WMS Community Bulletin 4-26-20
EXCELLENCE*EQUITY*COMMUNITY
To translate this newsletter, click on it then use the link to the right. (English)
Para traduzir este boletim, clique nele e use o link à direita. (Portuguese)
Para traducir este boletín, haga clic en él y luego use el enlace a la derecha (Spanish)
لترجمة هذه الرسالة من المدرسة ، اضغط عليها ثم استخدم الرابط الموجود على اليمين. (Arabic)
Այս տեղեկագիրը թարգմանելու համար կտտացրեք այն, ապա օգտագործեք աջ կողմում գտնվող հղումը: (Armenian)
Чтобы перевести этот бюллетень, нажмите на него, затем воспользуйтесь ссылкой справа. (Russian)
Bu bülteni çevirmek için üzerine tıklayın ve ardından sağdaki bağlantıyı kullanın (Turkish)
Watertown Middle School 2019-2020
Hello and Happy Sunday - I hope this community bulletin finds you and your family, near and far, healthy and well. Yesterday's sun was a welcome change, and now we are back in April Showers. I am enjoying all of the beautiful blossoming trees and flowers, though. I included a picture below of some gorgeous tulips I saw while out walking recently.
Week 4 of Phase 2 of Remote Learning begins tomorrow, and the teachers and curriculum coordinators have been collaborating closely to craft lessons and curriculum that can be taught effectively in a remote manner. In order to have the most impact, however, students should be attending and participating in scheduled Zoom meetings. We realize Zoom can be awkward, but the more practice we have using it, the less awkward it becomes. Students can participate during Zoom meetings by asking questions, contributing to a discussion, and/or typing a question or comment in the chat. Additionally, we request that students turn on their videos whenever possible. We love seeing their faces, and I know students miss seeing each other regularly. If there a specific reason your student cannot attend a Zoom meeting, please let the teacher know, or have him/her let the teacher know.
Both students and parents/guardians have given us feedback on the remote learning experience, but we would like to collect it in a more formal way from students, just as Dr. Galdston collected feedback from parents a couple of weeks ago. Students will be receiving a survey to complete within a day or two. As always, the teachers and guidance counselors are available to support students with their academics and social-emotional needs. Please do not hesitate to contact them.
***Important*** If your contact information has changed at all (phone numbers, email, home address) please contact me as soon as possible. We want to be able to get important information out to families without delay.
A couple of reminders (with additions) from my previous bulletin:
As the weeks go by, and the curve continues to hopefully flatten, we will develop a plan so that students may retrieve their items from their lockers and classrooms in a safe and organized manner.
For 8th-grade parents/guardians:
- The 8th-grade students will be receiving course verification sheets from WHS very soon. WHS guidance counselors and Mr. Cloherty will be working with the students to ensure that students are placed in the correct course for next year. Below I have added videos explaining the math and science course pathways, as they can be confusing. WHS will be having a virtual Program of Studies night soon to make up for the one missed earlier this month. Please stay tuned for information about that program.
- We will be working together to determine ways to honor our 8th-graders in lieu of the traditional graduation and other fanfare. We will be able to make better decisions in a few weeks as we see the guidelines from the state, but we will certainly figure something out! If you have any ideas, please feel free to email me or any of the 8th-grade teachers, or join our next PTO meeting (date to be announced soon).
- DC Refunds: The refunds were sent from the WPS Administrative offices to Town Hall on Friday and will be processed there with all other payments, and will then be mailed out by the Treasurer's office as soon as possible.
I hope you all have a wonderful week. It's hard to believe it will be May on Friday!
Take good care of each other,
All my best,
Donna
SHOUT OUT!
Dear Parents: I promise you that we have your child’s best interest at heart. We worry about them, we miss them, we want more than anything to be back in the classroom. We don’t teach because we like figuring out how to work Zoom, we don’t teach to stare at a screen all day, we don’t teach to field an onslaught of emails each day. We teach because we love your children. – Kara Conceison, teaches sixth grade, Watertown, Mass.
Here is the link to the article:
Weekly Cluster Schedules / Links to Schedules
Cluster 2: Here is the link to the Cluster 2 weekly schedule/Smore:
https://www.smore.com/pejsy-cluster-2-newsletter?ref=email
Cluster 3: Here is the LINK to the Cluster 3 weekly schedule and the link to the Cluster 3 Smore newsletter: https://www.smore.com/s1wr3
Cluster 4: Here is the link to the Cluster 4 assignments and information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UFZ3vtTrGSC6f38mKHPAYIGNH6mImvtzbemFoYpr-rc/edit
Cluster 5: Here is the link to the Cluster 5 weekly schedule/Smore:
Cluster 5 Smore, Schedule and Assignments for the week
Cluster 6: This link: Week of April 27 has all of the Cluster 6 assignments for next week. We will also be posting this doc to the Cluster Google Classroom.
Here is the link to the Specialist Zoom Schedule for all grades:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qvtrWi-puKctgIHPznOrl3qk_ZdxSJkCoiM_aNdNyRY/edit
2019-2020 YEARBOOK!!!
Here is the ordering information - ORDERS DUE BY MAY 6TH!!!
ID code 7822620
$25
ONE SCHOOL ONE BOOK (1S1B)
For each book there is a brief description, reviews from our 1S1B committee, a book excerpt and matching audiobook excerpt. There are also some videos and links with additional information.
Both books are terrific, and we are excited to see which one the whole school will be reading over the summer! Thank you to Ms. Maroni-Wagner, Ms. McDonagh, Ms. Spillane, Ms. Conceison, and the entire 1S1B committee for narrowing down the choices so we are able to read an excellent book as a school.
Personally, I think we should all read the second one as well! :)
Updates from Ms. Maroni-Wagner in the WMS Library
For the latest information on digital literary resources and WMS Library happenings, read the weekly WMS Library Newsletter.
Free Daily Online Drawing/Cartooning Lessons
This School Library Journal article lets us know that author Jarrett (JJ) Krosoczka, creator of Hey, Kiddo and other popular titles, is doing a YouTube drawing/cartooning lesson every weekday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time at https://www.youtube.com/studiojjk. All previous lessons are available here: http://www.studiojjk.com/draweveryday.html
PTO News
The PTO is still requesting your family recipes! WMS International Cookbook Information
We are also looking for students to submit designs for the cover of the Cookbook!
8th to 9th grade transition letter
2020-2021 Middle School BUSING - REGISTER ONLINE NOW
Read Aloud BINGO!
Digital Learning and IT Resources Links /Family Support
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources
Dr. Galdston's Update 4-21-20
Link to Smore: https://www.smore.com/ngf2v
**EMERGENCY ALERTS**
Watertown Middle School
While we are out of school, please email with any questions, or text/call my work cell (617-631-6807)
Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
Thank you,
Donna Martin, Principal
Email: donna.martin@watertown.k12.ma.us
Website: https://wms.watertown.k12.ma.us/
Location: 68 Waverley Avenue, Watertown, MA, USA
Phone: 617-926-7783
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watertownms/