The MCAS testing madness has officially concluded (apart from make-up tests, of course)! 🙌 Let the celebration begin! 🎉 It's time to put those number two pencils away and rejoice in the fact that our students have conquered this academic challenge...just kidding, we don't use number two pencils anymore, but it is time to close those Chromebooks!

As we approach the final stretch of the school year, it's important to remember that the fun-filled end-of-year activities are not simply given out like freebies at a carnival. They are rewards that must be earned through hard work, perseverance, and, of course, good behavior. 🌟

But don't worry, we haven't forgotten about the spirit of fairness! If your child has faced some setbacks this year and believes they deserve a second chance, they have the opportunity to make an appeal. Encourage them to write a heartfelt appeal explaining how they have turned things around and demonstrated their dedication. Our teachers will consider their appeals and consult with the administration if they truly believe that the student has turned things around.

With just over 20 school days left, let's rally together and finish this year strong! 🎓 It's our shared mission to ensure that every student is fully prepared for the next grade, armed with knowledge, skills, and the confidence to take on new challenges. Together, we can empower our students to reach new heights!

Thank you for your ongoing support and for being extraordinary partners in your child's educational journey. We appreciate your trust and dedication.

Let's make these last days of the 2022-23 school year unforgettable and full of achievement!

In the upcoming weeks, our teachers and administration will be making important decisions regarding student retention, summer school assignments, and organizing class lists for the next school year. We understand the significance of these decisions and want to ensure the best outcomes for your child's education.

Our goal is twofold: to help your child be fully prepared for the next grade-level and to create class lists that are as effective as possible for next year. Drawing from the valuable insights we've gained this year, we will carefully consider each student's strengths, needs, and learning styles and put together the most effective classrooms possible. By taking into account what we have learned about our students, we aim to provide them with the best opportunities to thrive and make the most of their education at Wang School. We appreciate your trust and support as we engage in this vital work.

Stay tuned for further updates, together, we will continue to foster a nurturing and enriching environment for all our students.

Check out the newsletter below that has all of the details for the 8th grade end-of-year activities.

BUSSES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS THIS SUMMER!!!!

It's important to start planning now for the summer months ahead to keep your student active and learning all summer long. We encourage all families to keep their students active and engaged both mentally and physically.

We are excited to offer a variety of summer programs for our students, including academic summer school and enrichment programs during the month of July. These programs will provide opportunities for students to continue learning and exploring, while also having fun and making new friends.

If you are interested in enrolling your child in any of our summer programs, please fill out the application form at the link below. We encourage you to apply early, as space is limited and applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

We believe that summer is a valuable time for students to grow, learn, and explore new interests. We look forward to offering these opportunities and supporting our students in their continued education...so sign your student up now before all the spots are gone! A full menu of options will be made available very soon, but in order to save a seat in the summer programs, parents MUST complete the application below.

Some of the Enrichment Programs we will be offering this summer:

• Theater Boot-Camp (preparing for the 2023-24 musical!)
• Wang City Farm Camp
• Arts & Crafts
• Learning to Play Instruments
• Outdoor "Sports & Activities"
• Graphic Design

ONLY 30 SEATS LEFT!!!!

Camp Invention is ALWAYS a ton of fun, hands-on learning for the students...so grab a seat now before they are all gone!

We're all well aware of the increased mental health issues and anxiety within our young people since the pandemic, which means we still have a lot of work to do moving forward. As we have said for years (even before the pandemic), parents and schools will need to do this work together to help our children overcome any obstacles...and that is more true now than ever.

To that end, we are reminding parents to talk to your students regularly to try to help them navigate the complicated world of middle school effectively. Monitoring social media and helping students steer clear of vapes and know what to do when they are being peer pressured into bad decisions is so important, but you can't help them if you don't know what is going on with them.

Don't get us wrong, talking to our children about these things and monitoring their social media can sometimes be challenging...especially middle schoolers...but it is so important. Here are some simple tips to help your middle schooler with regard to healthy social/emotional growth;

• Monitor their social media: Social media serves a wonderful purpose of connecting people, but it can also be extremely unhealthy for our young people when used improperly and unsupervised. Monitoring your child's social media accounts or at least talking to them about how to use it in a healthy way will help them learn to use it effectively. One suggestion (and it may not be easy)...don't let them take their phones or computers to bed with them at night. Staying up all night on social media sites or texting is extremely unhealthy for our young people.
• Talk to them about vaping and other temptations: My wife and I were stunned when we found a vape in our daughter's room (twice actually) and we wished we had talked to her about them BEFORE we found them in her room. Open up conversations with your student about vaping, what to do if another kid offers or pressures them to vape or do something else that is unhealthy, and let them know that you know that they may make mistakes but you want them to always talk to you. (If you're wondering...yes...my daughter was grounded for QUITE awhile.)
• Don't wait for something to happen or a crisis: Be proactive and talk to your student before something happens. It is always much healthier to prepare your children than it is to help them put things back together.
• Let them know that making a mistake is not the end of the world: Acknowledge with your child that making mistakes is part of growing up and learning, and it's not the end of the world. This will help them open up to you more if/when they may make a mistake.
• Know your child's circle of friends...both in person and online: Parents sometimes feel "nosey" asking about their child's friends or who they are talking to online, but it is so important for parents to know who their children are communicating with and who may be influencing them.
• Find a trusted adult at school too: Encourage your child to find an adult at school they trust and want to talk to when needed. It can be a teacher, tutor, social worker, paraprofessional, custodian, clerk, administrator, or anyone that they trust and feel connected to at school...just so that they have someone to give them another adult voice of guidance in their lives.

These forms and updated contact information are absolutely ESSENTIAL for us to have from EVERY student. In addition to contacting you about school events and/or updates on how your child is doing in school, having accurate contact information is essential in the event that there is some kind of emergency at the school that impacts your student.

If you have not done so already, please complete and return your child's Emergency Form to their teacher. Starting this week, we will be calling and emailing any and all families who have not completed the Emergency Forms until we have 100% of our forms completed.

Thank you for your help in making sure we have the most updated and accurate contact information on file for your child this year. If there are any changes as the year progresses, you can always contact the school to update your file.

First of all, speak to your child about how mostly everything they see on social media is not truly a reflection or reality. In essence, people most often post the "highlight reels" of their lives in order to portray an image that essentially is not real. In some cases, people blatantly lie or manipulate the truth in their posts to seem "more important" or "better off" than they actually are in real life. Many of our students are comparing themselves and their lives to these "highlight reels" or even "blatant lies" being posted by other people. Talk to your child about how mostly everything they see or read on social media is absolutely NOT reality. Everyone has problems and struggles...so don't let them believe that social media posts that portray a perfect body or face through filters or ones that brag about amazing lives are reality. Everyone has problems and struggles, but they use exaggerated of fake social media posts to hide them.

Secondly, monitor your child's access and interactions on social media. There is absolutely value in honoring your child's privacy and letting them maintain their own identity in these social media platforms, but to be completely oblivious to what they are doing on their phones and/or computers is simply not a good idea as a parent. We cannot and will not "police" the social media interactions of all of our almost 700 students...it simply is not possible. We will try to mediate things as best we can and support our students when there are issues, but it needs to be the parents who are truly "policing" their child's interactions on social media and communication platforms. It isn't being "nosey" to ask your child about their social media life...it's parenting. Never be afraid to look into your child's online activity or their communication via chat rooms, texts, or messaging platforms because then you can help educate your child on how to truly navigate the world of social media in a safe and healthy way.

We will be putting together some workshops for parents on the different social media and messaging platforms that students are using and also on how parents can stay on top of what their child is doing on these platforms; what they are saying, who they are communicating with, if they are being bullied, or if they are the ones doing the bullying. Remember, staying involved with and aware of your child's social media identity and what they are doing online is NOT being nosey...it's parenting.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming Social Media Parenting workshops...we hope to have them put together some time in October.

Below are the dates for the SSC/PTO meetings this year and they will be hybrid, meaning you can attend in person or via Zoom. Please feel free to drop in, listen to what is happening at the school, ask any questions you may have, and find out how we can work together more effectively to keep our school moving forward during these crazy times! We hope to see you at our meetings this year.

• Monday, June 5th @ 5:30PM
  

Wang School SSC/PTO Google Meets Meetings

• To join the meeting by video, click this link: Wang School SSC/PTO Meetings
• Otherwise, to join by phone, dial +1 570-415-1140 and enter this PIN: 347 973 276#

• LPS Student Handbook
• Wang School Dress Code 2022-23
• Wang School Technology Policy 2022-23