It doesn't seem possible that we finished our 2nd marking period last week and are getting close to the 100th day of school. Mid-Winter break is around the corner and so is the opportunity for our students and staff to reset and recharge for the remainder of the school year. We are hoping to have in-person activities for our students once the snow melts and we have a little warmer weather in the Spring. We will be working through our PTO to come up with some different activities for our students. Thank you for all your continued support. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

John Egresits

Report cards were sent home with students on February 7th!

Congratulations to all of our High Honor, Honor and Merit Roll Students. We are proud of your persistence and dedication to your school work!

"There is no future without Education"----Rosa Parks

Happy National School Counseling Week to our three MS Campus School Counselors! Mrs. Militano-Grade 8, Mrs. Kuhn-Grade 7, and Mrs. Casler, Grade 6 have been working hard all year to provide academic, social-emotional and career readiness support to all of our fantastic students. In addition to doing course requests for next school year, this week they are threw the campus a college and career readiness party!

On Wednesday, February 9th, our school counselors encouraged staff to wear apparel that represented a personal college affiliation in an effort to promote higher education.

Additionally, they asked us to post images on our Google Classrooms/classroom doors of the colleges that are important in our lives as educators with the goal to spark a conversation with our students.

THANK you to our campus School Counselors! We appreciate you!

What student’s learned from College Day:

"It takes 6 years to become a teacher."

"I learned that if you get good grades, do extra-curricular activities and do good overall in school, you might be able to get a scholarship to attend college."

"Mrs. Nobis and Mrs. Wander went to colleges right near one another."

"Some staff went to multiple colleges."

"I learned that you should go to a college and decide your job off of what you love to do."

"Mrs. Gaska went to Peking University in China."

"One thing I learned about colleges were that many of them have different requirements to qualify and enroll."

"All my teachers I asked were grateful for the opportunities they have from going to college."

"Marist’s mascot is the red fox."

"Mr. Rothdiener teaches at Utica College and in the Middle School."

"That there is a lot of different colleges you could go to."

"Mrs. Hobaica went to Cortland university and majored in Physical fitness. Then she got degrees to be a Superintendent and a Principal."

By: Sue Ellen Williams

There was a surge of artwork submitted this year. The competition submission numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels. Judging occurred on Zoom again. We wish to acknowledge all of the students that took the time and effort to create works for the competition.

The students’ accomplishments listed below would not be possible without your support and efforts. Their recognition is a credit to our outstanding faculty, department, administration, Board of Education and community as a whole. The efforts taken to bring all of our students back has been extraordinary. It has been a great step forward in their development to have all the students back in our classrooms. The success at the secondary level would not be possible without the incredible foundation created at the elementary level with Mrs. Papandrea and Mr. Madonia. Thanks to Mrs. Wander,

Mr. Williams, and Mr. Cost for volunteering their time and efforts with the Scholastics Program to assist with organizing, judging and hanging the show. The six Gold Key pieces and portfolio will now go on to the National judging. We look forward to seeing what our students will do in the future.

Whitesboro Middle School

1.Clancy, Madeline (8)Mixed Media--Me, Myself, And Eye---Gold Key

2.Colucci, Victoria (8) Ceramics & Glass-Flying and Bustling Metropolis---Gold Key

3.Dapre, Kaydence (8)Drawing & Illustration-Laces to the Ground---Gold Key

4.Colucci, Victoria (8) Drawing & Illustration-"Mona" Giles---Silver Key

5.Clancy, Madeline (8) Sculpture-Hanging on the Line Not so Fresh Catch---Hon. Men.

6.Femia, Dinella (8) Mixed Media-The Final Rose---Hon. Men.

7.Terebey, Natalie (8) Mixed Media-Becoming Gold---Hon. Men.

Mixed Media-The Final Rose---Hon. Men.

The Middle School Campus PTO is ready to start our spring fundraiser! We are selling Gertrude Hawk Chocolates to help pay for end of the year activities for our students! The sale officially runs from February 7th - February 18th and will be delivered in time for April break.

Please contact our PTO building representatives with any questions:

Jessica Hamilton-Parkway jhamilton@wboro.org

Barbara Butka-Middle School bbutka@wboro.org

Don't Let Myths Keep You Away!

There are so many misconceptions about the PTO—mostly regarding how much time it requires. But, there's one basic truth: We're all busy, so we keep it simple!

It's ONE 30-minute meeting per month and a handful of optional activities throughout the year. By middle school, the PTO hosts very few events and two long-standing (read: EASY) fundraisers!

And, here's a little-known secret: The PTO quietly sponsors initiatives and materials that support ALL students. You may not realize that special supplies, field trips, and gifts are underwritten by the PTO. And, that's kind of the point—we're here, in the background, to seamlessly support our students and families!

So, if you're looking for a low-pressure, easy way to make a big impact on our Middle School students, come check out the PTO! With a three-year turnover—6th-8th grade flies by!—we're always looking for general members to contribute ideas and support the board with planning and events. And, this year's even easier than typical years, as we're currently not hosting any in-person meetings, events, or fundraisers.

PTO meetings are on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom.

Like Us on Facebook to Stay in the Loop! @Whitesboro Middle School PTO

Thank you! We hope to e-see you soon!

Your Middle School PTO

Mrs. Nobis’ eighth grade classes made their own Ukulele as part of their string instrument unit. Students designed and colored the bodies of the Ukulele. Next, Mrs. Nobis glued on the neck, fingerboard and nut. Then students added the tuning pegs, bridge, saddle, bushings & strings. Finally students were able to play them and bring them home to keep with a book to play! Students did a tremendous job and we had a lot of fun creating these together!

Art and ELA classes collaborated together to create a project based on The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Each class has been spending time reading this suspenseful novel. The students were asked to create a Wanted Poster based on who they feel is guilty of the murder of Samuel W. Westing. Students in art learned how to make their posters look aged and dated by coffee staining their backgrounds. They also learned about graphic design and the important features of creating an eye-catching poster.

This month the MS Campus once again held Mentor Meetings with student selected trusted adults. These groups met for the first time in December and again on February 9th.

This month's Mentor Meetings focused on "Steps to be Wellness Ready" in order to create a common language between staff and students. The graphic below are the posters that have been placed in every classroom and around the MS Campus.

The bulletin boards above are located outside of the campus cafeterias. The bulletin boards focus on wellness strategies and positive words of affirmation.

Thank you to all of our students and staff who participated in our 2nd Mentor Meeting for the school year. We wish you all a safe and restful February break.

The Middle School Campus has 3 school counselors, a full and a part time school social worker, a school psychologist, and an IRT (Initial Response Team) specialist. These professionals are ready and willing to help your child.

School Counselor Grade 6- Anne Casler: acasler@wboro.org

School Counselor Grade 7- Bridget Kuhn: bkuhn@wboro.org

School Counselor Grade 8- Liz Militano: emilitano@wboro.org

School Social Worker- Tricia Saxton: tsaxton@wboro.org

School Social Worker- Kara Kotary: kkotary@wboro.org

Initial Response Team-Allie Bonacci: abonacci@wboro.org