WRMS Reflections 9/6/18

September 6, 2018

MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL DIANNE CARTER

Hello, Wildcat Families!!!

I hope you have all enjoyed the change in weather this week! We have had another awesome week. I just enjoyed listening to some 6th graders have a pretty intelligent and energetic debate about the meaning of one part of a book - during their lunch! I promise those conversations are not taking place on many middle school campuses across the nation - we are lucky.

We are also fortunate to have a staff of incredible teachers that care deeply about their students. One thing we have put in place this year to take even better care of our kids is teaming. What this means is that 6th and 7th graders (we hope to add 8th graders next year) are on a team of core teachers. So...the ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies teachers for the "Green" team share the same 130 or so kids. This allows them to have powerful conversations about how kids are doing and how to support their learning more consistently and effectively. This is very common practice on many middle school campuses, and our teachers are already finding ways to make small changes to be sure our students are in circumstances to thrive. If you have questions about this, feel free to let me know.

Now...two information topics:

Travel - Does your child love to travel to other countries and learn about other cultures through experiences? Then click THIS LINK to check out some of those opportunities! There will be an informational meeting next Thursday (9/13) at 6:30pm in room 224! Be sure to click the link to find out more!!!
The PIT - Please read through these points carefully if you plan on attending tomorrow's WHS football game and your child plans to be in the PIT:

Students may enter the PIT if they are:

Wearing their football jersey (no ticket required)
Wearing their cheer uniform (no ticket required)
Carrying a PIT ticket (purchased online OR at the PIT entrance for $8)
Carrying a ticket for a stadium seat (a PIT ticket will not allow a student to be admitted to the stadium seating area)

Once your student is in the PIT, they are expected to stay for the duration of the game. They will only be allowed to leave the PIT if checked out by a parent - in person.

All students will be released at the end of the game (after the school song) to go onto the track where they are expected to find their parents. So...make a plan ahead of time!

If your child plays football at WRMS, they will be running across the field at the end of halftime this week! After the "run" they will be returning to the PIT. Parents who have purchased stadium seats for their children should make arrangements (in advance) to pick up their children at the entrance to the PIT and escort them back to their seats.

The excitement and busy times of fall athletics and activities is upon us. I enjoyed a bit of the football scrimmage yesterday, and I'm looking forward to hearing our band tomorrow and seeing volleyball in the near future. Don't forget to take a moment as a family to rest and breathe. I hope you all have a great end to your week and a wonderful weekend.

Enjoy!

Dianne Carter

Destination Imagination

It's time for Destination Imagination! Student teams can participate in all grades, K-12.

There will be a district-wide parent info meeting about this awesome creative problem solving organization at 6:00 PM on September 12, 2018, at the EISD Board Room.

Please see the attached flyer for more information! Destination Imagination Flyer

CAREER DAY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!

When your talents match with doing something you love, your success is a special story to tell. It is not often when a career fully satisfies a person's soul - you literally love what you do; you're good at it; you're passionate about it. If this is you, the WRMS Career Day committee would like to invite you to tell your story to our 8th-grade students at Career Day Thursday morning November 15th from 8:35-10:20 am. By donating less than two hours of your time, you will inspire a child and potentially put them on a path of similar talents, gifts, and interests such as yours. In just 10 minutes, presenting to a small group of students, you can describe what you do, demonstrate the skills the job needs, mentor them on daily responsibilities, and recount how and when you knew this was what you were meant to be doing. If you have any questions or need more information to help with your decision to share your time and talents with the students, please do not hesitate to contact Career Day Chair Patricia Baumhart at pbaumhart@gmail.com.

Nurse/Counseling Department Needs Your Help!

During the year, it is helpful to have snacks on hand throughout the day for students in need. Families in the past have been so kind to donate favorite snacks for us to keep in our offices. Popular items include: Individual packages of mac and cheese, fruit snacks, fruit roll ups, packets of oatmeal, goldfish, individual bags of chips/popcorn, graham crackers/animal crackers, beef jerky.
Please bring all donations to the front office. We greatly appreciate all your help and thank you in advance!

The Elite Visual Ensemble at Westlake High School is currently doing outreach for new cadet members from the Eanes ISD middle schools. They are hosting a clinic for all middle school students on September 8th so please see the following flyer and form if you are interested.

EVE Colorguard Clinic

WHS EVE Flyer

Westlake Youth Basketball Association ("WYBA") is a non-profit organization serving the Eanes Schools and Westlake Community Since 1994.

They invite you to register for the upcoming 2018 Fall Skills/Workout Session and WYBA 2018-19 Winter Season. The Fall Skills/Workout Session is for grades 3-6. It is designed to prepare the players for the Winter League. All Eanes eligible students, Kindergartners through 12th Grade are eligible to play in the Winter League. Don't wait, join the 1100+ Eanes students for another great Winter Season and help us support the EANES schools. To learn about the programs and register go online at www.wlyba.org.

WILDCAT CLUB NEWS

Thank you for your great feedback following Back-to-School nights! The Wildcat Club is here to support our students, teachers and staff, and we appreciate any and all help!

PICTURE DAY is Friday, September14th! Order info should be coming home with your student soon.

***NEW*** PIT TICKETS SALES ONLINE THIS YEAR

Eanes ISD Middle School Students: we will no longer sell individual PIT tickets on your campuses. We are offering a NEW 5-game PIT Pack for $15 (9/3/18 - 9/21/18 ONLY). If you do not want to purchase the PIT Pack, you can purchase individual PIT tickets at the gate on game night for $8 ea. The PIT tickets are only for the PIT and are not recognized for stadium seating. For stadium seating, you will need to pre-purchase online by visiting www.westlakenation.com/tickets or purchase at the gate on game night.

SAVE THE DATE - WILDCAT NIGHT OUT

Friday, September 14th from 6:30-8:30pm in the West Ridge Gym.

Tickets are $10 and will be sold online. Login to wildcatboosterclub.org

A HUGE Thank You to Lisa Howard our No-Hassle Fundraiser Chair. She has been working very hard on this year's NHF campaign.

As of now, 36% of our WRMS families have participated in our No Hassle Fundraiser. Woo hoo!!!

Of course, our goal is to have 100% participation! Please join us to help support the students and staff of WRMS. We can do it!!!

If you would like to donate to our No-Hassle Fundraiser, you can do so online at: WildcatBoosterClub.org

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

"WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL" Wildcat Club General Meeting

September 14, 2018 at 9:00am

WRMS Library

Join us for our first WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL Wildcat Club Meeting! Carl Hooker, the Director of Innovative and Digital Learning for Eanes ISD, will be our special guest to talk about the technology that our children are using and what we should be doing about it. This is sure to be VERY informative and insightful! It is also a great way to meet other parents and get involved!

Don't Want To Miss a Thing This Year at WRMS?

Join the Wildcat Club on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wildcatclub

It's a GREAT Day to Be a Wildcat!

Karen Martin and Terri Ganem-Budiselich

WRMS Wildcat Club Co-Presidents

Wildcat Night Out

Friday, September 14

6:30-8:30 p.m.

West Ridge Gym

Wildcat Parents - What comes to mind when you hear "Middle School Dance"? Corsages, awkward slow dancing, boys in one corner, girls in another?

Well, not in 2018! Wildcat Night Out is the much cooler modern alternative! DJ, Open Gym, Photo Booth, plus a surprise or two (and Pizza and Concessions for sale)! All WRMS students welcome!

Wristbands available through the West Ridge Booster Club website http://wildcatboosterclub.org (one free drink ticket if you purchase by the end if the day on Thursday, 9/13!), at all lunches on Friday, 9/14, and at the door. Only $10! Questions, please send to jmgoel@bellsouth.net.

NEWS

Destination Imagination Info Night

September 12, 2018, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Find out more about the benefits of DI and his year’s challenges! Learn about how teams are formed on your campus, student workshops, and team manager training. Click title for more details.

Community Education Fall Enrichment Catalog Now Available

The Fall Eanes ISD Community Education Enrichment Catalog is out! Take a look at the variety of options we have - sports, languages, performing arts, robotics and more. View Fall Enrichment Catalog.