West Bridgewater Wildcat PRIDE

Hello WB Students, Staff, and Families,

I hope you all have had a great start to the 2025–2026 school year. It is such an exciting time of year as we settle into routines, reconnect with friends and colleagues, and begin new learning adventures.

In this newsletter, you’ll find updates from each of our schools, reminders about upcoming events, and highlights of some of the amazing work happening across the district. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read through, it’s a great way to stay connected and informed about all that is happening in the West Bridgewater School District.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!

Mark Bodwell
Superintendent

Check out the newsletters for each of the 4 schools in WB! Lots of great information. If you have not yet had an opportunity to read these you will find lots of great information as well as many great pictures from each of the 4 schools!

Spring Street School https://secure.smore.com/n/bgnxy

Rose L MacDonald School https://secure.smore.com/n/nzmxch

Howard School https://secure.smore.com/n/703dk

Middle/Senior High School https://secure.smore.com/n/rnfjw

This information has also been shared with WB Families and Staff via email and posted on the district Facebook page. I will also continue to provide updates in the District Newsletter, at School Committee meetings, and at the monthly Superintendent Coffee Hour meetings. You and the entire community must have as much information as possible about the project.

General Information

• Grade Configuration: K–6

• Design Enrollment: 1,075 students

• Location: Behind the current Rose L. MacDonald School

• The MSBA reimbursement rate is 54.79%, which is the base rate (see FAQs for more information). This is the amount of funds that will be allocated by the state for the project.

• Building Layout:

  • Lower School (Grades K–3) in a two-story wing

  • Upper School (Grades 4–6) in a three-story wing

• Construction Plan: Two phases

  1. Shared spaces + Grades K–3

  2. Grades 4–6

• Site: The area has wetlands, but the project team and engineers are designing a plan that reduces environmental impact compared to current conditions.

• Project Team:

  • Architect: HMFH

  • Owner’s Project Manager: PMA

  Other notes:

• District offices and PreK will remain at Spring Street School.

• Teachers, administrators, and staff have toured multiple schools to guide planning.

• Ongoing meetings are happening with town boards, educators, and public safety officials to gather input.

Project Resources

• Project Website

• FAQs

• School Building Committee Presentations

• Project Team Information

• Current Elementary Buildings

• Subscribe for Updates

• Community Forum Materials

• MSBA Submittals

Upcoming Meetings & Timeline

• Curriculum Nights: The Project team will attend Rose L. MacDonald and Spring Street events. We have already attended the MSHS and Howard nights

• School Building Committee Meetings: October 7 & October 21

• Schematic Design Program Submission: October 23 to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

• Community Forum: Tentatively scheduled for November 6.

• More Community Forums: December & January (in-person and online).

• Town Meeting & Ballot Vote: Late January 2026 (exact dates TBD).

Upcoming Videos

We will be creating short videos to help the community learn more about the project. These will be shared starting in mid-to-late October.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out:

mbodwell@wbridgewater.com

WBES@pmaconsultants.com (Owner’s Project Manager)

Make sure your school nurse has your student’s most up to date health information using these forms:

MIDDLE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

HOWARD SCHOOL

RLM & SPRING STREET SCHOOLS

These forms also allow you to give consent to the nurse to administer standing order medication during the school day. At the MSHS the options are acetaminophen, ibuprofen, tums and benedryl. At Howard there is acetaminophen only. We do not have standing orders at RLM or Spring Street. Any other medication requires a doctor’s order. Please see our website for more information or contact your school nurse anytime during the school day.

OUR NURSING STAFF:

• MSHS/LEAD NURSE

• Julie Diedrichsen 508-894-1220 x1305 or jdiedrichsen@wbridgewater.com

• HOWARD SCHOOL

• Sara Mando 508-894-1250 x3115 or smando@wbridgewater.com

• ROSE L. MACDONALD SCHOOL

• Priscilla Dennis 508-894-1240 x4102 or pdennis@wbridgewater.com

• SPRING STREET SCHOOL

• Carissa Monize 508-894-1230 x2122 or cmonize@wbridgewater.com

Here is the approved the 2025-2026 school calendar. It has been posted on the district website https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/ . Below is the link

TRI-TOWN VETERANS’ DAY PARADE

10:00 A.M. Tuesday, November 11, 2025

WEST BRIDGEWATER

Parade Theme: For Their Service, We Are Grateful

AWARDS FOR:

• Best Float or Theme
• Best Marching Unit
• Judges’ Choice

PARADE ROUTE: N. Elm Street, left onto W. Center Street (Route 106), left onto N. Main Street (Route 28), to Town Hall Gazebo.

If you are interested in marching, contact the Town Clerk’s Office 508-894-1167 or the Veterans Agent’s Office 508-436-7211 by October 30, 2025.

Check out members of the 3rd grade team at the Rose L MacDonald! What a team!

Check out some pictures of the RLM staff and students as we open school.

In art class at RLM, we read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, a story that celebrates creativity and the courage to start with just one small mark. Inspired by the book, our young artists each created their own unique artwork starting with a single dot — turning it into everything from colorful creatures to abstract masterpieces. We’re so proud of their imagination and boldness!

Great job by our 3rd grade students! It was awesome to see them working on them in all of the classes. They were learning and having fun at the same time! Well done students and staff!

Welcome to the 25/26 school year! As the district’s School Resource Officer I am excited to be back! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Officer Packard, and I have been a Police Officer with West Bridgewater for 11 years. I am here as a resource for your children and most importantly to ensure that they have a safe school year. My office is located in the High School in the main office. I can be reached at cpackard@police.westbridgewater.gov or by calling the main office and requesting extension 5100. Feel free to reach out to me for anything!

Great News! Universal School Meals is permanent in Massachusetts. All students can choose to eat both breakfast (snack) and lunch at no cost to families!

Each year more and more families are trusting WB's School Nutrition staff to provide healthy and delicious meals to fuel their children's body and minds. We are serving 1000 lunches a day district-wide!

For menus and more information check out the School Nutrition Home Page.

Eating Local!

West Bridgewater is committed to expanding the amount of local food served to our students. We are partnering with C.N. Smith Farm, Vineyard Farm (formally C&C) and Langwater Farm this year to purchase the freshest and healthiest fruit and veggies grown right in our community. We are looking for other local vendors for poultry meat and dairy. If you know a local producer that might be interested in working with the school, please have them contact me at agrinder@wbridgewater.com.

Adding money for a la carte items: While meals are free, students must have money on their accounts to buy extra items. Milk is available for students that bring meals from home for $.75 at all schools and Howard and the MSHS offer many healthy snacks and bottled water. 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.

Any questions or concerns, please contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director at (508)894-1220 or at agrinder@wbridgewater.com.

Great news! We’re excited to continue our partnership with Raising Multicultural Kids (RMK) this year. Their engaging, student-centered programs support our ongoing commitment to fostering inclusion, celebrating diversity, and empowering young people to build a more compassionate and culturally aware community.

This summer, I had the opportunity and pleasure to co-present with Denise Lane from RMK at the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS) Conference in Mashpee. Together, we shared our district’s work around equity, inclusion, and student voice, highlighting the powerful impact of our partnership on school culture. It was an inspiring experience to connect with educational leaders from across the state and showcase how RMK’s mission aligns with our goals for student empowerment and belonging. We look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead!

This week, students at all 4 schools (K-12) participated in a bus evacuation drill as part of our regular safety procedures. The drill helps students practice how to safely exit the bus in case of an emergency. Drivers and staff guided students through the process, ensuring everyone knows what to do to stay safe while riding the bus.

The MSHS received several security updates over the Summer. First was replacing the outdated camera system with new higher resolution cameras and better backend recording equipment. This project was supported by the town as a capital budget item. Thank you for your support! In addition, we were able to combine the cameras at the 3 Elementary Schools to create a unified camera system that covers all buildings.

The second phase was to replace the outdated card access control system. Old ID cards were replaced with KeyFobs, which provide better flexibility when granting access to the building. In addition, the entrance to the athletic hallway had managed access added, so coaches can access the building without physical keys, and access can be better managed through our Access control System. The key Fob system is also more universal, so a single FOB can access the Spring Street School as well! Having these new systems in place will help keep our buildings secure!

Grade 7 Students received Acer Chromebooks at the start of the school year, along with new snap-on shells. These shells are less bulky than the cases used in the past, and will provide better protection against falls.

The staff of the ML Department are excited to be back to school! Over the Summer some of our teachers, Kristine Roberts (ESL Teacher/RLM) and Anna Mills (6th Grade Social Studies Teacher/Howard), attended a voluntary 2 1/2 day Professional Development at Fitchburg State University, which was sponsored by DESE and MATSOL. They brought back lots of relevant information, and teaching strategies, which will prove useful in supporting ALL West Bridgewater teachers and students in the classroom, across content areas! Thank you Kristine and Anna! We have also started planning our Annual Fall Family Event! Watch for more details in the coming weeks ahead!

As high school seniors and their families wait for the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be available on October 1, there is an opportunity to apply now for their Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) so that they will be ready when the application opens. Other resources available to help students afford a college degree include:

• MassEducate provides free tuition and fees at the state’s community colleges for all eligible Massachusetts students.

• MASSGrant Plus can provide significant discounts (up to free tuition and fees) at the state’s four-year universities depending on family income.

• Eligible, non-U.S. citizens can apply for state financial aid through the Massachusetts Application for State Financial Aid (MASFA).

Information about applying for financial aid, including links to information and one-on-one help, is available online.

4th and 5th grade students at Howard School visited the WBFD 9/11 memorial. Thank you to Bill Kovatis for welcoming us! What an amazing job by all at the site. THANK YOU!

Curriculum Night on September 11th was well attended. Thank you to all families who came to say hello, and to the Little Leos for volunteering as guides.

The Fall Sports Season is off to a strong start here at West Bridgewater Middle Senior High School! Our student-athletes have been giving it their all across every field, court, and course. Football currently holds a record of 1 win and 1 loss, while Volleyball sits evenly at 3 wins and 3 losses. Field Hockey has had an impressive run so far with 4 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. Cheerleading continues to bring energy and spirit to every event, supporting all our teams with pride. Cross Country is underway with solid early efforts. The Boys Cross Country team lost their first meet, while Girls Cross Country won their first meet. Golf stands at 4 wins and 4 losses, showing great competitiveness this season. Boys Soccer has been dominant with 4 wins and only 1 loss, and Girls Soccer is fighting hard with 2 wins and 3 losses.

To stay up to date on team schedules and the latest records, please visit our ArbiterLive page at https://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams/Schedule/7675970?activeEntityId=25160. If you’d like to show your Wildcat pride, personalized West Bridgewater gear is available through our official Sideline Store at https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/massachusetts/westbridgewater/west-bridgewater-high-school. For photos, updates, and more, follow WBHS Athletics on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579342214395#.

Let’s keep supporting our teams and showing what it means to be a Wildcat—on and off the field. Go WB!

Dear Families,

I am writing to share information about one of the ways your child in grades K-5 will be assessed in reading this year. Early literacy universal screening assessments are brief tests that provide information about your child’s early reading skills. Screening makes it possible to see if a student is at risk of developing reading difficulties, including the risk of dyslexia. Screening does not diagnose dyslexia or other disabilities, but it does help us understand which students may need additional support to be successful readers. We are required to assess students in Kindergarten through at least grade 3 at least twice per year, consistent with Massachusetts regulation 603 CMR 28.03(1)(f). West Bridgewater will screen students in Kindergarten through grade 5.

Our district uses a screening assessment called Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS 8th edition). It is one of the screening assessments approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Your child will be assessed three times during the school year. It typically takes 3-5 minutes to complete this assessment. The tentative schedule for this school year is shown below.

Grade Screening Assessment Dates

Kindergarten

Grades 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

Following each of the screening assessments, teachers at Spring Street, Rose L. MacDonald, and Howard Schools will review all students’ results. Parents/Guardians will receive a family report that provides an overview of their child’s results. If your child scores “significantly below benchmarks,” we will contact you within 30 school days of the screening to discuss how we can support your child.

Please reach out if you would like additional information.

• For questions about the early literacy universal screening in Kindergarten and grades 1-3, please contact Principal Keitha Goulet

• For questions about literacy screening in grades 4 and 5, please contact Principal Mary Giuffre

• For questions about your child’s testing results, please contact your child’s teacher

Screening is another step that helps students at Spring Street, Rose L. MacDonald, and Howard schools become proficient readers, and we are grateful for the continued support and partnership with our families.

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