Excellence in Youth

INTEREST & TALENT DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL LEARNERS!

The Excellence in Youth (EY) Program at Westside Community Schools provides expanded learning opportunities for students with high ability, in addition to fostering and encouraging talent development in all students.

Jan 12th-16th - Online School Level Spelling Bees
January 30th - District Level Spelling Bee at WMS

Check Out Local Events & Contests!

Looking for something fun or inspiring to do? Visit our Events & Contests button on the EY website to find activities happening around the Omaha area for kids and families!

New opportunities are added often—so check back from time to time to see what might spark your interest!

The National Civics Bee Essay Contest
Americanism Essay Contest
Rubber Band Contest

Events & Contests

Digital Dozen Stars!

The Excellence In Youth Team is thrilled to shine a spotlight on Modou N. and Johan P. from Swanson, Hadley M. and Marian R. from Rockbrook, Ellis W. from Sunset and Jaquith C. from Oakdale as being the most recent recipients of the Digital Dozen Award for the 2025-2026 school year! This award is earned by WCS students who complete 12 digital badge projects from the EY Website (ey.westside66.org), which is accessible to students across the district. It takes hard work, grit, and dedication to earn these badges, and this bright star should be proud of this shining accomplishment! Congratulations!

Modou N.

Swanson

Johan P.

Swanson

Hadley M.

Rockbrook

Marian R.

Ellis W.

Sunset

Jaquith C.

Oakdale

Second Digital Dozen!

The Excellence In Youth Team is proud to showcase star student Bhavya B. from Swanson as the most recent recipient of the Digital Dozen award for this school year! This is the second award for Bhayva for this school year. Her favorite badge that she completed for her second digital dozen was the Stack the States badge. She plans to start working on her third digital dozen! Congratulations, Bhayva!

Bhayva B.

Swanson

The EY team would like to shout out the following students who are well on their way to earning the Digital Dozen! These students have earned 6 or more badges this year.

Keep up the great work!

Caroline A. - Sunset Hills

Jaxon B. - Swanson

Augustus C. -Rockbrook

Shawn C. - Prairie Lane

Hazel C. - Rockbrook

Henry C. - Paddock Road

Charles C. - Sunset Hills

Charlie D. - Paddock Road

Swanson E. - Sunset Hills

Chloe E. - Swanson

Jasper G. - Westgate

Celia G. - Rockbrook

JH. - Sunset Hills

Warner H. - Paddock Road

Lewis K. - Sunset Hills

Charley K. - Rockbrook

Reese L. - Westgate

Yash P. - Swanson

George R. - Oakdale

Charlie S. - Sunset Hills

Varun S. - Swanson

Ayden S. - Sunset Hills

Eleanor S. - Sunset Hills

William V. - Loveland

Lillie W. - Swanson

Henry C. - Paddock Road

Leo W. - Sunset Hills

Avery H. - Westgate

EY Badges

Congratulations to all our school finalists for the 2025-2026 Geography Bee! Picture below are all the participants and the top place finishers. The top three from each school will have the opportunity to particiapt in the Regional round this winter.

Sigma Math Contest

During the month of December Sixth grade EY students participated in math contest called SIGMA. SIGMA is a mathematics league that promotes problem-solving through competition. SIGMA provides opportunities for students to apply their mathematical knowledge in a fun and engaging format.

Congratulations to our top scorers from each school. Way to go!

Hillside

Abel E.

Emma H.

Loveland

Reid C.

Carsyn K.

William V.

Oakdale

Kelsey R.

Josh C.

Hudson V.

Wesley W.

Rosie B.

Paddock Road

Hadassah P.

Liberty K.

Palmer S.

Prairie Lane

Shawn C.

Tim S.

Josiah B.

Rockbrook

Luke J.

Gus S.

Sunset Hills

Christopher C.

Natalie S.

J H.

Charlie S.

Swanson

Peter B.

Arju A.

Oliver C.

Johan P.

Westbrook

Everest H.

Jude N.

Westgate

Reese L.

Natalie P.

Click on the WMS Enrichment tab to view the variety of enrichment opportunities your Westside Middle School students can explore! There are Math & Science Weekly Challenges, Writing Contests, and more!

WMS Enrichment

Go check out the WMS Enrichment site!

Students can earn candy for answering the Weekly Math Challenge and/or the Science Question of the Week!
We have a running Current Events Competition on the Social Studies Enrichment page - encourage your student to get involved by taking the Weekly Current Events Challenge and emailing me a screenshot of their score! Prizes awarded each month!
There are writing contests available on the Language Arts Enrichment page!
Quiz Bowl and Classics Book Club are up and running! Send Mrs. Sindt an email at sindt.kathleen@westside66.net if you want to join!

Parents - please remind your WMS students to check their emails. Emails are the best way for me to communicate enrichment opportunities!