WHMS Counselor Newsletter
May 2023
Upcoming Events
May 2, 3 - Math PSSA Testing
May 9, 10 - Science PSSA testing (8th grade only)
May 23, 24 - Algebra 1 Keystone testing (Algebra 1 students only)
May 22 - WHMS Parent Orientation (re-scheduled from May 11)
June 1 - Last Day of school (4th quarter ends)
June 7 - Report Cards Posted
The guidance office receives information about local summer camps and activities in which your child may have an interest. Below is a list of some of things our office has been made aware of. The list is for your information only. Camps and activities are neither school sponsored nor school related.
Maestro Minds School of Music - Located in Irwin, this organization is a dedicated group of musicians whose wish is to instill the love of music in children and adults, regardless of age and ability. They offer classes on voice, instrument and musical theater. Performing arts camps are available in June and July. Here is their Summer Camp brochure
YMCA Greensburg - YMCA offers Summer Adventure Camps starting June 5th through August 18th. Adventures include outdoor activities, daily swimming, local excursions, theme related crafts, educational projects, character development and weekly field trips. Here is a direct link to the YMCA Adventure Camp Summer Camp brochure
Nike Youth Soccer Camp - For kids ages 5-14. The camp is scheduled for June 19th through June 23rd at Cardinal Park in Latrobe, and will be run by the Saint Vincent College coaching staff members and current collegiate players. Here is the Nike Soccer camp brochure.
Westmoreland Community College Summer Camps - WCCC offers a wide variety of summer camps and clinics in a different areas. Examples include, sports, culinary, science and career. To view what is offered click here and then on the left under “browse”, drop down the “Kids and Youth” tab.
IUP's GenCyber Summer camp - Here is an excellent opportunity for Middle to High School students interested in learning more about Cybersecurity. IUP's GenCyber Summer camp is supported by the NSA and NSF. The camp is 100% free to students and will be held from June 12-16. Here is the camp brochure.
Young Marines - Although the Young Marines do not conduct a summer camp, their activities are year-long. These activities include weekly unit meetings, community service projects, and drug resistance education along with wilderness, leadership, first aid and scuba training. All of their activities emphasize the importance of self-discipline, self-confidence, health and fitness, academic achievement, and becoming a responsible citizen. For more information contact Jody McGinty 724-261-7078.
Scheduling Update
Eighth Grade students finished scheduling and their courses for 9th grade were entered into Skyward. Parents of next year’s 9th graders can go into Skyward Family Access and see what their students have signed up for. Here are directions on how to view your child’s course requests.
Sixth and Seventh Grade. Seventh grade students have completed making their choices for electives next year. 7th graders should have returned their 8th grade elective form signed by parents or guardians. 6th and 7th grades courses have not been entered into Skyward as of yet due to the merging of the middle schools. Once the middle school rosters have been finalized, courses will be entered and parents will be able to view them in Skyward.
School Climate Survey
Parents and guardians of WHMS students should have received a letter from central administration about the 2023 School Climate Survey. This survey is anonymous and conducted annually with students, school staff, parents and community members all having the opportunity to respond. Here are the links for:
Parents and Guardians of students in the district
W.E.B. Gem
A new style for Middle School Orientation is coming to HASD. It is called WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) through the Boomerang Project. What will happen? Only Sixth graders will come to school on the first day of the school year. We begin by having all 6th graders enter the gym with music and excitement. We will have trained 8th grade students who are going to be trained WEB leaders. These leaders will take students in small groups to do some fun cooperative activities. They will also take their groups around to show them the building. The goal of the day is for them to meet each other, feel welcomed, feel calm and eager to start middle school. We are still in the process of planning all the details and will be training our WEB leaders in the spring and 2 days before school starts. It is an organized chaos of great activities. Here is the brochure with more information.
March Madness Winners
Advisory groups competed against each other in this year’s March Madness Challenge. The top 3 Advisory teams were Mrs Ulery’s group took first, Mr. Killen’s group was second and Mrs. Blasko’s advisory group was 3rd. These groups are awarded the Principals Cup for term 3. Term 4 Principals cup will be awarded to the advisory groups with the best overall attendance for term 4. Congratulations to those three advisory teams.
Mental Health Awareness Week Pics
In this link you will be able to view some photos from the Wellness Fair and the Therapy Dog visit during the March 13-17 Mental Health Awareness Week.
Helpful Tips
In this section of our newsletter we want to pass on to parents some helpful information. Here you may find helpful tips on how to navigate school applications like Skyward and Google Classroom. In addition, we will include information on apps your children may have on their devices and cyber safety alerts.
PC Magazine’s Best Parental Control Software of 2023. If you are looking to monitor your child on their phones, here is a review from PC magazine on a number of options.
What is Discord? Here is the Shape the Sky review on this popular social networking app that has been in the news recently.
A.I. voices mimicking loved ones in an emergency. Here is a Shape the Sky blog post about scammers using AI to mimic loved ones voices to scam vulnerable people out of thousands of dollars.
A.I. now built into Snapchat. Here is an article from Business Insider on how Snapchat's "My AI" feature brings ChatGPT into your child's social media.
YOUR WHMS SCHOOL COUNSELORS
Mr. Ray Killen killenr@hasdpa.net (724) 850-2147
Ms. Judy Varacalli varacallij@hasdpa.net (724) 850-2146
Please visit our WHMS School Counselor website
Please visit the WHMS School Calendar
March WHMS Counselor Newsletter