Winter Hill Wildcat Weekly
December 1, 2023
Principal's Message
Happy December! With December comes the colder temperatures. We go outside everyday unless there is inclement weather or the temperature, including feels like temperature, goes below 15 degrees. Please ensure that your child has appropriate winter clothing including a winter coat, gloves and a hat. If you are in need of these items. please reach out to Ms. Marylou or Ms. Karla.
Conferences @ Edgerly for Grades 1 - 8
Conferences are this Thursday from 4:00 - 7:00 PM. Teachers will reach out directly to parents and caregivers to schedule conference times.
This date was inadvertently scheduled on the first night of Hanukah. For families that celebrate Hanukah, we are happy to schedule conferences on a different day. Please reach out to your child's teacher or to our secretary, Mrs. McWeeny, to schedule for a different day. I apologize for any inconvenience.
PTA Update
ROAR 115 at the Winter Concert!
Would your student (and perhaps your family) want to show support for the permanent location of WHCIS to be at 115 Sycamore Street? Wear our Wildcat ROAR 115 tee shirt for the Winter Concert! The tee shirts are being sold at cost for $10 a shirt, regardless of size and would look like this:
Order your shirt now!
Fill out this Google Form to pick your color(s) and shirt size(s): https://forms.gle/mj6ecU7VyAaX56py8
PTA will coordinate the printing and delivery of your tee shirts to your homeroom.
Winter Clothes for Wildcats!
Our winter clothing drive was an enormous success! We would like to recognize our community partners Connexion and MAMAS for their invaluable support. Our PTA is thrilled and proud to have pulled off an enormous amount of work that we are told has made so many students and their families happy. Please check out our Facebook page for details! Our Family Liaisons have a message for you about all the organizations and teams of people who helped make this a success.
Volunteer Recognition
Please thank the following people if you know them, for service to the WHCIS community:
· Klaus and Mimi Schultz for their work in securing donations for Principal’s Coffee Hour on Nov 17, 2023 from Modelo’s Market Café, owned and operated by the D’Souza family in Magoun Square.
· Barbara Halpenny, Mimi Shultz, Emily Spicer Hankle, Elba Valerio, Jennifer Stoddard Imari and others for hours and hours of work with PTA officers to organize heaps and mounds of clothes in preparation for the clothing event.
· Student Council members for jumping in wherever we needed you to make coffee hour and the clothing event run smoothly.
Dec 13th Musical Bingo at Daddy Jones Bar
Shauna Powers is working on final details for a fun musical bingo night on Wednesday, Dec 13th . Please save the date! Stay tuned!
Wildcat Wish Lists
· Nurse Shannon made it easier for us by creating a wish list on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/15TLD818NP8OS?ref_=wl_share
Please check out the wish lists from our AIM teachers!
· Ms. B’s CLASS
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3CAO0VJL30LKR...
· Ms. DiPaolo’s CLASS
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/VRE6J64EDD4...
· Ms. Landry’s CLASS
https://www.amazon.com/regist.../gl/guest-view/1QGOW1JALNJAZ
· Mrs. H’s CLASS
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2ELB6XBPYWPA0?ref_=wl_share
Here is a wish list from Ms. Tara Murphy Beardsley of Newcomer Academy! https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1BG9W581UIXVB?ref_=wl_dp_view_your_list
Here is a wish list from Ms. Julie Scafidi! Amazon.com
Ms. Scafidi teaches 8th grade math and science. Mrs. Scafidi makes our Wildcat T-Shirts and puts on our 8th Grade Moving Forward Ceremony, among many other things! Most recently she represented our school in the Title I Basketball game versus Healey.
Become a Member!
We will continue to take members throughout the school year. If you haven’t yet signed up to become a member, you can sign up as a member online, and pay your dues online too! Unless we have the vast majority of parents, caregivers and teachers signed up as members, our PTA will not have the legitimate ability to speak for the whole school community. At a time when our community is so fractured and dislocated from our beloved location on Sycamore Street, we cannot amplify your voices until you join us!
Please contact winterhillpta@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Coffee Hours
We hope to see you at our next coffee hour!
December 14, 2023 8:15 - 9:00 --> Meet Our School Counselors: Come learn about the role of counselors in our school (This is a Thursday to accommodate the winter concerts.)
Our counselors will lead the sessions in English, Spanish & Portuguese:
Ms. Stead, Ms. Thies, Ms. Greland - English
Ms. Jessica - Spanish
Ms. Karina - Portuguese
Click https://sites.google.com/k12.somerville.ma.us/winterhill/departments-and-programs/support-staff/counselors to get to know our counselors.
Each month, from October - May, we will host a coffee hour for parents and caregivers to discuss various topics.
All are welcome! Interpretation will be provided.
We will alternate between mornings (8:15 - 9:00) and afternoons (1:45 - 2:30). These will be held at the Otis Street Play Area (weather permitting) or in the cafeteria.
- January 19, 2024 1:45 - 2:30 --> Online Safety: Come learn about how to keep students safe on the Internet
- February 16, 2024 8:15 - 9:00 --> Math Curriculum: Come learn about our math curriculum and how families can support students at home
- March 15, 2024 1:45 - 2:30 --> Summer Programming & Preparing for the Next School Year: Come find out what programs are available for students over the summer and how to support students transitioning to the next grade
- April 26, 2024 8:15 - 9:00 --> Autism Awareness & Acceptance: Come learn about autism, our AIM (Adapt*Include*Motivate) Program for students with autism, and acceptance for neurodiversity
- May 17, 2024 1:45 - 2:30 --> Supporting Healthy Lifestyles & Good Nutrition: Come learn about activities and supports for students to choose healthy activities and foods
Information from Coffee Hours:
- 10/20/23 - ELA Curriculum - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ifnzM-9VXprhNpDcKQakDwIea_qUUpiGYcgT-BtQPVE/edit?usp=sharing
Thank you to the PTA for sponsoring these coffee hours and your generous donations of coffee and snacks!
Wildcat Blog
We feature a different class on our Winter Hill Wildcat Blog each week.
This Week:Ms. Payette (5th grade ELA & social studies) & Ms. Nahktigal (resource room)
Next Week: Ms. Singleton (6th-8th grade AIM)
Important November & December Dates
December 6, 2023 - Early Release Day
*PK dismissed at 11:30
*Kindergarten dismissed at 12:15
*Grades 1 - 8 dismissed at 12:00
December 7, 2023 - Conferences 4:00 - 7:00 PM
*Grades 1 - 8 Conference @ the Edgerly and on Zoom (teachers will be setting up appointments times the week of 11/28/23)
December 14, 2023 - Principal Coffee Hour 8:30 - 9:15 AM
*Note this is a Thursday to accommodate the Winter concerts.
December 14, 2023 - Governing Board 6 :00 - 7:30 PM
*Meeting will be in the Edgerly library.
December 15, 2023 - Winter Hill @ Edgerly Concerts
*Grades 4 - 8 Winter Concert @ East Somerville Neighborhood School 9:30 AM
*Grades 1 - 3 Winter Concert @ East Somerville Neighborhood School TBD (we will adjust the time to accommodate families for PK pick-up)
December 22, 2023 - Winter Hill @ Capuano Concert
*Details to follow
December 22, 2023 - Early Release Day
*PK dismissed at 11:30
*Kindergarten dismissed at 12:15
*Grades 1 - 8 dismissed at 12:00
December 26, 2023 - January 2, 2024 - Winter Break, No School
January 3, 2023 - Students return from winter break
Somerville Public Schools Calendar can be found here.
Please see here for important dates on the Enrollment Calendar for SY25 school registration.
Winter Hill Community Innovation School
115 Sycamore Street
Somerville, MA 02145
School: 617-629-5680
Cell: 781-227-7861