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WHS Welcome Back to School 2026/2027
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Dear Families,
Happy August.
I know there are still two weeks left before the first day of school, but of course we have been working hard here to prepare for our students’ return. If your child has some summer homework (if your child isn’t taking one of the classes on this link, they do not have homework) to finish, there’s still some time to get it done. If your child is interested in playing a fall sport, there’s still a moment or two to get prepared for the preseason that begins before we return to school on September 2nd. I know there are other concerns about classes you might want to talk to the school counselors about and those fall schedules will be available for viewing in Powerschool on August 26th at 3 pm. On the less practical side, you may be thinking about making sure your wardrobe is on point or checking in with friends you haven’t seen in a while. There likely are a lot of feelings that come with returning to school or to starting a new school. You may be excited, nervous, angry, scared, happy, and more. You may feel none of these things and you may wonder why that is. If you’re familiar with this space you know that this is where I write that here at Wellesley High School we never want you to worry alone. If you have any questions or concerns we encourage you to reach out to us and let us know so we can help. For a listing of our major support services please visit our Wheel of Support page on our website. We have tried to anticipate a lot of what you may need in this newsletter, but you can also just call your house office if we missed anything. If they can’t answer your question directly, they would be happy to direct you to someone who can.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks.
Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year.
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Happy summer! As we prepare for the new school year, Wellesley Public Schools must confirm student emergency contact details, directory information, and permissions. We use PowerSchool to maintain these data. The PowerSchool Parent Portal will be open from August 19 through September 9, 2026. Please log in during this window to update your child’s information. Homeroom assignments for Grades K-8 will be available on August 19, 2026; Grade 9-12 schedules will be released on August 26, 2026. Note that class lists are not distributed due to privacy laws (see MGL 603 CMR 23.00). Some teacher names may show as “TBD” while we finalize placements.
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Once school begins, students are required to experience the courses they selected by attending their currently assigned classes for the first cycle of school. During that period, should students wish to request a change, the process to do so is as follows:
- Between Wednesday, September 2nd at 3pm and Friday, September 11th at 3pm, students must complete a course request change form available in the House offices. Counselors will be available for students to make appointments to discuss possible scheduling changes. Students are also encouraged to consult with their teacher(s), if appropriate. It is important to emphasize that there is no priority given to students who contact their counselors earlier in the week. Please make sure to take your time, think through your options, and make an informed decision.
- All students and parents/guardians are encouraged to discuss the decision together.
- Schedule changes will be processed on Monday, September 14th.
- There is no guarantee that a request for a schedule change will be met. The master schedule is built upon the original course selections of our students and space is created to meet these requests. All attempts to honor the requested change to an individual schedule will be limited to the predetermined space available.
- School counselors will contact students on September 14th to inform them of the status of their request. Students must continue to attend their current assigned classes until they learn if their request was accommodated.
The processing of the schedule change requests will not occur until September 14th. At that time, counselors will come together to process all change requests in an equitable manner that will go course by course and attempt to meet all requests. If there are more requests to add a course than spaces available, a random lottery system will be used without consideration to the day or time that the student made the request. Students unable to gain entry into the course will be placed on a waitlist based on the lottery selection.
After September 14th, no other elective changes can be made to a student’s schedule. The only exception is adding an elective within the first cycle rotation of a quarter/semester to replace a DR.
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Friday, September 4th will be WHS Student School Picture Day. Please take a moment to review the WHS Picture Day Schedule document located on the WHS Homepage for detailed instructions.
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The safe transportation of students is a shared responsibility of students, parents/caregivers, bus drivers, bus monitors (where applicable), and administration.
Please also note the following list of acceptable items that are allowed on the school bus:
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You may have seen the news about the new Massachusetts High School Graduation requirements that were released by the Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE) last spring. They are lengthy and they will definitely have an impact on Wellesley High School in the future. Fortunately, we will not begin the implementation of those guidelines until the class of 2031 enters the high school next fall. None of our current high schoolers will be under the new requirements. We will be communicating a lot more about how things will look as we iron out our implementation plans later this year. If you are curious about what the state is asking of us all feel free to follow the link above for more information.
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The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is pleased to share the MCAS Family Portal with you. This online tool lets you see your student’s MCAS test results.
Preliminary MCAS results from spring 2026 are available. You will also see your student’s results from past years (2023–2025), if available. The Family Portal will be updated in September when final results are ready.
How to Get Started
To create an account, you will need
- your student’s registration code 1A2B3C4D5E6F (listed above); and
- your student’s date of birth.
Need Help?
- create an account;
- add your student to your account; and
- view your student’s test results.
Please contact your school principal if you have any questions about your child’s results. If you have trouble setting up your login, email us at portal@wellesleyps.org. We are here to support you.
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Step Up Day is Wednesday, October 14th at Wellesley High School. Students will participate in activities tailored to their grade level.
9th & 10th Grade
- Students will have intervention time and attend their tan block class. Followed by an extended advisory period that includes presentations and community-building activities.
11th Grade
- Students will be taking the PSAT/NMSQT School Day exam.
- Registration/Payment: open till October 14th.
- Cost: $18.00
- Ensure the latest version of Bluebook is downloaded onto your computer.
12th Grade
Seniors have the option to take the SAT School Day exam:
Seniors not taking the exam:
- Post-high school readiness activities begin at 9:00 AM on the 1st floor.
- Session sign ups will be posted mid-September.
Questions? Contact your school counselor or Jen Culver, WHS Testing/SSD coordinator.
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Celebrate our return to school with a night at Fenway Park cheering on the Wellesley High School Keynote Singers and Rice Street Singers as they sing the National Anthem at the Red Sox game on August 31 at 6:45pm against the Seattle Mariners.
With the recent success of the team, ticket prices have increased significantly. For the best priced ticket options, use the following designated link or scan the QR code on the attached flyer.
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In high school I attended a speech by a successful college athlete who suggested to his audience of high schoolers that we should not focus on achieving goals. He said failing to achieve a goal or achieving the goal meant the end of a pursuit, but he didn’t believe the pursuit of your best life ever ended. His suggestion was that we figure out what our ideal life looked like and to work hard to live that life every day. His suggestion was not just that we would be happier this way, but that we would actually be more successful by trying to live out our ideals.
I think this is a good mindset for our high schoolers as they begin the new school year. Focus on your ideal of how you want to go about your work in your classes or for your extra curricular activities. Define for yourself what a successful pursuit looks like and execute the needs of the day according to that ideal. If you stack enough of those good days up over the course of time, odds are the success you’re searching for will be yours.
Best,
Jamie
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