{"id":10161,"date":"2026-06-05T13:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T20:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellesleyps.org\/whs\/?p=10161"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:09:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T20:09:40","slug":"whs-principals-newsletter-for-05-june-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellesleyps.org\/whs\/2026\/06\/05\/whs-principals-newsletter-for-05-june-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"WHS Principal’s Newsletter for 05 June 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WHS Principal’s Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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June 5, 2026<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Please note that due to our Class of 2026 Graduation Ceremony tonight, this week’s newsletter is a bit shorter than usual. We look forward to celebrating our graduates!<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Dear Families,<\/div>\n
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I wanted to write this afternoon to make sure everyone knew about the fact that because of circumstance, we will not be offering the Evolutions program at Wellesley High School this fall.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Since some of you might not know the history of the program I will provide a little context.\u00a0 Thirteen years ago I was an assistant principal at Wellesley High School and we were in a place where we were very worried about our students. \u00a0 As a school we worried about the mental health of our kids who were telling us they wanted more from their school. We started our Bridge program to help students transition back to the high school after a long term absence. We designed our new High School building to have three houses to keep a better eye on kids than two. We launched an advisory program to keep an eye on our kids every day.\u00a0 We created the ERP program to give kids more places to connect without the pressure of a varsity sport or a high commitment club.\u00a0 And, I stole the idea of Evolutions from The Island School and a program at Concord-Carlisle High School called Rivers and Revolutions.\u00a0 I got the idea when a student of mine who had struggled from a semester at the Island School as a changed young man.\u00a0 When I asked him what the difference was, he looked at me and bluntly said, “I found out I was smart”.\u00a0 That was all I needed to hear.\u00a0 I knew we had to create something new at Wellesley High School. The goal of that work from the beginning was to create a program where students could learn in ways that would feel relevant to them. \u00a0 We would focus on skills and integration of knowledge and we would give kids more voice and choice in their learning.\u00a0 We would connect their learning to a community within the program and push them out of their comfort zones by creating partnerships with the Town of Wellesley and beyond.\u00a0 We would do everything we could to create learning experiences for kids that were valuable and meaningful.\u00a0 The Evolutions team did all of that and more and we still have this need at Wellesley High School.\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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I am so proud of all the teachers who did that for hundreds of students over the past 11 years.\u00a0In full disclosure, during the 2022 school year one of those students was my own daughter who thrived in the program and credits her current success to lessons she learned while a student in Evolutions.\u00a0Losing this program is deeply personal to me.\u00a0Thank you to Thom Henes, Craig Brown, Emily Giddings, Larry Lovett,\u00a0Brian Corey, Christine Derosiers, Alice Liao, Crystal Bartels and Mindy Hoge who all taught in the program.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n
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And yet, as we looked at the budget numbers for this year we saw we had a crisis.\u00a0We simply could not ignore that the numbers had been declining.\u00a0We heard from our alumni and parents this winter about the value this program adds to our school and yet when we tried to be responsive in our annual recruitment push, the student requests for this year landed at 12.\u00a0Please know we wanted to run the program to keep it alive for these kids and the future.\u00a0We had strong plans to do this and when we realized the team itself was not going to be able to be the same, the hill just got too high to climb.\u00a0We had no choice but to make this decision right now.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Our hope is that we can rework, rebrand, and relaunch Evolutions in the years to come.\u00a0We may be asking for your help to figure out how the program, which was always designed to change, should change now.\u00a0This year away will hopefully give us time to figure out the right next move for the students of Wellesley High School.\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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After Graduation – What To Do With My Cap & Gown?<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Congratulations to all the Seniors and their families on your upcoming graduation!\u00a0After all of the festivities, consider donating your gown for reuse for next year.\u00a0Doing so helps cut down on the production of single-use graduation regalia, and you’ll pay it forward for another graduate.<\/div>\n
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Bring your cap & gown with you to the All Night Party on Friday night – or anytime next week!<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
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Collection bins will be in the WHS lobby by the Main Office beginning June 5th- 16th. <\/strong><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Attention Seniors: Important Message from WHS Tech Dept<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! We wish you incredible success in all your future endeavors. Before you head off to your next chapter, please review these important technology wrap-up steps to ensure a smooth transition:<\/div>\n
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