*** The PTA provides support to the WMS community in many different ways, including helping with events like PALS days, funding Wolf Paw prizes and classroom grants, providing recognition for our teachers, and more. We can only continue to do so with your support. Please consider donating to the PTA to support our activities for the remainder of this school year and into the next. ***

PTA ANNOUNCEMENTS

The WMS Sprout School Supply Store is Open - Order Your Supplies by July 7

Order online: Prepackaged School Supply Kits |Back-toSchool Supply Kits | Sprout School Supplies

School Code: WMS002

Order Deadline: July 7, 2026

Kit Distribution: Kits will be mailed directly to your home in late July / early August.
Note: this is a change from past years, when kits were delivered to the school.

8TH GRADE PARENTS - We Need YOU!

Very few volunteer spots have been filled for the 8th grade carnival. We need volunteers to help with decorating and set up, running the carnival games, and passing out food to hungry kids. 

It’s going to be a super fun night for the kids with games, a raffle prize drawing, and silly contests with gift card winners every 30 minutes. 

IT WILL NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT YOUR HELP. 

Please sign up to volunteer for one - or more! - shifts. It’s a fast and furious 2 hours. 

ALSO: We need a few parents to help get the word out among the Discovery & Nottingham communities. If you have access to a neighborhood list serv or friends from these schools, please contact Amy Rzepka at agrzepka@gmail.com. She will send you an email to forward out about the carnival. No work on your part except hitting send! 

Thank you in advance. We know our 8th grade families will be able to make this a special night for our students. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C4CACAE2DA1FE3-57229717-boardwalk

All End-of-Year Activities:

• Boardwalk Beach Carnival at WMS - Friday, June 12
  6 pm – 8 pm, parents to drop off/pick up at the school, children to dress in boardwalk/beach attire (no swimsuits)

• Kings Dominion Day Trip - Monday, June 15
  8 am - 6 pm, buses transport children to/from school

• Graduation/Promotion Rehearsal at WMS - Tuesday, June 16
  7:50 am, parents to drop off at school

• Graduation/Promotion Ceremony at WMS - Wednesday, June 17
  8:30 am, parents to attend. Families receive 2 tickets only!

7TH GRADE PARENTS - Help Needed to Support Graduating 8th Graders - June 17

7th grade parent volunteers traditionally support the 8th Grade Class Promotion Ceremony. This allows 8th grade parents to enjoy the event!

The PTA is aiming to provide water, cookies, and brownies. The PTA is also seeking parent volunteers Wednesday, June 17 during the promotion ceremony and reception immediately following. Please sign up to contribute and volunteer below! 

Please drop off store-bought or homemade baked goods as follows:

• Drop-Off Timing: Sunday, June 14 at 12PM - Tuesday, June 16 at 7PM

• Drop-Off Location: Amanda Cuthbertson's (7th Grade Parent) house (5200 Old Dominion Dr - on the corner of N George Mason)

Please put your name on your item so we can check it off the sign-up. Please reach out to Amanda with any questions at acladd9@yahoo.com.

Click here to sign up:

7th Grade Parent Volunteers for 2026 8th Grade Promotion 

Message from YHS PTSA for 8th Grade Parents

Dear Rising 9th Grade Patriot Families,

We encourage you to sign up for the weekly PTSA newsletter. Click here to stay updated on our events and Yorktown happenings. 

The YHS PTSA is seeking 3-4 volunteers to complete a financial review this July in accordance with VA PTA Standards of Affiliation. The purpose of this review is to ensure the YHS PTSA is following proper financial procedures and practices, and maintaining transparency with its general membership. The financial review must be completed and submitted to the VA PTA by August 1, to allow the incoming board time to transition. This review will take 1-2 hours. Please reach out to Melissa Mathews, Treasurer, if you would like to participate or have any questions.

We’re also seeking volunteers for many of our PTSA Committees and programs next year. If you’re interested in helping or would like more information please complete the Volunteer form. Volunteering with the PTSA is a great way to stay connected, support our students and staff, and make a meaningful impact in our school community.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting, otherwise we look forward to meeting you at the New Families orientation in August.

Congratulations and have a wonderful summer!

Jill Gaspar, PTSA President

Message From the APS Advisory Council on Teaching and Learning - Kindness/Executive Functioning Survey Extended till June 15

To support student needs, the Student Services Advisory Committee is currently collecting feedback in two areas for APS:

• Executive Functioning Skills. These include organizing and prioritizing work, time management, perseverance, problem-solving, and task initiation. Students of all ages, ability levels, and English proficiency backgrounds benefit from developing these skills throughout their education and beyond. Our survey invites your feedback on the importance of these skills and which areas APS should prioritize.
• Promoting Kindness in Our Schools. All students thrive in a culture of kindness, where they learn the social and emotional skills necessary for life. We want to hear how important this is to you and gather your "good ideas"—specifically free resources or initiatives—that can help every school flourish.
• More info on recommendations related to the above are available through these Presentation Slides.
• Your answers will be shared with APS, to help shape work in these two areas.  

Survey Links:

• Parents' Survey in English
• Students' Survey in English
• Staff Survey in English
• Encuesta para padres en español
• Encuesta para estudiantes en español

This survey should take about 10 minutes 

Extended Survey Deadline: This survey will close on June 15, at 11:59 p.m. Please complete the survey by that time. Thank you!

Upcoming Activities at Arlington's Central Library

Code Ninjas of Arlington - Summer Camp Offerings

Please see the summer camp offerings from Code Ninjas of Arlington.

They recently attended our PTA meeting to speak on "AI Fluency and Responsible Usage for Middle Schoolers and Rising High School Students." 

Click here to see their camp offerings.

Serve as a Democracy Intern with Learning Life

For kids who will be in 8th-12th grade in the fall...

- Need to complete community service hours?

- Interested in politics, government, and policymaking?

- Do you have a GPA of 3.5 or higher?

Apply to serve as a summer or fall Democracy Intern with Learning Life!

Click here for more information and to register!

About Learning Life: Learning Life is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit lab devoted to innovating education, democracy and diplomacy by spreading learning in everyday life beyond school walls. In our increasingly interconnected yet divided world, we develop inclusive learning communities in order to widen and deepen participation in democracy and diplomacy.

WMS Food Bus to Assist AFAC

The Helping Hands club is bringing the AFAC Food Bus back! Each school day, students are encouraged to place unopened and/or unused food in the dedicated AFAC fridge or bins in the cafeteria, which is transported to AFAC in a bulk delivery at the end of the week. This partnership provides for our community's food insecure, diverts food waste, and promotes a culture of giving among the entire student body. 

We need parents (and their students) to help to make this possible by collecting and transporting the food from WMS to AFAC (2708 S Nelson St, Arlington, VA 22206) at the end of the school week (usually Friday afternoons).

It is SUPER easy, a great lesson for our children, and it feels good to give! 

Please consider volunteering to drive the food donations to AFAC!

CLICK HERE to sign up!

WMS GENERAL INFORMATION

Main Phone Line: 703-228-5450

Attendance Line: 703-228-5444

Technical support: 703-228-2570, Monday through Thursday from 7 am - 9 pm, and Friday from 7 am - 6 pm



Technical support information: click here.

ParentVue: click here.

Morning announcements: click here.

APS & COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

Upcoming APS Community Engagement Opportunities:

The Neighborhood Mini Grant (NMG) Program is now open!

The NMG Program is a competitive grant program that will support projects that build community and engage residents. We hope you will apply! The application is open until July 17, 2026. To be eligible, applicants can be 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) organizations, civic associations, and community groups with tax identification numbers located in Arlington County. Those without 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) status can partner with a qualifying 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) organization to serve as their fiscal sponsor and project partner. Questions? Contact NSDGrants@arlingtonva.us

• Neighborhood Mini Grant (NMG) webpage
• Application form

More at: Community Engagement Opportunities with automatic translation into: Español  Монгол  አማርኛ   العربية  (Other languages)

Arlington Community Opportunities and Events:

Sat, May 16    Neighborhood Clean-up Day | Dispose of bulky household items and metal with County assistance.

7 – 11:00 am   Green Valley Neighborhood. Contact: Jorge.Laura@arlingtonva.us

Have content for a future PTA Newsletter? Send it to our Communications VP by Thursday and we will include it in the following week's newsletter.