4/17/26

Dear Western families,

Our first week back from break ended with one of my most favorite days of the year…Career Day. We had over 50 presenters from our families, staff’s families and community come and share about their career to expose our students to a range of interesting careers. In the rooms I was in, I was so impressed by the engagement of our students and their level of questions. Our presenters were raving about how well our students did with one even saying that adults don’t normally ask the quality of questions that our students did. I would like to thank Kim Matarese, our AVID coordinator, for the extensive work she put into finding presenters, creating the schedule, and so much more. I wish I could give her Monday off, but I would probably get in trouble. I would also like to thank our PTA for being there to help check in presenters and for creating a Hospitality Room in our faculty lounge to provide food and coffee as presenters waited for their session. One thing I noticed in our hallways was that our students were all walking with a much more of a purpose to their next session, instead of their usual dilly-dallying with their friends between classes. That sure says something about how engaging the day was for them. Please check out the official Greenwich Public Schools Twitter/X page to see all the posts made by Ms. Ledina. Pictures will be my next SMORE.

The 3rd quarter ended today, and you know what that means? One more quarter left! We really do love your kids, but also really love our summer break. We pack a lot into this last quarter…state testing, field day, the DC trip, spring concerts, end-of-year trips and more. Make sure to keep reading my SMOREs right to the end, so you don’t miss anything.

There is a good amount in this SMORE, so I am keeping my letter short.

I hope you have a nice weekend. I am off to see my daughters play their Varsity softball game against Fairfield who is a very tough team. Fingers crossed!

Sincerely,

Suzanne

Monday April 20th: Marking Period 4 Begins
Tuesday, April 21st & Wednesday, April 22nd: NGSS Testing for 8th graders
Thursday, April 23rd- Make a Wish Wear Blue Day

Sports Report

We kicked off our spring sports season with softball and baseball scrimmages against Central Middle School. I asked the players what the score was, many said they didn’t know because it was a scrimmage. As some of you may know, I am quite competitive, so that answer was not acceptable to me. I told them even if it is scrimmage, we still want to win the game. I know I should have probably said, “That is right, it doesn’t matter who wins,” but I don’t know if I could ever make that statement. By the way, both our teams ended up “winning” their scrimmages, which I will take credit for. Each week, I will include the results of our sports teams, as we start accumulating those wins that get us the middle school championship banners again this year.

Mr. Ludvinsky: A District Distinguished Teacher!

We are thrilled to announce that Mr. Cody Ludvinsky has been named one of Greenwich’s Distinguished Teachers! While Mr. Ludvinsky currently inspires our 8th graders as a Science teacher, his roots at WMS began as a Spanish teacher, a transition that highlights his versatility and dedication to our community. In the classroom, he fosters a high-energy, hands-on environment where curiosity thrives. He often gives up his time to stay after school and host lunches to ensure every student has a second chance to master material. Beyond academics, Mr. Ludvinsky has built a culture of mutual respect. He utilizes a restorative approach to addressing student behaviors. Rather than acting as a distant authority, he uses self-reflection and student dialogue to resolve conflicts, never giving up on a student and building vast networks of support to help them reach their potential. His impact is most visible through two major initiatives:

The WMS Care Closet: Mr. Ludvinsky collaborated with the administration, mental health staff, and a local organization to provide students in need with daily access to essential toiletries and basic necessities. He applied for and received a grant to get this initiative started.

"Socks for Sam": As a leader of the Knitting Club, Mr. Ludvinsky launched a national social media campaign to support a former student with Vanishing White Matter Disease, raising significant funds and strengthening our district norm to care for self and others.

Please join us in congratulating Mr. Ludvinsky on this well-deserved honor! Western Middle School is a better place with him as a part of our community.

Holocaust speakers visit Western

6th and 8th graders at Western Middle School were spellbound by three compelling speakers from 3GNY, an educational non-profit organization founded by grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. We thank the PTA for making this meaningful and important experience possible for our students.

Stacey Pfeffer speaks to 6th graders in the Western LMC.

Speaker Randi Jachino addresses 6th graders in the Western LMC.

Speaker Stacey Delikat addresses 6th graders in the Western LMC.

NGSS testing next week

Our 8th graders begin our testing season by taking the NGSS assessment on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Mr. Hauer and Mr. Ludvinsky have been working hard with our students to prepare them for this assessment. Please make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep (I know that might be an impossible feat), eats something before getting to school or takes advantage of our breakfast before school. Please also remind them to charge their Chromebooks, even though they should all be pros at charging their Chromebooks as 8th graders. We are excited for our students to show us all that they have learned in Science classes over these last three years!

Upcoming Concert rehearsals:

Spring concerts are approaching, so there will be weekly combined rehearsals. I am going to share the schedule for Band and Orchestra rehearsals, so that students can make sure they have their instrument that day. Here is the schedule for next week:

Wednesday, April 22nd: 7th & 8th Grade Orchestra

Thursday, April 23rd: Chorus (all grades)

Friday, April 24th: Band (all grades)

Outsiders Broadway Show

The 7th grade students and staff had a great experience seeing The Outsiders on Broadway the day before our spring break. I chose to be the administrator on this trip, which was a strategic choice. The show was very, very good and our students behaved extremely well. It was a great chance for our students to watch the classic story move from the page to the stage. We are hoping this is the first of many years providing this experience for our students.

Theater Club visits Broadway

Our Theater Club went on the annual trip to Broadway to see “Chess,” starring Lea Michele from the TV show Glee. It was a great way to celebrate the end of this year’s play season!

Western’s Care Closet is Almost Open!

Our Care Closet will be opening soon. All the donations are now neatly displayed in an actual closet that seems to have been created just for this. We will be sending out information on dates we will open the Care Closet up for families to come after school hours, and a way for families to sign up for a time to “shop.”

We are still accepting donations and are looking for the following:

Gently worn:

Boys’ and girls’ clothing, especially boys’ clothing.

Shoes for sizes 5-9

Spring and winter jackets and coats

Sporting equipment and apparel

What we don’t need:

Hats

Gloves

Socks

We will, of course, continue to accept men’s and women’s clothing, but we are looking to increase our stock of middle-school age clothing. Thank you for your support, as it would not have been possible without your donations!

STEM Camp

Our very own Mr. Lipari will be leading the summer STEM camp at GHS from July 13th to July 24th from 9:00am-12:00pm. At this 2-week camp, students will experience crafting code and soaring with drones, teaming up on epic world-building quests, diving into mind-blowing augmented and virtual reality adventures, masterminding game design, and producing art & music in the immersive VR universe! There is financial assistance available for those who qualify for free or reduced lunch. The rest of the information about the camp and registration is all on the website: xreducator.com.

High School Musical- Grease

Greenwich High School Theater Arts will be presenting the classic 1950's style musical, GREASE on May 14th, 15th and 16th, 2026 at 7pm in the PAC. The show is directed by Patty Cirigliano, with musical direction by Luke Rosenberg and technical direction by Scott Borowka. The show features an ensemble of talented students and musicians in grades 9-12 and a score of fabulous musical numbers including Summer Nights, You're the One That I Want, Hopelessly Devoted to You and We Go Together. Tickets can be purchased in advance by scanning the QR code on the poster. Hope to see you at the show!

Unified Sports Family Field Day

On the morning of May 30th, Greenwich High School Athletics and the district SESS department will be holding a Field Day for students in grades K-8 to celebrate inclusion and community. The event will include adaptive, inclusive, and modified sports activities led by GHS coaches and players. There will be food trucks, sensory stations and more! All families are welcome. Use the flyer below to register.

Upcoming Wear Blue Day to support the Make a Wish Foundation

Wear Blue Day will take place on April 23rd in an effort to support the Make a Wish foundation. As I have shared before, Make A Wish is special to Western, as they sent our former student, Steven Sudell and his family on a dream vacation as he was battling terminal cancer. We are selling blue shirts with Make a Wish Logo made especially for Western students to wear on Wear Blue Day and to help raise money for the foundation. The last day to order is April 14, using the link below.

https://logosgreenwich.com/westernms/shop/home

Make A Wish also made a site for Western to make donations.

https://secure2.wish.org/site/TR/WishYourWay/Make-A-WishConnecticut?pg=personal&px=11442958&fr_id=7442

Next Parent workshop: AVID Strategies and Home Routines to support homework completion

Please join us on Wednesday, April 29th for our next Parent Workshop. It will take place from 6:00-7:30 pm in the Media Center. The workshop will cover:

AVID strategies: focused note taking process and identifying points of confusion
Routines to support HW completion and helpful Aspen parent notifications

Please use this RSVP link if you plan to attend.

A translator will be present. IF YOU ARE ATTENDING THIS WORKSHOP, PLEASE BRING A DEVICE THAT YOU CAN SIGN INTO YOU ASPEN ACCOUNT.

Nominate a Western Difference Maker

A reminder that this year only one staff member from each school will receive the Difference Maker Award each month. I am asking for our staff and parents to help in nominating staff for this award. If you or your child believe one or more staff members make a difference in our school community or in your own lives, please use this link to nominate them and explain why they are deserving of this award.

Parent Community Resources

Here is the Parent Community Resource document we created with MANY, MANY community resources to support parents and students at Western. Please take the time to review it in case you find yourself in need of some support for you, your child or family.

English

Spanish

After school activities

Here is our after-school Club Catalog. Take a look with your child to see what they may want to get involved in. Remember, they are FREE!

Homework Hubs

Below are the Homework Hubs for each grade-level team and World Language teachers.

8th grade: Orange Green

7th grade: Purple Yellow

6th grade: Red Blue

World Language

What's Happening at Western