What's Happening at Western

5/22/26

Dear Western families,

We have officially arrived at the final stretch of May! I know our students and staff can taste the summer freedom, but we are going to keep our eyes on the prize and our feet on the ground for just a little bit longer.

Our 8th graders returned from Washington, D.C. this week, and I am thrilled to report that the trip was an overwhelming success. Our students were engaged and well-behaved—for the most part. Bus #2 was the winner of the yearly Bus Mannequin Challenge, where students and staff have to freeze in creative positions similar to mannequins. We really do anything we can to keep them entertained on the ride home! Most importantly, our official headcount upon return matched our headcount upon departure. We did, however, have one brief moment of panic. At one point, our very own Mr. Cerruto managed to separate from the herd and became temporarily unaccounted for. While chaperones began calculating the paperwork involved in losing a staff member in our nation's capital, Mr. Cerruto calmly navigated his way back to the group, looking only mildly bewildered. We are happy to report he is safe, sound, and no longer allowed to walk without a buddy.

Today, the entire school celebrated Get Out and Play Day, and it was an absolute joy to see the campus bursting with energy. The digital screens were off, and the sunshine was on. Our fields and sidewalks were alive with activity. Students were engaged in high-intensity, competitive games with one another on our turf fields. Our sidewalks were transformed into a gallery of chalk art masterpieces. Groups huddled together making friendship bracelets and participating in therapeutic coloring sessions. Students also did some gardening by planting seeds for spring flowers. Seeing the kids just be kids together was the perfect reminder of what makes this age so special. Mr. Cerruto and our Mental Health and PE team did an excellent job planning and running the day! I have included some pictures below.

As we head into the Memorial Day holiday weekend, I want to wish all of our families a wonderful, relaxing break. While it doesn't exactly look like we'll be spending a ton of time basking in the great outdoors, I hope you take this time to rest and recharge. I know our 8th grade chaperones will! We strategically plan the trip before the long weekend to give them some extra time to recuperate from the three days of travel.

Sincerely,

Suzanne

Upcoming Dates and Events

Wednesday, May 27, 2026: 7th Grade Skype a Scientist
Wednesday, May 27, 2026: WMS Art Show, Auditorium, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Thursday, May 28, 2026: 7th & 8th grade Performing Arts to Lake Compounce

Sports Report

I am proud to announce that Western is the only middle school in town with all 3 sports teams in the Middle School Championship Finals. I am not surprised by this at all and think I may have actually predicted this at the start of the season.

This Past Week's Results:

Baseball Semi-Finals vs CMS: WIN 4-2

Softball vs CMS: LOSS… we had to let them win at least one game this year....

Sports Finals Tuesday, May 26, 2026:

Baseball- WMS vs EMS @ Havemeyer Field 3:30pm
Softball- CMS vs WMS @ GHS Varsity Field 3:30pm
Track- GPS Middle School Championship @ GHS 3:00pm

What's New

8th Grade Promotion Reminders

We’ve been receiving a lot of calls asking for the promotion details which I am providing again below:

Date/Time: Friday June 19th at 9:00am

Location: WMS Turf Field

Chairs: 2 chairs provided per student’s family. Additional members can attend but will need to bring a blanket as we cannot have chairs brought in.

In the case of rain: Location WMS Auditorium. Only 2 guests per student. The ceremony will be streamed live and a link will be provided.

8th grade Capstone Presentations Are Almost Here!

Capstone presentations are quickly approaching! For your planning purposes, we want to take a moment to share that, with very limited exceptions, students on the orange team will be presenting on Thursday, June 4th, and students on the green team will be presenting on Friday, June 5th. Students will be emailing parents the week of May 26th with their exact presentation time and locations, so be on the lookout for an email from your child!

Look What our Students are Doing

Virtuality Reality in Math

Last week, students from Mr. Danielsen’s, Mrs. Schuck’s, Mrs. Barry’s, Mrs. Kolar’s, Mrs. Fitzsimmons’, Mr. Bartoli’s, and Mrs. Ramadass’ math classes visited the Media Center to work with Mr. Lipari on PrismsVR Math modules. Using immersive virtual reality, they applied Pythagorean Theorem to design a cable car route between mountain villages, scientific notation and exponent rules while colonizing Mars, conducted Urban Design, created a green space for a city using quadratics, and examined sustainability and working conditions in the fashion industry through pricing models with percents. This is something nom other school is doing, and we thank Mr. Lipari for bringing VR to Western.

From Mr. Danielsen (where students used exponents & scientific notation to colonize Mars):

"To ensure our colony could survive, the students had to apply their knowledge of scientific notation and the properties of exponents. It turns out that when you are calculating the energy required to be collected by solar panels and using electrolysis to create enough molecules of oxygen for 10, 20, and up to 350,000 colonists, the rules of exponential properties help make calculations easier when numbers are in scientific notation. It was a joy to see the students realize that math isn't just a set of rules in a textbook, but a vital language used to solve the problems of the future. They weren't just "doing exponents"; they were ensuring the survival of a colony."

Holocaust Survivor Visits 6th Grade

Our 6th grade students had an opportunity to hear from Holocaust survivor Andy (Endre) Sarkany. He shared his personal experience living in Nazi occupied Hungary, facing antisemitism, living in the ghetto, and having his father be liberated from a slave labor camp. Throughout the sharing of his experiences, Andy engaged our students and relayed messages of empathy and speaking up when you see something wrong. "Whoever listens to a witness becomes a witness” was an important quote from the book, Night, that he shared. We want to thank Voices of Hope for providing us with this opportunity. Thank you to Ms. Kirschner and Mr. Savo for bringing this important experience to our students.

8th grade Shakespearean experience

On Thursday, May 14th, 8th graders had an opportunity to participate in a Shakesperience Workshop. Shakesperience is a professional theatre company out of Waterbury, Connecticut that specializes in bringing Shakespeare's work into schools. During this workshop, students briefly learned about Iambic Pentameter and then had a chance to get on stage and perform scenes from Romeo and Juliet as well as A MidSummer Night's Dream for their peers. Students were given stage directions and props to help ensure understanding of the more complex writing, and audience members were given background information for each scene and character. Students were joined on stage by one of the actors running the program to help bring the scenes to life! Students will now bring what they learned in this workshop into their English classes as they continue reading and acting Romeo and Juliet. We are sending a huge thank you to the PTA for providing this amazing experience for our students!

Take a look at our students in action! Video

WMS Literacy Leaders

The WMS Literacy Leaders shared their love of reading with our Hamilton Avenue preschool buddies through a joyful and engaging reading experience. Students read classic picture books aloud and sparked meaningful conversations by asking thoughtful questions that helped their buddies connect more deeply with the characters and stories. Roars of laughter filled the room as the preschoolers delighted in the playful silliness of Dr. Seuss’s magical adventures!

Upcoming Events

Western Spring Art Show

Western’s final Art show of the year is Wednesday, May 27th. This art show only displays artwork from Western students. It is a great way to end the school year by showing off our students’ artistic talent!

Unified Sports Family Field Day

A reminder that 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.

How To Support the Western Community

Care Closet Needs

Thank you to the families who have brought in clothing donations over the last few weeks. We had our second Care Closet afternoon this past week. Please keep the clothing donations coming, as it helps to restock many types of clothing we run low on. Currently, our Care Closet is in need of more toiletries, specifically:

Body soap

Shampoo & Conditioner

Large-sized toothpaste
Deodorant

Loofahs
Face lotion

Hand lotion

Face cleanser

Thank you for your continued support!

Greenwich Alliance Garden Catering Give Back

Garden Catering is offering a GIVE BACK DAY for the Greenwich Alliance on Thursday, May 28 from 2-7 PM at the Hamilton Ave and Old Greenwich locations. The Greenwich Alliance supports Western tremendously, including this year with multiple grants they approved for our school. Take the night off from cooking by grabbing dinner for the family and helping the Greenwich Alliance continue their support of our school.

Don't Forget

Filling in the Blanks Summer program

I wanted to share that registration for the Summer Weekend Meal Bag Program is now open and can be delivered to your child at summer school. For children who are not attending a summer camp or summer school, we will have designated hub pick-up sites, in Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport.

Each child will receive one bag per week, and all children are welcome to participate and benefit from the program. Please note that this is a separate registration process from the regular school-year Weekend Meal Bag Program.

If families need assistance with registration, you are welcome to reach out to Paola Arango, Family & Community Engagement Coordinator for Filling in the Blanks at: parango@fillingintheblanks.org

GPS Withdrawals

We would rather you not leave us, but if your child will not be returning to Greenwich Public Schools next year, please fill out the GPS Withdrawal Form. While we hate to see you go, we do need to plan for next year as well as prepare for a smooth transition to your next school. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s school counselor or our Administrative Assistant, Taryn Weiss.

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

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