What's Happening at Western
Some thoughts for the starting school year
11/7/25
Dear Western families,
The first quarter ended this week, which seemed to have sprung up on us all of a sudden. Your child’s final grades will be in Aspen early next week. These grades should come as a surprise, as you have access to grades in Aspen. If your child’s performance in the first quarter makes you realize that you need to pay closer attention to their grades during the 2nd quarter, here are Aspen for Parents (English and Spanish) directions. These explain how to access and use Aspen, including how to set up notifications to help you better monitor your child’s performance. If you are unable to access Aspen, please email support@greenwich.k12.ct.us for help.
If your child performed well this quarter, they should continue with the habits that allowed them to be successful. If your child did not perform as they had hoped in some classes, the next quarter is an opportunity for them to improve their habits and seek out extra help from teachers. Our goal at Western is for students to learn from both their successes and challenges, so they can continue to improve throughout the year. To that end, your child will be completing a First Quarter Reflection on Thursday during our next Flex day. Students will meet in their combined Advisor Base classes to reflect upon their Quarter 1 performance and set goals for the next quarter. They will receive a print-out of their grades and complete a Quarter 1 reflection in their planners. Parents will be asked to review the grade report and reflection with their child and sign the reflection document. You can use this as a chance to reflect with your child and set goals for the next quarter. Each team will also have an awards assembly to recognize many of our students for their performance over the past month. We run a different schedule on these days, so I included the schedule below as it changes the lunch times to earlier in the day for our students.
We are gearing up for Friday’s Western Day & 8th Grade Kindness Color Run in honor of Steven Sudell. This day is devoted to spreading kindness and reinforcing the idea of working together to solve challenges and make a difference in others’ lives. 6th and 7th grade students will wear the color of their grade-level team (red, blue, yellow or purple), while our 8th graders will all wear their Sudell Sprint tshirt. In the morning, students will participate in a variety of fun activities with students from the other grades including some competitive activities that require effective communication and teamwork. In the afternoon, our 8th graders will participate in a very meaningful assembly where they will learn the story of Steven Sudell and his impact on others. Some personal stories of kindness will be shared from an activity all our students did in Advisor Base this year. The 8th graders will then participate in the epic Color Run, so expect your 8th grader to come home with vibrant colors all over them. We still have about 50 eighth graders who have not purchased a shirt for the Color Run, and those families received an email yesterday. We want all our 8th graders to participate and help raise money for our kindness scholarships. Our 7th graders will be writing kindness letters and cheering on our 8th graders to get a peek of what they have to look forward to next year. Our 6th graders will paint kindness rocks to add to Steven’s kindness rock garden at the entrance of our school, which has been a tradition for our 6th graders since Steven passed away. It is sure to be a great day for all of our students. Below are some pictures from last year to give you an idea about what to expect.
Take a look at some of our 8th graders who cleaned up our Steven Sudell Kindness Garden in preparation for our Color Run on Friday. You can see what a great job they did from the before and after picture. Look at that pride on their faces!
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Suzanne
Before
After
Monday, November 3, 2025- Friday, November 21, 2025: Food Drive for Neighbor to Neighbor
Monday, November 10, 2025: Musical Audition Meeting, Auditorium, 3pm-3:45pm
Monday, November 10, 2025: Photo Retake Day
Tuesday, November 11, 2025: Student Teacher Volleyball Game, Gym, 3:15pm
Wednesday, November 12, 2025: FLEX Day (see schedule above)
Wednesday, November 12, 2025: PTA Pie Sale Pickup, 11am-1pm, Front Circle
Thursday, November 13, 2025: Scott Driscoll Internet Safety Presentation
Friday, November 14, 2025: Western Day & Kindness Color Run
Student-Teacher Volleyball Game
Our annual Student-Teacher Volleyball Game is on Tuesday after school. Entry to the game is $2 or a can of food to support our annual Neighbor to Neighbor Food Drive. All students are invited to come watch the game and cheer on both sides (WMS Volleyball Team vs. Staff).
8th Grade Sudell Sprint Color Run
We are only week away from our annual Sudell Sprint Color Run. We don't want anyone to miss throwing the powder paint high up in the air and being covered in it. Please bring cash or a check made out to Western Middle School to Mrs. Jacowleff in room M6A to purchase your shirt. This will pay for the shirt, Garden Catering lunch and a donation for our kindness scholarships. If you are unable to pay the full cost, please reach out to Ms. Rebecca Moraiz (rebecca_moraiz@greenwich.k12.ct.us) via email to make her aware.
Costume Donations
We have identified that purchasing Halloween costumes presents a challenge for some of our families at Western. We are collecting gently used costumes for ages 10-14 to save and distribute next year. Donations can be dropped off in the Main Office.
Turkey Trot 2025
More students, families and staff signed up to be on the Western Turkey Trot team. We are raising money for the Greenwich Alliance for Education, which has supported Western tremendously over the years. The event will be held on Saturday, November 29th, and we will be doing the 5K Fun/Walk. Please register to help our school WIN the Turkey Trot Trophy! The last day to sign up to join a team is Thursday, November 27th. Here is the link and password to register:
Password: Western2025
Neighbor to Neighbor Food Drive Continues
Our annual Food Drive continues until November 24th. The food drive supports Neighbor to Neighbor, an organization that supports many families in our community. Help our school best the other two middle schools in donating the most. Food is being collected by Advisor Base classes, and the AB that collects the most items from each grade will get a pizza party lunch!
In addition, we are also hosting a virtual food drive for those that cannot participate in person. Here is the link to make a donation.
Auditions for the SpongeBob Musical!
Do you like to act? Do you love to sing? Do you want to get on stage and dance? Join the theater club for our spring production of The SpongeBob Musical Youth Edition! Information can be found online in our Google Classroom (code: 7iybgb6z). Audition forms can also be accessed through this link and are due by Monday, 11/10. Students must use their WMS email account to fill out the form. Auditions will take place before Thanksgiving. Performances will be happening LIVE on stage this spring and all grades are encouraged to participate! Reach out to Mrs. Kolar or Mr. Brehm if you have any questions.
Monday is Picture Retake Day!
A reminder that picture retakes are on Monday for those who missed picture day or who would like to retake the picture. Below are the directions to follow to order pictures if you haven’t already.
Go to: www.roberttaylorphotography.com
Click on "Photography Services"
Click on "School Groups"
Click on "View/Order Photos"
Enter Gallery Code: 9130322
Person Pin: This is the number that corresponds to their specific picture and will be on the proof card.
WMS WINTER SPORTS!
The Western Middle School's WINTER Sports Registration form is Now Open for boys and girls basketball. Tryouts will be held on December 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th. Please complete the Final Forms registration prior to NOVEMBER 25th. NO registration will be accepted after NOVEMBER 25th.
Even if you have previously registered on Final Forms, you MUST log in and choose a Winter sport and make sure that your child's physical forms are updated prior to NOVEMBER 25th. The only form accepted is the CT-HAR.
For those who are new to Final Forms, this PDF document provides detailed instructions on how to register your student-athlete for winter sports. If you require any support during the process, scroll to the page bottom in FinalForms and click “Use Support." A parent or legal guardian must create an account first and then add your children. When adding your children, you must use their Greenwich Public School email. Once this is done and verified, and a sport is selected, then both parent and student must log in to fill and sign their document. If you have any questions or encounter issues during the registration process, there is a “Get Help” button at the bottom of the page.
We encourage you to complete the sports registration as soon as possible to ensure your student-athlete’s participation in the upcoming season. If you have any questions regarding registration, please email sportsphysicalwms@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Western Yearbook Early Bird Special is Ending Soon!!
You have until November 15th to get the early-bird price of $30 for your Western yearbook.. Use the link below to buy one.
After school activities
Continue to check out our after-school Club Catalog as more clubs are starting each week. Take a look with your child to see what they may want to get involved in. Remember, they are FREE!
