Wellesley Public Schools
Learning • Caring • Innovating
Superintendent’s Bulletin
May 22, 2015
Dear Colleagues,
With end of year awards programs in full swing and Memorial Day weekend about to begin, it’s clear that we are now in the final leg of 2014-2015 school year.  Listening to our outgoing seniors describe the influence that you have had on their lives since kindergarten reminds me of the influence that teachers have in shaping the future.
I want to give a special shout-out to all of the teachers, administrators, and community members who have been working on the development of an Elementary World Language Program that we will begin rolling out at grades K-2 at Hardy and Sprague next year.  By starting to teach students a second language as early as kindergarten, we know that we stand a far better chance of all students graduating from our District proficient in two languages.  We also believe this proficiency will engender greater cross-cultural understanding and help prepare our students to be global citizens.  Thanks to the educators at Hardy and Sprague for helping to lead the way for our District! 
Finally, please enjoy the long weekend and find time to reflect on the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.
Best regards,
David 
Calendar
5/25/15 – Memorial Day – No School
​5/26/15 – School Committee Meeting – 7 pm – Town Hall
5/27/15 – Deadline:  Affordable Housing Lottery Application
6/5/15 – WHS Graduation – 5 pm
6/8/15 (Monday) – School Committee Meeting – 7 pm – Town Hall
6/19/15 – Last Day of School for Students
6/23/15 – School Committee Meeting – 7 pm – Town Hall

WHS GRADUATION NEWS
Ticket Information

Wellesley High School Graduation is on June 5, Hunnewell Field, at 5:00 PM.  (If outside, a ticket will not be necessary.)  In case of rain, the graduation ceremony will be in the GYM at Wellesley High School.  All faculty and staff will need a ticket for admission.  Please email Mary Donahue at donahuem@wellesleyps.org  by Friday, May 22.  If you plan to attend the graduation, Mary will send the ticket and instructions by return mail.

​​Wellesley Housing Development Corporation Announces
Lottery for Affordable Housing Opportunity in Wellesley
The Belclare Wellesley is a new condominium development located at 580 Washington Street and 53 Grove Street, Wellesley, MA.  The development is located in Wellesley center, at the former site of the Wellesley Inn.   There will be five (5) affordable units with three in the carriage house, and two in the cottage. The new carriage house and new cottage will replicate the ones that were on the site when the Inn was there. There is one 1BR unit, three 2BR units and one 3BR unit.  The sales prices range from $173,100 to $216,000.  The purchasers of the units will be chosen through a lottery to be held among all qualified applicants.
There will be an information meeting on the lottery process on May 6th at 7pm in the Arnold conference Room at the Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482.  Applications are due May 27th.
For more information on the units, the timing, and the process, and for an application form go to http://www.maloneyrealestate.com/the-belclare-lottery
Robert Kenney, Chair, Wellesley Housing Development Corporation
WellesleyPD Summer 2015 Course Offerings
Instructions for Registration

All WellesleyPD course offerings and information is available online:

Content-Based Courses

  • Using Thinking Maps to Enhance Student Performance
    Participants: PreK-12 Classroom Teachers & Special Educators
  • Understanding and Applying Differentiated Instruction
    Participants: PreK-12 Educators

Art

  • Discovering the Artist Within: Fostering Creativity in the Classroom
    Participants: PreK-12 Educators, Non-Art Specialists 

Literacy

  • Close Reading
    Participants: Grades 3-6 Classroom Teachers & Special Educators 
  • Writing Workshop K-5
     Participants: K-5 Educators

Science

  • Being Scientists & Engineers: Integrating Science & Engineering Practices in the Elementary Classroom
    Participants: PreK-5 Educators

Technology

  • iPad Boot Camp   
    Participants: PreK-5 Educators
  • Designing Blended Curriculum Units for the Classroom in Canvas
    Participants: Grades 8-12 Educators             
  • Google Apps for Education
    Participants: PreK-12 Educators

CPI Restraint Training

  • Full Course
    Participants: PreK-12 Educators, TAs & Paras    

Wellesley Supervision and Evaluation System
Based on staff feedback, a list of Educator Evaluation FAQs has been compiled and is now available online:

For a direct link click FAQs.
Open Circle
Wellesley expects (and pays for) all elementary teachers to take Open Circle during their second or third year in Wellesley.
Open Circle course offerings and information is available online:

  • Go to the WPS district homepage: http://www.wellesley.k12.ma.us/
  • Select the “Faculty” tab
  • Select “Professional Development”
  • Select “Open Circle” from the right menu

All Open Circle registrations should be submitted to Anne Allieri in Chelsea Bailow’s absence through June 1st.

EDCO IDEAS (formerly EDCO EMI)
EDCO IDEAS is now accepting registrations for their summer courses. The registration deadline is Thursday, May 28th.

Wellesley expects (and pays for) second and third year teachers to register for the course “Anti-Racist School Practices to Support the Success of All Students (EMI1)”.
For registration and course information:

All EDCO IDEAS registrations should be submitted to Anne Allieri in Chelsea Bailow’s absence through June 1st.

Study Tour to Spain and Morocco – Summer 2016

Primary Source is excited to announce a study tour to Spain and Morocco for summer 2016.  Though the tour is more than a year away, we want teachers to know now so they have time to make plans.

We will be partnering with EF Educational Tours to offer Spain and Morocco: Coexistence, Competition and Culture (711-1614) in July 2016.  Though the tour will be open more broadly, Primary Source partners are getting the first peek at this study travel opportunity.  Seats are guaranteed for PS partners for the next 30 days and enrollment will continue over the coming months until the tour fills.

Below is more information about the tour — please share with your teachers and administrators.  It is going to be a wonderful trip!

Spain and Morocco: Coexistence, Competition and Culture (711-1614)
July 6-14, 2016

Join Primary Source an d E F Education First as they team up for an in-depth and experiential exploration of Spain and Morocco over the centuries. Scholar Barbara Petzen and curriculum experts from Primary Source will guide you in studying the interconnections between Muslim-ruled Spain and Morocco across nine centuries. Through experiential learning at major historical and cultural sites, you will investigate varied religious, ethnic, and political identities, dynamic artistic traditions, and the movement of ideas and goods in a period remarkable for its cross-fertilization. Before the trip and en route, you will gain accessible resources for bringing these topics back to your classroom.  Included in the trip:  Cordoba, Granada, Tarifa, Fez, Casablanca and Marrakech.  Open to all K-12 teachers and administrators, but particularly suited to teachers of history and art.

See the full tour web site and enroll at www.eftours.com/1699512YX.

Graduate Course Reimbursement
Course reimbursement funding of $30,000 is available to distribute in FY15 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.  To apply for this course reimbursement, please send, by June 1, 2015, your name, 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 Human Resources Director, spruillv@wellesleyps.org   You will be notified of the amount awarded to you sometime prior to the first paycheck in September 2015.  Please note:  all information must be received by June 1, 2015 or you will be disqualified for reimbursement.  All courses must have occurred in the summer of 2014, fall of 2014 and spring of 2015 and have been completed by June 1, 2015.   Any courses taken prior to the summer of 2014 will not count for reimbursement.

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 5/22/15
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