. What do you appreciate about your day?
  7. Can you tell me about a conversation you had with someone at school?
  8. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
  9. Want to ask me something about my day?
Cell Phone Reminder
Just a reminder about the Cell Phone guidelines at WMS. Students are allowed to have access to their phones before and after school, during lunch, and passing times. Cell Phones need to be turned off and out of sight in classrooms. Please refer to the student handbook for the WMS cell phone procedure technology policy
Chromebook Insurance
Chromebook insurance fees (optional), are now accessible through your infinite campus portal. Please be sure to check that you are current, as fees are required to be paid before students can participate in activities. If you have any questions regarding fees you can contact Julie Sobush at 414-525-8661 or jsobush@whitnall.com. If you need assistance with your infinite campus account you can contact Kay Larson at 414-525-8526 or klarson@whitnall.com.
Picture Retake Day
Starting with the 2019-2020 school year the Whitnall School District has a new photography service - Visual Image Photography (VIP). Families can register for pictures online prior to our school picture dates. For families of WMS HERE IS THE LINK . Picture retake day will be October 4th.

October 2nd - Washington D.C. Meeting #1
If you would like to learn more about the May 2020 Washington D.C. trip for current 7th and 8th grade students the first meeting with our teacher team and Brightspark is at 6:00pm in the WMS library.

At this meeting you will get cost, deadline, and trip details. May seems like a long ways off, but the planning starts now! Please email Ms. Arcos or Ms. Cusick with any questions.
2020 Washington D.C.
Last year during our parent meetings at our PTO time the idea of alternating our Washington D.C. trip was brought up. Starting with the spring of 2020 the Washington D.C. trip will take place every other year. The trip will also now be open to both 7th and 8th grade students so the opportunity is still available.

The 2019-2020 Washington D.C. trip will take place May 5 through May 8 of 2020. Currently Ms. Arcos and Ms. Cusick are leading up the trip. More details and parent meetings will be coming up quickly in later September or early October.
School 'Stuff'

Student Absences: .
Please report your students absence to the school by 8:00 a.m. You may use the Absence Reporting Form or call the attendance line at 414-525-8650. .
No call and no note will result in the absence being recorded as truancy. If a student has a medical/dental appointment, we encourage you to provide an excuse from the provider.

Appointments/Planned Absences
If your student has an appointment, special event, leaving early, etc. Please contact the office prior to the event so we can have your student waiting for you in the office. You may use the Absence Reporting Form or call the attendance line at 414-525-8650. . If the student will be gone more than two days, please utilize the Planned Absence Form


Pick Up & Drop Off Information
As shared previously - busing and car drop-off/pick-up have been adjusted to decrease congestion near the Edgerton intersection where many students cross. While it may take some time to adjust we appreciate your patience with us and one another.

The map attached HERE shows an aerial view of the drop off.

PTO

Upcoming Meetings: (held in WMS library 7 - 8)

October 9
November 13
January 8
March 11
May 13

EAT AND EARN:   9th Slice Pizza 10/14 This is a PTO Eat and Earn that will celebrate Mr. Seavert and his success in making it into the Packers Hall of Fame as a “SUPER FAN”. 9th Slice in Hales Corners will donate 20% of sales to WMS PTO. There is no time frame, it is an all-day fundraiser. Packers-Lions game is on night, Mr. Seavert will be at the restaurant in his superfan gear and the Packer game will be on. We will get a cutout of Mr. Seavert dressed in his superfan gear for the bulletin board to help advertise. We will have a drawing for an autographed copy of the Green, Gold & Proud book that Mr. Seavert has a page dedicated to him. He may also have a Packers mini-helmet autographed by a player that he can raffle off. Lets celebrate Mr. Seavert and all that he does for our students, school and community!

Café Zupa 10/15 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm


WMS Leadership
Please use the following information to determine whom to contact for different questions. If you have any questions on how to direct you call/questions please contact Ms. Dawn Jones, WMS Secretary at 414-525-8660.

Bob Antholine Principal
414-525-8652
@Antholine (twitter)

Ryan Relich Assistant Principal
414-525-8663

Building Daily Operations and Events/Teaching and Learning
Primary Contact: Bob Antholine Email

Student Attendance and Behavior
Primary Contact: Mr. Ryan Relich Email

School Counselor
James Gableman
414-525-8654

School Psychologist
Nicole Lussier
414-525-8795

School Social Worker
Courtney Fleishmann
414-525-8655
Important Links and Resources
Whitnall Employment Opportunities
Did you know that you can find employment opportunities at Whitnall through WECAN and daily substitute opportunities through Teachers On Call ? Consider taking a look at what's available!
 (Athletic Coach, Custodian, Food Service, Kitchen Worker, Noon Hour Supervisor, Paraprofessional)
 (Educators and Paraprofessionals)
 (Educators/DPI Licensed Positions)
Whitnall Middle School | 414.525.8660 | info@whitnall.com | h ttps://www.whitnall.com/schools/middle/