Dear Weston Middle School Community, Happy Friday! It's been a busy and quick month at WMS. When we return from winter break, we will be immediately participating in our next No Place for Hate activity, our second one this year. Students will engage in a lesson focused on the impact of language and the importance of choosing words thoughtfully. Using the idea that people have both visible and less visible parts of their identity, students will explore how words can affect others in deeper ways, even when harm is unintentional or meant as a joke. Through videos, audio clips, discussion, and small-group reflection on real-life scenarios, students will examine the difference between intent and impact and consider how language can either build others up or cause harm. Like our first activity, students will be organized into multi-grade groups - the goal being to build community across grades. The lesson emphasizes empathy, accountability, and respectful communication as essential skills. We are excited to see how students respond. On behalf of the entire WMS staff, we hope you have a relaxing, joyful winter break! Jason and Dru Important Upcoming Dates February 24 - No Place for Hate, Activity 2 February 27 - NWEA Results Available in Portfolio + March 2-6 - Read Across America Week March 3 - One School, One Book Kick Off March 6 - Author Tami Charles Visits WMS March 7 - Parent Climate Survey Available March 26 - Fifth Grade Transition Night/Orientation for Families Quick Survey For Seventh Grade Parents The seventh grade is exploring an exciting opportunity for the 7th-grade class and would appreciate your feedback! Please read and complete the survey below at your earliest convenience. Thank you in advance for your time. https://www.research.net/r/8NTDBVP Eighth Grade Hot Cocoa Social NWEA Results Individual Student Assessment Reports will go LIVE in Portfolio+ by the end of the day on Friday, February 27th . Reports for WMS students include results from the NWEA MAP Growth assessments in Math and Reading (grades 6–8). These reports provide a snapshot of your child’s learning progress at this point in the school year and are one of several measures our teachers use to inform instruction and support continued growth. To access your child’s reports, please follow this link to the Portfolio Plus Parent Instructions. Please note that this feature is available only in a web browser and cannot be accessed in the PowerSchool mobile app. While reports can be viewed in a smartphone browser, we recommend using a desktop or laptop for the best experience. If you have any questions or need assistance with PowerSchool access, please contact our helpdesk at helpdesk@westonps.org. Parent Climate Survey More information on how to access the survey is coming soon. The survey will be open from March 7 - April 3. We look forward to collecting your feedback. Celebrating Our Impressive Students of the Month for the First Half of the Year! Parent Workshop Tine Teen Center at Norfield Join The Tine Teen Center at Norfield, School days on Monday through Friday, from 3 pm to 5 pm, plus special events! The Tine Teen Center offers fun, supervised, and positive programs for Weston 6-12th graders … along with a super cool space to just hang out with friends! Join us at Norfield Congregational Church as we embark on this exciting journey in making a positive impact on the lives of young people in our community! To learn more about the Tine Teen Center, explore becoming a Parent Volunteer, and more, visit: https://www.tineteencenter.org/ Regular after school drop-in hours (when schools are open) are Monday through Friday, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 Celebrate Read Across America with Author Tami Charles! Weston Middle School is thrilled to announce that New York Times bestselling author Tami Charles will be visiting our students on March 6th! Thanks to the generosity of the PTO, we are able to bring this incredible experience to our school. In anticipation of her visit, we are opening a pre-order window for families to purchase her most popular titles, including the acclaimed G.O.A.T. – Serena Williams, Becoming Beatriz, and the powerful All Because You Matter picture book trilogy. How to Order: Complete the Form: Click here to select your books. Order Deadline: Tuesday, February 24th. Submit Payment: Checks should be made payable to Weston Middle School and turned in to your student's ELA teacher by Friday, February 27th. Pre-ordering is the only way to guarantee a copy will be reserved for your student. For any questions, please reach out to our Library Media Specialist, Mr. Rich Blozie, or our ELA Curriculum Leader, Ms. Amy Holmes. Don't miss out on bringing these inspiring stories home! Spoken Word Poetry Assembly for Eighth Grade Economics Explorers Opportunity for Students Economics Explorers! | Weston Public Library Economics Explorers! | Weston Public Library Join us for a fun and educational economics program for grades 4-8. Participants can play games similar to The Price Is Right! Learn about economic concepts like opportunity cost and tradeoffs and more. Outgoing link icon westonpl.librarycalendar.com Ninth Grade Transition Information The following LINK contains information from WMS administration to eighth grade parents about the transition process. It contains important dates and a timeline of the process. Here is a LETTER from WMS Principal Meghan Conetta with information about the upcoming Eighth Grade Transition Night for Students and Parents on February 4th. These are the SLIDES from the 8th Grade Transition Night Presentation by WHS staff. WMS Student Newspaper Our newspaper staff has been hard at work on the first edition of the Warrior News. It is linked HERE. Enjoy. One School, One Book - Coming in March We are excited to read a book as a school community. It's a great opportunity to engage in a common experience and talk about the characters, issues, and themes in the story. Every student will get their own copy. The title is a secret but stay tuned!. Bricks and Mortar Bricks and Mortar is a newsletter from Superintendent Erica Forti that contains updates and important information about Weston's facilities. Team Landing Pages This link is to team landing pages for each of our six teams. It is a great hub for team based information about homework and team news. Reminders Chromebooks We will not be loaning out Chromebooks to students who forget their Chromebook at home anymore. This is due to a lack of extra Chromebooks. Please remind your child that they should be bringing their Chromebook back and forth between school and home every day and should be fully charging their Chromebook each night. Drop Off / Pick Up Please remember to use the drop off/pick up line in the back of the school at arrival and dismissal. Please avoid using the front of the school for drop off when busses are unloading students. Also, the parking lot across the street from the front of WMS is for juniors at the high school to park. Flu and Fever Season As we enter the peak of the flu season, we are seeing an increase in illness within our school community. To ensure our classrooms remain a safe and healthy environment, we need your help. We kindly ask that you monitor your child daily for symptoms of illness before sending them to school. Please keep your child home if they exhibit any of the following: Fever: Students should be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication before returning. Persistent Cough Stomach Issues: Vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours. Thanks for helping us keep our school healthy. Jason Bluestein's picture Jason Bluestein Jason is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters