{"id":8775,"date":"2025-11-08T05:39:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T13:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellesleyps.org\/whs\/?p=8775"},"modified":"2025-11-24T12:57:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T17:57:24","slug":"whs-principals-newsletter-for-07-november-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellesleyps.org\/whs\/2025\/11\/08\/whs-principals-newsletter-for-07-november-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"WHS Principal’s Newsletter for 07 November 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WHS Principal’s Newsletter<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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November 7, 2025<\/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,\u00a0<\/div>\n
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This has been an incredibly busy week at the high school as we ended Quarter one and the first week of November all at once.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Safety Drill<\/strong><\/div>\n
We had a successful safety training with all the students during our extended advisory session on Wednesday.\u00a0I hope your students came home and told you about it.\u00a0Essentially we show the kids a training video and then practice lockdowns and evacuating the building.\u00a0At the end we spend a couple of minutes with the kids in their advisories processing the drills and coming up with questions they might have.\u00a0Feel free to check in with them as questions only help us improve what is a very important training.\u00a0I also want to thank our partners from the WPD for their assistance in making this drill a success each year.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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National Honor Society\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
Congratulations to Mike Krieger and Eric Collins for putting on a lovely National Honor Society ceremony last night. The officers were amazing and they honored five of their teachers as part of the celebration. Will Harrington and Marissa Coughlin were honored from the School Counseling Department.\u00a0Meghan Church was honored from the Science Department.\u00a0Devon Ellis and Mike Travers were both honored from the World Language Department.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Attendance at WHS<\/strong><\/div>\n
Friday Morning at my principal’s coffee we had a great discussion about attendance at the high school.\u00a0We still have a lot of work to do here to reduce our Chronic Absenteeism rate.\u00a0We talked about different kinds of profiles of students who end up in that category (defined by the Massachusetts Department of Education as a student who misses the better part of 18 days in a school year for any reason).\u00a0We’ll definitely be working more on this topic and communicating with you about it in the future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n
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One of the places we plan to be more strict is around not allowing students who are not excused from classes to participate in athletics or performing arts after school. That is a long way from being enacted, so please know it is not fully in effect at the moment as we have much more work to do before this gets off the ground.\u00a0Stay tuned.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n
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We have other measures we hope to take to increase student attendance as well, but please reach out to us so we can partner if you have concerns about your children getting to all their classes.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Athletics\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
This week has been a whirlwind of activity for our athletics teams.\u00a0We are in tournament season and we’ve had games every day but Thursday this week. Most recently our Field Hockey team won 3-2 over Belmont to advance in their tournament yesterday afternoon and last night our Football team beat Plymouth North in overtime to advance to the second round of their playoffs.\u00a0Today we have girls soccer at home at 2 pm, Boys and Girls Cross Country will run their divisional\u00a0round at Wrentham, our Girls Swim team will compete for a state title this afternoon at BU and tonight our Girls Volleyball team will play at Central Catholic tonight at 6 pm. Good luck everyone – Go Raiders!<\/em> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Revised WHS Schedule for Monday, November 10th<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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At Wellesley High School we want to make sure that all students have the best possible education and support for their learning and well-being. To help us better understand students\u2019 health needs, students are being asked to participate in the MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey. The questions on the survey cover many topics including: alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; violence and safety; nutrition and physical activity; sexual behaviors; online behaviors; and mental health. It also asks questions about students\u2019 demographics so we can understand if there are groups of students in need of extra support. We will be giving this online survey to students in grades 9 through 12 on Monday, November 10th, 2025, during an extended Advisory period.<\/div>\n
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For further information and a fact sheet about this survey, please review the 2025 WHS Metrowest Survey Letter<\/a> that was sent to all families on October 24, 2025.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Junior Parent Night – November 12th<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Please join us via Zoom for Junior Parent Night<\/div>\n
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Post secondary process discussion with WHS Counselors followed by a question and answer session with a panel of college admissions counselors.<\/div>\n
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Wednesday, November 12th at 7:00pm<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Join Zoom Meeting (Meeting ID: 847 8889 2691, Password: 914565)<\/div>\n
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/wellesleyps.zoom.us\/j\/84788892691?pwd=qcde0yYy2z5Wb16RbcD7tsmd6pHMQs.1<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Senior Photo Submissions for WHS Wellesleyan Yearbook <\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Hello Senior Students and Parents –<\/div>\n
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Please note: Senior submissions for the WHS Wellesleyan Yearbook will be slightly different this year.\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
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We’ve created a\u00a0Google Form<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>where Seniors will be able to upload their baby photo, and add a text entry for “Most Memorable” and “Happiest When” moments.\u00a0We have also included the option for seniors to submit their own portrait from an outside photographer if not using the school’s photographer (Prestige Portraits).<\/div>\n
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These submissions must be in by\u00a011:59PM on Friday, 11\/21\/25.<\/strong>\u00a0Another email will go out in the coming days detailing the customary\u00a0SENIOR ADS\u00a0<\/strong>published in the yearbook.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Please email Tom Denman (denmant@wellesleyps.org<\/a><\/a>) with any questions.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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WHS Students Accepted to MMEA’s Eastern District Festival<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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59 Wellesley High School Band, Choir, and Orchestra students participated in Senior District Auditions this past Saturday at Concord-Carlisle High School, where they performed a prepared solo audition, played scales, and did some sight-reading before an experienced adjudicator who is an expert in their instrument. Students received feedback and scores, and based on their rating, 31 students were accepted to participate in the Senior District Festival as part of an honors ensemble, and 20 received recommendations for the All State Festival.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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This audition requires a lot of courage and we are so proud of all our students who participated in this valuable opportunity. Thanks to Dr. Khanukaev, Dr. McDonald, Mr. Scott, and all our private lesson\u00a0staff members for helping our students prepare.<\/div>\n
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Please join me in congratulating all of the students who put in the hard work and dedication to audition, and in celebrating the accomplishments of the following students who will be participating in the Eastern District Festival:<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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WHS Standardized Testing Information<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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For all the resources you need to stay on top of Step Up Day, MCAS, AP Exams, and much more throughout the year, check out the\u00a0WHS Standardized Testing Padlet<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 your go-to stop for\u00a0important dates, exam day tips and everything in between.<\/div>\n
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If you have any questions, please contact\u00a0Jen Culver<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Anne North<\/a>\u00a0in the Main Office.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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WHS Calendar – Upcoming Events<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Tuesday, November 11:<\/strong> Veterans’ Day\u00a0(Schools & Offices Closed)<\/em> <\/div>\n
Wednesday, November 12:<\/strong> WHS Junior Parent Night Zoom Meeting @ 7:00p<\/div>\n
Thursday, November 13:<\/strong> WHS Jazz Concert @ 7:00p<\/div>\n
Wednesday, November 19: <\/strong>Wellesley Education Foundation Spelling Bee @ 7:00p<\/div>\n
Thursday, November 20:<\/strong> WHS Orchestra Concert<\/div>\n
November 27-28<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Thanksgiving Recess\u00a0(Schools & Offices Closed)<\/em> <\/div>\n
December 1<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Professional Day\u00a0(Schools Closed)<\/em> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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WHS\/WPS Online Resources and Calendars<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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