Westside Middle School
December 7, 2018
Winter Break
Monday December 24, 2018 - Friday January 4th, 2019
School Resumes on Monday January 7th, 2019
1st Semester Report Cards will be sent out by Friday January 11, 2019
Youth Frontiers
Attendance
With the upcoming holidays and many opportunities for families to travel, here are a few tips from the attendance office to make sure your student doesn’t miss out on work assigned in his or her absence. In the event of an absence or illness, there is no need for you to take the time to contact all of your student’s teachers individually. By sending a note or email, or making one call to the main office, we will take care of the rest.
If you are sending a note, have your student bring the note to the main office first thing in the morning. Your student will receive a gold homework sheet that he or she will take to each of his or her classes, where the teacher will list the homework and initial the sheet. The students then keep the sheet so they know what they have to do while they are away from school.
With the gold homework sheet, and the main office recording the absence in PowerSchool, all of the teachers will be aware of the absence. As always, contact the main office with any questions or concerns regarding your student’s attendance.
Attendance: (402) 390-6484
From The school Nurse
Students requiring exclusion from or modification of PE are required to have a note from a physician outlining these restrictions.
Students are to be fever- free for 24 hours without medication before returning to school after an illness. Students should also be free from vomiting for 24 hours before returning to school.
It is not too late to get your flu shot! A common myth is that the flu shot can cause someone to contract the flu. This is false. For further study about the myths surrounding the u shot, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website:
http://www.cdc.gov/u/about/qa/mis- conceptions.htm
Remember that the most effective way of reducing the spread of illness is washing hands with soap and water. Using alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol also helps reduce the spread of illness. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Nurse’s Office: (402) 408-8652
9th Grade Information Session
News From the Athletic Director
The boys’ basketball season wraps up in December. If your son competed on any of our inter-scholastic teams, please set aside Thursday, December 13th at 5:00 for a recognition event in our cafeteria. An invitation will be sent home the first week of December allowing you to RSVP and contribute toward the cost of the event.
Girls basketball and wrestling practices will begin right after winter break. Skills Assessment will begin Thursday, December 13th for 7th and 8th girls interested in playing basketball for WMS this year. More detailed information will be sent home with girls when they sign-up in December. Contact Lance Mosier or Dan Carlson if you have questions about girls basketball.
Student-athletes interested in wrestling will have the opportunity to participate in pre-season fundamental/conditioning sessions in December. Information about these sessions has been communicated to those that have signed up so far.
All student-athletes must have a sports physical on file with the Athletic Director before they can practice or play. If this will be the first sport that your son or daughter has participated in this year, they will also need to pay an athletic participation fee . This fee can be brought to the main office or my office. This fee should be paid before the first athletic contest in January.
Dan Carlson Athletic Director
PBIS
The staff collects data everyday to measure how our students are doing with following our expectations. We also use this data to see where we need to reteach expectations. Currently we have 840 students (85%) that have 0-1 office referrals for the semester. It is so awesome to see so many of our students making good decisions, being kind and doing what is right.
WCS Snow Day Information
Nebraska Winters can get pretty tough at times. When snow accumulates and the bitter wind blows, Westside Community Schools share with parents a concern for the safety of their children. Here are a few guidelines that should help us work together to assure the safety of students, no matter how bad the weather.
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If bad weather forces the closing of school, you will receive an AlertNow phone message from the District the night before or the morning of the closing. We will also ask local radio and television stations to make the announcement. Information regarding school closings will also be available on the Information Line, 390-2299.
If schools are open during inclement weather, parents should decide whether or not their children will attend school.
When extreme weather conditions develop during school hours, it is our policy not to dismiss students. Many children do not have adult supervision at home during the day and are safer at school.
Parents may pick their children up during the school day if they feel it is necessary.
Because of transportation requirements, there may be times when other school districts close while District 66 Schools remain open.
School personnel will remain in the buildings as long as children are present.
Cold Weather Care for your Mac Book
- Before turning on your computer, allow it to sit out and reach room temperature (between 50 and 95 Fahrenheit). Powering on the computer while the ambient temperature is outside of this range can cause damage to the computer.
- Do not leave your computer in the car or any place where it might be exposed to extreme temperatures for extended periods of time (more than a few hours).
- Keep your computer sleeve/case zipped up to help prevent snow and rain from getting inside, but be aware that the bag is not waterproof.
Please call the WMS Tech Support Department with any additional questions or concerns about your computer. Tech Support Office: (402) 408-8606
National Honor Society
The National Junior Honor Society chapter of Westside Middle School is a duly chartered and affiliated chapter of this prestigious national organization. Membership is open to those students who meet the required standards in five areas of evaluation: scholarship, leadership, service, citizenship, and character. Students in the second semester of seventh or eighth grade are eligible for membership.
Those students who meet the scholarship criterion of a 3.8 on the 4.0 scale are invited to complete a Student Activity Information Form that provides the Faculty Council with information regarding the candidate’s leadership and service. This will be sent out late January-early February. A history of leadership experiences and participation in school or community service is also required. Examples of leadership may happen within the school building (student council) or outside of the classroom (team captains, scouting honors, etc.). Service to the community is considered volunteering in a capacity that does not benefit the student (getting paid for a service or merely helping an extended family member) services considered would be volunteering at a non-profit organization (Film Streams, the zoo, Do Space, among many others). Service learning is not considered volunteering for a team activity to raise money for team expenses (car washes for a soccer team, selling concessions for a concert the student might participate in at a later time.) A student should have at least 5 hours of service learning when filling out the application.
Once again the Student Activity Information Form will be sent out in late January-early February.
Westside Middle School
Website: http://wms.westside66.org
Location: 8601 Arbor Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Phone: 402-390-6464
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WMS66/