Dear Bates Families,
I hope you are well and enjoying these last days of August. Typically at this time of the summer, I would be communicating logistics in anticipation of the first day of school. As with much of our lives since March, our planning for welcoming students back to school safely has involved reimagining everything we do in school. This work has been challenging, but with each day we are making progress. While I don’t yet have all of our plans finalized to share with you, please know we are working diligently on all aspects of this work. For now I want to share my optimism and excitement for our first day of school, which is now about three weeks away.
Staying Informed
There are a number of ways to stay informed about new developments. The Wellesley School Committee, who meets again tonight at 6:30 p.m, continues to discuss the many district developments related to the start of school, including facilities work and potential testing. In addition, I will email our Bates families and invite you to a meeting in the evening to discuss any new information. In the meantime, below I have captured some recent communications for your information.
WPS School Reopening Plan
On August 14 the School Committee voted to approve the district’s plan for school reopening in a hybrid model. The district plan, School Committee meeting and Community Forum presentations as well as recordings of these meetings are all available on the WPS homepage https://wellesleyps.org/.
Getting Ready for School
On the Bates website you will find a link to a Back to School Packet. Grade level supply lists are posted here. More information about the start of school will be forthcoming.
New Faculty at Bates
Jacqui Martel, the Bates art teacher since 2008, has accepted a job teaching art at Wellesley Middle School and Wellesley High School. We will greatly miss Jacqui but are excited that she can pursue this new opportunity. I am pleased to announce that we have hired Addi Catarina as the new art teacher at Bates. Addi graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth with an MFA in art education. She is looking forward to meeting the Bates students.
In closing, I again recognize that these are challenging times for families and students. Thank you for your continued patience and support. Please reach out to Melanie Friedman in the Bates Office or me with any questions. Stay well!
Warm regards,
Toni Jolley