WRMS Weekly Update 4/13/24

Hello West Rocks!

We had a busy week at West Rocks! On Monday, students left school just in time for a total solar eclipse with their glasses! We had a special Panther News at the end of the day to learn about eclipses and discuss the safety requirements. Students that signed up were able to participate in a virtual reality activity in our Verizon lab earlier in the day and then our staff watched the eclipse during our afterschool meeting!

Students completed their NWEA map testing in math with make-ups on Thursday and Friday. We have nearly 97% of students completed this testing. We will get those results when we return from break and will share those with students and families.

We had our Eid al-Fitr recognition during Panther News on Tuesday. Students watched a short video during a longer homeroom, and we all learned about Ramadan and the celebration of Eid!

Thank you to everyone that attended our SEL Parent Night on Thursday. Check out some pictures above! We introduced Yale University’s RULER Approach to social emotional learning that West Rocks has started. There was a lot of great discussion and students, families, and staff left great feedback in the form of “hopes, hesitations, and questions!” Be on the lookout for more information and our next family session in August as we roll this out for the start of the 2024-2025 school year. 

• You can watch the short video we started the night with using the link below.
• https://www.rulerapproach.org/

There is no school next week for Spring Break! Hopefully you will be able to spend time with friends and family. Please continue to refer to the district calendar throughout the spring (https://www.norwalkps.org/about/district-overview/official-district-calendar). Also, please visit the West Rocks website for updates to our school calendar (https://wrms.norwalkps.org/).

We will see everyone back at school on Monday, April 22 for a full day! 

Enjoy the weather,
Adam Reynolds
Principal, West Rocks Middle School

PS. The next weekly update will be on Saturday, April 27.

FIELD TRIPS

• Grade 8 Boston Field Trip – IMPORTANT INFORMATION
  • Students and families are reminded to turn in any medications by Monday, April 22nd. Students must bring all their luggage to school on Wednesday, April 24th. Please arrive at WRMS at 6:15am on Thursday, April 25th. We will return at 6pm on Friday, April 26th.
  • Contact: Dr. Sara Golding (goldings@norwalkps.org)
• Grade 7 Field Trip – Bronx Zoo Trip on May 29
  • Contact: Rebecca Sabol (sabolr@norwalkps.org)
  • The 7th Grade will be attending a field trip to the Bronx Zoo on Wednesday May 29.
  • Permission slips are due April 24. 
  • Please use this link to fill out the form online https://forms.gle/Sm4oC887qEooZVLK8. 
  • To view the letter please click HERE. 
• Grade 6 Field Trip – Museum of Natural History in NYC on June 5
  • Contact: Dr. Dee Walters (waltersd@norwalkps.org)
  • Link for field trip information can be accessed: here

ACADEMICS, PROGRAMS, AND CAMPAIGNS

NWEA Map Testing
We completed the Spring NWEA map testing last week. There are a few students that need to make up or finish the test when we return from break. Be on the lookout for results from your student. These scores are used to measure you student’s growth, place for acceleration and intervention, and for class placement next year. We will also have Summer Academy in July at West Rocks. More information to come on that program.

Q3 Grades!

Please check your PowerSchool Parent Portal for Q3 grades and teacher comments as well as updated attendance totals. Please reach out to your student’s teacher with questions on grades and assignments. Please reach out to your student’s counselor with questions on attendance.

EVENTS, GROUPS, AND INFORMATION

Maritime Family Night – FREE for WRMS! 
Maritime will be hosting our annual Partner School Family Night on Thursday, May 9th from 5:30 - 8:00pm at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. This will be an open-house type event free for students, teachers, and their families of only partner schools. More details will follow!

The Spring Scholastic Book Fair is Coming! (May 3-May 10)
The library learning commons will be hosting its Spring Book Fair from Friday, 5/3 to Friday, 5/10. If you would like to set up an eWallet for your child to use for shopping, please visit our Book Fair homepage at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/westrocksms

• Please reach out to Sandra Mackowski (mackowskis@norwalkps.org) if you have any questions.

Clothing Drive
If you are cleaning out closets this Spring Break, bag those unwanted items and save them for our upcoming clothing drive on Saturday, May 4th.

PTA UPDATE AND UPCOMING DATES

Our PTA Spring Raffle is in full swing and we hope you are as excited as we are! In case you missed our initial announcement, here's a quick recap of the fantastic prizes up for grabs:

• Playstation 5
• AirPods Pro
• iPad Mini
• $250 Amazon Gift Card
• $200 Nike Gift Card

Purchasing Tickets

• Raffle tickets can be purchased online or at lunch when we return from Spring Break. Prices are $5 per ticket, 5 for $22, 10 for $40, or 20 for $75.
• Purchase tickets here: https://app.memberhub.gives/west-rocks-pta-raffle2024

 
The Raffle runs 4/8 - 4/28. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year. Enter for your chance to win some amazing prizes either online or send your child in with cash/check to purchase at lunch. We are still looking for parent volunteers to help at lunch. (Raffle Lunch Volunteers)
 
For more information, see the PTA website: https://westrocks.ptboard.com/ 
 
Upcoming Dates
April 15-19 Spring Break – no school
April 22 Earth Day
April 23 Extended homeroom for advisory lesson
April 25-26 Boston Field Trip for Grade 8
April 26 Wear blue for Autism awareness and acceptance!

Follow West Rocks on Instagram: wrms_ct
Follow West Rocks on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/West-Rocks-Middle-School-100076430403630/