Principal's Newsletter

To translate this newsletter, please use the link to the right.

Para traduzir este boletim, clique nele e use o link à direita.

Para traducir este boletín, haga clic en él y luego use el enlace a la derecha.

لترجمة هذه الرسالة من المدرسة ، اضغط عليها ثم استخدم الرابط الموجود على اليمين.

Այս տեղեկագիրը թարգմանելու համար կտտացրեք այն, ապա օգտագործեք աջ կողմում գտնվող հղումը:

Чтобы перевести этот бюллетень, нажмите на него, затем воспользуйтесь ссылкой справа.

Bu bülteni çevirmek için üzerine tıklayın ve ardından sağdaki bağlantıyı kullanın.

Hi Watertown High School Families,

Classes are running and students are engaged! I have enjoyed visiting classes over Zoom and a small number of in-person classes. It's nice to see students engaged and teachers trying new things to connect their students to the content. We appreciate everyone's patience as we troubleshoot technical issues and get everyone where they need to be. Please continue to reach out to the school with questions or concerns at 617-926-7760.

All students and families must sign off to confirm that they have read the school handbook. Here is a link to sign off when you and your student have read the 2020/2021 handbook.

If you still haven't have not picked up your student's materials, please call the main office, Monday-Friday, 8:30-3:30 to arrange a pickup.

Welcome WPS Families to your EdTech for ALL Family Resources Hub.

We look forward to supporting you with your technology questions. Please visit the WPS Ed-Tech Website. (bit.ly/ WPSFamilyEdTechforALL) to access Ed Tech for all resources that are being created and curated for WPS Families.

Please click on the Weekly WPS Family Ed Tech for ALL Newsletter for more information about accessing platforms (google classroom, See Saw and Zoom), School based Family Ed Tech Support Session and other resources

We may not be at school in person, but you can still check out books from the library! We are excited to bring you contactless checkout this fall. Beginning the week of September 22, you can request any book in the library by filling out this form. Books will be available for pickup every Monday and Thursday between 8:30 am and 3:05 pm. Your requests will be put in a bag labeled with your name and left on the contactless pickup cart just outside the main entrance of the building. Returned books will be quarantined and sanitized according to state guidelines.

You can see which books are available in the library by searching our catalog.

Feel free to contact erin.piazza@watertown.k12.ma.us with any questions. Happy reading!

Each morning students are emailed the morning announcements through their student email address. Please encourage your student to check their email every morning as they will find important information about events, last-minute tech changes, news, etc.

Click here for the latest news from the Guidance Department including information about:

• Our new School & Community Resources Website

• A Remote Learning Student Survey

• Preparing for Remote Learning

• 9th & 12th Grade Seminars

• College Rep Visits

• Upcoming Events

Thank you to the PTSO for helping with material distribution! We really appreciated all the hard work and laughs. Here is a link to their RallyUp page https://go.rallyup.com/ptso2021/CTAFH6

Our annual universal assessments in math and literacy will begin shortly. Students in grades 1-9 will take the i-Ready fall diagnostic in October. This will provide us with important data on how students are performing in both math and literacy. In grades 1 - 8, the fall diagnostic data will help teachers to create individualized lesson paths for students to work through in online instruction. In grade 9, it is used for beginning of year data and end of year growth. As in past years, Kindergarten will take their first diagnostic in December. i-Ready conducted studies of the reliability of the data when giving the diagnostic remotely in the spring across various districts. Their findings revealed that there was less score inflation in districts that were communicating directly with families and when families watched i-Ready family videos about the diagnostic. To that end, we encourage parents/families to view this video to refresh or learn about i-Ready to best support their children.

• Introducing i-Ready Assessment at Home to Families Videos (English | Spanish)

• Family Guidance for Administering the diagnostic At Home videos (English | Spanish)

We will be administering the diagnostic during live Zoom meetings. The diagnostic window for elementary (grades 1-5) is scheduled 10/8 - 10/16 and for secondary (grades 6-9) between 10/19 - 10/30. Classroom teachers will provide more information in the Weekly Learning Plans. The i-Ready experience better helps teachers:

• Use insights from i-Ready to plan instruction

• Set goals and help students take ownership of their learning

• Monitor students’ progress on the i-Ready Diagnostic (Grades K-8)

• Intervene using differentiated resources when students need support (Grades K-8)

• See student growth and celebrate gains w/students and parents (Grades K-8)

Ongoing (September 28-November 5) - MEFA Live (Virtual) Financial Aid Seminars (Visit mefa.org/events to register)

We will be hosting a back to school night on October 15th. This will be a chance for you to meet your student's teachers over Zoom. More details to come!

• September 15th Smore

• September 9th Smore

• Link to family information session video

• Bridge to Return Plan for Watertown Public Schools (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RnyRvhYE1h17FjUj0wrkA1so-N5W-UhC7xn-ObczgcE/edit)