Depew Middle Monthly Newsletter
September 2025
Thank you to all the families who joined us for our Open House on Thursday, September 4th. It was great seeing you there! We also want to thank families who have helped us with our fundraising efforts with the snack and popcorn fundraiser, the PTO Apparel fundraiser and purchasing items from our Scholastic Book Fair. We also want to thank FOCUS and the Good Neighbors credit union for providing our families with information at Open House.
8th Grade WEB Leaders
Our 8th grade WEB leaders spent some extra time this summer preparing to welcome our 6th graders to Depew Middle School. The W.E.B leaders gave up three days of summer break to plan, prepare and facilitate the 6th grade orientation program. Each W.E.B. leader called 6th grade students and families to welcome and personally invite them to the 6th grade Orientation event. The WEB leader orientation involved some team building activities and talking about what it means to be a good leader.
The 8th grade W.E.B. leaders helped to run 6th grade orientation this year. The orientation was a huge success, and the 6th graders had a lot of fun. The orientation started with team building activities in the high school gym, led by the WEB leaders and WEB teacher advisors Mr. Cena, Mrs. Banasik, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Teresa, Ms. Hagen, and Mrs. Kuwik. The 6th graders got to meet their W.E.B. leaders for the year! They did some fun activities, and got to learn about the students who were in their group. Some examples of the activities were a straw challenge where they had to work together to hold with their pinky in a circle. Another example is another activity where we had to bounce a balloon using their pointer finger to different people so we could learn everybody's name in the group. The 8th grade web leaders took 6th graders on a special tour of the middle school helping them to feel more comfortable with their new building. The 6th graders learned about what the Middle School has to offer, and how they can get involved, and have a great 6th grade year! This event helped to take away some of the nervousness our 6th graders felt about coming to a new school.
Written by Caiden M., 8th grade WEB leader
We had a lot of smiling faces as our students returned to school on September 4. 2026. 😀 Mia M. also represented the middle school well in her interview with Channel 4.
I am Jane Walsh and I am thrilled to introduce myself as the 8th grade Resident English Teacher working with Mr. Cena this year. I am sure most of you have experienced your children coming home and mentioning a student teacher at one point or another, but I’m a little different. I am currently finishing my Master’s program at the University at Buffalo where I am to complete a full year of teaching alongside a mentor. I began the year with the students, and I have the privilege of learning with them until the end of May. I have enjoyed every moment of the year so far, and I am looking forward to experiencing even more joy with this wonderful community!
On September 15th, our 7th grade class participated in our annual Team Building Day. It was a day filled with teamwork and fun activities that helped us to get to know each other better and work on our communication and team building skills. In one station, we took spaghetti noodles and marshmallows to try to build the highest tower. We worked together in teams of 4-5 people creating towers of different shapes and sizes. We also did an activity where we were given a certain amount of pretend money to buy supplies to create a device that could protect an egg from cracking. The device with the egg was then dropped from about 6ft up and then if it survived the 6 foot drop we dropped it again from 8 foot. In the gym, we played a bunch of different team building games where we had to work together to be successful. The only way to master the game was to work together and communicate with each other. The 7th grade class also wanted to give back to our community. In another station we made blankets for Children's Hospital and dog toys for the SPCA. We spent the day doing activities that allowed all 7th grade students to collaborate, problem solve and get to know each other better.
Written Isabella I. & Brianna L., 7th Graders
The Human Knot
Students participated in some team-building activities called the “human knot” in PE class this month.
It’s an oldie… but a classic.
Our goal is to help our students improve their cooperation, communication, and problem solving skills! They worked together to untangle themselves without letting go of hands. It was a fun and engaging lesson that helped build trust - team work & perseverance —
Things that can carry over both inside & outside of the gym!
Seventh graders currently in Technology Education recently put their creativity, problem-solving skills, and teamwork to the test with a hands-on project that blended science, sustainability, and a little sweet reward.
As part of their unit on the Seven Resources of Technology—People, Information, Materials, Tools & machines, Energy, Capital, and Time (PIMTECT) —students explored how each resource plays a role in solving real-world problems. The class then shifted focus to alternate forms of energy, examining how renewable sources like solar power can be used in everyday life.
To apply their knowledge, students were challenged to design and build a solar-powered s’more cooker using only recycled materials. From cardboard boxes and aluminum foil to plastic wrap and repurposed containers, every piece was carefully chosen and engineered to maximize efficiency.
The results were impressive! Students learned how sunlight can be harnessed, reflected, and trapped to generate enough heat to melt chocolate and marshmallows—a fun, tasty demonstration of solar energy at work. Beyond the marshmallows, however, the project encouraged critical thinking about sustainability, engineering design, and how technology connects to daily life.
The class not only walked away with gooey s’mores but also a deeper appreciation for renewable energy and the innovation required to create a greener future.
Solar Oven Project: A Student Perspective
Hello my name is Ray'vin W. For the past couple of days I have been working with Caiden on designing and building a solar oven. Together, we brought in supplies to help us get our smores to the hottest temp. We worked very hard while also having fun. In the end we didn't win but at least we had smores to make up for it.
Written by Ray'vin W., 7th grade Technology Student
CHALK THE WALK
This month we had our first W.E.B. Wednesday activity of the school year that focused on the character trait of responsibility. We started out in homeroom discussing different ideas for our chalk design. Our homeroom decided on drawing a sun and each of the rays was a different responsibility that we have as students such as respecting others opinions, staying up to date with homework assignments and being organized. Once we agreed on our idea our homeroom went outside and used chalk to draw pictures of what responsibility looks like to us. We worked together as a team to make our design on the sidewalk using chalk.
All of the homerooms did a great job with this activity. Some other designs included pictures and quotes of all different ideas from getting to class on time, signing up for clubs, volunteering, taking care of our pets, completing our homework and taking care of the earth just to name a few of the ideas. All the students seemed to have fun and it was a great way to get positive messages out to our school community. It was also great that our whole school was able to be outside sharing this experience together.
Written by Emily K., 8th grade
Duncan Kirkwood spoke to DMS students on Thursday, September 25th about resiliency. Duncan Kirkwood is a nationally recognized expert on resilience, leadership, and purpose. He is the Director of the Center for Resiliency at Villa Maria College and is a former Master Resilience Trainer in the Army National Guard. Duncan spoke to our students about reframing adversity, own their potential, overcoming adversity, perseverance and leading with purpose. All students left the assembly reciting the words "I will always place my mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit.
Thank you Duncan for spending some time with our students and motivating them to never give up on themselves.
