The school administration and the School Committee are continuing to fine-tune the FY23 Budget. It is once again our goal to prepare and present a fiscally responsible budget that meets the needs of our students and staff in the district. Here are the upcoming meeting dates when we will be presenting budget information to the public

• March 7th at 6:30 pm - School Committee Meeting
• March 16th at 7:00 pm - Selectman's Meeting
• March 21st at 7:00 pm - Finance Committee Meeting

Below is a link to view the presentation that was made to the School Committee on March 2, 2022. We appreciate the WB families' support of our budget. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out.

Parents and drivers dropping off and picking up at the MSHS please do not use the Spring Street School parking lot to enter or leave the site. For those who do not know the Spring Street School is for PreK and K students. We ask that you do exactly what most of the drivers do and enter and exit the MSHS parking lot off Howard Street (across from the Police/Fire Station) Thank you to those who are doing what you should be doing and are following the established guidelines of driving around the MSHS. By driving through the Spring Street School lot you are creating an unsafe situation. The school buses and school vans are the only vehicles that should be driving through the Spring Street School lot. We have many young kindergarten students coming to Surround Care Program at the SSS and the parents park in the SSS lot. Our SSS staff also park in that parking area. It becomes dangerous for them to walk across the lot with the young students with cars coming from both directions. From being Principal at the MSHS for 10 years I understand it can be busy at drop off and pick up but please do not sacrifice convenience for the safety of our students. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Pick a Posy! - THINKING SPRING...PLANTING...GARDENING...BE SURE TO ORDER YOUR FLOWERS AND VEGGIES AND HELP YOUR KIDS TOO!

Please consider purchasing your garden's flowers and veggies while helping our 7th and 8th graders defray the cost of the end-of-the-year field trip and field day. This is an online fundraiser only. Please click on this link and start shopping:

https://maiellojoneswbridgewater.fpfundraising.com/

All purchases will be sent directly to your HOME shortly after the close of the fundraiser on 3/31. Please share the link below with family and friends. Please post to Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let's keep "growing" the 7th and 8th-grade treasury to help defray the cost of the end of the year fun. Thank you so much for your support!

From now through May 1st if you purchase a West Bridgewater School Colors muffin from Honey Dew at 475 West Center Street in West Bridgewater 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Class of 2022 Scholarship fund for a graduating Senior. Thank you for supporting our students!

As we move into March we start to plan for the state MCAS testing. Each building principal will be sharing testing schedules with the students and families. As always our educators are working diligently to prepare our students to excel on the state-wide tests. If you have any questions about testing schedules please reach out to the school.

West Bridgewater turned 200 on February 16th! If you want to see some great pictures and want to learn more about West Bridgewater check out "Images of America: West Bridgewater by WB resident James E. Bensons. Mr. Benson left behind a legacy of giving back to WB as a historian, member of the Historical Society, and the Town Moderator for years.

As of February 28, 2022, we are mask optional in all schools in West Bridgewater. We support those students and staff who choose to continue to wear masks. Masking is also now optional on all school transportation. Below you will find more information related to COVID-19 from DESE as well as all updates.

The At-Home test kits will go home today with the students and staff who have signed up. If you have not signed up but would like to receive the at-home test in the future please complete the google form below. If you have any questions please reach out to the building principal or building nurse.

On March 1, students in Ms. Fougere’s Cultural Explorations class along with members of the Spanish Honor Society, learned the bachata, a very popular dance native to the Dominican Republic. The Cultural Explorations class is currently studying a unit all about music and dance from the Hispanic world, so it was wonderful to see this come to life for them. Brandon Contreras, owner of Paso Sensual Dance Company in Pawtucket, RI, and his partner, Jacky, led students through a two-hour progressive lesson in bachata. They started off with the basic steps, and by the end, all participants were paired up and doing turns and advanced footwork. They had lots of fun and became true bachateros!

On Wednesday, March 2, students from Mr. Nenopoulos' and Mr. Ennis' AP US History classes traveled to the Kennedy Institute in Boston where they engaged in the Legislative process involving the current Voting Rights Bill being debated in the US Capital. The Kennedy Institute contains a full replica of the Senate chamber. This was a real hands-on and fun learning experience for all of us!

Here is an update from the 6th-grade team:

After two years of unrelenting screen time, it’s time for us to give technology a break and go to the woods. We are extremely excited about our return to the Nature’s Classroom program. It will take place April 11 - 14 at the Grotonwood Retreat Center in Groton, MA. While the Howard School has attended Nature’s Classroom at this site 20 times, this year it will be under a revamped program. This program (also known as Nature’s Classroom) is licensed by the original Nature’s Classroom and uses their curriculum and philosophy while incorporating modern educational practices such as Social-Emotional Learning. More information can be found at their website:

At this time, attendance to this program will require a rapid antigen and PCR test. We are currently working on a plan to facilitate this for every student and chaperone attending.

Nature’s Classroom has a strict policy of no phones or internet-connected technology. In their words: “Nature’s Classroom is about unplugging from technology and reconnecting with each other. We ask that students leave cell phones and other electronic devices at home.”

The program will incorporate team building, science, math, ELA, geography/social studies and the arts into an overnight educational experience. The program presents elements from the 6th-grade curriculum frameworks in a collaborative and immersive environment.

Some of the experiences students can look forward to including:

-Field group/Team building activities

-Day and night hikes

-Science fair

-Geodome building

-Animal tracking

-Animal dissections

-Family-style meals

-Nighttime sing-alongs

-Time to socialize with friends in a relaxed environment

For 20 years this program has been the capstone experience for the 6th-grade program and we cannot wait to go back. A HUGE thank you to all teachers and chaperones for going on this trip!

Students at RLM were excited for Green Eggs and Ham Day!!

Ms Messina’s class had fun “writing” in chocolate after finishing the read-aloud Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Check out all the Rose L MacDonald students who were recognized by their teachers for demonstrating Ingenuity in February. This is part of our Wildcat PRIDE (Passion, Respect, Ingenuity, Determination, Empathy) program. Great job everyone!

PreK and K students kicked off Dr. Seuss week by wearing green and having green eggs and ham for lunch! They always have a great time! Lots of fun activities planned for the week with the students. On Thursday it was Hat Day where many students did a wonderful job participating!

Access to Federal Payments For Families- Families and individuals with low or no incomes across Massachusetts could get thousands of dollars in federal payments this year due to recent policy changes, even if the family has never filed taxes before. This money could include missed stimulus payments, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the expanded Child Tax Credit. To receive this money, families need to file a tax return.

www.findyourfunds.org

The Cafeteria at Spring Street and Rose MacDonald celebrated Dr. Suess' birthday this week by serving Green Eggs and Ham for lunch on 3/2. So much fun!

A reminder that ALL students eat free ALL Year! The schools offer delicious and nutritious foods at each school. Check out all important information about the Food Services by clicking on the link below.

Congrats to all of our winter sports teams and coaches on a great winter season! We are looking forward to some tournament games this week!

*3/3-WEB Boys Hockey vs Shawsheen Valley AWAY 7:00 @ Hallenborg Rink *3/4- Hawks Boys Hockey vs Danvers AWAY 5:20 @ Essex Sports Center *3/4-Varsity Girls B-Ball vs Millbury AWAY 6:00 *3/4-Varsity Boys B-ball vs Frontier Reg. AWAY 6:00

*3/5- BR/WB Gymnastics MIAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP @ Algonquin Reg. HS 2:00PM - ***Tickets can be purchased using the link below:

https://gofan.co/app/school/MIAA

***Thank you to Lisa Drennan for coming and talking with our students this week about teamwork, positive words and good communication as we get ready to start our Middle School Unified basketball season this week! Unified basketball combines students with and without disabilities on the same team. It provides social opportunities, training and competition, and meaningful involvement for all students as one team with one goal. The team will include students from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Let's go Wildcats!! (I attached some pics)

***To any WBMSHS student/parent/guardian, if you are interested to learn more about playing sports in college? We will be holding a workshop titled " Playing Sports in College and the Recruiting Process''. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, March 15th, at 6:30PM in the WBMSHS Auditorium and will be presented by Jim Pereira, the Athletic Director at the Diman Vocational Regional Technical High School. Jim 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! He also coaches baseball and is the Owner of Proway Baseball. If interested, please fill out the form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtl4XYXTj5jLnmrnK9wJgo0vo6xIY0dD-x2FTTKz3NDnMgOw/viewform?usp=sf_link

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Hammel, jhammel@wbridgewater.com.

***Looking for information about the WBMSHS Athletics. Please go to the Athletic Page of our MSHS website: https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/o/athletics

Here you can find some information such as:

*Schedules

*Coaches Name and Contact email

*Sports Registration Link

*Important Documents

*Link to home live-streamed athletic events

SAVE THE DATE - West Bridgewater Academic Showcase will be on May 12th from 5:30-7:30 pm. This will be a great night where WB students and staff showcase so many of the amazing things going on in the classrooms. This will be a great night and we hope to see you there. Much more information will be coming so stay tuned!

Sitting Down with Brennan Srisirkul - Thursday, March 10th from 7-8 pm. Join us for an hour-long conversation about the importance of diversity, equity and embracing adversity, and inclusion. Zoom ID is 973 6874 5608. More information will be sent out as it gets closer to the event.

Thank you to those who attended the Coffee Hour on February 18th. Thank you to guest Debbie Llanes, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. The next Coffee Hour with Mr. Bodwell will be on Friday, March 11th starting at 9:15 am. The other building principals also continue to have Coffee Hours. We feel this is a great way to get information out to families and allow for people to ask questions and keep an open line of communication.

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