*** 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

8th Grade Boardwalk Beach Carnival

This is the final event for our 8th graders and we need your help volunteering and with food donations. 

Below is the Sign-up Genius for the event - please volunteer for a Carnival event shift if you can! 

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

We are excited to introduce a “big ticket item” raffle at the Carnival this year that will include $100 gift cards, JBL speakers and some big fun pool floats.

Donations are still being accepted and will go directly towards big ticket raffle prizes, event decor, and food vendors. You can donate via Venmo to @Amy-Rzepka-2. Please write “Carnival” in the notes section. 

Please contact events@wmspta.org with any questions.

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!

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. 

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

Upcoming Activities at Arlington's Central Library

Message From the APS Advisory Council on Teaching and Learning - Kindness/Executive Functioning Survey Open till May 29

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 Friday, May 29, at 11:59 p.m. Please complete the survey by that time. Thank you!

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.

Summer Learn-to-Row Camp at W-L

Are you thinking about rowing in high school? 

Rowing is one of the few sports that you can start in high school and become successful with very quickly!

W-L Crew's Summer Learn to Row camps are perfect for rising 7th, 8th, and 9th graders who want to give rowing a try!

Or join us for Green Days next fall! 

Learn more about both on our website: www.w-lcrewboosters.org. 

W-L Crew now rows out of Columbia Island Marina, which is very conveniently located on the Virginia side of the Potomac River near the Pentagon.  

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

Thu, May 28 School Board Meeting: Recognition of JROTC; Strategic Plan Priority – Student-Centered Workforce (Focus on Professional Learning); Action on Final FY 2027 Budget (Tentative) and VSBA Legislative Positions

7:00 pm    Watch School Board meeting online, on Comcast Ch. 70, Verizon Ch. 41 or at Syphax Education Center, 2nd FL, 2110 Washington Blvd. 22204

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

Arlington Community Opportunities and Events:

Fri, May 15    Bike to Work Day hosted by BikeArlington

Register here. Receive a FREE T-shirt and find Pit Stops set up across the region.

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.