Congratulations to Milana Kurpad - Rising Fourth-Grader (and Future Engineer?)

We’re proud to share that WMS student Milana Kurpad recently earned second place in the 2025 EngineerGirl Writing Contest, a national competition from the National Academy of Engineering.

The challenge was to "write a piece describing a common object you would make 'smart.' Milana's essay was selected from among 1,500 entries in the third-to-fifth-grade category. Her creative submission introduced the idea of a customizable Smart Plate, designed to keep foods at the right temperature, track nutritional value and support food safety by alerting users of potential allergens. 

Check out her award-winning essay here.

Supply Lists & Summer Homework

Summer homework (for elementary and middle school students) and supply lists (all levels) are now available via the WMS website.

Click the tab for your child's program level to view details!

Camp Communications

• If you would like to add a family member to your child's Bloomz account, please contact noel_dietrich@wmsde.org.
• If your child is done with camp for the summer and you would like to be removed from Bloomz or the newsletter, please contact Noel as well - if you click "Unsubscribe," you will no receive other future notifications from the school, including camp registration announcements for future years.

Introducing the Family Cooperative ("Co-op") Program

More than 60 years ago, a group of parents came together, seeking an exceptional Montessori education for their children. Together, they founded WMS, a school where the entire family collaborates with teachers and staff to support the academic and emotional growth of each child in the community. Today, family involvement remains an integral part of the WMS experience. Through the Family Cooperative ("Co-op") Program, each family* is asked to commit 25 hours of service to the school over the course of the school year.

These service hours can be earned in a variety of ways. Examples include:

• Classroom support - Your child’s teachers and classroom ambassador will provide a list of classroom jobs via Bloomz throughout the school year. Families are also encouraged to suggest ideas to the teacher, including sharing presentations about their family traditions, culture or career with the class.
• Event support - Planning committees, set-up, providing food, publicity, etc. (Note: Attending concerts, celebrations and parties, including Birth & Life Celebrations does not count toward Co-op credit.)
• Maintenance support - Gardening, small repairs, carpentry, etc.
• Program support - Assisting in the Learning Commons/library, helping with sports activities, supporting musical productions (costumes, stage crew, etc.) and more.
• Administrative/Office support - Board participation, fundraising, copying, laminating, etc.
• Family education - Attending back-to-school nights, virtual education programs, the Journey, information mornings, etc. (Note: Parent conferences and teacher meetings do NOT count as co-op hours.)

You will track your Co-op hours through the FACTS Family Portal (instructions are available upon logging into the Portal. This will allow you to see your progress throughout the school year. Please contact Debbie Segear at the front desk, or email co-op@wmsde.org if you have any questions!

*Families may opt to pay a Co-op fee instead of completing their hours. Please contact the Business Office if you are uncertain as to which option you selected on your 2025-26 contract.

Learn More About Co-op