WMS Newsletter

We are excited to welcome Parents and Guardians to Back to School Night, a fantastic opportunity to experience a day in the life of your student by following their schedule and exploring all the different areas of the Walpole Middle School. Parents and Guardians will begin the night in the Auditorium for a brief presentation from the Administration and will then go directly to your student's homeroom. From there you will follow your student's schedule. You will be able to meet our incredible staff, tour our state-of-the-art facilities and hear about the curriculum, expectations and exciting happenings at the Walpole Middle School. Please arrive early to allow time for parking and seating in the Auditorium as we will begin promptly at 6:30. We look forward to welcoming you soon.

Please note this is for Parents and Guardians Only!

If your child needs to be dismissed during the school day for an appointment, we kindly ask that you send a note with your student to bring to the office that morning. If a note is not provided, please complete the Dismissal Google Form at least two hours prior to the dismissal time. This allows our office staff to prepare and ensure a smooth dismissal process.

We greatly appreciate your support in following these procedures to minimize disruptions to classroom learning. By notifying us in advance, we can avoid calling into classrooms and interrupting lessons as much as possible.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding!

As we prepare for the upcoming school year, we kindly ask all families to take some time to review the Student and Parent Handbook with your child. This document includes important information regarding the following: Absence and Tardy Policies, the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan, Cell Phone Policy, X2 Attendance & Grade Notifications, Floor Plan / Map, the Daily Schedule, and the Code of Conduct. Familiarizing yourselves with these guidelines will help ensure a smooth and successful school year for everyone.

Caregivers dropping off or picking up students should use the following process:

• Enter from Washington Street, loop around the teacher parking lot, and exit back onto Washington Street.

*Cars may not enter through the East St. entrance. This is for buses ONLY.

We kindly ask that you follow the directions of our staff who will be guiding traffic to ensure a smooth transition. For safety, please do not make a U-turn or pull out of the drop-off line. Please remain in the line and follow it all the way through the designated drop-off area. Thank you for helping keep arrival safe and orderly for everyone.

Consistent attendance is key to your child’s academic success. Each day of school builds upon the last, and repeated absences or tardiness can result in significant learning loss. On the other hand, being present and on time every day helps develop positive habits that extend beyond school and can impact future academic and professional success. We ask that you please schedule trips and vacations during designated school breaks. Planning travel outside of these periods can lead to missed instructional time, which may affect your child’s overall progress. We fully recognize the value of family time and vacations and appreciate your efforts to balance these with educational commitments by aligning your plans with school breaks. By doing so, we all contribute to a positive and uninterrupted learning environment. Please see the school year calendar for reference below.

We are excited to introduce and welcome several new members to our school community this year! These talented educators will be joining us in various roles, and I know they’ll bring great energy and expertise to our team.

Please join us in welcoming:

• Michelle Belcher -8th grade green math
• Emma Rohan -6th grade green math connections
• Kyle Hebert-7th grade blue math
• Cameron Culpan -6th grade orange math connections
• Rafael Martinez- CLC Moderate Special Education teacher
• Lia Burns-VIP ESP
• Allison Berger -6th grade ESP
• Elizabeth Gallagher -CLC ESP
• Rebecca Azer-6th grade ESP

• Lauren Olshaw- 6th grade blue Moderate Special Education Teacher

Counselors by grade this school year:

Grade 7- Ms. Cayer, lcayer@walpole.k12.ma.us

Grade 8- Ms. Gingras, kgingras@walpole.k12.ma.us

Grade 6- Ms. Giunta, sgiunta@walpole.k12.ma.us

Even the most careful students sometimes have accidents with their Chromebooks. That's why Walpole Public Schools offers optional Chromebook insurance for students in Grades 6-12. Without insurance, repairs for accidental damage will be charged for the cost of parts. These costs can add up! Typical costs (subject to change without notice) may be:

• Screen repair/replacement: $45

• Damaged AC Adapter (charger): $35

• Keyboard replacement: $50

• Full replacement cost of Chromebook: $240

• Other types of repairs, or more complex or additional damage found during repair may incur higher repair costs

If your child requires the administration of medication during the school day or the use of specific medical devices, including Epipens, please make arrangements to drop them off directly to the school Nurse. Students may bring in his or her own Epipen or Inhalers. All other medications should be brought to school by a parent/guardian. The nursing office is available for medication drop off from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM and can be reached at jslotnick@walpole.k12.ma.us or sludwig@walpole.k12.ma.us or by phone at (508) 660-7226. Please remember all medications should be given directly to the nurse.

Library Hours for Students

• Before school & during homeroom: Check out a book, read, do homework, study. 7:30 - 7:50 am

• Flex block: Visit the library to check out a book (closed on Day 3)

• Working lunch block: Come to read a book, do homework, or study. Sign up for a SmartPass with Mrs. O'Malley on the way to the cafeteria. There is no food allowed in the library.

• After school: 2:25-2:40pm for book check-out

Remember eBooks & audiobooks are always accessible through SORA on the Chromebook.

Check out the 9/11 book display in the Library as well as the 9/11 Pathfinder of resources that contains books lists, websites, primary sources, and more.

In Mathcounts, students work cooperatively to solve challenging math problems. They explore topics above and beyond the grade-level curricula; they develop a repertoire of problem-solving strategies; and they practice communicating mathematical reasoning. Mathcounts is a national organization. They provide us with a set of worksheets which are of two types: “Warm-Ups”, for which calculator use is not allowed, requiring the students to hone their mental math and pencil-and-paper calculation skills, and “Work-Outs”, which present more difficult problems for which calculator use is allowed.

The Mathcounts Club will meet every Tuesday and Wednesday from 2:30 until 3:40 in Mr. Ross’ classroom, room 209, starting on September 22nd. We are looking for students who are willing to make a real commitment, attending the sessions regularly and working diligently for the full hour and ten minutes. On a Saturday in early February, we will take eight students (two teams of four) to represent WMS at the regional Mathcounts competition, which usually draws about twenty local schools. After the competition, Mathcounts will end for the year, although we will have two additional sessions about a month later, when they release the competition questions, to go over them.

Mr. Ross is the coach of the Mathcounts Club. He currently teaches Social Studies on the 7th-grade Green Team, but for many years he was the eighth-grade math teacher at the Bird Middle School and is well suited to help precocious middle-schoolers develop their mathematical acumen. If you have any questions about the Mathcounts Club, you can contact Mr. Ross at rross@walpole.k12.ma.us.

The cost of the Mathcounts Club is $175. If your child wants to join Mathcounts and the cost presents a financial hardship, please contact Principal Ruggiero to discuss the possibility of a scholarship. To register, please complete this form. Then have your child bring a check for $175 payable to “Town of Walpole” to the main office. Membership in the Mathcounts Club will be limited to twenty students and will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. Thank you!

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September

1 - No School Students-Professional Development Teachers

2 - School Starts

4 - No School

7 - Labor Day, No School

9 - Back to School Night Grade 6

10 - Back to School Night Grades 7 & 8

18 - Early Release Day, 11:25

October

2 - WMS Picture Day

9 - Early Release Day, 11:25

12 - Columbus Day, No School

Find the month's school menu here.

Please be sure to visit the Virtual Backpack for upcoming events such as:

Principal

Website: https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/wms
Location: 625 Washington Street, Walpole, MA 02081
Phone: (508) 660-7226