Maria Weston Chapman Middle School
22-23 Template
Welcome Back!
We were so excited to welcome back staff on Friday and host the entire district for Opening Day! We connected with each other and prepared for the opening week. We are focusing the first week with extended homerooms and building community. Tuesday will be spent in Homeroom building community, practicing procedures, lockers, and looking at schedules. Wednesday through Friday we will have extended Homeroom to continue our community building activities and then continuing into classes with shortened periods. We will start with "Day 1" on Wednesday. We are using a school-wide system to support any scheduling issues and we are prioritizing the needs and working together to get them sorted out.
In the opening to staff on Friday, we shared that our focus this year is community building and high expectations. We are energized and eager to get started and work with the community this year. We will continue to share updates and opportunities for involvement throughout the year!
Meet the New Administration Team
Jenny Dolan
Brianna Cormier
Special Education Department Head
Joe Amoroso
Interim Associate Principal
Jess Whelan
Assistant Principal, Grade 6
Dennis Jones
Interim Assistant Principal, Grade 7
Natasha Lassiter
Assistant Principal, Grade 8
What to Expect the First Week of School
Drop Off & Pick Up Procedures
Please use the map below when planning drop off and pick up for your Chapman student. Please be patient on the first few days as traffic is always tight the first few days of school. The Transportation Department also asks for your patience the first week or so of school as the bus drivers get used to their new routes around town.
Each grade will enter at a different door as seen in the picture below. There will be staff and Wildcat Leaders at every entrance helping students get to their homerooms! We understand that the first week students may enter different areas!
No Breakfast on Tuesday!
Breakfast service will begin on Wednesday, September 6th.
Picture Day!
Lifetouch Picture Day will be Thursday, September 7th. You should have received some emails from Lifetouch over the past few weeks. If not, please see the information in the flyer above.
Fire Drill
We are expecting to have a fire drill with the Weymouth Fire Department sometime during the first week of school.
Attendance and Dismissal Policy
Attendance
Notification of absence can be reported using our online attendance form. Parents/Guardian can report an absence, tardy or dismissal by clicking here and filling out the form . The form is also available on the WPS website by clicking on schools, selecting Maria Weston Chapman Middle, and then clicking the circle icon labeled "Attendance". Parents/Guardians may also call the attendance line at 781-337-4500 by 8:30 am.
Dismissals require a minimum of a 2-hour notice prior to the desired dismissal time. We cannot accommodate immediate dismissals unless it is an emergency situation and your student's Assistant Principal has been contacted.
Persons dismissing will need to show proper identification and MUST be listed in the student's contacts in Aspen. Students will not be called to the office until identification has been verified.
Documented/Excused Absence - Doctor’s Note
Absence validated by a doctor’s note provided documentation is submitted within one week of the absence. Notes should go directly to the Health Office - MWC-Nurse@weymouthps.org
Scheduling Updates
Last year, we had a staff group of around 15 members from a variety of departments to look at the functionality and challenges of our Master Schedule. The following were the largest areas of concern: the number of transitions, Flex block Tuesdays, 7th and 8th grade students not having access to Academic Resource Block that they had in the past, and class avoidance/hall wandering. Through collaboration and research, the group came up with a new scheduling proposal that we shared with all staff in June and with student groups for feedback. I acknowledge that we should have done better communicating with families.
We are excited with the new Master Schedule model and have included a few graphics to help. Teachers will be working with students in Homeroom. We will continue to meet as a group to look at the Master Schedule, speak to students, and include more family voice and participation. Please note that 6th grade schedules stay the same! 6th grade students still get to experience all exploraties and PE!
The red circle shows where the entire grade has Academic Resource Block and return to their Homeroom. This student example is for Grade 8.
A Message from Musical Club
Hello Musical Club Families,
I hope you have been enjoying a wonderful summer! Mr. Cawley and I are so excited to jump into a new year with lots of performing and tons of fun.
As we embark on the new year, our priority will be to help students get settled with their classes, become familiar with the building, and get to know the available resources at Maria Weston Chapman. This is such a fun time of year, and we want to be sure that students get the chance to participate in as much as possible. You can expect after school rehearsals to begin sometime in October. More information on specifics will be released throughout the first few weeks of school.
In light of recent school day schedule structure changes, we are removing the requirement that students participate in Chorus in order to sign up for musical club. We hope this alleviates some of those back to school stressors!
Again, we are SO excited to work with your students this year and can’t wait to see what they create. See you in October!
Ms. McD and Mr. Cawley
Save the Date - Open House Night!
Open House Night for parents and guardians will be Wednesday, September 13th from 6-8pm. We can't wait to see you all! We ask that you please leave your students at home for this event.
More Important Info
Transportation Updates
Bus routes
Routes are posted on the Transportation website with the listed start time for each route. Please be patient with our bus drivers as they learn the routes and get to know your students.
Bus ridership
You must fill out a bus application to be scheduled on a bus. Applications are still available on the Transportation website WPS SY 23-24 BUS APPLICATION However students will be put on a waitlist. We are working as fast as we can to get students' assigned to buses. Once a bus has been assigned you can find the bus number and stop listed in ASPEN. That is when you will know a bus assignment has been made.Please arrange transportation until you are assigned to a bus.
Bus payments
Once you have confirmed transportation in Aspen that your student has been assigned a bus number and stop. Please visit our online payment portal to make pay rider payments. You may also send a check made out to “Weymouth Public Schools” to your child’s school. View more payment information »
Parent Council News
Please consider joining our Middle School Parent Council! All parents/guardians are encouraged to come and participate in the parent council meetings. These meetings are an hour in length and are once a month. We have varied the days as a result of the survey that was sent to families last year.
We will be setting up committees per grade this year - please consider participating on a committee.
The team will meet at 7pm in the Chapman Library on the dates below:
Monday 10/2
Monday 11/7
Tuesday 12/5
Monday 1/8
Tuesday 2/6
Monday, 3/4
Tuesday 4/4
Click here to follow the Weymouth Middle School Parent Council on Facebook!
Chromebook Policy
All students were issued their own Chromebook for use at home and in school. Access to these devices facilitates collaboration, supports diverse learners, and allows students to easily access online curriculum resources and learning platforms. Proper care and handling of the Chromebook is the responsibility of the student. Users must take reasonable measures to prevent their device from being lost or stolen. In the event an electronic device is lost or stolen, the user is required to immediately notify school administration. Parents and Guardians will be invoiced for lost or intentionally damaged devices. If payment is not received an obligation will be placed on the student account. Obligations prevent students from participating in extracurricular activities, including socials, dances, clubs, field trips, and athletics. All obligations will carry over to Weymouth High School unless paid off.
Helping Students Learn Newsletter for September
Click here for the September edition of the Helping Students Learn middle school newsletter!
School Textile Recycling Bins
Did you know that you can no longer put textiles in the trash or household recycling bins?
This is great news for us as we have Textile Bins here at MWC that directly give back to our students!!! We have a bin for each grade out by the Chard Street Lot exit. For more information on the program, visit: https://www.smore.com/yrs65b
1051 Commercial Street
East Weymouth, MA 02189
(781) 337-4500