WRMS Weekly Update 9/7/24

September 7, 2024 (Please download the Parent Square app to select your preferred language.)

Hello West Rocks!

This was a great week at West Rocks! We are settling into our routines, we finished learning the vocabulary words in our PAWS Schoolwide Charter, and our returning students used the last of their saved PAWS Cards in a raffle! 

Students won Air Pods, a Stanley water bottle, a Beats Wireless Speaker, a soccer ball, an Adidas backpack…and more! We will roll out our new “PAWS Charter Champion Cards” later this month. Students can earn these cards by not only exhibiting positive interactions, willingness, accountability, and safety, but also demonstrating the emotional intelligence associated with each.

We have a busy month of family events at West Rocks! Save the following dates:

• Wednesday, September 11 Back to School Night (6-8pm)
• Wednesday, September 18 PTA Meeting then SEL Family Night with dinner from Garden Catering (6:30-8)
• 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/. 

We have students using our Verizon Innovation Lab every day both in their related arts class and when their teachers bring them to the space to apply their learning. Check out the picture above! 

Students that have an intervention started this week (A-H days). These are Gifted and Talented, as well as Math and Reading Activity. It appears in PowerSchool and the teachers communicated to families. Please contact the teacher or grade level counselor for more information.

Please look for a separate Parent Square Post about “Back to School Night” this Wednesday, September 11! Doors open at 5:55 pm and parents should report directly to their student’s homeroom. They will receive a hard copy of the schedule there. Parents will follow a modified schedule by visiting classrooms, and meeting staff. 

There is a lot of information in this week’s post below. Please review carefully and contact the appropriate staff with questions or for more information! 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,
Adam Reynolds
Principal, West Rocks Middle School

EVENTS AND GROUPS

WRMS After School Programming 24-25

A full guide and schedule of our offerings will be shared at Back to School Night this Wednesday!

There will be sports, clubs, enrichment activities, and more! Be on the lookout for more communication from me and our Athletic Director Miss Holly Cammarota (cammarotah@norwalkps.org). Some of the offerings are included below.

PAWS After-School Program Begins Monday, 9/9
Our PAWS After-School Program begins this Monday, 9/9! Registration is open through the link provided! (Registration Link: 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 bussing home as well (Updates to follow on that). Please email any questions to Ryan Perry at perryr@norwalkps.org

Fall Intramural Travel Sports – Tryouts for Football and Field Hockey
Tryouts for Girls Field Hockey and Boys Touch/Flag Football will be held on Tuesday 9/17, Wednesday 9/18, Thursday 9/19 from 3-4:30pm. Any students interested in trying out must submit a permission slip using the link to the Google Form prior to the start of tryouts. https://forms.gle/Uop2iPBgTsCw445N9 Direct questions to our Athletic Director Miss Holly Cammarota (cammarotah@norwalkps.org).

Esports Team
We will be playing in the Generation Esports' Middle School League among thousands of other middle schools from around the country! After school: Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 3 to 5pm. Direct questions to Dr. Maria Foxt (foxm@norwalkps.org). 

Click on the attached Google Form to get more information and to Sign up for a Team Meeting and Tryouts! https://forms.gle/88r1JUkgyqtcyan79

Yearbook Club
THE PROUD, THE FEW, THE YEARBOOK STAFF! As a Yearbook Club Volunteer, you will wear many hats! It’s fun, ask any Yearbook Club Member. We work hard and play harder!

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.org

Once all the applications are collected, Dr Fox will invite you to an informational meeting before the Yearbook Club starts meeting. https://forms.gle/hDiLm7DZcZNMpv4J6

WRMS Drama Club – Shrek Jr! 
Join us for an informational meeting on Sept. 17th to hear about this year's Spring musical, Shrek Jr. All students are welcome! Direct questions to Dr. Sara Golding (goldings@norwalkps.org) Check out the flyer using this link: SHREK Jr

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 to Miss Sabol (sabolr@norwalkps.org) if you have any questions. 

ACADEMICS, PROGRAMS, AND CAMPAIGNS

Verizon User Agreement
By the end of this week, every student was issued a Chromebook and a charger. Please complete the USER AGREEMENT in order to maintain the use of the Verizon device and data plan. This year, damages and lost items will be the financial responsibility of students and families. Chargers should remain at home for charging each night.

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 20th 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 
• To purchase a pink WRMS T-shirt please use the following link: WRMS Pink T-Shirt Order Form

 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 HERE. 

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. 

PTA UPDATE AND UPCOMING DATES

Please utilize our calendar on our school website: https://wrms.norwalkps.org/

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