Waimea Middle School principal Matt Horne

WAIMEA, Hawaii: The Waimea community – especially incoming 6th-8th grade students and families of Waimea Middle School – are invited to the first of several “Meet ‘N Greet” gatherings with the school’s new Principal Matt Horne from 2:30-3:30 p.m., Fri., July 6, 2012.

The gathering is free and also will celebrate the ending of the school’s 5th annual Summer ‘Jump Start” program, which is offered free of charge to all incoming students to help build academic, technology, organizational and personal skills needed for middle school. Guests will enjoy ice cream sundaes.

The school’s new principal has been here several weeks, having moved with his wife and young family from eastern Oregon, where he served as a School Improvement Administrator for Ontario High School. At that school, he was responsible for helping turn around what was one of Oregon’s lowest performing high schools and making No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in just two years.

“I am so proud to have been asked to become a part of the Waimea Middle School team,” said Horne. “My wife Rebekah and my two sons are already loving Waimea. We moved from a small town and feel right at home; everyone has gone out of their way to make us feel welcomed and accepted,” he said.

“The thing that impresses me most about Waimea is the overwhelming community interest in the middle school and doing what’s best for kids,” said Horne. “I’m really excited to work with that energy.”

Everyone is invited and no RSVP required.

The 2012-’13 school year will begin for WMS students at 8 a.m., Mon., July 30. Families are urged to take advantage of the school’s annual back-to-school Gear Up from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, July 23-27 to pick up class schedules and purchase uniforms, pay for busing and lunch, yearbook and student dues, as needed. Families may come to the school office daily before then to purchase uniform t-shirts and pickup a school supplies list. The supply list, 2012-‘13SY Calendar, uniform order form and everything else families will need for the start of the school year can also be found on the school website: www.WaimeaMiddleSchool.org.

No registration is required for students moving from Waimea Elementary to Waimea Middle, however families with students coming into WMS from other schools should stop by the school office as soon as possible to complete registration. WMS is a pubic conversion charter school that takes all students in the geographic area and also can accept Geographic Exceptions but families are urged to check in several weeks before the start of the school year to expedite the transition.

For info, call WMS at 887-6090 Ext. 222 or for the school’s Community Liaison Patti Cook, call 937-2833. For the school’s registrar Betty Healy, call 887-6090 Ext. 228.

SOURCE: Waimea Middle School