Welcome From Our PTSO Co-Presidents

Welcome WHS Families!

We're down to our last week of summer and eagerly anticipating the first day of school.  We welcome our new and returning families!   It's going to be a great year!

As a member of the Wellesley High School community, you are automatically a member of the WHS PTSO.  The PTSO is a vibrant, active organization that supports the educational experience of our high school students.  We do this in a number of ways: 
  • Fundraise:  Below you will find more details regarding "Advance the Excellence," our only fundraising campaign.   We don't have dues, but instead rely on the generosity of our community to help us fund faculty professional development, new and innovative programs, student activities, etc.
  • Volunteer:  We recruit and support volunteers who serve the school in a number of capacities, such as:  Hospitality, Welcome New Families, New Parent Ambassador, Landscaping, Library and many, many more.  
  • Communicate:  We try our best to keep our families updated with important information as it becomes available to us.  Check out our website at www.whsptso.org and stay tuned for our weekly email blasts.  
As always, we are here to support you in any way we can.  Please don't hesitate to contact us.  We wish you all a happy and successful school year!

Annie Hall and Delissa Prideaux
WHS PTSO Co-Presidents

Please consider a contribution to our Annual Appeal
ADVANCE THE EXCELLENCE

Our annual WHS PTSO Annual Appeal is underway!  "Advance the Excellence" is our sole fundraiser for the year and we need everybody's support to make it a success.  You will receive information about our Advance the Excellence campaign in your student's Back to School packets.

To make this even easier, you can donate online using PayPal.  Please click the donate button to the right to make your contribution.  We're hoping for 100% participation from our families; no donation is too small!  All our funds go to supporting innovative and inclusive programs that WHS that reach as many students as possible.  

Thank you all so much for your generosity!

Julia de Peyster, Fundraising Chair


IMPORTANT CALENDAR UPDATES

There are many meetings and coffees coming up fast, so please mark your calendars:
  • First PTSO meeting - Wednesday, September 16th at 9:00 a.m. in the Faculty Dining Room (FDR) at the high school Please join us as Principal Dr. Jamie Chisum and administrators tell us what to expect this year.   
  • Informal coffee with Dr. Chisum - Friday, September 25th at 9:00 a.m. in the FDR. 
  • Informal coffee with Steve Favulli, new Director of Guidance - Friday, October 2nd at 9:00 a.m. in the FDR. 
  • WHS Back to School Night - Thursday, October 8th at 6:00 p.m.

BACK TO SCHOOL PACKETS

On the first day of school, your high school student will receive a Back to School packet during their Advisory period.  The packet contains school forms, health updates and other important information. Some forms need to be signed and returned to your student's Advisory teacher no later than Friday, September 11th.  

CALLING VOLUNTEERS! We're looking for volunteers to help us on September 21 and 22 to help us sort the packets.  Please contact Gaby de Grace at [email protected] if you'd like to help.

WHS DIRECTORY UPDATES

The PowerSchool Parent Portal is now open for parents to verify their emergency contact information and more.
Families new to the district may create new accounts and returning families are asked to sign into their account to verify/update their information. 

We're really excited to announce that the PTSO will be creating the WHS Directory from the new "Student Directory" section in the Portal where parents can confirm/update contact information for use in the Directory.  You will also have the option to "opt out" if you do not wish to be included in the Directory. This is part of a district wide initiative to streamline communication with Wellesley families.  If you have any questions about the Directory, please contact either Julie Garvey or Jennifer Madden at [email protected].


NEW TRAFFIC PATTERN

Earlier this week, Dr. Chisum sent a letter announcing a new traffic pattern for drop off and pick up at the school. For your reference, we've included the school map indicating the new traffic flow. Allow yourself plenty of time to get your students to school safely!