West Central Middle School

05/21/2026

Check out these 8th Grade Readers!!

05/21/2026

Each year, the American Legion of Hartford and Humboldt awards two citizenship awards to 8th-grade students. The following students displayed characteristics of good citizenship including trustworthiness, responsibility, honesty, everyday kindness, respect, and empathy:

Humboldt: Owen Wenzlaff and Jada Vilhauer
Hartford: Ashtyn Munk and David Lutter

Each year, 8th-grade students write American Legion essays and create a poppy poster for the Hartford and Humboldt Legions. Students winning these contests are as follows:

Humboldt Essay Winners: Coy Vessells - 1st, Erin McCann - 2nd, Kinsley Estelle - 3rd
Hartford Essay Winners: Kinsley Schrader - 1st, Alice Johnson - 2nd, Callie Brown - 3rd

Hartford Poppy Poster Winners: Genevieve Prostrollo - 1st, Benjamin Goehring - 2nd, Emily Wiedman - 3rd
Humboldt Poppy Poster Winners: Harper Svenson - 1st, Kinsley Estelle - 2nd

05/21/2026

The West Central PBIS program uses Trojan Tributes to recognize students who demonstrate our shared core values of responsibility, respectfulness, and safety in school. The following students were recognized for having the highest number of Trojan Tributes for the 2025 - 2026 school year:

Joseph Walter - Safety, Liam Kerkhoff - responsibility, Brody Miles - respectfulness, and Madilyn Schaaf - the highest number of tributes for the year.

05/21/2026

The 8th Grade Students of the Year were self-motivated and took accountability for their learning. They were curious, showing genuine interest in the content. These students were proactive and organized, planning ahead, asking for help, and managing their time effectively. They showed resilience by persevering through difficult concepts and demonstrated respectful behavior, listening attentively in class, participating in discussions, and treating teachers and peers with respect.

Back Row: Linzie Hoff - Algebra, Sunnie Holt and Jaxson Dravland - physical education, Clara Gratz - language arts
Front Row: Erin McCann - reading, Genevieve Prostrollo - language arts, Janaya Welsh - science and band
Not pictured: Bronson Everson - math

The following students scored the highest on the South Dakota State Assessment:

Linzie Hoff - math, Erin McCann - language arts/reading, Janaya Welsh - science

Students that displayed resilience and a growth mindset throughout the year showed noticeable improvement and a positive change in skills from the beginning of the year to the end. They overcame challenges and built confidence in the following specific content areas:

Back Row: Stacey Cholopray - math, Jaxson Dravland - history, Brody Miles - science, Landon Hoff - algebra
Front Row: Sydney Trana - history, Wyatt Siemonsma - reading, Julian Aguilera - language arts

05/18/2026

The quarter 4 random drawing winners for earning a "Trojan Tribute" are:

6th grade - Kimi Larson
7th grade - Abby Deelstra
8th grade - Jada Vilhauer

Congratulations and great job demonstrating "Safe", "Respectful", and "Responsible" behavior!

05/18/2026

The 8th-grade students of the month for West Central Middle School are eager to learn and are self-motivated. They are willing to put in the required effort and exhibit persistence and consistency. They demonstrate respect and responsibility and learn both independently and in groups. The 8th-grade team is pleased to recognize the following students of the month for April:

Landon Hoff: son of Derick and Dusine Hoff of Hartford
Aria Dalland: daughter of Christopher and Jennifer Dalland of Hartford

Others nominated: Pacey Foster, Austin Olson, Taylor Christenson, and Stacey Cholopray

GRIT can be short for four words: growth, resilience, integrity, and tenacity. GRIT isn't talent. GRIT isn't luck. Students with GRIT keep pressing on when it would be easier to give up. The 8th-grade team is happy to announce the April students of GRIT:

Back row: Stacey Cholopray - science, Laiken Semmler - algebra, Charles Trefz - math, Aria Dalland - physical education
Front row: Eliza Smithback - reading, Callie Brown - history, Skylah Bahmer - language arts, Leighton Peterson - physical education

Each quarter, the 8th-grade team nominates four students who exhibit positive character traits such as honesty, respect, responsibility, kindness, and gratitude. We are grateful to acknowledge the following students as our 4th Quarter Students of Character:

Delilah Amezquita: daughter of German and Jenna Amezquita of Humboldt
Stacey Colopray: daughter of Alintha Teleh of Hartford
Julian Agulera: son of Stephen and Ester Willcox of Hartford
Jaxson Dravland: son of Jon and Becca Dravland of Hartford

05/05/2026

Don't like to shop? You could order your school supplies instead!

Your student's supplies will then be delivered right to their school before the year begins. Talk about simple!

05/05/2026

04/23/2026

The 8th-grade students of the month for West Central Middle School are eager to learn and are self-motivated. They are willing to put in the required effort and exhibit persistence and consistency. They demonstrate respect and responsibility and learn both independently and in groups. The 8th-grade team is pleased to recognize the following students of the month for March:

Julian Aguilera: son of Esther Aguilera-Willcox and Stephen Willcox of Hartford
Jada Vilhauer: daughter of Tim Vilhauer and Dawn Jorgensen of Hartford

Others nominated: Joseph Walter, Isaac Huber, Kinsley Estelle, Taylor Christenson

GRIT can be short for four words: growth, resilience, integrity, and tenacity. GRIT isn't talent. GRIT isn't luck. Students with GRIT keep pressing on when it would be easier to give up. The 8th-grade team is happy to announce the March students of GRIT:

Back row: Isaac Huber - physical education, Benjamin Goehring - algebra, Landon Hoff - history, Jaxson Dravland - reading, Aria Dalland - reading
Middle row: Callum Skots - language arts, Delilah Amezquita - physical education, Alice Johnson - history,
Front row: Hannah Ragland - math, Ashton Brenner - science, Pierce Hruby - language arts

Each quarter, the 8th-grade team nominates four students who exhibit positive character traits such as honesty, respect, responsibility, kindness, and gratitude. We are grateful to acknowledge the following students as our 3rd Quarter Students of Character:

Erin McCann: daughter of Tate and Jennifer McCann of Humboldt
Kinsley Schrader: daughter of Scott and Mataya Schrader of Hartford
Bronson Everson: son of Sam and Katie Everson of Hartford
Wyatt Siemonsma: son of Josh and Amanda Siemonsma of Hartford

04/22/2026

Student of the Month: 7th grade honored some awesome students in the month of March! These students go above and beyond to show they value their learning and take pride in their work. They are active participants in class and are sure to turn in work with high quality effort!

GRIT: These students are honored for persevering and taking on challenges within the classrooms. Each classroom teacher selects a student they believe ‘showed up’ in class this month as leaders. These students push through even when things get tough and they put forth their best effort! We appreciate their hard work and willingness to show resilience and self-motivation!

Character of the Quarter: For this award, we look for students who consistently show up to do the right thing and show kindness to those around them. They go out of their way to welcome others and stand up for others. These students often make the hard choices to do what’s right even if it’s not the easier thing to do! This is a trait we believe will take these students far in life. We are proud to know them!