What's new with Watkins Middle?

As we enter the final week of the first quarter, it is a great opportunity to reflect on how far our students have come and the foundation they are building for the rest of the school year. Over the past several weeks, we have emphasized the importance of Attend. Engage. Persist. and how consistent daily habits lead to long-term success. As the quarter comes to a close, we want students to understand that finishing strong is just as important as starting strong. This means continuing to show up each day, staying engaged in learning, completing assignments, asking for help when needed, and putting forth their best effort until the very end. It is also an opportunity for students to reflect on what has gone well, where they have grown, and what they can improve as we move into the second quarter. Our goal is not simply to finish a grading period, but to continue building the habits, confidence, and resilience that will carry students forward. Attend. Engage. Persist. The foundation we build today creates the success of tomorrow.

Have you ever asked your child to complete several tasks, only to find that they forgot half of them? This may be connected to working memory, the ability to hold information in our minds while using it to complete tasks. For middle school students, working memory plays an important role in following multi-step directions, remembering assignments, keeping track of schedules, and applying what they have learned. Families can help strengthen this skill by giving clear directions, using written reminders or checklists, and encouraging students to repeat important information in their own words. The goal is to help students develop strategies to manage information independently rather than relying on constant reminders from adults.

This Week’s Tip: Try the “Repeat It, Write It, Do It” strategy. When giving your child multiple directions, have them repeat the steps back to you, write them down or create a quick checklist, and then work through each task. Over time, encourage your child to create these reminders independently. Small strategies like this can make a big difference in helping students manage responsibilities and build independence.

Watkins Middle School invites parents and caregivers to complete the ODOT Safe Routes to School Parent/Caregiver Survey to share their thoughts about children walking and biking to school. Your feedback will help us better understand families’ experiences and concerns. The survey takes approximately 5–10 minutes, and we ask each family to complete one survey per school their children attend. Responses are confidential, and neither your name nor your child’s name will be associated with the results. Thank you for sharing your input!

ODOT Safe Routes to School Parent/Caregiver Survey

Students in the Careers class built towers out of straws and tape as part of their study of the Construction and Architecture career cluster.

In Ms. Ponce’s classroom, students recently took part in an exciting team-based writing challenge powered by the WeWillWrite platform. Students were randomly assigned to different teams and given creative prompts to spark their imaginations. Working together, each team crafted unique responses to these prompts.

The collaboration didn’t stop at writing; students then peer-reviewed each other’s work and voted on their teams' best entries. The class shared the top snippets from each group, read them aloud, and celebrated them.

Finally, the class engaged in lively discussions and debates about grammar and writing skills, making the activity both creative and educational.

Please make sure students are dropped off and picked up only in the designated areas. Students walking or running through the parking lot during arrival and dismissal creates a significant safety concern due to the amount of traffic. Thank you for helping us keep all of our students safe by following the designated drop-off and pick-up procedures.

• 10/17: XC @ LCL Meet - Home - 9a

Please click the link below for all of your athletic ticketing and scheduling needs.

Hometown Ticketing

• Varsity Ticket events are $7 up to 1 hour before the event. At the gate tickets are $8 (use of a card includes a fee at the gate). Middle School tickets are $5.

• All athletes should enter and exit the building through the 600 hall (Door 7) entrance before and after practice each day.

Open Gyms:

Students must sign-up to participate in Mr. Harrison's room, room 401, before or during school. Only the first 48 boys to sign up will be permitted to attend. Sign up starts Thursday 10/15. Students can sign-up before or after school.

Monday 10/19 3:00-4:30

Monday 10/26 3:00-4:30

Tryouts:

7th grade boys basketball tryouts will be held November 2nd, November 4th and November 5th 3:00-4:30 p.m.

8th grade boys basketball tryouts will be held November 2nd, November 4th and November 5th 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Students must have a current physical on file in Final Forms in order to participate.

Bus concerns:

We ask that you please contact the Transportation Department directly at 740-927-5901 with any concerns about your student’s bus (late arrival or other issues). Their phones are manned 6:00 am to 5:00 pm, and they have direct contact with all buses.

Attendance:

Please call the 24 hour WMS attendance line at (740) 927-6807 to report student absences. This voicemail box is available 24/7 and messages are retrieved on school days between the hours of 7:00am through 3:00pm.

If your student will miss school due to a pre-planned absence, please complete this Trip/Vacation Authorization Form.

Get in touch with WMS!

Website: https://wms.swl.k12.oh.us/

Joel Baker, Principal

jrbaker@swls.us

Steve Hare, Assistant Principal (Students A-K)

share@swls.us

Katie Piacquadio, Assistant Principal (Students L-Z)

kpiacquadio@swls.us

Vicki Kalina, Dean of Students

vkalina@swls.us