WHS Principal’s Newsletter for 23 October, 2026

Dear Families,

 Welcome to the end of a sunny, beautiful Friday afternoon in Wellesley.   This is my favorite weather of the year for sure. 

Thank you to Julie Caparco, Leah Marshall, and Collin Shattuck for all their work putting on all the events for Homecoming. The Raffles, the honoring of our Athletic Director John Brown at halftime of the game, all the clubs and kids on the field last Saturday afternoon, and of course the successful dance with almost half the school tucked in and around the cafeteria.   It was great for our kids to do real in person talking, dancing, singing, cheering and sharing. These events help all of our work by developing social skills, in easy and difficult ways, that then can be employed and improved during the regular school day in our hallways and classrooms.   

The “other curriculum” at our school is social development. Our kids need it more than at any other time I can remember in my career.  Not all the kids came to these events of course, but for those that did, I’m hoping they took a step forward.  They couldn’t have done it without the work of our three colleagues, some hard working student leaders, and many dedicated parents.  

This gift is what I’m thanking Julie, Leah and Collin for this week.  Great job. 

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I know you’ve spent the last two years hearing from me about our needing your partnership to help us improve our chronic absenteeism.  Well, I have good news and bad news.  The good news is because of the great work of our three house teams we were able to significantly reduce the percentage of kids who were chronically absent in the category of our highest needs students.  The bad news is the rest of the population’s chronically absent rate actually got worse. 

The state of Massachusetts defines “Chronically Absent” as any student who is absent for 10% or more of the school year.  Here in Wellesley if you miss two or more periods you are considered absent for the day.  We had 16.92% of our overall student body who fit this definition. Please know that the state makes no distinction between whether the absence was excused or not.  If the student wasn’t in class, they were absent.  

What this means is that the state holds us accountable for reducing this percentage.  Our school accountability rating goes down at the end of the year if we aren’t able to improve in this area.  So we are going to be talking about ways we can help this at our School Council this year.  I will definitely be spending some time discussing it at future PTSO and Principal Coffee meetings this year. 

You may be receiving letters from our Assistant Principals notifying you of excessive absences.  We may be including a survey for you to fill out to help you and us figure out what we can do to help your child get to school more often.  We will likely be asking the students themselves to fill out a reflective questionnaire to bring them into the solution as well. 

Please know we have many very successful students who fall into this category.  And, even though grades might be fine, the experience of high school would be better if they were here more. Even good grades might improve with improved attendance.  I guess what I’m saying is we could use your help by just helping your kids realize the importance of kids being here for all their classes as often as possible.  We saw what it was like when kids weren’t in school during covid.  It will always be generally true that being in school is better for kids than not.  

Thanks for reading.  Please never worry alone about attendance or anything else here.  

Wellesley High School’s Homecoming Weekend brought the community together for a fun celebration of school spirit, community, and Raider pride! The weekend kicked off with the Homecoming football game, which included a special recognition honoring our Athletic Director, John Brown, retiring after 27 years of service, with 20 of those years as the WPS AD. Surrounded by alumni, families, and student-athletes, the tribute celebrated his dedication to Raiders for the past twenty years.

The festivities continued with Raider’s Day featuring dozens of student clubs and sport teams gathering on the field for a day of activities and family-friendly fun. There were also performances from Rock Band and Improv Troupe as well as the Wellesley Cheer team. The Hot Dog wagon came out and sold out for our event! Raffles added to the excitement, made possible through the generosity of PTSO and community volunteers, spearheaded by Wellesley parents Melissa Mack and Susan Zimmer. All items were generously donated from local businesses and families who helped support the event. 

The weekend wrapped up with the Homecoming dance at the high school with over 600 students celebrating, a DJ, photobooth, and a 360 photobooth, allowing students to celebrate with friends and create lasting memories.

Many student leaders, including the Student Unification Program (SUP) team and class officers worked hard to bring these events to life, helping create a welcoming celebration for students, families, and community members of all ages. 

Thank you to everyone who volunteered, participated, and contributed to making Homecoming Weekend such a success!

Acatober is one of the most exciting community events in the town of Wellesley featuring our very own choral department and a cappella groups.  This is a two night event taking place on October 23rd and 24th at 7:00pm.

Registration for the AMC math competition is now open to students. Students can click the links below or scan the QR codes on the attached flyer. 

The competition will take place in Mr. Miller’s room (442) from 7:45am-9:00am on Thursday 11/5. This is a day 6, so students will miss A block and part of their purple block class. 

The Bradford’s Newsletter is our premier way of sharing information with students and families affiliated with the Wellesley Public Schools District. It is our intention to share important pieces of information and timely events at the high school. 

Please take a moment and review the current edition on their website whsbradford.org

APRIL 14-24, 2027: Travel with Wellesley High School Art Department!

Program Highlights: Ancient Rome & Gladiator School; Vatican City and Borghese Gallery; Assisi, Florence, Bologna, and Venice.

Application Deadline: JUST EXTENDED – act now, as only a few spots remain Application Link

Once applications are received, students will get an email with a QR code for paying

Please check out the event flyer for further details and itinerary.

Please review the updated WHS Club and Extra-Curricular Activity schedule, which includes hyperlinks to club descriptions, meeting times, contacts, and meeting locations. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. 

Best,

Jamie