Wildcat Nation

We hope you enjoy a look inside some of our October highlights throughout the district! Thank you to our entire school community for contributing to so many important events, programs, extracurriculars and activities.

A look inside the final MSBA walk-through at the new Maria Weston Chapman Middle School. Thank you to all our partners and the incredible team who made this state of the art/one of a kind project possible!

WPS would like to extend a huge thank you to the families that attended last week's informational event on vaping with Dr. Schembri! Your participation and voices around complex issues, such as vaping, matter, and we are grateful for your support in addressing vape use. We are incredibly fortunate that Dr. Schembri and Kara Rinehard from South Shore Hospital were able to join us to share their expertise on the subject matter so we can know the facts when discussing vaping with our children and students.

If you were unable to attend the meeting, but are interested in resources like how to talk to your child about vaping and/or where to get help, please click here.

You can expect more information on this important issue, and some of the great work happening to improve the health, safety, social, mental, and emotional health of our students in the coming weeks!

Weymouth Public Schools Parent Councils are a motivated network of families, students, teachers, administrators, businesses, and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. The overall purpose of the Parent Council is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.

To join your school's Parent Council, check your school's website or weekly newsletter for upcoming meeting dates, or consider joining, or attending a monthly meeting, of the Town-Wide Parent Council or Special Education Parent Advisory Council!

The Weymouth Educational Technology department had the opportunity to showcase the strategies we’ve used in our 1:1 device initiative to ensure digital equity isn’t confined to the walls of our classrooms with a featured session at the recent MassCUE Fall Conference. This was the 40th conference of Massachusetts Computer Using Educators, and the first conference held in person since 2019. The session titled “Scaling Techniques for an Off the Scale 1:1” was led by Tech Director Brett Lindholm and Integration Specialist Mary Lou Buell. The workshop covered both the operational side and the teaching and learning aspects of a successful take home device program. Mary Lou and Brett used Pear Deck to make their session interactive. Several members of the EdTech department also attended the conference workshops, keynote addresses, and exhibits and are bringing powerful ideas for learning opportunities that incorporate technology back to Weymouth Schools.

The multiple-award winning Weymouth High Theater Company is proud to present “Seussical” on November 18, 19, and 20 in the beautiful new Theater at Maria Weston Chapman. You and your family will not want to miss it.

Fresh off of their Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild Regional Championship last year, the WHTC present this fun, bright, family friendly adventure with characters you know and love. The world of Dr. Seuss comes to life around you with the likes of The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Thing 1, Thing 2, and so many more! The 100 students of the WHTC have been hard at work creating the sets, costumes, lights, sound design, crafting the characters, rehearsing the choreography and the music, and everything else you and your family will enjoy as you learn along with these characters that “A person is a person, no matter how small.”

Tickets are available at: https://ticketstage.com/T/weymouthhs

Any remaining tickets will also be available for purchase at the Box Office inside the main entrance of Maria Weston Chapman on Tuesday, November 15 and Wednesday, November 16 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

Seussical Performances: The Theater at Maria Weston Chapman

Friday, November 18, 2022 - 7:00pm Curtain

Saturday, November 19, 2022 - 7:00pm Curtain

Sunday, November 20, 2022 - 2:00pm Curtain

Pumpkins and Poems was the biggest yet. The Academy Pumpkin Patch was huge! We picked 9 different winners from the different grade level divisions, including the Principal's Choice to the most creative pumpkin creations.

Last year, Academy purchased a new 3D printer for STEAM, the students have already started designing and printing with it...Check out this really cool blue shark the students and Ms. Durazzano made!

Also happening this week at Academy, we installed our digital display screens, one in the lobby and one near the cafeteria. This will allow us to showcase all of the great things happening at Academy as well as give kids shout outs, important information about upcoming events, contests and pictures of learning in motion!

Music class with Mrs. Brennan is striking a new chord. In the past, our students learned how to play music on the recorder...this year, we're upping the ante and bringing in something new...the keyboards. Take a look at the 5th graders playing them in classroom 5H.

Hands-on activities are an important part of our daily instruction. 4th grade participated in a STEM activity learning how the heart pumps.

Making Diwali Lanterns!

Leaf Science!

Raising money for the Ellie Fund!

Talbot students earned a Dress As Your Favorite Book Character Day through demonstrating ROAR behavior. (212)

Digging deep into new Reading Program Wit and Wisdom.

Outdoor Math Work!

is brought out the FUN at this year's Fun Run!

Great job Seach Elementary!

October was a busy month full of hands-on learning and seasonal fun at Wessagusset! Students in Grades 1-3 studied pumpkins in Science Centers, built rockets for STEAM week, enjoyed weekly Project-Based Learning challenges:

Wessagusset got a beautiful landscaping makeover thanks to the generosity and effort of parents Rich McInnes and Matthew Rountree, as well as volunteers from Life Community Church. We truly appreciate their hard work!

PBIS at Wessagusset is going strong! 5th Grade PBIS Ambassadors wrote essays explaining what makes them positive role models and school leaders, and an impressive group of students were chosen. We look forward to the positivity they will bring to Wessagusset this year! We are proud of all of our students who “ROAR” with Weymouth pride!

A big thank you to School Resource Officer Flanagan for teaching us about bus safety!

The 2022 Costume Fun Run was a huge success! Everyone had a blast being active, running with friends, and raising funds for Wessagusset. Thanks to the generosity of our community, over $24,000 was raised!

Grade 1 Teacher Brenna Murphy completed a ‘fun’ run of her own this month - the Chicago Marathon! Ms. Murphy accomplished this goal while raising money for Autism Speaks…we are so proud!

We had a great author visit this week with graphic novelist Gale Gallagan! It was a very cool opportunity for an up close and personal visit where the author talked about being a nerd as a kid and trying to figure out how to turn their love of comics into a job! They also talked about their brand new book Freestyle, which is super fun! The kids got to ask lots of questions and one 7th grader even got to share their own art with Gale! Thanks as always to An Unlikely Story Bookstore for another amazing opportunity!

MWC Musical Club "Fights" for Breast Cancer Awareness

A well attended Homecoming Dance. All the students had a great time. Thank you to the amazing students, staff, and volunteers who worked hard to make Homecoming a night to remember.

The boys in the below picture; Dylan Umano, Cam Nordstrom, Liam Kenneally, Joey Baker, Philip Glyndye and Connor Lovely, all did an exceptional job cleaning up the rubbish left all around the student section after every home game. They exemplify positive role models in our school community!

Weymouth High School is thrilled to announce it will be awarded the 2022 Trauma Sensitive Schools Impact Award on November 4, 2022. Mary Stefaney, Kathleen McDonald, and Linda Drew will be recognized and share their efforts at the Voices from the Field Convening.

Voices From the Field is led by practitioners for practitioners and highlights three initiatives implemented by educators intending to develop trauma-sensitive, safe, and supportive environments within their schools.

November is

• Tuesday, November 8 - Election Day - No School/Professional Development
• Friday, November 11: Veterans Day - No School
• Friday, November 18 - Sunday, November 20: Seussical the Musical
• Thursday, November 24 & Friday, November 25: Thanksgiving Break - No School

We're working on a new website redesign! Help us meet your website needs by filling out an anonymous and quick questionnaire. Your feedback will help us plan our future district and school websites.

Dr. Ashley Gosselin MPH, EdD

Director of Science- Weymouth High School

My name is Ashley Gosselin and I am the Director of the Science Department at WHS. I hold a bachelors in Microbiology, a Masters in Public Health and a Doctorate (EdD) in Curriculum and Instructional Design. I taught for 9 years as the Botany and Environmental Science Teacher at WHS. I live in Plymouth with my husband, two dachshunds, two rabbits and 8 chickens. I am driven as an educator to meet the needs of diverse learners because I myself have a non-traditional learning style. I have been a yoga instructor for 13 years. My favorite activity is international travel, I recently spent two weeks in Portugal over the summer.

Brynn Cooper, LICSW, SAC

Asst. Curriculum Director of Counseling

McKinney-Vento Liaison

Foster Care POC

I received my BA in Psychology at Bryant University and my MSW at Boston University. I have experience in community-based settings (hospitals, mobile crisis intervention) and state agencies (Dept. of Mental Health). Prior to coming to Weymouth I was the clinical director at a residential school for students 8-22 with intellectual and learning disabilities who had experienced trauma or were diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome. I have always had a passion for working with diverse youth and their families with a focus on ensuring youth have adequate tools to navigate the current landscape of the world and ensuring families have what they need to support their child/ren to the best of their ability.

I love the ability to think creatively about how to meet our students' needs both inside the classroom and in the community. Thinking of students as one piece of a larger puzzle and how we can best set them up for success is exactly why I was drawn to Weymouth in the first place, starting as the district's Wraparound Counselor in 2020. The ability to proactively provide education, tools, and resources to a population of almost 6000 students and their families feels like a tremendous responsibility, but also a tremendous honor. I look forward to utilizing my past experience + robust opportunities for collaboration with the community to focus on the success of the whole student.

We have two rescue pups from Arkansas, Guinevere and Zoey. We adopted them through Last Hope K9 and while we didn't adopt them together, they are inseparable. Prior to having kids we also served as foster parents to pups arriving to MA for adoption.

My door is always open (though you'll find me faster through email!) and I love hearing from colleagues and the community about how we can support our students and families in new and innovative ways.

Interesting Fact about Brynn:

I consider Peppermint Stick ice cream its own required food group :-)

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and the Weymouth Food Pantry is here to help!

If you would like assistance with food for Thanksgiving, please use this link to sign up. https://www.weymouthfoodpantry.org/sign-up-for-a-meal

Food will be distributed at Weymouth High School on Saturday, November 19th. Please contact the food pantry directly at 781-331-7682 with any questions.

The Backpack Program is BACK, and has expanded into a districtwide program! Each Friday students who are in need and enrolled in the program are discreetly provided a backpack of food to take home for the weekend. This is a weekly program that continues all year, or until you no longer wish to participate.

If you feel that your children would benefit from receiving additional food to meet their nutritional needs over the weekend, we encourage you to sign them up by filling out the form provided by their school. All information related to this program is confidential. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Backpack Program Founders:

Marisa Matta | marisa.matta@weymouthschools.org

Katie Mahoney | kathleen.lyon@weymouthps.org

Click Here to Register

Classes to be held at Weymouth High School in the MaryJo Livingstone Humanities Center

Enter through Door #13 (Handicapped Accessible) or Door #14 (Across from Tennis Courts)

Ages 14+ - CPR is free to WHS Students and Staff

Community Members Welcome to Participate! $17 fee to community members

Please feel free to share this opportunity with anyone you think would benefit

Details here - https://bit.ly/3qRskr4

Click Here for Online Sponsorship Registration

Click Here for Sponsorship Payment Form

The WHSAHF exists to recognize and honor the Weymouth High School Student-Athletes, coaches, Teams and Athletic Contributors for their achievements and contributions to the Weymouth High School Athletics' programs.

Inductees include: 1950 & 1951 Football Teams, Tony Manzelli, Mark Ducharme '75, PJ Silva '99, Bobby Powell '01, Catie Whelan '05, Jackie Moscardelli '08, Sam Bennett '09, Charlie Coyle '10, Jill Corcoran '11, Khary Bailey-Smith '12