WBMS Friday Notes
Sept 11th-15th
Reflections from Ms. Perkins
WBMS Parents and Guardians,
Although this week was filled with the unexpected, our students came in on Thursday ready to roll and quickly filled the hallways with the learning buzz. They jumped into reviews and then got down to the business of inquiring new knowledge. Our new students shared a special breakfast and discovered they were not alone; there are close to 200 new students to the Webb Bridge community this year. They come from different cities in Georgia, various states, and numerous countries. In addition, our eighth graders made initial preparations for the South Georgia Trip and IOWA testing, which begins next Monday. While it was not a long academic week, it was a week our students will remember. No matter your circumstance during the recent storms, I hope you were able to enjoy the added time with your students. Happy Weekend!
In collaboration,
Rebecca Williams Perkins
Principal, Webb Bridge Middle School
Dates To Remember
Sept 18,19,25,26,27- IOWA Testing 8th Grade
Sept 19- Interium Progress Reports go home
Sept 20- Community Balance (no HW, tests, quizzes, etc.)
Sept 22- SGC Meeting @ 7:30am in the PLR
Sept 25-28- Book Fair
Sept 28- Webster Awards
Sept 29- Fall Picture Retake
Sept 29- SOS- Signs of Suicide Prevention
Oct 2- Fall TAG testing
BOOK FAIR- Sept 25th -28th
Hurricane Relief Request
As part of the citizenship Webb Way component, we will be partnering with Alpharetta High School to collect supplies for schools impacted by the recent hurricanes. We will begin our collection next Wednesday, and both AHS and WBMS will share more information early next week.
Advisory Connect Groups Need Your Help!
The WBMS Advisory team is proud to announce the kick-off of our 2017-2018 CONNECT Communities and we NEED YOUR HELP!
Why CONNECT Communities? Student, parent, and staff feedback indicates that our advisory program is meeting the academic needs of our students and building lasting socio-emotional awareness but perhaps not giving students an opportunity to share their interests with one another. So this year, we wanted to give students an opportunity to CONNECT with other students and advisors that share similar interests!
What are CONNECT Communities? Our advisors have created over 60 communities for 7th and 8th grade students, including Wall Climbing, Aviation Club, Kickball, College Football Nation, and Eat Around the World!, just to name a few. Students have selected 4 communities that peaked their interest and will be rotating through those CONNECT communities every few weeks.
How can you help? In order to operate a full years worth of events we are asking for new or gently used items to be donated by the families in our school. The items requested are listed below:
• 7th grade parents: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4aa9ab22a6fa7-7thgrade
• 8th grade parents: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4aa9ab22a6fa7-8thgrade
We greatly appreciate your support of this program and look forward to adding this new dynamic to our advisory program!
PINK Out T-Shirts On Sale at Lunch
Bingo- September 27, 2017
Reflections- Deadline October 11th
Do you love expressing yourself through the arts?
Then the REFLECTIONS CONTEST is for you!
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 11th
Please see the attached flyer for more details!
Competition is open for all students in the following categories:
- dance choreography
- music composition
- literature
- visual arts
- photography
- Special Artist (criteria on-line)
- film production
SOS- Signs of Suicide Prevention
We will be presenting the Signs of Suicide Prevention Program again this year to all 6th grade students and 7th and 8th grade students new to WBMS. A parent information/opt-out letter will go home with the 4 1/2 week Interim Progress Report.
If you do not want your child to participate, please complete the opt out letter and turn it in to a teacher.
Tina Mathewson, 6th Grade Counselor
Leslie Nuckolls, 7th Grade Counselor
Anne Ramsey, 8th Grade Counselor
Volleyball Tryouts
Tryouts for the WBMS Volleyball Team
Girls – September 18th and 19th after school
Boys – September 21st after school
Information packets available in the gym or the WBMS website under Athletics
See Coach Sell for questions
Tennis Tryouts
Tryouts for the WBMS Tennis Team
October 2nd and 3rd after school
Information packets available in the gym or the WBMS website under Athletics
See Coach Sell for questions
Jr Raider Basketball Tryouts
Come tryout for the Jr Raider competitive basketball teams. Tryouts will be held on Sept. 10, 17 and 24. Visit our websites to learn more and register online prior to the first tryout. Players must live in the Alpharetta High School attendance zone.
Boys (5th - 8th grade teams): www.jrraiderbasketball.com
Girls (6th - 8th grade teams): www.ahsjrladyraiders.org
Jr. Raider Baseball- 13u
Are you interested in being a Jr. Raider Football Trainer?
ATTENTION 6th, 7th or 8th grade girls who would like to be an important part of the football team and is not cheering. You will get to help out at all football games by providing the players with water and helping coaches with anything they need. It is a great opportunity to get involved with your Jr. Raider Team! We especially need 6th Grade Girls!!
Sign up now: https://goo.gl/forms/pwYB7vXei7Hq77xX2
Questions: contact
Caroline Kelly carolinemoorekelly@gmail.com or
Lora Bunarek lbunarek@gmail.com
Science Olympiad
WBMS is looking for students interested in participating in this year’s Science Olympiad. This is your chance to showcase your talents as a young aspiring scientist! This will be the fourth year for WBMS to participate in Science Olympiad. We will assemble a team of some of the best students from the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Please see Mr. Clark or Ms. Fernald if you have any questions prior to the meeting date.
Jr. Beta Club
1. Our next meeting is October 4th @ 7:45 in the cafeteria. Remember meetings are mandatory. If for some reason you are unable to attend, please make sure you contact us via Edmodo or email.
2. Convention- Make sure you are thinking about which category you want to participate in. Convention is Nov 29-Dec 2.
Let us know which competition you are interested in (must be logged in through your Office 365 account to access form)- WBMS Convention Interest Survey
Find out more about convention here: https://www.smore.com/zym5f
3. Fall Fundraiser 10/5-10/19- Cherrydale Farms "Home Essentials" and "Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough." This fundraiser is online and in person and will help cover some of the cost of Convention. Our Cherrydale Farms representative will be out to speak with us at our Oct Meeting, but we wanted to give you the links so you can look through these now and email them to family members. Items will be here in time for Thanksgiving.
Preview the items using the links below (you will receive a hard copy catalog at our Oct Meeting)
Reminder:
If you were not able to attend our first meeting, please check Edmodo for details on what you missed. Students will need to bring their dues to the Front Office and should have completed the online application form (if you are using a check- please make it out to WBMS). A link to this can be found on the official invitation letter and on Edmodo (group code also found on the invitation letter). If you have any questions see Ms. Pardee or Ms. Bernhardt.Join Chinese Club
Do you want to learn traditional Chinese culture through fun activities, such as tasting Chinese Moon Cakes, cooking dumplings, folding origami, practicing chopsticks, writing
cal-lig-raphy, playing Chinese Yoyo, Chinese Checkers, practicing Chinese martial art, practicing math on an ab-a-cus and lots of more? Come to Ms. He’s classroom 105 to get a registration form and a meeting schedule. Our monthly meeting is scheduled on the first Friday after 8th period each month.
Join FBLA
Students are welcome to join FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), a new chapter for the middle school. The Mission of FBLA is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs. Our next meeting is Friday, September 8 at 7:40 a.m. in the Media Center. To join, please submit a check for $25 made payable to “WBMS” for national and state dues as well as a WBMS FBLA t-shirt, and give the check to Dr. Oravetz in Room 120. We look forward to having students in Grades 6, 7 and 8 join soon!
Join Math Club
Students interested in competitive math are invited to join the WBMS Math Club, which meets every Monday morning at 8 a.m. in the media center. Dues are ten dollars, which covers registration for nine before-school competitions throughout the year. Other weekend competitions may also be offered. Please see Mrs. Wood, Mrs. Kelly, or Ms. Brown for further information.
Join Reading Club
The WBMS Reading Club offers opportunities to spotlight and promote reading for fun and information, as well as various reading-related celebrations. The club meets each Friday before school in the media center; see Ms. Brown for further information.
Join Bridge Club
Bridge is a card game played around the world by millions, including billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. A challenging game for people of all ages, bridge requires skill and quick thinking to succeed. Learning bridge has been associated with many positive effects, such as improving memory, critical thinking, visualization, and sequencing and, more importantly, is fun and engaging for those who learn it. The bridge club meets every Wednesday in the media center immediately after school until 5:15 p.m. We hope to see you there!
Webb Bridge Process to Performance After School Acting Classes
Thursdays 4:15-5:45 This session will work on improvisation, scene study, physicality, character development, and audition techniques. Students will also work on one-act plays. This is a phenomenal class to work skills as well as gain stage experience!
For more information: www.buildingcharacter.org
email: info@buildingcharacter.org
Lost and Found
All lunch boxes and water bottles need to be put near the cafeteria on the left side entering the café, and will be donated or thrown away the last day every week.
All items in the lost and found next to the clinic will be donated or thrown away on the 15th of every month.
All Items of value: glasses, electronics, jewelry etc. should be given to the front office.
Helping Children/Youth After A Loss
If you have a child who has experienced the loss of a parent, sibling, or other close loved one, there is a FREE weekend retreat for kids 7 years old to a high school senior. Camp MAGIK—Mainly About Grief In Kids (www.campmagik.org) --is a having their weekend retreat October 13-15, 2017 (deadline is October 4th). There is also a retreat available for adults who want to process their own grief with other adults who are grieving. It is held on the same campus and led by professional bereavement counselors. Transportation to/from the camp is available. Please contact Rene Searles McClatchey, PhD, at rsm@saf.com, 404.790.0140, for more information.
Low Cost Internet
Get assistance with low-cost internet providers for your student’s Surface by clicking this link:
http://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
This link has a listing of various programs in our area offering low cost internet connectivity for qualifying families.
As always, please exercise caution when reviewing options and choose what will work best for your income and family’s need.
Have any extra sports equipment?
WBMS's International Night
It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the International Festival - Webb Bridge Welcomes the World - on Thursday, October 26, 2017 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. We will gather together to experience the diverse cultures that make up our Webb Bridge family!
We look forward to having colorful displays which teach us about your cultural heritage. Displays could include ethnic foods, dress, artifacts, pictures, music, games, activities, etc. In addition to the displays, we welcome performances which represent various countries.
Please fill out the form below to indicate your interest in volunteering for the Festival. We will collect the forms, coordinate and schedule the activities. We will provide tables for the displays, as well as TVs, DVD players and other AV equipment as needed. For any individual questions, please contact:
James Barket (Barket@fultonschools.org),
Beena Shah (shahb@fultonschools.org), or
Michelle Garner (garnerm@fultonschools.org)
We look forward to this exciting and educational event and hope to see many of you here!
Bingo Volunteers Needed
In order to make Bingo a successful event, a few volunteers are needed. Please sign up on Sign Up Genius.
Please Support PTA
Please Support Your PTA!
It’s not too late to support your PTA!! Without your help, the WBMS PTA will not be able to fund the many worthwhile school-wide programs and events that are planned for this year. In previous years, your donations have enabled the PTA to fulfill many direct teacher and classroom needs, but we need your help to reach this goal. We can't do it without you!
Donating online is easy at www.WBMSPTA.org. If you prefer a paper form, those are available in the front office.
Thank You for supporting YOUR WBMS PTA!
What is SGC?
The Webb Bridge School Governance Council is already hard at work this year. When Fulton County became a Charter System, School Governance Councils were created to reflect the stakeholders for each school – faculty, parents, and community members. The School Governance Council concentrates on the culture, identity, and mission of Webb Bridge and are tasked with creating the Strategic Plan for our school. As the district Strategic Plan was updated this summer, this fall the School Governance Council will be working on creating our new, updated Strategic Plan for Webb Bridge.
Strategic Plan
Our updated plan will be built “bucket by bucket” to align with the districts new Strategic Plan. We are incorporating results of our Needs Assessment Data and using your feedback to update our Strategic Plan.
The Fulton County Strategic Plan: http://www.fultonschools.org/en/Pages/StrategicPlan2022.aspx
The first “bucket” we will work on for our Strategic Plan will be Student Achievement – how we can better prepare students academically to have the foundations and skills needed to navigate life beyond graduation.
Meetings and Public Comment
Webb Bridge’s School Governance Council meets in the morning one Friday each month in room 116; our next meeting is Friday, September 22nd. We hold a Public Comment period starting at 8:10 AM. Please feel free to attend and help us start our planning! If you cannot come to issue public comments, please fill out the form below.
My Keyboard Isn't Responding
- Detach the keyboard, then re-attach it. The student should hear a solid click when it is attached correctly. If this does not work, restart the tablet. Finally, run updates AT HOME using the instructions if the other actions do not work.
Please Support Our Business Partners!!
Thank you for taking good care of our teachers!
4915 Windward Parkway, Alpharetta, GA 30004 (678) 209-2229
2017-2018 School Year
First Semester
August 1 – 4 ........................................... Preplanning for teachers
August 7......................................................... First Day of School
September 4........................................Labor Day (schools closed)
October 6 ......................................Teacher Workday (students off)
October 9 ......................................Columbus Day (schools closed)
November 20 – 24.............. Thanksgiving Holidays (schools closed)
December 21 ....................................... Last Day of First Semester
December 22 – 29 ...........................Winter Break (schools closed)
Second Semester
January 1 – 3...................................Winter Break (schools closed)
January 4.......................................Teacher Workday (students off)
January 5....................Professional Development Day (students off)
January 8.........................................First Day of Second Semester
January 15..............Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday (schools closed)
February 16*................... Student/Teacher Holiday (schools closed)
February 19 ......................President’s Day Holiday (schools closed)
March 9*.......................................Teacher Workday (students off)
March 12....................Professional Development Day (students off)
April 2 – 6 .......................................Spring Break (schools closed)
May 24........................................................... Last Day of School
May 25.................................................................. Post Planning
May 28...............................Memorial Day Holiday (schools closed)
* Designated as inclement weather make-up days (if needed).
Our School Release Days
These are the dates approved through the RFF process as part of School Governance. WBMS students will NOT attend school on the following dates:
September 1, 2017
October 5, 2017
January 16, 2018
March 8, 2018