The Week Ahead

Artwork by Parker Smith

Dear Middle School Families,

Happy Friday and welcome to the Week Ahead for September 7-11, 2026!

This past week, students at WMS participated in a number of school related climate experiences. Students signed the No Place for Hate (NPFH) pledge - which is a yearly commitment that we make to upholding the tenants of the pledge. These include:

I WILL SEEK TO GAIN UNDERSTANDING of those who are different from myself.

I WILL SPEAK OUT against prejudice and discrimination.

I WILL REACH OUT to support those who are targets of hate.

I WILL PROMOTE RESPECT for people and help foster a prejudice-free school.

I BELIEVE that one person can make a difference - no person can be an “innocent” bystander when it comes to opposing hate.

I RECOGNIZE that respecting individual dignity and promoting intergroup harmony are the responsibilities of all students.

These tenants form the basis for our work this year - which will be three in depth lessons that are co-created and led by students that actualize this work into real world scenarios and experiences with identity. We want all students to know that they belong at our school and are safe to be themselves and free from any hate based actions or words.

This year we differentiated the lessons slightly but kept the core components of the pledge signing which include signing the pledge and committing (I will...) to doing something to uphold and elevate the words of the pledge.

Below you will see a few things from this experience including photos and some excerpts from the lessons themselves. We hope it brings some clarity to our work and encourages follow up conversations at home.

Thanks for everything you do to make WMS a great place to work and learn. Here’s what’s ahead…

Jason and Dru

September 10 - PTO General Board Meeting 9:45-10:45

September 21 - Yom Kippur - No School

September 22 - Weston BOE Regular Meeting

September 22 - Picture Day

September 24 - Back to School Night 6:00-8:00

September 28 - Professional Development Day Teachers, No School Students

On Friday, September 4, 2026, your child’s individual results from the Spring 2026 state assessments will be available in PowerSchool through the Portfolio+ tab. These reports reflect the state assessment(s) your child completed last spring, as applicable, including Smarter Balanced English Language Arts and Mathematics and the NGSS Science Assessment. As a reminder, additional individual student reports available in PowerSchool include NWEA reports, progress reports, and report cards. All available reports can be accessed digitally through the Portfolio+ tab in PowerSchool. Please follow this link to the Portfolio Plus Parent Instructions for directions on accessing your child’s reports. Please note that reports must be accessed through a web browser and are not available through the PowerSchool app. For the best viewing experience, we recommend using a desktop or laptop computer. If you need assistance accessing PowerSchool, please contact our helpdesk at helpdesk@westonps.org.

Lesson Excerpt

Signing the Pledge

Individual Team Meetings and Team Building

Summer Reading

Rebranding and Brainstorming - The Warrior Way

End of Week - Community Celebration

On behalf of the Weston Middle School PTO, welcome back!

We hope all of our students are enjoying a wonderful first day of school and are excited for the year ahead. Throughout the year, the PTO works hard to enrich our students’ experience, show our teachers and staff how much they are appreciated, and help make WMS a welcoming and connected community.

But we can’t do it without you!

PTO membership provides the operating budget that makes our work possible. And when families choose a higher membership level, it allows us to go even further—funding additional enrichment opportunities and making meaningful investments in our school community.

Joining the PTO is the best way to:

• Provide meaningful enrichment opportunities for your student
• Support our school, teachers and staff
• Stay informed with the Link newsletter
• Feel connected to WMS

We hope you will join us! Register HERE: WMS PTO Registration

You’ll be prompted to log-in or create a Membership Toolkit account before completing your membership.

Thank you for your support, and here’s to a wonderful school year!

If your child has participated in or exceled at something really interesting or cool, let us know, and we can showcase it in The Week Ahead. Email Principal Jason Bluestein directly at jasonbluestein@westonps.org .

A big shout out to sixth grader Anna Faifman, who, this summer, represented CT State at the Eastern Zone Long Course Championship in Richmond, Virginia. She was the only qualifier from WPS for the 10U age group. A total of 8 girls from CT participated in the EZ LC Championship as the CT Swim Team.

Changes made to our Chromebook Expectations bring changes to how we assign homework. While you can expect to see more paper and pencil type tasks, students will have digitally based homework as well - when appropriate. For example, students in eighth grade social studies may need access to their digital textbook for an assignment, or students in math may have a long term skills check. Teachers will be thinking about purpose: Does this assignment need technology to be completed successfully? If so, the assignment could involve using technology at home.

This is where we need your help. Since students (with clear and specific exceptions) will not be bringing home school issued Chromebooks, we would appreciate it if you could allow your child to access a device at home. Please note, we are not asking you to purchase a device (and we don't think this will be a nightly occurrence - just give your child access when necessary. Students will most likely need to access their school digital account and will need Chrome installed on any computer they use.

K-8 Student Device Use

Sixth grade parents - please make sure that you have submitted an updated health assessment for your child. It should be dated January 2026 or later. For any health related questions, please contact WMS nurse Daisy Benedict at 203-221-6366 or luzbenedict@westonps.org

We are excited to share our new WMS Library Learning Commons page. This communication hub is designed to celebrate all things literacy at WMS. Check it out on the Weston Middle School website, under the academic menu at the top of the page.