CWMS EXPRESS Announcements 11/10/2025
Good evening, Falcon Family. This is Ebenezer Lancerio, the proud principal of Central Wilkes Middle School, with announcements covering various school events.
No School - 11/11/2025: New
There will be no school on Tuesday, November 11th in honor of Veteran's Day. Central Wilkes Middle School gives thank you and gives respect to all those who have served our country honorably.
PTSO Meeting on November 19th
Our next PTSO meeting for all families, staff, and students is November 19th at 5:30pm in the media center. We hope to see you there!
Fall Makeup Picture Day
If your child missed their opportunity to take their pictures during fall picture day, Carolina photography will be at Central Wilkes Middle School on Monday, November 10th starting at 7:30am for makeup fall picture day. There is online prepay ordering available for makeup days. Online Prepay for Fall make up pictures is also available at Carolina Photography. Families can also purchase using the order forms they received at the original picture day.
Inclement Weather Protocols
Winter is coming, and with it a potential for inclement weather days. Please see our inclement weather protocols listed at the end of these announcements. Here are some key points from the weather protocols:
On a two hour delay, your child's bus will arrive two hours late.
Every effort will be made to make the call the day before, but this may not always be possible.
There is an extensive process for making the call to modify or cancel a school day. The entire process is outlined in the letter attached to this email.
CWMS School Spelling Bee
We are thrilled to announce that our Annual Spelling Bee competition will be taking place all month long. Students in each English Language Arts class will compete this week for a chance to be the Grade Level Bee champion. On December 15th, Grade Level Bee champions will compete for the Central Wilkes Middle School Spelling Bee champion title. This champion will have the opportunity to represent the school at the Wilkes County Schools Spelling Bee competition in January. Parents, you can prepare your students by practicing these words on Spelling Words Well at home. Good luck to all Falcons!
Resources: Samaritan's Kitchen
"Hello everyone! As many of us are affected by this government shutdown, check out the Wilkes County Food Guide and the Wilkes County Resource Guide. We also participate in a food backpack program through Samaritans Kitchen. If you are interested in more information regarding our food backpack program, please reach out.
YMCA Access Tutoring Program
Does your child need help in their classes? YMCA Access Academy, a FREE tutoring program, is partnering with CWMS to help! We will have some of our own certified teachers providing tutoring instruction. Printed applications areavailable at the school.
Weekly Schedule
Monday, November 10 - Regular Schedule
Tuesday, November 11 - No School. Happy Veteran's Day!
Wednesday, November 12 - Regular Schedule
Thursday, November 13 - Regular Schedule
Friday, November 14 - Falcon Fun Time Schedule
Wilkes County Schools Winter Weather Procedures & Reminders
On mornings when school is being delayed or cancelled due to overnight wintry weather, the following are the primary sources of communication to parents and staff:
Campus Messenger (Phone call and text message)
Wilkes County Schools Website
Social Media Pages: Facebook & Instagram (@WilkesCoSchools)
Whenever possible, the first Campus Messenger call will go out to bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria managers, principals, and assistant principals at 5:00 AM and will be posted to the website shortly thereafter. Media outlets will be contacted just after this message. The general call to everyone will be scheduled for 6:00 AM. For any student who boards a bus prior to 6:00 AM, parents should check one of the sources listed above or one of the media stations listed below. The following media outlets will have information about early dismissals, closings, and delays:
Television stations: WGHP, WBTV, WSOC, WFMY, WCNC, WXII
Radio stations: WKBC, WIFM, WWWC
When school is on a two-hour delay, your child’s bus should arrive very close to two hours late. For example, if your child gets on the bus at 6:45 AM on regular scheduled days, their bus should arrive around 8:45 AM on two-hour delay days. This can be earlier, however, due to buses not traveling all roads because of limited bus routes. No bus drivers will begin their routes prior to 7:45 on days that we are on a two-hour delay.
When the general call goes out, parents and staff will be advised as to the status of the day:
Delayed two hours for students (Staff will report at regular time)
Delayed two hours for students and staff
Open with limited bus routes – if this announcement is made, buses do not travel roads on the limited route list AM or PM
Facilities closed for students, remote learning day
Closed for students, optional workday for teachers
Closed for everyone
Every effort will be made to make the call the day before. This is not always possible. No announcement means that school is operating on a regular basis. Please do not call our office asking if decisions have been made for the following day.
In making the decision, WCS transportation department is out as early as 3:00 AM, driving and checking the roads. There is constant communication with Emergency Services and Law Enforcement. As a reminder, our school district covers more than 757 square miles. On several occasions, the higher elevations have received significant snow and/or ice and the lower elevations were dry. This always causes people to question the decision. If we are not able to travel through any part of the county safely, then school will be affected for the entire county. Extreme cold temperatures in recent years have caused problems with the starting of buses, which has caused school to be delayed or even cancelled. Student safety and long-term damages to these buses must be considered as well on days of extreme cold.
When schools are dismissed early due to weather, parents will be contacted using the emergency feature in Campus Messenger. This feature assures that all numbers are called until a person is reached. The radio and television stations listed above will also be contacted. Please keep in mind the following points about early dismissals:
It takes just over 2 ½ hours to complete all bus routes once we dismiss.
Lunches will not be served on days that schools are dismissed before 11:00 am.
Transportation Director, Eric Barker, will communicate conditions to the Superintendent, and the decision will be made. Please remember that all decisions about school closings or delays are made at the district level. Concerns about decisions should be directed to Central Services, not individual schools.
Parents, please caution your teen drivers. It is not possible for us to check every road in Wilkes County. There may be icy roads at times due to changing road conditions. All drivers, especially our teen drivers, are advised to use caution on mornings that school is in session, but the possibility for ice or black ice still exists due to changing conditions.
In preparation for the possibility of weather-related calls, parents and employees should have received a test message call on September 9, 2025, and will receive another call on November 10, 2025. If you did not receive either of these messages or are unsure, please verify that your contact information is accurate with your school.
Limited Bus Routes are available at the School Bus Transportation webpage (Wilkes County Schools), or you may request a copy at the front desk in your school.
While we hope for a winter with few interruptions to our school schedules and calendar, it does pay off for everyone to think ahead and be prepared in the event of inclement weather. The safety of our students and employees will always be the top priority of this school system.
These are all your announcements. For a full list of all announcements and upcoming school dates, please refer to the website, social media, or the email counterpart of these announcements. If you have any questions about the announcements, please contact Ebenezer Lancerio, principal at Central Wilkes Middle School. Keep it Central, Falcon Family!