Wildcat PRIDE

West Bridgewater Students, Staff and Families - we know the holiday season is a busy time of year for everyone. We hope that you are all doing well. We hope that you find this newsletter informative and as always if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out.

Congratulations to this year's award winners! These are students who excelled in their MCAS performances. All of the students were recognized both at the school by the MSHS administration and also at the most recent School Committee Meeting. Great job everyone.

Congratulations to the Howard School Peace Poster Contest winners. 1st place - Chloe George, 2nd Place Tristan Hambly, 3rd Place Arran Hambly. The students were recognized at last night's School Committee meeting. Great job!

We are anxiously awaiting more information from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The MSBA has a Board meeting scheduled for later this month. We have submitted Statements of Interest for the Spring Street School and the Rose L MacDonald School. We will be submitting a Statement of Interest for the Howard School when the portal opens in January. Once we have more information it will be shared with everyone. If anyone has any questions, concerns, or thoughts please feel free to reach out to Mr. Bodwell.

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

JiJi, the ST Math mascot visited Kindergarten classes last week. The students were so excited to meet with JiJi and show all of their hard work with ST Math. Great job Kindergartners!

We wanted to update you on the WBPS Planning Process on our district plan. We have a great group of educators, administrators, parents, students and school committee members on the committee. We have had 6 total meetings. We have developed common themes and are writing strategic objectives and strategic initiatives and outcomes. After the plan is created we will start the action planning. Action planning will be done every year. This plan will be presented to the School Committee. Thank you again to all who have been part of this amazing process to help move the WB schools forward!

December Vacation Week Surround Care

We are happy to announce that we will be holding a December School Vacation Week Surround Care Program!! Many of our regular Surround Care staff will be there to oversee the fun! Arts and crafts, gym games, outdoor play, and lots of fun winter activities will be offered.

The program will be held at the Rose L. MacDonald School from Tuesday, December 27th through Friday, December 30th. The hours are from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Snacks will be provided each day. Participants should bring a bagged lunch.

We are offering both daily and 4-day registrations. Cost is $75/day or $250 4 days.

Space is limited, so register early using the link below.

Prepayment is required to confirm your spot in the program.

Please use the following link to register:

December Vacation Club Registration

There was a Superintendent Coffee Hour with Mr. Bodwell today, Friday, December 9th at 9:15 am at the MSHS. Thank you to our guest Ms. Jenn Hammel, West Bridgewater Athletic Director. Thank you to those who attended the meeting this morning, here are the topics that we discussed:

• MSBA Update - Potential New Elementary School Project PreK-6
• FY24 Budget Process and Priorities
• WB District Plan for the Future
• Parent/Teacher Conferences Feedback
• Fall Sports Recap and Winter Sports Information
• Superintendents Council Meetings
• John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Recipients
• Holiday Events at Schools
• Future Guest Speakers for Coffee Hours
• Newsletters Feedback
• Check out our website https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wbridgewaterschools and Twitter @WBPSwildcats

The next meeting is on Friday, January 13th at 9:15 location is TBA. We hope to see you there!

WILDCAT TOY DRIVE!

It was recently brought to our attention that there is an increased need for assistance with West Bridgewater children and families this Holiday Season.

In partnership with the West Bridgewater Fire Department , West Bridgewater Public Schools, and the West Bridgewater PTO, we are having a Toy Drive to gather toys and gift cards for local West Bridgewater families in need. (Ages of the children range from 5 to 17.)

If you would like to donate, please drop an unwrapped toy or gift card to the police or fire station lobby. Or if you have a school aged child, please have them bring the item to their school. There will be collection bins at each location.

Any questions, please contact our School Resource Officer, Officer Pope at tpope@wbpd.com or 508-586-2525 ext 5119.

In partnership with the WB PD, WB Fire and WB Public Schools the PTO will be collecting unwrapped new toys at our event (see information below).

Any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to reach out to SRO Pope at 508-586-2525 ext 5119 or tpope@wbpd.com

Want to win a ride to school in a police car? Raffle tickets will be available for purchase during Santa’s Breakfast or in advance using the order form below. The winner will be called during Santa’s Breakfast on Saturday, Dec. 10th. You do not need to be present to win. Please email Mrs. Enos at jenos@wbridgewater.com with any questions.

Order Form

Stay connected on facebook @WBridgewaterPTO

The cafeterias are starting to get winter citrus including fresh mandarin oranges. Fresh grapes have been really popular with the students and the MSHS even served Kiwi this week. Lot's of vitamin C!

Adding funds to a student's lunch account. 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 December's menus.

Food Assistance-The holidays can be a difficult time for many. If you or someone you know is having trouble making ends meet, Project Bread Food Source Hotline is a great resource. West Bridgewater residents facing food insecurity can also utilize the West Bridgewater Food Pantry.

There is an immediate opening in our School Nutrition program. Interested individuals should contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or (508)894-1220.

December 2022

News from the Policy Subcommittee

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 December 5, 2022, the following policies were reviewed and revised as indicated:

• EEA: Student Transportation Services

• EEAA: Walkers and Riders

• EEAEA: Bus Driver Examination and Training (New)

• EEAEB: Drug and Alcohol Testing for School Bus and Commercial Vehicle Drivers (New)

• EEAG: Student Transportation In Private Vehicles (New)

• EEAJ: Motor Vehicle Idling On School Grounds

• IHAMA: Parental Notification Relative to Sex Education

• IHAMB: Teaching About Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs

Additionally, the following policies were opened and are scheduled for review at the next school committee meeting on January 9, 2023:

• GBEC: Workplace Drug and Alcohol Abuse Policy

• GBED: Tobacco Use on School Property by Staff Members Prohibited

• JICH: Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Use by Students Prohibited

• ADC: Tobacco Products on School Premises Prohibited

• DBJ: Budget Transfer Authority

• DGA: Authorized Signatures

• DH: Bonded Employees and Officers

• DJA: Purchasing Authority

• DJE: Procurement Requirements

• DK: Payment Procedures

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 at https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/page/school-committee.

Thank you, West Bridgewater Public Schools, for rocking your socks with us last week!

We loved your different socks as we celebrated how #BeingDifferentRocks and raised disability awareness.

All together, you raised $893 to support Inclusion Matters. Thank you for your support of our work with families with special needs in WB!

Inclusion Matters is a group of West Bridgewater families whose kids have IEPs and 504s. We offer webinars and events for families. If you'd like to learn more about our events for parents, guardians, and students, please email us at InclusionMattersMA@gmail.com to join our private email list.

See our upcoming events on our Facebook page at @InclusionMattersMA and our website at www.InclusionMattersMA.com

Upcoming Fundraiser in December - Rock Your Socks!! More information coming out in future newsletters!

What a great fall the Wildcats had! Golf finished second in their conference, field hockey were MAC league champs with a record of 11-5-3, and volleyball made it to the Elite 8 for the first time in program history with a record of 19-3. Boys soccer made it to their tournament with a record of 10-3-7, while the girls posted a 16-4 overall record, being crowned MAC league champions. Cross country had great years as well, girls winning the Mayflower championship and the boys winning Mayflower title. Football posted an 8-3 record, winning the “Battle of 106” vs Southeastern. Perhaps the most important and influential champions for the fall season, helping all of our wildcat teams strive for greatness was our cheerleading team. Not only winning the Mayflower league title, qualifying for the South Regionals but providing a positive “vibe” for all! Congrats to all of our Fall participants.

We also want to say how excited we are for Winter Sports starting. We had an amazing week 1 and the teams are happy to be back! Boys and Girls varsity basketball have their home opener against cross town rivals East Bridgewater on December 14th at 4:30 and 6:00! The boys and girls track team gets their season started on December 15th at Wheaton college. The girls Ice Hockey team gets started at home on Saturday December 10th 6:30 pm and the boys team starts Saturday December 10th 8:00 Pm at Gallo. The gymnastics team gets started on Wednesday January 4th at 8pm at Spectrum gymnastics against Notre Dame Academy. Come out and cheer on our Wildcats!

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.

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