THE SEDGWICK SCENE
October 30, 2026
Dear Sedgwick Families,
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying this beautiful fall weather!
Happy Halloween! Many thanks to Grade Seven Team Leader Lauren Masella and our fabulous SMS Cheer Committee members for engaging our entire faculty and staff in the Halloween Spirit, as is the tradition here at Sedgwick. Please enjoy the festive costume parade photos below in this edition of the Sedgwick Scene! We loved our student costumes as well, such a fun day was had by all.
AND..What a fabulous community-building event we experienced today here at Sedgwick! Our Turkey Bowl and Turkey Trot fundraising event held during the school day was a wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a faculty and staff with ALL of our students, and involve our families as well! Many thanks once again to our incredible teachers Matt Celio, Jared Leghorn and Shannon Saranich for their extraordinary efforts to organize the Turkey Bowl and Turkey Trot fundraiser! Much gratitude to head custodian Rob Savoir and his crew, our amazing security team, and so many countless others who worked so hard to contribute to these successful events. Sedgwick PRIDE at its finest! We are so fortunate and blessed to have this amazing community of support around us.
I would like to acknowledge our school counselors for hosting a wonderful breakfast this week for all of our students who are new to the district and new to Sedgwick Middle School. It is certainly not easy to be ‘new’ in middle school, and we want to ensure that our students feel supported and valued as important members of our school community. It was so nice to see our students connecting with each other and forming new bonds of friendship through conversation and interactive games. Thank you to our fabulous school counseling department for always going above and beyond to support our students! We recognize our grade level counselors: Ms. Brianna Gillette (Grade Six), Mrs. Meghan Johnson (Grade Seven), Mrs. Maxine Smith (Grade Eight), along with our intervention counselor Ms. Maggie Yezza. Last but not least, many thanks to Patty Pires, our Department Supervisor for the counseling department. Bravo!
Our SMS Girls Volleyball Team concluded their season this week, which is so bittersweet! The girls were AMAZING to watch, not only for their skills and talents on the court, but also for their teamwork, camaraderie, and tremendous school spirit displayed. GO Wildcats!! As Principal, I am so very proud of our girls and ALL of our students, staff members and families who came out to cheer on the team each week. Many, many thanks to our fabulous coaches, Stephanie Cloutier and Jenna Koretz (*formerly Massicotte), Athletic Director/Assistant Principal Steve Brouse, and the highly talented announcer with the play by play for each game, Matt Celio. Go team! What a fantastic season. We can’t wait for basketball season to begin!
As you are aware, Tuesday November 11th is Veterans Day. We will honor this very important national holiday with our students with an assembly in our auditorium where we will recognize both our staff members and our community members for their brave and honorable service to our country. Our students will engage in activities to learn about the significance of the holiday and to show their gratitude and appreciation for our beloved Veterans. Many thanks to Grade 8 Teachers Jen Weisberg and Brianna Bobo for organizing and coordinating this event for our school! Thank you to our student council members and teacher advisors Katie Seymour and Lisa Helvie, our fabulous Music Department, and our PTO. It takes a village, and we appreciate you! Here is a link to the invitation: SMS Calling All Veterans!
Our fall conferences are approaching quickly! Parent conferences will be held on Wednesday, November 18th through Friday, November 20th. Students will be dismissed at 1:30 PM on Wednesday and at 12:45 PM on Thursday and Friday of this week. We follow a Student-Led conference format here at Sedgwick, which empowers our learners to reflect and report on their progress here at school. Students articulate their learning goals and define action steps moving forward, which helps them to demonstrate ownership of their learning and effective communication skills within a collaborative process. Advisory teachers will work with students in advance to help prepare them for this experience. We are looking forward to these valuable meetings and engaging with you in meaningful and informative conversations about your child’s learning progression thus far. Here is a link to my letter with additional details: SMS Parent Conference Letter for Families - Fall 2026. Teachers will be sending out conference scheduling information in the near future to set a convenient date and time for your child’s conference. Conferences can be virtual or in person, whichever you prefer. Our first quarter marking period ends on November 2nd, with final grades available in Powerschool the following week.
Important Updates/Reminders:
Staffing Update to Share: Please join us in welcoming Rob Cersosimo as our long-term substitute in Eighth Grade PE through the beginning of December! Rob’s fabulous reputation in town precedes him, we are so fortunate to have him join us!
Please check out our NEW Sedgwick Middle School spirit wear! Many thanks to Assistant Principal Jillian Carnes for coordinating this opportunity for us to show our school spirit! Here is the direct link to the website for Sedgwick gear. If you have any questions you can reach out to Jillian directly.
Ongoing important safety reminder for all: We continue to witness unsafe driving in our parking lot in the morning and also along Wardwell - please be aware of students walking to and from school, please SLOW down and drive appropriately, even if you are in a rush. In addition, please keep the flow of traffic moving along Wardwell in the morning so that we don’t experience cars backed up onto Sedgwick Road. Pull all the way forward to the driveway entrance near the baseball field to drop off your child, as opposed to stopping mid-way and parking. Our security officers and WHPD will continue to be more visible and vigilant in our parking lot, crosswalks, and surrounding neighborhood areas. They will also be assisting us with traffic flow and expediting our morning drop off process in a safe and timely manner. SMS Safety Student Drop Off Procedures
We are looking forward to our first Grade 8 Dance of the year! It will be held on Friday, November 20th from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. SMS Grade 8 Dance! Many thanks in advance to our wonderful PTO for coordinating this fun event for our students! Stay tuned, more information to follow as the date gets closer.
A reminder to all families of the changes made last year as a district and as a school to our Safe School Climate policy. Here is a notification that explains in greater detail, which has also been added to our student/family handbook: School Climate Policy Information for WHPS. As you know, the safety and security of ALL of our staff members and students is top priority for me, and for us as an administrative team. A healthy school climate is essential to learning, and challenging behaviors (major or minor) are addressed immediately upon report so that we can continue to maintain an environment where everyone can thrive. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.
We would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone of our Anonymous Alert system, where families and/or students can make reports of concerning events, any type of mean acts or bullying behavior that may be occurring, or if you are concerned about the safety and/or wellbeing of one of our students, etc. The link is on our website, and we will continue to bring this up with students to raise awareness throughout the school year. Here is a link to a poster that we are displaying around the building, along with a qr code for easy access: SMS Anonymous Alerts. Thank you in advance - the earlier we are aware, the earlier we can take action.
Our Intramural Program is in full swing, as well as our Clubs and Activities! Late buses have started as well. See this link to our SMS webpage and click on “Announcements” OR “Clubs & Activities” to view our 2026-27 offerings that are available for students: Sedgwick Middle School Webpage.
Please feel free to reach out to me at any time with questions, ideas, or concerns that you may have. I encourage parent suggestions and value opportunities to brainstorm ideas to help make Sedgwick Middle School the very best that it can be! I am always available and appreciate your honest feedback. Our partnership is critical to our collective goal of providing the VERY BEST middle school experience for our kids. I am deeply committed to this mission at SMS.
Take care and be well,
Karen Kukish, Principal
