Dear Families, 

Welcome to the end of what felt like a long March week. It’s starting to feel a little like spring, but no one would call it a warm spring. 

I wanted to tell you about my Tuesday afternoon this week because I had the privilege of spending it on the Fiske elementary playground. Through the kindness of a group of young women and the brilliance of my principal colleague Rachel McGregor at the Fiske School, a mentoring program has been established for a group of young students there. I heard about this from Rachel and just had to go see it in action. 

Every other Tuesday a group of 4-6 Wellesley High School students make their way over to Fiske, where they mentor 12 – 15 elementary students for an hour. Sometimes the kids stay inside the library there and play board games, or draw, or do origami. Other times they head outside to playground , where they play with their high school friends.

Now, I had forgotten the level of pent up energy a 4th or 5th grade student has at the end of a day of school, but I was quickly reminded. The elementary students were awesome and I think this hour was just what they needed. 

My eye, of course, went to the high schoolers there doing this mentoring. They didn’t get paid and no one was giving them credit for a class being there. Maybe they get some Key Club hours, but mostly I saw their genuine desire to make sure these students had a safe and fun experience that afternoon. They knew all the students by name. They knew exactly what they would want to do with their time and they didn’t just monitor the kids while they played. What made me so proud of our high schoolers was they jumped in and played right next to the children. They kept things under control, but they made sure it was always fun. 

When people tell me they don’t understand why I choose to spend my life with high school kids, I tell them they don’t understand how thoughtful and fun our adolescents can be. Sure we hear stories of not so great things, but every day in this role our students remind me of all the good they can and will do. Thanks for sharing yours with us. 

As we near the end of the season we have a special Boston Marathon fundraising event to benefit Dreamfar and the Joseph Tierney Learning Center! A first of it’s kind cornhole tournament in a place that welcomes all, Roundhead Brewing Company.

 

 

Bring a friend or family member to play in the tournament or just come by to celebrate! There will be inspired merch, raffle prizes and a 50/50 raffle.

Tournament style will be determined by number of teams signed up.

 

Food and drink are available for purchase and non-alcoholic options are available. While this event is not 21+ it is a busy spot so folks with small children should plan ahead.

 

Want to get involved and lend a hand, loan a cornhole board set, or a raffle prize? We’d love to hear from you! Just send an email anna@dreamfarhsm.org

 

We can’t wait to see you!

Anna McKeown & Emmie Laudano

All the miles,

Anna McKeown

Mentor & Executive Director

Dreamfar High School Marathon

Congratulations to the WHS Worldquest team of Grace Taylor, Devin Kiernan and Victoria Dudler, who this past Saturday won the Massachusetts state title.

What is Worldquest? It is the nation’s premiere world affairs competition! Students must demonstrate mastery of issues related to current international politics, geography, global economics, history, and world cultures.

Next month the WHS team will represent Massachusetts as they compete in Washington, DC for the national title.

All State: This past weekend, WHS sent 15 students to the Massachusetts Music Educators Association’s All-State Festival. This event featured over 1,000 of the top music students from across the Commonwealth, and put them together in honors ensembles where they rehearsed challenging and inspiring repertoire with esteemed guest conductors from around the country.

Students had one day to prepare, and performed in a concert at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester the following day.

Please join the Wellesley High School Intensive Artists and faculty for their annual All Intensive Art Show onsite in the WHS Art Wing

Artwork from TV/Video, Photography, Metals, Drawing/Painting, and Ceramics will be on display beginning Wednesday, April 1.

We invite you to the Opening Reception. Refreshments will be served, and all faculty, students, and parents are welcome to attend:

Be sure to read the student artist statements and come experience the incredible work on display.

Please see the recently updated School Counseling Page for Spring events and information.

Our list of clubs and enrichment programs for 2025-2026 has recently been updated.

To print your own copy or access the list, see Complete List of 2025-2026 Clubs on the WHS website. 

I had a great session with about a dozen parents this past Wednesday night where I listened to their hopes for what they want in our new Athletic Director and what they hope for our Athletic Department in general. They gave me great feedback I will use to craft interview questions when we begin that process in a couple of weeks. 

Don’t worry if you missed that session, because this coming Wednesday evening at 6 pm in the High School Faculty Dining Room there will be another session for parents to come answer the same two questions. I hope some of you can make it. If you can’t and would still like to contribute your responses please email my assistant at malonej@wellesleyps.org.  

I am also holding two listening sessions for any student who would like to come at 2:35pm on both this coming Monday and Tuesday in the Faculty Dining Room. I hope to see a lot of you students there. 

I hope you all have a good weekend. 

Best, 

Jamie