WHS PTSO - May 8 Newsletter

PTSO Newsletter - May 8, 2022

UPCOMING EVENTS

May 10: Spring Band Concert

May 11-12, 14: WHS Spring Play (see below)

May 12: School Council Feedback Session (in person - see below)

May 14: Sophomore Semi-Formal (7:00 - 9:30 pm at WHS)

May 16: School Council Feedback Session (virtual - see below)

May 17: School Council; Spring Orchestra Concert

May 18: WHS PTSO Meeting (9:00 - 10:30 am - in person, see below)

May 19: Conversations with School Committee (virtual - see below)

May 21: Junior Class Boat Cruise; Junior Class Parent Event (see below)

WHS AND WHS PTSO UPDATES

Materials from WHS PTSO/WMS PTO Community Meeting

Thank you to everyone who joined the annual joint WHS PTSO/WMS PTO community meeting, hosted in partnership with Wellesley Middle School, Wellesley High School and the METCO Program. It was a wonderful evening of community building and growth.

Keynote speaker Dr. Nadja Lopez Reilly, Associate Director of the Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at William James College, gave a thought-provoking presentation on racial trauma and healing. Here is a link to the slides from her presentation.

In addition, Dana Plunkett, Director of Guidance at WHS, has shared this School Counseling Resource Quickguide for the WHS community.

WHS Spring Play: "Done to Death"

The WHS Spring Play "Done To Death" has been postponed until this upcoming week.

The new performance dates will be:

Wednesday, May 11th at 7:00 pm

Thursday, May 12th at 4:00 pm

Saturday, May 14th at 7:00 pm

If you have already purchased tickets, you can still use your tickets:

Tickets originally purchased for Friday, May 6th will be good for Wednesday, May 11th

Tickets originally purchased for Saturday, May 7th at 2:00 p.m. will be good for Thursday, May 12th at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets originally purchased for Saturday, May 7th at 7:00 p.m. will be good for Saturday, May 14th at 7:00 p.m.

If you need to change your tickets, please contact Allison Madden in the Performing Arts Office (781) 446-6235 ext. 5720.

Tickets are still available online for all dates using this link.

Thank you for your flexibility and we look forward to seeing you at the show next week.

School Council Feedback Sessions

The WHS School Council is looking for feedback from parents, guardians, students, teachers and community members. The School Council has been working all year through the concept of quarters vs. semesters for grading after Student Congress proposed a return to semesters in late fall. If this change is implemented, students would receive official grades twice a year instead of four times in conjunction with the school's goal to have live grade information on Powerschool on a more regular basis.

Benefits:

Increased flexibility in scheduling assignments & tests for the teacher
Fewer concurrent stressful deadlines (academic cliffs)
Greater perceived ability to compensate for a disappointing grade

Drawbacks:

Fewer perceived fresh starts
Fewer hard deadlines for teachers to input grades
The potential for decreased feedback with no hard deadline

School Council would like to engage in more discussion and receive more feedback from the community before voting on the proposal. To that end, School Council is hosting two open forums for parents, guardians, community members, teachers and students to attend, provide their thoughts and ask questions. Each session will begin with a presentation by School Council.

The dates, times and locations of these two events are:

May 12th from 7:00 - 8:00 pm, in person, at the WHS Library

May 16th from 7:00 - 8:00 pm via Zoom (link forthcoming)

School Council will then meet on May 17th, during which meeting it will be decided whether to hold a vote on whether to submit the proposal to Dr. Lussier and then the School Committee for consideration.

Save the Date: Next WHS PTSO Meeting

Please save the date on your calendar for our next WHS PTSO meeting. It will take place on Wednesday, May 18 from 9:00 - 10:30 am in the Faculty Dining Room at WHS.

An agenda will be circulated closer to the date of the meeting. We plan to cover a range of topics including an update on the WHS PTSO budget, information from the Guidance Department about a change in technology platforms and a presentation on standards based grading. There will be an opportunity for Q&A during the meeting. We hope to record the meeting to share with the community.

School Committee Engagement Session for WHS Community

The School Committee has scheduled its second engagement session with the Wellesley High School community for May 19th from 4:00 - 5:00 pm.

Zoom information to join and participate:

https://wellesleyps.zoom.us/j/85804497828

Meeting ID: 858 0449 7828

Junior Class Parent Party

The Junior Class Parent Party will be held on Saturday evening, May 21st, while the students are on their boat cruise. It will be a great opportunity to connect (and re-connect) with other parents while raising money for the class.

Here is a link to the invitation, with more details:

Wellesley High School Jazz Combo and Rice Street Singers Receive Honors at MAJE Festival

On Saturday, April 30th, Wellesley High School hosted the annual MAJE (Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educators) Jazz Combo and Jazz Vocal Festival. This is the first time in several years that this event has taken place and the WHS Performing Arts Department was thrilled to host this event once again. In addition to hosting, WHS has two groups perform for the judges at the Festival.

The WHS Jazz Instrumental Combo received a Silver Medal for their performance. Members Ben Harris, Sebastian Papa and Alex Hosking received Outstanding Musicianship Awards.

The WHS Rice Street singers received a Gold Medal for their performance on Saturday afternoon. Molly Gandler, Brendan Althoff, and Alex Hoskyns received Outstanding Musicianship Awards. By receiving a Gold Medal, the Rice Street singers will be showcased at the MAJE Jazz Gold Medal Showcase being held at the Hatch Shell in Boston on Sunday, May 15th.

In addition, the judges invited the WHS Jazz Combo to also perform at the Hatch Shell in Boston so both ensembles will have the opportunity to play at and be featured at this state event!

The WHS Jazz Combo is advised by Steve Scott, WHS Director of Bands and the WHS Rice Street Singers are directed by Kevin McDonald, WHS Director of Choirs and accompanied by Chad Weirick.

Congratulations to both of these ensembles for their outstanding performances and for representing Wellesley High School and the Performing Arts Department so well at the Festival!

For additional information, please contact Michael LaCava, Director of Performing Arts.

2022 Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards

Congratulations to the 22 students from WHS who were recipients of 2022 Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards!

Gold Keys

Sophia Glastein, 12, Jewelry
Emily Harriston, 12, Ceramics & Glass
Maria Paz Lopez-Benitez, 12, Ceramics & Glass
Daniel Park 10, Architecture & Industrial Design
Stephanie Potts,12, Ceramics & Glass
Anna Thomas,11, Jewelry

Silver Keys

Caroline Cowley, 11, Printmaking
Lovisa Davidsson, 12, Mixed Media
Yasmeen Haidar, 12, Photography
Daniel Park, 10 Drawing & Illustration
Daniel Park, 10, Architecture & Industrial Design
Sofia Scirica, 11, Fashion
Bowen Staehly 11, Photography
Bowen Staehly 11, Photography
Paige Stephenson, 12, Art Portfolio
Gena van der Wal, 12, Digital Art
Gena van der Wal, 12, Mixed Media
Cecelia Wilde, 11, Photography

Honorable Mention

Sophie Kwan,9, Jewelry
Alexander Lee,9, Digital Art
Jeremy Lee, 9, Photography
Abby Minklei, 12, Printmaking
Benjamin Mirick, 12, Art Portfolio
Stephanie Potts, 12, Art Portfolio
Maja Tellander, 12, Jewelry
Maja Tellander 12, Jewelry
Gena van der Wal 12 Painting
Gena van der Wal, 12, Printmaking
Gena van der Wal, 12, Printmaking
Alana Viktor, 10, Photography
Iris Xia, 12, Art Portfolio,
Iris Xia, 12, Drawing & Illustration

Faculty and Staff Appreciation Week

Last week was Faculty and Staff Appreciation Week! The WHS PTSO was out in full force showing the community's appreciation for the faculty and staff who work tirelessly for our students. Special thanks to Lisa Fico and the WHS PTSO Faculty Appreciation Committee, who hosted the annual faculty and staff appreciation luncheon!

COMMUNITY UPDATES AND EVENTS

Mental Health Webinar

Please join the Wellesley Health Department on Monday, May 9^th, 7:00-8:30 pm for a free virtual workshop: Strategies for Communicating with Teens about Mental Health. Learn how to respond to struggling teens in our community from a mental health professional. Register today using this link.

Hosted by the Wellesley Health Department in conjunction with the Wellesley Free Library and Families for Depression Awareness.

Wellesley PAC Coffee

**DATE CHANGE** Please join the Wellesley PAC for our monthly coffee on Thursday, May 12 at the home of Christine Mizzi at 16 Suffolk Road from 9-10:30 am. It is a nice opportunity for families with children getting special education services to connect. We hope to see you at a coffee soon! The last PAC coffee for the 2021-2022 school year will be on Thursday, June 2.

Please email cdettwilermizzi@yahoo.com with any questions about the PAC.

Wellesley Historical Society's History in Bloom: A Spring Gala

Thursday, May 12, 2022 (Please RSVP by May 1st)

6:30-9:30pm

Wellesley Country Club Ballroom

This event is one of our largest fundraisers and is essential to the Society’s ability to continue to serve the Wellesley community. The Society is an independent 501(c)(3) organization which does not receive any regular funding from the Town of Wellesley. Funds raised will contribute to our General Operating Fund which allows us to:

- Collect, preserve, and share Wellesley’s historical records and artifacts

- Teach and share our history through tours, lectures, and exhibits

- Employ professional staff to care for the collections and provide research support

- Maintain the Society’s historic buildings

- Create community partnerships with Wellesley’s educational and service organizations, as well as with local businesses

- Host social events which combine food, drink, and a side of history

In addition to conducting the drawings for the winners of our accompanying raffles (Tickets on sale NOW), the event will feature a wide variety of items from our collections for all to peruse, including paintings from well-known Wellesley artist, Mary Brewster Hazelton, plans by noted landscape architect, Charles P. Gorley, Jr., a hand-made engagement outfit showcasing needlework by the Wellesley bride-to-be and her mother, and much more. In addition, attendees will have an opportunity to play for many prizes through fun, trivia-style games while learning more about the collections and Wellesley history. We will be serving heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

More information is available at: https://wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org/history-in-bloom

FREE EV Event!

Thursday May 12, 4 – 7 p.m., MassBay Community College parking lot.

Wellesley EV owners available to answer your Questionss. Come see the showcase of cars! Test drives are sold out.

Sign-up now: https://form.jotform.com/Drive_Electric/test-drive

Questions? Contact tconnolly@wellesleyma.gov

WMS Spring One-Acts

Over 60 WMS students are excited to present the Spring 2022 One Acts! In Perfect by Alan Haehnel, a young girl explores her sense of self as she grows up in a complicated world. In Darcy's Cinematic Life, a unique and daydreaming teenager explores her world as though the events of her life are scenes from different film genres. Both plays are performed both nights, with the entire show running about an hour.

Tickets are $5 for general admission and are available at wellesleyps.org/performingarts.

Thursday, May 12 at 7pm and Saturday, May 14 at 7pm - WMS Auditorium

Upham Color Dash

The inaugural Upham Color Dash will take place at Upham Elementary Campus on Saturday, May 14. It is an easy fun run with six stations along the mile-long course, participants will be showered with food-grade colored powder, finishing the run covered in a rainbow of colors. The celebration continues at the finish line party, with music, food, games and entertainment for the entire family.

Registration is quick and easy and can be done at www.uphamcolordash.com.

Rockin' the Firehouse is Back! A Friday Night Party for Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend!

Join us for an evening of live music and merriment, as we kick off Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend with the biggest party of the year – all to raise money for education!

Friday, May 20th at 7:30pm

TCAN - The Center for the Arts - Natick

A limited quantity of $20 Early Bird tickets are now on sale.

Prices will increase to $30 on May 1st, so get your tickets now!

All proceeds will support the Wellesley Education Foundation.

BUY TICKETS