Colleagues,
I hope you each had a productive week. Before we head into the April vacation week, I wanted to highlight a few items. First, many thanks to our WMS Social Studies Department for managing the 8th grade civics capstone projects this week. This has been the third year of civics being a state-required course, which has created a wonderful opportunity for our students to apply their learning in the exploration of specific action projects. By engaging local and state officials, students are developing important skills to, hopefully, remain engaged and active members of their communities in the future.
I also want to thank the staff members of Upham and Hardy who joined me for coffees at their respective schools this week. As always, I appreciate these informal opportunities to hear from our staff on a range of issues.
And finally, I offer my best wishes to all of the members of our school community who are running in the Boston Marathon on Monday. Many of our runners are participating on behalf of terrific causes for our community.
Thanks for all that you do to support our students and I hope you each have a restful and restorative April break!
Best, David
Calendar
April 15 – 19 – April Break (Schools Closed)
April 23 – School Committee Meeting
Open Enrollment
Open enrollment for all benefit eligible Town of Wellesley Employees will be from April 1-26, 2024.
Benefits are effective from July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025. For quick access to all information, updated rates, plan information and links to all websites, please go to www.wellesleyma.gov/openenrollment
Youth Mental Health Workshop Series begins April 11
Parents & caregivers are invited to take part in a three-part workshop series, “Building Resilience: Supporting Youth Mental Health,” held at the Wellesley Free Library’s Wakelin Room starting this Thursday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m.
The series is sponsored by Thrive Wellesley and will feature guest speakers from Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s The Resilience Project. It is designed to help families – parents, guardians & caregivers – gain a better understanding of the skills, community support, and resources for developing positive mental health and connections within their families. Join for one, two, or all three sessions. Full details here.
- April 11 – Supporting Mental Health Through a Lens of Resilience
- May 8 – The Continuum of Care from Prevention to Treatment
- May 22 – Building Resilience in Kids and Ourselves
Register through the WFL website Thrive Wellesley is an Initiative of the Kiwanis Club of Wellesley, in partnership with the Wellesley Youth Commission and Wellesley Health Department, and funded by the Community Fund for Wellesley.
Massachusetts Aspiring Principal Fellowship
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) understands the pivotal role that school leaders play in empowering student success and achievement. To this end, DESE has established the Massachusetts Aspiring Principal Fellowship, a one-year program for aspiring school leaders that seeks to cultivate a strong and diverse pipeline of effective school principals who are committed to championing culturally and linguistically sustaining learning communities, equity-driven leadership, and anti-racist practices. This program aims to inspire and empower aspiring principals to lead with vision, passion, and purpose and to create a brighter future for all students. To launch this inaugural fellowship, DESE has partnered with The Lynch Leadership Academy.
The program is provided at no cost to districts, schools, or individuals.
Included is a flyer which also includes a link to register for an information session and the link to the application.
You can also learn more on DESE’s website for the program. The application is due 4/26 (including a recommendation from the mentor principal).
WPS Family STEAM Night
On Monday evening, May 20, 2024, WPS will host a Family STEAM evening for our PreK-12 families. We will have STEAM activities including coding, programming robots, science and math games, working with circuits and more. Additionally, Amon Millner, Associate Professor of Computing and Innovation at Olin College of Engineering will be our featured speaker. He will talk about a variety of technology and engineering topics including ways children can incorporate computing and programming into the way they play, learn and prepare for ways to help their community. Please join us for an evening immersed in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math).
Please click on this flyer to learn more.
Summer Program Positions Available
-Teachers and Paraprofessionals
-July 8 – August 1, 202, 4 days a week, Monday-Thursday
-The program is targeted at those students who need another opportunity to engage in essential content from their current grade in small group virtual sessions.
-To apply, Go to “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab
How to Apply for WPS Internal Job Postings as a New Internal Applicant (New Instructions as of 3/25/24)
Wishing the best of luck to our Wellesley Public Schools faculty and staff members who will be running the Boston Marathon on April 15!
Runners include: Carolyn Livingstone, Hunnewell kindergarten teacher, on behalf of Wellesley’s War Memorial Scholarship Fund; Julia MacBlane, Schofield teaching assistant, also on behalf of Wellesley’s War Memorial Scholarship Fund; Glen Magpiong, WHS varsity girls basketball coach, on behalf of Wellesley’s A Better Chance (ABC); and Sara Sullivan, Hunnewell psychologist, on behalf of the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation. We look forward to cheering you on!
Timeline for WPS Enrollment of Faculty Children (Kindergarten – Grade 12)
Children of Unit A and B members residing outside of Wellesley shall be entitled to attend Wellesley Public Schools without charge for tuition on a space available basis (Article 12, WEA, Unit A and B Contract).
Below is the timeline for submitting applications:
March 1: Interested applicants may submit a letter of intent with the one-page application to Dana Zakak, District Registrar, at registrar@wellesleyps.org.
Eligible staff members can also access the application on the WPS website.
May 1: All applications are due to Dana Zakak, late applications will not be accepted.
The district will review all applications in May and school placement decisions will be made in June. Placement decisions are made based on available space and staff will be notified of their school when decisions have been made. Once notified of a determination, applicants will be provided with access to the online registration forms. Registration of students is not completed until all forms have been received and approved by the District Registrar and Nurse.
If there are any questions, please reach out to Dana Zakak District Registrar, at registrar@wellesleyps.org.
A survey will be sent out in mid-March to confirm currently enrolled faculty children will be returning in school year 2024-2025.
For enrollment of younger faculty children, please contact Isabel Cashman cashmani@wellesleyps.org for PAWS Preschool or Heidi Marquedant marquedanth@wellesleyps.org for the WHS Child Lab Program.
403(B)/457 Fund Contribution Limits
The limit for 403(b) and 457 contributions for calendar year 2024 will be $23,000. Employees who are 50 years of age and older may chose to have an additional $7,500 in catch-up contributions, if eligible, bringing the limit to $30,500. Changes to your contribution amounts must be made through Voya (457) or OMNI & TSACG for 403(b). Contact information for the two programs are:
VOYA: Bruce Coughlin PH: 781-237-3776 or at bruce.coughlin@voyafa.com
Additional information is available at: https://www.wellesleyma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11303/457b-Self-Enrollment-Instructions?bidId=
OMNI & TSACG: PH: 877-544-OMNI
Additional Information is available at: https://www.omni403b.com/SRA/Landing
Please use this link for information about SECURE Act 2.0. If you have additional questions about these provisions, please reach out to OMNI/TSACG directly.
If you have questions about payroll deductions, please contact Donna Kalinowski at ext. 5613.
Human Relation Services
The Human Relation Services (HRS) can help. Wellesley Public Schools has contracted with HRS to provide up to ten free counseling visits for you and/or your family members. This program is designed to help you deal with stresses of life and work –including personal and family issues, drug or alcohol problems, and job related tension. It offers prevention and intervention to reduce these stresses and improve coping skills.
HRS is located at 11 Chapel Place in Wellesley and can be reached at 781-235-4950. This is a confidential service. Wellesley Public Schools is not aware of the names of employees or their family members who utilize this service.
Do you have a question for the WPS Human Resources Department?
Email AskHR@Wellesleyps.org. The Human Resources Department is happy to assist you.
WPS Internal Job Postings on District Website
For all Internal Job Postings, please go to “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website. How to Apply for WPS Internal Job Postings as a New Internal Applicant