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WMS PTA
Newsletter
December 11, 2022
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WMS needs your help to help others! | |
WMS is collecting gift cards for families who can benefit this holiday season. If you wish to participate, please send in gift cards in the amount of $25 for either Target, Giant or Safeway by 12/14/22. There will be a box in the front office starting 12/8/22 where the gift cards can be delivered. We appreciate your support in helping our community!
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WMS New Food Program to Support AFAC | |
WMS students have advocated and have brought the AFAC food “bus” program to WMS. This program helps provide for those who are food insecure in our community, reduces food waste in our cafeteria and creates a culture of giving amongst the entire student body. We need parents (and students) to sign up to volunteer to collect and bring all the food from WMS to AFAC every Friday. The collection is food that otherwise would have been thrown in the garbage untouched and unopened during lunch hours. A HUGE thank you to the Overand Family for donating a refrigerator for this giving effort. For those whose children attended Tuckahoe, Discovery or Nottingham you will be familiar with this program.
If you'd like to help this program be a success, please volunteer on any Friday you are free and remind your students to place their food in the bins.Thanks to all who have already signed up for a Friday!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4fa4a82ea02-wmsafac
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WMS make-up picture day this Wednesday | |
If your student missed picture day or wants a do-over, make up day is coming up next Wednesday, December 14.
Student images are now online. Parents were sent an email from Victor O'Neill Studios a few weeks ago. Be sure to check your spam/junk folder.
Any student who has not had a chance to order, it’s not too late! Please visit: //vosphoto.com/uc.
Use your student ID when prompted for the online code.
For questions regarding school pictures please email: underclass@vosphoto.com
The team at Victor O’Neill Studios thanks your school for a great picture day!
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PTA Meeting this Tuesday at 7pm | |
Join us via zoom this Tuesday at 7pm via.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86986331686?pwd=TUxxemRpQ204ZkNuNVg4M0kwWXRuZz09
Meeting ID: 869 8633 1686
Passcode: 208991
The speakers this month are Dona Rodgers and Clare Kehoe, Co-Founders of Morgan's Message (https://www.morgansmessage.org/morgans-story). Dona Rodgers is Mom to Morgan, the namesake of the foundation. Morgan was lost to suicide in 2019 at 22. Morgan's message vision is: To eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community; To expand the dialogue and normalize conversations; To equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics; To empower those who suffer in silence and support those who feel alone.
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2022-2023 WMS Family Directory | |
Exciting news! The Williamsburg PTA will be sharing the family directory with our community again this year. The online directory is secure, easy to use, and free to families. And those who join the PTA will receive a printed copy (one per family)!
All you need to do now is confirm your family's information to ensure accuracy, here: wmspta.membershiptoolkit.com/.
**Please verify ASAP. If you already have an AtoZ/Membership Toolkit account from last year (or another school), you can use your same credentials to log in. If you haven't created an account yet, click "Register/Login" and follow the steps. You must verify to have access to the directory.**
FAQs:
Didn’t I already do this a month ago?
No - this is different. You probably did the Annual Online Verification Process (AOVP) for APS - this is the info that WMS has shared with the PTA for our school directory, which can differ from APS’s due to errors.
My information was right last year, isn’t it the same? No, this year’s information overrides everything from previous years, and we must re-verify.
During AOVP, I entered information I don’t want in the directory - can you remove that? The site lets you remove, hide, or add information from the directory - just log in and update your preferences.
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HOLIDAY GIFT DRIVE FOR VHC PEDIATRICS
| Helping Hands is excited to host a holiday gift drive, benefiting Virginia Hospital Center (VHC) Pediatrics, from Monday 12/5 - Wednesday 12/14. VHC Pediatrics has conveniently set up an Amazon Wishlist, but happy to accept gifts similar to those on this list. Gifts should be left in the WMS lobby, unwrapped. VHC Pediatrics serves many Arlington families and generously collects gifts for their clients to help make their holidays joyful. THANK YOU for your support and generosity! | | | |
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The WMS science fair is in person this year on Friday, January 20, 2023. Judges are needed, and would report at 6:00 pm, with judging from 6:30-8:30 pm. Judges will be briefed beforehand, have judging sheets for each student, and will see about 5-8 students for ~5 minutes per student. No work is required before the science fair!
To sign up, please enter your information via this link, and the science fair director will be in contact with you.
WMS Science Fair Judges
*Note* - Students who wish to volunteer to judge must be in 10th grade or higher.
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WMS Presentation from November PTA Meeting | |
Below you will find the presentation created for the November PTA meeting. This presentation is about how middle school students communicate online and strategies to assist them to keep their information safe and online communication positive. 2022-23 Online Communication and Information for Parents
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With all the Gift Purchases Happening-Choose WMS PTA in AmazonSmile & Help Us Earn Money! |
AmazonSmile is operated by Amazon and benefits non-profits like our WMS PTA. If you make purchases through AmazonSmile (vs. regular Amazon), Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to WMS PTA. Click here for instructions on how to set that up on your mobile app, mobile web browser or desktop computer.
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PTA Membership and Activity Fee Reminder | |
Activity fees are what fund the fun events at WMS. If you haven’t already, please consider donating today and joining the PTA. We are below 40% participation and would love to go over 50% by the end of 2022.
http://wmspta.org/pta-membership/
You can also donate via the No Frills Fundraiser too.
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Gifted Services Information | |
The gifted services newsletter is ready! Check it out to learn about writing contests, the 3M science competition, the C-Span documentary contest, NASA & Aviation art competitions, and book recommendations for gifts. You can also find articles about surviving the holidays, twice exceptional boys, siblings, and bore-out. Please visit our website by going to the WMS homepage->Teachers/Departments->Gifted Services->Monthly Newsletter or by selecting this link: https://williamsburg.apsva.us/newsletter-current-monthly-opportunities-and-resources/
Does your child want to look through book recommendations, see what clubs are available at WMS, visit a virtual museum, or read educational tweets from vetted organizations such as NASA? Have them go to our “Student Resources” page on our gifted services website by going to the WMS homepage ->Teachers/Departments->Gifted Services->Student Resources or by using this link:https://williamsburg.apsva.us/student-resources-page/. They can “bookmark” this page on their iPads for easy access in the future.
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Student Services Newsletter | | | |
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Still Need Volunteers-Please Help! | |
Thanks to Rena for being ACTL rep! We still need more volunteers.
Back to School Teacher Breakfast - Needed for August 2023 - Solicit volunteers, donations, and purchases for back to school teacher breakfast. Drop items off at school and set up breakfast.
PALS Day Coordinator - Needed for August 2023 - Solicit volunteers, donations, and purchases of doughnuts and water for PALS Day. Drop off items at school and man the doughnut table with additional volunteers.
Schools Supplies Coordinator - Late Spring 2023/Late Summer 2023 - Work with vendor to order supplies, once delivered, solicit volunteers to open boxes, and deliver to correct classrooms before PALS day in August.
PTA Reflections Art Contest Chair - August/September/October 2023 - Solicit artwork from students, collect from school, find judges, award students, deliver artwork to county contest. This is a concentrated effort in August to announce the contest and find judges before the county contest due date. Note we were unable to participate this year due to no volunteers.
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Pre-order Your WMS Yearbook Now! | |
Get a jump on the year and pre-order your 2022-2023 WMS yearbook. Information on how to order can be found in here.
PS this is the best way to stop those weekly emails reminding you to order. ;)
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Link Your Harris Teeter Grocery Card and Raise Money for WMS PTA! | |
Don't forget to link your grocery card numbers! Harris Teeter requires re-linking with your school each year. Our linked numbers are low so you may not have re-linked your cards for this year. It's easy and a great way for WMS to earn extra money. Learn how below:
Harris Teeter - VIC Card Shoppers:
Go to Harris Teeter's Together in Education website and sign into your HT account. Click on "Link Your School Today." Then enter the Williamsburg Middle School ID: 4926.
Don't have your VIC card number? Call 800-432-6111
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WMS Box Tops Program - Now An Easy-to-Use App! |
The Box Tops for Education program is now mobile. This makes it so much easier for families to increase our school earnings. WMS has earned over $12K from Box Tops, funding much-needed programs within our school. Please click here for more information on how to download the app and start sending Box Tops dollars to WMS.
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At the Dec. 1 School Board meeting, the Board received recommendations on the 2023-24 School Year Calendar. Based on the discussion and feedback from staff and families, APS is revisiting options 1 and 2 and is modifying option 2 to provide a full 180 instructional days. A final decision will be made at the Dec. 15 School Board meeting.
In addition, the Board approved a calendar change for the current school year to designate Fri, April 21, 2023, as a holiday for Eid al-Fitr. Because of this change, all schools and offices will be closed on Fri, April 21, 2023.
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The weather is getting colder, and many schools are experiencing an uptick in students coming to school sick. Please keep your student(s) at home if they are experiencing signs of illness. There is a new swab that will test for three illnesses at once (COVID, Flu, and RSV). Here is a flyer with more information.
Virginia Department of Health: This year’s flu season is already showing concerning, early signs that it may be worse than in recent years: Everyone aged 6 months and older are encouraged to get a flu vaccine this fall.
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With winter approaching, APS wants to remind families to review our inclement weather procedures and have a plan in place in the event of a change in operations:
- The first seven inclement weather days will be treated as traditional “snow days.” If the allotted days are used, APS will revert to full distance learning (virtual) days.
- NEW: Extended Day and Check-In programs will now close at the same time schools close in the event of an Early Release due to weather conditions (previously Extended Day remained open until 4 p.m.).
- Decisions impacting the following day will be announced by 6 p.m. Morning decisions will be announced by 5 a.m., as needed, based on conditions overnight.
You can learn more about the weather codes and other important details on our website.
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Academic Help Online at No Cost! | |
NEW Academic Support for Middle and High School Students: the new academic support available for secondary students called PAPER. PAPER provides 24/7 on-demand virtual tutors available to students for assistance with homework, essay review and other academic support in multiple subjects and languages. Teachers have been promoting this service directly to students. Details online. It is a great resource!
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Prepare for leaf collection round 2! Find out how and when leaf vacuum trucks will be in your neighborhood and make sure to pick up your free paper yard waste bags at one of six locations throughout the County.
The Arlington County Public Health Division’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic, originally opened nearly two years ago, will permanently close on Dec. 17, 2022. Due to the decreased demand at the County’s clinic, with vaccines now widely available in the community through pharmacies, urgent care centers, and medical providers. Appointments and walk-ins are available for primary series and eligible boosters for everyone ages 6 months and older until Dec. 17. Now is the best time to get up to date on COVID-19 vaccination for increased protection from severe illness, before spending more time indoors and in crowds during the holiday season.
Need support getting meals during the holidays? Arlington’s Department of Human Services has a list of food assistance programs and organizations to help.
Arlington County’s hypothermia shelter is now open through March 2023. If you or someone you know is experiencing homelessness and needs emergency shelter, call 703-228-1010
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Have content for a future PTA Newsletter? Send it to Tonya Chiarodo by Friday and it will appear in the following week's newsletter. | | | | |
