Message from the Principal
and Assistant Principal

Happy New Year to everyone in our Winona Middle School community!

We hope this finds you and your family well and ready for 2021.

Information about returning to school

All 5th grade students will return to in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 11. The proposed return to hybrid learning for Grades 6-8 is on Thursday, Jan. 28. We will communicate as soon as that information is official.

If you are interested in changing models into Distance Learning or back to a model where your child may return to school, a perfect time to make that change would be at Semester 2, which begins on Monday, Jan. 25. Contact the Student Services Office at 507-494-1031if you would like to discuss a change.

In the meantime, if you have questions please use the WAPS Safe Learning Plan website for clarification.

Now is also a great time to review a few of our Winona Middle School expectations and remind you of the communication tools we have available.

For some reason, when our children are younger it seems easier to stay informed on the other part of their lives when they are not with us. It also has been a year of new learning models for our students and staff, and with that comes times of confusion for everyone.

Communication
At WMS, we recognize this challenge and want to make it as easy as possible to be involved at WMS by first being informed of what is happening. To that end, we have several tools at your disposal:

Phone calls/email: Staff members will call you to share positive things about your child, and, if necessary, some areas in which they can improve.
Newsletters: We will continue to send this monthly newsletter to highlight upcoming events at WMS and share any information we feel you need to be aware of.
Webpage: Our webpage, Winona Middle School, will highlight upcoming events and will allow you access to site related information.
Planners: We are requiring our students to use planners this year. This is also an additional tool to support home and school communication. Your student’s planner should come home and/or be filled out at home daily with each class assignment that was given or what your student did in class should be written down. We encourage our students to use checkboxes to check off completed work.
Schoology: Our staff uses Schoology as our learning management system. Parents can access Schoology to stay on top of what is happening in their child’s classes. Assignment dates and test dates are also posted on Schoology. Schoology can be accessed on our website under the Parents & Students tab.
Infinite Campus: We encourage you to monitor the progress of your student in the classroom throughout the school year by utilizing the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. This will allow you to track grades and attendance to support your child’s success at home. If your student is struggling, please reach out to school staff for assistance.
Facebook: We use the WMS Facebook page to share interesting stories and events, as well as reminders. If you are on Facebook, we encourage you to “like” the WMS Facebook page.

Cell Phones & Electronic Devices
Cell phones should remain off and in backpacks except for before school, at lunch (grade levels may differ on their policies, but teachers/staff will state expectations and students will be expected to follow them) or after the final bell. Students are encouraged not to bring personal electronic devices to school. The school is not liable for lost, stolen, or damaged electronic devices.

Impermissible technology use at lunch includes, but is not limited to, using social networks like Facebook and Snapchat, taking photos of classmates, teachers or staff without permission and/or using personal devices or phones in restrooms, locker rooms, etc. If you have a message for your child, please continue to call student services and we will be sure your child receives the message.

Finally, we are almost halfway through this school year with Quarter 2 ending on Jan. 21. A reminder that there will be no school for all WMS students on Monday, Jan. 18 and Friday, Jan. 22. As always, please keep the lines of communication open with any concerns or questions you may have. We appreciate the partnership we have with parents, families, and the community on our journey to educate every student at Winona Middle School.

We understand how challenging this year has been for everyone and please know we miss the energy in our building and we can’t wait to have our students back!

Sincerely,

Mark Winter — Principal
Jolene Danca — Assistant Principal

Free Meal Program

All students in Winona ages 18 and under will be able to continue to receive free meals, even as Winona Area Public Schools transitions all grade levels to an in-person or hybrid learning model.

Students who attend school in-person at a WAPS school will receive free breakfast and free lunch at their school building. All students, regardless if they attend a WAPS school or not, will be able to request a five-day meal pack (which includes both breakfast and lunch) to be picked up on Wednesdays at Winona Senior High School.

Delivery of meals will end on Friday, Jan. 15. Families previously signed up for meal pickup on Wednesdays will be able to do so through Wednesday, Jan. 20. However, a new form will need to be completed for pickup beginning Wednesday, Jan. 27. The form is linked here: http://bit.ly/waps_meals2021.

Beginning Wednesday, Jan. 27, the five-day meal packs can be picked up at Winona Senior High School, 901 Gilmore Ave., at the following times:

7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Wednesdays
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays

Students in the hybrid learning plan who receive meals at school may also request a five-day meal pack to be picked up on Wednesdays.

Athletics and Activities Update

WAPS Community Education has decided to push back the start of all 5th/6th grade athletics and 5th-8th grade activities. This would include the following sports and activities:

5th/6th grade boys basketball
5th/6th grade girls basketball
5th/6th grade girls dance team
5th/6th grade co-ed swimming
Art Club
Code Club
Hawk Help Club
Helping Hands
Performance Club

The sports and activities listed above will now be starting the week of Feb. 1 and they will be ending a few weeks later to make up for the later start date.

Due to COVID restrictions, the 7th and 8th grade boys and girls basketball programs are not able to participate in the Three Rivers Conference. We are still working on details for 7th and 8th grade boys and girls basketball intramural programs. We will share those details when they are available.

How to order student yearbooks

Interested in ordering a student yearbook? This link has the information you need.

Winona Middle School | 1570 Homer Road | Winona, MN 55987