Wildcat PRIDE
WB District Newsletter - December 29, 2022
WB District Newsletter
On behalf of our entire school system, I want to wish you all a wonderful, happy and safe holiday break and we are looking forward to seeing you in 2023!
MSBA Update - BIG NEWS!
It is with great pleasure that on behalf of the West Bridgewater Schools I announce that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Board of Directors has voted to invite the Rose L. MacDonald School into the MSBA's Eligibility Period. The school district and the town will begin following the MSBA process and work to review our district's greatest needs and look at all possible educational options for school consolidations. We are looking forward to our partnership with the MSBA and to working collaboratively to do what is best for our students, staff, and community. West Bridgewater was one of 10 school districts in the state selected. Thank you to the West Bridgewater School Committee and the West Bridgewater Board of Selectmen for their support.
As a district, we are committed to an open and transparent process and will continue to update all stakeholders through emails, newsletters, and scheduled meetings such as School Committee meetings, Superintendent Coffee Hours as well as scheduled informational meetings.
Below is a link to the MSBA press release.
The Polar Express Reading
Important Water Testing Information
PreSchool Openings
We currently have openings in our Preschool program. Children must be 3 years of age to enroll:
- Tuesday/Thursday 9:00-11:30 am
- Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday 12:10-2:40
Please contact Mrs. Ellis at Spring Street School for more information!
mellis@wbridgewater.com or 508-894-1233
Dream Snow
Curriculum News, Debbie Llanes, Director of Curriculum
Elementary English Language Arts (ELA)
Students and teachers in grades K-5 have been hard at work with our new ELA curricular materials, Wit and Wisdom. Students in K-3 are also using Fundations, and grades PreK-1 are using Heggarty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum.
Fundations lessons lay the groundwork for lifelong literacy by helping students become fluent, independent readers through the use of a multisensory, structured curriculum that promotes reading and spelling achievement. Some of the skills emphasized in the curriculum include: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics/Word Study, Reading Fluency, Vocabulary, Comprehension Strategies, Spelling and Handwriting.
The Heggarty curriculum teaches different phonemic awareness activities, such as phoneme isolation, blending, segmenting, and phoneme manipulation (adding sounds, deleting sounds, and substituting sounds in spoken words.) You may have noticed your child using some of the hand movements that go along with their Heggerty lessons!
Wit & Wisdom is a high-quality curriculum, designed to build knowledge. When students learn a lot of information about one topic, they build their vocabulary at a faster rate, can access more challenging and complex texts, and have deeper productive discussions and produce well–written pieces. It is crucial for families to understand this part of our English language arts instruction—that learning about important topics, for example, how artists and scientists explore the sea or how people showed resilience in the Great Depression, helps students coherently build knowledge and become stronger readers, writers, listeners, and speakers. Aha! Blog October 12, 2021
https://f.hubspotusercontent10.net/hubfs/3454910/Building%20Knowledge%20for%20Families_final.pdf Building Knowledge and Skills in the English Language Arts Classroom
MSHS Math Department
The MSHS math department started using Illustrative Math in grades 7 and 8, Algebra l, Algebra ll, and Geometry this year. “Illustrative Mathematics (IM) believes that each student is the author of brilliant mathematical ideas. For this reason, IM built a problem-based curriculum where students listen, respond to, and value each other’s thinking as they continue their journey in becoming powerful doers of mathematics.”
MSHS World Language Department
Members of the Spanish Honor Society spread their holiday cheer this past weekend at the WB Town Transfer Station! Students canned for a good cause, raising money for senior scholarships and a family in Guatemala that the SHH supports. Thanks to the generosity of the town, the Spanish Honor Society was able to raise a considerable amount of money to support these causes. Thank you for all of your support and Feliz Navidad!
Planning for Success - District Plan
Student Success
1. Provide students with an array of opportunities to ensure all students achieve the Vision of the Graduate that is diverse, equitable and inclusive.
Curriculum
2. Establish and implement a cohesive, rigorous equitable PreK -12 curricula.
3. Promote the implementation of curricular materials with consistency to ensure student success academically and social and emotionally.
Staff Development
4. Ensure appropriate staffing and support to address the growing academic and social-emotional needs of students and staff.
Facilities and Resources
5. Ensure that the facilities and resources provide effective learning environments to meet the educational and social-emotional needs of all students and staff.
Next Superintendent Coffee Hour - January 13th at 9:15 am MSHS
There was a Superintendent Coffee Hour with Mr. Bodwell on Friday, December 9th at 9:15 am at the MSHS. Thank you to our guest Ms. Jenn Hammel, West Bridgewater Athletic Director. At the next Coffee Hour, we will have our Middle/Senior High School Guidance Counselors
Here is a tentative agenda for the January meeting
Introduction and Purpose of Coffee Hours
MSBA Update - Potential New Elementary School Project
FY24 Budget Process and Priorities
WB District Plan for the Future
Zoom or Google Meet
- Holiday Events at Schools
Future Guest Speakers for Coffee Hours
Newsletters Feedback
- Check out our website https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wbridgewaterschools and Twitter @WBPSwildcats
The next meeting is on Friday, January 13th at 9:15 at the Middle/Senior High School. We hope to see you there!
SRO NEWS - Officer Pope
I was made aware of a significantly increased need with families needing help this holiday season only a few weeks ago. To my knowledge, we've never had our own toy drive just for West Bridgewater families. I thought it was too last minute and was hoping to maybe get just a few items to help make some of our kids happy on Christmas morning. The West Bridgewater Police and Fire Departments joined forces with the WB PTO and the School District. The Wildcat Toy Drive was born!
I am truly in awe of all the parents, members of the community, and staff members who donated toys and gift cards for West Bridgewater families in need. With your generosity, we were able to help make this holiday season special for approximately 40 of our students and their families. This is one of those times where my pride and love for this town has truly overflowed. I cannot begin to thank you all enough! I made sure to let Santa know to put all of you on the "nice" list! I hope each and everyone of you has a very happy, healthy, and safe holiday season!
Food Service News - Ann Marie Grinder, Director
Happy Holidays! All meals will continue to be FREE for all students for the remainder of the school year!
Adding funds to a student's lunch account. Extra a la carte items such as bottled water, freshly baked cookies, ice cream and milk for students that bring lunch from home are offered for sale in the cafeteria. Students must have money on their lunch account to purchase any extra items. Cash and checks are accepted and electronic payments can be made through MySchoolBucks. You will need your child's 10-digit SASID# to register for a MySchoolBucks account.
Click on WB Food Services to find January's menus.
Food Assistance-The holidays can be a difficult time for many. If you or someone you know is having trouble making ends meet, Project Bread Food Source Hotline is a great resource. West Bridgewater residents facing food insecurity can also utilize the West Bridgewater Food Pantry.
There is an immediate opening in our School Nutrition program. Interested individuals should contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or (508)894-1220.
Box Tops for Education
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION - Please scan your shopping receipts! Every little bit helps our school! The program transitioned to a new digital format. You can now scan your shopping receipts from any store (like Market Basket, Trucchi’s, Target, Walmart, CVS, etc.) to earn money for our school. Download the app today or send your receipts to school. We are happy to scan them for you!
Thank you Rotary Club of the Bridgewaters
Rose L MacDonald Sing Along
News from WB School Committee
December 2022
News from the Policy Subcommittee
The objective of the Policy Subcommittee is to regularly review policies of the West Bridgewater School Committee to determine if they are current, consider the interests of stakeholders, and are in line with guidance from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. At the most recent school committee meeting on December 5, 2022, the following policies were reviewed and revised as indicated:
EEA: Student Transportation Services
EEAA: Walkers and Riders
EEAEA: Bus Driver Examination and Training (New)
EEAEB: Drug and Alcohol Testing for School Bus and Commercial Vehicle Drivers (New)
EEAG: Student Transportation In Private Vehicles (New)
EEAJ: Motor Vehicle Idling On School Grounds
IHAMA: Parental Notification Relative to Sex Education
IHAMB: Teaching About Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs
Additionally, the following policies were opened and are scheduled for review at the next school committee meeting on January 9, 2023:
GBEC: Workplace Drug and Alcohol Abuse Policy
GBED: Tobacco Use on School Property by Staff Members Prohibited
JICH: Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Use by Students Prohibited
ADC: Tobacco Products on School Premises Prohibited
DBJ: Budget Transfer Authority
DGA: Authorized Signatures
DH: Bonded Employees and Officers
DJA: Purchasing Authority
DJE: Procurement Requirements
DK: Payment Procedures
For any questions or to provide feedback, please contact the policy subcommittee at kmilton@wbridgewater.com and rdragonetti@wbridgewater.com. A complete listing of policies can be found at https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/page/school-committee.
Most Recent School Newsletters
WB Inclusion Matters/WB SEPAC
Inclusion Matters is a group of West Bridgewater families whose kids have IEPs and 504s. We offer webinars and events for families. If you'd like to learn more about our events for parents, guardians, and students, please email us at InclusionMattersMA@gmail.com to join our private email list.
See our upcoming events on our Facebook page at @InclusionMattersMA and our website at www.InclusionMattersMA.com
WB Athletics, AD Jenn Hammel
WB Athletics Update:
It has been a busy few weeks with the start of our Winter Sports Season! Check some of our highlights below from the Athletic Department!
The Boys and Girls Winter Track teams traveled to Wheaton College for their indoor track meet against Tri County and Saint Paul. Boys lost with close scores against Saint Paul (46-41) and Tri-County (59-36). Girls track won against both Tri county (79-18) and Saint Paul (58-37). The WEB Boys Ice Hockey team faced SSVT this week and came out with a win 9-6 and the WEB Girls Ice Hockey team traveled to the Warrior Ice Arena and secured their first win over St. Joseph Prep. 3-0! The WB Boys JV Basketball team won their first game of the season against Blue Hills, 53-35 as well as the Varsity Boys Basketball team, they defeated Blue Hills with a score of 52 to 38. Our FR Boys Basketball team had a tough loss vs Blue Hills with a final score of 34-55. The Girls Varsity Basketball team fell to a tough Case team with a 30-52 final and the JV girls won in overtime in an exciting game vs Case with a 37-32 win! Our Middle School Girls lost to a strong Randolph opponent and the Boys Middle School team hosted Randolph and in a close game with a 42-44 final with Randolph coming out with the win. Gymnastics will hold their first meet on January 4th vs Notre Dame Academy of Hingham. Congrats to all our Wildcats and best of luck this winter season!
Check out winter schedules below!
**You can find the schedule on the Arbiter Live Website: https://arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=25160
**Basketball tickets to HOME regular season games are being sold online: https://gofan.co/app/school/MA14770
PLEASE CHECK OUT THE WB CHIPOTLE FUNDRAISER ON 12/28 FROM 5-9PM!
WB Athletics is holding a “Do Good With Chipotle” Fundraiser on Wednesday, December 28th from 5-9pm at the Chipotle on 421 New State HWY, Raynham, MA, 02767! 33% of Event Sales Get Donated to WB Athletics! Please check it out and support our WB Athletic Programs!
Substitute Teachers Needed at all Schools - NEW Google Form
Important Links for WB Families
Past Superintendent Newsletters
Superintendent's Office
Email: mbodwell@wbridgewater.com
Website: www.wbridgewaterschools.org
Location: 2 Spring Street, West Bridgewater, MA, USA
Phone: (508) 894-1230
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wbridgewaterschools
Twitter: @WBPSwildcats