24 March 2023
Dear Families,
I’ll start by acknowledging my news today because it is (and should be) rare for me to write to you all twice in the same day. What is going on at Wellesley High School right now is the most important thing to be communicating to you tonight of course.
This was a really busy week with performances on Thursday night by both our amazing Improv Troupe and our award winning one Act Play Eurydice. It was the start of spring sports practices and tryouts with roughly 800 students participating.
Next week is ELA MCAs for our 10th graders and the special schedule we have for Tuesday and Wednesday is included below. The schedule is impacted for all four grades.
Also on Thursday night, the High School PTSO and the Middle School PTO joined forces to bring us author and psychologist Lisa Damour to speak about parenting and working with our adolescents at this time. We had a great parent turnout with several hundred parents in attendance.
A couple of takeaways from Dr. Damour’s talk included:
- We should remember it is natural for our kids to be upset. Being upset is normal and psychologists advise not to worry unless it persists for too long or leads to other more dangerous behaviors. She emphasized there is a difference between things that are uncomfortable and things that are unmanageable.
- She was cautious when discussing recent CDC data given that it was gathered during 2020 and she believes we’ve come a long way forward since that point. She does acknowledge that there is still mental health work to be done after the pandemic.
Dr. Damour also has a Podcast if any of you missed her and want to hear more about her advice.
PowerSchool Portal – Open for Course Verification
The PowerSchool portal has been reopened for students to complete their course verification forms. Please review the courses listed and confirm these are your final requests. If you did not select your PE course or your electives, please see your School Counselor.
All course level change requests submitted by the deadline have been entered and should be reflected on your course list. No additional course level change can be made at this time.
The portal will remain open for verification sheets to be completed by Tuesday, March 28, at 9 am.
New Student Ambassador Program
Applications for the 2023-2024 New Student Ambassador Program are now available. New Student Ambassadors serve as an essential resource to freshmen and transfer students as they acclimate to their first year at Wellesley High School; they assist new students in making connections to the greater Wellesley High School community. Ambassadors also provide after school tours for prospective students. An Ambassador is expected to be a role model for others with strong communications skills, comfort with public speaking and facilitating groups, and is friendly and outgoing. A strong understanding and various perspectives of the high school experience is essential. Ambassadors are expected to attend monthly meetings, be available for the 8th grade parent evenings and grade 8 student tours, after school tours, and Orientation Day in the fall. Applications are due April 6th. Students will be notified by May 5th if they have been accepted. If you have questions, please see Ms Plunkett.
“The Well-Balanced Student” Challenge Success
RESCHEDULED: Monday, April 3 at 10:00am & 6:30pm
We’ll be hosting Jon Kleiman from Challenge Success Monday April 3rd at 10:00-11:00am and 6:30pm in the WHS Auditorium. His presentation, The Well-Balanced Student, emphasizes the importance of students prioritizing their mental health and well-being in a high-stakes learning environment, while re-examining what it means to have a rich and successful high school experience. We hope that you’re able to join us.
WEA Scholarships – Apply by April 1st
Attention Parents:
Just a quick reminder that there is still time to apply for the annual Wellesley Educators Association Scholarships, but the application window will be closing on April 1, 2023. If your student is a good candidate for any one of these awards, please encourage them to apply as quickly as possible.
A description of the various awards along with their applications may be found on the Wellesley Educators Association website: https://wellesley.massteacher.org/scholarships/
Hannah Randolph Scholarship Application
The scholarship is a grant to support a Class of 2026 student for an activity or project selected by the recipient and approved by the Fund’s Board. The scholarships could potentially be used for clinics, camp, or summer programs in the areas of sports, academics, or music. An award could also be used as a stipend for a student choosing to serve as a community service volunteer, either locally or outside of Wellesley.
*EXTENDED DEADLINE to submit an application by March 31 to John Malone in the WHS Main Office.
For your convenience, please review these documents to either apply yourself or nominate another 9th grader.
Application for Scholarship Candidates – 2023
Nomination for Scholarship Candidates – 2023
Tips Toward a Successful Application for a Hannah Fund Scholarship
Senior Class Parents’ Last Hurrah Party – March 25th
Class of ’23 Parents! Last Call for the Last Hurrah Party!
Come celebrate and support the Class of 2023 on Saturday, March 25, at 7 p.m. at St. Paul Hall!
There will be food, wine, and fun as we watch March Madness games on the big screen. We’ll also have a raffle with great themed baskets and more. Donation proceeds will help fund the Class of 2023 All Night Party.
Click HERE to RSVP to the parent party.
Have Any Gently-Used or Unwanted Raiders Gear?
If you have any new or gently used Raiders Gear, WHS Seniors Grace Wheelan and Paul Awdeh have created a program to donate your gear and invest in sustainable energy for Massachusetts at the same time!. It starts by dropping off your gear in the marked collection bin outside of the WHS Main Office. From there, they’ll work with Mr. Denman and his Retail Management class (who run our Raiders Gear retail store, The Cove) to create a sustainable section of secondhand raiders gear sold at a more attractive (cheaper) price. All profits from the sales will be donated to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a local organization focused on investing in replacing fossil fuels with sustainable energy.
Thanks for helping us to Recycle Used Clothes to Produce Clean Energy!
You can also access and pay for The Bradford Newspaper Subscription by following this link:
https://schoolpay.wellesleyma.gov/wbwsc/school.wsc/splash.html
- Login; scroll down and click the MS/HS Activity Fees button.
- Add The Bradford Newspaper # 913190-23BNS to your cart by clicking the green plus (+) sign next to the activity. A popup screen will populate at the bottom of your web browser.
- Click “Add to Cart”, select the student if it has not already been chosen for you and complete payment.
(FYI: This link does not work on Internet Explorer. Recommended browsers are a current version of Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Safari. Registration should be completed on a computer and not a cell phone.)
National Scholastic Art Competition
Congratulations to Reagan O’Neil, Gold Medal Award Winner for his jewelry entitled “Smoothed by the Tides” This is the highest award a high school/middle school student can win at the National Scholastics Art & Writing Awards. Congratulations also to his teacher Shayla Vines!
Photos of the Week
“Congratulations to Kathy Brophy’s Recent Graduates of Power-Up!”
EVERYONE DESERVES HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
So many of our students who take Power-Up tell us it is the most important class they took while at Wellesley High School. Congratulations to our latest graduates and Mrs. Brophy for all her thougtful work.
Congratulations to the Wellesley High School 10th Graders for winning this year’s Dodgeball Tournament, defeating the freshmen in a best two-of-three finale.
This week also saw the start of spring sports at the high school. If you drove by any of the fields in town you saw students beginning their training and going through tryouts. Above are a couple of Pictures I took of our track teams and our girls lacrosse team practicing.
Have a great weekend everyone. I hope you enjoyed the first week of spring!
Best,
Jamie