Whitehall-Coplay Middle School Student Handbook

Mission

The mission of the Whitehall-Coplay School District is to serve the diverse community by providing educational opportunities designed to challenge students to strive for personal excellence and responsible citizenship.

Administrators

Administration Message

Welcome to Whitehall-Coplay Middle School!  On behalf of the faculty, staff, and administration, I hope you will find WCMS an exciting place to learn and grow and that you will find the tools for your pursuit of excellence. 

There are many components that will help you make this year an exciting one.  We encourage you to be especially concerned about three areas that will be key to your success: your character, your relationships and the effort you put forth. 

Your character is the most important aspect of you. It is what you stand for, how you treat people and what you do. The character traits you have developed by the end of the 8th grade may well stay with you for the rest of your life. So, it matters greatly as we all work to become generous, disciplined, honest, and kind. Since none of us comes close to being perfect in any of these areas, we need to be forgiving of others and to strive to improve. Be determined that you are going to work on yourself to become a better person. 

Seek to develop good relationships. We all need friends and to be good friends. Be respectful to everyone: yourself, your fellow students, your teachers, your parents. Honor diversity; get to know people who are different from you and learn to appreciate their differences, everyone has a gift. Be a positive person; say “yes” to life. Be a team player as the WCMS functions as many small teams within one great team!

Finally, work hard and have high expectations for yourself. If you do not expect much of yourself, others may not see your strengths either. Set high academic and personal goals – to be the best you can be. And always remember to believe in yourself, because WE believe in YOU!  Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe… Be ZephyrTough!

Student Service Team

Counselors

Mrs. Lori Galucy (6th Grade)

Galucyl@whitehallcoplay.org

Mrs. Slate (7th Grade)

Slatea@whitehallcoplay.org

Mrs. Nicole Layton (8th Grade)

Laytonn@whitehallcoplay.org

Mrs. Jamie Hunara (CIS)

hunaraj@whitehallcoplay.org

Belief Statement 

• We believe all students have an ability to learn, are unique, and have positive contributions to make.

• We believe all students desire success and recognition.

• We believe all students need nurturing relationships to mature socially, intellectually, and emotionally in their individual style and at their own pace in a safe environment. 

• We believe lifelong learning, which is a shared responsibility of all stakeholders, is essential for success in a global society.

• We believe excellence in programs, facilities, and technology is achievable and always worth the investment.

• We believe developing understanding, respect, and appreciation for others is essential in today’s diverse society.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.  The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.  Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student’s education record.  However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions:

• school officials with a legitimate educational interest;

• other schools to which a student is transferring;

• appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

• organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;

• accrediting organization;

• to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;

• appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and/or

• state and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific state law.