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Wellesley High School building with a compass logo and text 'Wellesley Public Schools Learning Caring Innovating'.

WHS Principal’s Newsletter

March 6, 2026
Dear Families, 
Happy end to the first week in March.  Tomorrow we push the clocks forward, so this is a “short” weekend unfortunately, but I do see that the predicted temperature for Wellesley on Tuesday is 73.  Here’s hoping for some serious melting. 
Seminar Day
This past Wednesday was our annual Seminar Day.  Each year on the first Wednesday in MArch we pause classes for a half day and invite guests from the community, teachers, administrators, and students to teach each other about topics they have expertise in.  Here’s a sampling of some of our seminars this year: 
  • An introduction to Unity Farm
  • Improv Troup
  • A House Hunters episode featuring one of our teaching assistants
  • How to reconstruct Ancient Languages
  • Exponential AI
  • Caring for babies with birth defects 
  • A woman who was 8 years old in Vienna when the Nazi’s invaded.
  • Rock climbing 
  • Rock Band
  • State Representative and Wellesley Resident Alice Peisch
  • 2010 WHS graduate Greg Honan who currently serves on the Communications team for Boston Mayor Wu
Students choose three seminars to attend that they find interesting and spend the morning learning for the sake of learning. It’s a beautiful thing. If you think you or someone you know would be willing to give a seminar that would interest our adolescents please reach out to us so we can sign you up for next year!  

 

WHSDAC Moves On To Semi-Finals!

After hosting the preliminary round of the METG High School Drama Festival at Wellesley High School on Saturday, February 28th, the Wellesley High School Dramatic Arts Society’s production of “Fire in the Hole” was selected to advance to the semi-final round. Students also earned several awards for both acting and technical work:
  • Natalia Medina – Excellence in Acting for the Role of Maryanne Rowen Jackson
  • Oscar Allan – Excellence in Acting for the Role of Tommy Jackson
  • Linda Zhang – Excellence in Acting for the Role of Mother Jones
  • Thea Fischmann – Technical Excellence in Costume Design
  • Natalia Medina – Technical Excellence in Dramaturgy
  • Ayla Lin – Technical Excellence in Scenic Concept and Design
Students will now prepare for the Semi-Final round on Saturday, March 14th (location to be announced).
There will be a benefit performance of “Fire in the Hole” at Wellesley High School on Friday March 13 at 7pm. 

A large group of students in matching t-shirts pose for a photo on a stage in front of a black curtain.

WHSDAC Company All-Star Awards list for Excellence in Acting recipients.

WHSDAC COMPANY ALL-STAR AWARDS list of recipients for Technical Excellence in Costume Design, Dramaturgy, and Scenic Concept and Design.

Video preview image of WHS Keynote and Rice Street Singers perform the National Anthem for our assembly.; click to visit the ParentSquare post with the video

 

Let’s go to the Galapagos in February 2027

Students have the opportunity to travel to Galapagos during February break 2027! It’s an amazing opportunity they will not want to miss. Follow the link below for information and to sign up.
Please reach out to Mr. Bateman (batemank@wellesleyps.org) if you have any questions.
This trip is open to any student at WHS. 

 

AP Exam LATE Registration & Order Change Deadline

Please disregard this message if your student is not enrolled in an Advanced Placement course.
The late registration and order change deadline for AP Exams is quickly approaching. All required registration steps must be completed by Friday, March 13 at 2:30 PM.
  • All steps must be completed for an exam to be ordered.
  • No exams will be ordered after this date and time — NO EXCEPTIONS.
  • This is also the deadline to make changes to an existing exam order. Students who have dropped an AP course and wish to request a partial refund must contact us by this deadline.
Registration Steps
1. Join Your Class Section in MyAP
  • Use the late join code provided by your AP teacher to join your class section.
2. Update your exam order status to “YES” in MyAP.
3. Pay for Your Exam(s)
Any questions please reach out to Jen Culver or Anne North in the Main Office.
Please visit the WHS Standardized Testing Padlet for all testing information.

 

WHS Teacher Partners with WSF for Boston Marathon

The Wellesley Scholarship Foundation is excited to partner with Marian Derryberry for this year’s Boston Marathon! Marian has been a special educator at Wellesley High School for 23 years and is thrilled to be running her 11th marathon and her 1st Boston! Knowing how meaningful the support from WSF can be for students, Marian is appreciative of any donation to this year’s marathon fundraising effort! Please click the following link to check out her fundraising page and learn more about her running journey!  

A smiling woman wearing a Nike cap holds up a gold medal from the 2023 New York Road Runners race.

Logo for the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation, featuring a graduation cap and text.

 

WHS 10th Grader in Blood Cancer United Campaign Challenge

WHS 10th Grader Nate Cody has been accepted as a candidate in Blood Cancer United’s 2026 Student Visionaries of the Year campaign.
 
Student Visionaries of the Year is a national seven-week challenge through which high school student leaders raise funds and awareness for the fight against blood cancers. Last year’s New England candidates raised an amazing $1,300,000 for the mission of Blood Cancer United. This year’s campaign began on February 5th and culminates with our Grand Finale Gala on Sunday, March 29th at Granite Links in Quincy, MA. The funds raised benefit our mission; to cure blood cancer, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. 
 
This is truly an elite competition and we count ourselves lucky to have Nate, leading Team “Running For A Cure”, as part of this campaign to represent Wellesley High School. Please see Nate’s fundraising link, which can be found HERE,
 

A young man, Nate Cody, holds a sign that says 'SIGNING UP TO SAVE LIVES' for Blood Cancer United.
 

Wellesley Service League Centennial Youth Service Award

Each year, Wellesley Service League solicits applications from service-oriented WHS seniors (and Wellesley residents who are seniors at other high schools) for this $3,000 award.
This year applications and mentor recommendations are due on March 20th. The application can be found on our website https://wellesleyserviceleague.org/ 

Centennial Youth Service Award announcement offering a $3,000 award for outstanding volunteer service.
 

WHS Counseling Department: Spring 2026 News to Use

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

New Parent/Guardian Night for 10th Grade Families

New Parent/Guardian Night for 10th Grade Families: Jumpstart to Junior Year
  • Tuesday March 31st
  • 7:00pm over Zoom
WHS counselors will present a framework and timeline for the post-secondary process with a focus on the milestones that are particularly relevant to students looking ahead to their junior year.  
Note: Junior Night occurs in November each year and will review/continue the discussion.
Meeting ID: 864 3077 3862
Password: 137436

 
The Swiss Exchange is a fantastic opportunity to experience another culture and make lifelong friends! You will get to visit three countries in one trip, and there is no language requirement!
Each student will be paired with a student from Basel, Switzerland. The Swiss students will stay with their Wellesley host families for approximately two weeks in September/October 2026, and the Wellesley students will stay with their Swiss host families over April break 2027.
Highlights of the trip include, among other things:
  • Guided Tour of Basel
  • Walk three countries in less than two hours!
  • Bern (capital of Switzerland)
  • Strasbourg and European parliament
  • Swiss alps (Engelberg and Mt. Titlis)
  • Lake Lucerne and City of Lucerne
  • Freiburg in Germany 
  • Schaffhausen and Rhine Fall (largest waterfall in Europe)
  • Colmar in France
There will be an informational Zoom meeting on March 15 , 2026 at 7:00 pm. Here is the Zoom link.
For questions or more information, please email Dr. van Geel (vangeelt@wellesleyps.org) or Dr. Kaczmarek (kaczmarek’s@wellesleyps.org).
To apply, click here. Please apply by April 3rd, 2026.

 

WHS Library Parent Book Club

Ever wonder about the books teens are reading?
Ever read a popular YA book and wished you had someone to discuss it with?
The librarians at Wellesley High School host a monthly Book Club for parents where we read YA books and discuss. If you are interested in participating please email us at whslibrary@wellesleyps.org
Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at the Wellesley Free Library Cafe (1st floor) at 7:30pm to discuss The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (novel in verse) 
Upcoming dates and books:
The Wellesley Free Library will have copies available for check out.
Any question can be emailed to whslibrary-group@wellesleyps.org.

 

WHS Clubs and Enrichment Programs for 2025-2026

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. 

 

WHS/WPS Online Resources and Calendars

 

WHS Calendar – Upcoming Events

A table lists school events: WHS School Council on March 10 at 2:40pm.
 
I want to take a moment and acknowledge that the fact that our country is involved in a war with Iran is not at all lost on our high schoolers.  For many of them the moment is personal, and there are many reasons for that.  I want to encourage you to have conversations with your students at home. It is important that they know you are available to talk about it.  You don’t need to have all the answers to their questions, but our kids benefit from our willingness to grapple alongside them with these events.  
At the high school we strive to never assume we know how any student is feeling, and we try to make ourselves available to listen if students need us.  At a moment like this it is worth us staying in touch if any of us finds we are concerned for any of our kids.  Please reach out to us if you think we can be of any assistance. If you’re not sure where to start, my advice is to begin with your child’s school counselor. 
I encourage all of us to never worry alone and take good care. 
Have a good weekend. 
Best, Jamie 

 
 
View in ParentSquare
 
 
 

WHS Principal’s Newsletter for 06 March 2026