Dear Bates,
Last week’s excitement about the Bates Book Fair and our first Community Meeting together in the gym was amazing. This week’s calendar included author visits and awesome creative arts presentations for several grade levels. Teachers are currently making plans for a spring field trip at every grade level. So many of our special enrichment activities are made possible by our generous PTO. Thank you. We are so grateful.
Early Dismissal for Parent Teacher Conferences
We look forward to parent teacher conferences over the next few weeks. Please remember that Tuesday, March 29 is an Early Dismissal at 12:00 pm for all students.
Get Ready for the Bates Mini-Marathon!
Our students are working hard in P.E. to train for the Bates Mini-Marathon, which is now a little over two weeks away. Please see the information from Nicole Fyvie below. Family members are invited to cheer on the runners, so mark your calendars for the big event: Wednesday, April 13. Also, look for information in the PTO Blast about the PTO Spaghetti Dinner for Bates families on Tuesday, April 12.
MCAS Testing
ELA MCAS testing for grades 3-5 begins in a week. We encourage students to bring a snack and water bottle on the day of their test. Testing dates are as follows:
Grade 3: April 11 & 12
Grade 4: April 7 & 8
Grade 5: April 4 & 5
Planning for Next Year
Finally, this spring we also begin planning for next year. As you may be aware, next year Bates will host the Hunnewell School kindergarten and grade 5. We look forward to welcoming these Hunnewell students, faculty and families to Bates.
In addition, in April the Bates faculty will conduct the class placement process for next year. Our team of teachers who take part in the placement process know your child well. They thoughtfully consider each child’s learning style, individual needs and school friendships to create the best grouping possible for Bates students. If you have a serious concern that you would like considered for placement purposes, you will have the opportunity next week to complete a Serious Concerns Form. In order for this information to be included in placement decisions, the Serious Concerns Form must be submitted via Google Drive by Thursday, April 14, 2022. Finally, because our placement process goal is to form well-balanced classrooms, we cannot consider:
1. Requests for specific teachers or teaching/personality styles
2. Requests to be with friends
On Wednesday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. we will welcome parents of rising kindergarteners to the Bates Kindergarten Orientation. This is a chance to meet our kindergarten teachers, visit our kindergarten classrooms and learn about the exciting kindergarten year ahead.
If you have any questions, please reach out to me at jolleya@wellesleyps.org.
Have a great weekend!
Warmly,
Toni
2022 Bates Mini-Marathon
Wednesday, April 13th!
Please join us for the 11th Annual Bates Mini-Marathon on Wednesday, April 13th! Parents and families are invited to cheer on their runners. Each grade has 20 minutes to run/walk laps around the outside of the school, doing their best and having fun. Students train for the event in P.E.
The Mini-Marathon is also a fundraiser for Friends of Wellesley METCO, Inc., which subsidizes a broad range of educational support programs. Donation forms, and the event schedule, will be sent to families in the next few weeks.