Originally delivered on 4/16/2025 5:01 pm

SUBJECT: April 2025 PA Newsletter

WESS PA logo

Blood Drive at WESS: Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Next WESS PA MeetingWednesday, April 23, 2025, 9:15 AM in person

ELA testing: 6th grade - April 23, 24/ 7th & 8th grades - April 29, 30 

PA Message

We hope you are having a nice break!

We are happy to share the great news that WESS has completed the EL accreditation process with positive results. We are one of 8 schools in New York State to be officially accredited as an EL school (EL formerly known as Expeditionary Learning). Come hear the details of the accreditation process and celebrate with breakfast snacks and coffee at the April PA meeting on Wednesday, April 23, at 9AM.

The WESS PA wants you! Want a chance to get more involved at WESS? Want an insider’s look at the PA and help bring new initiatives to the school community? We will be holding elections for our Parent Association as well as our School Leadership Team at our May PA Meeting, Wednesday, May 23, 2024, 6:00 PM. This meeting will be held remotely over Zoom. If you are interested in joining our team, we can promise a great group of people working to support WESS and having fun along the way! PA positions include:

Co-Presidents, Co-Treasurers, VP of High School, VP of Middle School, VP at Large, Co-VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Communications Secretary, Recording Secretary, and Boosters Representative. Many of these positions can be shared, so if you're interested in learning more, don't hesitate to ask! Please feel free to reach out to us at papresidents@westendsecondary.com or Rebecca Weel at 646-456-3562 for further information!

For more WESS news and updates, check out the newly revamped WESS website

Moving Forward Together,

WESS Parent Association

Parent Education Opportunity

The organization, Day One, will come to WESS on Monday April 28, 2025 to facilitate a session on Modeling Healthy Relationships. This workshop will be both informative and interactive for parents and young people alike. We have three WESS high school students who will join to be part of the conversation. The conversation will focus on:

What is Adultism and how does it impact our young people? (Understanding how our actions as adults can be oppressive)

Building stronger relationships with young people — healthy tips for communication and conflict navigation

Supporting healthy relationship development — ways to talk to young people about intimacy and breakups

More information coming.

Middle School Matters

Mark your calendars for the following events coming up:

WESS Dance Company Showcase

Tuesday, May 13th in the Black Box Theater at WESS.

This year we will have two shows: 1:00pm and 5:00pm. All dancers will be performing in both shows. Our dancers will perform multiple dance works demonstrating the various genres of dance they have explored and mastered.  

6th Grade Family Meet Up

Sunday, May 18th at Waterline Park.

ELA Testing Dates:

Grade 6 (Computer-based)

Wednesday, April 23rd and Thursday, 24th.

Grade 7 (Paper-based)

Tuesday, April 29th and Wednesday, April 30th.

Grade 8 (Computer-based)

Tuesday, April 29th and Wednesday April 30th.

Math Testing Dates:

Grade 6 (Computer-based)

Wednesday, May 7th and Thursday, May 8th.

Grade 7 (Paper-based) 

Wednesday, May 7th and Thursday, May 8th.

High School Happenings

School Newspaper:Exciting News! The WESS Gazette, our official newspaper, is back! Read the latest articles and learn more info about it at wessgazette.org. We are gearing up for our very first print edition and would be incredibly grateful for any donations to help bring this project to life.

Sports, Clubs, and Arts

ROBOTICS

The WESS robotics team, Space Junk, competed in the FIRST NYC Regional event this past weekend! The team did great, placing 13th out of 53 teams who represented public and private schools from all over NYC! We are so proud of these students, and are so grateful for the support and leadership provided by their WESS teachers and coaches, Evan and Rebecca, as well as their volunteer mentor, Noah. Great job, Space Junk! 

ARTS

Congratulations to the WESS Players on their production of The Matchmakers! 

SPORTS

Spring sports are in full swing both with WESS teams and on teams at host schools. Sports include baseball, softball, tennis, flag football, handball, lacrosse, rugby, track, volleyball, and more.

Ultimate frisbee is also coming back to WESS through the DISCNY league.

Save the Date for the Sports Banquet on June 2, 2025.

Extracurricular clubs This information can also be found under the news section on the WESS Website.

Save the Date for Art Gala 2025

We are delighted to announce the following student-run event at WESS: 

Get ready for WESS’s new and upcoming event: Art Gala 2025Show your support for your student’s education by joining us on June 4th, 6 - 8:30 PM. Middle and high school artwork will be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to revamping WESS’s library. Your attendance at the Gala shows your commitment to your child and to the future of educational excellence at WESS. Check out the website for ticket details and more info on the event: wesslibrarygala.org

Volunteer

Give Blood: There is an urgent need for blood donations. On Tuesday April 22nd the HOSA Club (Health Occupations Students of America) will be hosting a blood drive at WESS in partnership with New York Blood Center. Anyone 16 or older can donate as long as they meet the eligibility requirements which can be found at nybc.org/eligibility. Please make an appointment by using this link. Reach out mgore26@westendsecondary.com with any questions.  

Give To WESS

Thank you to the many families who have taken the time to Give Back to WESS so far this year. Your contributions are essential to enriching the experience of every student at WESS. If you haven’t donated yet, please follow the links below to ensure the PA can continue to support the arts, sciences, sports, Passages ceremonies, professional development, and so much more.

VENMO (Free, no fee - click icon below)

PA Treasurer Account: @wess-pa

Please indicate “Family Giving” in the Note

If prompted for a code, use: 5058

PAYPAL(This method of donating includes an automatic monthly payment option; WESS pays a small fee per each credit card donation - click gift box or PayPal icon below)

STOCK - If you’d like to donate stock click on the stock icon below or contact patreasurer@westendsecondary.com

CAN YOUR DONATION BE DOUBLED? Many employers participate in a corporate matching program. We are able to provide any necessary information. Contact patreasurer@westendsecondary.com.

Wonder  Compassion  Resilience  Creativity

Membership Toolkit and How to Use It

When a family joins the WESS community, they are automatically added to the PA Membership Toolkit database. Membership Toolkit (MT) is the program that the WESS Parent Association uses to stay in touch with WESS parents and provide you with important information via emails and newsletters like the one you're reading right now. The fact that you have received this newsletter means that you are in the MT database.

The MT database is based on but separate from the official contact information that you provided to WESS via the blue card when your student(s) enrolled. That information is for the WESS administration only and is NOT accessible to parents. So, in order to make it possible and easy for WESS parents (and students) to find and keep in touch with each other, the PA created a user-friendly directory at Membership Toolkit.

To access Membership Toolkit and, therefore, the directory, click here, click on "login," and follow the prompts based on whether you are a returning user or a new user. If you've never logged on to MT before, you are a new user. Simply create an account and then you will find your contact information already available. Once you have created an account, you can edit your contact information and customize your profile including what, if any, information is made public in the directory.

MT is available as both a desktop and app option. It’s a great idea to have both for your convenience.

Note: If ever your contact information should change, it’s most important to change it on the official DOE blue card through WESS but it’s equally smart to also update it at Membership Toolkit if you want WESS folks to be able to reach you. 

If you have any questions or challenges using Membership Toolkit, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Liz Sorem and Mary-Elizabeth Vachon, WESS PA Co-Communications Team.

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