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W E D N E S D A Y W E E K L Y
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In this Issue
Upcoming Events
November 14
Kindergarten
Information Night (for parents of rising kindergartners)*
5-6 p.m.
Great Room
November 16
6-7:30 p.m.
Gym
November 20
Grandfriends' Day
Start times:
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Middle School: 8 a.m.
-Elementary: 8:30 a.m.
-Primary: 8:45 a.m.
-Toddler: 9 a.m.
November 21
Thanksgiving break
November 22-23
Thanksgiving break - no classes or child care, building closed
Happy Thanksgiving!
(Note: the building will also be closed Saturday, November 24.)
November 27
Giving Tuesday
November 28
Information Morning for Parents of Rising Primary (3-6) Students*
9:15 a.m.
Learning Commons
November 29
Information Morning for Parents of Rising 6-9 Students*
9 a.m.
Learning Commons
November 30
Information Morning for Parents of Rising 9-12 and Middle School Students*
8:30 a.m.
Learning Commons
December 5
Information Night for Parents of Rising First-Graders
5-6 p.m.
Great Room
*Parents may earn co-op hours for attending Information sessions.
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Welcome Grandfriends
Message from
Head of School Lisa Lalama
When my brothers and I were children, we spent a lot of time with our grandparents. We were introduced to things that we'd never done before or since. They had a coal furnace, and we loved nothing more than walking into the coal room and shoveling coal into the furnace to provide heat for their house.
One of my fondest childhood memories is of having summer picnics at their house, which was out in the country, playing badminton, horseshoes and croquet, then capping off the day by making ice cream. In those days - so very long ago - the ice cream maker was driven by a crank that we each turned until our arms got tired. At the end of this hard work, we were treated to delicious homemade ice cream. To us these were new and exciting adventures. Our parents weren't as enthralled with these activities, though they welcomed the diversion my grandparents provided.
Next Tuesday, WMS students welcome their grandparents and other special friends to join them for the morning. It is a day much anticipated by children and grandfriends alike. There is no greater honor than to be a part of the life of a child, and grandchildren and grandparents have a special bond. We look forward to meeting grandfriends new to WMS and reacquainting ourselves with those of you we haven't seen for a while. We hope you are able to join in the fun, creating memories for your grandchildren and all of WMS.
WMS grandparents and special friends:
Please join us next Tuesday, November 20, at your student's regular classroom start time for a special grandfriends program.
8-10 a.m. -
Middle school classroom open for visits
8:30-10 a.m. -
Elementary classrooms open for visits
8:45-10 a.m. -
Primary classrooms open for visits
9-10 a.m. -
Toddler classrooms open for visits
10-11 a.m. -
Reception in the Great Room with refreshments, a musical performance and a presentation by our middle school students
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News & Notes
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Annual Fund Update and Giving Tuesday Reminder
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to
WMS's 2018-19 Annual Fund so far. We are off to a fantastic start with more than $29,000 raised toward our $85,000 goal.
Your gifts will help provide amazing professional development opportunities to our staff, materials for our classrooms and enrichment programs, financial assistance for families who otherwise would not be able to afford a WMS education, and so much more.
Congratulations to our Annual Fund Drive raffle winners: t
he Sultan family won the reserved parking space and
the Quisel-Snyder family will receive the WMS swag bag!
If you haven't already contributed to the annual fund, it's not too late!
Giving Tuesday
is less than two weeks away. Stay tuned: we'll have more Giving Tuesday details, including a donation-matching opportunity, next week.
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Last Call for the WMS Dance Party - This Friday!
If you haven't already, purchase your tickets for this Friday's dance party. Join the fifth-grade class from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the gym for dinner, dancing, dessert, raffle prizes and more. Proceeds from the dance party will help fund next year's sixth-grade trip to the Global Citizenship Action Project (GCAP) conference in New York City.
Tickets are $10 per person (with a $5 discount for parties of four or more) and may be purchased in the lobby before and after school the rest of this week. Tickets will also be available at the door before the dance. All ages are welcome.
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Today's Learners
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Kindergarten Workshop: Taking Kindergartners to the Next Level
From cultural lessons about Diwali to leaf identification to the winter Olympics, kindergartners take classroom lessons they've learned alongside their younger peers to new heights through the Kindergarten Workshop. Once a week, while their younger classmates nap, kindergartners and their teachers gather for enhanced lessons - "more meaty content," as Primary lead teacher Erin Winner describes it.
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Author share time in the kindergarten Writers' Workshop |
Through the Kindergarten Workshop, they get their first exposure to the group lessons they will experience more regularly as first-graders. During the week, they also attend art, music, Maker (STEAM) Studio, physical education and Spanish as a cohort, and benefit from more individualized instruction in their classrooms on afternoons they don't meet as a group.
Over the last two months, kindergartners have also used their weekly Kindergarten Workshop time to develop their writing skills through their first
Writers' Workshop
. Drawing on literacy skills such as awareness of letter sounds, sight words and story comprehension, kindergartners begin to explore putting their thoughts and ideas on paper.
Using a book called "Halloween Who Am I?" as an example, they created a Halloween or fall-themed riddle page. Kindergartners gathered during their weekly workshop time to read "Halloween Who Am I?", used classroom time to compose and assemble their pages (with one-on-one assistance from their classroom teachers), and regrouped for "author share" time to share their finished page with their peers. "They learn to give feedback and ask questions," explained Primary lead teacher Erin Wehler. "Kids are given the option to share, but are not required to do so."
Throughout the course of the school year, kindergartners will also explore writing a personal narrative, an informational piece and an opinion story as part of future Writers' Workshops.
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| Look for kindergartners' work showcased on the bulletin board outside Room 12. Their first Kindergarten Workshop projects - illustrated puzzle pieces about themselves and a "My Hopes and Dreams" writing exercise - are currently on display. |
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 The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.
Please send submissions to
[email protected]
by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior
to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length
and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints.
For more information, contact Noel Dietrich, Director of Advancement & Communications.
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