Wildcat Nation - Issue No. 1

It feels good to be back! Here's a look into all the excitement during the month of September across the district at Weymouth Public Schools.

Our Wildcat Nation newsletter runs monthly to share extra highlights, upcoming opportunities, and special stories about all the extraordinary things happening across our schools and community.

Have a spooktacular October, and we'll see you next month Wildcat Nation!

WPS staff return on staff opening day to fill the theatre at the new Maria Weston Chapman Middle School.

(Friday - October 7, 2022 - Weymouth High School) Principal Karen Monahan of Weymouth High School announced today that Sophia Giannandrea and Aleksander Nowicki have been named Commended Students in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, was presented to these scholastically talented seniors. Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success. We congratulate these 2 seniors as they continue their pursuit of academic excellence.

JECC is seeking family pictures to put on our Family Bulletin Board. Our families are so important to us and our students love to proudly show us their family members. Please consider sending in a picture of your family for our Family bulletin board. Do not send in a picture that you need back right away. We will do our best to send all pictures home in June 2023.

Our students and staff are incredibly excited about continuing our partnership with Jack Banagis from the New England Wildlife Center! We are also thrilled to continue working with the Norfolk RSVPs.

Families can expect to hear more about the Monster Boo Bash on the 21st as well as the return of the Pumpkins and Poems contest at the end of the month!

Hamilton kicks off the school year filled with color, smiles, and engagement!

Multi-grade assemblies to kick off our PBIS activities for the year - complete with a teacher quarterback challenge, and a few of our September PBIS winners!

There has been so much excitement at Nash it's hard to believe we are only entering into the second month of the school year. Check out a few of the many highlights below!

Grade 5 student leaders welcomed new students and kindergartners with a "show and Tell " tour of the Nash building, and start our day with morning announcements.

Nash ROARing with Pride! Students who go above and beyond exceeding our school-wide expectations receive "golden Tickets" Every Friday our tickets are pulled and students are awarded a prize for their efforts.

Our school is an MEd-vac site our Kindergarten students received a special tour of a chopper. The Pilot took the time to explain what first responders do in emergency situations and to prepare the students as they will see the chopper from time to time.

5th grade band has begun!

From Principal Ronan: The Pingree Fun Run Kickoff Assembly was a huge success. The students were excited to show their school spirit with their class colors and their fantastic chants. Even the office got into the fun! Thank you to Amanda Adams, the Fun Run Committee and the Parent Council for all their planning, hard work and enthusiasm! Check out the events Parent Council has planned this month in the calendar below.

It was amazing to see so many families, current students, and former students at Open House! During the school day we have a number of important initiatives underway, including setting up classroom procedures that promote a safe learning environment.

Talbot pie eating contest!

The Seach Elementary Garden is a great example of our schools making use of every available space, inside and outside, as a learning environment!

Seach staff and teams filled with school spirit the first day of school, and truly every day! We appreciate you Seach staff!

This year Wessagusset students will, “Be the “I” in Kind!”

Grade 5 All Stars!

Ms. McCue-Day meets best selling author Justin Baldoni who wrote the children's book Boys Will Be Human .

| kate mccue-day @MccueDay: What an incredible visit with @justinbaldoni today @MariaWestonCha1!! Go buy his new book! Thanks @unlikelybkstore |

About the book: A Get-Real Gut-Check Guide to Becoming the Strongest, Kindest, Bravest Person You Can Be. From filmmaker, actor, and author Justin Baldoni comes a real-talk, self-esteem-building guidebook that helps boys ages 11 and up embrace their feelings and fears instead of repress them.

Highly designed and filled with activities, sidebars, and inspirational quotes, this book is the perfect social-emotional learning tool for parents and educators to jump-start conversations about masculinity with the boys in their lives.

Wildcat Leaders at Chapman Middle School!

Chapman Middle School Boys & Girls Cross Country go the distance with winning meets in September!

The Weymouth High School Wildcat Marching Band performed on September 25, 2022 during the Weymouth Irish Heritage Day Parade!

Picture Credit: Patriot Ledger

Additional pictures and information in the Patriot Ledger can be found here!

Congratulations Anthony Choukas Bay State Conference Champion!

Attending a unified basketball game is a great way to support your school community! Come join the fun at an upcoming event (schedule here).

Picture Credit: The Patriot Ledger

More about Unified Basketball: (Oct. 4, 2022) The Patriot Ledger, Wenjing Ding

'What sports should be about': Weymouth, Walpole square off in Unified Basketball game

October is National Principal's Month - Thank You to all our AMAZING Principals!!

• Sunday, October 2: National Custodian Day
• Wednesday, October 5: World Teacher's Day - Thank You Teachers!!
• Thursday, October 6: Coach Appreciation Day
• Monday, October 10th: Columbus Day, No School
• Tuesday, October 11th: Early Release 11:15 am, Staff Development
• Tuesday, October 11: Policy Subcommittee Meeting at 6PM
• Wednesday, October 12: Budget SubCommittee Meeting
• Wednesday, October 12: Weymouth Widcats Soccer Camp
• Wednesday, October 19: CTE Information Night for Chapman Grades 7&8 Families at 6PM
• Thursday, October 20: School Committee at 7PM
• Saturday, October 22: Community Event* Weymouth 400 Trunk or Treat (details below)
• Monday, October 31: Happy Halloween!

Heather Ronan, Principal

Pingree Elementary School

I came to Pingree after 22 years as an educator in Brockton. I was a 5th and 6th grade teacher before becoming the assistant principal of a large K-8 school. For the past 11 years, I have been the Elementary Math and Science Coordinator for the district. I have enjoyed all the curriculum and leadership work at the district-level but have truly missed the daily interactions with students and teachers at the school level. I am excited to start building relationships with all of you and all the students.

As passionate as I am about education, my top priority, as I am sure is with many of you, is my family. My husband Jay is a tennis professional up the street at Blackrock Country Club. My son Ian is going into his sophomore year at North Quincy High School. My daughter Tess is going into 7th grade at Central Middle School and my daughter Caroline is going into 4th grade at Quincy Catholic Academy. All three of them play hockey among other sports, but hockey takes up most of our time. In the summer, we spend as much time as possible at our house in Biddeford, Maine. As I have heard from many of you at Pingree, we like to work hard and play hard!

In addition- I love puzzles, reading, traveling (not that I get to do it with 3 kids in hockey), cooking and wine! I am passionate about ensuring all students have the opportunity to achieve at high levels regardless of the barriers they might have been dealt with.

Ashley Panetta, Assistant Principal

Hamilton Elementary School

I received my undergrad degree from Emmanuel College in business management and went on to work in marketing for a newspaper and radio station. I quickly realized that my childhood dream of being a teacher was still a dream and earned a MEd from Bridgewater State University and began working with students on the autism spectrum in Plymouth. After 11 years in Plymouth, I took my experience and transitioned to the assistant principal position at Hamilton.

I am continually inspired by all of my students, but my favorite part about being an educator is helping students make progress towards their goals in a way that makes sense for them.

I have a husband and two sons and we love exploring Webb Park and going to the beach. I absolutely love cold brew coffee. So much so that I helped my former students open a weekly coffee shop in our elementary school!

I have been a resident of Weymouth since 2016 and I am so excited to now also be an educator in the community.

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

For more information, click here!

Two-step Registration Process:

Register ONLINE to choose workshops: https://bit.ly/3UUrRCx

RETURN Payment Form to Student's School: https://bit.ly/3rxeQ4l

No child will be excluded for inability to pay - if this is a concern, contact Lynn Howard at lynn.howard@weymouthschools.org

16 Interactive Workshop Offerings: https://bit.ly/3C6IfqW

Sincere appreciation to our School-Community Partners for providing these fun-filled workshops!

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