Dear Colleagues,
We reached an important budget milestone this week with the School Committee approving our FY19 Budget, which represents a 3.5 percent increase over our current operating budget. While we had requests that could not be funded this year, I am pleased that even with this lean budget, we are still moving forward to support key areas of our Strategic Plan. For example, this budget includes the further expansion of Elementary World Language, adding additional sections to High School Science, increased support for Nursing Services and Special Education, and support for 8th Grade student interventions at the Middle School. We are also pleased that we will be able to maintain the 8:30AM bus run for WHS that has allowed more students the option of a later start to their day. The next step in our process is to present our budget to the Advisory Committee on Wednesday, February 7th, and then on to Town Meeting at the end of March.
Finally, I want to recognize our colleague Rita Bourne, a special educator from WHS, who retired this week after 30 years of service to our district. Hearing the many accolades that were shared at her retirement luncheon, there is little doubt of the impact that Rita had during her tenure.
Thank you for all that you do for our students and have a great Super Bowl weekend. Go Pats!!
Best regards,
David Lussier
Calendar
2/6/18 – SC Meeting – 6:30 pm – Town Hall
2/19-2/23 – Winter Break
2/27/18 – SC Meeting – 6:00pm Town Hall
Condolencesto Jackie Decker (Sprague Teaching Assistant) on the loss of her father, Robert Rooney, who died on January 26, 2018; and to Patty Hickey (WHS Athletic Trainer) on the loss of her mother, Esther Hickey, who died on January 31, 2018.
Wanted: Seminar Day Presenters
Wellesley High School’s Seminar Day is just over a month away. This year we wanted to extend our speaker invitation to all who work in the District. Seminar Day will be held on Wednesday, March 7th, and if you (yes YOU!) or anyone you know (or meet in the near future) would love to share a passion with our students, please feel free to fill out or pass along the following form:
What is Seminar Day? What does the schedule look like?
Seminar day occurs on the March half day every year at WHS. Instead of classes, we plan three one-hour blocks of seminars, and our students (and staff!) attend the ones that align with their interests and passions. The schedule for the day is as follows:
Advisory: 8:05-8:15am
Block A: 8:20-9:20am
Block B: 9:25-10:25am
Block C: 10:30-11:30am
There are usually 100+ speakers, many of whom come from our very own staff (and some students!), and the speakers present on an extremely diverse set of passions and experiences. The goal is to ignite and spark inspiration in our students as they explore a number of seminars of interest OR ones in which they never even knew they’d be interested. Questions? Email Zach Nicol: nicolz@wellesleyps.org, or Carly Matarazzo: matarazzoc@wellesleyps.org.
Apply Now to Enroll Children of Non-Resident WTA Members in Wellesley Public Schools
Children of teachers or nurses residing outside of Wellesley shall be entitled to attend Wellesley Public Schools without charge for tuition on a space-available basis (Article 12, WTA Unit A Contract). If you are interested in this benefit for the 2018-19 school year, please click registrar. The Application and Letter of Intent Deadline is May 1, 2018.
Insurance Benefits Information
Health and Dental Insurance Benefits information is handled by the Town Hall Benefits Office. Inquiries should be directed to Joanne Liburd at JLiburd or by calling 781-431-1019 extension 2244.
WPS Internal Job Postings on District Website
Please be aware that we added a new feature called “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website. We will post all of our internal jobs under this website tab. Therefore, you will no longer see internal job postings in the bulletin. This new way of posting will allow us to post internal positions any day of the week.