What's Happening at Western

Dear Western families,

Well, that’s it! Two days with students and we need a long weekend. Actually, we really don’t need it because our first two days were so great with the students! We hope they came home expressing some excitement about the new year, which can be a challenge for middle schoolers who would rather sleep in and be on a device all day. I know there were many issues with the buses these past few days, but the revisions they keep making gives me hope that they are listening to feedback and have it all figured out soon. I recommend following Dr. Jones’ direction to email Kayla Coker and cc her on the emails regarding any issues that have not been resolved. I actually did that myself today, and Dr. Jones got right back to me! For my first Friday SMORE, I like to include a glimpse of what I feel is so special about Western and so important about middle school. For our 7th and 8th grade parents, this will sound familiar because my beliefs remain the same.

I truly believe there is no better school in town because of the teachers, staff, students and families who are a part of the Western community. As I openly share with anyone who will listen to me, Western Middle School has the best staff in town. They are the most dedicated, talented individuals I have ever worked with in my 29 years in education. They have chosen to work with middle school children, which takes special individuals. They believe that all students can perform at high levels and strive to provide a caring and nurturing environment while pushing our students to reach their full potential. Many of you already know that my husband and I were one of the first to send our three daughters to Western as magnet students, instead of sending them to the middle school they were supposed to attend in town. I knew how special Western was before most people in town discovered the secret and decided to send their own children as magnet students. It turned out to be the best decision my husband and I have made for our three daughters. To say that I am invested in Western and its success is an understatement.

As an administrator, as well as a parent, I believe that the middle school years are three of the most important years in a student’s life. What they learn during these years will set them up to be successful in high school and beyond. This is the time for your child to learn effective student habits, how to become a good friend, how to advocate for themselves and how to problem-solve situations that arise. We are here to support them with this. It is also a time where they will naturally pull away from their parents and want to be more independent, which is what we actually want them to do. We are here to help you with this change. I have watched each of my girls transition successfully to high school, and my oldest most recently to Penn State, equipped to handle the increased demands with independence. I know their success is a direct result of their time at Western which turned them into capable, responsible students who know how to manage their time and advocate for themselves. Our goal at Western is to send your child off to high school performing at their fullest potential and with as much independence as possible. During their middle school years, your child will most likely make one or more bad choices, have a conflict with a friend, miss handing in some assignments, score poorly on one or more assessments or experience a challenging situation in a class. Many will experience all of these. They are all expected to make mistakes as they navigate through the challenges of middle school. Learning from these mistakes and experiences in order to prevent similar situations in the future is what we hope they will accomplish before they leave us. This is the time for them to make mistakes, so that when the stakes become higher, they have already learned how to prevent the same mistakes. We will take the ride together through all the ups and down. You know your child best, and we need your involvement and collaboration to ensure that we are pushing your child to reach his or her full potential and learn from any mistakes they may make. We are always here if you have any questions or concerns.

Starting next week, my Friday SMORE will be my primary method of communication. At times, I may send an email before Friday if there is something important I need to share (hopefully no more about buses). However, I will try to limit my communication to once a week, as I know you will get many emails from staff at Western and different schools. As always, you can reach out to me separately with any questions you may have.

I hope you have a wonderful, long weekend. Looks like a beautiful weather the whole weekend, so maybe I will see some of you at the beach!

Sincerely,

Suzanne

suzanne_coyne@greenwich.k12.ct.us

PS. Below is a view of our drop-off area at 8:13 this morning. You all surpassed my expectations for drop-off! Now we need to just keep it up..

• Monday, September 1st: NO SCHOOL- Labor Day

• Friday, September 5th: Fall Sports Registration Deadline

• Monday, September 8th: Fall Sports Tryouts Begin

To ensure we keep Western safe, our office staff will ask every visitor specific questions before buzzing them in. This will consist of your name, reason for visit, and your child’s name. Even if our office staff knows you, they are required to ask the same questions. Upon entry, we ask all visitors to report directly to the main office where you will be asked to sign in if you are going anywhere in the building. We appreciate your cooperation with helping to keep our school safe.

When addressing unexpected behaviors displayed at Western, we have embraced the Restorative Practice approach. This approach focuses on building, maintaining, and repairing relationships when there is conflict or wrongdoing. While his approach has been effective with so many of our students, we know that some children will make poor choices and bad decisions from time to time that require us to hold them accountable. I am sharing the link to the Middle School Code of Conduct, which outlines how consequences for different types of behaviors are delivered. You know your child best and whether you need to laminate a copy to review often at home or don't even have to open the document because your child would never think of misbehaving. I recommend that you read it at least one time in case your child makes one or more poor decisions that leads to an unexpected behavior that results in a consequence.

Code of Conduct

We will work together with you in the event that we need to implement a consequence for your child, so that he or she can learn from their mistake in order to prevent something similar from happening again.

When your child will be absent or coming in late to school from an appointment, please call the

attendance line at (203) 531-5678 prior to 8:45 am and leave a message. Please be sure to

include your child’s name, grade and the reason for their absence or tardy.

Here, again, are the dates and times for our Open Houses, so you don't miss it:

Wednesday, September 10th: 7th & 8th grade Open House

Wednesday, September 17th: 6th grade Open House

6:00-6:30 pm: Presentation by Western administration in auditorium; 7th and 8th grade meeting will include information about the Washington DC trip.

6:30-8:30 pm: Visit classrooms

We would love to get 100% participation in the WMS PTA this year! Please join by clicking on the following link: https://westernmspta.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/328022

Membership Swag (magnets, water bottles, hats, etc.) may be picked up at both Open Houses starting from 5pm. In addition to memberships, the WMS PTA will also be selling Spirit Wear on those nights, so please bring your credit card, Apple Pay, or cash!