{"id":10333,"date":"2026-09-11T14:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T21:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellesleyps.org\/whs\/?p=10333"},"modified":"2026-09-12T09:46:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:46:35","slug":"whs-principals-newsletter-for-11-september-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellesleyps.org\/whs\/2026\/09\/11\/whs-principals-newsletter-for-11-september-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"WHS Principal’s Newsletter for 11 September, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WHS Principal’s Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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September 11, 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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Dear Families,<\/div>\n
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This morning in a slightly longer advisory session our students watched the first Friday morning video of the year. If you\u2019re not familiar with our Friday morning announcements we normally run a news show for the school each week where each week new anchors take turns talking about the school’s events of the week and what\u2019s coming. We usually also have a sports and weather update.<\/div>\n
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However, today our morning announcements were something completely different in honor of the 25th anniversary of the 9\/11 attacks.\u00a0\u00a0Today the school watched a video of a group I had gathered of veteran staff volunteers to talk about where they were that morning and what their strongest memories were.\u00a0\u00a0People talked about how they took care of their kids that day, things they wished they could have done better, and the very personal stories of individuals they knew.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I told the students I wanted to do this oral history from the perspective of adults they saw every day and could follow up with here if they were curious.\u00a0\u00a0One theme that came up was how important our community was in that moment and how it still is today.\u00a0\u00a0People described their fears and also how much we relied on each other during that incredibly difficult time.\u00a0\u00a0I want to thank those staff members for their willingness to share their humanity with these vulnerable testimonies.<\/div>\n
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I couldn\u2019t see all the kids, but the ones in my advisory were respectful and appreciative of the effort.\u00a0\u00a0I hope you have the opportunity to speak with your children about not only the advisory this morning, but also the greater events commemorating 9\/11 in general.\u00a0\u00a0On the radio this morning (I\u2019m showing my age), I heard someone say 9\/11 showed us how the best of humanity could come out of even the worst tragedy. We have the opportunity, through these conversations, to help a new generation both remember those who lost their lives and the importance of being united as a community, especially in times of tragedy.<\/div>\n
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WHS National Merit Scholarships Semi-Finalists Named<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Congratulations to the following nine WHS seniors, who were named 2027 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists this week! Per tradition, the students posed with the beloved lobby Raider and their principal, Dr. Jamie Chisum.<\/div>\n
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Dr. Chisum and Director of School Counseling Meg Walenden congratulated the students Thursday morning during their Advisory block. All nine semifinalists are eligible to apply for an estimated $24 million in scholarship opportunities from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, corporate partners, and colleges and universities.<\/div>\n
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From left to right: the semifinalists are: Grace Zhao, Ryan Prentice, Lucy Yu, Oscar Allan, Kornkanya Charoensiddhi, Dalya Bayulgen, Katherine Xu, Noah Desviat Ruiz, and Jacob Haspel.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Wellesley High School PTSO – First Meeting of the Year<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The first PTSO meeting of the school year will be on\u00a0Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 9:00 AM\u00a0<\/strong>in the WHS Faculty Dining Room (FDR).\u00a0\u00a0All parents and guardians are invited!<\/div>\n
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One area we would like to improve this year is how we use our\u00a0PTSO general meetings<\/strong>\u00a0so they are as valuable and engaging as possible for parents and families, and we would love to hear your thoughts! Please take a few minutes to complete the\u00a0survey<\/a>\u00a0and let us know what you would like to see from the general meetings this year.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Standardized Testing Night September 17<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Standardized Testing Night – SAT\/ACT<\/strong><\/div>\n
Thursday, September 17, 2026<\/strong><\/div>\n
7:00 – 8:15 pm EST<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Please follow this link to register for the webinar:<\/div>\n
https:\/\/guidewelleducation.onecanoe.com\/summit\/registration\/create?event_code=EVT454AA4<\/a><\/div>\n
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Summit Educational Group is pleased to partner with Wellesley High School to provide this informational webinar about the college testing landscape. In this webinar, Summit’s\u00a0Drew Heilpern<\/strong>\u00a0will share the latest information about these standardized tests, talk about what’s on the tests and how and when to prepare for them. Wellesley High School’s\u00a0Margaret Walendin<\/strong>\u00a0will provide specific testing details for junior year students.<\/div>\n
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Session topics include:<\/strong><\/div>\n