Important Dates
November
11/23: Turkey Trot 5K & 1 Mile Health WalkMountain Park (8:45 AM)
11/24: BOE Meeting-WAMS Auditorium (7 PM)
11/25: 1st Marking Period Report Cards Online
11/26: EARLY DISMISSAL-Thanksgiving Recess
(11:45 AM)
11/27-28: SCHOOL CLOSED-Thanksgiving Recess
Welcome to the Viking Voice Quarterly, a publication
of the WAMS PTO, issued at the end of each marking
period to celebrate the events and happenings at
William Annin Middle School.
For information on upcoming
events, please refer to the
current week’s Viking Voice
Express on the WAMS PTO
home page.
December
12/3: Band Concert-WAMS Auditorium (7 PM)
12/5: Cycle 2 Ends
12/8: Cycle 3 Begins
12/9: PTO Holiday Staff Appreciation Luncheon
12/10: Snow day for Staff Appreciation Luncheon
12/10: Orchestra Concert-WAMS Audit. (7 PM)
12/15: BOE Meeting-WAMS Auditorium (7 PM)
12/17: WAMS Choral Concert-RHS PAC (7 PM)
12/23: 6th Grade Talent Show
12/23: EARLY DISMISSAL-Winter Recess (11:45 AM)
12/24-1/2/15: SCHOOL CLOSED-Winter Recess
Inside this issue:
PTO Board & Mission Statement
PTO General Meetings Summaries
2
3-4
6th Grade Family Fun Night
5
2014-15 Student Direccory
6
Magazines & Memories Drive
7
Dr. Michael Bradley
8
January 2015
1/1-1/2: SCHOOL CLOSED-Winter Recess
1/5: School Re-opens; BOE Mtg-WAMS Auditorium
(7 PM)
2014 - 2015 PTO, District & DynaCal Calendars
Click here for the entire PTO calendar. (11/14/14)
Click here for the district calendar. (12/16/13)
WAMS Athletic Organization Fall Sports Review
Click here for the DynaCal Calendar (All Bernards Township Schools’ Events).
Student Recognition
9-10
11-13
Visit www.wamspto.com for more information.
Submissions to the Viking Voice Quarterly may be sent via email to
Heather Wenzel at [email protected].
PTO NEWS & INFORMATION
First Marking Period
2014-2015 PTO BOARD
President (Co-President)
Secretary
Treasurer
VP of Communications
VP of Fundraising
VP of Programs
VP of Volunteers
Monique M cHenry
Christine Ziegler
Barb McCabe
Heather Wenzel
Sophia Hu
Ged Ong
Maria Sblendorio
The WAMS PTO Board meets monthly to discuss current and future PTO
events. The members work diligently to make the best decisions possible
with PTO funds while supporting the PTO’s mission:
Please visit our home page regularly to stay current on all the latest events
and information at William Annin Middle School. The news bubbles are frequently updated with pertinent announcements.
Be sure to sign up to receive the WAMS Friday Folder which includes our
weekly newsletter, the Viking Voice Express (VVE).
Our web site also contains Resources such as forms, FAQ’s and important
links; as well as ways to get involved and how to support our school.
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PTO NEWS & INFORMATION
First Marking Period
GENERAL PTO MEETINGS
Each General PTO meeting covers PTO news and events and includes a WAMS
update from Principal Karen Hudock. As part of PTO news, a Board of Education
member, a WAMS AO Representative, and a District Curriculum Committee member
provide a general status.
Highlights from the special topics presented at our first two meetings are below.
Click on the meeting date to read the full minutes. Archived Meeting Minutes and a
list of future dates and topics may be found on the PTO web site.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Topic: WAMS Support Staff
The WAMS Support Staff presented their respective roles and responsibilities:
Health Office:
Guidance Department:
Child Study Team:
Student Assistance Counseling:
School Resource Officer:
Debbie Karuppan, RN,C
Jim Buist and Cara Miscia
Susan Madorma
Dr. Barbara Bush
Tracy Baldassare
Whether or not they are new to WAMS, parents can always benefit from information
about WAMS support. Please refer to the meeting minutes for specific details about
each area of support.
Thank you to the Support Staff for their insightful information
and for their dedication to our students in helping them succeed
and achieve their goals at WAMS.
Much appreciation to Vikki Ebeling, Alicia Martine, Preeti Gupta, and Lisa Laurino
for providing refreshments.
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PTO NEWS & INFORMATION
First Marking Period
GENERAL PTO MEETINGS
Continued…
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Topic: Digital Device Responsibility & The Risks of Social Media
“What are your children doing online?” This was the topic presented at our
November meeting by WAMS School Resource Officer, Tracy Baldassare, and by
Dr. Barbara Bush, Student Assistance Counselor.
The critical take-away? Parents must stay informed about the multitude of sites and
apps their children are using and to which they are exposed, such as “hiding and disguise apps” which can mask themselves to appear as safe
apps on your personal device; and VoIP, which enables users
to make calls through their devices.
Officer Baldassare also explained the risks, laws, and consequences associated with sexting and cyber-harassment. She
discussed steps parents can take to keep their children safe
online and what to do should one become a victim of cyberbulling. Read her eye-opening presentation here.
Dr. Bush cautioned that middle school-aged children may not be ready to use social
media at the same responsible level as adults since their brains are still developing
and they are processing information at different rates.
Establishing an Internet Safety Contract with your child is a great way to start a conversation about how they and their fears are using social media. Click here for more
resources about harassment, bullying, and intimidation policies. Officer
Baldassare is also available for assistance on this very relevant issue.
Many thanks to Karen White for providing refreshments.
4
PTO HAPPENINGS
First Marking Period
FAMILY FUN NIGHT
WAMS Family Fun Night welcomed approximately 100 incoming 6th grade
students and their families to a fun, carnival-themed evening on Friday,
October 10.
Teachers (Rachel Sharpe, Courtney Slack, Caitlin Annese and Marissa
Fuellhart), and peer leaders did a fantastic job organizing a great number of
games, with 'Rubber Ducky Knock -Out' and 'Lollipop Tree' among the
favorites.
Attendees enjoyed frosty snow-cones and warm pretzel treats courtesy of
the peer leaders.
Many thanks to parent volunteers, Jen Schuchman and Sadaf Haroon, who
pitched in to make this night a smashing success. Special thanks to
committee chairs: Linda Maher, Maria Sblendorio and Aditi Tandon, for
pulling it all together!
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PTO HAPPENINGS
First Marking Period
2014-15 STUDENT DIRECTORY
This year WAMS went green and signed on with AtoZ Directories to establish our online
student directory, which included the convenient option for parents to pay their
membership dues online.
Work on the directory began in June and continued throughout the summer so that parents
could have immediate access to information online, as well as a printed copy in hand within
the first few weeks of school.
The PTO extends a huge thank you to our System Administrator, Sarah Bonnefoi, without
whose expertise of “all things AtoZ” and countless hours of personally ensuring data
accuracy--from names and addresses and email addresses and phone numbers, to
reformatting the printed directory for easier use, to managing all aspects of the print
production--this project would not have been so successful.
Many thanks also goes out to: Betsy Riddiford, also System Administrator, for her work
with Sarah in getting us up and running and for continuing her administrator role during
the school year; Maria Shapiro for managing and tracking all of the PTO memberships that
were mailed to the school over the summer and early fall; Mary Knell for her support in reorganizing the faculty section; Helen Beck for her ongoing help with distribution; and to our
wonderful volunteers who helped organize printed directories for homeroom delivery:
Marcella Conway, Vikki Ebeling, Sadaf Haroon, Alicia Martine, Ged Ong, Susan Rider, Maria
Shapiro and Heidi Vigeant.
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PTO HAPPENINGS
First Marking Period
MAGAZINE & MEMORIES DRIVE
We kicked off the 2014-15 school year with a very successful, “ducky” Magazines &
Memories drive that earned more than $14,000 for our school!
Congratulations goes out to our top selling students by grade: Caitlin Gardiner (8),
Colin McHenry (7), and Julia Sanchez (6).
Cheers to the top class sellers by grade: Mr. Beykirch (8), Ms. Brown (7), and
Ms. Dupuis (6).
Well done everyone! Many thanks to all of the students and parents who
participated. Special thanks to Cathy Schmidig and Sophia Hu for chairing the
drive.
The Magazines & Memories drive has ended, but the online store is still open for
business throughout the school year. Go to www.gaschoolstore.com, enter WAMS
PTO code 3679487 and your student's name to shop for photo books, holiday
cards, home decor, personalized gifts, pro shop & collegiate items and, of course,
magazines! WAMS will continue to earn 40% on all sales.
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PTO HAPPENINGS
First Marking Period
DR. MICHAEL BRADLEY
Noted speaker, adolescent behavior expert, and author of Yes, Your Teen Is
Crazy, Dr. Michael Bradley, returned to Bernards Township on Wednesday,
October 22, to present, “Drugs & Alcohol: Tools & Tactics for Parents of
Teenagers.”
Dr. Bradley addressed relevant issues such as teen parties and peer pressure,
emphasizing the importance of respect-based parenting, discipline techniques,
as well as his own Ten Commandments of Anti-Drug Parenting. Dr. Bradley also
discussed substance abuse statistics in our area.
For more resources and information, visit Dr. Bradley’s website.
This informative evening was sponsored by the WAMS and RHS PTOs, and the
Bernards Township Municipal Alliance.
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WAMS AO EVENTS
First Marking Period
WAMS ATHLETIC ORGANIZATION
Fall Sports Review
As fall sports come to an end, the AO would like to thank all coaches, assistant coaches,
team parents, bus riders and students for making sports and WAMS such a great success!
Students participate in WAMS sports for a variety of reasons: to stay active and fit, to
compliment their club teams, to try something new, or to return to a sport they truly enjoy.
Whatever the reason, we hope the experience of representing their school with pride was
meaningful and valuable.
Our field hockey team improved throughout the season under the guidance of Coach Wargo,
who transitioned from leading the freshman team at Ridge HS to coaching our Annin squad
this fall.
Coach Baker led the girls’ soccer team to a 7-1-1 regular season record, losing in the first
round of the play-offs.
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WAMS AO EVENTS
First Marking Period
WAMS ATHLETIC ORGANIZATION
Fall Sports Review -continued
Boys’ soccer finished 2-8, and under Coach Greer also closed the year with a loss in round one
of the play-offs.
The girls’ volleyball team had a better than .500 record and the chance to participate in the
Readington Invitational tournament with Coach Ross in her first season of coaching at WAMS.
Under the direction of Coaches Karch, LoCascio, and Stappenbeck, the coed cross-country team
enjoyed much success and for the first time attended the NJ State Middle School XC
Championships at Six Flags Great Adventure. Many students chose to participate at the clinic
level for field hockey and girls’ volleyball as well.
Our winter season is now underway with both boys’ and girls’ basketball teams practicing and
boys volleyball starting soon. Thank you again to all the supporters of WAMS AO!
Please remember to visit www.wamsao.com for all WAMS sports information, or find and
“Like” us on Facebook at WAMS Athletic Organization.
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STUDENT RECOGNITION
First Marking Period
Congratulations on Outstanding
Performance
2014-2015 School Year
8TH GRADE STUDENT STARS
Each marking period, the 8th grade teachers recognize a group of students as student stars.
Students are chosen for their good moral character, contributions to the school, concern for
others, cooperative spirit, respect for school and others, and sense of responsibility. These
students demonstrate the attributes that contribute to a successful school community.
Blue Team
To Be Announced
Gold Team
To Be Announced
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Green Team
To Be Announced
STUDENT RECOGNITION
First Marking Period
Congratulations on Outstanding
Performance
2014-2015 School Year
7TH GRADE VIKING VIP’s
The 7th grade teams honor students who exemplify Viking Values every marking period. Each
team of teachers nominated and voted on students based on the Viking Values. The four values
are: Courage, Respect, Integrity and Responsibility. Students who win the VIP award display the
courage to do the right thing when no one is watching, treat others with respect, demonstrate
responsibility, and act with integrity. This award recognizes the actions of the true VIP’s at
WAMS. The 7th grade teachers are proud of these students and their accomplishments, and
recognize their efforts at making our community a better place.
Blue Team
To Be Announced
Gold Team
To Be Announced
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Green Team
To Be Announced
STUDENT RECOGNITION
First Marking Period
Congratulations on Outstanding
Performance
2014-2015 School Year
6TH GRADE MOST VALUABLE VIKING
The Most Valuable Viking (MVV) is a program designed to recognize students who have consistently demonstrated a positive and cooperative attitude in their school community by demonstrating one (or more) of the four Viking Values: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity and Courage.
While many students demonstrate good character each and every day, these student’s efforts and
actions went above and beyond, earning them this outstanding award.
Blue Team
Gold Team
Green Team
Michael Isserow
Josh Castner
Joseph Castagno
Matilde Lousado
Alexandra Gualario
John Gannon
Maia Mielke
Meghan Hausser
Zsuzsa Kiss
Beth Polito
Bennett Keller
Nicole Sileo
Chris Profaca
Emma Kingston
Rebecca Picardo
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