West Middle School

Happy Friday Pioneers! Here are more of the sites our 8th graders visited yesterday. Their day included stops by the US Army Museum, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Ready for today's adventures! #WashingtonDC #AllIn #TheWestWay

Our Pioneers are seeing sites, documents, and more that they learned about in their Social Studies class this year. There's nothing like bringing learning to life! Here are some highlights so far from Day 2! #WashingtonDC #AllIn #TheWestWay

Our 8th graders had a fantastic Day 1 on their Washington, D.C. trip! Here's a few highlight pictures from their day yesterday. Ready for Day 2! #WashingtonDC #AllIn #TheWestWay

Some of our 8th graders and staff members are now on their way to Washington, D.C. Safe travels! Can't wait to share pictures of our Pioneers from the nation's capital! #WashingtonDC #8thGrade #AllIn #TheWestWay

Have a great summer Pioneers! ☀️🌞 #AllIn #TheWestWay

Thank you to all of our Pioneer families and friends to celebrating the Class of 2029 at last evening's 8th Grade Awards program. We are proud of every single one of you and are excited for what the future holds. Good luck in high school and beyond! #AllIn #TheWestWay

Thank you to NBA player Quincy Olivari for sending a message of encourage to our boys mentoring group, Bridge Builders, for our last meeting. Quincy was signed by the LA Lakers his rookie season and played as a starter the majority of his season with the South Bay Lakers in the G - League. His message to the Bridge Builders was to "Always make a good first impression," "Understand the Power of 'No'", and "Use Positive Self-Talk/Believe in Yourself." Thank you Quincy! #Mentoring #BridgeBuilders #AllIn #TheWestWay

Our 6th grade ELA Literacy class took it's final visit for the year to Friendship Village Monday. In this class, students conduct interviews with residents and create projects that reflect their life story. Monday (and last Friday for Mr. Jay), Pioneers presented their projects to their interviewee. This is 1 of the 4 different Project Based Learning experiences our 6th graders around the district participated in this year. Great job Pioneers! #ProjectBasedLearning #AllIn #TheWestWay

And they're off! Our 8th graders have left for their day at Michigan Adventure! Have fun and try to stay dry! #MichiganAdventure #AllIn #TheWestWay

Thank you to Portage City Councilwoman Mrs. Jihan Young for meeting with & mentoring a group of WMS girls throughout the '24-'25 school year. They have met almost every Monday since Quarter 1 and yesterday was their last meeting. This is her 2nd year mentoring some of our Pioneers. Thank you Mrs. Young! #Mentoring #AllIn #TheWestWay

Earlier this year, the birdhouse in our courtyard, that has always been active and put to use by our "flying Pioneers" over the years, was damaged during a storm. One of our Pioneers vowed to rebuild the home in his Woodworking class with Mr. Rapp. Yesterday, Tristen J. presented the office with his final creation. Thank you Tristen! We know there will be some very happy birds ready to see to their new home. #Woodworking #AllIn #TheWestWay

Saturday was a night to remember for our 8th grade Pioneers! Our PTSO volunteers created a "beach-themed" event and our students had a blast with all of the offered activities. Thank you volunteers for your time and dedication. Our Pioneers represented "The West Way" throughout the evening and had a great time. See a few picture collages here from the evening. We look forward to seeing our 8th grade families this Thursday at Huskie Stadium for the 8th Grade Awards program beginning at 7pm. All 8th graders are welcome and will be receiving at least one recognition! See you Thursday! #AllIn #TheWestWay

Did your students come home last week and mention the teachers and staff were dressing a little different?? They were right! Last week was a "Secret Spirit Week" for the adults in the building! Staff participated with crazy hair day, hat day, West day, and "Dress Like A Student" day. Monday is our last dress up day of the year for everyone! It's Hawaiian shirt day! The memorable 8th grade farewell Saturday inspired this one :D See you tomorrow Pioneers! Aloha! #AllIn #TheWestWay

The ESports clubs from Portage West and Portage North had a meet up last week! Students introduced themselves, their favorite games, and then engaged in friendly competition. Super Smash Bros and Rocket League were the games of choice. This was the first time two middle clubs have scrimmaged together in person in Portage. Thank you PNMS for hosting and the pizza! #Esports #PioneerGamers #SuperSmashBros #RocketLeague #AllIn #TheWestWay

Last Thursday, our 7th graders took a trip to Portage's World Famous Air Zoo! The students received guided tours, observed all the exhibits, and enjoyed the rides with their peers! Thank you to Mrs. Bianco and our 7th grade teachers for planning this wonderful experience for our soon to be 8th graders! #AirZoo #AllIn #TheWestWay

Class of 2029! Our volunteers were busy as soon as school dismissed today preparing for our 8th Grade Farewell this Saturday! Tickets are still available at the door. Come enjoy an evening of games, music, food, giveaways, photobooth pics with friends, and more! See you soon 8th graders! #8thGradeFarewell #AllIn #TheWestWay

Our music department concert series for the year concluded Wednesday with our 6th & 7th grade band concert. These Pioneer musicians did an amazing job showing their growth over the course of the year while performing to a packed house! Outstanding job Pioneers and music department! #Music #Band #AllIn #TheWestWay

It has been quite the busy week at West! Activities started with our 6th Grade Field Trip to the Kalamazoo Growlers for their STEM Fair & Baseball Game. The students were able to explore different booths with activities by KRESA, Fawley Door, US Army, and more! We even had a few students interviewed about the day, quizzed about their STEM knowledge, and compete in relays on the field between innings! It was a great day for all. Thank you Kalamazoo Growlers for this putting on this annual event for the school community! #KalamazooGrowlers #STEM #AllIn #TheWestWay

CURRENT & FUTURE PIONEERS! May is almost over and summer will be here soon! As you plan activities and prepare for the 2025-2026 school year, take a look at our list of School Sports & Summer Camp Information here: https://tinyurl.com/wms25sumfall #AllIn #TheWestWay

Last week, our 7th & 8th graders in Mrs. Schnurstein's Healthy Living class planned, baked, and designed their cake decorating projects. Staff reviewed all the submissions throughout the week. The Grand Prize Winner was the Strawberry Shortcake Cake by Ni'Yell Colon-Applewhite, Priyal Patel and Nora Napolitan! Great job ladies! Congratulations to all the Pioneers on your magnificent submissions! #CakeDecoratingContest #AllIn #TheWestWay