Wilson Wildcats
Your Weekly Update from Wilson Middle School
Principal's Message
Hello Wilson families,
It was a wonderful week at Wilson. We had our Read Across Wilson on Wednesday, some fun activities in each grade level for Wildcat Wednesday, some enriching professional development from our staff and student leaders, the Art Extravaganza at Natick High, and a visit from some Boston families who are considering joining our Wilson community for next year. Additionally, today is the last day of Trimester 2. Monday will be the first day of Trimester 3. Therefore, some of the students' specials classes will be new. Report cards for Trimester 2 will be visible in Powerschool next Friday, March 24. Enjoy the pictures below!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
Announcements and reminders are below:
Clothing Drive:
Wilson is holding a clothing drive!
Eighth grader, Sejal Shirole, was chosen by her educators to be part of an organization called Project 351, and she wants to host a clothing drive at Wilson! Project 351 is a youth-led movement for positive change and the only model of its kind in the country. For a year's term, eighth grade Ambassadors from each of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns unite for transformative leadership development, enrichment, and impact. An Ambassador is the eighth grade student who was chosen by their educators to participate in Project 351.
This Spring, Sejal is excited to lead her very first service project as an Ambassador. The project is a clothing drive to benefit Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit organization that seeks to eliminate clothing insecurity by providing children from birth to age 12 with new or gently used clothing so they can go to school feeling confident and cared for. The drive will run from March 20 to March 31. Clothes that are accepted are any new or gently used clothing ranging from sizes newborn to Adult Medium. Underwear and socks must be new! Clothes can be dropped off in the boxes located in the lobby. The boxes will be labeled, which will make them easy to find.
Thank you for your consideration,
Sejal Shirole - Project 351 Ambassador, and Mrs. Carney
Social Emotional Learning Work: Upcoming mySAEBRS survey information:
As part of our transformative SEL work in Natick, we are committed to supporting every student’s academic growth as well as their social, emotional and behavioral growth.This year, we are piloting the mySAEBRS Social, Academic, Emotional, Behaviors Risk Screener screening tool with students. The use of SAEBRS refines and strengthens our efforts to help all of our students be successful by allowing us to take positive and preventative measures as early as possible. Students will be completing the mySAEBRS screener at both middle schools between the window of Monday, March 20th - Friday, April 7th. Please email your school counselor with any questions about the survey.
Grade 5 counselor, Adam Gray, agray@natickps.org
Grade 6 counselor, Maddie Kinker, mkinker@natickps.org
Grade 7 counselor, Jenn D'Antonio, jadantonio@natickps.org
Grade 8 counselor, Kim Lowell, klowell@natickps.org
Massachusetts Partnership for Diversity in Education (MPDE):
Have you considered a career in public education? Do you have diverse experiences and skills to share with children and staff? Come learn more about the rewarding opportunities available to you with the Natick Public Schools! The Natick Public Schools is a member of the Massachusetts Partnership for Diversity in Education (MPDE), an organization “committed to recruiting and assisting in producing career opportunities for educators and administrators from diverse backgrounds, and forming collaborative relationships that will enhance staff diversity within our schools districts.” If interested in reading more, click here.
Arrival to School:
Please note, the best time for student's to arrive to school is 7:35-7:40 am. We have had a greater number of students arriving LATE each day. We understand that traffic in and out of school is difficult, but the expectation is to arrive on time by leaving your home earlier in the morning. On Thursday, we had over 50 students arrive to school after 7:50 am, which designates them as TARDY. Being on time to school is important. Students eat breakfast, go to lockers to unpack and set ready for the first few classes, check into homeroom to hear the morning announcements get settled for the start of their day. In addition, it is the expectation and teaches them the importance of being on time for their future workplace. Please be mindful of what time you are arriving to school and if they are running into the building after 7:45am, your child will most likely be late. Please make every effort to get your child to school on time each day.
New from Spark Kindness:
Stopping the Cycle of Anger: How to Navigate Anxiety and Big Feelings with Calm and Compassion
Thursday, March 23 at 7pm via Zoom -- For parents, caregivers, educators, and community members of all ages (see photo below)
In this talk, author Renee Jain, MA, will offer practical, supportive techniques to address anger and other intense emotions in ourselves, our children and our teens with more understanding and less screaming. She will discuss how to uncover what's underneath these big feelings and how to empower individuals, parents, and children to shift to more positive response patterns. ASL interpretation will be provided at this event. Register and learn more about this FREE online program and more upcoming events at www.SPARKKindness.org
Grade 8 End Of Year Activities:
Some families have asked for details about the end of year activities for 8th grade students. We will hold a promotional ceremony on the last day of school. The date is to be determined pending any snow days. 8th grade families are invited to attend the ceremony, and it will be held during school hours. We will also hold an 8th grade barbecue (during school hours) and a social (evening hours) which will both occur the last week of school. The barbecue and social are for 8th grade students only. Dates and more details on these events will be available in after April vacation. If you are interested in being part of the planning for the social and/or volunteering for the event, please reach out to our PTO at wilsonmspto@gmail.com.
MCAS Schedule:
See the picture below for the dates for each grade level MCAS this spring.
Attendance:
Please be sure to review the attendance policy on page 16 of the Wilson Handbook as we head into the second half of the year. School counselors and administration will be reaching out to families of students who have been absent 10 or more days. If your child has been out sick, please be sure to send in a doctor's note in order for it to be designated as excused. Undocumented absences can not be excused.
Reminder about student cell phone use in school:
Cell phones are not allowed in school. We understand that many students have cell phones and bring them to school. If this is the case, the cell phones must be turned off upon entering school and put away in students' backpacks. Please do not text your child during the school day and remind your child that phones need to be off during the school day. We've had some cases of students using their phones during school, which is a disruption. Sometimes, students report that it is their parent/caretaker texting them during the school day. Lastly, if your child texts or calls you from school and asks you to pick them up, please contact the school. We do not want students dismissing themselves. If they do not feel well, they should report to the clinic (nurses office) and the nurse will contact you if your child is sick.
Traffic Patterns:
Please be aware if you are driving your child to school in the morning, you cannot pull around any school buses or vans. You can only turn into the front loop after the buses and vans have left. Drop off in the morning is 7:30 am.
From the Nurses Health Clinic:
Important 7th Grade State Screening Notification:
7th graders will have height and weight measurements taken in PE class starting March 13th. They will be seen privately by a school nurse. It is our practice not to share their height and weight information during the screening.
Please reach out to wilsonnurses@natickps.org before your child's PE class next week if you would like to opt them out of the height and weight data collection.
If your student tests positive for Covid-19, they must stay home for 5 days. The day they started symptoms is Day 0, the next day is Day 1, then Day 2, etc. They may return to school on Day 6 and must wear a mask for an additional 5 days. A headache, scratchy throat, congestion/runny nose, cough, and/or fever are some of the more common symptoms of Covid-19.
Siblings and close contacts do not need to quarantine and can come to school as long as they are not having symptoms of illness. However, they must wear a mask for 10 days when around others following exposure.
Click for more information from the Massachusetts DPH: Covid-19 Isolation and Exposure Guidance
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
Respectfully,
Teresa Carney
Twitter: @wmsnatick
Instagram: wmsnatick
Point of Pride
RAED ACROSS WILSON
Grade 7 Minute to Win It Challenges (Wildcat Wednesday)
Professional Development (Student Led)
More Professional Development Pictures
Art Extravaganza Pictures
St. Patrick's Day Pictures
Natick 180 Trainings
MCAS Schedule
Five Things You Need to Know This Week
1. IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
Friday, March 17: Trimester 2 ends
Monday, March 20: Trimester 3 begins
Tuesday, March 21: Rock Your Socks Day for World Down Syndrome Day
Thursday, April 6: No After School Activities or Late Buses
Friday, April 7: Good Friday, No School
Wednesday, April 12: Early Release 11:30 am
Monday, April 17-Friday, April 21: No School (April break)
2. YEARBOOKS ARE ON SALE: The yearbook is a great way to record your student's school year. It features students from all grades, clubs, sports teams, etc. It is for everyone!
To order: Please go to www.yearbookforever.com and search for "Wilson Middle School." Please include your student's full name and homeroom number. "Be sure to select the location in Natick, MA.
Pricing: Order early to lock in the lowest price. Prices increase as the year goes on (please see the pricing schedule below):
April 1= $40 until they sell out*Please Note*: Yearbooks are expected to sell out. Books are not guaranteed. Any questions, please contact Allyson O'Connor at aoconnor@natickps.org.
3. POSITIVITY PROJECT THEME THIS WEEK: Perspective. Perspective means you appreciate when people see things in different ways. You have the ability to understand the world from multiple points of view. Click here for the letter.
4. WILSON ATHLETICS
Please click here: Wilson Athletics for important information.
5. LIBRARY NEWS
Please click here: Library News for important information. There is A LOT of new information, so please click on the link to read it.
Paper - On-Demand Tutoring
Natick Public Schools is excited to announce our partnership with Paper for on-demand tutoring for NHS students. Paper is a secure, online tutoring service that provides students with unlimited, 24/7 academic support. Whether they’re stuck on homework, studying for a test, or need someone to read and make suggestions to their essays, there will always be experts available online to assist students in over 200 subjects and more than 4 languages.
Paper tutors have been specially trained to conduct expert, academic support in a secure, chat-based platform. With a commitment to helping students learn, they’ll never give students answers, but rather interact with them in an encouraging tone to lead them forward.
This is a free service that we’re providing, so students are encouraged to use it as much as they need, whenever they need. Our teachers also have accounts and will be able to review all student activity to see what they’re working on and provide more targeted instruction as needed.
If you’d like to learn more about Paper you can sign up for a Paper hosted Parent Info Session, available in both English and Spanish.
To see Paper and the help it offers firsthand, we encourage you to login with your students. To get started, simply visit PAPER’s student login page, type your school’s name, and log in via Google using your school credentials
We’re thrilled to offer our students the unlimited, 24/7 support that Paper provides and we can’t wait to see what we’re able to accomplish together.
Email Blast
Do you know of any Wilson parents that don't receive our blasts? Feel free to forward this email and have them join our mailing list at http://eepurl.com/gBdwNv
If you have any questions, please contact the Wilson PTO at wilsonmspto@gmail.com.
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COVID-19 Updates
View the latest COVID-19 updates from NPS.
- Title I: Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990Title II
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990Title VI
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Title IX
- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
- MGL, Ch.76, Section 5: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 76, Section 5