West Bridgewater Students, Staff and Families,

It is hard to believe we only have a couple of days left of school! Thank you to our students, staff and families for a wonderful year!

A reminder that our last day of school is on Tuesday, June 13th and it is a half day of school for students. We hope you all have a wonderful and safe summer break!

We wanted to make you aware of some exciting news about the West Bridgewater Athletic Program. As of the Fall of 2023 the West Bridgewater Athletic Program will be joining the South Coast Conference. Our administrative team including Superintendent Mr.Bodwell, Principal Mrs. Page, Assistant Principal Mr. Hanna, and Athletic Director Ms. Hammel have worked together for over a year on this transition. We have been a proud member of the Mayflower Conference for many years. We will certainly miss all our Mayflower League schools but we are looking forward to the transition to the South Coast Conference. West Bridgewater’s student-athletes, coaches and entire athletic program are excited about this opportunity.

The South Coast Conference (SCC) is made up of 2 Divisions: Blue and Gold. We will be in the Gold Division. Depending on the sport there will be crossover games with both divisions. The schools in the divisions of the South Coast Conference are listed below:

Gold Division

Bourne

Fairhaven

Joseph Case

Seekonk

West Bridgewater

Blue Division

Apponequet

Dighton- Rehoboth

Greater New Bedford Vocational

Old Rochester

Somerset Berkley

We hope everyone has a wonderful summer and we look forward to another awesome year!

Sincerely,

Jenn Hammel

West Bridgewater Athletic Director

Christine Page

West Bridgewater Middle/Senior High School Principal

James Hanna

West Bridgewater Middle/Senior High School Assistant Principal

Mark Bodwell

West Bridgewater Superintendent of School

We would like to thank Melissa and Jason Winchell for their dedication to our students and staff in WB. When Melissa was asked to help create a SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) 9 years ago, Melissa willingly and without hesitation stepped up and nailed it! She even enlisted her husband Jason! Together, they created what WB refers to as Inclusion Matters. Inclusion Matters is a group of WB parents whose focus is to support the families of students with disabilities or learning differences. They work collaboratively with the district and school committee to advise on issues related to special education. Thank You Melissa and Jason for your time, knowledge and dedication to all of our families!

We are fortunate to have Brigitte David and David Schmeer to lead Inclusion Matters. Thank you!

Thank you to Inclusion Matters for recognizing Middle School ELA teacher, Mrs. Mary Aiello-Jones for their Grant of Gratitude. Mrs. AJ goes above and beyond for ALL students and we are so thankful to have her in WB.

Spring Street and Rose L. MacDonald Schools received a banner from St Math for reaching the schoolwide 80% completion in ST Math! This is a very big accomplishment! Congratulations to all the students at both schools for achieving this milestone!!

Please contact your school nurse to arrange to pick up any medication before summer vacation and to make plans for next year.

OUR NURSING STAFF:

• MSHS/LEAD NURSE

• Julie Diedrichsen 508-894-1220 x1305 or jdiedrichsen@wbridgewater.com

• HOWARD SCHOOL

• Peggy Linskey 508-894-1250 x3115 or mlinskey@wbridgewater.com

• ROSE L. MACDONALD SCHOOL

• Lynn Moniz 508-894-1240 x4102 or lmoniz@wbridgewater.com

• SPRING STREET SCHOOL

• Sara Mando 508-894-1230 x2122 or smando@wbridgewater.com

As a reminder, current physical exam forms must be submitted to the school nurse upon registration with the district, prior to entering grades 4, 7, & 10, and for eligibility for sports. Please plan accordingly for next year.

School Immunization Requirements for 2023-2024

Medical exemptions (statement from a physician stating that a vaccine is medically contraindicated for a student) must be renewed annually at the start of the school year and religious exemptions (statement from a student, or parent/guardian if the student is <18 years of age, stating that a vaccine is against sincerely held religious beliefs) should be renewed annually at the start of the school year.

Dear parents of students with IEP's, As we wind down another wonderful school year, please help our department with some light housekeeping by returning the signature pages to your child's IEP as soon as possible. If you have any questions please reach out to the Special Education office at 508-894-1236. Thank you so much for your help!

CATS Camp - Check out the annual summer CATS (Cops And Teens Sports) Camp offered at the MSHS this summer. Open to students in grades 3-8. They also need HS students as volunteers (service hours). If interested in volunteering go to the MSHS office or see SRO Pope.

Wow, I can't believe we are finishing up another school year! I want to wish everyone a fun and restful summer!

Congrats to our Spring Sport teams! Below are some highlights from the season!

The girls tennis had a great season. Everyone on the team improved a great deal, and we are very proud of them. We were led by 7 incredible seniors, 4 of them being our wonderful captains. All of the ladies stayed together and worked hard to compete every day. I am very proud of what they have accomplished and excited to see what is next for this group!

The boys tennis team The boys tennis team had a great season as they were competitive in all their matches. They qualified for the state tournament vs Manchester Essex. Best of luck to all the seniors!

The girls track and field team had a competitive season as a team during the regular season. In the postseason, several individuals had standout performances. Aly Bassett and Ella Dunbury were League All-Stars. The 4x100 relay team (Kylie, Ava, Lasadia, and Aly) qualified for the D6 Championship. Alyssa Caldeira, Ella Dunbury, and Aly Bassett also qualified for the MIAA D6 Championship. Ella was the MIAA D6 Champion in the 2 Mile. Aly and Ella then qualified for the Meet of Champions, where they held their own against competitors from all divisions across all of MA. Finally, Lasadia Gurley was our solo senior who led the team by example and proved to be a versatile competitor sampling several events from throws to sprints to hurdles!

The boys track and field team-The boys' team had a very successful season, finishing 6-1 in the league and suffering only one narrow loss. We were led by an incredibly strong senior group, a lot of whom have been on the track team for many seasons and now had a chance to show their dominance. Tommy Perna and Sean Carter achieved League All-Star status by finishing first in their events at the league championships. Will DeLuca set school records in the 100 and 200 meters, Tommy Perna broke a 45-year-old school record in the triple jump, and the 4x100 relay team of Tommy, Jake Sousa, Sam Salter, and Will DeLuca broke their own school record. Will also qualified for the All-State championship in the 100 meters. Congrats to all!

The Varsity baseball team finished with a record of 9-11 and was 33rd in the power rankings, just missing out on our ultimate goal of making the tournament. The leadership shown by our captains was outstanding, every player on our roster gave 100% each and every game. Our season came down to the final 3 games, needing to win all 3 to qualify for postseason play. We beat Bishop Connolly, then played arguably our best game of the season and beat Saint John Paul but unfortunately lost to Bourne, the top team in Div 5, to end our season. Congrats!

The JV Baseball team had a fantastic season. The group has shown great growth over this year offensively, defensively and as a team. They wrapped up their season with a 9-3 win over Bourne! It is great to see their support of each other grow throughout the season whether they are up or down in the game. Congrats!

The varsity and JV softball team It was an up-and-down year for softball, but there isn’t a better group of ladies. The team lost a few games in a row in the middle of the season, but they wouldn’t give up. They kept working hard and were determined to do better. It has been a while since we have had this many older and younger players together on the varsity team. I hope the seniors realize any successful seasons in the future are because of their hard work with the younger players.

As one season/year comes to an end another begins!

For those students entering grades 7-12 (2023-2024 school year), below is some important information regarding WB Athletics for this coming school year:

**ALL PARENTS/GUARDIANS MUST ATTEND Athletic Informational Night on Wednesday, August 30th at 6:00PM in the WBMSHS Auditorium. This is for ALL seasons, not just fall sports. More information to follow

**Link to register for a WB Athletic team:

https://www.familyid.com/west-bridgewater-middle-senior-hs-activities-and-fees/west-bridgewater-2023-2024-west-bridgewater-athletics-registration

Start date of the 23-24 Fall/Winter/Spring Athletic Seasons:

*Tryouts/practices for the FALL season will begin on Friday, August 18, 2023 for Football and golf. All other sports begin on Monday, August 21, 2023.

*Tryouts/practices for the WINTER season will begin on Monday, November 27th, 2023.

*Tryouts/practices for the SPRING season will begin on Monday, March 18, 2024.

Again, I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and I will see you in the fall! Please feel free to email me with any questions, jhammel@wbridgewater.com

Join us for our sixth annual STEAM Camp for one or two glorious weeks--

July 10-13 and/or July 24-27, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Open to rising first graders through sixth graders. Participate in creative painting and art projects, science experiments, team relays, math fun, clay, sewing, group challenges, theater improvisation, outdoor games and more! Spots are filling so sign up to secure your child's enrollment! Make some amazing memories this summer while realizing how fun learning can be!

STEAM Camp Summer 2023 Signups (google.com)

Our School Nutrition Staff want to thank students for dining with us and to wish everyone a safe and fun summer break- we've had a great year!

Will meals be free for all students next year? The state has not made a decision at this point but as soon as we know we will communicate that information. Check out the Project Bread website for updates.

Eating Local!

West Bridgewater is committed to expanding the amount of local food served to our students. We will be partnering with C.N. Smith Farm and Vineyard Farms (formally C&C) next year to purchase the freshest and healthiest fruit and veggies grown right in our community. We are looking for other local vendors for produce, meat and dairy. If you know a local producer that might be interested in working with the school, please have them contact me at agrinder@wbridgewater.com.

Cafeteria balances must be paid by the last day of school. Notices have been emailed home and given to students. 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.

Money left in a student's lunch account will roll over to the next school year.

Food Assistance and FREE summer meals for students- Project Bread Food Source Hotline , West Bridgewater Food Pantry.

30 hour/week position and lunch monitor positions available for next school year! Interested individuals should contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or (508)894-1220.

June 2023

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 June 5, 2023, the following policies were reviewed and revised as indicated:

• BDE - Subcommittees Of The School Committee

• BDF - Advisory Committees To The School Committee

• BDG - School Attorney

• BEDG - Minutes

• BGD - School Committee Review Of Procedures

• JJF - Student Activity Accounts

• JIB - Student Involvement In Decision-Making

• JRA - Student Records

• JRD - Student Photographs

Additionally, the following policies were opened and are scheduled for review at the next school committee meeting on August 21, 2023:

• AC - Non-Discrimination Policy Including Harassment And Retaliation

• ACA - Nondiscrimination On The Basis Of Sex

• ACE - Nondiscrimination On The Basis Of Disability

• BEC - Executive Sessions

• JICFB - Bullying Prevention

• JIH - Searches And Interrogations

• JJA - Student Organizations

• JJE - Student Fund-Raising Activities

• JICFB-Form - Bullying Incident Reporting Form

• JICFB-Form - Parent Communication Form

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 in the WB Policy Index at https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/page/school-committee.

SAVE THE DATE - Monday, June 19th at West Bridgewater Country Club

Check out the link below to see the School Committee-approved calendar for next year 2023-2024

Check out the link below for information on the Summer Surround Care Program

Summer Surround Care 2023

Registration is now open. Come join the fun!

Summer Surround Care will be available from June 26 through August 11 2023 at the Middle Senior High School. The program will run Monday through Thursday. Daily and weekly rates are available to best fit your schedule. Open to students who are entering grades 1-6.

Activities will include: Arts & Crafts, Indoor and Outdoor Free Play, Music, Games, Waterplay & Sports. We will take walking trips to local places such as Friendship Park and Town Park. Registration and more information at: 2023 Summer Surround Care Registration

Check out the latest newsletters from each of the schools in the district by going to their website. They are also sent via email to all families. Every 2 weeks they are also sending out newsletters. These are filled with great information!!

Mark Bodwell, Superintendent of Schools

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