07 April 2023
Dear Families,
By now I assume most of you have heard the news that I was not selected by the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee to be their next Superintendent/Principal. It is with pride and dedication that I remain your Principal here at Wellesley High School. I continue to be grateful for that opportunity and I remain at your service.
Today is the first day our students and staff have had off since the end of February which represents the longest such stretch of the school year. It also means we are doing a lot of shifting at the high school right now. We have already begun our 4th and final quarter of the year. On Monday our seniors who are doing Senior Project will leave classes to pursue independent learning projects they have spent months or even years preparing for. Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to Ms. Khan’s World Literature class as they were beginning the work of their senior papers and presentations. These are poignant moments for our seniors and their families. I encourage you all to relish and enjoy them. It is difficult for any of us to get our heads around the end of their public school experience. I would like to offer that the seniors give their parents a little grace as they grapple with this moment. Those of us who have seniors in our house this year should do the same for them.
I’ve been encouraging the seniors to think deeply about what a good ending to this experience of high school should look like for them. It can make for a great conversation at home.
For all of us, there’s a week to go before what I’m sure will be a much welcomed April break. Next week our Art Trip heads to London and our Social Studies trip heads to Italy. Here’s hoping both trips are filled with learning, wonder, connection, and, of course, safe travel.
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Late, but still exciting news
I’m sorry I didn’t have a better beat on this news earlier, but I wanted to take a moment to celebrate our senior Sophia Scirica, who from March 13 – 16th was at the USSA Cross Country Ski Junior National Championships in Fairbanks Alaska. Sophia competed in three races there finishing 7th in the Under 20 girls 15k skate race, 2nd in the U20 girls 1350 meter skate sprint race, and 1st in the U20 Girls 7.5k interval start classic race.
Amazing work Sophia!
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As I mentioned last week, this past Wednesday our 10th and 11th graders had the opportunity to attend a program through the Lappin Foundation about the Holocaust. These two grades didn’t get to study the Holocaust in our middle school because of lost time due to the pandemic. The students got to hear live from a Holocaust survivor who told his harrowing story of escaping Nazi Germany during the second world war. I’m proud to report you could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium during the presentation. Once again, I’d like to thank junior Olivia Frank for her leadership in bringing this program to us and her willingness to use scholarship money she earned from the Hannah Randolph Foundation in 9th grade to pay for the presentation.
Coffee with Director of School Counseling
Friday, April 14th, 9-10, WHS Faculty Dining Room
Ben Neely, Chief Academic Office, Revolution Prep.Transition to on-line SAT/PSAT, and what this means for the student experience.
WHS Robotics Team in the Championships
This week, our Robotics Team, Team Ultraviolet, qualified for the New England FRC District Championship!! Team Ultraviolet, #8567 (watch them at their previous competition!), is a STEM team of nearly 50 WHS students who have designed, built, and programmed Conehead, a 125lb robot equipped with new components and various self-driving routines. Spectators are welcome to come and support the team as they compete against other high schools this Thursday, April 6th – Saturday, April 8th, at the Big E, 1305 Memorial Ave, Springfield, MA.
Here’s the schedule if you’d like to come and watch the qualification matches!
Can’t come in person? No problem!
Here’s the twitch link and here’s where scores will be updated
NPR Podcast with Lisa Damour
As a follow up to last week’s NPR’s Rachel Martin speaks with Lisa Damour about her book The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable and Compassionate Adolescents. Click here to hear the podcast
No Better Love Than Food
Hello! We are Andrew Song and Kaloyan Draganov, and we run No Better Love Than Food (NBL for short), a nonprofit organization that donates to food pantries in the Greater Boston area. We founded NBL because we both love how food has the ability to make people happy and bring people together. No matter your background, food is something that connects us all. Our mission is to foster love and understanding by sharing language, culture, and food. The inspiration for the name comes from Bernard Shaw’s play Man and Superman: “There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” Starting in the classrooms at Wellesley High School, we hope to foster dialogue between cultures and countries through meals and other shared experiences. If you are interested in supporting our mission, check out our website to learn more.
To join or donate, please email us at nobetterlovethanfood@gmail.com
Thank you, and we hope everyone has a great weekend!
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.)
To so many of us observing the religious holidays of Easter, Passover, and Ramadan this week I wish you a peaceful time filled with meaningful reflection. I wish everyone a great sunny weekend.
Best,
Jamie