WMS Friday Family Message 9-23-16

We have had a busy week at WMS. This week marked the interim period, which means that we are halfway through the nine week period. This is a great time to gauge how students are doing and to make any needed changes or ask any pertinent questions of teachers prior to the end of the nine weeks on October 27.

Enrichment Opportunities

Ms. Natalie Capps, Gifted Resource Teacher, administered a survey last week to gauge student interest in several projects including a high altitude balloon, rocket club, the stock market game, and the Global Virtual Classroom. Ms. Capps has been meeting with students who expressed an interest in these opportunities this week to provide more details and to start planning meetings around them. These opportunities serve our students identified as gifted, but they are open to all students. If you have any questions about these opportunities please reach out to Ms. Capps via email: ncapps@k12albemarle.org.

Gifted Advisory Representative Needed:
 The Gifted Advisory Committee oversees the implementation of the Local Plan for the Education of the Gifted, participating in the biennial review and revision of the Local Plan, and reporting to the School Board through the Superintendent about the needs of gifted learners in our county.  Walton needs a parent or community volunteer to serve on this committee and represent the interests of the Southern Feeder Pattern.  Please contact Natalie M. Capps at ncapps@k12albemarle.org or 977-5615 x54133 if you're interested.

Visit from School Board Members:

We had two visits from School Board members this week. Steve Koleszar, Vice-Chairman, visited on Wednesday. Mr. Koleszar appeared on our morning news program, WLHW, to share the importance of students understanding the vision of Albemarle County Public Schools, which is, “All learners believe in their power to embrace learning, to excel, and to own their future.” Mr. Koleszar emphasized the responsibility that students have in owning their learning, so they can own their future. Afterwards, Mr. Koleszar visited classes so he could learn about what students are studying and exploring. We appreciate the time he took to come visit us. Graham Paige, Samuel Miller School Board Representative, also visited with us as he is helping to mentor some young men as part of his work with the 100 Black Men of Central Virginia. We are grateful for Mr. Paige’s involvement with our students and hope to have him appear on WLHW sometime in the near future. 

 Steve Koleszar visits the WLHW back room.

Parent Conference Sign-Ups:

Parent conferences are October 6 and 18 from 4:30-8:00 p.m. Please use the links below to sign-up for a time to meet with your child’s teachers. Please note that if these times do not work you may contact teachers directly to setup an alternate time to meet.

Sign up for Walton October 6th Conferences:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4ca5ae2ca3fb6-parentteacher1

Sign up for Walton October 18th Conferences:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4ca5ae2ca3fb6-parentteacher

Upcoming Dates:

Monday, September 26: Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

Friday, September 30: WMS/MoHS Tailgate at 5:30 p.m. MoHS Homecoming Game at 7:30 p.m. Teachers are tailgating at MoHS.Come out to the game and say hi!

Thursday, October 6: Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:30-8:00 p.m.

Monday, October 10: Picture Retakes

Monday, October 17: 6th Grade Field Trip to Frontier Culture Museum

Tuesday, October 18: Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:30-8:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 20: Tuskegee Airman Performance at Paramount with 7th Grade Social Studies

Friday, October 21: Drama 7 and 8 Field Trip to Monticello High School

Thursday, October 27: End of First Nine Weeks

Friday, October 28: Teacher Workday (No School for Students)

WMS Friday Family Message 9-16-16

Good Evening, Walton Families:

Visit from Rwanda:

We had a tremendous visit from artists from the Niyo Cultural Center in Kigali, Rwanda. Our students were excited to see traditional singing, dance, and drumming and even got in on the action by coming up on stage and participating with the artists. After the show the artists, Pacifique, Figy, Patrick, and Treasure, visited classes to tell stories and answer student questions about their art and Rwanda. It was an amazing global experience for our students. Thanks to the McGuffey Art Center for helping to make this experience happen. For more information visit: http://www.niyoculturalcentre.org/

Parent Conference Sign-Ups:

Sign up for Walton October 6th Conferences:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4ca5ae2ca3fb6-parentteacher1

Sign up for Walton October 18th Conferences:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4ca5ae2ca3fb6-parentteacher

Upcoming Dates:

Wednesday, September 21: Parent Council Meeting 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (This is a district-level meeting of PTO representatives).

Friday, September 23: Activity Period

Monday, September 26: Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

Friday, September 30: WMS/MoHS Tailgate at 5:30 p.m. MoHS Homecoming Game at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 6: Parent/Teacher Conferences

Monday, October 10: Picture Retakes

Monday, October 17: 6th Grade Field Trip to Frontier Culture Museum

Tuesday, October 18: Parent/Teacher Conferences

Have a wonderful weekend,

The WMS Administrative Team

Josh Walton-Principal

Sherica Jones-Lewis-Assistant Principal

WMS Friday Family Message 9-9-16

We had another great week here at WMS. While it was a short week it was packed with lots of learning and activities including our first dance, which just concluded at 6:00 p.m. On dance days you can expect to receive the Family Message a bit later than usual. The students at the dance had a great time and were walking the Walton Way by demonstrating safe, responsible, respectful, and learning behavior. We even learned a few dance moves, but we’re not quite ready to take them public.

Next week we have several exciting events including a field trip to a local art museum, the Fralin Museum at the University of Virginia. Students will be looking at art work through a critical and creative lens as they prepare to participate in the annual Writer’s Eye contest: http://www.virginia.edu/artmuseum/edu/k-12-programs/writers-eye/#writers-eye Last year we three Walton students placed 2nd, 3rd, and honorable mention in this competitive event. We hope to have a repeat this year.

On Friday we will have a visit from three artists from Inema Arts Center in Kigali, Rwanda (http://inemaartcenter.com/). These artists are visiting Charlottesville for a month in partnership with McGuffey Arts Center. While they are in town they are visiting local schools and participating in the greater art community. We are privileged to be part of their tour. While here they will hold a school-wide assembly where they will share aspects of their Rwandan culture including music, dance, storytelling, and art. After this they will visit classes to participate in workshops and to continue the cultural exchange in smaller groups. We are so excited for our students to have this opportunity to learn from friends across the globe right here in Albemarle.

Back-to-School Night

Thursday, September 15 is back-to-school night. This is an event designed for parents to come learn more about their child’s classes and about WMS in general. It begins at 6:00 p.m. in the cafeteria with the State of the School Address. This will last approximately 20 minutes and then parents will visit classes starting with their child’s first block blue day class. Visits in each class will last fifteen minutes. We look forward to seeing you here on Thursday for this great event.

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday, September 13: Writer’s Eye Field trip to Fralin Museum

Friday, September 16: Visit from artists from Inema Arts Center in Rawanda

Thursday, September 15: Back-To-School Night 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m (Schedule above)

Friday, September 23: Activity Period

Monday, September 26: Professional Development Day-No School for Students

As always please feel free to reach out with your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Have a wonderful weekend,

The WMS Administrative Team

Josh Walton, Principal

Sherica Jones-Lewis, Assistant Principal

WMS Friday Family Message 9-2-16

Good Evening, Walton Families

Our second week has proven to be another great week. Students are excited to be in class and are fully engaged in their learning. Dr. Jones-Lewis and I have had the opportunity to get in to see students learning in action many times this week and what we have seen has been wonderful. Students are reading classic short stories and analyzing them for characterization. They are studying current events. They are applying math in relevant ways. They are exploring the rich history of our country through text and online resources. They are developing their understanding of the scientific method and how to conduct accurate experiments. They are practicing healthy habits through exercise. They are learning to make beautiful music. They are learning about world languages and cultures. They are building games and 3-D designs. AND they are doing all this learning with smiles, laughter, and enthusiasm. Thank you for all you do to foster this love of learning in your students. 

 Eighth graders goofing after installing a bench built in Mr. Barber's class last year and finished this year.

Below are some important announcements and dates to keep in mind:

Picture Day-Friday, September 9!

We will be taking school pictures on Friday September 9. Order forms for pictures were sent home in First Day packets. If you need a new one please get it digitally at the Announcements on the WMS hompage: https://www2.k12albemarle.org/school/wms

Picture Make-Up day will be October 10, 2016.

Field Trip Info

There are a few spaces left on the Writer’s Eye field trip.  If your child would like to participate in the writing contest inspired by artwork on display at the Fralin Art Museum, bring a signed form in soon to reserve your space!  Contact Natalie M. Capps at ncapps@k12albemarle.org for more information. This trip is open to all grade levels.

Scholastic Book Orders

Book orders were distributed this week in all Language Arts classes.  Walton uses the bonus points earned on book orders to get free books for classrooms and to create high-interest book sets for literature circles.  Orders can be made online at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs using the class code H78KL.  Paper order forms can be returned to LA teachers or to Mrs. Capps by Friday, September 9th.

Reminder to Complete Registration Verification

This is a reminder to all parents to complete the online registration verification process. This process replaces the paper forms traditionally sent home in first-day packets at the beginning of each school year. Your verification is now available online. You will need to use the PowerSchool Parent Portal to access the InfoSnap registration system. We request that you submit registration verifications for all students by Friday, September 9, 2016. More information can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/z8efol7

WMS First Dance

The first dance of the school year will be held next Friday, September 9 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. There will be dancing in the cafeteria, sports in the open gym, and concessions available. This is a heavily attended dance every year. We hope your child can join us for it. The cost to attend is $3 and tickets will be on sale starting Wednesday next week at lunch. Students attending the dance stay after for it. We ask that all children be picked up by 6:10 p.m.

Safety Drills

We conduct safety drills regularly during the first month of school. We are required to conduct fire drills once per week for the first month and then one each month thereafter. We conduct two lockdown drills in the first 20 days of school and two more later in the year. We conducted our first lockdown drill today and the students did beautifully. These drills are important to practice to make sure we have a safe community. If you should have any questions about these drills please reach out to Mr. Walton or Dr. Jones-Lewis.

Upcoming Dates:

Monday, September 5-Labor Day-Holiday for Students and Staff

Friday, September 9-Picture Day and 1st Dance (4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m)

Tuesday, September 13-Writer’s Eye Fieldtrip to Fralin Art Museum

Thursday, September 15- Back-to-School Night (6:00-8:00 p.m.: State of the School Address at 6:00 p.m., Back-to-School Activities 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.)

All the best,

The WMS Administrative Team

Josh Walton-Principal

Sherica Jones-Lewis-Assistant Principal