West Bridgewater Students, Staff and Families,

Once again the newsletter has lots of valuable information as well as some great pictures of our students. We hope you enjoy reading the newsletter and have a wonderful day!

It is hard to believe we only have a few months of school left in this academic year. The spring is always a busy time with lots of things going on.

It is budget season and it is our goal to make sure all families are as informed as possible about our needs in West Bridgewater. This past week there have been 2 School Committee meetings where we discussed the budget. These were on WBTV Channel 9.

I also encourage you to review the FY24 Budget Book. This is a new document this year that hopefully helps to provide important information about our budget and our needs. This document is lengthy but a lot of time was spent creating it so we hope you find it useful and informative.

We have also done presentations at both School Committee Meetings last week. Both can be found on the link below. I would suggest looking at the March 9th bc it is the same information plus a few additional slides.

If you have any questions about the FY24 Budget please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. Bodwell. This budget was designed to meet the needs of all students and staff in our district.

Kindergarten students had a blast on their field trip to the Zeiterion Thester in New Bedford to see the show “Harold and the Purple Crayon”. They did such an amazing job being a great audience and really had a lot of fun!

Check out the Drama Club as they proudly present Legally Blonde on March 31st at 7pm and April 1st at 2pm and 7pm. General admission is $15 and are available pre-show or at the WBMSHS office.

Preschool registration has been extended through April 6th. Please click on the link below to access the registration. Please email Mrs. Maureen Ellis at mellis@wbridgewater.com for more information or for any questions.

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

A huge thank you to all who participated in our World Culture Night this week which was held at the MSHS! The night was filled with food, dancing, music, and most importantly culture. Families and students shared their love of language and heritage through various workshops as well. The evening concluded with Induction Ceremonies for both our French and Spanish Honor Societies, along with honor cord recognition for our seniors. It was a true representation of the diversity and goodness that the West Bridgewater community has to offer! We look forward to seeing you again next year. In the meantime, please support these local businesses or artists who took the time to donate their goods and services to our event.

Niko Bar and Grill

Zorba’s Pizza

Crystal’s Kitchen

Lawadessa

Mediterranean Bar and Grill

Not Just Thaboule

Freda’s

Boston Tavern

Johnny Macaroni’s

Chipotle (Raynham)

Catarina Teves Hambly

Simba African Dance Academy

Check out all the pictures in the album below

Friday, March 17th from 2:15-3:45 at the MSHS.

We were so excited to offer the Self Defense and Awareness Class with a focus on situational awareness and preparedness through mindset training at the MSHS last week. Physical skills included defensive posture and hands-on techniques, some with striking pads and partners.. The instructor was a local police officer Dana Smith who also owns his own dojo Budo Karate Academy for 30 years. Officer Smith is a DARE officer in Plympton and has worked with WB students in the past. Also thank you to WB Officer Church for attending and Ayla and Ryan Sergi who helped in the demonstrations. It was a great event and thank you to Officer Smith!

Officer Smith (see article above) is offering more training for WB students and families. The target audience is students close to graduation (Juniors and Seniors) and parents. No dates have been set but here is some information:

• 3 nights 1 1/2 to 2 hours each
• 7:00 - -8:30 pm Friday (Dates not set yet)
• Training held at MSHS
• $60 per person for all three sessions
• Situational awareness and preparedness
• Hardening the target
• Expanding awareness through daily observation
• Understanding the approach and interview of the potential attacker
• Using the surroundings to one’s advantage
• Hands-on proven self-defense techniques
• Defensive posturing and body language
• Grabbing and restraint defenses
• Effective striking
• Explanation of less-than-lethal tools and the legal consequences of pepper spray/TASER/stun guns
• This is a basic overview and he will open the discussion to concerns and ideas

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

Our next Early Release day is Wednesday, April 5, 2023. To accommodate parent's schedules, we offer the opportunity for your child to remain at school after dismissal as part of our Surround Care program at the Spring St. School for Kindergarten, Rose L. MacDonald School for grades 1-3 and the Howard School for grades 4-6.

The fee is $9/hr. Students must bring their own lunch or you can pre-order a bagged lunch from the cafeteria. A snack/milk (or juice) will be provided mid afternoon.

***To be sure that there is adequate staff available, we ask that you register no later than Monday, April 3rd at noon. Registrations will not be accepted after that time.
***Please complete the registration, even if your child is a regular attendee in the program so that we know your plans for the day.

Half-Day Surround Care Registration 4/5/23

We will once again be having an Academic Showcase at the MSHS this spring. This annual event is much anticipated and we have students and staff from all 4 schools showing off the great things that are going on in the WB schools. Much more information to follow!

Dear Inclusion Matters Community,

Thanks to all those who attended Inclusion Matters' webinar earlier this week as we learned to support our children's healthy sexual development. You can view the recording of the webinar online here.

Inclusion Matters' final webinar for the school year will be on Thursday, May 18 from 7 - 8 p.m. Join us as we learn how to support our children with dyslexia with Dr. Joanna Christodoulou, Associate Professor within the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at MGH. Learn more about the event online at https://fb.me/e/2QGFAlFcB

The WB DPW does a great job making sure the roads and parking lots are cleared of snow. They also recently did a great job making sure the front of the MSHS looked great with new wood chips. Thank you for all your hard work cutting back the ornamental grass and working on the beds!

We currently have openings in our Preschool program. Children must be 3 years of age to enroll:

• Tuesday/Thursday 9:00-11:30 am
• Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday 12:10-2:40

Please contact Mrs. Ellis at Spring Street School for more information!

mellis@wbridgewater.com or 508-894-1233

WB Athletic Update:

Believe it or not our Springs Sports season has begun! Great being outside and seeing all the kids getting ready for their season! We wish them good luck!

Athletic Schedule for next week:

3/27, 4pm - Varsity Softball @ Joseph Case

3/28, 3:30PM - Varsity Baseball Scrimmage HOME vs Pembroke

3/29, 4PM Varsity/JV softball @ Canton

3/30, 3:30PM - Girls and Boys Track meet HOME vs East Bridgewater

3/30, 3:30PM Varsity Baseball @ Pembroke

3/30, 3:30PM MS Unified Basketball Jamboree @ West Bridgewater

3/31, 3:30PM, Boys tennis at Brockton

3/31, 3:15PM, Girls Tennis HOME vs Brockton

3/31, 3:30PM, JV and Varsity Softball HOME vs Southeastern

Shout Out to Coach Pike and Coach Daley for organizing a company called “The Run House” to come and speak with our track athletes about the items they offer. Athletes were able to purchase shoes, sunglasses and apparel that they customized right at their table! So cool!

Please come check out our MS Unified Basketball Jamboree on March 30th at 3:15PM It is being held at West Bridgewater. We will have multiple teams playing and will be a fun day for all!

Do you want to play sports in college? Jim Pereira, the former Athletic Director at Diman Regional Vocational Technical HS and Owner of Proway Baseball, will speak about the College Recruiting process

on April 3rd, 6:30PM in the WBMSHS Auditorium for students in grades 7-12 and hosted by Ms. Hammel. Mr. Pereira has been involved in college athletics for years and he has helped dozens of athletes attain their dream of playing a sport in college, including his own daughter! If you are interested, please email Ms. Hammel at Jhammel@wbridgewater.com.

*You can find the spring sports athletic schedule on the Arbiter Live Website: https://arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=25160

Make sure to follow along on Twitter for all your athletic updates

WBMSHS Athletics (@WBMSHSAthletics) / Twitter

Good Luck to all of our Wildcats!!

PCC is a program that is held over the summer at Stonehill College. Please click below to read information about this great opportunity for students. If you have any questions please contact the MSHS Guidance Office.

Save the date for the next Superintendent Coffee Hour with Mr. Bodwell. More details to follow.

Field trips- With Spring comes student field trips. Whether your student is in elementary school or in high school, the WB Food Nutrition staff can pack their lunch! Look for the links to google lunch order forms along with permission slips. These lunches are FREE!

Universal free school meals have helped support students and families the past two years. On average, 56,665 more Massachusetts children participated daily in school lunch in October 2022 compared to October 2019. Not having to pay for school meals could save families up to $1,200 per student per year (source: Project Bread). Legislation is being proposed in MA to make universal school meals permanent.

Adding funds to a student's lunch account. While breakfast and lunch continue to be offered at no cost, extra a la carte items such as bottled water, freshly baked cookies, ice cream and milk for students that bring lunch from home are offered for sale in the cafeteria. Students must have money on their lunch account to purchase any extra items. 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.

Click on WB Food Services to find March's menus.

Food Assistance- Project Bread Food Source Hotline , West Bridgewater Food Pantry.

30 hour/week position available! Interested individuals should contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or (508)894-1220.

The Athletic Department wanted to share links to our Spring Sports Apparel Stores!

Softball

https://wbsoftball2023.itemorder.com/

Baseball

https://wbbaseball2023.itemorder.com/

Track

https://wbtrackspring23.itemorder.com/

Tennis

https://wbtennis2023.itemorder.com/

Check out the latest newsletters from each of the schools in the district. Every 2 weeks they are also sending out newsletters. These are filled with great information!!

If you are interested or know someone interested in being a substitute teacher please click on the link below. If you are not sure and have any questions please feel free to reach out to the building principal and ask them any questions you may have about the position. The pay is $100 for the day.

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