WMS Family Newsletter

To translate this newsletter, please use the link to the right.

Para traduzir este boletim, clique nele e use o link à direita.

Para traducir este boletín, haga clic en él y luego use el enlace a la derecha.

لترجمة هذه الرسالة من المدرسة ، اضغط عليها ثم استخدم الرابط الموجود على اليمين.

Այս տեղեկագիրը թարգմանելու համար կտտացրեք այն, ապա օգտագործեք աջ կողմում գտնվող հղումը:

Чтобы перевести этот бюллетень, нажмите на него, затем воспользуйтесь ссылкой справа.

Bu bülteni çevirmek için üzerine tıklayın ve ardından sağdaki bağlantıyı kullanın.

Next week will feel pretty interrupted with no school for students on Tuesday and the day off for everyone on Friday. Please take a moment next week as we celebrate Veteran's Day to acknowledge and appreciate those in our lives who have served in the armed forces.

Quick announcements:

• It's time to register for WPS Winter Sports! Click here for information on FY24 Winter Athletic Registration. Information will be shared this Monday, November 6th at 6:30PM in the WMS Auditorium.

• Community Service Announcement: Our Coats for Kids drive is officially underway! Every year we collect lightly used winter coats to donate to families in need. We accept all sizes of coats, but not other winter clothing including jackets, hats, gloves, etc. Please have your child drop off donations in the main lobby

• The Watertown Recreation Department Registration has begun. Here is the "Winter I Program Brochure and the information for Wachusett Mountain Ski / Board. If interested, please register today as all programs are first come, first serve. You may register for the skiing portion of the registration directly with Wachusett Mountain.

Upcoming Dates:

• November 6th: WPS Winter Sports Information Session (6:30pm, WMS Auditorium)
• November 7: No School for Students - Professional Development Day
  
• November 8: Youth Wellness Community Forum (Lowell Elementary School, 5:30pm)
• November 10: No School - Veterans Day (Observed)

Respectfully yours,

Ms. Jennifer Chen Fein, Principal

Ms. Susan Carle, Assistant Principal (Clusters 1, 3, 5)

Ms. Jennifer Sarmiento, Assistant Principal (Clusters 2, 4, 6)

We are seeing students experience increased phone and social media usage, including mean or inappropriate behavior at times. As we partner with you as caregivers, we encourage you to talk with your child about appropriate phone and social media usage.

Two examples we have seen this past month that impact large groups of students at WMS:

• Large group chats, including on snapchat, where students, particularly in the 8th grade, are posting harmful content to many classmates at once. Students are not usually sharing these concerning things with school adults. We encourage home adults to regularly monitor student social media interaction as teenagers learn healthy habits such as knowing when to leave a group, when to report something harmful to an adult, and when to be an upstander instead of a bystander.

• Students, particularly in the 6th grade, are “adding” or “following” anonymous requests. This can be harmful to young adolescents for many reasons, including, but not limited to: inappropriate content; cruel and unkind messaging; communication with unknown persons.
  

We urge you to have follow up conversations with your children to reinforce ways to have positive social media experiences.

Here are some helpful resources:

• American Academy of Pediatrics: Family Media Plan
• KidsHealth: Teaching Kids to be Smart About Social Media
• American Psychological Association: Keeping Teens Safe on Social Media
• Here is an example of an advisory lesson our staff has led with our students as we engage students in conversations about the Internet and Social Media safety throughout the school year.

WMS had a blast at our first dance of the year! We plan to have a dance each trimester this year.

8th grade students who are interested in helping plan for the dances can reach out to Ms. Braese at courtney.braese@watertown.k12.ma.us for more information about joining Leadership Club.

Thank you to all students and staff that helped make this year’s book fair a success. The fair made almost five thousand dollars in sales! The library will be able to use a percentage of those sales to purchase books and supplies for our library collection. Some of the most popular books sold at the fair this year include the brand new Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer, the newest Baby-Sitter’s Club graphic novel, and a Miles Morales comic book, all of which sold out. We were so happy to see WMS students excited about books, and can’t wait to use our Scholastic dollars to purchase even more books that everyone can enjoy.

Please reach out to Ms. Cabral with any questions at paula.cabral@watertown.k12.ma.us

The WMS PTO meets on the second Tuesday of the month, with a mix of virtual and hybrid meetings. We will meet at 6:30pm.

Date for the year include:

• November 14 (virtual)
• December 12 (virtual)
• January 9 (in person - WMS Art Room/virtual)
• February 13 (virtual)
• March 12 (virtual)
• April 9 (in person - WMS Art Room/virtual)
• May 14 (virtual)
• June 11 (virtual)

We have postponed our 90s Themed Party, as the WMS dance is the same date. Stay tuned for more updates from PTO soon!

Are you interested in being on the WMS PTO? Reach out to our new co-PTO Presidents Elena Poillucci <elenapoillucci@gmail.com> and Melissa Parker <melissapisces@yahoo.com> with any questions or to express interest in joining next year.

Here are our slides from our September meeting. We hope you will join us at our next meeting.

We will usually meet the third Monday of each month, virtually here at 6:00pm.

You can reach out to Sarah Seldomridge at sarah.seldomridge@watertown.k12.ma.us with any questions. Thank you!

We had a great Site Council meeting last Wednesday. At the most recent meeting, we talked about Caregiver Conferences. Overall, conferences went well. Site Council members share that when students were prepared, it was nice to see their children take the lead and facilitate the conference. It was mentioned that the timing feels short, and that they would like for the conference to be led, if possible, by two teachers who are connected with their child.

We went on to discuss how WIN is going this year. We are gearing up for round 2, and are happy to say that we have new teachers offering intervention (literacy focus through science and social studies texts, for example) and extension choices. Finally, we shared updates about one of our newest and most helpful structures - FLEX Fridays. We suggested that families could check in with their child on Thursdays to ask about their plan for Friday’s FLEX time. This is a helpful structure that is allowing students to take ownership and to advocate for themselves when they need extra time for retakes or when they need some reteaching.

The WMS Site Council is a body of students, faculty, parents, and caregivers that plays a strong role in the vision and direction of our school. Site Council meets on the following Wednesdays from 4-5pm in person (WMS art room, A128)/virtually (zoom), as we try out this hybrid model of meeting.

• November 29
  
• January 3
• January 31
• March 27
• May 1
• May 29

There are many events we have at WMS throughout the year where we welcome caregivers to help us chaperone. Usually this is for a field trip or a school event such as the upcoming dance. We ask that chaperones complete the CORI process through Human Resources.

If you are interested in volunteering to chaperoning for future trips or WMS events this year and would like to be added to our CORI'ed chaperone list, please email our assistant principals at susan.carle@watertown.k12.ma.us and jennifer.sarmiento@watertown.k12.ma.us

If you are you a registered nurse or know someone who is, our district also has PAID nurse positions for these trips, and we can fast track you through the hiring process. You would only have to come on whichever trip(s) you're available for - no need to commit to more than that! If you are interested in chaperoning as a paid nurse for an upcoming trip, please email our principal at jennifer.chenfein@watertown.k12.ma.us.

Click on the links below to find a monthly update from your child's teachers*

Cluster 1

Cluster 2

Cluster 3

Cluster 4

Cluster 5

Cluster 6

Specialists

World Language

Reading

Multilingual Learners

LB Math

Wilson Reading

WMS/WHS Orchestra

WMS Band

Nurse Update

Students will pay $50 one time to participate in any sports or clubs all year; if it is a hardship for a family they should reach out to the guidance counselor to inquire about a scholarship.

Students may participate in any enrichment activities for free (Student Leadership, GSA, Yearbook, and Learning Lab).

Students and families will receive the club sign up form in the next week or so.

The late bus runs Monday-Friday at 3:45pm.

• November 6th: WPS Winter Sports Information Session (6:30pm, WMS Auditorium)
• November 7: No School for Students - Professional Development Day
  
• November 8: Youth Wellness Community Forum (Lowell Elementary School, 5:30pm)
• November 10: No School - Veterans Day (Observed)
• November 14: WMS PTO (6:30pm, virtual)
• November 22: Early Release
• November 23-24: No School - Thanksgiving Holiday
• November 30: Picture Retake Day
• December 4: Trimester 1 Ends
• December 5: Trimester 2 Begins
• December 12: Trimester 1 Report Cards, MCAS 2023 Results, i-Ready diagnostic updates, and Yardstick Caregiver Guide for 6, 7, 8th graders mailed home
• December 12: WMS PTO (6:30pm, virtual)
• December 14: WMS Winter Showcase Performance (7:00-9:00PM)
• December 22: Early Release
• December 25-January 1: No School - Winter Recess
• January 10: Early Release (11:45am dismissal with grab-n-go lunch)
• January 15: No School - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• January 25: Trimester 2 Progress Report Reminder
• January 29-30: WMS i-Ready mid-year diagnostics (Reading, Math)

• WMS Bell Schedule and Trimester Dates 2023-2024
  

• Watertown Public Schools Calendar 2023-2024
  

• WPS MCAS schedule Spring 2024
  

• Watertown Community Resources - English
• Watertown Community Resources - Spanish
• Watertown Community Resources - Portuguese

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

Website: https://wms.watertown.k12.ma.us/
Location: 68 Waverley Avenue, Watertown, MA, USA
Phone: 617-926-7783