August 5, 2021
Dear P.A.W.S. Families,
I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful summer, gathering moments of joy with family and friends, and creating special memories together! While you are enjoying the summer we are getting everything ready for our exciting new school year to begin!
Read the messages below for important information about our Back To School news at the P.A.W.S. Main Campus and the P.A.W.S. classes at the Fiske School and Bates School!
Mark your calendars with the following dates. This is going to be a great year and we are looking forward to welcoming everyone!
Parent Portal Access
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August 11, 2021: A letter will be sent to parent emails from the WPS Technology Department and the Superintendent of Schools with information on how to log in to the PowerSchool account for new students
- August 18, 2021: Welcome letter will be sent to parent emails from the principal. This email will be sent at 12:00 pm allowing access to the Parent Portal to retrieve class placement information.
Required Online Account
- All families must create an online account with the district for each child. You must register each child. Click HERE to access the link to the site. Please note: You must register your child for the classroom your child has been assigned to. If you are not sure of your child’s classroom placement, please contact the P.A.W.S. office and we will assist you.
- For more information click HERE.
If you have questions regarding the tuition, please click HERE and contact the P.A.W.S. office.
P.A.W.S. Student Visit Days and Orientation
- Orientation Day is an important day for students and their parents/guardians. Children and their caregivers are invited into the classroom to meet their teachers, specialists, and support staff. This is a wonderful opportunity for students and parents to practice what it will be like to come to preschool!
- Students will be invited to explore their classroom, find their coat hook and cubby space, meet their classmates and teachers, and play with some of the toys! This is an important opportunity for our preschoolers to visit the school prior to the first official day of preschool. Please be sure to lemail me to let me know if you are not able to attend.
Orientation and Visit Day Overview and Schedule
- Children and parents enjoy the first 15 minutes exploring together in the classroom, meeting the child’s teachers and teaching assistants as well as other school faculty and staff.
- Children and their parents are invited to play with the toys and meet the other parents and children in the classroom. Parents are then invited to leave the classroom to attend the P.A.W.S. Parent/Guardian Information Session, for approximately 30-45 minutes, while the children have the opportunity to stay and play in the classroom.
- The parents will be provided with important information and details about the P.A.W.S. preschool with presentations from the preschool director, the school psychologist, the school nurse. After the information sessions, the parents will return to their child’s classroom to pick-up their preschooler and to hear about the fun time they had playing at school!
Student Visit Day & Parent Orientation
Safety Guidelines for the Fall
- The Wellesley Public Schools work closely with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and MA Department of Public Health in all aspects of health and safety. The new guidelines are being reviewed and at this time we are working to finalize our plans for an anticipated full return to in-person learning for all students. More information will be shared with you before the start of school and ongoing throughout the year as news and information is updated.
PTO Members
- Please join me in thanking our PTO Board members for their dedication and ongoing support for all students, staff, families and programming at P.A.W.S! The PTO work is invaluable to us and we are so grateful for their special partnership.
- There are open positions on the PTO Board and I invite you to reach out if you would like to join and support the incredibly important work they do! There are several opportunities, spaces, and places for you to lend a hand.
- In order to be included in future PTO communications about special events, playdates in the park and other updates, be sure to click on the box in PowerSchool to share your email address and contact information with the PTO. We are looking forward to a great year!
President: Jeanette Donahue
VP: Lorraine Pocon Ramos
Treasurer: Sukh Bajwa
Secretary:
Social Chair:
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Coordinator:
PAWS Garden Masters:
P.A.W.S. Family Welcome Back Bulletin Board
We invite our families to help us create a very special Welcome Back to P.A.W.S. Community Bulletin Board every year.
This year the theme is: There is Power In Belonging!
- We ask each family to please send in a photo of your family unit that we can post on the bulletin board and we ask you to help us spread a positive message to get the year off to a great start!
- We start the year by celebrating the amazing, rich, and wonderful diversity of the P.A.W.S. Community and we share the power of positive messages.
- We invite the children and their families to add a positive message of welcome or share an inspiring quote in English or in another language they know! It is always amazing to see the many languages and cultures represented by our families at P.A.W.S.! So far we have had 18 different languages spoken and represented by our families in one school year! I look forward to seeing how many we will have this year!
This should be a no stress activity. We hope this will be a fun way to start getting excited about coming to school, and a fun project to work on with your child. Please use the attached paw-print heart, found on the last page of this packet, and help your child decorate it, if he/she feels able, and find or take a picture of your family to share at school as well.
Please add a message to your family’s heart that is either a message of welcome (written in English or in another language you know or speak) or share a favorite uplifting quote, or write a message that imparts something that brings your family joy!
We look forward to your support as we help all students to start the year with happy, caring, and confident energy, while recognizing and building upon each other’s diverse strengths. Join us as we nurture joy and belonging in our work and in our learning this year for everyone at P.A.W.S.!
We are so excited to get the new school year started and we look forward to a joy-filled, positive and productive year with you and with your child! Your child’s classroom teacher will be sending you a welcome letter detailing all of the important information about your child’s classroom closer to the start of school. Enjoy the rest of your summer! We can’t wait to see you at the Orientation/Visit Days and at the start of school!
Sincerely,
‘Becca Z.
Rebecca Zieminski Director of Early Childhood
Directions for the P.A.W.S. Family Welcome Bulletin Board
There is Power In Belonging!
Each year we invite every family in the P.A.W.S. community to help us create a beautiful bulletin board by asking you to share a family photo, a positive message of welcome and wishes for a wonderful year!
Help us celebrate the culturally, linguistically, and racially rich and diverse community at P.A.W.S. and write a message of welcome in your first language(s), if you speak or know a language other than English. Write your message on the heart below about something that brings your family joy, a note of welcome, or include an inspiring quote you love. Please include the translation into English, and state the language and country of origin, too. We can all learn so much from each other!
Please be sure to put your family name on the heart and on the back of your family photo.
- Help your child decorate the attached heart in whichever way he or she would like!
- Use crayons, markers, paint, glitter, stickers, stamps or whatever you have! This should be a fun, stress-free activity for you and your child.
- Bring the decorated heart to P.A.W.S. on your Visit Day/Orientation Day. Copies of this heart page are available at P.A.W.S. in an envelope posted by our front door. Feel free to come by and pick up a copy.
- You are welcome to come and play on the playground when you stop by, as well!
Thank you in advance for your help with this special project! We look forward to seeing your family’s creation!
