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March 7th WFMS Family Message

 

Este mensaje se puede ver en español haciendo clic AQUI.

 

Good afternoon WFMS families,

 

Cell phones & Social Media

We would like to bring to your attention an important concern regarding student interactions on social media and through text group chats outside of the school building and hours. This week, we have been addressing multiple situations where inappropriate comments made online—outside of school hours—have led to significant disruptions during the academic school day negatively impacting the learning of students.  We are discovering that many students are accessing their peers’ social media accounts making posts on various social media platforms when parents have had them delete their own personal accounts.  Many of these platforms delete messages after a certain length of time.  We have reached out to the platforms to request specific pages using the WFMS name be deleted, as they are not authorized by our school.  We are also seeing an increase of group text message feeds and students deleting comments they make from the group texts so parents or others cannot see them.  These situations, as well as others, take away from valuable teaching and learning time and create unnecessary distractions for students and staff.

To help minimize these disruptions and ensure a safe, respectful learning environment, we encourage all parents and guardians to actively monitor their child’s digital communication. Please take a moment to discuss with your student the importance of responsible online behavior, including the impact their words and actions can have on themselves and others as well as the lasting negative impact that could occur by sharing inappropriate comments and/or images digitally.

Our district provides resources for parents and staff on online safety and digital citizenship, which can be found on the district website. We encourage you to review these materials and use them as a guide for important conversations at home.  We also invite you to our April 10th STEAM Night where our PTSA will be sharing information on “Be Internet Awesome” as a part of a recent grant.

Please know that inappropriate behavior through social media or digital correspondence outside of school grounds that that causes a substantial disruption to the school day could result in consequences, which could include suspension.  We appreciate your support in monitoring your student’s online and digital activity.

World of Wonders STEAM Night April 10th 6:00-7:00 PM

We are excited about our upcoming WFMS: World of Wonders Family Engagement Night. This is a special event to celebrate STEAM and Art across the Cultures of all of our families. The event will be held on Thursday, April 10th, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm. We would love for our families to share their culture or careers with us.  If you might like to participate, please fill out the form.

 

WFMS: World of Wonders Form: Filling out the form does not commit you to this event. All forms are due by Friday March, 28th. Please contact Mrs. Jaime Melton with any questions. jmelton2@wcpss.net

 

Rising 8th Grade Registration Information

Registration for rising 8th-grade students will begin the week of March 10th. Students will receive a course selection sheet from their grade-level counselor on March 10th or March 11th. We encourage you to review the elective course selection sheet with your student and discuss the available options.

Students will be automatically registered for their social studies and science classes. Teachers have completed recommendations for their next ELA and math courses, ensuring appropriate placement based on each student's progress. Please note that math placement may be adjusted if a student earns a level 4 or 5 on the Math EOG in June.

If you have any questions about the registration process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your student's grade-level counselor. Thank you for your support in helping your student make informed decisions about their course selections!

SSA: Single Subject Acceleration

The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) Board of Education defines acceleration as allowing a student to move through traditional educational organizations more rapidly, based on readiness and motivation. Single Subject Acceleration (SSA) is the practice of placing a student in a higher-grade level in one subject area. This type of acceleration is for the purpose of providing access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities in either math or English Language Arts. 

 

Interested Parents should:

*All requests submitted outside of the student’s testing request windows will not be processed. Once the Google Form is completed, you will receive a confirmation message. If you do not receive a confirmation email please email the Advanced Learning Services team at ssa@wcpss.net.

 

EOG Testing Schedule

 

 

 

PTSA Updates 

PTSA will now be having our meetings on the first Thursday of every month at 7pm via Google Meet only. A reminder and link will be sent to all PTSA members the day before the meeting. Not a member? Join PTSA HERE.

 

Join our school and our PTSA as we host STEAM night at Wake Forest Middle school on Thursday, April 10. Learn from our students and staff about internet safety, different cultures, art, technology, engineering, and more! 

 

Mark your calendars for our spring Campus Beautification on Saturday, April 12. 

 

PTSA is "Renting the Rock" to WFMS families and staff!! Scan the QR code or follow the link below for more details.

 

Spirit Rock Rental

 

Copy of SCHOOL SPIRIT FLYER.jpg

 

Stay Connected:

  • Join Our Facebook Page: Click HERE for updates and more!

Monthly Board Meetings:

  • When: First Thursday of every month at 7 PM

  • Where: Google Meet 

  • Next Meeting: April 17

  • All Members Welcome: Join us to discuss PTSA activities and plans!

Counselor’s Corner

Social media brings positive opportunities for students to connect with others, express themselves, and gain new information, but it also presents many risks. As counselors, we regularly discuss social media with students as they express frustration and pain about interactions with others there. As parents, the experts on your own child(ren), you will know what they will be ready to handle and what skills they might need to work on building. Below are some recommendations based on research and links to help manage student accounts. 

 

Developing brains during adolescence are susceptible to higher sensitivity around receiving attention, and the opportunities on social media to receive “likes” and get “noticed” can activate the brain chemistry rewarding them for behavior to get more of it. Helping students to set limits with whom they are interacting and how often they are engaging on social media will make it more likely for this to stay a positive experience. Having a regular meeting with your child(ren) about their social media use, how those platforms work, and what the dangers might be will let them know you are a safe space to turn to if they are having an issue. In this and all things, parents are a model for their child(ren), so setting a good example for them is an easy and critical way to encourage them in their own use of it. Last, teach your child(ren) what to look out for to help reduce their risks. 

 

Snapchat quick links including their family center policies: HERE

How to set up teen supervision on Instagram: HERE

iPhone parental supervisions: HERE

Supervision for Google accounts: HERE

Common Sense Media articles on Media use: HERE

 

Staff of the Week

This week we recognize, Ms. Imonni Withers (7th grade science) for being a caring, supporting, and collaborative teacher.  In addition, we shout out to Ms. Ebony Harris McDuffie (7th grade administrator) and Ms. Danyka Mangum (8th grade administrator) for their dedication to our students and their organization of our recent College & Career Day and Black History Month Celebration.  We appreciate all these three amazing educators do in their roles at WFMS each day.

 

WFMS Social Media

Families who have social media are encouraged to follow WFMS on Twitter (@wakeforestms), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/WakeForestMS), and Instagram (@wakeforestms) for updates.

 

School Communications 

If you are not receiving our school updates please visit the WCPSS School Messenger site to make sure you have opted in for communication from the school.  If you have opted in and changed your contact information, please reach out to Mr. Jamal Fleet (jfleet@wcpss.net) to update.

 

 

 Important Dates to Remember

March 14 - Make-up Instructional Day- B Day

March 31 - April 4 - Spring Break - (no school - WFMS campus closed)

April 7 -  Make-up Instructional Day- A Day

April 18 - Holiday (no school)

May 2 -  Make-up Instructional Day- A Day

May 26 - Memorial Day Holiday (no school)