In this Issue:

Principal's Corner

Happy New Year! I hope you and your family enjoyed a restful and fun-filled break. I know that at my house we appreciated the slower albeit chilly mornings and the leisurely time to do things like play board games as a family. As we turn the page on the calendar our WMS faculty is excited to jump back into learning in 2018 feeling refreshed and renewed. 

I am thrilled to share with you that we have hired Moira Breen as a new administrative assistant in our front office. Some of you may know Moira as a fellow parent or through her work as the Co-Chair for Programs in the Wayland Public Schools Foundation. You also may have gotten to know Moira through her work as the former chair of the swim team committee at Wayland Swim and Tennis Club. If you have not had the privilege of meeting Moira yet, I am sure you will enjoy getting to know her through her new position at WMS. Moira comes to us with a B.S. from the University of Virginia and she holds a Masters degree from University of Maryland College Park. Most recently, she has worked for the Town of Wellesley as an Assistant Project Manager. With her commitment to the Wayland schools and knowledge of the community, I am confident that she will be a great fit and an integral member of our front office team. Please be sure to stop in and say hello to Moira when she begins next week.

As always, I look forward to partnering with you in the year ahead.

Respectfully,

Betsy Gavron

Students Participate in National Mathematics Competition

Back in November, students at Wayland Middle School participated in the American Mathematics Contest 8 (AMC 8). This is the entry-level contest in the American Mathematics Competitions program administered by the Mathematical Association of America, a group composed primarily of university mathematicians from around the country.

Five students scored high enough in the contest to place in the top 5% of middle school math students nationwide and are invited to continue on to the next level of competition. In February, these students will have the opportunity to participate in the AMC 10, a contest which covers high school mathematics. Congratulations to the following students for their performance on the AMC 8 and their invitation to participate in the AMC 10:

Hannah Han (8 ^th grade)

Marie Popov (8 ^th grade)

Kevin Zhao (8 ^th grade)

Carson Whitehouse (7 ^th grade)

Andrew Zhao (8 ^th grade)

Special congratulations go to Hannah Han, Marie Popov, and Kevin Zhao who earned Honor Roll of Distinction by scoring in the top 1% nationally. 

This was the first year that the WMS PTO did a holiday gifting program and thanks to the incredible efforts of  Jenny Harding, Barrett Brountas and Peg Burgess  our gift drive was a huge success. We chose to partner with Wayside Youth and Family Support Network and to specifically support five of their homes for teens just a few miles away from our own. The abundant generosity of our WMS community provided more than 250 gifts to kids that were not with families for the holidays. Additionally, there was an overwhelming cash donation by a family directly to the program allowing them to purchase any wishlist gifts that had been unavailable online.

Thank you to my dear friends Jenny, Barrett and Peg for all your work. Thank you WMS administration for supporting yet another good cause. Thank you 7th Grade Community Service Club and Ms. Reed for your assistance. Thank you to all of you who donated or spread the word about this project, I am so proud to be part of this community. 

- Colleen Morneweck, WMS PTO President

Superintendent Budget Presentation

January 9, 8:00 AM

WMS Library

Dr. Unobskey will be doing a presentation explaining his recommended school budget for 2018-2019 at 8:00 AM on January 9. Please RSVP for this event if possible to  [email protected].

Middle & More Coffee

January 16, 8:45 AM

WMS Library

Please join us on Tuesday, January 16 from 8:45 to 9:45 AM in the Middle School Library for our next Middle & More Coffee on  Math, Science, World Languages and Placement Process. We will be joined by department heads and Ms. Gavron for an overview of the curriculum in these departments, including plenty of time for parent Q & A. Any questions or comments can be directed to the coordinator, Sejal T. Srinivasan at  [email protected]

MLK Dinner

January 19, 6:00 PM

*Auction Items are still needed - see below*

The Boston Parent Council presents the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner and Program. All are invited to attend and participate.

The program includes performances by school choruses, a jazz band and a fashion show. There will be crafts for kids, historical displays and a silent auction.

Menu: Caribbean meal with choice of jerk or fried chicken, rice and peas, mac and cheese, beverage and dessert

Location: Wayland Middle School, 201 Main Street

Date: Friday, January 19

Time: 6:00 - 9:30 PM

Dinner at 6:00  / Program starts at 7:15 

Please pay at the door: Adults $15, Kids $8, Vegetarian $12

VOLUNTEER

We are looking for Wayland and Boston parents to volunteer that night to set up, donate desserts, prepare salads on site, serve food, and clean up.

For questions, contact Michelle Mathis at [email protected] . 

Please sign up here:  http://signup.com/go/caTURCA

*SILENT AUCTION DONATIONS

We are in need of silent auction donations from both communities. Suggestions for donations include gift cards, sports tickets, baskets with themes OR individual items that would go into baskets with these themes (movie night, reading, kitchen, bath and beauty, sports, gourmet food). If you are a business, we will showcase your business card and/or information. For questions, contact Jen Pearlman at  [email protected] .

If you would like to donate something for the silent auction, please fill out this form. MLK SILENT AUCTION DONATION FORM

Thank you for your participation and support! All proceeds will benefit the Boston Parent Council to support the Wayland Metco Program. Sponsored by the Boston Parent Council with support from Wayland PTO.

Annual Drive for Coats for Kids!

Ends on January 7

WMS Front Lobby

Please donate to Coats for Kids! We will have boxes in the front lobby to accept your donations. Thank you for helping to keep others warm during the winter season!

Designers: Izzy Ciasullo, Amelie Martin & Charlotte Richter

Grade: 7

Materials: Cardboard, Plastic, Foil and Tape

Product Info: 

As part of the 7th grade visual arts program, our students design a solution for a real-world problem of their choosing. This team identified their problem as, "[Your] hands get messy when eating burritos." Their solution, which they visualized with this hand-built model, combined their love of burritos with common push-pop technology. The result: "The Burrito Pop: The best way to eat a burrito...mess free!" 

ALL GRADES:

1/16 - PTO Middle & More Coffee, 8:45 AM, WMS Library

1/19 - MLK Celebration, WMS, 6:00 PM

1/26 - Q2 Ends

2/1 - Middle & More, A Sporting Chance w/Dr. Evans, 7PM

2/2 - Q2 Report Cards

7th GRADE:

1/29 - Cape Cod Parent Night, 7:00 PM, http://wmsrlc.blogspot.com/

2018 MCAS Dates

Please mark your calendars. If at all possible, we ask you to avoid scheduling appointments for your child on his or her testing dates. Many thanks! 

6th Grade

ELA: 4/2 and 4/3

Math: 5/7 and 5/8

7th Grade

ELA: 4/9 and 4/10

Math: 5/10 and 5/11

8th Grade

ELA: 4/26 and 4/27

Math: 4/30 and 5/1

STE: 5/3 and 5/4

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