Westside Middle School

Winter Break

• Dec 19th 1:45 Dismissal
• Dec 22 - Jan 5th No School
• Students return on Tuesday, January 6th

Friday, Jan 16th - No School - Staff Development Day

Monday, Jan 19th - No School - MLK Day

First semester grades will be finalized the first week back to school in January. Once they are stored, you will receive information on how to access their final semester grades on Powerschool.

Second semester schedules will be given to students on Tuesday, January 6th. All students will report to homeroom at the beginning of the day to receive their schedule. If there are any concerns with their schedule they will need to speak with their counselor. Schedule changes will not be made after Friday, January 9th. Please note that schedules often do change from 1st semester to 2nd semester. This is due to elective changes and balancing classes.

12/22 & 12/23: 9:00-3:00

12/24 & 12/25: Closed

12/26, 12/29, 12/30: 9:00-3:00

12/31 and 1/1: Closed

1/2: 9:00-3:00

1/5: 7:30-4:30

In November and December, counselors visited 7th and 8th-grade classrooms to teach a lesson on Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships, which included topics such as how to repair a relationship, establishing or re-establishing boundaries, and recognizing when one might need to distance oneself from a relationship.

As we transition into the second semester, counselors will meet with 8th-grade and 7th-grade students to discuss registering for classes for both high school and 8th grade. Here is the outline for what the counseling department will be doing for registration:

January 13 - High school counselors will present to middle school students with general information about high school

January 14 - 20 - Middle school counselors will present to their respective middle school teams information on registering for classes

January 20 and 22 - The high school will offer help sessions for parents on high school registration.

January 15 - February 22: Middle school counselors will meet individually with their assigned students to complete class registration.

February 27 - High school counselors will return to the middle school to meet with students to finalize their high school class registrations.

March 2 - 6 - Middle school counselors will present to their respective 7th-grade teams on registering for 8th-grade classes.

March 3 - 27 - Middle school counselors will meet with their assigned 7th-grade students to finalize registration for 8th-grade classes.

Please check your email and the parent newsletter for additional information regarding registration as it becomes available.

As we approach the end of the semester, we encourage all families to support their students in finishing strong. This is a great time for students to check in on their grades, review any missing assignments, and prepare for upcoming tests or projects. A quick review together in the parent portal or planner can go a long way in reducing stress and keeping students on track.

Keeping Up With Grades

• Encourage your student to look over each class and identify any missing or low-scoring assignments.
  
  

• Help them create a plan to complete or redo work where possible—taking small steps now can make a big difference in their final grades.
  
  

• If questions arise, students are welcome to email teachers or stop by during available help times.
  
  

Attendance Matters

Consistent attendance is one of the strongest predictors of academic success.

• Please avoid absences whenever possible during these final weeks.
  
  

• If your student needs to miss school, remind them to check in with their teachers and catch up promptly upon their return.
  
  

We're Here to Help

School counselors are available to support students with organization, stress management, study strategies, and planning for the semester wrap-up. Students can request to meet with us at any time.

Thank you for partnering with us to support your student’s success. Let’s finish the semester strong!

Contacting your student’s counselor - Counselors are assigned by academic teams. If you would like to contact your child’s counselor, please see the information below:

Sarah Lieske - Teams 7A, 7C, 8A - email lieske.sarah@westside66.net, phone (402) 408-8618

Dan Hoffmann - Teams 7B, 8B, 8D - email hoffmann.daniel@westside66.net, phone (402) 408-8577
Mike McCann - Teams 7D, 8C - email mccann.michael@westside66.net, phone (402) 408-8591

Girls Basketball Tryouts will happen on the following dates:

Monday, December 15th 3:30-5:00 7th Grade Girls

Tuesday, December 16th 3:30 - 5:00 8th Grade Girls

Thursday, December 18th 3:30 - 5:00 Callbacks

Contact Virgie Widdowson(widdowson.virgie@westside66.net) or Dan Carlson(carlson.daniel@westside66.net) with any questions.

To help keep our cafeteria clean and reduce disruptions, students may only bring individual-sized bags of chips during lunch. Family-size or sharing-size bags will not be allowed. Larger bags often create unnecessary mess, lead to students feeling pressured to share their food, and cause students to get up and move around during lunch. Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and orderly cafeteria environment. Thank you for your support!

Thank you to all of the families who have donated items to our Warrior Buck Store! Having a well-stocked store is a great incentive for students to earn Warrior Bucks towards the items they want. We are still quite low on the most popular items (the regular-sized candy items). Please consider donating an item from our Amazon Wish-List if you are able. Thank you!

Strong connections between families and schools significantly contribute to student success. PowerSchool offers an effective way for parents to stay informed and monitor their child's progress.

The following resources are available to help parents access PowerSchool and navigate the system efficiently.

Parent Resources for PowerSchool

Each Team will use a homework tracker. Parents are encouraged to use this to see what is being assigned in the Core Classes (Math, Science, Social St., Language Arts). You will find links to each team's homework tracker on the WMS Website (Select For Families and then select homework tracker). You will need to know what team your student is on. Click on the homework tacker button below.

2025-26 WMS Administration:

Kim Eymann - Principal eymann.kimberly@westside66.net

Jordan Rhodes - Assistant Principal (Dean 7C, 8A). rhodes.jordan@westside66.net

Amber Biegler - Asst Principal and Special Services Department Chair beigler.amber@westside66.net

Dan Carlson - Dean and Athletic Director (Dean 7A, 7B, 8C). carlson.daniel@westside66.net

Kellon Johnson - Dean (7D, 8B, 8D). johnson.kellon@westside66.net