The Wildcat Chat
What's Happening at Willard? | November 11, 2022
Willard Wildcats Giving Drive
The Willard Wildcats Giving Drive continues through Sunday, November 20. There are two parts to this drive: (1) raising funds to enhance the school experience for Willard’s students, teachers, and staff, and (2) donating items to the Dulles South Food Pantry to help families in our community. The funds raised will be used to create an outdoor learning area, help with the costs of upcoming field trips, provide teacher grants, and support recognition & celebration activities for students, teachers, and staff.
The team that raises the most (a combination of financial donations and food items) will be named the 2022 Turkey Team. This prestigious honor means that your team will be eligible for a variety of prizes and that some of your teachers will be donning turkey garb on the day before our Thanksgiving Break—nice!
To get started on these weeks of giving and help us reach our $50,000 goal, please note the following:
- Visit https://app.memberhub.gives/willardgives. Once there, you will notice that parents will need to register their students, so they can participate in the fundraising portion of this campaign. Each student will then receive a personalized website that can be shared with family and friends to increase the amount of donations raised. You will also notice on the site prize samples and leading advisories!
- Food items may be brought in daily and dropped off in the team boxes outside of each Grade-Level House Office. Also, our phenomenal Health & P.E. Department will help in the collection of non-perishable items as part of an upcoming Turkey Trot on Monday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 22—exciting!
- There will be a chance to earn individual, class, and team rewards including gift cards, Chick-fil-A & donut breakfasts, and more!
Sixth Grade Field Trip Reminders
This Tuesday, November 15, marks our first-ever sixth grade field trip to the Frontier Culture Museum. Our sixth grade social studies team has put together a comprehensive list of reminders for this event, which may be found here (please review them). A few highlights are as follows:
- Attending students should arrive no later than 5:30 a.m., dressed appropriately for an outdoor experience. Buses will leave by 6:00 a.m.— it's exciting!
- Students should check in with their history teachers upon their arrival.
- Students should pack their lunches. Students do not need to bring school materials with them (i.e. chromebooks or binders).
Giving to our Local Animal Shelter
Our Best Buddies Advisory will be sponsoring an animal product drive for the Pet Pantry at the Loudoun County Animal Shelter from now until Tuesday, December 13. Interested students may bring in the following items and check out this video:
- All sizes of canned food cat and dog food is accepted.
- Dry food must be unopened, unexpired, non-prescription adult food. Please do not provide kitten, puppy, or senior food.
- Dry food must weigh between 3 and 8 pounds due to space restrictions.
- Donations may be dropped off at Room 621 or in the grade level house offices, whichever is more convenient.
- Our Best Buddies will come by the house offices checking for donations during advisory.
EF Tours Excitement
Big news, Willard parents —your student has the opportunity to travel to the Global Leadership Conference in Berlin, the Azores, and Lisbon with Ms. Heironimus in the summer of 2024. Ms. Heironimus will be sharing the details in an in-person informational meeting on Wednesday, November 16, at 6:00 p.m. in the Willard Cafeteria. Please use this link to RSVP. If you want any further information, feel free to contact Molly Heironimus at molly.heironimus@lcps.org.
WMS Presents Navigating Middle School
On Thursday, September 29, school counselor Heidi Miles and Instructional Facilitator of Technology Adam Howells presented an in-person parent session titled “Navigating Middle School.” Ms. Miles discussed essential, easy-to-implement organizational strategies to help you and your children manage your schedule and effectively communicate with each other. She also shared ParentVUE navigation tips and introduced a bus stop tracking app. Mr. Howells shared how to best navigate Schoology and circumvent some of its limitations. If you missed out on this exciting event, there’s now a video presentation available (Video Presentation & Slides).
Picture Retakes & Make Ups
WMS Paint & PJ Family Night
Come join in the cozy fun! We will be hosting a Paint in PJs night on Monday, December 12, with the opportunity for families to come from 5:00 p.m.to 6:00 p.m. or from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. There will be hot chocolate, delicious desserts, and holiday movies playing in our Willard Cafeteria, while you paint your choice of winter scene. The cost is $20 per canvas. All supplies (and fun!) will be provided. To reserve your spot in the excitement and purchase your ticket, click on this Paint in PJ's payment link. In addition, please complete this form, so we may properly account for participants. Both the payment and the RSVP Form are due by Wednesday, November 30.
Upcoming Pizza Spirit Night at Vocelli's
Nothing makes Monday Night Football better than a hot fresh pizza from Vocelli Pizza! Join us for the next Willard Spirit Night by ordering from Vocelli Pizza in South Riding on Monday November 14. A portion of all proceeds will be donated to our Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Thank you for your participation!
Holiday Spiritwear Flash Sale
The Holiday Spiritwear Flash Sale will be Monday, November 7 to Wednesday, November 30, with items scheduled for delivery before the holidays. The Back-to-School Flash Sale was so successful that the spiritwear company had to hire additional staff to process all orders! The remaining orders should be complete by today and on their way to your front door. We've added new items to the store including: 1/4 zip performance fleece jackets, windbreakers, hats, ombre performance tees, and polo shirts. We've also added dad, mom and grandparent designs. There are two ways to search for items--you can search by "garment style" in the left hand column or click on the design you like on the main page and scroll down until you see "more styles" which will show you all the items you can purchase with your chosen design. As a reminder, the flash sale offers a 20% discount on all items and shipping is free for purchases over $75. Visit the spiritwear store today!
Upcoming Spelling Bee
Throughout the month of November, English teachers will be holding preliminary classroom rounds for the upcoming Spelling Bee. Scholars will be tested on their spelling skills with 20 grade-level words in this classroom round, and we will gather the top seven spellers from each grade to move onto the Willard Middle School Spelling Bee after Winter Break (stay tuned for the exact date).
If you want access to the word list for the preliminary classroom round, please ask your English teacher or see Ms. Glumsic in Room 631. Ms. Glumsic will be in contact with the 21 finalists and their families via email in December. From there, she will provide the study list(s) and information for the school Spelling Bee. Good luck in those classroom rounds and remember to BEE-lieve in yourself!
NJROTC Application Opens
The NJROTC Admissions Application for the 2023-2024 school year is now open to current LCPS Grade 8 students. Interested students should complete the application in the Student Opportunities Portal in LCPSGO from now until Friday, January 27, 2023, by 5:00 p.m. Interested students may also visit www.lcps.org/cte (Special Interest (Military Science Admissions)) for more information.