WBMS Friday Notes
October 21, 2022
Reflections from Ms. Williams
WBMS Parents and Guardians –
What a packed week! Here are just some highlights that made this week sparkle:
- Our 7th grade Fine Arts students and educators hosted an outstanding concert for our 7th grade teachers and administrators.
- We held our first volleyball game of the year. Go, Jaguars!
- Our students enjoyed new recess equipment thanks to our PTA.
- We celebrated Unity Day with student reflections, which were made into a Unity Day Tree, wore orange, and enjoyed music at lunch.
- We welcomed three published authors to our media center who shared their writing process with students.
- Our chorus held its first concert of the year on Monday night, and it was incredible!
- Our cafeteria observed School Lunch Week, which included themed meals and guest servers (administrators).
- Our PTA celebrated our hardworking bus drivers with treats.
Beyond those highlights our teachers are continuing to lean into student collaboration and student ownership of their learning, which I am observing more and more in our classrooms. Additionally, one of our academic goals this year is to expand our students’ vocabulary acquisition, and our teachers are consistently weaving mini vocabulary lessons into classes.
I hope you all stay warm this weekend and enjoy your family time.
In collaboration -
Rebecca Williams
Principal, Webb Bridge Middle School
Dates to Remember
October 28 - AHS Pink Out, Wear Pink to School
November 8 -Election Day, Remote Day for Students
WBMS Assessment Calendar Links:
Have a question about what tests or quizzes your student has coming up? Check out the Assessment Calendar!
Teachers place all major assessments on these calendars:
6th Grade Assessment Calendar Link
LOST AND FOUND
Meet the Author Series! Deadline 10/25
Webb Bridge MS students have the opportunity to attend a presentation by Soman Chainini, author of the School for Good and Evil series, which was also just released on Netflix this week. We want to offer students a chance to join our reading and library STREAM council club members for the event at Innovation Academy. Seats on the field trip bus will be selected randomly for these additional seats; sign up at bit.ly/SCAuthorFT by midnight on 10/25. IA is also offering presales of his book at bit.ly/goodandevilbookIA with an order deadline of 10/21.
PBIS Corner-WBMS is now a 2021-2022 GaPBIS Distinguished School!
Week of 10-17
Tier 2 – Flourishing Friday
This week during the morning announcements students listened to a guided imagery mindfulness story. The students were reminded while listening that if their mind wanders to bring it back to the story. The title of this guided imagery is “An Enchanted Fall Forest”
Here is the story the students listened to:
Imagine yourself now, walking down a well-worn path in a beautiful forest. The trees have changed and now you see an amazing display of colors – gold, red, orange, and speckles of green. It’s the most beautiful, enchanting fall forest you’ve ever seen.
Leaves crunch beneath your feet as you walk along. The air smells so crisp and fresh. The coolness tickles your nose and ears. It feels so very wonderful to be out here, in nature.
In the distance you hear a waterfall. You carefully walk towards the rushing water sound. As you come to the path’s end, you see the rushing stream. You see the most beautiful free flowing waterfall right in front of you. The sun reflects off the water, casting bright spots and little rainbows everywhere. You sit down a while and enjoy the spectacular scenery and listen as the water flows against the rocks. Here any stress or worries you have seem to be washed away for good. The sound of the waterfall rushing down clears your mind and washes away any frustrations. Allow the sounds to wash any worries away… just let them go. You may notice that you’re feeling calm and relaxed here in this place. This magical fall forest is a special place just for you. You can come back here at any time to calm your body and mind and let go of any worries or stress.
GaPBIS-Georgia's Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports
Important Message from FCS
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we approach the upcoming holidays, it important to remind parents and families that candy, desserts, baked goods (store bought/homemade), or any other edible items are not to be sold or distributed at school or on the bus unless approved in advance by school administration. Per our Student Code of Conduct, students who do not adhere to this expectation are subject to disciplinary action for violation 7A: Failure to Follow Rules and all candy or food items will be confiscated. Please discuss this expectation and possible consequences with your student(s) as this will be taken very seriously. This is due to recent national and state reports about students sharing edible items and synthetic medications with other students that contain very harmful substances.
Please know that taking this measure will help us maintain a safe environment for all students. You can help us protect your student(s) by requesting that they not eat anything given to them by another person, anything that they have not brought from your home or anything not in its original sealed package.
Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping all of our students safe at school!
We Have Decided Youth Leadership and Wellness Summit!
Webb Bridge Middle School’s Assistant Principal Carmen Hurst and the LRJ Foundation are excited to announce the comeback of the “We Have Decided Youth Leadership and Wellness Summit!”
This year’s off-site full-day conference-style event will take place Thursday, December 1, 2022, at the Forsyth Conference Center. Students will depart from the school to engage with speakers and educational sessions surrounding art, music, leadership, communication, mental wellness, and more! Lunch and refreshments will be provided including transportation returning to the school for regular dismissal.
Wellness and Leadership Professionals/Speakers will be facilitating the workshops and presentations (e.g., licensed therapists, teachers, Executive Professionals, professional speakers, artists, and high school student mentors).
We Have Decided is a statement to act on your thoughts, goals, and aspirations in one’s life through positive influence and life skills- to ultimately make today better than yesterday. The goal is to educate and empower students to manage the unique stressors in society and everyday life, along with teaching concrete skills to improve leadership abilities and support each other.
· Registration is open for the 2022 We Have Decided Youth Leadership event, click here to register.
· We encourage your child’s participation. There are options in the form to request scholarship to assist financial needs and opportunity for you if able to help a student attend with limited resources.
· More information to come in the following weeks. Want to learn more about this event? Visit the website and see the video highlight for the 2020 summit, click here to view.
Listed below are a sampling of the leadership and wellness breakout sessions that will be a part of your student’s day at the Youth leadership summit. We can’t wait to share this great event with them!
Yoga and mind-body relaxation and wellness
Music performer and speaker Saul Paul
Art Creativity – with Ashley Miller
LRJ Foundations session on Mental health, wellness, emotions regulation and social media
Healthy communication and problem solving
Resiliency and bouncing back from Adversity. By Fulton County Schools, Social Emotional Support (SES) School Social Worker Stephanie Schuette.
For more information https://www.lrjfoundation.com/youth-leadership-and-wellness-summit/
Picture Retake Day-October 25!
National PTA Reflections Deadline extended to October 25!
Reflections 2022-2023 . The 2022-2023 Georgia PTA Reflections program theme is Show Your Voice! The key to the Reflections program is the student interpreting the prompt any way they want to - this is yours to think about and express however you desire!
For further information visit: https://wbmspta.membershiptoolkit.com/ptareflections2022-23
WEAR PINK ON OCTOBER 28!
Canned Food Drive for Kindness Week!
Attention 8th Grade Parents! Yearbook Ad deadline 11/7!
Don’t loose your chance to purchase an ad in the yearbook to celebrate your child! Please read the attached flyer to know how to purchase your ad today! Deadline to purchase is 11/7/22!
Attention 8th Grade Parents
Good afternoon perspective families,
My name is Scott Kent, and I am the principal of Innovation Academy, an FCS STEM Magnet High School. We are beginning our school tours for potential 9th grade students for the 2023-2024 school year. Below is the link to our website where you can find our signup genius to register for our morning and afternoon tours led by our amazing students and staff!
We encourage you to attend one of our tours to experience all that IA has to offer our perspective students. Our tours will include:
- Visiting our curricular pathway classrooms and labs, which are Engineering, Healthcare, and IT.
- An overview of our project-based instruction which provides a rigorous curriculum that prepares our students to be dynamic leaders.
- A preview into the student experience, where our students take on real-world problems and create innovative solutions.
Looking forward to seeing you at IA!
Volunteers Needed for Recess
Link to sign up for recess
Links for Band Flyer
Photos:https://alpharettaband.zenfolio.com/
(money spent on photos purchased go directly to the AHS Band Program)
AHS Band Website: https://www.alpharettaband.org/
Social Media:
-this is a private group and members MUST answer the 3 questions in order to be admitted
Digital Citizenship
As part of our ongoing efforts to promote digital citizenship within our WBMS community, we encourage you to review the Common Sense Media family media agreement.
Volunteers Needed!
Please click on link to sign up. Thank You!
Media Center:
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showRSVPSignUp/8050c4aa8a928a1fc1-media1
Office volunteers:
Our school was recently named a 2021-2023 National PTA School of Excellence!
To earn this designation WBMS had to demonstrate families feel welcomed and empowered to support student success, and that our PTA is a key partner for continuous school improvement. Becoming a National PTA School of Excellence began with the joint commitment of PTA and our phenomenal administrative team to work together to welcome all families, communicate effectively, support student success, speak up for every child, share power and collaborate with the community. Congratulations and a huge thank you to everyone who helped make this possible!
To learn more about this accomplishment or to support our PTA during the Fall Membership Drive, visit wbmspta.org.
Do you know a family in need at WBMS?
Please reach out to our counseling staff so we can find ways to help.
Our Community Cupboard provides emergency necessities for families in our school experiencing hardship.
Please consider making a donation! Our largest need currently is gift cards in any amount to Kroger or Walmart.
You may leave your donations at the Front Office. Please mark them PTA/Community Cupboard. Thank you!
Please Support Our Community Partners!!
Locker and Backpack Best Practices
Missing an Email from WBMS?
Parents –
Please check your spam/clutter/junk mail for emails from our teachers and staff. We are hearing from many parents that the communication from WBMS is not making it into the main inboxes of our parents.
Thank you!
Checking your student out early?
Items dropped off for students
To report an absence for your student
View board policy and WBMS attendance information here- https://www.fultonschools.org/domain/8783
Interested in Volunteering at WBMS?
All volunteers must complete the Fulton County Schools training in order to volunteer at Webb Bridge. We ask that you complete the training 24 hours prior to the day you are volunteering. You will have to present your ID to the front office the first time you sign in as a volunteer.
Please see the link below to complete training.
Parking at WBMS
Please do not park in Staff Parking spots, even if they are open. Staff parking is not for carpool pickup or drop-off.
WBMS Carpool Information
PULL ALL THE WAY UP TO THE BLUE SIGN
Our carpool line gets VERY long but if everyone follows the carpool pattern, it will move quickly!
- There are two "lanes" the pick-up and the exit lane.
- We've extended the carpool lane -Please pull all the way up to the end of the traffic circle to the BLUE SIGN (see image below).
- It's a "Load and Go" method- once your student is in the car, please carefully merge into the exit lane (yellow arrows- see image below)
**Basic rule---DRIVE THROUGH THE PARKING LOT!
Please, please, please don't be the person who is impatient, skips the parking lot, and drives straight to the circle. You will make a lot of parents mad and its not safe.
No carpool numbers this year.
Yes, there are 2 lines in the circle! 1 is for cars that have already picked up, and 1 is for waiting cars. This goes against what many of us are used to (yes, it is ok to pull out into the left lane after you picked up your child and pass waiting cars in the circle ). If we don't have the system, our line would back up further onto Webb Bridge Rd.
That being said, the left lane in the circle is NOT for student pickup. Super dangerous!
Overall, follow the pattern and the line will move smoothly.
Be aware that the carpool lane starts to fill up very early (around 3:30/3:40) so if you are doing an early checkout the visitor spots are very hard to get in and out of.
Drop Off Times
Morning: Students cannot enter the building before 8:25*
*Unless they are here for a help session/club meeting. Teachers will post their start times on the help session board outside the front office. Once it's time, they will be allowed in the building. If they are not here for a help session/club meeting, students will need to wait outside.
Afternoon: Carpool and walkers are released after the 4:03 Afternoon Announcements.
More information about Carpool and WBMS transportation options- visit our website- https://www.fultonschools.org/Page/23291
Student Success Skills Packet
New Resource for Fulton County Residents
Connect Fulton is a new resource available to residents for financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, and other free or reduced-cost services.
Please click on link for more information http://connectfulton.findhelp.com
Connect Fulton (click for the link) – Families, friends, neighbors, students, etc. can all benefit from this intuitive and easy to use website. Just go to http://connectfulton.findhelp.com and type in your zip code. There are thousands of resources related to just about anything like food, housing, financial assistance, education, childcare, healthcare, etc. There are filters to customize available resources to find the best fit.
On-site Mental Health Partners (click for the link) - WBMS partners with Summit Counseling. If you are interested in Summit Counseling, please reach out to your student’s school counselor.
FCS/WBMS Mental Health Resources
As we start a new year, we want to share important resources for our students and families.
Text4Help (click for the link) - Students experiencing anxiety or stress can receive assistance by anonymously texting their unique school code after dialing into the Text4Help hotline:1-844-201-9946. The certified mental health professionals are provided from district social services partner CHRIS180 and respond to inquiries within three to five minutes. The conversation is completely free, anonymous, and confidential.
Fulton County Schools Resources:
• Universal Remote Learning Resources: https://www.fultonschools.org/universalremotelearning
• URL Parent Learning Support: https://www.fultonschools.org/parentlearningsupport
• FoodStop Distribution Points: https://www.fultonschools.org/foodstop
• Coronavirus Updates: https://www.fultonschools.org/coronavirus
• Community Resources: https://www.fultonschools.org/communityresources
• Code of Conduct: https://www.fultonschools.org/codeofconduct