Winter Hill Wildcat Weekly
February 16, 2024
Principal's Message
Thank you to our amazing PTA and all of you who donated for our staff breakfast and lunch on Wednesday. It was absolutely wonderful and we are all so appreciative of your generosity.
I also want to thank our math coach, Andrea Palmer, for a wonderful math talk today with parents. Ms. Palmer shared a wealth of information about our math curriculum and how to support students at home with math. See the materials linked below in the coffee hours section.
Finally, happy February vacation. Hope you all have a safe and fun vacation week. We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Monday, February 26th.
Summer Camp and Activities Fair
It is time to start planning for summer vacation! There will be a Summer Camp Activities Fair at the East Somerville Community School on March 7th from 5 - 7 PM.
Meeting with Superintendent Carmona & City of Somerville
Meeting with Superintendent Carmona + City of Somerville DATE: Tuesday, February 27th Zoom Meeting: https://k12somerville.zoom.us/j/82696777998?pwd=a3N4YXpwMU1PekQwbVFxaFNWK3VsUT09
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Virtual meeting on Zoom (See link below)
REASON: Discuss planned work at Winter Hill @ Edgerly for School Year 2024-25
Meeting ID: 826 9677 7998
Password: WHCIS24
PTA Update
Second Annual General Membership Meeting
Join us at the Edgerly on Thursday Feb 29th at 6pm, to discuss PTA funded projects for this year, fundraiser successes, budget updates, and upcoming elections for future PTA officers. Come speak with our Nominating Committee and learn about how PTA can grow and support the school in the future.
Support WHCIS Teachers!
- Wishlist from AIM teacher: “Hi! My name is Sandy Orosz, and this is my first year at WHCIS. My assistants and I made an Amazon Wish List for our classroom. Our Room number is 105.” https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2HPNS0DH7STWS?ref_=wl_share
- Boston Marathon Fundraiser: “Hello, my name is Melissa Starr, and I am running the Boston Marathon this year. I have a fundraising goal I must meet, and I am hoping the Wildcat Family will join me in strengthening our community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Together we can make a difference. https://www.givengain.com/project/melissa-raising-funds-for-west-suburban-ymca-71335
Valentines Day Potluck
Thank you for your generous donations – so many teachers expressed their appreciation, and it was overwhelming to see how little effort we had to make to have a strongly joyful collective impact.
Become a Member! We continue to take members throughout the school year. If you haven’t yet signed up to become a member, you can sign up as a member online, and pay your dues online too! Unless we have the vast majority of parents, caregivers and teachers signed up as members, our PTA will not have the legitimate ability to speak for the whole school community. At a time when our community is so fractured and dislocated from our beloved location on Sycamore Street, we cannot amplify your voices until you join us! Please contact winterhillpta@gmail.com if you have any questions.
ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES AND STUDENTS
2024–2025 School Year Calendar. Available now. Find the new calendar in English on the SPS website. Translated versions will be available soon. The first day of the 2024–2025 school year for grades 1–12 is August 28, 2024. The first day of school for students in grades PK and K is September 3, 2024. Beginning in the fall of 2024, PK–8 students will be released early every Wednesday. Learn more.
Enrollment for Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Students. Enroll before February 23, 2024 to give your child the best chance at getting your first choice of school. This enrollment period is for students going in to prekindergarten and kindergarten, who will be four or five years old this fall. Please start the enrollment process by visiting the Enrollment Office website.
Power of Parenting [TM]. Enroll now! If you have a child between 3 and 8 years old, you are invited to register for the Power of Parenting Program. Learn more.
SFLC Playgroups. Enroll now. The SFLC, our family engagement department, is offering free playgroups in several languages and at locations across the city for Somerville parents and guardians of young children. Please visit the SFLC Playgroups website to learn more and to register.
Free February Break Activities. February 19–23. Find free local activities through the Highland Street organization. Also, check out Somerville Public Libraries (or any of the regional libraries) for events, free museum passes, and more.
Girls Who Code. The All-City Girls Who Code club that will be starting on Tuesday, February 27th. The club will take place on Tuesdays from 3-5pm at the Somerville High School Fab Lab. There are four mazing high school volunteers who will lead the club, who will lead the club with Laura Peters, the Robotics and Computer Science teacher at Somerville High School.
English registration: https://bit.ly/SPSgirlswhocode
Spanish registration: https://bit.ly/SPSespanolGWC
Portuguese registration: https://bit.ly/SPSportuguesGWC
Haitian Creole: https://bit.ly/SPSkreyolGWC
Somerville Youth Soccer (SYS) is offering a new opportunity of a clinic (called Just for Kicks) for kids (boys and girls) who are ONLY in grades 2d, 3rd and 4th. This program offers the opportunity to learn and play the game in a recreational setting. It will better suit kids with SPECIAL NEEDS (any kind), NEW players, for families with SEVERAL kids or players who ARE NOT SURE that soccer is their sport: (https://www.somervillesoccer.org/news_article/show/1291558)
The program will run ONLY during six weeks starting on April 25th-June 6th. The Clinic sessions will take place once a week on Thursdays (no weekend commitment) at the Healey School Field from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm. The cost of the program is $40 but as ALWAYS we have financial aid available.
Middle School Sports
Coffee Hours
Join us at our next coffee hour!
March 15, 2024 1:45 - 2:30 --> Summer Programming & Preparing for the Next School Year: Come find out what programs are available for students over the summer and how to support students transitioning to the next grade
All are welcome! Interpretation will be provided.
Each month, from October - May, we will host a coffee hour for parents and caregivers to discuss various topics.
We will alternate between mornings (8:15 - 9:00) and afternoons (1:45 - 2:30). These will be held at the Otis Street Play Area (weather permitting) or in the main conference room. Please enter the building through 8 Bonair Street.
- April 26, 2024 8:15 - 9:00 --> Autism Awareness & Acceptance: Come learn about autism, our AIM (Adapt*Include*Motivate) Program for students with autism, and acceptance for neurodiversity
- May 17, 2024 1:45 - 2:30 --> Supporting Healthy Lifestyles & Good Nutrition: Come learn about activities and supports for students to choose healthy activities and foods
Thank you to the PTA for sponsoring these coffee hours and your generous donations of coffee and snacks!
Information from Coffee Hours:
Harvard Graduate Student Study
A group of students at Harvard are doing a class project about how to improve facilities for walking and biking to school, with a focus on the streets serving Winter Hill students. To help them better understand students' needs, they have created a survey for parents of Winter Hill students. If you are interested in taking the survey, you can email Professor Carole Voulgaris (in any language) at winter.hill.survey@gmail.com. The survey is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole.
Please note that this is a class for graduate students and is not part of our planning at Winter Hill.
Wildcat Blog
We feature a different class on our Winter Hill Wildcat Blog each week.
This Week: Ms. Manning (Grade 2)
Next Week: Ms. Buccelli (AIM Grade 2)
Important February Dates
Somerville Public Schools Calendar can be found here.
Please see here for important dates on the Enrollment Calendar for SY25 school registration
Monday, February 19th - Friday, February 23rd - Winter Break, No School
Wednesday, February 28th - Early Release Day
*PK dismissed at 11:30
*Kindergarten dismissed at 12:15
*Grades 1 - 8 dismissed at 12:00
Winter Hill Community Innovation School
@ 8 Bonair Street
Somerville, MA 02145
School: 617-629-5680
Cell: 781-227-7861