Superintendent: Mr. Michael Gould Assistant Superintendent: Mrs. Helen Balilo Phone: 703-630-7012

Office of the Principal West Point Middle School

Mr. Miles J. Shea: 845-938-2923

We honor veterans on November 11th.

WPMS honored veterans with a Veterans’ Day assembly on

November 4th.

Dear West Point Middle School Stakeholders,

Our faculty and staff have been working diligently on our Continuous School Improvement Plan. We are

excited to share that our goals this year will include not only an academic goal but a wellness goal also.

Our goals for this year are:

Goal # 1: The students at West Point Middle School will improve their reading comprehension across the

curriculum.

Goal # 2: By June 2016, West Point Middle School will improve at least one quintile (from the second to

the third) on the Fuel Up to Play 60 Wellness Investigation Module 3: Family and Community.

In addition, we have conceived, developed and are in the process of implementing MAPS, My Action

Plan to Success. Every West Point Middle School Student will have a MAPS that is developed for them

based upon their own academic data and individual needs. This is the next logical step for a school with

such outstanding achievement scores and you will hear more information about MAPS as the year

progresses.

We have some outstanding Stakeholders that have agreed to serve on our Continuous School

Improvement Parent Committee, but would like others to serve as well. If you are interested please call

the Main Office or you can phone/text me at 845-667-0529. Thanks for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Miles J. Shea

Principal

West Point Middle School

Last Wednesday

of every month.

SPORTS

By: YB

MODIFIED BASKETBALL TRYOUTS:

Tryouts: November 2, 3, and 4 at the Y.S. Both the 7/8 grade girls will have

tryouts from 3-4:30 in the Y.S. Gym. 7/8 grade boys’ tryouts are 3-4:30 in

the Elementary school gym.

Boys Modified Soccer

September and October have been busy with practices and games. The

season started at the end of September with our first game being a big win

9-0. The remainder of the season had similar outcomes with a total of six

wins and only one loss. We were successful in only allowing a total of

three goals scored against us in all the games we won. We had many great

goals, shots, saves and passes made throughout our season. We wish the

8th grade players luck in their future soccer careers. hope to see the 7th

grade players return next year to take on our rivals again.

WEST POINT SPORTS:

FACT OF THE WEEK

Army is one of eight teams that have

won three titles in a four-year period

dating back to 1940.

--------------------------BOOK REVIEW--------------------------

Barsoom- By MaG

Barsoom is an excellent series, starring the

hero, John Carter of Virginia. Written by Edgar

Rice Burroughs, the author of the also-famous

Tarzan series, this collection of books boasts an

intriguing and surprising plot. Ingenious, these

books have even been adapted as a movie in

the 2012 film- John Carter of Mars.

Although many people have heard of

Tarzan, or the movie John Carter of Mars, they

assume that the book is relatively similar to the

films. Sadly, however, that is not the case. As

many book-lovers are aware, when adapting

a book to fit the movie, many directors and

screenwriters will unwittingly change a very

important detail and mix up the books in the

series. For instance, the therns do not appear in

the series until the middle, long after John

Carter rescues Dejah Thoris. And in the movie,

John Carter goes to Mars after he stumbles

upon a mysterious medallion, the likes of which

he has never seen before. Again, wrong! In

reality, John Carter arrives on Mars after he is

chased into a deserted cave by Native

Americans-which for some reason they will not

enter. (Hmm, I wonder why?) Turns out the

cave is filled with deadly gases and John

Carter dies. Later his (ghost? spirit?) is

transported to Mars as a result of who-knows-

what. (Also, the therns are not in possession of

really advanced technology-that was another

embellishment on the movie-making team’s

part)

Altogether, there are eleven books in this

collection-and each is an excellent read.

Edgar Rice Burroughs is also known for his other

series (besides Tarzan) Pellucidar. This is mainly

about a world underneath the Earth’s surface

full of ancient extinct animals and Vikings. (No,

really, they are Vikings, or at least descendants

of them-and guess what? They have

blunderbusses!) Anyway… back to Barsoom.

(BTW: Barsoom is the name for Mars in

Barsoomian)

The unique Edgar Rice Burroughs style is

prevalent among many of his works, and

makes for a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

However, if you are not fond of flowery-ish

language *cough, cough* Last of The

Mohicans *cough, cough* it may prove to be

a bit-hmm, how do I phrase it?-of a mouthful.

Truth be told, I rather enjoyed reading this

series (as well as his other books) myself, and I

hope you will too. It is a somewhat higher level

book(s), at a Lexile of 1400 and is highly

recommended for ages 12 to 18. If you don’t

own this book (and not many people do) buy

it! It will prove worthwhile!

November Book Review

The Fine Bros are very popular you tubers who do lots of things from skits to

reaction videos that range from adult to child content. They are known most for their REACT channel that includes, Kids React, Teens React, Adults React and Elders React. These people react to anything from foods, videos, games, movies and songs. Another channel that these brothers have is The Fine Bros Entertainment where they post things more related to media and films. They also have The Fine Bros Two which contains bloopers. My favorite channel by far was the REACT channel because I found the reactions very entertaining. Benny (bottom left) and Rafi (bottom right) Fine are actual brothers who work behind the scenes. From asking the questions for their react videos to writing skits these brothers run it all. These successful brothers sell merchandise (bottom middle) and even have their own TV show called Six Degrees of Everything which appears on Trutv every Tuesday. I decided to watch an episode and I found it very interesting and funny. They have been very successful and are only becoming even more popular with their new show.

Benny, 33, and Rafi, 31, grew up in Brooklyn, New York with their older sister,

Dora. Benny went to college at the young age of fifteen, while Rafi attended two

different colleges, Dickson and Hunter. These brothers are very close because of

their age proximity. They are not only brothers, they are best friends. Overall, The

Fine Brothers Entertainment is a great channel and I think you would enjoy the fun

packed things that this company has to offer.

By: LD

To Mold or Not To Mold

Science students each designed an

experiment to test the growth of bread mold.

After three weeks of observation, students

graphed and analyzed the data to draw

conclusions.

Our goals to practice science process skills

and to build peer collaboration proved to be

successful. Every student tackled the

challenges of organizing data into tables,

graphing, interpreting and analyzing data,

and applying information to real-life

scenarios.

Peers provided feedback “Grow” and

“Glow” comments throughout the

experiment on Post-It notes in the science

interactive notebook.

------------------------------------

Sixth grade math students continue to

study Chapter #3 - Operations with Decimals.

They represent decimals in words, standard

forms, and expanded forms. The sixth

graders compare, order, and round off

decimals. As November begins, the students

will estimate sums and differences; multiply

and divide decimal numbers by whole

numbers and decimal numbers; and problem

solve using decimal numbers. 27 Students

continue their investigations of finding ways

in which decimal numbers are applied to

everyday situations as an integral component

of real life experiences.

------------------------------------

Students have just completed their first

compare and contrast essay in 7th

grade

E.L.A. We are using short stories to identify

various story elements.

------------------------------------

October Newsletter blurb from

Mrs. L

In grade 7 science we are continuing in

our chemistry unit. The students have been

learning about The Periodic Table and completed a

short research project on the element of their

choice. We will soon be testing our garden soil for

pH and amounts of the necessary elements N, P,

and K.

Garden update:

We have picked our cold- sensitive crops of basil,

peppers, and tomatoes. We still had many green

tomatoes that we are hoping will ripen in the

classroom. We will soon be planning next year’s

garden.

------------------------------------

Deployment Group

We held our first Deployment Group on Monday,

October 25th

. Students enjoyed a Halloween

cupcakes and ice cream and conversation about

dealing with deployments. Special thanks go out to

the PTO for sponsoring this event. We will plan

another Deployment Group in the coming weeks.

We know having a parent on a deployment brings

on a unique set of circumstances for a family. If you

would like your child to participate in any

deployment activities, please contact the counselor,

or feel free to stop by if there are deployment issues

you would like to discuss further.

------------------------------------

The sixth grade English/Language Arts students

are working with the stories found in the Reading

Street anthology in their study of reading and

writing strategies. Spelling and vocabulary is also

part of their study of these stories.

------------------------------------

NJHS

With the holidays and cold weather quickly

approaching, NJHS is preparing for two important

fall/winter collection efforts. For the month of

November, non-perishable food items are being

collected to support the local food pantry. Please

take a look in your cupboards, or remember this

effort when shopping over the next couple of

weeks. It is our desire to ensure that no local family

goes hungry during this Thanksgiving holiday.

Additionally, it's getting cold outside, and - sadly - many of our local families lack coats and gloves with which to stay warm. If you have old coats that your children have outgrown, or if you have adult coats stuffed in the back of the closet that are no longer worn, please consider sending them to the school for NJHS' winter coat and glove drive.

Thank you for helping those who are less fortunate to experience the joy of a balanced meal as we all give thanks for blessings received and shared.

------------------------------------

AVID (Advancement Via

Individual Determination)

AVID's the name and organization's the game. With the arrival of fall, the trees are shedding their leaves, and it is beautiful! Unfortunately, with the arrival of the second semester at school, student binders are shedding their papers and leaving a not-so-lovely trail of disorganization. So, AVID wants to come to the rescue. After school on Tuesday, November 10th, AVID students will be available to assist parents and students with support of - and implementation of - basic study skills and

organization. Please join us in room 218 from 2:30-3:00. Future topics will include: Writing to Lean, Inquiry, Collaboration, and Critical Reading.

------------------------------------

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

REGARDING HOLIDAY CONCERT

Date and Times: The concert for students and faculty will be performed on Wednesday, December 9 starting at 1:00 pm. The concert for family and friends will be held that afternoon, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Students will be dismissed to go home at the regular time and will be expected to return at the following times:

BAND

Advanced Band: 3:40 pm – ready to warm up in band room

Intermediate Band: 4:05 pm – ready to warm up in band room

Beginning Band: 4:20 pm – ready to warm up in band room

CHORUS/GENERAL MUSIC

7/8 Chorus: 3:50 pm- ready to warm up in the choir room

Choir Club: 4:05 pm – ready to warm up in the choir room

General Music: 4:15 pm – ready to warm up in the auditorium

Students will not be permitted to remain at school between dismissal and warm-ups, as there will be no one to supervise them. If transportation is a problem, please do your best to coordinate with other parents who may be able to give your child a ride. The concert is expected to last about one hour.

Concert Dress: Band and choir students are expected to wear a white top and black pants/long skirt. If girls choose to wear a skirt, it must go past their knees when sitting or wear with leggings. Students should also wear black socks and dark dress shoes. If you do not have any of these items at this time, please try to get them for our concert! General music students may wear appropriate concert attire but are not required to wear only black and white. No jeans please. For this

concert, students may also wear appropriate holiday accessories. Concert Attendance: Concert Attendance is 10% of the quarter grade for all band and choir students. Students are required to be at all concerts throughout the year. If you have an unavoidable conflict, you must notify your teacher as early as possible. An unexcused absence will result in a severe percentage drop from your quarterly grade.

WPMS Hispanic Heritage Month Outreach Event

October 16th 2015

On 16 October 2015, 7

cadets helped prepare

and present a meal at the

West Point Middle School.

The meal reflected the

diverse backgrounds of

the 7 cadets, and

showcased the strong

diversity present at West

Point.

NJHS November News

NJHS is collecting supplies for a local pet

shelter! The supplies that you can donate

include:

Dog and Cat food

Blankets/ Pillows

Dog Treats

Towels

We are also in need of 7th and 8th graders to

volunteer during recess to help sell and

distribute candy grams.

HARVEST DANCE

November 20

5-8 p.m.

7/8 GRADE DANCE

Come let loose with friends, party, and eat good

food at the Harvest Dance! There will be good party

dance music, and slow songs for the “couples”. It is

November 20, from 5 to 8p.m. Seventh and eighth

graders only!

Girls on the Run

Meetings: November 3, 10

and 17

3:00– 4:30

5/6 Grade GIRLS ONLY!

Thank you for reading our newsletter!

We hope you all enjoyed the Veterans Day

Assembly and honoring those who served.

We hope you enjoy Thanksgiving Break!

The journalism class has a lot to be thank-

ful for, (especially your reading our work)

Contributors:

Front page: RS

Bulldog Bistro: LD

Interviews: SG

Sports and Around the Community: YB

Teacher Notes: MG

Newsletter Compilation: AR