Colin M., Walpole High School student representative to the School Committee was present along with new student representative Favor N. Colin reported as follows:

• Walpole High School is half way through term 1, and Progress Reports were posted to X2 Aspen accounts.
• Yesterday all juniors participated in the PSAT’s.
• Last Friday, Student Council hosted a cornhole tournament to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
• Picture day retakes are November 7th.
• Walpole Scholarship Foundation's Trivia Night is happening on Saturday October 15th at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held at the German Club in Walpole.
• After-school clubs and activities are up-and-running. The Random Acts of Kindness Club meets every Friday. Best Buddies first meeting is Monday, October 17th.
• Fall sports teams are about halfway through the season and are faring well. Today, the Unified Basketball team played in Natick. Also today, boys and girls soccer and the volleyball teams played against Needham. Tomorrow volleyball plays Bishop Feehan, the swim team has a match at Brookline and the football team will play at Braintree.
• Winter sports registration is now open.

1. Curriculum Overview - Dr. Bill Hahn, Assistant Superintendent, provided a curriculum development overview for the 2022-2023 school year. Dr. Hahn's report included an overview of K-5 literacy, K-5 math, grades 6-8 humanities, 6-12 math, 9-12 history curriculum, social-emotional learning, DEI, and Instructional Coaching. Dr. Hahn also reviewed professional development for the district. Dr. Hahn's report can be accessed here (time marker 04:50).

2. EL Coordinator - English Learner (EL) Coordinator Jill Kimball gave an overview of the English Language Learner (ELE) program, including educational components, strengths and opportunities of the program. She reported that this program represents 29 countries and collectively 34 languages (in addition to English). To view this report click here (@ time marker 21:09).

3. Vote on Town Meeting Articles - The School Committee voted to approve Town Meeting Article 13 which is the transfer of money from Free Cash for the reimbursement of Medicaid receipts, high school parking fees and McKinney-Vento transportation. The School Committee further voted to support of Town Meeting Article 7 which seeks approval for capital expenditures for critical equipment.

• Dr. Gough thanked the youth football and cheerleading coaches for their support, participation, and great turn out at last Friday's WHS football game. Dr. Hahn and Dr. Gough also attended yesterday's Cross Country Track Meet to cheer on our runners.

• October 1 enrollments were distributed. The total WPS enrollment is 3,706. Enrollment numbers will be updated as students enroll.

• Dr. Gough introduced the rollout of the WPS Branding Style Guide. The purpose is to assist primarily staff in creating consistent and recognizable branding in documents, communication, presentations for both W logo and the Timberwolf Logo. The website can also be shared with our youth teams, who are updating their sites and incorporating the logo. The link can be found HERE. Thank you to Tom Reeve, Director of Digital Learning for getting this up and running.

• Please remember to check school websites to sign up for upcoming parent-teacher conferences, which will be held both in-person and virtually.

• Student MCAS performance reports were released and just received by the district. The reports will be mailed out to families next week.
  

• As a reminder, Walpole has partnered with William James College INTERFACE Referral Service so that our community can have access to the Mental Health Referral Helpline. This is a free, confidential mental health outpatient referral service for children, adults, and families. Callers are matched with licensed mental health providers from INTERFACE’s extensive database. Information can be found on our webpage, the Town’s webpage, and can be accessed HERE.

• Please be advised that the Fales, Leach, Rogers, and Kunde Scholarship application will be available from October 1 through October 31. The application can be found on the District Website or at the Superintendent's Office. Awards shall be distributed to undergraduates at four-year accredited colleges. To be eligible for these scholarships, the student must be a graduate of Walpole High School.

• Dr. Gough thanked our art teachers for displaying student art work at Town Hall. There have been some student visitors with parents and grandparents to view their work.

• October is National Principals month. This is a time for us to celebrate and honor our principals for their leadership and their dedication to their students and school communities they serve. We appreciate all you do.

Mr. Ahern provided an update with regard to the high school renovation project. He indicated a productive workshop was held last week. Additional conversations will be held regarding this project. Updates will be provided to the public.