Important Dates

June 6/21: Last day for staff 6/24: In-service day – staff reports as required 6/28: 4th MP report cards online 6/28: Office closed July 7/22: BOE Meeting / BOE Conf. Room (7 PM) August 8/26: BOE Meeting / BOE Conf. Room (7 PM) 8/27: New-to-District Orientation / WAMS Audi torium (9 AM) 2018—2019 PTO, District, & DynaCal Calendars Click HERE for the PTO Calendar

Click HERE for the District Calendar

Click HERE for the DynaCal Calendar

Visit www.wamspto.com for more information.

Welcome to the Viking Voice Quarterly, a publication of the WAMS PTO, issued after the marking period ends to celebrate the events and happenings at William Annin Middle School.

For information on upcoming events, please refer to the current week’s Viking Voice Express on the WAMS PTO home page.

PTO BOARD & MISSION STATEMENT 2

PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL 3

PTO Letter 4

PTO QUARTERLY UPDATE 5

PTO HAPPENINGS 6-10

WAMS AO SPORTS REVIEW 11-13

STUDENT RECOGNITION 14-16

Inside this issue:

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PTO NEWS & INFORMATION

The WAMS PTO Board meets monthly to discuss current and future PTO events. The members work diligently to make the best decisions possible with PTO funds while supporting the PTO’s mission:

2018-2019 PTO BOARD Co-President Meena Sharma-Shukla Co-President Heather Brady Secretary Barbara McCabe Treasurer Lakshmi Gurram VP of Communications Sophia Hu VP of Fundraising Vilma Munoz VP of Programs Tissiana Oliva VP of Volunteers Michelle Prejean

Please visit our home page regularly to stay current on all the latest events and information at William Annin Middle School. The news bubbles are frequently updated with pertinent announcements. Be sure to sign up to receive the WAMS Friday Folder which includes our weekly newsletter, the Viking Voice Express (VVE). Our web site also contains Resources such as forms, FAQ’s and important links; as well as ways to get involved and how to support our school. We have PTO positions open for the 2019-2021 school year. Click HERE for details. If you are interested, please e-mail wamspto@yahoo.com . For more information or questions, feel free to reach out to any of the PTO Board Members.

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Fourth Marking Period

PTO NEWS & INFORMATION

PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) is a committee of parents, hosted by the principal, which meets on the first Wednesday of most months to discuss the school environment. It is a closed meeting, but parents are encouraged to email their grade level representatives, as noted below, with any school-wide concerns at least one week before the meeting dates listed at the bottom of this page. The information is strictly confidential and the representative you contact will get back to you with the answer and/or explanation to your questions and/or concerns. Individual child and/or teacher concerns should be first discussed with the teacher directly. Teachers are very willing to discuss concerns and they are often unaware of problems. Each PTO Board Member is also invited to the PAC meetings. Parents interested in serving on the PAC committee must be chairing or co-chairing a committee for the current school year and should fill out the WAMS volunteer sign-up sheet distributed in the Spring.

2018-2019 PAC Members

6th Grade Ashok Kasarla (ashokreddyk@gmail.com) Sweta Tiwary (sweta.tiwary@gmail.com)

7th Grade Heather Olivo (heatherolivo@yahoo.com)

Anisha Kurian (anishakurian@hotmail.com)

8th Grade Sona Mukadam (mukadams101@gmail.com)

Rebecca Moussally (becca82875@yahoo.com)

PEC

Karen White (cwwkbw@gmail.com)

Lauren Small (lbsmall@hotmail.com)

AO Stephanie Caesar (sb_caesar@yahoo.com)

2018 – 2019 Meeting Dates & Minutes October 10, 2018 (Meeting Minutes)

November 13, 2018 (Meeting Minutes) December 5, 2018 (Meeting Minutes)

March 6, 2019 (Meeting Minutes) April 3, 2019 (Meeting Minutes)

January, February, and May meetings were cancelled.

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Fouth Marking Period

A LETTER FROM OUR PTO

Dear WAMS Families, With the final issue of the Viking Voice Express for this school year, we wish to thank everyone who volunteered for the PTO. We could not have accomplished so much with-out your support. The PTO has been able to fund teacher wish lists, informative speak-ers, and school events because of the generosity of our WAMS community. From the en-tire PTO Board, a HUGE thanks to all the volunteers and supporters for your service and dedication!

From the current PTO Board, a HUGE Thank you goes to Meena Sharma-Shukla, for her three years of service to the PTO. Her commitment as Co-President has provided the en-tire PTO Board with clear direction and constant support. Meena, we will greatly miss your enthusiasm and organization. Thank you for your years of service and dedication! A Big Thank you to Tissiana Oliva, our VP of Programs. Tissiana has served in this Board position for two years. Thank you, Tissiana! Another Thank you goes to Lakshmi Gur-ram, our Treasurer. Lakshmi has served in this Board position for two years. Thank you, Lakshmi!

Many thanks to our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) representatives: Ashok Kasarla and Sweta Tiwary (6th grade), Anisha Kurian-Philip and Heather Olivo (7th grade), Rebecca Mousally and Sona Mukadam (8th grade). Thank you to Karen White and Lauren Small our PEC representatives and Stephanie Caesar our AO representative.

Many thanks to our Child Study Team and Special Education Department: Jordan Marcus, Jane McGarry, Lisa Romano, Debbie Obligacion-Bune and Debbie Bove.

Thank you to our WAMS AO Coordinator, Rita Zarabara, to our AO co-Presidents Joanne Narleski, Karen Nassan, and the entire WAMS AO Board for all the opportunities and sup-port for our student athletes.

A special thank you to our exceptional Principal, Karen Hudock, as well as to our Assis-tant Principals: Cheryl Howarth, Dan Lederer, and Adam Torrisi. To the terrific staff in the main office: Officer Gina Loschiavo, Mary Knell, Helen Beck, Tina O’Donnell, and Vivian Miesner. To our caring nurses: Debbie Karuppan and Stacey Osucha and nurse’s aide Darlene Persak. Our wonderful Guidance Department and Counselors/staff: Amy Stem, Barbara Kurlansik, Cara Rychecky, Jamie Sutton, Marissa Berkowitz, Andrew West, Lori Thompson, Katie Foley, and Diane Ragsdale. And to all the teachers and staff of WAMS! Thank you!

On behalf of entire PTO board, it has been our pleasure to serve the PTO. The PTO Board will continue to do our best to communicate via the Viking Voice (VVE) and WAMSPTO.com. We wish all our families a wonderful summer!

Meena Sharma-Shukla and Heather C. Brady

WAMS PTO co-Presidents (with entire PTO board)

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Fourth Marking Period

PTO NEWS AND INFORMATION

PTO NEWS & INFORMATION DON’T FORGET!

As the school year is comes to an end, remember that the PTO is still at work! Following are a few helpful reminders: STAY CONNECTED Visit our home page regularly! Our home page News Bubbles will be updated over the summer with pertinent announcements. Our web site also contains Re-sources such as Forms, FAQ’s, and Important Links. Be sure to sign up to receive the WAMS Friday Folder which includes our weekly newsletter, the Viking Voice Express (VVE), as well as the Viking Voice Quarterly (VVQ), which showcases highlights from each marking period.

GET INVOLVED Committee Chair and volunteer positions are available for the 2019-2020 school year. Click HERE to view current opportunities and sign up or contact wamspto@yahoo.com. PTO needs to fill several board positions for the school year 2018-2019. To inquire about becoming a Board member, please contact wamspto@yahoo.com. ONGOING FUNDRAISERS Land's End: Make sure to enter our school code 900175647 when shopping at landsend.com Frozen Falls: Just mention WAMS PTO when paying.

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Fourth Marking Period

PTO HAPPENINGS

7th Grade Field Day was a lot of fun and made possible by our chairs: Agnes Doucette, Jin Son, Sushma Halthore, and Courtney Foster. The chairs would like to extend their special thanks to the wonderful parents who volunteered to make Field Day a success: Donna Urschler, Beth Maratea, Areli Rosado, Ryan Parker, Tara Davis, Tricia Larsen, Lori Sage, Melissa Breheny, Maggie Gould, Lisa Stanzione, Mike Stanzione, Zaida Harrison, Melissa Decristofaro, Danielle Abrutyn, Mike Nelson, Gabi Pinto, Maria Serluco, Melissa Thompson, Lenny And, Keely Loveys, Boguslawa Milowski, Serry Garner Nelson, Mike Nelson, Hemlata Iyengar, Jennifer Bozzo, Widette Fox, Heather Olivo, Donna Urschler, Tara Hughes, Hillary Reynolds, Karen Santonastaso, Hong She, Sandra Fierstein, Veronica Pritchard, Louisa Mayo, Marina Lopez, Libby West, Paolo Beverini, Mia DeCosta-Yglesias, Steve Yglesias, Heidi Richel, Nicole Auliciano, Christie Luduc, Ann Yekelchik, Lydia Kerrick, Larena Lettow, Aarthi Arulrai, Susan Johnson, Bhavani Bezawada. We were fortunate enough to have good weather for the outdoor fun. Thank you, 7th grade teachers and the WAMS administration, for all your hard work and commitment to this day for our 7th graders.

7TH GRADE FIELD DAY

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Fourth Marking Period

PTO HAPPENINGS

The PTO thanked all of our wonderful volunteers at our Volunteer Appreciation

Breakfast on June 5, and celebrated all we have accomplished together this school year.

Many thanks to everyone who pitched in, gave of their time, and worked hard to

make 2018-2019 a successful school year in so many ways.

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION BREAKFAST

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A BIG Thank You to the volunteers who helped with 8th grade gowns:

Elizabeth Savona

Kiran Dadlani Anju Rai

Kelly Young Liz Lombardi

Fourth Marking Period

PTO HAPPENINGS

8TH GRADE GOWN

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Our fabulous 8th graders said good-bye to WAMS on a glorious June day where they enjoyed celebrating the end of their middle school years with lots of food, fun and yearbook-signing! Huge thanks to committee chairs Achint Kaur, Alexandra Schwarz, and Tissiana Oliva for organizing such a special day, and to all the volunteers who helped out and kept the students well-fed and hydrated throughout the day. Special thanks to all the volunteers— Tina Mattiola, Sona Mukadam, Meghan Fedor, Pam DeCanio, Karen Losada, Christine Thoma, Natalya Levitz, Karen O'Brien, Elizabeth Savona, Allison Elian, Nancy Wynant, Kamlesh Shekhawat, Susan Rascio, Alicia Molnar, Cynthia Gonzalez, Elise West, Pamela Haviland, Stacey Molinari, Lorie Santos, Blessy George, Lynne Brum, Jennifer Davidson, Joo Kang, Krista Alvin, Karen Losada, Karen White, Margaret Otash, Prachi Jain, Krista Alvin, Karen White, Jen Donohoe, Sharon Cunningham, Kristen Gannon, Patti Albertson, Sirisha Ghatty, Chitra Bhaskar, Ling He, Cynthia Gonzalez, Dipal Shah, Barbara Villa, Annalisa Dalton, Patricia Peacock, Rebecca Moussally, Barb Szabo, Christine Corrigan, Aimee Welch, Collette Zamora, Anne Pinto, Liz Lombardi, Susan Conroy, Sandra Weisgerber, Jill Reiss, Megan Callahan, Natalya Levitz, Carol Babcock, Pamela Coffey, Michelle Jacoby, Sowmya Bonthala, Qin Can, Susan Francisco-Paulo, Megan Fletcher, Blessy George, Bernadette Reilly, Tania Dulyn, Dahlia Harmon, Lisa Pernia, Lateefah Jackson, Martha Lucio, Brenda Hockstein, Michele Fabbio, Chris Clark, Nancy Wynant, Kerri MacDonell, Rangan Kesharyamurthy, Rebecca Jones, Joanna Byrne, Ling He, Rachel Sharpe, Claire Herzog, Mi Chard-Cunion, Stacey Molinari, Karen Swan, Shilpa Clott, Lucy Valerio, Benjamin Chee, Lateefah Jackson, Xiaohong Yu, Jennifer Davidson, Melissa Welther, Kim Carroll, Julie Portas, Nancy Griffith, Laura Reynolds, Mary Karl, Pam DeCanio, Qin Cao, Nancy McCaffrey, Nathalie Roccatti, Cathy Ingraham, Joanna Rooney, Jessica Flores, Kerri MacDonell, Iriny Atalla, Claudine McMahon, Lorraine Duran, Tricia Ward, Trisha Choudhary, Dipal Shah, Mira Peyyeti, Gretchen Priore, Maria Murphy, Simin Cai, Vanathi Raghupathy, Shereen Bernaz, Patti Kolshorn, Meghan Fedor, Valorie Parisi, Karen O'Brien, Michele Fabbio, Anamike Bhargava, Karen Swan, Collette Zamora, Cynthia Gonzalez.

Fourth Marking Period

PTO HAPPENINGS

8TH GRADE CELEBRATION

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The 2019 8th grade dance was a great success!

Co-chairs Alyson Galusha and Susie Ward did a fabulous job organizing the graduation celebration party! THANK YOU!!!

Our List of Volunteers —

Fourth Marking Period

PTO HAPPENINGS

8TH GRADE DANCE

Pamela Coffey Michelle Jacoby Dan-ielle Berisha Stepha-nie Caesar Melinda Wolfe Janina Hecht Cynthia Gonzalez, Joo Kang Rahul Sasane Karen Feringa Si Chen Lisa Richter Suzanne Skalski Lisa Henson

Tricia Ward Margaret Otash Lucy Singh Elizabeth Savona Do Young Kim Flavia Serrao Christine Thoma Dahlia Harmon Saloni Mathur Lorraine Duran Kerri MacDonell Brett Hodges Tina Mattiola Susan Conroy

Chris Marshall Ameena Moghe Danielle Berisha Allison Elian Shelia Ligozio Lynne Brum Susan Francisco-Paulo Kamini Damani Joan Samtner Karen Losada Sharon Cunningham-Lateefah Jackson Jessica Lathrop

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Fourth Marking Period

WAMS AO SPORTS REVIEW

The WAMS AO would like to thank all the players, parents, coaches, administra-tion and PTO for their continued support of our organization throughout the year. We had an incredible number of athletes participate on our teams and clin-ics this year. We wish all the athletes continued success with your summer pro-grams and hope to see you on the fields at WAMS and Ridge next year! Fall sports registration opens on June 26th at 12 noon and closes on August 21st. A complete listing of programs, descriptions of each team/clinic as well as instructions on how to register can be found at www.wamsao.com. Please take a look at our FAQs for answers to some relevant questions on how to register and what forms are needed. Follow WAMS AO on Facebook for timely news and announcements: https://www.facebook.com/wamsao/ For those students moving on to Ridge, your Athletic Physicals from WAMS will be sent to Ridge as soon as school ends so your file will be there and you may only need to do a Health History Update if you register for a fall sport. Enjoy your summer!! Congratulations to WAMS Track & Field CJJSAA League Meet of Champions Med-alists: Boys 1600 Gold: Jonathan Wey Girls 1600 Gold: Elena Nicholson Boys 400 Bronze: Gavin Devine

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Fourth Marking Period

WAMS AO SPORTS REVIEW

The William Annin Middle School girls lacrosse team won the Central Jersey Junior School Athletic Association league championship for the second consecu-tive year in a thrilling 12-11 overtime victory against top-seeded Hillsborough on May 21. Third-seeded WAMS came into the final game fresh off an exciting semifinal 10-9 win over second-seeded Bridgewater, the team WAMS beat in a nail-biter for the championship last year. After taking early control with a 4-0 lead against Bridgewater, WAMS exhibited great intensity and team effort throughout the match to earn its ticket to the final playoff game. On Hillsborough’s home turf, WAMS came out strong with Felicia Milligan scor-ing the first goal of the game, but Hillsborough answered with a powerful offen-sive charge throughout the first period. Trailing 8-4 at the half, WAMS knew it had to improve its intensity level and adjust its game if it was going to make a successful comeback second half. The team came out much stronger after halftime, improving the deficit to 10-7 at which point WAMS called a timeout halfway through the period. Once back on the field, WAMS gained momentum starting with a strong defensive effort to slow down Hillsborough’s attack. Goalie Abby Santonastaso had three impres-sive saves during this period to keep Hillsborough at 10 goals. WAMS proceeded by performing well on draws, maintaining possession and delivering three con-secutive goals, with the tying goal coming from Jenn Prince for a 10-10 score. Hillsborough responded and took the lead again, but a strong drive from Bella Goodwin tied up the score for the last time at 11-11.

The William Annin Middle School girls lacrosse team won the Central Jersey Junior School Athletic Association league championship for the second consecu-tive year in a thrilling 12-11 overtime victory against top-seeded Hillsborough on May 21. Third-seeded WAMS came into the final game fresh off an exciting semifinal 10-9 win over second-seeded Bridgewater, the team WAMS beat in a nail-biter for the championship last year. After taking early control with a 4-0 lead against Bridgewater, WAMS exhibited great intensity and team effort throughout the match to earn its ticket to the final playoff game. On Hillsborough’s home turf, WAMS came out strong with Felicia Milligan scor-ing the first goal of the game, but Hillsborough answered with a powerful offen-sive charge throughout the first period. Trailing 8-4 at the half, WAMS knew it had to improve its intensity level and adjust its game if it was going to make a successful comeback second half. The team came out much stronger after halftime, improving the deficit to 10-7 at which point WAMS called a timeout halfway through the period. Once back on the field, WAMS gained momentum starting with a strong defensive effort to slow down Hillsborough’s attack. Goalie Abby Santonastaso had three impres-sive saves during this period to keep Hillsborough at 10 goals. WAMS proceeded by performing well on draws, maintaining possession and delivering three con-secutive goals, with the tying goal coming from Jenn Prince for a 10-10 score. Hillsborough responded and took the lead again, but a strong drive from Bella Goodwin tied up the score for the last time at 11-11.

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Fourth Marking Period

WAMS AO SPORTS REVIEW

(Continued …)

Both teams missed opportunities to take the lead in the final minutes, and by the end of the second half the score remained tied, forcing the teams into a sud-den-victory overtime period. Once WAMS gained possession, it had two missed shots on goal, but was able to recover the ball and keep it in its offensive end. A Hillsborough foul gave WAMS a man-up opportunity, and Abby Hansen was able to find the back of the net to secure the second consecutive championship win for the WAMS team. Rounding out the offense were Hansen and Goodwin with four goals apiece, Prince with a hat trick and Milligan with one goal. Santonastaso had five total saves in goal to anchor the defensive end and secure the victory. (Bernardsville News)

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Fourth Marking Period

STUDENT RECOGNITION

Congratulations on Outstanding

Performance

2018-2019 School Year

Each marking period, the 8th grade teachers recognize a group of students as super stars. Students are chosen for their good moral character, contributions to the school, concern for others, cooperative spirit, respect for school and others, and sense of responsibility. These

students demonstrate the attributes that contribute to a successful school community.

8TH GRADE SUPER STARS

Blue Team

Sarah Unger

Jocelyn Tan

Amanda Fox

Jessica Seo

Giancarlo Chiqutarco-Morales

Colin Scerbo

Beckett Burcat

Gold Team

Varsha Bhargava Mia Capizzi

Katie Li

Josh Hill

Akhil Vanka

Aryan Nagesh

Green Team

Melissa Fletcher

Yuying Wang

Katy Denechaud

Lareine Amin

Libby Schmitt

Lawrence Cheng

Vivan Gupta

Robert Koenig

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Fourth Marking Period

STUDENT RECOGNITION

Congratulations on Outstanding

Performance

2018-2019 School Year

7TH GRADE VIKING VIP’s

Blue Team

Janice Zhang

Varshini Thirunavuk-karasu

Tomou Takahashi

Daniel Speeney

The 7th grade teams honor students who exemplify character every marking period. Each team of teachers nominated and voted on students based their dedication to our "Be Statements". The

four "Be Statements" are be responsible, be respectful, be positive, and be kind. Students who win the VIP award display the courage to do the right thing when no one is watching, serve as role models, treat others with respect and kindness, demonstrate responsibility, and act with

integrity. This award recognizes the actions of the true VIP’s at William Annin. The seventh grade teachers are proud of these students and their accomplishments and recognize their ef-

forts at making our community a better place. The fourth marking period recipients are:

Gold Team

Sebastian Eid

Tyler Zumbach

Anna Griffith

Kate Henderson

Green Team

Neil Pandey

Antonio Rocchi

Camila Perez Martorell

Anya da Silva

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Fourth Marking Period

STUDENT RECOGNITION

Congratulations on Outstanding

Performance

2018-2019 School Year

6TH GRADE MOST VALUABLE VIKING

Blue Team

Ami Singh

Sophia Minassian

Aidan Salazar

Gabe Beverini

Connor Slade

The M.V.V. award is a program for 6th Grade designed to recognize students who have consist-ently demonstrated a positive and cooperative attitude in their school community by demon-strating one (or more) of the four Viking Values – respect, responsibility, being positive and

kind. While many students demonstrate good character each and every day, these student’s ef-forts and actions went above and beyond earning them this outstanding award. The 6th Grade

Most Valuable Vikings for the 4th Marking period are:

Gold Team

Jack Allora

Zoe Harmaty

Sophia Sefchick

Daniel White

Molly Portas

Green Team

Sophie Freshwater

Isabelle Daniels

Morgan Wiehe

Evan Kelly

Brenden McMahon