WEDNESDAY WEEKLY
February 9, 2022
NEWS & NOTES
FACTS Update
As we continue our transition with our new application, enrollment and tuition management system, we’d like to thank you for your patience and perseverance! As expected, there have been some bumps in the road. With more and more families coming on board, we are working through finding solutions to each circumstance as it arises. Please continue to reach out to Paula, Markia or anyone in the Business Office here at WMS for any problems or concerns that you may have and know that we are working diligently to make the process as smooth as possible.
Virtual Family Night for Early Childhood Students - "One Love"
Thursday, February 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Join Paula and Trish for another virtual family fun night! We will read the book “One Love” by Cedella Marley. After the read-aloud, students will take part in a “lovely” scavenger hunt, family art project and short dance party!  

Visit Bloomz to RSVP and access the Zoom link!

Please print this page in preparation for the event!
Welcoming New Staff
Next week, two long-time WMS parents will be joining our community as our new health and physical education teachers. Please join us in welcoming LaKeetra Josey, mother of Morgan (Room 9), and Erica Stroud, mother of Nolan (Room 20), to our teaching staff!

LaKeetra will be teaching health to our Elementary and Middle School students. She is a Registered Nurse and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with experience in a variety of settings - she can now add health teacher to her resume! Over the years, LaKeetra has provided training for WMS teaching staff on adverse childhood experiences and offered support around children’s mental health concerns. Cristin Lettich, our Director of Curriculum and Instruction, has met with LaKeetra and is coordinating this effort to balance our students' interests and questions in various areas of health with national standards in health. 

Erica will be teaching PE to our Primary through Middle School students. Erica has a degree in education from the University of Delaware and has lots of experience as a teacher before she decided to stay at home with her children. And, as luck would have it, she also has lots of experience in physical education. She has played many sports, coached field hockey and other sports, and has a passion for physical fitness, which she is eager to share with the students at WMS. 

Both are looking forward to getting to know your children starting next week!
COVID-19 Testing Deadlines for the Week of February 14

Sunday, February 13 (for Toddlers who attend school on Mondays) -
Test results due by 5 p.m. Tests must be completed after noon on Saturday or any time before the deadline on Sunday. Students will not be admitted on Monday, February 14 if results are not submitted on time to covidresults@wmsde.org.

Monday, February 14 (for Toddlers who begin their school week on Tuesdays) -
Test results due at 5 p.m. Tests must be completed after noon on Sunday or any time before the deadline on Monday.  Students will not be admitted on Tuesday, February 15 if results are not submitted on time to covidresults@wmsde.org.

Tuesday, February 15 (for Primary, Elementary & Middle School students) - 
Test on-site through Quidel and submit results when received, or submit off-site test results (taken on or after February 9) to covidresults@wmsde.org by noon in order to attend school on February 16. If you are submitting a screenshot, please include the date taken.

If your child misses testing due to an absence or lateness to school, your child must get tested off-site to attend school on Wednesday. Please plan to arrive on time on testing days - testing begins immediately after drop-off.

Please Note: If your child will not allow Quidel staff to conduct the test on a particular week, you will be called and asked to pick up your child to be tested elsewhere in order to adhere to our testing deadline.

Thank you, and please contact the school nurse if you have any questions!

Off-site testing options:
Policies & Procedures

WMS's COVID-19 policies are based on guidelines from the CDC and State of Delaware Department of Education Office of Child Care Licensing. We continue to monitor those sources for information to adjust our policies and practices as needed.
CLASSROOM NEWS - As Seen on Bloomz
Toddler Program
Snowy Day
Emily Edmonds, Lead Toddler Teacher

Posted on January 30, 2022
Everyone was so excited to watch the snow this morning. Of course, we decided to read the classic The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Then we got all bundled up and went for a walk, just like the character Peter did in the book. We also made some art to reflect on the snow we saw falling outside.
Primary (3-6) Program
Icy Experiments
Erin Wehler, Lead Primary (3-6) Teacher

Posted on February 1, 2022
Our Room 19 scientists were inspired by the frigid weather this week! We started to think about ice! What is ice? How is it formed? Can it change? What happens when it heats up? What are icebergs, glaciers and snow drifts?

The Primary Montessori science curriculum introduces students to physical science through magnets, electricity, the solar system, electricity, light and hands-on experiments. During our first lessons, we learn that the earth is made up of air, land and water. Next, we learn about three states of matter: solids, liquids and gases. Air is an example of a gas, land is an example of a solid, and water is an example of a liquid. It's a great time of the year to examine the states of water as it relates to weather since clouds, snow and rain are all made up of some form of water!

We learned that scientists:
  • Design experiments
  • Gather materials
  • Practice being precise
  • Predict
  • Observe
  • Conclude

Ice Cube Race Experiment #1 - Which solute will melt an ice cube the fastest?
We sprinkled one teaspoon of sugar, salt and baking soda onto three separate ice cubes. One ice cube did not have any solute on it. As the solutes and the ice cubes dissolved, it made a solution. Salt melted the ice cube the fastest but sugar was a close second... Can you imagine if we had sugar trucks instead of salt trucks during winter storms? We laughed and laughed at the possibilities!

Ice Cube Race Experiment #2 - Which surface will an ice cube melt on first?
We placed four ice cubes onto four different surfaces: a paper towel, a piece of plastic bubble wrap, a piece of aluminum foil and a piece of plastic wrap. On which surface would the ice cube melt the fastest? Hint: We learned ONE of these surfaces is an excellent heat conductor that transforms heat from itself to the melting ice cube!

Isn't science cool?
Lower Elementary (6-9) Program
Lunar New Year & Montessori's Great Lessons Begin
Melissa Connelly, Lead Lower Elementary (6-9) Teacher

We have had such fun celebrating Lunar New Year! We studied several sources to learn more about the traditions of Lunar New Year, collecting and comparing information from a video, Time magazine and articles from Readworks. Most importantly, we learned from our most exciting resources: our classmates who celebrate Lunar New Year. After learning about the history of language, we learned a few words in Chinese, creating our own story scrolls in Chinese. Some of us made paper lanterns, learned about the Chinese Zodiac and practiced drawing dragons in honor of this special time. Tomorrow, BrendaRose will lead us in a musical Lunar New Year parade for our Toddler and Primary audiences.

We’ve also begun Maria Montessori’s Great Lessons! We started with the first Great Lesson, which focuses on the coming of the Universe: the story of the Big Bang, stars and galaxies, and the beginning of our own solar system and planet. We looked at NASA photos taken by the Hubble Telescope, considering the idea that we are actually looking light years into the past as we see stars in the night sky. If every one of the hundreds of galaxies we could see in one Hubble photo contained hundreds of thousands of stars, how many stars could possibly exist in this Universe of ours?
Upper Elementary (9-12) & Middle School (7th & 8th Grades)
Virtual Field Trip - Mutant Fruit Flies!
Mandy Balanetsky, Lead Middle School Teacher

Did you know that we share 60% of genetic material with fruit flies? Last week, 9-12 and Middle School students spent an hour with the DNA Learning Lab in New York completing a lab on mutant organisms. Students observed fruit fly traits using a stereo microscope and described and recorded these traits. They then drew conclusions about the fitness of flies with different trait variations and discussed the role of mutations in species survival and evolution.
The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community. 

Please send submissions to wednesday-weekly@wmsde.org 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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