Dear Colleagues
I hope you had a chance to come out and see Sweeney Todd last weekend at WHS. What an extraordinary show that included nearly 10 percent of the student body participating in the cast, musical score, stage construction management, technical crew and other roles. Watching the show, I found it hard to believe that this was a high school production. Events like these often feel like District capstone projects because our students deploy so many of the skills they have honed in your classes in the years leading up to these performances. Special thank you’s need to be given to the Performing Arts Department, the incredible parent volunteers from POPS, and particularly WHS Drama Teacher Steve Wrobleski for his incredible leadership and firefighting duties, in support of the show and our students.
I also want to take moment to share an anecdote from School Committee Member Tony Bent. Tony recently traveled to Poland with a group of educators as part of an effort to better understand and support global education. During their trip, they visited Auschwitz, the site of perhaps the most notorious concentration camp during World War II. As Tony recounted his experience at a recent School Committee meeting, he reflected that the Nazis who organized and ran these and other camps were highly educated. Despite their extensive time in school, where they were likely challenged with rigorous curricula, they could still rationalize the genocide, which they were facilitating. Tony’s point in sharing his experience is that if our work in schools remains solely focused on academic tasks and fails to help develop the caring, compassion, and humanity of our students, we will have failed in our mission.
Fast forward to last night’s WMS PTO/WHS PTSO meeting in Boston where the staff and parents in attendance were asked about their hopes and dreams for our students. I shared Tony’s reflection with my group and affirmed my hope that all our students in WPS deepen their sense of compassion during their time with us and leave our schools with commitment to a human agenda that is every bit as important as the academic content in which they have been engaged.
Please accept my warm wishes for a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving next week!
Best regards,
David Lussier
Calendar
11/22/17 – Thanksgiving Break Begins – Early Release
11/27/17 – Prof. Development Day – No School for Students
11/28/17 – SC Meeting – 6:30 pm – Town Hall
12/05/17 – SC Meeting – 6:30 pm – Town Hall
12/12/17 – SC Meeting – 6:30 pm – Town Hall
Condolences toJean Mahoney (Schofield Gr. 1 Teacher) on the loss of her mother, Jeannette Murphy, on November 11, 2017.
New WEF Website and Online Grant Application (OLGA) Upgrade
The Wellesley Education Foundation is launching a new website the week of November 20th. This means OLGA – the Online Grant Application – will have some new elements. Please refer to the attached PDF for more information about this transition. Don’t forget to apply! Last year, WEF awarded over $242k in grants to WPS.
Grant applications are due January 5th, so now is a great time to submit your application at wefgrantapplications if you have questions. Please note: The new link referenced above is not available until end of day on
November 20th.
Maintain. . . Don’t Gain Wellness Program
Congratulations to Janet Eckler and Kristina Nowak for being our gift card winners for their participation in the Step into Fall challenge. Janet Eckler won a $50 Nike gift card and Kristina Nowak won a $50 Dick’s Sporting good gift card.
As you know, the upcoming holiday season typically involves a lot of parties. Many people gain weight during this time of year. Please join our next wellness program: Maintain, Don’t Gain. This program allows you to win prizes while you monitor your own weight during the holiday season.
Weight loss or gain will be indicated on the wellness platform as percentages. Other participants enrolled in this program will not see your weight. Participants will have the opportunity to win Fitkits, cookbooks, spa gift cards, spiralizers and water bottles.
The deadline to enroll in this program is Wednesday, November 22nd. Please join us by logging into the Tufts Fitness page.
MTRS Ready For Retirement Seminars
For Members Retiring in 2018
The MTRS staff will be presenting its popular seminar, “Ready for Retirement,” across the Commonwealth this fall. “Ready for Retirement” is a free, optional, two-hour program (4-6 p.m.) designed for members retiring in 2018.
Topics include:
- the retirement application process and the benefit calculation formula,
- timelines and service expectations,
- first payment information,
- health insurance, tax and working after retirement issues, and
- cost-of-living adjustments after you retire.
Please note: Personalized account information and pension estimates are not offered during these sessions.
To attend, simply choose the date and location that is best for you, and then register online. We hope to see you soon!
SOUTH YARMOUTH, Tuesday, November 28; Dennis Yarmouth High School auditorium
WOBURN, Thursday, November 30; Woburn High School auditorium
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 or by calling 781-431-1019 extension 2244.
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.