JW Charger Chatter - October 16, 2026

Posted Date: 10/16/26 (02:00 PM)

October 16, 2026

Principal's Corner

Good afternoon, JW Families,

Our Halloween dance is tonight, and I’m excited to see our students dressed up and ready for a great night of fun!

Parent conferences are next Thursday and Friday. If you haven’t already, please sign up for an appointment before slots close on Monday. We look forward to connecting with you and sharing your student’s progress.

Thank you so much to our parent council for the delicious treats on our PD day last week. The staff is very appreciative!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Carolyn Gbunblee

👻 TONIGHT - JWMS Halloween Dance! 👻

Join us from 7:00–8:30pm in the JW Cafeteria for a fun night of music, friends, and Halloween spirit! Students must have a completed Dance Rules & Permission Slip on file, along with payment, to attend.

Reminder: No masks or phones are permitted at the dance.

We hope to see you tonight! 🎃

JW Upcoming Club Meetings

Club Volleyball Informational Meeting

Interested in playing Club Volleyball after school? Join us for an informational meeting on Thursday, October 22nd at 7:25am in the JW Auditorium.

If you’re unable to attend, please see Mr. I with any questions!

Winter Sports Club Informational Meeting

Interested in skiing or snowboarding this winter? Join us for an informational meeting on Thursday, October 29th at 7:25am in the JW Auditorium.

If you’re unable to attend, please see Mr. I with any questions!

Mock Trial

This year’s Mock Trial case has dropped, meaning the competitive season has officially begun! Next week on Wednesday, 10/21, there will be an informational meeting in the library before school to give students who are interested more information about this team. Our first after school meeting will be on Monday, 10/26. Students can get more information or sign up with Ms. Minor.

JW Musical

There will be an information meeting during Flex (during the school day) on Wednesday, Oct. 21st. Students can find out more about participating in cast or crew, how the audition process works, and what the rehearsal schedule entails. We encourage students/families to also read through our “Musical FAQs” document for details.

Region 4 Music Boosters 🎶

WREATH SALE - Only 7 weeks until we “Deck the Halls!” Plan ahead now and purchase your wreaths, porch pots, and centerpieces from Reg 4 Music Boosters! Flyers and order forms have gone home with your students and are due back Oct 19th. Snag a band or choir student and order yours today or email: reg4musicboosters@gmail.com.

**PICK UP MANDATORY on DEC 2nd at VRHS** 2-4pm

Let’s make this season merry and bright—one wreath at a time!

GILBERT & SULLIVAN presents “Pirates of Penzance” at VRHS. Saturday October 17th, 2pm and 7:30pm and Sunday, October 18th, 2pm. For more info and tickets, please visit: https://ctgands.org/tickets/

MUSIC BOOSTER MEETING - Monday, October 19th, 6:30pm, Choir Room #703 at VRHS.

❗Picture Retake Day — November 6❗

Picture Retake Day will be held on Friday, November 6th for students and staff who would like to have their school picture retaken.

If your student is interested in retakes, they do not need to purchase another package if they already did so on the original day. We ask that the student return their picture package on picture day to the photographer and get their photo taken.
If your student was not photographed on the original day and you would like to pre-purchase a package, you may do so with the new picture day code. Order pictures online at mylifetouch.com Re-take Event number: EVTNRNVBZ

A Message from Nurse Emily

Information Regarding Local Flu Shot Clinics

With an increase in influenza cases in Connecticut and nationally, now is a great time to consider getting a flu shot. In addition to local doctors offices and pharmacies, there are options in our area that offer low cost or free flu shots:

Connecticut River Area Health District - including clinics offered at the Chester Town Hall https://www.crahd.info/services-4
Central Connecticut Health District (Rocky Hill) - including options for sensory friendly clinics https://www.ccthd.org/flu
Community Health Center (Clinton, Middletown and various locations throughout Connecticut) https://www.chc1.com/flu-shots/

For further information or to locate a nearby vaccination location, please visit the Connecticut Department of Public Health Flu Vaccination and Clinic Information website.

https://portal.ct.gov/dph/knowledge-base/articles/general-public/vaccine-information-by-population/2026-27-ct-influenza-vaccination-clinics?language=en_US

💙💙 Parent Council Updates 💛💛

Professional Development Day - Thank You🙏

A special thank you to the Parent Council and Adam's Hometown Market in Deep River for providing breakfast this past Friday during our staff professional day. It was such a nice way to start the day- complete with assorted turnovers, muffins and drinks.

JW Scholastic Book Fair – Looking for a Volunteer to Lead! 📚

We’re excited to bring a Scholastic Book Fair to JW during the first week of March! We’ve had several families offer to help, and now we’re looking for someone who would be willing to take the lead in coordinating and organizing the fair. Have you run a book fair before, or would you be interested in taking this on? We’d love to hear from you!

Please email amcandrew@reg4.k12.ct.us if you’re interested.

Thank you for making this a great experience for our students!

Here Comes Halloween! 🍬

No tricks, just treats! JW is looking for some candy donations for Dr. Gbunblee to hand out to students and staff on Friday, October 30th. If you are able to donate a bag of assorted candy, please email JWMS School Secretary Adele McAndrew: admcandrew@reg4.k12.ct.us. Thanks for your support and generosity!

John Winthrop Middle School Athletic Updates

Girls Soccer ⚽: JW Girls Soccer won a hard fought game versus NBIS. The girls battled back from being down twice to win the game in the 56th minute. Reagan Abel scored her fifth goal of the season and Ashlyn Graham had a brace and scored the winner to claim her 13th and 14th goals of the season!! Ava Bauer had her fourth assist of the season. The girls played an awesome game versus Eliot earning a tie 3-3! Ivy Bauer got the scoring underway with a long range strike and then followed that up with an assist to Ashlyn Graham’s second goal. We head to Strong on Thursday for our second to last game of the season next week.

Boys Soccer ⚽: On Tuesday, after the long weekend, the JW boys’ soccer team started the week off with a nice win at North Branford! However, yesterday, we suffered our first loss of the season. With that being said, as your coaches, we are very proud of all of you and how hard you fought until the very end. Let’s learn from this game, put it behind us, and shift our focus to our next matchup against Strong on Thursday, 10/22. We know what this team is capable of, and we’re ready to get back out there and compete and grab the “W”!

Next Up: Thursday, 10/22 — Strong

LET’S GO, JW!

Cross Country 🏃‍♂️: The boys and girls teams traveled to Portland last week and had many great individual results. Kathleen Dailey was 2nd overall (1st for the team) in a very close race to the finish, finishing with an overall pace of 6:54 per mile for the 1.86 mile course. Other runners who improved their pace during this race were Charlie Barter, Whit Becker, Daniel Giacobbe, Owen Graham and Ian Morris on the boys side and Hannah Oulette on the girls side. This past Wednesday, the team competed against Lyme-Old Lyme and North Branford on our home course. Congratulations to Emma Lopez who won the girl’s race with an overall pace of 6:43 for the 2.1 mile course. The girls defeated both teams, while the boys won against North Branford. Up next, the teams will travel to Berlin on Saturday for the McGee Invitational and to Old Saybrook on Monday.

Field Hockey🏑:

Upcoming Games

10/20 JW @ HK

10/22 NB @ JW

10/27 JW @ Eliot

JWMS Athletic Forms and Information

→ Tryout Policy and Commitment Letter

→ VRHS and JWMS Athletics - Fall Sports informational newsletter 2026-2027

→ JWMS Athletics Website

→ Region 4 Athletics Transportation Waiver / PAT Form\

Charger Fall Sports Schedule 2026-27

JW FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY PHOTOS 📷

The Fall Media Photos are now available for purchase!

Visit → Steady Photography at https://my.photoday.com/g/PGTR36624

** Access Code: PGTR36624 **

Charger Sideline Store

Looking to show your Charger spirit this season? Check out the JWMS Sideline Store for a variety of gear and apparel available!

→ VRHS & JWMS Apparel Store

Important Dates

October 16th - JW Halloween Dance 7-8:30pm
October 21st - Mock Trial Informational Meeting 7:25am, Library
October 22nd - Club Volleyball Meeting 7:25am, Auditorium🏐
October 22nd & 23rd - Early Dismissal @ 12:12pm - Parent Conferences
October 26th - 8th Grade Vinal Presentation
October 27th - Town Hall Tuesday
October 29th - Winter Sports Club Meeting 7:25am⛷️, Auditorium & 8th Grade VOAG Presentation (Revised Date)
November 6th - Picture Retake Day
November 25th - 27th - Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL

Lost & Found - Is Piling Up!

Please remember to check our Lost & Found! Labeling jackets, lunchboxes, and other personal items makes it much easier for us to return them to students. Thank you for your help!

All unclaimed items will be donated at the end of Trimester 1!

ParentSquare

ParentSquare is our school’s main communication tool for keeping families up to date with important news, announcements, reminders, and events. Be sure to check ParentSquare regularly so you don’t miss important information from JWMS!

Have questions about ParentSquare? Click here to view our Frequently Asked Parent Questions.