Message from the Principal-April 11, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
Spring break has arrived! I hope everyone is able to enjoy our week off to recharge and prepare for the "homestretch" of the school year! What a year this has been so far and we are excited to keep up our momentum through April, May and June!
This week, our students were hard at work with our NYS ELA tests. Students did a fantastic job coming in and taking the test, and were then able to enjoy the rest of their day! Today (friday), we had a celebration of everyone's learning with different stationed activities in our special area classrooms and fun activities in their teams! We promise to work hard every day, but we also know how to have a great time celebrating our accomplishments!
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Message from the Principal-April 4, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
Today, we had our 3rd lockdown drill of the school year. The students all did a fantastic job following our safety protocols and making sure that all would be safe in the case of a true emergency. Please take the opportunity to ask your student about their experience. We stress to students that the most important thing to remember is to remain calm and quiet so they can hear directions from the adult in their space.
We have one more week until we hit Spring Break! Next week also brings our NYS ELA testing on Wednesday and Thursday. Students will take that test in the morning both days and then run a modified schedule the remainder of the day. Once we finish our testing on Thursday, we have a fun day planned for Friday to celebrate our achievements and get ready for Spring Break!
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Message from the Principal-March 28, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
We had a great week at WGIS this week! We had students competing with other schools with our Battle of the Books and earning a spot in the next round, our 3v3 basketball tournament after school as well as gains in the classroom! We are getting closer to Spring Break with just two more weeks of classes.
Next week, students do not have school on Monday. Teachers will be working on professional development topics to prepare for the remainder of the school year. After that we have NYS ELA testing the following week on April 9th and 10th. We will also hold another lock-down drill next week to review these important protocols with staff and students. More on that below in the newsletter.
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Message from the Principal-March 21, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
Another exciting week at WGIS! This week ended with our Genny Palooza for 6th Grade on Thursday and 5th Grade on Friday. What an event of fun for all of our students! I want to thank our PTA for putting this great event together and especially all of our volunteers! We could not do all of these great kids events without their help! It is never to late to join the PTA so if you would like to join and contribute to the events left later this year, see below and reach out!
Next week we have a 3v3 basketball tournament happening, and the following weeks contain a Superintendent's Conference Day (no school for students 3/31), NYS ELA testing and in 3 short weeks, we will be on Spring Break! It is amazing how fast this time of year goes by!
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Dear WGIS Families,
We had a great St. Baldricks "Brave the Shave" event today to cap off a great week! Together as a community, we raised over $15,000 of donations that will go directly towards pediatric cancer research. We could not be more proud of our students who "braved the shave" to show their support for other children who lose their hair as a result of pediatric cancer.
This week, all of our students also met with Officer Harrington to discuss safety! Officer Harrington reviewed with students important topics covering threats, social media and sharing of private information. Students were able to ask questions and reminded to always make sure they inform a trusted adult.
Please read through our entire E-News this week as we have many events going on these next few weeks! Please consider helping out our WGIS PTA with our Genny Palooza events on Thursday and Friday next week. Our PTA does amazing work supporting our students and we are always thankful for the collective effort from all of our families!
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Message from the Principal-March 7, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
Things are starting to pick up momentum here at WGIS! We have an action packed March which is a perfect way to bring in Spring in a few weeks! We know this time of year is full of exciting snow thaws only to be followed by a new coating of snow, but we are getting closer to warmer weather! With that, please make sure students are appropriately dressed for the cold so we can get outside as soon as possible!
Coming up next week, we have our St. Baldrick's event on Friday during lunch periods. We have several students as well as staff preparing to "Brave the Shave" for a great cause. WGIS has already met and surpassed our goal of fundraising $10,000! We cannot wait to celebrate as a building and share with you all after next Friday's festivities!
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Message from the WGIS Principal-February 28, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
This week we returned from break, ready to take on the next 7 weeks before we have Spring Break and the sprint to the end of the school year begins. The weather has made its best attempt at turning the corner towards spring and before we know it, we will be returning outside for some fresh air during our PE classes and recess times.
March is a busy time of the year here at WGIS! We have several events happening over the course of the month including our St. Baldricks "Brave the Shave" event, Genny Palooza and a new 3v3 Basketball Tournament at the end of March sponsored by our student council. This week, we had our annual WGIS Science Fair which showcased some fantastic projects and impressive young minds. Great job Wildcats! Please take a look at our entire E-News for more specifics on upcoming events as well as a look back at this past week.
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Message from the WGIS Principal-February 14, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
February Break has arrived! I hope everyone is able to have an enjoyable February Break with some additional time with family and friends. We will be back on Monday February 24, ready to resume learning!
Coming up after break, we have some exciting events coming to WGIS! We have our WGIS Science Fair (2/27), our St. Baldricks "Brave the Shave" event (during school 3/14), and Genny Palooza (3/20, 3/21)! These are all great events here at school that give our students opportunities to explore interests and have new experiences! Stay tuned for all WGIS has in store for its students the rest of the year!
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Message from the WGIS Principal-February 7, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
Our second semester is off to a great start! Students have been excited starting their new special area classes and looking ahead to the second half of our school year. End of year celebrations will be here before we know it so our focus is on making progress everyday!
One of our big events coming up soon has been a standing tradition since 2014. St. Baldrick's is an organization that raises funds for pediatric cancer research and support through their "Brave the Shave" events. It is a great cause and WGIS always has a strong showing with raising money to support other kids who are diagnosed with cancer. We also have other events here at school including collecting loose change for Griffins Guardians and we are continuing to collect new and gently used books for our WGIS book exchange. As with all of our events, we ask that everyone support to the extent they can and know that regardless of your participation in any and all of our events, we are one WGIS family.
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Message from the WGIS Principal-January 31, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
Today marks the last day of our first semester. It is hard to believe we are now at the mid point of our school year. We are all incredibly proud of the work our WGIS students are doing everyday and eager to continue to challenge our students this next semester to see how much more growth we can achieve!
Monday will bring some shifts in schedule. Students will be taking on new special area classes the second half of the year which will bring new exciting projects and areas of interest for students to explore. Students might also be moving in or out of academic support groups, possibly within their WIN classrooms or additional support with out IS teachers. We celebrate students who are finding success and continue to support all students as they work hard everyday in our building.
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum
Message from the WGIS Principal-January 24, 2025
Dear WGIS Families,
We have one week left in our first semester! As we wrap up our first semester next week, we will be focused on looking at data from our universal screening that all students have participated in over the last 2 weeks to plan out how we can best support all students the second half of the school year.
At home, the best support you can give is encouraging students to pick up a book and read, as well as encouraging them to do their best everyday, and making sure they are attending school every day. All families were provided with their child's attendance status so far this school year and will continue to receive updates throughout the year.
While being present everyday is our goal, we know that missing 10% or more of our school days is considered being "chronically absent" and has a significant impact on a students ability to be successful in school. This is something we frequently remind our students about here in the building but it takes the full partnership of home and school to make sure all students reach their full potential. If you are struggling at all at home with attendance, please reach out so we can help!
Thank you for your continued support for all students at WGIS. As always, please reach out if you need anything.
Be Kind-Work Hard-Think BIG!
It's a great day to be a wildcat!
Mr. MacCollum