What's Happening at Western
Some thoughts for the starting school year
10/10/25
Dear Western families,
I want to thank all the staff and parents for jumping in and purchasing so many mums to support our upcoming Kindness Color Run. We are approaching $2500 raised in less than two weeks, which is unbelievable. This will allow us to continue to award kindness scholarships to our graduating seniors who attended Western and exemplify Steven's dream of everyone being kind to one another. If you walked the halls last week, you would have seen many of our students carrying mums throughout the building delivering the beautiful plants to our teachers. There is nothing like seeing middle school boys walking around carrying large mum plants to put a smile to your face. On Wednesday afternoon, we looked like a florist or nursery out front as over a hundred mums were waiting to be picked up by parents. Keep a look out in case we have extra mums we need to get rid of....
I know it may be hard to imagine, but I don't have any words of wisdom or directions for you. I don't believe in using words, just to use words, so this message will be short this week. I would rather you spend the time reading the rest of this SMORE and making sure you aren't missing out on anything important.
I am heading off to Penn State this weekend to visit my daughter and attend a football game. I am a little worried, because my Nittany Lions have disappointed me quite a bit lately. Mr. Brehm, our wonderful chorus and music teacher, will also be attending the game at his alma mater, so maybe having the two of us there in person will result in a win for us. We would really like a Monday where we can high-five because of a win instead of shaking our head at one another with no words like we have been doing lately.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Suzanne
- Monday, October 13-Friday, October 17, 2025: Pink Week
- Tuesday, October 14, 2025: PTA General Membership Zoom, 7pm
- Tuesday, October 14, 2025: 6th grade Blue Team to Soundwaters
- Monday, October 20th- Friday, October 31st: Western Book Drive
- Wednesday, October 22nd: EARLY RELEASE at 1:00 pm
- Friday, October 24th: Halloween Dance - 6:30-8:00pm in the gym
More Important E-bike and E-Scooter Information
I want to make sure you are all aware that helmets are now required for all E-Bike and E-Scooter riders. All individuals, regardless of age, must now wear a helmet when operating an electric bicycle in Connecticut. This law applies to all three classes of e-bikes and is aimed at reducing injuries as e-bike use continues to grow. As I have been outside in the morning, I have been telling any students not wearing one that they need to wear one moving forward. Luckily, most of our students are already wearing helmets, but we want to make sure all are following the new rules.
Taking Care of our Chromebooks
Your children have been learning about the expectations for taking care of their Chromebooks. These are outlined in their planner (see below). We are very lucky to be in a district in which all students receive their own device, and we expect the students to treat them as if they were bought by their family. If students are seen mishandling or damaging their Chromebook, parents will be responsible for the cost to replace the computer. If students are not using their Chromebooks correctly (e.g., playing games, watching videos/shows, etc), their computer privileges may be suspended. We have had students required to complete all work by hand for one or more days due to this. We have also had the district put limitations on what students can access. We really do not want to do either, so please review the expectations outlined in your child's planner (and below) with them, have your child sign it, and sign the agreement yourself. Advisor Base teachers will be checking for parent and student signatures next week.
PINK Week at WMS is HERE!!
One of our favorite weeks of the year is upon us!. All next week, the WMS community and Volleyball team is raising money for Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. In the past four years, we have raised over $5,000 total. Our goal this year is to raise $1,200! During the week, we will be selling bracelets and other pink accessories (cash only!) every morning from 7:50-8:10 am at the main entrance. Students will also have the chance to vote for the first SERVING PINK PRINCIPAL - the winning administrator will serve the first ball into our Dig Pink game and will also be dressed in head to toe PINK! I have been lucky the last few years at not winning the vote, avoiding a pie in my face once or twice. Let's keep that going!
🩷 Friday 10/17, we will have our 6th Annual PINK Day. All staff and students are asked to wear pink (shirts, pants, hair accessories, anything!) on 10/17 to support this cause!
🩷 Tuesday 10/21, the WMS Volleyball team will host their annual "Dig Pink" game against GCDS at 3:30pm in the WMS gym. Entry is $1 minimum donation. We will have snacks and PINK gear for sale for fans to wear! Come see which administrator will attempt to serve over the net!
Besides raising money in school, we have a Western donation page on the Susan G Komen site to help raise as much money as possible. Please help us reach our goal!
Upcoming Book Drive
Laila McQueen, an 8th grader and member of our Student Council, is leading our Student Council in running an upcoming book drive at Western. The book drive will support the Greenwich Alliance for Education, which holds a book drive every year. Donation boxes will be set up near our main office starting on Monday, October 20th for new or gently used books for infants to middle schoolers. The collection will take place through October 31st, and then the books will be distributed at the Boys and Girls Club on November 4th. Please support the cause and families in our own community who will benefit from this book drive.
Time is Running Out to Register for the 8th Grade DC Trip
There are only a few days left to register for the Washington DC trip. We have about 120 students registered and 182 students in the grade. Any student who wants to attend will be able to, no matter the financial situation of any family. The deadline to register is October 15th, and the deadline to request financial aid is October 31st. Use the links below to register and request financial aid.
A Shout to Mr. Ludvinsky and our Community Supports
On Sunday October 5th, Mr. Ludvinsky and Ms. Dillon represented Western Middle School at the First Presbyterian Church in Stamford as they hosted a reception for their grant recipients. Mr. Ludvinsky shared a presentation on the impact of the the two grants he has received; the "Socks for Sam" initiative which mobilized the WMS community to benefit the Vanishing White Matters Families Foundation, as well as the WMS "Care Closet" which provides personal care items to our student body free of charge. These presentations were well received and Mr. Ludvinsky hopes to secure additional funding for the Care Closet moving forward. Thank you to Mr. Ludvinsky for helping Western continue our mission of supporting our students and families in as many ways as possible.
This week, I am sharing about one of our AVID instructional strategies used consistently across our, as well as a peek into our Restorative Practice approach to supporting our students' behavior at Western.
AVID's #CUBBA Reading Strategy
One of the advantages of being a student in an AVID school is the implementation of a common language around instructional strategies across ALL content areas. A common active reading strategy all our students use is #CUBBA, which they are taught to help with their comprehension of non-fiction text. Here is what it stands for:
# - Number the paragraphs
C - Circle the key terms/phrases
U - Underline the main idea of each paragraph/section
B - Box in unknown vocabulary words
B - Bracket evidence (to support main ideas)
A - Annotate in the margins to show your thinking
Utilizing this strategy across all disciplines and grade levels demonstrates the importance of being an active reader in all content areas and settings. In addition, it provides students with the opportunity to practice developing and mastering this important skill before reaching high school. When you see your student using this strategy at home, encourage the use of a different colored pen so they can more easily see their annotations when they look back. You can also remind them that the steps of this strategy can be found at the back of their planner.
Western’s Upcoming Halloween Dance
Our students completed a Google Form to express interested in attending the Halloween Dance on October 24th. Over 200 expressed interest. Below is a parent RSVP form, because we know they need your permission to attend (and most likely your money!). We will be playing a few slow songs, because what is a dance without a few slow songs? It is mostly for the enjoyment of the chaperones as we watch the kids react to a slow song playing. We need to have some fun while we are supervising, don't we??
ADMISSION $10
Includes a drink & 2 medium slices of pizza.
RSVP HERE.
Students may pay at the Main Office by cash or check (made out to "WMS PTA")
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!
Time is Running Out For Western Yearbooks
Don't forget to order your yearbook. Take it from a mom who failed to do this one year for my girls. They still talk about it today! You can use the link below to get the lowest price of the year... $30.
