WMS Announcements and News Archives

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held for Sport & Health Center

On Friday, October 23, WMS held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly-opened WMS Sport & Health Center. Health/PE Teacher Mr. Wetzel spearheaded the creation of the new fitness center with a dream to convert the old “Auxiliary Gym” to a weight/aerobic room that could be used by all students. Thanks to a generous donation from Sports & Health Clubs, the facility currently is equipped with free weight areas, stationary bikes, universal machines, and a treadmill.

WMS Track Team takes Regional Championship
Congratulations to the Regional Champion Girl's Track Team. They had an outstanding season and the girls did an extraordinary job at the Regional meet! Coming away with first place finishes in the region were Jewel Christian, the fastest girl in the Eastern Region, with top finishes in the high jump, 100 meter dash, and 200 dash; Terran Cole who blew away the field in the 800 meter run, and Keyla Epps in the 55 meter dash. Also taking first place were the 400 meter relay team of Kiara Stewart, Amber Murphy, Sierra Davey, and Keyla Epps and the 800 meter relay team of Esther Sakyi, Hannah Simmons, Shacoya Jenkins, and Jewel Christian. Other exceptional performances included Kiara Stewart in the 100 and 200, Elise Rasmussen in the mile run, Jasmin Ricketts, Sierra Davey, and Moet Dupree. The entire team did a great job this year!

WMS Formally Recognized as a VA School to Watch

Woodbridge Middle School celebrated its distinguished recognition as Virginia School to Watch on Monday, June 15. The day started with school-wide outside activities, in which all students and staff participated in games, food, and fun. That evening the formal ceremony was held in the newly renovated auditorium, in which WMS was officially recognized by the School to Watch Association.

The ceremony included separate performances by the WMS 8^th grade Orchestra and Chorus, and then concluded with the band, chorus and orchestra jointly performing God Bless America. PWCS Associate Superintendent for Middle Schools Dr. Catherine “Pat” Puttre presented WMS Principal Skyles Calhoun with the official certificate of recognition, and then on behalf of the WMS Community, eighth graders Gabrielle Powell and Ruben Salas were presented with a banner by the Virginia Schools to Watch Director Sandra Dutemple.

Later this month, WMS will again be honored as a School to Watch at the National Forum Annual STW Conference in Crystal City. At this conference, WMS will proudly share their expertise with conference attendees.

WMS Named a Virginia School to Watch

The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, the Virginia Middle School Association, and the Virginia Department of Education have developed criteria for identifying high-performing middle-grades’ schools. The truly high-performing middle-level school embodies the intersection of academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structure. We are proud to announce that Woodbridge Middle School has been selected as a School to Watch (STW). Going into the 2008-2009 school year, there were eleven Virginia middle schools and 55 middle schools across the nation who had achieved this accomplishment. There are 18 STW States, with 200 identified schools; these states represent 61% of the middle school students in the US.

As a STW, WMS will be featured in state and national publications, and will be a model school for good middle-level instruction and support for students, staff, and community members.

WMS will be honored as a School to Watch at the National Forum Annual STW Conference in Crystal City, VA, June 2009. At this conference, WMS will proudly share their expertise with conference attendees.

WMS Mourns the Loss of Mr. Mizgorski

Beloved WMS teacher Mr. Edward Mizgorski Jr., 45, passed away on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. Mr. Mizgorski was a Pittsburgh native who earned a BS in Elementary Education from Slippery Rock University and a MS in Special Education from Old Dominion University. He served as a teacher for 17 years, eight of those years in Prince William County Schools. Mr. Mizgorski proudly taught special education and social studies at WMS and was a much-loved member of the WMS family. In addition, he was a passionate Steelers fan and an avid fisherman and hunter. Students and staff at Woodbridge Middle extend their deepest condolences to Mr. Mizgorski’s wife Lori and daughter Allison. His commitment and love for WMS will be deeply missed. Memorial contributions may be made to the Allison N. Mizgorski College Fund, c/o Schellhaas Funeral Home Ltd., P.O. Box 143, Bakerstown, PA 15007.

Box Tops for Education Needed
Woodbridge Middle School has begun collecting Box Tops for Education coupons. WMS will earn 10 cents for every Box Top that is turned in to the school. Box Tops can be found on products ranging from Cheerios cereal to Yoplait Go-Gurt Yogurt to Huggies Diapers to Ziploc Storage Bags. All collected Box Tops should be turned into the office. For more information about the Box Tops for Education program and a list of products that have Box Tops coupons, please visit www.boxtops4education.com.

WMS Grapplers win Regionals
Congratulations to the Regional Championship Wrestling Team for their outstanding team performance on Thursday, March 26, to win the Regional Tournament! Winning a regional tournament requires a team effort in all weight classes and our Woodbridge Wrestlers responded. Coach Scott and Coach Mathison are extremely proud of every wrestler for giving 100% yesterday. Special recognition goes to Mason Smith, KJ Williams, and Ronnie Palmer for second place finishes in the tournament. Also, congratulations to the following regional champions in their weight classes: Marcus Campbell, Elijah-Ty Phelps, Tulga Ganzorig, Ray Prillman, and Jawaun Lee.

Robotics Team Takes Second Place
Congratulations to the WMS Robotics team. Their alliance with Fred Lynn and Godwin robotics teams won second place at the third annual Robotican held at Stonewall Middle School this past Saturday. They are to be congratulated on their good sportsmanship, great problem-solving skills, and excellent team work. Member of the team are: Jason Gilligan, Ben Hare, Dane Hart, Scott Schwoppe, Chris Tam, CJ Triggs, and Zach Zilinskas.

WMS Students Published
Fifteen students will be published in The Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans, which reviews thousands of poems each year, only selecting the most creative for publication. Each entry is considered on its own merit and is selected for publication only if it meets their criteria and standards. Established in 1989, the Anthology of Poetry, Inc. is one of America's oldest and most reputable publishers of students' poetry and short stories. Congratulations to the following students:

Jade Arnold, Katie Balben, Saba Cheema, Khadijah Davis, India Hassan, Jihane Hayti, Rafia Jan, Sultana Khorosh, Gaby Martinez, Alexis Morton, Marlene Michniak, Mariah Ruiz, Karina Sanabria, Lillian Sanusi, and Mariam Sherdill.

Robotics Team Gets 1st Place at Scrimmage
Congratulations to the Woodbridge Middle School Robotics Team for winning first place at the 3rd annual Benton Middle School Robotics Scrimmage on Saturday, February 7. Team members who represented WMS were Jason Gilligan, Dane Hart, Scott Schwoppe, Chris Tam, and CJ Triggs. In addition to goals scored by the robot, the team was awarded points for professionalism and good sportsmanship. See more pictures.

WMS Holds Spelling Bee
On Thursday February 5th, Woodbridge Middle School held a spelling bee. The students that were competing in this bee earned their spot by winning their Language Arts class spelling bee. The runner-up, Elizabeth Monzon, a sixth grader, beat over fifteen 7th and 8th graders! Gregory Hilton, an 8th grader, took first place in the competition and will advance to the Prince William County Spelling Bee sponsored by the Belair Woman's Club on March 13th at Godwin Middle School. Congratulations and Good Luck! WMS is proud to have you represent us!

Miss Virginia Visits WMS 6th Graders

The newly crowned Miss Virginia, Tara Wheeler, visited WMS 6^th graders on Monday, December 15. Miss Wheeler, also a former Gar-FieldHigh School student, spent about an hour with students, first delivering the message of the importance of being yourself, doing positive things for others, and not stereotyping people. Then Miss Wheeler took questions from students, followed by an autograph and picture session. WMS students were overjoyed and greatly inspired by her visit, and are definitely rooting for Miss Wheeler to be a finalist for the Miss America pageant.

6th Grade Science Field Trip Highlighted in PWCS News and PWCS-TV
Woodbridge Middle School’s sixth-grade single-gender classes visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on October 14. Read more and see pictures here. See the PWCS-TV School Focus segment highlighting the watershed field experience here.

Incomplete Homework Will Now Put Students on Probation
Effective immediately, students who are excluded from Learn and Earn activity because of homework completion issues, will be placed on School Probation, which includes participation in all clubs and after school sports. Read more: English Español

Update Emergency Contact Information Via Edulink

Woodbridge Middle School is participating in a pilot project that allows Parents/Guardians to update Emergency contact information via Edulink Intouch online.

First go to the Edulink website. To edit data, click on the Emergency Icon on the main log in page. The data that is currently in the Student Information System will be displayed. To edit the data, click on the “make changes/update” button or the “View pending/submit additional changes” button at the bottom of the screen. Once you have completed editing the information, click the “Submit Changes” button at the bottom of the screen.

Please note that Woodbridge Middle School will be processing the changes weekly on Monday mornings. Changes will not be reflected in Intouch Online until 24 hours after changes have been processed. If you do not see your updates reflected after Tuesday afternoon following the Monday, please e-mail Kellye Moore, Edulink Administrator @ moorekm@pwcs.edu.

We are excited about this new editing capability and hope that you will help us keep our Student Information System updated with your most current Emergency contact information.

Weather-Related School Closing Policies
With the wintry weather likely upon us soon, remember to listen to local media reports and to check the School Division’s Web site at pwcs.edu for any messages about changes in school schedules. No announcements will be made when schools are operating on a normal schedule.

Announcements of changes in school schedules are posted immediately after a decision is made on the PWCS Web site, on PWCS-TV (Comcast Cable channel 18 and Verizon FiOS channel 36), and on the School Division’s telephone closing line, 703.791.2776. Subscribers to E-News can choose to receive closing announcements by email, text message, or both. To register online, visit the PWCS Web site at pwcs.edu and in the blue “How do I?” box at the top-right of the page, select “Receive email news.” Delay or closing announcements will not be posted to the WMS website.

Superintendent of Schools Steve Walts sent a letter home to parents on November 1 with detailed information on closing procedures. To read the letter, visit pwcs.edu/admin/closingpolicies.html .

When schools open two hours late or close for the entire day, information is given to radio and television stations to be broadcast beginning at 5 a.m. and at repeated intervals thereafter. Special codes are included in the announcements that affect employees. “Code Red” means that employees do not report for work, and “Code Green” means all 12-month employees and all administrators shall report for work.

Parents/guardians should not bring students to school early when a delayed opening is in effect because school staff members may also be delayed in getting to schools.

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