Winter Hill Wildcat Weekly
September 22, 2023
Principal's Message
Our entire staff is looking forward to welcoming parents and caregivers to our open houses over the next few weeks. See below for more details.
Back-to-School Nights
Back-to-School Night for Winter Hill @ Capuano
Thursday, September 28th 5 - 7:30 PM
5:00 - 5:45 --> A Wildcat Welcome in the Library - Come meet our non-classroom staff and learn about our school.
6:00 - 6:30 --> Classroom Visits to Ms. Morgan & Ms. Berkowitz's - Come meet your child's teacher, see their classroom and learn about PK or Kindergarten
6:30 - 7:00 --> Classroom Visits to Mrs. Donaldson's - Come see your child's classroom and learn about Kindergarten from Ms. Morgan
5:00 - 7:30 --> Capuano / Winter Hill Caregivers Connection in the Gym - Stop by anytime to see what resources are available to families
Back-to-School Night Winter Hill @ Edgerly
Thursday, October 5th 5:00 - 7:00 PM
5:00 - 5:30 --> A Wildcat Welcome in the Cafeteria - Come meet our non-classroom staff and learn about our school
5:40 - 6:10 --> Classroom Session 1 - Come meet your child's teacher, see their classroom and learn about what they will be learning this year
6:20 - 6:50 --> Classroom Session 2 - Come meet your child's teacher, see their classroom and learn about what they will be learning this year
5:00 - 7:00 - PTA Sponsored Event - All families are welcome to come to the Otis Street play area for pizza and drinks --> $5 for two slices of pizza OR $5 for a slice of pizza and a drink
Message from the PTA
First Meeting of the Year
Dear Winter Hill families: PTA would like to invite you to our first General Membership meeting of the school year. Oct 5th from 3:30-4:30PM at the Cafeteria. Snacks and drinks will be served for those who attend. Agenda: Approve the FY24 Expenses (see below) Meet and chat with the Chair of our Fundraising Committee: Tara Barreira! Meet our Nominating Committee members ~ MaryLou Sturniolo; Tara Murphy-Beardsley; Lori Shea-Foley Reasons to come to the PTA Meeting: Meet families who you haven't seen in a while We have two new officers who you might not have met yet! Talk to members about your concerns: commute; safety; in-school activities; really anything. Talk to Tara Barreira about your ideas for fundraising. Talk to MaryLou Sturniolo if you'd like to join the Nominating Committee. Learn about the basketball tournament featuring the WHCIS versus Healey teachers and staff! Approximate available funds for FY24: $3,250 Anticipated FY24 Expenses: Back to School Night refreshments for entire school $750 Principal’s Coffee Hours refreshments every month for the year $500 WHCIS Moving Forward Festivities $2,000* Grade Projects ???* Teachers Appreciation and End of Year ???* *Insufficient; will need to raise new money Support Fundraising! Order from La Posada in Magoun Square on September 27th anytime between 4pm and 10pm, and a portion of the profits from your order will be donated to our PTA! We are looking for members to help us fundraise! Ideally, we would like to fund a Grade Project for each grade, just like we did last year. Also, we would like to support additional programs for AIM and Newcomer Academy. Our ability to do these things would hinge heavily on our ability to raise NEW money. It’s easy. Just email us at winterhillpta@gmail.com! Become a Member Now! Becoming a member is the best way for anyone to stay informed about things happening in our school. Only PTA members have the ability to influence what the PTA does to make our school community thrive and support all children. If you aren’t already a member, it is easy to sign up today! If you have already renewed but have not paid your dues, you can pay online or give us $4.50 cash in the schoolyard. Your dues go straight to Massachusetts PTA, our parent organization. Our PTA does not get to keep any of your membership dues. You do not have to become a member to volunteer at school. And you do not have to volunteer to be a PTA member. If you would like to connect with families and to advocate on behalf of your children and family, PTA is for you!
Our budget for FY24 is as follows:
Sent on behalf of the PTA for Winter Hill Community Innovation School
WHCIS PTA // winterhillpta@gmail.com
Website: https://sites.google.com/k12.somerville.ma.us/winterhill/pta
Follow us for news and announcements! https://www.facebook.com/WinterHillSomervillePTA
Join the (private) WHCIS Families discussion group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/whcis.families
Governing Board
The Winter Hill Governing Board is a collaborative decision-making body comprised of parents/guardians, administration, teachers, staff and community partners. We meet once a month on the third Thursday of the month in person in the Winter Hill @ Edgerly library. We are looking for parents and caregivers from all grades PK - 8 and all programs including general education, AIM and the Newcomer Academy.
The first meeting will be Thursday, October 19th from 6 - 7:30. If you are interested in serving on the Governing Board, please email me at cgosselin@k12.somerville.ma.us by Friday, 6th.
Wildcat Blog
Each week, we feature a different class on our Winter Hill Wildcat Blog. Check out what we have been doing the first few weeks of school.
Upcoming Dates
September 29, 2023 - Picture Day for WHCIS at Capuano & Edgerly
October 5, 2023 - Back to School Night WHCIS at Edgerly
Upcoming for October - Governing Board & Principal's Coffee Hour
Somerville Public Schools Calendar can be found here.
Attendance Reminders
We ask that all Wildcat Families continue your efforts this year to improve attendance and timeliness at WHCIS. Two of our school-wide R.O.A.R. expectations ask that students take Ownership of their learning and that they be Ready by coming to school consistently and on-time. Please help us to hold our students to these expectations for the 2023-24 school year.
For Edgerly, If your child is going to be tardy or absent please call (Or, Text!) our NEW attendance line: 774-613-0616.
For Capuano, if your child is going to be tardy or absent, please call 617-629-5480.
If your child misses more than two unexcused days of school in a month, please anticipate a call to set up a meeting in the Dean’s Office.
*What the research states and why chronic absenteeism is an important issue: National research shows that at every age and every stage, chronic absenteeism erodes the academic and social skills needed to succeed in school. Being chronically absent [18 days in a school year] significantly affects a student’s ability to read at grade level, perform academically, and graduate on time. Children who are chronically absent in both kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to read proficiently by the end of third grade (Campaign for Grade Level Reading and Attendance Works, 2014). By sixth grade, chronic absence is a key early indicator of dropout from high school (Baltimore Education Research Consortium, 2011). By ninth grade, attendance may be a better indicator of dropout than eighth-grade test scores (Allensworth, 2014).
Winter Hill Community Innovation School
115 Sycamore Street
Somerville, MA 02145
School: 617-629-5680
Cell: 781-227-7861