WBMSHS Principal Update to Families

I hope this newsletter finds you well. Please take some time to read it and learn about all the great things happening at the MSHS and the community. I hope it can provide you with some important information and give you a glimpse into what we are doing throughout the school year.

As always please feel free to reach out to us at anytime with any questions or concerns.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs. Page

Report cards for term three will be posted at 2:30pm in Aspen. If you have any questions or concerns about your student's grades, please email the teacher directly. All staff emails are listed on the school's website.

High School Dates

Grade 10

May 21, 2024 - Math Session I

May 22, 2024 - Math Session II

Grade 9

June 4, 2024 - STE Session I

June 5, 2024 - STE Session II

Middle School Dates

Grade 8

May 1, 2024 - Math Session I

May 2, 2024 - Math Session II

May 14, 2024 - Science Session I

May 15, 2024 - Science Session II

May 29, 2024 - Social Studies Pilot

Grade 7

May 6, 2024 - Math Session I

May 7, 2024 - Math Session II

Mr. Despier and the Social Studies Department have some exciting news to share!

At the regional competition of National History Day, two groups placed in the competition and will be moving on to represent West Bridgewater Middle Senior High School at the state level. Best of luck to the following groups:

• Ellis Island: by Charlotte Farrell-Fren, Hannah Dragonetti and Abbigail Rudolph!
• The Railroad: by Tristan Hambly, Arran Hambly, and Christopher Jones!

Congratulations to these seventh grade students and best of luck at States!

Congratulations to the new inductees of the French and Spanish Honor Societies, along with senior members who received their cords. WB is proud of you all!

Congratulations to the new inductees of NJHS, Faith Alger and Sarah Burke. We are proud of you. Thank you to the NJHS Officers for leading the induction. You did a great job.

Get ready for a thrilling event at WBMSHS! Wildcat Players proudly presents the production of "Annie Jr.," featuring the exceptional talents of our students in the beloved tale of the plucky little orphan, Annie! Join us at the WBMSHS auditorium on April 5th & 6th, with both evenings starting at 7 pm. Plus, on the 6th, enjoy a special matinee performance at 2pm with a cast meet & greet, perfect for our young fans to meet their favorite characters and snap a memorable photo or grab an autograph! Tickets available at the door: $10 for General admission and $15 for limited preferred seating. Don't miss out on this unforgettable experience - see you there!

The SECOND ANNUAL PLEDGE WALK FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER will take place on Saturday, May 4th from 4pm-7pm. Hosted by the MSHS student-run Committee for Childhood Cancer Awareness, this event raised over $18,000 last year for the Jimmy Fund Clinic at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and their goal this year is to top $25,000! It will be a fun day with food trucks, music, games, a chance to dunk Mrs. Page and to just be with the community to help an important cause. Please contact the MSHS with any questions. Click the registration button below to join the walk. We hope to see you there!

Spots are still available in our 5 day program!

Preschool Information for the 2024-2025 School year is now available. Please click the box below for more information:

Seniors - April 12, 2024 is the LAST day to get any missing documents submitted for the WB Local Scholarship. Please come to Guidance to sign up for the mandatory hour on Saturday, April 27th for the Toll Road fundraiser.

The guidance department has a field trip planned for juniors who registered to attend the National College/Career Fair held in Boston on May 2, 2024 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. A BIG THANK YOU to the Trustees of the Howard Funds for their donation to cover the cost of the transportation.

The School Adjustment Counselors have administered the SBIRT to students in grades seven and grade nine. SBIRT is a public health approach that can deliver an early intervention to anyone who uses alcohol and drugs in unhealthy ways using the CRAFFT questionnaire.

Parents and guardians can help their children make healthy choices. One important way to prevent alcohol and drug use is to talk with them about your thoughts and expectations. Some resources that can help these discussions include:

• https://drugfree.org/

• https://helplinema.org/for-parents/

• https://handholdma.org/

- Prom tickets will be sold for ONE WEEK ONLY beginning on Monday, April 8, 2024 and ending on Friday, April 12, 2024. Tickets will be sold during powerblocks in the main lobby of the middle/senior high school during this week.

- Prom tickets are $60 per person ($120 per couple). Cash or a check made out to West Bridgewater MS High School will be accepted.

- Junior class dues, which are $45, must be paid to purchase prom tickets. All class dues should be paid by April 12, 2024.

If you are having financial difficulties at this time, please reach out to the main office to set up a payment plan.

The Senior Ball was held on March 22, 2024 at LeBaron Hills Country Club. Such a great night to see everyone dressed up and having fun with their friends!

The World Culture Night was a huge success. The food, music and dancing was fantastic. It was a great way to bring the community together for a festive evening.

WB Buddies have been connecting and sharing great experiences. The group made posters and cheered on buddies at Unified Basketball on April 2nd-Go Wildcats. Our buddies also rang in spring with an egg hunt. We look forward to many sunny days outside in the weeks ahead.

The Photo Club is hosting its annual Best In Show Photo Contest - open to all high school students and staff, photos will be hung in the green commons for the next week and students will vote on their favorite. The photo with the most votes will win and its creator will receive a prize.

The West Bridgewater Model United Nations team attended the BC High Model UN Meet on Saturday, March 2, 2024. Students role played, researched, and engaged in committees including Women's Rights, Hunger Games and Immigration Reform. These meets bring students from across the state together to build a deeper understanding of various perspectives and foster collaboration skills in a process towards compromise resolutions. Many vital life skills are attained from this fun experience.

On Friday March 15, 2024, Members of the West Bridgewater Model United Nations club traveled with their teacher and advisor Mr. John Nenopoulos to meet Mike Mischley, a alumni of the Class of 2018, who is currently a Legislative aide working at the Massachusetts State House. He accompanied us on a in depth tour encompassing the history and heritage of the Massachusetts State House. A huge shout out to Mike for making this a most memorable field trip!

West Bridgewater hosted the South Coast Conference Honors Bowl. We welcomed ten NHS students from each school to compete in the Academic Honors Bowl. Congratulations to ORR for winning the Blue division and Fairhaven for winning the Gold division. WB did a great job but did not come away with the victory today! Thank you to all the students and advisors from the visiting schools. You were amazing and we loved sharing our school with you!

Grades 7 & 8 battled it out in the Academic Bowl. All students had a great time competing. Mrs. Theriault's homeroom won for grade 7 and Ms. Romano's won for grade 8. Congratulations!

Señora Fougere’s Spanish III classes have diligently worked on a unit about the famous Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. Students learned about her life and work, all while integrating grammatical concepts and new vocabulary into the lesson. Students created their self-portraits in the spirit of Frida Kahlo and surrealism. The students challenged Señora Fougere to dress in Frida-inspired outfits throughout the unit, and she rose to the occasion! Check out her amazing tiktok showing her modern interpretation of Frida Kahlo!

Students in Ms. Kotsovolos' Spanish I class have been working on the Royal Family Tree of Spain! They did their research, and it’s wonderful to see the finished product coming together!

Ms. Brogna's Anatomy and Physiology students investigated heart anatomy in a real and virtual dissection of a sheep heart-which is a model for comparative anatomy to a human. Students labeled vessels, valves and were able to hone their surgical skills in this laboratory experience. They finished the unit learning how to analyze ECG data for vital sign analysis.

AP Biology students honed their skills in Bacterial Transformation, creating a strain of E. coli that could glow. Students are learning about safe handling of bacteria, recombinant DNA and biotechnology. We are almost ready for the exam in May!

Piece of Cake, Art 1 and 2: Students in Mrs. Massa's class were challenged to build functional art, using slab building techniques. Students created a vessel with a fitted lid that could resemble cake, pie, pizza, cheese, or another triangular shaped food. Students need to incorporate correct building techniques to support structural integrity, fitted lid, handle, and supporting details.

Monochromatic Candy Still Life Art II: Students had to build a visually interesting still life to use as reference for a one color painting challenge. Students were painting on a smaller scale to focus on details and color variation.

Beyond Border Watercolor Project Art 1 : Students in Ms. Massa's art classes studied various watercolor techniques to create a painting based on color, texture and contrast. Students drew a realistic animal in its environment. The animal was painted in color to showcase the colors, patterns and textures. The environment would shift from color to grayscale in the border to create contrast and frame the piece.

7th grade students used a pinch pot building technique to make a speaker. Students had to brainstorm how to incorporate a cone for sound waves. The conical shape works best to allow the sound to bounce and multiply and make the speaker work. Students had an open ended subject matter to create something they connected with.

8th grade artists could pick a ceramics building technique to create a functional piece of art. These Monster bowls had to be functional but also fun, scary, or silly. Details such as eyes, teeth, arms, or legs were incorporated to help bring their monster to life.

Students in Mrs. Mischley's ELA classes have been creating their poems throughout the year, which will be displayed on the bulletin board outside of the Learning Commons. We have some amazing poets at WB!

CAN YOU STILL GET VITAMIN D ON A CLOUDY DAY?

• Are you still feeling the effects of winter . . . a little sluggish or a bit unmotivated? Are you craving the wonderful benefits of a sunny day?

Don’t fret that the clouds have not lifted! Surprisingly, it is still possible to get vitamin D when it’s cloudy outdoors because full-spectrum sunlight still exists beyond the clouds.

• How does vitamin D impact our mood?

Vitamin D corresponds with the neurotransmitters that encourage the release of serotonin (also known as the happy hormone). This happy hormone helps boost our mood and lift our spirits.

• How does sunshine impact the production of vitamin D?

When the sun’s UV rays hit your skin, they interact with a protein called 7-DHC and this causes Vitamin D to be produced in your body.

So as the weather continues to get warmer, spend time outdoors. Children don’t have to sit in their bedroom listening to music, they can take their music outside with them, sit on the front steps or go for a walk.

https://getmorevits.com/blogs/news/can-you-get-vitamin-d-on-cloudy-day

Check out our Sports scores, highlights and posts below! Congratulations to all of our Winter Sport Athletes! We are going to take time to recognize the Winter Award winners in this version of the Newsletter. Congratulations to all that received awards. We will post any awards that have yet to be released on Twitter and in upcoming newsletters. Thank you to all who have come out to support our athletes throughout the winter season! As always make sure to check out our coaches Twitter as well as @WBMSHSAthletics for updates on the schedule and highlights from games and matches.

Middle School Unified Cornhole starts after April vacation, the week of April 22nd! Registration is open on the athletic website for students in grades 5-8. The season will run through the week of May 20th and end with a tournament against other towns at the MSHS! Please email Nikki Maloney at nmaloney@wbridgewater.com with any questions.

Boys Ice Hockey

Congratulations to Christian Bates who was named South Shore League All Star!

Boys Basketball

Congrats to Thomas Stapleton, Collin Baker, Jag Garces and Aidan Maher for receiving South Coast Conference Honors for Boys Basketball! Thomas Stapleton was named a SCC All Star. Collin Baker and Jag Garces were named Honorable Mention. And Aidan Maher received the Sportsmanship Award! Great Job!

Girls Basketball

Congrats to Jenella Jacobs, Mia Harrington, Ava O'Neil and Kayla DaSilva for earning South Coast Conference Honors for Girls Basketball! Jenella Jacobs, Mia Harrington and Ava O’Neil were named Honorable Mention. Kayla DaSilva received the Sportsmanship Award! Congratulations!!

Girls Winter Track

Congrats to Ella Dunbury, Aly Bassett, Viviana Morales- Wakin, Emma Pope for earning South Coast Conference honors for Winter Track!! Ella Dunbury and Aly Bassett were named SCC All Stars! Viviana Morales and Emma Pope were awarded Honorable Mention honors. While Emma Pope also received the Sportsmanship Award. Great Job!!

Boys Winter Track

Congrats to Kenly Laime, Derek Frederickson, Alex Kelley and Derek Cashman for receiving South Coast Conference honors for Winter Track!! Kenly Laime was named a SCC All Star. Derek Fredericksen and Alex Kelley were named Honorable Mention recipients. Derek Cashman was awarded the Sportsmanship Award. Congratulations!!

Unified Basketball

The Unified Basketball team ran a scrimmage where the team was split into two teams to play against each other in preparation for their upcoming tournament. Both teams did a great job! West Bridgewater will host a jamboree on Tuesday April 2nd for students from Walpole, Westwood, Canton, and Medfield. Games will run from 3:30-5:15 and we are hoping to have lots of fans to come fill the stands and cheer on our athletes so mark your calendars!!

Spring Sports Coaches Info:

G Spring Track and Field- Head Coach KylaDaley, kdaley@wbridgewater.com

B Spring Track and Field- Head Coach- Jon Pike, jpike@wbridgewater.com

V/JV Softball - Head Coach, Mike Hyde- mhyde@wbridgewater.com

V/JV Baseball- Head Coach, Jay Costantino, jay@costantinorealty.com

B Tennis- Head Coach, Mike Antonio, mantonio@wbridgewater.com

G Tennis- Head Coach - Steve Reddington. sreddington@wbridgewater.com

**WB-CAM:

A big thank you to the WB-CAM for live streaming our athletic events! They do an amazing job! Please follow them on Twitter to find out which athletic events are being live streamed. Let's Go Wildcats!

Twitter: @WBCAM0998

New Breakfast items- Students loved some of the breakfast items we menued during National School Breakfast Week in March and we are keeping them on our breakfast menu cycle. Please see the attached menu below. Breakfast (or snack as it is often referred) is served mid-morning and is available free to all students.

Monthly Menus - Click on WB Food Services to find April's lunch menus. Incredibly, locally grown apples from CN Smith Farm are still being served each week.

Cafeteria Taste Testing- We are bringing back taste testing! Students love tasting a bite of a new dish before choosing it for lunch. Recent tastings include chicken curry and buffalo chicken flatbread pizza.

Food Assistance- Project Bread Food Source Hotline , West Bridgewater Food Pantry.

Position available- Great at social media and interested in food photography? There is a stipend available for an individual to promote our School Nutrition program on social media. Hours are very flexible and variable but the applicant will need to be available during the day.

Questions, concerns, suggestions? Contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or (508)894-1220.