One important lesson our students learn in school is the ability to advocate for themselves. Beginning in September, Grade 10 students began a respectful conversation with administration around the possibility of allowing Grade 10 students to travel off campus during lunch. After several meetings with Grade 10 student leaders, the WHS Operations Team, conversations with the superintendent, feedback from many families during the call-a-thon, as well as discussions with local business owners and neighbors, we have made the decision to allow off-campus lunch privileges for Grade 10, starting Wednesday, November 15th, as a pilot program. We did not take this decision lightly and there have been several ways the decision, the expectations, and the consequences for abuse have been communicated, including a whole school announcement you can read here.
I want to be very clear: YOU MAY OPT OUT OF YOUR STUDENT USING THE LUNCH PRIVILEGE. To do-so, please email Ms. Sulzman at Hope.Sulzman@watertown.k12.ma.us AND tell your student they are not allowed to go off campus for lunch. The majority of our students use our "cafeteria", especially as the cold has set in. The students that do go off campus use three businesses, predominantly (Metro Mini Mart, Mimi's Subs, and Dunkin Donuts). All of these businesses are within approx 100 yards of the school. Two of them do not require students to cross Main St. Many days, I am stationed on Main St. making sure students are crossing safely and behaving. We have received many compliments from business owners about how kind and respectful our students are. We will try expanding our off-campus privileges and report back with our findings. Please have a conversation with your student to echo the expectations outlined in the letter linked above. Finally, please note that 9th grade is NOT included in this shift and will not be receiving off-campus privilege.
