Wellesley Public Schools
Learning • Caring • Innovating
Superintendent’s Bulletin
December 12, 2014
Colleagues,
As I wrote to you earlier this week, we were delighted with the outcome of the Tuesday’s election results that will provide the funds to proceed with major facilities upgrades to the Fiske, Schofield, and Middle Schools.  These projects will begin as soon as school ends, so keep your fingers crossed for few snow days this winter!  Please be sure to thank members of the community who have consistently stepped forward to support our school district. 
Second, following our staff preview of our FY16 budget, we will be formally presenting our budget proposals on Tuesday, December 16th,  to the School Committee.  This will be a challenging year for us given the increase in expenses we have seen emerge in FY15.  The full budget document will also be available electronically.
Finally, I want to the thank the members of our staff who are participating in the Superintendent Advisory Committees that I have established to guide our work in the areas of STEAM, World Language, Technology Plan, and District Scorecard.  In each group, these staff members will be joined by community members who are experts in these fields.  I am very excited to launch these “think tanks” to help inform our work in the coming years!
Enjoy the weekend and thank you for the important work you do each day to support our students.     
Best regards,
David

Calendar
12/12/14 Deadline – Open Enrollment for Flexible Spending  
12/16/14 School Committee Meeting – Town Hall – 7 pm  –  Presentation of Administration’s FY16 Budget
12/24/14-1/2/14 – Winter Break

School Committee Meeting Agenda – 12/16/14

  • Vote:  MS & WHS Program of Studies
  • Presentation of Administration’s FY16 WPS Operations Budget 

The documents presented at School Committee meetings may be found on the School Committee page of the District’s website.

Sign Up for Flexible Spending and Save!

Open enrollment for flexible spending accounts runs from November 24th – December 12th, 2014.  Putting money aside in one or both of these accounts (dependent and/or health care) allows you to lower your taxable income and to pay for items related to either dependent or medical expenses on a pre-tax basis.  For calendar year 2015, you may put up to $2,550 into a health care account and/or up to $5,000 into a dependent care account for expenses incurred from January 1 through December 31, 2015.  Not all expenses are covered and any money put aside in either account will need to be used for that specific purpose (i.e., dependent care funds cannot be used for medical expenses).  Estimate your expenses carefully as any unused money will not be refunded back to you.  Certain expenses may be covered in conjunction with the Town Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) if you are covered on one of the Town’s Health insurance policies.  For information on how to sign up and which expenses are reimbursable, please contact Cafeteria Plan Advisors (CPA) at 781-848-9848 or visit their website at www.cpa125.com.  You may also contact Human Resources at (781) 431-1019, ext. 2244 for general questions about the program. 
New for Calendar 2015:  
Ability to roll over up to $500 of unused funds from your medical spending account and new medical flexible spending maximum is $2,550  

2014-15 Professional Development Opportunities

RETELL SEI Endorsement Course: Spring 2015
There is a new opportunity for eligible educators to enroll in the no-cost RETELL SEI Endorsement course in the Spring.

Participants must meet all eligibility requirements at the time of the SEI course:

  • Must be a Core Academic Teacher
  • Must currently be teaching in a classroom
  • Must have at least one ELL enrolled in one or more courses being taught
Click here to register.  Registration closes on January 15, 2015.
Please note that you will need your MEPID (Massachusetts Ed Personnel ID) number in order to register.   
Register now for Winter/Spring Professional Development Offerings on WellesleyPD
WellesleyPD can be accessed from the WPS website. Under the “Faculty” tab, select “Professional Development”.  
  • Discovering the Artist Within
    Instructors: Lynne Johnson & Diane Redfield
    Participants: PreK-12 Educators and Non-Art Specialists
    Dates/Times: 1/31/15, 2/28/15, 3/21/15, 4/11/15, 9:00a – 3:45p (snow dates: 2/7 & 3/7)
  • Online Tools for Formative Assessment & Collaboration
    Instructors:  Ranjani Sriram & Brian Allieri
    Participants:  PreK-12 Educators
    Dates/Times:  Online Only – Weeks of 3/9-4/6; Project Due 4/17
  • Advanced iPad: 2nd Offering
    Instructors:  Rosey McQuillan & Ranjani Sriram
    Participants:  PreK-12 Educators
    Dates/Times:  Online Only – Weeks of 4/6/15 – 5/10/15
  • Using Thinking Maps to Enhance Student Performance
    Instructors:  Lizzy Floyd & Sarah Fontaine
    Participants:  PreK-12 Classroom Teachers & Special Educators
    Dates/Times:  6/23/15 and 6/24/15, 8 am – 5 pm;   6/25/15, 8 am – 4:30 pm
  • CPI Restraint Training – Full Course WINTER
    Instructors: Adam Diliberto, Elisa Buchsbaum & Jody Steinhilber
    Participants: PreK-12 Educators, TAs & Paras
    Dates/Times: 1/20/15, 1/21/15, 1/22/15, 3:45p – 6:45p
  • CPI Restraint Training – Full Course SPRING
    Instructors: Adam Diliberto, Elisa Buchsbaum & Jody Steinhilber
    Participants: PreK-12 Educators, TAs & Paras
    Dates/Times: 6/15/15, 6/16/15, 8:00a – 3:00p
  • CPI Restraint Training – Refresher Course SPRING
    Instructors: Adam Diliberto, Elisa Buchsbaum & Jody Steinhilber
    Participants: PreK-12 Educators, TAs & Paras
    Dates/Times: 3/31/15, 3:45p – 6:45p

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.
Wellesley Public Schools • Wellesley, Massachusetts
www.wellesley.k12.ma.us/district/superintendent
David Lussier, Superintendent

The Superintendent’s Bulletin is posted weekly on Fridays on our website. It provides timely, relevant information about meetings, professional development opportunities, curriculum and program development, grant awards, and School Committee news. The bulletin is also the official vehicle for job postings. Please read the bulletin regularly and use it to inform colleagues of meetings and other school news.

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Superintendent’s Bulletin 12/12/14