What's Happening at Western

• Monday, November 24th: Debate Team Meeting, 3:00 pm in Room W14.
• Monday, November 24th: Theater Club Call Backs, 3pm, E6
• Tuesday, November 25th: Winter Sports Registration Deadline
• Wednesday, November 26th: ESOL Thanksgiving Potluck, 9:51am-11:24am, Small Cafe
• Wednesday, November 26th: Early Release
• Thursday, November 27th & Friday, November 28th: NO SCHOOL- Thanksgiving Recess
• Monday, December 1st: Basketball Tryouts Begin
• Monday, December 1st-Friday, December 5th: Book Fair
• Wednesday, December 3rd: Theater Club Virtual Parent Meeting, 6:30pm

I have moved this to the first item in my SMORE (even though it is not new,), because these are your last few days to register your child for basketball. Please complete the Final Forms registration prior to NOVEMBER 25th. NO registration will be accepted after NOVEMBER 25th. Even though we send out registration information over a month before registration closes, we always have parents who miss the deadline. We want all our students who are interested to be able to try out.

Even if you have previously registered on Final Forms, you MUST log in and choose a Winter sport and make sure that your child's physical forms are updated prior to NOVEMBER 25th. The only form accepted is the CT-HAR.

If you have any questions regarding registration, please email sportsphysicalwms@greenwich.k12.ct.us

As I mentioned in my SMORE last week, we held our annual Western Day and Sudell Sprint/Color Run on Friday. The theme of the day was spreading kindness to others. In the morning, all students participated in collaborative activities that promoted teamwork and spreading kindness. In the afternoon, our 8th graders participated in the Sudell Sprint/Color Run in honor of our former student Steven Sudell. Steven’s mission was to spread kindness right up until he passed, and we continue to make this our focus at Western. The students attended a meaningful assembly where they learned more about Steven and his kindness mission. They also heard anonymous stories of kindness that have impacted our own 8th graders. During the afternoon and prior to watching the 8th graders throw their powder paint high up in the air, our 6th graders continued the tradition of painting rocks for Steven's Kindness Rock Garden at Western, while the 7th graders wrote thank you cards to community members that support our families. Our community ended up raising $7,000 through this event! This will allow us to award even more Western alumni graduating this year from GHS with $1,000 scholarships to recognize their achievements in spreading kindness to others. Here are some pictures that show what the day was all about.

This past Wednesday five of our 8th grade Student Council members were invited to Greenwich Academy to participate in a Leadership Summit. The student representatives from Western met with representatives from Central Middle School, Eastern Middle School, and multiple private schools in town where they spent the morning learning about each other's schools. They participated in fun icebreaker activities and discussed different ideas for student leadership in their respective schools. The WMS representatives came away with new ideas for the school and a renewed sense of excitement for how to make WMS a stronger, more integrated community. Thank you to Ms. Kolar, our 8th grade Student Council advisor, for helping to make this possible for our students.

Last year we consulted with district mental health staff and one of our 6th grade parents to provide community resources for our parents. The Parent Community Resource document is linked below and includes MANY, MANY community resources to support parents and students at Western. Western is here to support parents and students in any way, but we also know that families may want to handle personal matters more privately. Please take the time to review it in case you find yourself in need of some support for you, your child or family. This will remain linked in my SMORE each week and will also be posted on our website.

English

Spanish

The giving just keeps on giving at Western Middle School as the Western Wish Club begins collecting new toys and gift cards for the Make A Wish foundation. This organization means a lot to the Western community, as the foundation supported the wish of Steven Sudell, as he was battling cancer many years ago. The toys and cards we collect will be distributed to children with critical illnesses as they celebrate the upcoming holidays. We ask students to please bring toys and gift cards to Mr. Marmor in Room W29 or Ms. Kolar in Room M11 by December 19th.

The Award Winning WMS Debate Team is starting prep for our first tournament of the year which will take place on Saturday, December 13th, at Seymour High School. Students will be debating on "establishing a permanent host city for the winter Olympics and a permanent host city for the summer Olympics." Meetings are flexible but will generally be on some Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays throughout the year. The format is Parliamentary style with teams of 3. Teams can be formed from those in attendance at meetings. Our next meeting will take place on Monday November 24th at 3pm in Room W14.

Please notify your child’s school counselor if your child will be out for an extended vacation. While we do not want students to miss school for a length of time, we understand that this sometimes happens. Please know that any absence that takes your child past 9 school absences for the year, will be considered unexcused unless proper documentation is provided (Attendance Policy). Your child’s teachers are not responsible for preparing work ahead of your trip. However, you will want your child to bring their devices, so they can log onto their Google Classrooms and try to keep up with the work. Students will have one day for each day they are absent to make up the work after they return. Once that date comes, any assignments not handed in will no longer be accepted.

Please remind your child to check the lost & found for any items they have misplaced this school year. Items that are not claimed will be donated.

Our school’s Care Closet has been making a real difference by providing essential personal care items to students who need them. Thanks to your generosity, we’ve been able to support many families and meet important needs within our community.

Now, we’re excited to announce the next step in our mission: expanding the Care Closet to include clean, gently used clothing—beginning with winter essentials!

We’re currently seeking donations of:

Winter gear: hats, scarves, gloves, jackets, and boots

Everyday clothing: sweaters, pants, jeans, shirts, shorts, and shoes

Basics: socks and undergarments (new only, please)

Storage: clothing racks, shoe racks, and hangers

Middle schoolers grow fast—and sometimes their clothes do, too! If your child has outgrown their hoodie or snow boots, please consider donating them. We especially need sizes suitable for middle school–aged boys and girls, though we gladly accept adult sizes as well to accommodate all our students.

Your contributions help ensure every student feels comfortable, confident, and ready to learn. Our community is deeply grateful for your continued kindness and support. Together, we can make sure no student is left out in the cold this winter.

Donations can be dropped off to Mr. Ludvinsky in M1, the main office, or the guidance suite.

Our first Book Fair of the year will take place from December 1st -December 5th. The dates were selected as holiday shopping begins, to help you find some holiday gifts!

We love having our parents volunteer to help during the book fair, so please take a moment to sign up using this link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054DABAB2CA6F4C70-60165203-wms2025

We are up to 40 participants this year which is much more than last year. We are in 8th place out of the 20 public and private schools for the biggest team so far. Let's try to get into the top 5! The event will be held on Saturday, November 29th, and we will be doing the 5K Fun/Walk. Please register to help our school WIN the Turkey Trot Trophy! The last day to sign up to join a team is Thursday, November 27th. Here is the link and password to register:

Register Here!

Password: Western2025

Please support the WMS PTA by purchasing a digital gift card from Garden Catering from November 17th - November 28th. You can use this gift card yourself the next time you order food or give it to someone else as a present. 25% of your gift card purchase will be given to Western Middle School.

’Tis the season to wrap and make a difference! Visit our dedicated Charleston Wrap Store link HERE for festive gift wrap and personalized gifts that spread cheer. Ships directly to your home. Try it now - it's good stuff!

A meaningful portion of every purchase supports the GPS 8th Grade D.C. Trip Scholarship Fund — ensuring that EVERY 8th grader who wants to go to DC can - regardless of cost.

Please share the magic with family, friends, and neighbors! Store closes on 11/28 so don't delay! Wrap it all up this holiday season!

There are only a few more days to bring in food donations for our Neighbor to Neighbor food drive. Besides helping support our community, we like to beat the other middle schools at donating the most. Help us do both!

In addition to bringing in food donations to school, we are also hosting a virtual food drive for those that cannot participate in person. Here is the link to make a donation.

Take a look at what we have collected so far!

Neighbor to Neighbor has an event this weekend that is a great opportunity for our students and their families to help out their community. It is also a great opportunity to start building their community service experience as they head into high school and will need this for college applications. It is never too early to start! Below is the flyer with all the details.

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.

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