WMS Community Bulletin 9-20-20
EXCELLENCE*EQUITY*COMMUNITY
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(Portuguese)
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(Spanish)
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إذا كنت تستخدم جهاز كمبيوتر ، فافتح هذا في صفحة جديدة. بعد ذلك ، لترجمة هذه النشرة الإخبارية ، انقر فوق الارتباط الموجود على اليمين.
إذا كنت تستخدم الهاتف ، فالمس الشخص الموجود في الدائرة السوداء للحصول على زر الترجمة. (Arabic)
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Եթե համակարգիչ եք, բացեք սա նոր էջում: Ապա, այս տեղեկագիրը թարգմանելու համար կտտացրեք աջ հղմանը: Եթե հեռախոսով եք, դիպչեք սև շրջանի անձին ՝ թարգմանության կոճակը ստանալու համար: (Armenian)
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Watertown Middle School 2020-2021
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Definitely feels like fall in the air, and we are ready to get school started up again on Tuesday! The teachers were so excited to see many of you and your children (8th grade Monday!) during the supplies/Chromebook distribution and we are all looking forward to classes beginning.
You should have received at least one email from your child's HR/Community meeting teachers, and your children should check their email as well for information about the first day of school Zoom on Tuesday. In those emails, teachers asked for a response so they know that every family has heard from them. Please reach back out to the teachers so they know your child is ready for Tuesday!
Whether your child is registered in the Virtual School or in Bridge to Hybrid, all students will be starting remotely on Zoom on Tuesday. When your students meet their teachers on Tuesday, they will receive their schedules and the teachers will help them get all of the information organized for the upcoming days and weeks, including how to use the Weekly Learning Plans.
In any school year, there are the occasional bumps in the road with a schedule or a placement, and I am sure we will encounter a few this year as well. Regardless of the issue, we will work together to solve the issue quickly. If such an instance occurs, or a Zoom link does not work, or you have a question, please contact the teacher, the guidance counselor, Mr. Del Porto, or me. We will all collaborate together to ensure that the children have the least amount of stress possible. The chart at the bottom of this newsletter indicates who is best to call in each situation.
Have a terrific Sunday night, and Go Pats!
Please email me with any questions, concerns, or input you may have. As always, we will work together as a community! #wmsstrong
Take good care of each other,
All my best,
Donna
MIDDLE SCHOOL PRACTICES SEPTEMBER 21-25
CROSS COUNTRY
- Thursday- 3:30-4:30
Location: Victory Field Track
40 Orchard Street, Watertown, MA 02472
Coaches: Donna Lipson - donna.diduca@watertown.k12.ma.us
Christopher McDermott - christopher.mcdermott@watertown.k12.ma.us
FIELD HOCKEY
- Tuesday and Thursday- 3:00-4:15
Location: Saltonstall Park
149 Main Street, Watertown, MA02472 (behind Town Hall)
Coach: Kaylee Mcanamara - kaylee.mcnamara@watertown.k12.ma.us
MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS SOCCER
- Monday and Wednesday- 3:00-4:15
Location, Moxley Field, 25 Westminster Avenue, Watertown, MA 02472
Coaches: Andrew Allegro- andrew.allegro@watertown.k12.ma.us
Stephen Harrington - Stephen.harrington@watertown.k12.ma.us
MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER
- Tuesday and Thursday- 3:15-4:30
Location, Moxley Field, 25 Westminster Avenue, Watertown, MA 02472
Coaches: Shannon McLaughlin - Shannon.mclaughlin@watertown.k12.ma.us
Thomas Johnson - thomas.johnson@watertown.k12.ma.us
Chromebook/Material Distribution Days
Enter through the Bemis St. doors (remember to social distance)
Complete info verification information if not complete
Pick up Chromebooks & drop of Chromebook Contract in Library
Exit down the hall and stairs to the tent to meet your teachers and pick up supplies
Many 7th and 8th grade students already have their Chromebooks at home. The remaining students and the 6th grade will all need to collect their Chromebooks this year. The Chromebooks are designed with the appropriate extensions and software to meet the needs of our students. Personal computers may have trouble accessing information and thus the need to come collect the Chromebooks for remote learning.
Chromebook and Supplies/Materials Pickup Information
Chromebook and supplies distributions went well on Thursday and Friday! It was so great to see students and families! We have one last day left - 8th grade! Students should arrive with no more than one parent/guardian, please. All students and parents/guardians should be wearing masks at all times.
Monday, September 21st
Cluster 5, Cohort A: 8:00 am - 9:20 am
Cluster 5, Cohort B: 9:30 am - 10:50 am
Cluster 6, Cohort A: 11:00 am - 12:20 pm
Cluster 6, Cohort B: 12:30 pm - 1:50 pm
If you are unable to make these times, you may pick up your materials as follows from the Main Office/Lobby:
Monday 9/21 - 2-3:30 pm - Grades 6 and 7
Tuesday 9/22 - Friday 9/25 - 2-3:30 pm - all Grades
***Please see below information about required forms for Chromebook pickup.
Chromebook Use Information
Dear WMS Families,
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Here is the link to the WPS Tech Device Agreement 2020-21 that all families to sign.
***No student will be issued a Chromebook unless the signed agreement is submitted.***
Students who still have a Chromebook from last year need to submit the agreement as well.
A PDF version of this is linked on the 1:1 Initiative section of our WPS Ed Tech website.
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All students grades six through nine will be issued a Chromebook this year. Both
parents and students will need to sign the student contract acknowledging the
responsible use of rules and the financial obligations of having this device.
We plan to offer two online orientations in the coming months for Families to
explain the educational rationale and expected use of these devices.
Below is a link to our Educational Technology 1:1 Initiative Website with the WPS
Device Usage contract, our acceptable use policy, general care of computer
recommendations, and the program overview. Each year students and parents
must sign the contract in order to be issued a WPS device/Chromebook so please
turn these in before the start of school. For additional questions please feel free to
reach out to the Library Media Specialist, Principal, AP, or Rashmi Pimprikar
(rashmi.pimprikar@watertown.k12.ma.us)
Here is the site with additional information and resources
https://sites.google.com/watertown.k12.ma.us/wps-dl-lm/wps-11-initiative
Thank you and please contact me via email with any questions.
Rashmi Pimprikar
District Coordinator for Digital Learning, Library and Computer Science
Watertown Public Schools
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Here is the link to the WPS Tech Device Agreement 2020-21 that all families to sign.
***No student will be issued a Chromebook unless the signed agreement is submitted.***
Students who still have a Chromebook from last year need to submit the agreement as well.
A PDF version of this is linked on the 1:1 Initiative section of our WPS Ed Tech website.
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Calling All WMS Band Students and Families!
Hey Band Families!
First and foremost I'd like to introduce myself. I am Maxwell Thew, the new band/percussion instructor for the Watertown School District. I'm very excited to be here and work with all of you! I grew up in a small town in Eastern Washington. I have taught in Eastern Oregon as well as here in Massachusetts. I am a woodwind player by trade, but feel very comfortable in brass and percussion!
For this school year if you are financially unable to afford an instrument we do have a limited number of instruments. To use a school instrument, please fill out this attached form and bring it to WMS during our time to hand out Chromebooks and such. Music and Arts also has a scholarship fund for those people who need financial assistance as well!
I'm very excited to be working with all of you and hope to get to know you better as the year goes on. If you have any questions the quickest way is by email:
maxwell.thew@watertown.k12.ma.us
I respond within the day between normal school hours! I can wait to meet you virtually and in-person soon!
Thank you for being a part of my life,
Maxwell Thew
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ttyX0VBnSdo37Wn2dbi4abGLWTYSOgzGLrwG3Cs_rvE/edit?usp=sharing
Social-Emotional Learning at WMS
As part of your child’s take home packet, they will be receiving a photocopied version of the coloring journal Can We Rise?: A Journey of Questions Towards Personal + Collective Transformation, recently published by WMS teacher and Kingian Nonviolence Co-Coordinator Ruth Henry as a tool to help us make social and emotional sense of the many changes 2020 has brought us. The book also includes a foreword and supplemental materials by psychologist Dr. Casandra Clark Mazariegos. Your child and your family are invited to work independently or together through its pages as you see fit. Some teachers will also be incorporating discussions from the book’s prompts into their Community Meetings with students. This book has been provided free of charge to our Watertown Public Schools community as a gift from its author.
REOPENING INFORMATION
2020 - 2021 WPS School Calendar here
Reopening Goals and Guiding Principles
Overarching Goal
Protecting every child and staff member’s health and well-being-- along with the need to reimagine, renew, and reopen our schools to support equitable outcomes for every student-- is critical and central to our work. This summer’s specific challenge calls for us to use an equity-focused, scenario-based framework of planning for an uncertain future (in-person, hybrid, virtual) as we welcome students safely back to school. It is an iterative process.
Guiding Principles
These Guiding Principles will serve as the foundation for all three plans that we are currently developing.
Equity
Ensure equal access to the curriculum (internet/food/materials, etc.) and customization of teaching and learning (e.g., intervention/assessment) to personalize and continuously reduce achievement and opportunity gaps
Ensure culturally responsive teaching and tiered specific interventions
Excellence
Ensure rigor and continuity of curriculum by:
Identifying where curriculum begins by each grade focused on moving forward rather than reviewing
Prioritizing essential grade-level standards and themes for all students
Curating curriculum resources for on-line and in-school learning,
Utilizing assessment data and creating a schedule for administration, either online or in-person
Determining expectations for in school and virtual learning
Prioritizing common planning amongst departments and grade levels to ensure staff has adequate time to plan as a team and feels the support of their colleagues
Designing a cohesive system that provides all students with a core curriculum that can be delivered either virtually or in-person, or in a combination hybrid system
Community
In a physically and emotionally safe environment, we will support students, staff members, and families through the use of social/emotional learning strategies, effective two-way communication, and a positive home-school partnership by prioritizing the building of relationships through building upon what we already have in place.
As a district, we will determine a clear and cohesive structure for home/school communication to promote and build students’ and families’ knowledge and understanding of expectations and support students’ executive functioning and self-advocacy skills.
Essentials for Opening
The most important factor when considering reopening in the fall is the safety of students and staff. To that end, there are certain tenets that we consider essential for returning to our school buildings.
Universal Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all Staff
Masks required for all students 2-12, masks and face shields required in PreK-1
5-6 feet of social distance in classrooms
Additional support for special populations
Outdoor learning opportunities when possible (Lowell School has four tents set up on the ballfield across from the school.)
‘Weekly Learning Plans’ for all classes or grade levels
This will allow for concurrent learning plans for students in virtual learning and in-person learning, which will enable easy transitions into the virtual learning environment, if necessary
Time for teachers to plan and meet in collaborative groups either every day (PreK-8) or one full day (9-12)
3 days of PD September 1-3 and 10 additional days granted by DESE
**More than likely, voluntary COVID testing for all weekly staff Reflection on Values
Working on funding and logistics in collaboration with the Broad Institute
Guidance Documents from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
**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/