Dear West Middle School Families,

We are reaching the end of the school year and have a lot of activities over the next few weeks in order to wrap up the school year in an exciting way! Our honor’s assemblies are scheduled for the week of May 21st. Eighth grade will take place on May 21st, seventh grade on May 22nd, and sixth grade on May 23rd. We also have fifth into sixth grade activity night on May 10th, “Greenager” Day, the music booster concert, 8th Grade Bon Voyage Party, and a Michigan Adventure trip for some of our children! Many sports events continue to bring families together and we really enjoy hearing the encouragements and cheers! Not only are we wrapping up items for this year, but we are also planning for the upcoming school year. Staffing, room assignments, gathering new resource materials, re-aligning curriculum, implementing all of the transition plans especially with World Language, and other pertinent duties are shaping up! The teachers and staff have worked so hard to make sure this is one special place.

Please remember Staff Appreciation Week is May 7th through May 11th. I appreciate the folks who have responded to my e-mails and I am still encouraging others to take part. We are so lucky to have such a warm, dedicated, professional staff and this is one small way to give back! I thank you so much for sharing your children with us!

Warm Regards,

Pam Alfieri , WMS Principal

Dear West Middle School Families,

Can you believe our third marking period has just ended!! This year is flying bye and before you know it students will be beginning the next grade level. We have many programs supporting academic needs including peer tutoring, language art support classes, math support classes, resource period, after school tutoring on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursdays, and a couple of retired teachers coming in to help children in mathematics. We encourage you to look at Parent Internet Viewer this last marking period because sometimes when the weather turns warm our middle school students may need an extra push. We want everyone to grow and succeed and are willing to help in anyway.

Also please look closely at all of the events coming up. Spring brings a whirlwind of various activities and we would love to see many of you at our functions from Honor’s Assemblies to athletic, music, and field trips. Our doors are always open!

Warm Regards,

Pam Alfieri
WMS Principal

Dear West Middle School Families,

Thank you for participating in our Parent Orientation Meetings! We have begun our process for enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year and have already had our upcoming sixth grade tours. It was a pleasure to see the excitement on their faces as they searched for Titans throughout the building while getting acclimated to the educational environment. Our seventh and eighth graders have also filled out next year’s requests and we are beginning to build the sections for next year.

National History presentations, the regional spelling bee competition, our Japanese exchange students’ visit, a Chinese contingency tour, a performance of our after school drama club, an Improv Club performance, receiving the Michigan Youth Arts Grant, Explore testing in the seventh and eighth grades, and the recipient of a Grand Traverse Stewardship Initiative Grant have been some of the activities that have recently taken place in the last month or so. Keeping up with all of the great initiatives is a joy!

Also please remember Parent Internet Viewer is at your fingertips and is updated weekly by teachers. If you need assistance in any way, please contact us whenever the need arises. West Middle School is here to serve you and we thank you for sharing your children with us!

Warm Regards,

Pam Alfieri
WMS Principal

Dear West Middle School Families,

Thank you to all the parents who attended our Parent Orientations on January 24th and January 26th. If you have any questions in regards to your child’s registration for next year, please just pick up the phone so that we may assist you in anyway! We also have changed our practice and planned tours for incoming 6th grade students at West Middle School during the end of January or at the beginning of February. This hopefully will generate interest in their long term educational planning as well as provide excitement for their upcoming move to West Middle School. Please feel free to drop in and see what is going on at West Middle School! We will also be setting up an evening event for all grades to attend a “Big Picture Night” that will deepen your understanding of your student’s educational pathway. More information will be forthcoming soon.

Our second semester began on January 23rd and first semester grades were sent home with your student. If you have not received your student’s grade, please contact your wing office. Remember, Parent Internet Viewer is at your fingertips and is updated weekly by teachers. West Middle School is a wonderful place and we thank you for sharing your children with us! Warm Regards,

Pam Alfieri
WMS Principal

Dear West Middle School Families,

Welcome back from your holiday break! I personally want to thank our school family for making a tremendous difference during this past holiday season. Not only did our school raise over $1,000 for needy families, they gave away turkey dinners, donated to the Humane Society, provided holiday music at the Salvation Army and Senior Social, gave to the United Way Sock Drive, worked at the soup kitchen, collected non-perishable items for a food drive, and did acts of kindness throughout the building!!!!!!!!! The generosity, kindness, and thoughtfulness on students, staff, families, and community businesses brought delight and joy. It was heartwarming to see everyone pulling together to make a difference.

This month, we will be offering a new opportunity for students in the seventh and eighth grades to join a West Middle School Improv Club. This club will meet on Tuesdays for six weeks beginning January 10th, from 3:00 PM until 5:00 PM. You may sign up at www.tcaps.net/leap.  Registration is fifty dollars. There are a lot of activities at West, so have fun and get involved!

Looking forward to another fantastic year,

Pam Alfieri
WMS Principal

Dear West Middle School Families:

Happy holidays! This year is flying by and it has been a pleasure working with these students. They continue to inspire me with their zest, imagination, and wonderment. Being in classrooms with teachers focusing on promoting meaningful conversations, higher-level thinking, engagement of all learners in rich ideas, and connecting to real world situations is rewarding to observe each and every day. Students bring joy and intellectual character to the building with their youthful outlook on life. I hope that you and your family enjoy this holiday season and take time to reflect on all the gifts that we should never take for granted. I am so lucky to work with great families, friends, and supportive community members, which make West Middle School one special place!

Warm Regards,

Pamela Alfieri

West Middle School Principal

Dear West Middle School Families:

Thank you so much for your support during the MEAP window and participating at Parent/Teacher conferences. The teachers enjoyed sharing pertinent information with you on the progress of each child in the building. Our teams have a collective understanding of the students and connecting with the families puts us all on the same page to meet the needs of these fine young people. We are always looking for volunteers especially for our National Junior Honor’s Society tutoring program, noon duty activities, school library, and field trips. If you are able to assist in any of these areas, please do not hesitate to call 933-8200.

A big thank you goes to Shawna Asher, Alison Arnold, Larry Burden, and Angelo Vozza for promoting a cancer fundraiser at Jacob’s Maze, owned by Mike Witkop and Steve Fouch. West Middle School raised a little over $4,000 dollars with all the help from our school community!!!! Each one of us can make a significant difference in many lives when we work together!

Enjoy the fall,

Pamela Alfieri

West Middle School Principal

Dear West Middle School Families,

We have been up and running with your wonderful children and are enjoying their smiling faces on a daily basis. We really appreciated your presence at the Open Houses and were so excited to see the enthusiastic families throughout the building! There is rich learning taking place in all subject areas and shortly we will be moving into the fall MEAP testing window. This year the testing dates commence on October 11^th through October 28^th. Students need a good night’s sleep and a nutritious breakfast in order to do their best during these testing situations. Your help is greatly appreciated by making sure children are on time, rested, and well fed, just like any other day – right!!!!

Parent/Teacher Conferences are just around the corner and we will be holding conferences on October 18^th and October 20^th from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. We are asking for parents/guardians with their last names beginning with A through M to try to attend on the 18^th whereas parents/guardians with their last names beginning with N through Z to attend on the 20^th. If for some reason this is not possible, you are welcome to attend on either night. Teams will be contacting you about where they are meeting and we will also have team rooms on a chart for your convenience when you arrive.

Also remember that Parent Internet Viewer is at your fingertips as well as teacher’s emails and phone numbers in order to keep our communications open. The website is constantly updated and many Moodle sites from classrooms may be of assistance during the evening hours. We hope every child is feeling connected, safe, inspired, engaged, and challenged at West Middle School, so please keep us posted on your thoughts and feelings in regards to your child’s education. Have a terrific fall!

Warm regards,

Pam Alfieri

Dear West Middle School Families,

Once again, this school year the West Middle School Smaller Learning Community Experience will have students placed on core academic teams with rich elective offerings that will develop deeper personal relationships and still maintain grade specific lunches. Teachers will have common planning hours, which will promote increased learning opportunities. A smaller learning environment strengthens connections between students, parents and staff as well as provides teams flexible scheduling to better accommodate lessons. All of us at West Middle School are joyful that this opportunity is taking place!!!

Please visit our very active website to access important information throughout the year. West Middle School relies heavily on communicating pertinent information through our website at www.tcaps.net/wms. The district website, busing routes, AlertNow messages, newsletters, newspaper articles, television reports and other communication tools are at you fingertips. Parent Internet Viewer also connected to our webpage allows parents, guardians, and student’s access to student grades, assignments, and attendance. This informative tool will be ready to go in September! Passwords will be given out shortly after the start of the school year. We also encourage you to call, stop in, or let us know if you are in need of assistance. We are here to help everyone feel comfortable in our great school!

Warm regards,

Pam Alfieri