Weekly Update 9/14/24

September 14, 2024 (Please download the Parent Square app to select your preferred language.)

Hello West Rocks!

Thank you to everyone that came out to our Back to School Night! It was great to see so many parents, family members, and student volunteers on Wednesday! Congratulations to our Trivia winner Leila! There is an image above from our game and the entire Panther News welcome is on our West Rocks YouTube channel.

We are looking forward to two more family events at West Rocks! Save the following dates:
We have a busy month of family events at West Rocks! Save the following dates:

• Wednesday, September 18 PTA Meeting then SEL Family Night with dinner from Garden Catering (6:30-8) 
  1. Come for dinner and leave with a mood meter! 
• Wednesday, September 25 PTA Panther Block Party! 

Please use our school website to view the full calendar of events and get more information: https://wrms.norwalkps.org/. 

Our students are learning new emotional vocabulary each day and writing them in their journals. Please be on the lookout for the weekly RULER Update from Mr. Douge and the SEL Team! We learned and applied 4 words this week – 1 from each quadrant! Please talk to your students at home about what these words mean and when they have felt them in their own lives. All emotions matter…there is no “bad” emotion. We just need to Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate (RULER).

Students will take the math portion of the Fall NWEA starting this week. Please be sure your student gets a good night’s sleep and brings a charged Chromebook. Just like all days, we will encourage students to eat a free breakfast from the cafeteria! 
 
Have a great weekend,
Adam Reynolds
Principal, West Rocks Middle School

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS - FALL 2024

Travel Sports – TRYOUTS on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Tryouts for Girls Field Hockey and Boys Football will be held this week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Anyone interested in trying out must submit a permission slip prior to tryouts.
Please use the link to the Google Form: https://forms.gle/m4s4AwF1ivTRmVfq9

West Rocks Middle School Esports Team 
We will be playing in the Play VS Esports' Middle School League among thousands of other middle schools from around the country!
 
After school: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3 to 5pm. Starting Tuesday September 17th. Click on the attached Google Form to get more information and to Sign up for a Team!
 
https://forms.gle/DzZyB8yxCJ1foYXU8

THE YEARBOOK STAFF! 
The few, the proud, the yearbook staff! As a member of the yearbook staff, you will have many responsibilities! It’s fun, ask any one of our returning students! We work hard and play harder!
 
Application: https://forms.gle/hDiLm7DZcZNMpv4J6

 Fill in the application and submit before Wednesday 9/18/24

• When: Before school - Tuesdays from 7:10am to 8:10am starting October 1st
• Where: Verizon Innovative Learning Lab - Room 188

Once all the applications are collected, Dr Fox will invite you to an informational meeting before the Yearbook Club starts meeting.

Drama Club – Shrek Jr! 
 
Join us for an informational meeting on September 17 at 3pm in the auditorium to hear about this year's Spring musical, Shrek Jr. All students are welcome!

Clubs will meet starting the week of September 30.
After School Clubs will begin meeting the week of September 30 from 3-4pm on specific days of the week. There will be Running, Flag Football, Games, Drones, Gardening, Graphic Novel and Illustration and Book Clubs. 

Any student interested in signing up can get a permission slip from Ms. Cammarota in the gym.

• Running Club (25 max first come, first serve) – Ms. Mouland
• Drones – Dr. Alcantara 
• Flag Football Club (need a minimum of 12 students) – Mr. Buckley
• Board Games – Ms. Vazquez
• Gardening Club – Ms. Lussier
• Graphic Novel and Illustration Club – Ms. Marangos
• Book Club – Ms. Chum
• Muralist Club – Ms. Fusarelli (starting the end of October)

PAWS After-School Program Begins Monday, 9/9

Our PAWS After-School Program had a great first week and want more students to participate! Students in the PAWS program can also participate in our other after-school clubs if they complete the required sign-up.

Registration is open through the link provided! https://app.schooldoc.com/!/dn/login?r=carverafterschool 
This is a great opportunity for students to have supervised homework time/help, as well as enrichment activities (sports, arts & crafts, etc.) with staff members from our West Rocks community. This program is funded through Norwalk's wonderful Carver Center and they are working on providing busing home as well - (updates to follow).

Please email any questions to Ryan Perry at perryr@norwalkps.org

ACADEMICS, PROGRAMS, AND CAMPAIGNS

Grade 7 – Nature’s Classroom Field Trip
Thank you to everyone that attended our parent meeting and have registered their child for Nature's Classroom. Nature's Classroom will be held at Camp Eisner in Great Barrington, MA from November 6-8th. We are still accepting student registration! To register your child, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM. For additional information, please refer to Miss Sabol's Parent Square email from Friday September 6th. Please reach out if you have any additional questions. 

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer – Team West Rocks! 
 
During the month of October each year West Rocks brings awareness to Breast Cancer by wearing pink each Friday and then participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk of Fairfield County on October 20 at Sherwood Island. 
 
If you and your child would like to join the WRMS Pink Panthers or make a donation to our school team please use the link: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/bethamaral 
LAST DAY To purchase a pink WRMS T-shirt please use the following link: WRMS Pink Out T-Shirt! 
 
All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

School Governance Council We have 3 parent/guardian vacancies on our School Governance Council (SGC) for the 24-25 school year. All schools in NPS have an SGC and this committee comprised of various stakeholder groups meets once a month for about an hour to advise the school on decisions. See the complete district policy     If you are interested in becoming a member of the SGC, please email Dr. Reynolds (reynoldsa@norwalkps.org).  If we have more than three people that are interested, we will hold an election through an online form. Our first meeting will be the last week of September.  Workforce Development Cool Awards for Grades 6 - 12 CT Conference Municipalities (CCM) is actively engaging Connecticut's youth through the “Cool Awards” contest opportunity. Scholars can work by themselves, or they may collaborate with peers and submit group projects of no more than 3 people. There will be one middle school, and one high school project selected. Each winning project will receive a $1,000 prize.   All of the contest information can be found at Connecticut Conference of Municipalities > Resources > #LoCoolGov Youth Scholarship 2024 (ccm-ct.org).

PTA UPDATES AND UPCOMING DATES

PTA Meeting - 9/18
Join us for our very 1st PTA meeting of the school year!  The meeting will be held in the school cafeteria with a Zoom option (https://zoom.us/j/95462249433) for those who are unable to attend in person. There will be food catered by Garden Catering at 6:15pm, with our PTA meeting starting at 6:30pm. Immediately after the PTA meeting, the school will host their first Family SEL Night to share more about our new SEL program, Yale RULER. All are invited to attend!

Sweet Ashley’s Giveback Night - 9/19
Mark your calendars! On Thursday, September 19th, from 6-9 PM Sweet Ashley’s will be giving a portion back of their proceeds to WRMS PTA! It’s a fun and easy way to support our school, so bring your family and friends and enjoy some delicious ice cream while helping out!

New Spirit Wear!

Our Spirit Wear is arriving this week and is available for pre-order! Orders will be delivered to your student’s homeroom teacher. 
Place your order here: https://westrocks.ptboard.com/formvw?store=5118&form=2 

Panther Block Party - 9/25 Save the date! Our annual back to school bash is back with a new name this year! There will be food trucks, lawn games, raffles, giveaways and more!      Membership Whether you’re looking to get involved, volunteer, or simply show your Panther pride, now is the time to join the PTA! Membership is $10/yr and allows you vote on important issues like our budget. Sign up here: https://westrocks.ptboard.com/formvw?store=5118&form=1   Upcoming PTA Events: 9/18 - PTA Meeting  9/19 - Sweet Ashley’s Giveback Night 9/25 - Panther Block Party  Follow our new social media accounts! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westrockspta Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/westrockspta/    Have a question or want to share an idea with the PTA? Contact us at WestRocksPTA@gmail.com. Or check out our website at WestRocks.PTBoard.com.

Upcoming Dates
September 17 Fall NWEA Math - testing in extended homeroom 
September 18 Fall NWEA Math - testing in extended homeroom; PTA and SEL Family Night 6:30-8:00
September 25 PTA Panther Block Party! 5:30-7:30
 
Please utilize our calendar on our school website: https://wrms.norwalkps.org/

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