Windsor Middle School
8/14/20 Announcements
Back to School Video and Information
"Hello there Wizard Families!
On behalf of the WMS staff, we are thrilled to welcome each and every one of you to the 2020-21 school year. We have missed your children terribly and are excited to get them safely back into the building. This year proves to be an unforgettable year of learning, flexibility, understanding, growth, and innovation! We appreciate your patience and grace as we navigate these uncharted waters throughout these unprecedented times.
We are ecstatic to be able to have in-person learning this year; however, we have important updates to share with you about our plans and protocols for returning to school. Please take a moment to watch this informational video, with your middle schooler, about the changes that you will see.
Hybrid Learning Model: Our current plan, which is subject to change as circumstances evolve, is to begin in a hybrid model (visit our homepage at wms.weldre4.org to see what a hybrid schedule looks like). This model includes two days of in-person learning and three days of remote, off-campus learning. Group A will start school on Monday, August 17th, and come to school in person only on Mondays & Thursdays. Group A will engage in remote, off-campus learning on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Group B will start school on Tuesday, August 18th, and come to school in person only on Tuesdays & Fridays. Group B will engage in remote, off-campus learning on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. If you are unsure of what group your child is in, please call our main office at (970)686-8200.
Throughout the year we will continually monitor and evaluate local circumstances, and review new state and national guidance as it is published to inform our learning models. Changes in learning models will be shared with you directly, and we will alert you if a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19 is affecting our school. This information will also be published online at weldre4.org. We anticipate circumstances will evolve and families should be prepared for changes in learning models that may happen quickly over the course of the year.
In-person Learning
Entering the building: Each morning our doors will open at 8:00 AM. After arriving at school, students will enter from 3 different entrances depending on their grade level - this will help alleviate any crowding at the main entrance and get students screened and into the building as quickly as possible.
Eighth graders will continue to come into the building using the main entrance.
Seventh graders will enter through the large doors on Main Street.
Sixth graders will come in the west doors by the cafeteria.
To help with traffic flow and maintaining cohorts, we strongly recommend that you drop your students off closest to the entrance they will be entering - 6th and 8th Grade parents using the main parking lot, and 7th grade parents dropping off in the cut-out on Main Street.
We will start our screening process at 8:00AM every morning. As students enter the building their temperature will be taken. If, for some reason, a child’s temperature is elevated, we will have them sit in an area close by and rescreen them after a few minutes of rest. If your child is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, please keep them home and call our attendance line at (970)686-8205.
Once students are screened, they can purchase a boxed breakfast at a station available at their entrance and take it with them to their first hour class. Students will be reporting directly to their first hour classes.
Masks are required for all students and staff. Face coverings will be required for students in all schools, including Windsor Middle School. Everyone in a district building will need to provide their own cloth face coverings; wearing them will be enforced on our school campus as part of our dress code policy.
Lockers: To avoid crowds in the hallway and decrease exposure, students will not be assigned lockers. Please ensure your child brings only what they need each day and are prepared to keep all belongings with them throughout the day.
Cohorts: Students will be grouped together with other students in almost identical schedules. They will transition together for most of the day to reduce the risk of exposure. Teachers and students will make sure all student desks and tables are cleaned between classes.
In an effort to minimize exposure and cohort crossing, at the end of each in-person learning day, students will be encouraged to leave campus as quickly as possible. Please communicate your plan with your child so that they know exactly what to do and where to go after school.
School Supplies: In an effort to limit sharing and the spread of germs, we are asking students to have their own supplies. We will avoid having community containers of pencils, sticky notes, markers, etc. Please find our school supply lists here on our website.
Schedules: If you haven’t done so already, we strongly recommend that you sign-up for a Campus Portal Account. Campus Portal is the parent side of our student information system, called Infinite Campus. Please find directions on how to create your account here. Through this account, you will be able to view and print your child(ren)’s schedule, grades, and pay any fees that may be owed. If you need assistance in creating your account or resetting your password, please call our main office at (970)686-8200. On the first day of school, we will have printed copies of each child’s schedule. Once you find out which teachers your child will be working with, please feel free to visit our Staff Directory page on our website where you can watch short introductory videos from each teacher.
Lunch: All students will be eating lunch in their advisory classroom with their cohort. Lunches can be brought from home or a sack lunch can be purchased from the cafeteria. If you believe you may qualify for free or reduced lunch prices, please fill out an annual application here.
All students will be eating lunch in their advisory classroom with their cohort. Please encourage your child to bring a water bottle every day. Drinking fountains won’t be available, but water bottle fillers will be available for students. Bottled water will also be available for purchase (for $1.00) at all breakfast and lunch stations. In order to limit cash exchanges, we strongly encourage you to pay for your child’s breakfasts and lunches online at My School Bucks.
Off-Campus Learning:
During the three days of off-campus learning, students will have full days of rigorous lessons and assignments to complete. On Wednesdays, all students will participate in a synchronous learning schedule - where they will be required to check in with each of their teachers (via Google Meet) on a shortened bell schedule. If your child is in Group A, he/she will be engaging in asynchronous off-campus lessons on Tuesdays and Fridays. If your child is in Group B, he/she will be engaging in asynchronous off-campus lessons on Mondays and Thursdays. These lessons may include (but aren’t limited to) follow-up assignment to in-person learning, choice board activities, completing modules, or building background knowledge by watching a video about the content.
Chromebooks: Weld Re-4 will provide all secondary students with their own chromebook to use both in and out of school. Please help your child to take good care of it, keep it charged, and bring it with them when they come to school. We strongly recommend getting a protective sleeve or case for it.
Canvas: All teachers will be utilizing Canvas as a Learning Management System. Assignments will be posted on each teachers’ page and students will be shown how to access them. We would also encourage you to create a Canvas Observer Account where you can monitor your child’s lessons and assignments. Please find the instructions on how to create a Canvas Observer Account here.
We recognize this is a lot of information to process. Please be patient with yourself and with us as we begin school in a new way this year. If you have any questions, please contact our front office at (970) 686-8200.
Again, we are very much looking forward to working with you this school year! We can’t wait to see your child(ren) on Monday, August 17 or Tuesday, August 18! Don’t forget, every day is a GREAT day to be a Wizard!
Elizabeth Urich
Principal
Windsor Middle School"
2020-21 School Supply Lists *8/7 MEDIA CLASS UPDATE*
Annual Family Check In (AFC) - Mandatory for all students!
The Weld RE-4 School District uses our annual family check in to verify student information. Annual Family Check In (AFC) is a mandatory process that ALL parents will need to complete annually.
Note: we can not start building your child’s schedule for the year until this has been completed. Please complete your AFC as soon as possible!
Parents are now able to verify and update the following 2020-2021 school year information online:
Census & Household information
Emergency Contacts
Code of Conduct
Technology approval (6th grade)
Publication Consent
Immunizations (6th grade)
Early Dismissal
Parents may update AFC now by logging into the Portal and navigate to either of the highlighted areas pictured below.
Enrollment Confirmation if Leaving Windsor Middle School
School Info
Office Hours 8:00am-4:30pm (entrances will open at 8:00am for screening)
Our first bell rings at 8:35am and the tardy bell will ring at 8:40am.
Attendance: Please call the attendance line at 970-686-8205 if your student is going to be absent. We also encourage you to call the attendance line if you know in advance that your student will be gone. To have your child ready for early pick up for an appointment during school hours, please call the attendance line to obtain a "Blue Pass".
Athletics: The most up-to-date information regarding athletic events can be found on our website at http://wms.weldre4.org/athletics, then click on the specific sport.
Staff contact information can be found here.
Safe2Tell
Upcoming Dates
(events are pending due to extensive school closures throughout Colorado to prevent the spread of COVID-19)
Aug 17 - First Day of In-person Learning (Group A)
Aug 18 - First Day of In-person Learning (Group B)
Aug 24 - Studio 5 Picture Day (Group A)
Aug 25 - Studio 5 Picture Day (Group B)
Sep 7 - Labor Day (No School)
Sep 18 - No School
WMS Athletic and Other Event Calendars
For a complete schedule of a particular sport, click here, choose the sport you're interested in (located on the left side of the page), then click on the schedule link.
WMS Swimming and Diving moved to 2021
Please see the following message from our swim coaches.
“Hi WMS Swim & Dive Families,
As you are aware, we have been navigating through a fluid situation as we work to have a middle school swimming and diving season while complying with the most up-to-date COVID measures. Yesterday afternoon, our Athletic Directors from all of the schools in our league met to discuss the viability of Fall middle school sports. Based on CHSAA’s delay of indoor sports to next calendar year, and the evolving COVID safety guidelines, the decision was made to defer middle school swimming and diving to the only available pool space (CHSAA’s Season C) in March and April of 2021.
While we’re disappointed that the season has been postponed, we can at least take some solace in the fact that we will give it another try in March. We will reach out again with updated information in February.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of us.
Sincerely,
Coach Moon, Coach Timmons, Coach Schember”
Windsor Middle School
Email: wms@weldre4.org
Website: wms.weldre4.org
Location: 900 Main Street, Windsor, CO, United States
Phone: 970-686-8200
Facebook: facebook.com/wmsco
Twitter: @wmsprin