February 7, 2025

Dear Westchester Middle School Families,

We’ve had another great week here at Westchester Middle School! Looking ahead, Student Council will be celebrating Valentine’s Day by selling Lucky Ducks during lunch and recess next week. Each duck is $2, and sales will begin on February 10th. Please see the flyer below for more details.

On Monday night, February 10th, from 6:00-7:00 PM, future CHS football players and their parents are invited to an informational meeting in the CHS cafeteria.

Best of luck to our WMS Robotics team competing this weekend and to our 8th-grade girls' basketball team, who will be hosting a tournament here at WMS on Saturday, February 8th. Go Trojans!

A quick reminder that there will be no school on Friday, February 14th, and Monday, February 17th for winter break.

Thank you for your continued support, and have a great weekend!

Respectfully,

Mrs. Lauren Seiss, WMS Principal

Reminders:

• 48-Hour Attendance Policy for Call Off(s) - Parents/Guardians will have 48 hours to excuse their students absence, after which time it will be considered unexcused.

• Parents who are picking up their child or dropping something off for their child must present a driver's license or state ID to our office staff in order to do so. Also, if a parent sends someone else to pick their student up or drop something off for them, they must not only present identification but must also be on the list in Skyward as a family or emergency contact.

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

2/8 Robotics Competition at Taft MS

2/14 - 2/17 NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

2/18 - Classes Resume

2/21 - Kona Ice - During Lunch

2/22 Duneland Invitational Robotics Competition

Upcoming ATHLETIC Dates to Remember:

2/8 (H) 8th Grade Girls Basketball Invite at 8:30am @ WMS

2/10 (A) 7th Gr. Girls Basketball Game vs. LMS at 5:00pm @ LMS

2/10 (H) 8th Gr. Girls Basketball Game vs. LMS at 5:00pm @ WMS

2/12 (H) 7th Gr. Girls Basketball Game vs. Hebron at 5:00pm @ WMS

2/12 (A) 8th Gr. Girls Basketball Game vs. Hebron at 5:00pm @ Hebron

2/17 (H) 7/8 A Team Girls Basketball Game vs. Morgan at 5:00pm @ WMS

2/18 (A) 7th Gr. Girls Basketball Game vs. Wheeler at 5:00pm @ Wheeler

2/18 (H) 8th Gr. Girls Basketball Game vs. Wheeler at 5:00pm @ WMS

2/20 (A) 7th Gr. Girls Basketball Game vs. Fegely at 5:00pm @ Fegely

2/20 (H) 8th Gr. Girls Basketball Game vs. Fegely at 5:00pm @ WMS

Q:First sold in 1912, the original variety of this snack food is manufactured with strict ratio; 29% is filling

A:Oreo

Duneland Schools will celebrate National School Counseling Week, February 3-7, 2025. This special week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.

Please call our main office at 219-983-3780 to report your student absent with in 48hours.

Attendance questions should be directed to Amanda Ray amray@duneland.k12.in.us

ONLINE ENROLLMENT is NOW OPEN for incoming Duneland Kindergarten students for the 2025-2026 school year. Families are asked to complete online enrollment prior to attending Kindergarten Round-Up on Thursday, February 27, 2025. To get started please visit: DSC Kindergarten Enrollment 2025-2026

The nomination period begins at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, January 31.

Here is the link to the page with the information: https://www.duneland.k12.in.us/about-us/dsc-teacher-employee-of-the-year

The Duneland School Corporation will continue to improve current facilities to enhance the student experience with the following capital improvements in 2025: playground replacements at Bailly, Brummitt, Jackson, and Liberty elementary schools and soccer stadium renovations and carpet replacement at Chesterton High School. This presentation below provides additional details on the scope of each project. Concept drawings and timelines regarding 2021-2025 capital improvement projects are available on the DSC website.

Westchester Middle School 7th grade Math students and Liberty Middle School 8th grade ELA students will be participating in the ILEARN Checkpoint pilot this year. Assessments will be condensed and focus on limited standards during each of the three checkpoints

On Saturday, February 1st, the WMS Science Olympiad team earned top honors at the Regional Tournament at Indiana University Northwest (IUN), securing 1st place in a competitive field of schools. With this victory, the team advances to the State Tournament in April.

Team members include: Adelyn Booras, Weston Booras, Ben Bryak, Kaitlyn Calloway, Alexis Dees, Job Hennigar, Ben Hiestand, Robert Hundt, Jackson Lukes, Paisley Miller, Liam Mshar, Lennox Murray, Noah Rhinehart, Ryan Seaman, Rylie Sizemore, Avery Smith, Sophia Solmos, Stella Strupeck

Gold medals awarded for solo performances: Derek Ames, Kaysen Earle, Matzen Finck, James Gano, Olivia Goodwin, Graciela Greenman Gonzalez, Herschel Hardwick (2 solos), Noah Hyde, Tessa Johnston, Ben Malinovsky, Bailiee Metz, Thomas Moore, Gary Neal, Natalie Newman, Kenzie O'Daniel, James Peschke, Brielle Purser, Te'Ari Reynolds, Emmaline Salentine, Tyler Santiago, Madelynn Scharp, Katelyn Sim, and James Stathis.

Gold medals awarded for ensemble performances: Jocelyn Bodenstein, Ryan Bradford, Olivia Goodwin, Graciela Greenman Gonzalez, Herschel Hardwick, Payton Kroslack, Matthew Loyer, Jackson Lutrick, Ben Malinovsky, Bailiee Metz, Elijah Nay, Natalie Newman, Kenzie O'Daniel, Breanne Pappas, Cohen Parrott, Miranda Ramirez, Emmaline Salentine, Madelynn Scharp, Katelyn Sim, and Andrew Yerks.

Silver medal awarded for ensemble performance: Ryan Bradford, Samuel Carper, Mason Donahue, Graciela Greenman Gonzalez, Noah Hyde

ORCHESTRA

Gold medals awarded for solo performances: Marlo Colburn, Charlotte Ellis, Kyleigh Evans, Ava Flores, Elijah Haas, Michelle Horton, Grayson Tenbarge, Violet Thompson, and Daniel Vidt.

Gold medals awarded for ensemble performances: Della Capodice, Abigayle Chisko, Marlo Colburn, Elsie Crothers, Blythe Curran, Charlotte Ellis, Kyleigh Evans, Brooklyn Fields, Ava Flores, Elijah Haas, Cooper Himan, Michelle Horton, Daniel Koch, Anya Martin, Elyssa Martin, Patrick Norris, Chase Olszewski, Matthew Overbey, Scott Pfeiffer, Evelyn Prater, Amiracle Slack, Natalie Stofko (2 ensembles), Grayson Tenbarge, Lydia Thompson, Violet Thompson, Daniel Vidt, and Catherine Ward.

The DSC Child Nutrition Department is now utilizing NutriSlice as its new menus program. This app is available for iphone and android through your mobile app store. Parents can also access the full website for Duneland Schools on a computer via this NutriSlice link.

This app will allow parents and students to view the menus as well as the nutritional info for each items at any of the Duneland Schools. This program will be developed further incorporating images of food items being served at each of the schools.

Breakfast $1.60

Lunch $2.95

ATTENTION!!!

2024-2025 ALL ATHLETES MUST HAVE A CURRENT PHYSICAL ON FILE TO PARTICIPATE!

Middle School Physicals will need to be turned in to coaches or the athletic department, prior to open gym, tryouts, or practices in order to participate.

There are a total of 6 forms that need to be completed. The actual physical is completed by the Dr. and the rest of the forms are completed by the parent(s) and the student. Physicals will not be accepted if there are forms missing!

*Physical Checklist*

• Final Forms Online parent and student
• Physical Examination from the Dr.
• History Form (It is 2 pages)
• Consent and Release Certificate (Make sure insurance information is complete)
• Concussion and Sudden Cardiac Arrest Form
• Co-Curricular and Extracurricular Activities Code of Conduct

Need to FIX your Skyward App?

Since the Skyward migration has been completed, the mobile app should automatically pull the new URL. Parents who are not getting the new URL, should remove the current account from the Skyward app and add the account back.

You can verify that the app is using the new URL by performing the following steps in the app:
1. Accounts--Edit
2. Click District. Review the URL under "Connection will be attempted using:"

You can delete the existing connection by performing the following steps in the app:
1. Accounts--Edit
2. Delete

DSC's new Skyward uses the following link: https://skyward.iscorp.com/scripts/wsisa.dll/WService=wsedudunelandscin/seplog01.w

Cell Phones, Smart Watches, Earbuds, & Earphones Usage:

7th and 8th grade students are not allowed to use their personal communication devices (cell phones and smart watches) during the instructional day. Items used for communication should be stored in lockers to be kept safe throughout the day. If students need to contact a parent/guardian during the day, they are welcome to do so from the office. Classrooms also have phone access. Similarly, students are not permitted to wear personal earbuds with bluetooth capabilities attached to their phones (e.g. Air Pods, etc.). Students will need to use their school-issued iPad earphones for Exact Path lessons and select ILEARN testing sessions. The only time audio ear pieces are permitted are for teacher-assigned classwork and medically-approved needs.

iPad Use

• iPads are the property of Duneland Schools. Students should keep the devices in operable condition.
• Students should refrain from downloading apps, pics, etc. that are not permitted under school and/or corporation policy.
  
• Students are required to bring their charged iPads to class. Middle school curriculum is designed to utilize iPads for lessons and enrichment activities.

CONTACTING IT SUPPORT

Contact the Duneland School Corporation IT department via one of these methods:

1. Open a IncidentIQ ticket by sending an email to: helpdesk@duneland.k12.in.us
   
2. Log into IncidentIQ and submit a request duneland.incidentIQ.com

Internet Connectivity

Families without internet due to financial hardship have access to programs from two local providers.

Comcast Internet Essentials:

• Families that qualify for public assistance programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Housing Assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI and other programs may also qualify for the Internet Essentials program from Comcast.

• This program offers internet at a low cost per month.

• Additional options and services are also available

• More information is available at this Comcast link

Frontier Lifeline Program:

• Families that qualify for public assistance programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Housing Assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI and other programs may also qualify for the Lifeline Program from Frontier.

• More information is available at this Frontier link

Parent Observer Account

Parents are encouraged to set up their Canvas observer accounts to monitor their students' progress. Parents can click this link to view how to set up their Parent Observer Account

Link to the Canvas Log In

WE WANT TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT STUDENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO RIDE THE BUS HOME WITH FRIENDS THAT DO NOT SHARE THE THE SAME DESIGNATED BUS ROUTE. THE DECISION HAS BEEN MADE WITH THE UTMOST CONCERN FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL OUR STUDENTS.

n the Fall of 2023, a strategic planning team was formed to review and update the current four-year strategic plan into a five-year plan that will be used to guide the Corporation from 2024-2028. The new Strategic Plan will guide DSC for the next five years in the areas of Student Achievement, Safety & Operations, People & Culture, and Finance & Facilities.