Dear Colleagues,
With two weeks to go to reach our 180th day with students, I know everyone is busy with end-of-year activities. I am especially appreciative for the work of our high school colleagues as they put so much effort into senior activities that make these final days for our graduating class very special.
I also want to give a big shout-out to the Sprague staff. Yesterday, they hosted a rousing send-off for retiring principal Susan Snyder that was both poignant and hilarious. (I’ll never think of a principal’s daily announcements in quite the same way!) Today, this same Sprague staff rallied together to help facilitate an unexpected early dismissal of all students due to a Freon leak in the HVAC system at the school. Thank you Team Sprague for your professionalism in handling today’s crisis with such care.
Finally, I want to highlight another award-winning member of our team. WHS Fitness and Health teacher Kathy Brophy recently received the Ruth and Virginia Bigwood Award from the REACH Beyond Domestic Violence Organization. Kathy has worked in the Health and Wellness field for the past 26 years and is in her 12th year at Wellesley High School. Kathy has worked closely with REACH Beyond Domestic Violence through the facilitation of the “Power Up” class offered to students at Wellesley High School. Power Up, which is centered around “Confidence-Power-Safety,” is a semester long class built on a self-defense framework. Congratulations to Kathy on this well-deserved award!
Thank you all for your good work on behalf of our students and enjoy the weekend.
Best regards,
David
Calendar
06/03/19 – Deadline for Graduate Course Reimbursement Submissions
06/04/19 – School Committee Meeting – Town Hall – 6:30 pm
06/07/19 – WHS Graduation – 5 pm
06/14/19 – Last Day of School for Students
06/18/19 – School Committee Meeting – Town Hall – 6:30 pm
WHS Graduation News
Wellesley High School Graduation is on Friday, June 7, 2019, Hunnewell Field at 5:00pm.
If outside, a ticket is not necessary. In case of rain, the graduation will be in the GYM at Wellesley High School. All Faculty and Staff are required to have a ticket for admission. Please use this link to order a chair and ticket. Please RSVP to Cheryl Rose if you plan to attend. You will receive a ticket and instructions, before the ceremony.
Graduate Course Reimbursement
Course reimbursement funding of $30,000 is available to distribute in FY20 among qualified teachers. This funding is for graduate course work done as part of a master’s degree program to fulfill a teacher’s obligations for the Massachusetts Educators Professional License and for course work required to achieve the next stage of licensure culminating in a professional license and/or when a specialist teacher’s immediate supervisor, subject to the approval of the Assistant Superintendent, verifies that there are no further in-district courses available for recertification in that specialist’s field, that specialist may apply for tuition reimbursement. Any Unit A member for whom no DESE license exists, including but not limited to occupational and physical therapists, so long as that member maintains appropriate certification and/or licensure required to perform his or her duties, shall be eligible to apply for tuition reimbursement. To apply for this course reimbursement, please send, by no later June 3, 2019, the completed reimbursement form, along with evidence of your enrollment in an applicable master/doctoral degree program, name and description of the course, evidence of course cost (a billing statement), proof of payment (i.e. credit card statement, canceled check or receipt of payment), and transcript to Valerie Spruill, Administrative Assistant to the Director of Human Resources, spruillv@wellesleyps.org. You will be notified of the amount awarded to you some time prior to the first paycheck in September 2019. Please note: all information must be received by June 3, 2019 or you will be disqualified for reimbursement. All courses must have occurred in the summer of 2018, fall of 2018 and spring of 2019 and have been completed by June 3, 2019. Any courses taken prior to the summer of 2018 will not count for reimbursement.
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@wellesleyma.gov or by calling 781-431-1019 extension 2244.
Renewing Your Educator’s License?
Information about requirements to renew your educator license is available on the WPS website. Click here to go to the HR Licensure tab. When you apply for your license on the DESE website under ELAR, the DESE will send you an electronic communication about what is missing from your licensure file in order to renew. The HR licensure tab and your ELAR account are two tools to assist you with information about licensure renewal.
WPS Internal Job Postings on District Website
For all Internal Job Postings, please go to “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website.