Spanaway, WA

By: Jonathan Voorhies

Spanaway, WA was a REALLY fun place to be during the Fourth of July. We went there

the summer of 2014 to visit old friends of my family. We stayed there for around one week or

half a week. I didn’t not count time because I was having so much fun!

There are many activities to do in Spanaway, WA such as The Little Gym Of Puyallup which is located on 3850 S Meridian, Suite 6, the Children’s Museum Of Tacoma which is locat-ed on Pacific Ave,. Also there is Spanaway Park. This is located on Bresemann Blvd S or South. The final fun thing to do is to be in my opinion is Old Mcdebbie's Farm/JIM’S U-FISH which is

located on 286th St or Street E. When we there for the Fourth of July, I got to light fireworks

and do other various stuff like… bowling, Went to the park, and went Go Cart Racing.

I have lived in Spanaway, WA for about five years, so I basically knew my way around. We stayed at my mom’s friend’s house for the week we stayed there. After all the fourth of July mayhem, it was our final day in Spanaway, WA. We went to the bowling alley one more time to play two games….Sadly I didn't win either of the games, but it did not matter if I won or lost it only mattered if we were having as much fun as we could without getting hurt while doing it. We were planning to go this summer, but our plans were stopped when our close friends’ daughter was sent off to college, but I hope we get to go 2016 summer or they come up here and stay for one or half a week...I really hope its’ one week not half a week be-cause that would stink. My plans for next summer would probably be doing the same activities. I don’t care if we have to drive up to New York just to go Go Cart Racing. Maybe we can go to New York and meet them there… even if the traffic is a pain.

All in all, Spanaway, WA was a great experience for me and my family. I hope I go back there someday!

This summer I went to Chesapeake Bay. I know you were probably expecting my favorite summer retreat to be

somewhere in Hawaii or something, but I have to say, I really enjoyed my time at the Bay. Chesapeake Bay is the

largest estuary in the U.S and is home to many species of animals such as the striped bass, oysters, crabs, birds,

jellyfish, stingrays, and almost anything found in the Atlantic Ocean ( including sharks). Many people live near the

bay or own bayside houses. For those of you who don't know what a bay is, a bay is a stretch of water that is

connected to an ocean or Lake. Chesapeake Bay is connected to the Atlantic Ocean and Maryland ( where I

stayed) and Virginia. The bay is about 200 miles long and is thirty miles across at its widest point.

Chesapeake Bay is a great place to catch fish and crabs. You can also swim, kayak, motor boat, visit museums near the bay, run or walk on beautiful historic trials, or go bird watching. When I visited Chesapeake Bay ,I made sure to bring a list of things that are absolutely needed if you are going to have the best time of your life.

Bring clothes for warm weather and don’t forget your bathing suit

Bring water shoes (the rocks at the bottom of the shallow water will cut your feet otherwise)

Running shoes are a must have if you're going to walk/run the trails

Fishing rod and net

Flip flops

Goggles or snorkel

I would also recommend renting out a bayside house, so that you don't have to drive or walk to the nearest dock or beach. My family and friends rented a house that came with kayaks so that we didn’t have to rent our own. A good website to find bayside rentals ranging from $300.00 to $1,200.00 per night is homeaway.com (or any other vacation rental place you know ).Overall, Chesapeake Bay is a great summer retreat. I loved it, and I think you will too!!

Chesapeake Bay

Bar Harbor, Maine

By: Anna Read

I had the pleasure of visiting Maine this summer with my

family. As we all have fairly diverse interests about activities, our vacations are pretty much as spontaneous as it gets. From visiting museums to hiking fire towers and picking huckle-berries we were literally all over the place as we took in the beautiful culture of Maine. Of all these daytime expeditions, one town stood out to me and was ranked accordingly in my list of “Go Agains.” This charming town is located on Mount Desert Island and is called Bar Har-bor.

Not only is there a plethora of cute stores and restaurants; there is a gorgeous view

and park to sit and eat your Harbor Bar. [A delicious dessert in which a large scoop of ice

cream is sandwiched between two cookies and coated in chocolate.] I spent about two

hours roaming the shops that line the streets of Bar Harbor with my sister and I didn’t get

bored at all. My family had a spectacular lunch at a restaurant called the Side Street Cafe,

and we soon resumed roaming the town. Not only did the stores seem to get cuter and cuter

as we walked down the seemingly endless road, we also got to enjoy and appreciate the

history of the town.

In around 1800 artists of the Hudson Valley School, Frederic Church and Thomas

Cole travelled to Bar Harbor to paint pictures of both land and sea. Popularity was low at the

time and there was little to no tourism. By the 1850’s, however, popularity increased. This

resulted in more of the locals shifting their businesses to the tourism industry.

Bar Harbor is home to many different, exciting, and spunky stores, sites, and attrac-

tions. I loved my stay no matter how short-lived. To anybody staying in or near Mount Desert

Island, I highly encourage you to visit this adorable town and see for yourself the cheeriness

that it radiates.

Fort Walton

Beach

BY: Rickey Sells

Fort Walton Beach is located in Destin,Florida and is known for its

emerald green water and powder white sand. If you were to fly to Fort Walton Beach, the airport would only be

13.26 miles away. If you were to go you would need somewhere to stay. Here

is a list of hotels in the area: Ramada Plaza, Hampton, Four Points, Holiday Inn, Best Western, Super 8, Dol-

phin Inn, and Seabreeze Inn. For your safety there are flags at the beach that warn you about what danger

you are at risk of.

If the green flag is up, then it is only a low hazard, so if you're a

surfer this probably wouldn't be the day to come.

If the yellow flag is up, it's only a medium hazard so it would be a

good day to go out and play around in the water.

If the red flag is up, then it’s a high hazard and a great day for

risk takers.

If the double red flag is up then the water is closed to the public

but you are still able to go onto the beach.

If the purple flag is up, the marine pests are present, so if you want

to go in the water then just keep your eyes

open.

There are also water taxis and boat tours that you can get on at Fort Walton

Beach.

Intramurals Fall Season: Kickball and Fall Friendship Run September 1 - November 10

1st Team Meeting on Tuesday, September 1 MS auditorium at 2:30pm

Winter Season: Volleyball January 5-March 10

Spring Season: Flag Football, Ultimate Frisbee, Kickball and Color

Run March 29-May 31

These Intramurals are for 5th and 6th Graders

5th

and 6th

Grade Intramurals

Intramurals is a program that provides students with opportunities to develop physical fitness, motor skills and personal growth. Intramurals is comprised of 3 mini-seasons which will in-clude practices and competitions to be held on the lower fields at our school.

Fall: September 1 - November 10 Kickball and Fall Friendship Run

Winter: January 12-March 10 Volleyball

Spring: March 29- May 31 Flag Football, Ultimate Frisbee, Kickball, Color Run

Players will meet in the Middle School Auditorium on Tuesday, September 1st after school and will be released from the lower playing fields. Intramurals will begin at 2:30pm and conclude at 3:30pm. Our fall season will include Kickball and a Fall Friendship Fun Run. All participants must be registered through the Child Youth School Service program. Parents need to sign their child up at the Lee Area CDC Bldg. 140 (behind Subway). There is no cost to participate. For more information, please contact Parent Central at 938-0939.

The Fall Intramural Schedule is located on the next page.

Tuesday, September 1 Thursday, September 3

Tuesday, September 8

Open Practice

Thursday, September 10

Early Dismissal

Tuesday, September 15 Thursday, September 17

Tuesday, September 22 Thursday, September 24

Tuesday, September 28 Thursday, October 1

Tuesday, October 6 Thursday, October 8

Tuesday, October 13

Kickball Competition

Thursday, October 15

Kickball Competition

Tuesday, October 20 Thursday, October 22

Tuesday, October 27

Kickball Competition

Thursday, October 29

Early Dismissal

Tuesday, November 3

Kickball Competition

Thursday, November 7

Faculty and Staff Kickball Game

Tuesday, November 10

Fall Friendship Run

In sixth grade math students practiced effective and efficient problem solving using patterns and the

four number operations for their solutions. Continuing with problem solving activities, Mrs. Coffey

visited the math classrooms to revisit or introduce the sixth grade students to the Math Olympiad

contest which will occur every month this school year until March. Students will continue their inves-

tigations of finding ways in which math is applied to everyday situations as an integral component of

real life experiences.

Check out grades and homework on the WPMS school website and on GradeSpeed

http://www.am.dodea.edu/NY_VA/westpoint/middle/Classinformation/Homeworkpage.htm

5th Grade Social Studies Fifth grade social studies classes recently concluded their presentations on national (and some international!) landmarks/parks/monuments. Students had to write short para-graphs answering the "5 W's" to describe an experience they had visiting a place of histori-cal significance, and then give a short presentation to their peers. Each class was able to learn about some of the many beautiful places throughout our country, many of which are located right here in the Hudson Valley, and students practiced their public speaking skills through these informative and interesting presentations. In ELA/reading class, fifth grade students have been busy taking their beginning of the year assessments such as the S.R.I. and Reading Street Baseline. Some classes have begun novel studies, with a focus on the story elements of fictional literature.

In science, lab safety and mini-lab stations are providing hands-on

practice for measurement, data organization, scientific methods, and

social skills. We are seeing an energetic group of students eager to partici-

pate! Homework for science will be in the form of review of key terms and

concepts at least 15 minutes per night. Scheduled homework given on a

Tuesday will be due on Thursday. Thursdays homework will be due the fol-

lowing Tuesday.

The Sixth Grade began the new school year with enthusiasm, excitement,

and the discovery of brand new lockers. The Team 6 teachers unanimously

agree that this is undoubtedly going to be a successfully productive school

year for everyone. In the first week of school the sixth graders were intro-

duced to the following for their respective classes: course descriptions,

teachers’ expectations, grading systems, behavior management plans, and

classroom standards. Students and teachers participated in icebreaker activ-

ities that allowed everyone the opportunity to share and get better acquainted

with one another.

What’s going on in 6th and 7th ELA?

7th grade E.L.A. students have been reading The Giver. They’ve been assigned groups, based on individual student data, to design a utopian society. Students have also submitted and received feedback on a writing sample provided in class. Each student now has an individual writing goal.

6th grade E.L.A. students are enjoying the novel study Wonder. They’ve also been busy editing paragraphs and identifying various types of figurative language. All students will have a writing goal by the end of the week.

The sixth grade ELA students are engaged in the study of the novel, Rules by Cynthia Lord. Students are using reading strate-gies such as making inferences and making connections to the text in their study of the novel. Group and paired discussion of novel themes, as well as, vocabulary study will also take place.

West Point Middle School is commited to providing the highest achievement for all learners and, there-

fore, offers programs for high school credit. Spanish is offered to seventh and eighth grade students who have

demonstrated an interest and readiness to learn a second language.

The courses are as follows:

Spanish 1 - This course introduces the fundamental elements of the Spanish language within a cultural

context. Emphasis is on the development of basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. These

target language competencies will be achieved through traditional and 21st Century learning tools and

activities. Upon completion, students should be able to comprehend and respond with grammatical accu-

racy to spoken and written Spanish as well as demonstrate cultural awareness. The series for this course is

“Descubre” (Discover).

Spanish 2 - This course provides an opportunity to enhance acquisition of the fundamental ele-

ments of the Spanish language. Emphasis is on the progressive development of basic listening,

speaking, reading, and writing skills through the use of various supplementary learning media

and materials. Upon completion, students should be able to comprehend and respond with in-

creasing proficiency to spoken and written Spanish as well as demonstrate cultural awareness.

The series for this course is “Realidades” (Realidades). An online DoDEA proficiency test will be administered in

the Spring and, for those students attending a New York State High School, a New York State Proficiency Test is

given the third Monday in June.

My name is Domenica Conte and I look forward to seeing you at our Open House on September 10th. In the meantime if you have any questions about the Spanish Program, please contact me at Domeni-ca.conte@am.dodea.edu or (845) 938-2923.

NJHS News

The National Junior Honor Society, NJHS, of West Point Middle School in-

ducted its first members seven years ago. Invitations to apply for member-

ship are extended to students in grades seven and eight at the end of the first

semester of each school year. In order to qualify for membership, students

must possess at least a 3.5 GPA, which is calculated based on grades from the

last semester of the previous school year and the first semester of the current

school year. The guiding principles of the organization include scholarship,

character, citizenship, leadership, and service. Following the application pro-

cess, students who are accepted will be inducted during the third quarter of

the school year. Once inducted, students must maintain the requisite grade

point average and uphold and exemplify the above listed pillars in order to

remain members of West Point Middle School’s Chapter of NJHS.

Please feel free to contact any current member, or the organization’s sponsor,

should you have any questions, concerns, and/or service ideas or needs.

Tech Notes – September 2015

Mr. Brew, WPMS Educational Technologist

The new school year has gotten off to a smooth start. There are the usual beginning-of-the-

year issues with forgotten user names and passwords, but we seemed to have ironed out most of

those problems. Well done to everyone!

If you cannot login to any of the programs listed below, please tell your teacher or see me, Mr. Brew,

in my office in the Information Center during recess or after school:

Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI)/Reading Counts/Read 180

Pearson SuccessNet

GradeSpeed

Google Apps for Education

If you have for gotten your username or password used to login to a school computer, please ask your

teacher to either unlock your account and/or reset your password. Remember; never tell your pass-

word to anyone except your teachers or parents.

Google Fact: Everyone at Student.dodea.edu can use unlimited storage!

Have a great year and Go Army, beat Navy!

Mr. Brew

English as a Second Language

(ESL)

West Point Middle School is committed to providing instructional and enrichment programs

to meet the needs of all students. At WPMS, we offer ESL services to assist in academic instruction.

ESL allows English Language Learning students to become fully proficient in 4 domains: oral, listen-

ing, reading and writing. Learning can take on different forms to meet the individual student’s needs

such as: inclusion and/or pull-out services. I work closely with the teachers to ensure that appropri-

ate academic skills and knowledge areas are being met.

The ESL Proficiency Levels are:

Level 1 (Starting) – Students initially have little to no understanding of English.

Level 2 (Emerging) – Students can understand phrases and short sentences.

Level 3 (Developing) – Students understand more complex speech but still require repetition.

Level 4 (Expanding) – Students’ language skills are adequate for most day-to-day communication

needs.

Level 5 (Bridging) – Students can express themselves fluently and spontaneously but are not neces-

sarily English proficient.

If you have any questions about the ESL program, please contact me, Domenica Conte, at Domeni-ca.conte@am.dodea.edu or (845) 938-2923.

News From the LOG (Lamica’s Organic Garden)

We have had wonderful results from the garden we planted in the spring. The herbs,

tomatoes, flowers, and peppers are doing especially well. The herb garden has parsley, pur-

ple sage, rosemary, lemon thyme, and basil. We have harvested the herbs and tomatoes sev-

eral times and have passed them on to the cafeteria. They have been added to several dishes

in our lunches. I have used our produce to make pesto and fresh garden salsa.

Music Notes

The West Point Middle School music department is off to a great start for the 2015-16 school year!

Please mark the following dates on your calendars:

Wednesday, November 4: Veteran’s Day Assembly

Participants: Advanced Band, Grades 7/8 Chorus, and Drama

Wednesday, December 9: Holiday Concert

Participants: Beginning Band, Intermediate Band, Advanced Band, Chorus Club, and Grades 7/8

Chorus

Chorus Club will begin meeting on Friday, September 11. The club is open to all fifth and sixth grade

students and meets weekly from 2:20-3:00.

Six students were chosen as musicians of the month for September. If you know of a student in the

music program who has gone above and beyond in music recently, please nominate them by emailing

Mrs. Prosperie or Mrs. Reifenberg.

Jeff Prosperie: Jeff was the only seventh grade student from West Point Middle School to be selected

as a member of the Orange County Music Educators Association Junior High All County Festival.

Justus Crow: Justus performed a solo at last year’s spring concert, accompanied by his private teacher.

James Thiriot: Along with members of his family, James performed at this year’s back-to-school teach-

er breakfast.

Georgia Svoboda: Georgia attended a music and art camp this summer to further her skills.

Spencer Edson: Spencer attended a fine arts camp this summer and took private lessons on saxophone.

Madalyn Thiriot: Along with members of her family, Madalyn performed at this year’s back-to-school

teacher breakfast.

The Annual Health Screening for grades K-8 will take place Sept.14th - 17th in the

WPES cafeteria from 7:50–9:00 for the Middle School students and from 9:05-11: 05 for the

Elementary School students. Personnel from Optometry, Audiology, and Physical Therapy

(Scoliosis screening for Middle School students only) will be on hand to conduct our screen-

ings.

***Parent volunteers have made the Health Screening a huge success in the past. If you are

able to donate any of your time during that week, it would be greatly appreciated! Please

contact Mrs. Sparkle Echeverria via email at westpointschoolspto@hotmail.com if interest-

ed. Thank you!

Postural Screening Information

This year, along with routine vision, hearing, and height and weight screening, there will be a posture screening of grades 5th-8th for possible spinal problems, particularly "scoliosis". Scolio-sis is the medical term for sideward curve of the spine. It usually begins in the growing years of life, most commonly in adolescence, and affects girls 8-10 times more than boys. Of every 1,000 children, 3 to 5 develop spinal curves that are considered large enough to need treatment. In 80-85% of the cases, the cause is unknown. A progressive disease, it can lead over the years to pain, crippling, heart and lung complications, and severe deformity. When this condition is detected early, severe spinal deformities can be prevented. Interest in school screening is growing nation-wide, and several state legislatures have passed laws requiring school screening. The procedure is simple. A physical therapist from KACH will look at the student's back as he or she stands and bends forward. Students are asked to wear pants and loose fitting T-shirts on screening day. Girls may wear bathing suit tops if they would feel more comfortable. A male therapist will be screening the boys, female therapist for the girls. If your child has a beginning or observable curvature, you will be notified and asked to take your child for further examination by a physician. Scoliosis is not rare, early detection is possible through this program. If you have any questions, concerns, or you would like to opt out of the postural screen, please call or email me by Sept. 10th.

Abby Jensen, RN WPMS Nurse

Abby.jensen@am.dodea.edu (845)938-1979

The Art Program at West Point Middle School strives to harbor a meaningful and nurturing environment where all students can

and do succeed. Through sequential and invigorating concepts, students move through the grade levels developing ideas

through creating of art works, art vocabulary and skills development. The 5th grade curriculum focuses on the most basic art

theory ideas revolving around the 7 Elements of Art; Line, Shape, Value, Color, Texture, Space and Form. The 6th grade

curriculum focuses on the Principles of Design; Balance, Emphasis, Movement, Unity, Contrast, Pattern and Rhythm. The 7th

and 8th Grade Program develops the students understanding and activities through the study of Art History and particularly

Western Civilization.

The program will study and investigate the learning of different cultures and their aesthetic perceptions, individual artists and

their masterworks, and the development and insight into the possibilities of the arts for future careers and endeavors.

From the DoDEA Website these

These goals, through which the learning outcomes of the art program are determined, are aligned with the DoDEA K-12 Visual Arts

Standards and the National Standards for Visual Arts Education to include:

Learn the visual arts by using a wide range of subject matter, symbols, meaningful images, and visual expressions.

Reflect their ideas, feelings and emotions.

Evaluate the merits of their efforts.

Enduring ideas, concepts, issues, dilemmas and knowledge.

New techniques, approaches, and work habit

Explore traditional techniques to include drawing, painting, printmak-

ing, sculpture and ceramics

Explore new technology and media using computers and art, photographic and video software

Welcome to the Counseling Corner!

Welcome back for some of you… and to about 40 families, Welcome to West Point Middle School!!

It’s hard to believe that this is the fourth week of school, we are in full swing. For some stu-dents, ‘full swing’ this is not an easy thing to get into.

Here are some tips to help re-adjust from the summer time schedule to a more routine sched-ule that promotes education. We welcome your child to our school and we look forward to an exciting and successful school year. As always, feel free to e-mail your teacher or counselor if you have any questions relating to your child’s school progress.

Establish a bed time routine. When students get a good night sleep, things go better the next day at school. Keeping the same schedule for bed time and wake up time helps students maintain an overall positive attitude and studies show helps them retain learned material. Don’t forget, middle schoolers need at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep a day.

Eat a good breakfast. Students need to have some type of breakfast in the morning. Even though they may tell you they are not hungry, they will be hungry-usually during their first peri-od class - so it is essential they start their day, every day, with a nourishes choice.

Set out clothing the night before. Having your child set out clothing the night before school makes for a smoother morning. Also, make sure books, homework and other school materials are in a spot for an easy pick up on the way out the door. Nobody likes to be looking for need-ed supplies the last minute before the bus comes.

We welcome your child to our school and we look forward to an exciting and successful school year. As always, feel free to e-mail your teacher or counselor if you have any questions con-cerning homework or anything relating to your child’s school progress.

A Letter from our Journalism Class

Thank you for reading the very first edition of

WPMS Front Page News! We have had so much fun

working on this together and we all look forward to

polishing and perfecting our editing and

formatting skills. We hope you enjoyed our

newsletter, and we look forward to sending out

more issues as the year goes by.