WMS Summer Newsletter

Dear WMS Families,

Thank you for such an amazing turnout at our Welcome Back to School Nights earlier this week! It was fantastic to see so many parents/guardians exploring our new, state-of-the-art facility and connecting with our dedicated, talented teachers who shared valuable insights about the curriculum and exciting events happening at our school.

We deeply appreciate the strong partnership between home and school, which is vital to our students’ success. Your involvement and support is very much appreciated.

Have a wonderful weekend, and please be sure to read this entire newsletter for important updates!

Best,

Carrie Ruggiero

Principal

This past Wednesday, we had the honor of hosting the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Walpole Middle School. It was a truly amazing event, filled with excitement and pride as we celebrated the hard work and dedication that brought this project to life.

The ceremony was a wonderful opportunity to recognize everyone who contributed to making our new school a reality, from district leadership and community members to the countless individuals who supported this vision along the way. Our new facility stands as a testament to the commitment we all share in providing an outstanding educational environment for our students.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special moment. We look forward to many years of learning, growth, and success in our beautiful new school!

Parent-teacher conferences are a great way to address academic concerns and support your child’s learning. We value a strong partnership between home and school and welcome your involvement as much as possible. However, please know that a conference is not required if your child is making steady progress. We look forward to collaborating with you to ensure your child’s success.

It may help you to know a few specifics:

• Each teacher is available for drop-in visits. Teacher locations will be available when you arrive. There are no appointments.

• Please bring a list of your child’s teachers with you.

• In order to make the best use of your time, parents should review report cards and Aspen prior to conferences. Report cards will be available on 11/12.

• Teachers have been asked to be cognizant of the 5 minute time limit. In order to assist with this, parents/guardians are encouraged to respectfully knock after waiting 5 minutes.

Parent Teacher Conference Dates:

11/13 - 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

11/15 - 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.

11/19 - 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

The X2 Aspen Family Portal offers a range of benefits for parents,such as enhancing communication and collaboration within the school community. It provides real-time access to essential information, such as grades, attendance, and assignments, empowering families to stay informed about their child's academic progress. The portal fosters engagement by allowing parents to track their child's performance and communicate easily with teachers, promoting a supportive learning environment.

We ask that students not bring energy drinks or coffee or Dunkin Donuts refreshers—or any beverage that is not water—into the school building. According to our handbook, "Drinks should not be consumed in the hallways or classrooms, and any spills must be reported promptly to a staff member. Soda cans/bottles, juice boxes/bottles, sports/energy drinks, and coffee/hot chocolate are discouraged except in the cafeteria, although water bottles may be used in classrooms with a teacher’s permission." This year, we have seen a few students coming into school with energy drinks or beverages from Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, and we have not had the students throw them out. However, starting on November 6, staff will stop students bringing any beverages other than water into the building. Because these beverages can be very expensive, we want to make you aware and ask for your support.

We have spent a whole week with our new car drop off and bus loops and we are happy with how smoothly our new procedures are going. Being on time to school plays a major role in helping students prepare for a successful school day. As quarter 2 has now begun, we wanted to let you know that we will begin enforcing our tardiness expectations as laid out in our Family Handbook and Code of Conduct. Please remember that students are expected to be in their homerooms before 7:45 AM. If a student earns 3 unexcused tardies in a quarter they will be issued a detention. Please feel free to contact Mr. Cashman or Mr. O’Leary if you have questions or need further resources in helping to get your student to school on time.

A big thank you to members of the PAC who sent in treats for staff members! The snacks are greatly appreciated by all! November was sponsored by the 8th Grade Parents.

The next PAC meeting will be held in the WMS Media Center on November 12 at 7:00 p.m. ALL are welcome to join the meeting.

As the Holiday Season quickly approaches, we, at Walpole Middle School, recognize that families, within our community, are experiencing financial hardship this holiday season. In keeping with the holiday spirit, we would like to come together to help others have a memorable holiday.

We encourage families in need of gift-giving assistance to reach out to the school counselors if your family could use assistance this holiday season. All family information is held in strict confidence. We are hoping to help many WMS families this holiday season. The deadline for requests is Friday, November 8th.

Contact Information:

Leah Cayer, School Counselor, lcayer@walpole.k12.ma.us Grade 8

Sarah Giunta, School Counselor, sgiunta@walpole.k12.ma.us Grade 7

Katie Gingras, School Counselor, kgingras@walpole.k12.ma.us Grade 6

We are excited to announce that Walpole Middle School will be starting a Ski & Snowboard Club this winter! Beginning in January, the club will run for six weeks on Fridays and is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn or improve their skiing and snowboarding skills at Wachusett Mountain. Click here for more information and to sign up!

Please click here for the for the latest news from the classrooms!

We have been enjoying welcoming your students to Walpole Middle School, meeting new students, and working to build a connected community! These Counselors' Corner Newsletters will be brought to you at the end of each month. They will include helpful articles, images, links to webinars, and a monthly social-emotional learning calendar.

Click here for the latest newsletter!

Private School Application Process

On occasion, staff members are asked to complete recommendation forms for students applying to private school(s). We recognize the importance of such requests, but ask that parents and students consider the following when making their request:

• Many of the applications are completed through the online application system, Ravenna. If this is the case for your child, the system will send an email request for recommendations from the counselor and teachers; however, we strongly encourage you to have your child speak to the school counselor and teacher(s) directly, as well, in order to personally request the completion of the forms.

• If your child is in 6th grade, please send the School Report forms to Katie Gingras (kgingras@walpole.k12.ma.us).

• If your child is in 7th grade, please send the School Report forms to Sarah Giunta (sgiunta@walpole.k12.ma.us).

• If your child is in 8th grade, please send the School Report form Leah Cayer (lcayer@walpole.k12.ma.us).

• Please give teachers and School Counselors at least a two week notice when requesting recommendations.

• You must also print and sign the ‘Transcript Release Form’ and have your child bring it to their School Counselor in order to give permission for transcripts to be uploaded and forms to be completed.

• Please be sure to link your child’s application in Ravenna to our school, Walpole Middle School, 625 Washington Street, Walpole, MA 02032.

• If the school that your child is applying to only accepts applications by mail, please have your child bring the Transcript Release Form to school along with $2.00 to cover the cost of postage.

Vocational School Application Process

If your child is applying to either Tri-County or Norfolk Agricultural High School, their applications will be sent directly to the school counselor to be completed electronically. Early action deadline for applications to the Aggie is December 31, 2024 and the regular deadline for applications is February 1, 2025. For more information about Norfolk Aggie please visit http://www.norfolkaggie.org/.

Priority deadline for applications to Tri-County is December 31, 2024. Tri-County will accept applications after that, but they cannot guarantee they will be considered in their first round of decisions. For more information about Tri-County please visit https://www.tri-county.us/.

https://www.ixl.com/resources/IXL-parent-handout

We are excited to be using IXL at Walpole Middle School this year in ELA and Math! The data will be instrumental in providing students with support and enrichment on targeted skills to meet their individual needs. Students will be using this platform during ELA, Math, and X block. They will be expected to spend some time at home completing skill practice too. Students will access IXL through Clever on their school devices. If they plan to use another device, they should ask their ELA or Math teacher for their username and password. Please email Jill Masterson or Jodi O'Rourke with any questions.

This Math site for parents is designed specifically for parents and families. It offers a breakdown of the topics in each of the 8 units covered throughout the course of the year. Most of the topics have a video link built in that will offer support for students and/or parents/families when working on math at home. There is a section for each grade level course, as well as math connections. In addition, there is a section that breaks down the prerequisite skills that play the biggest role for each grade level. We hope this serves as a valuable resource for parents and families throughout the year.

The grading for the Summer Reading and Math assignments are as follows:

Reading:

C = Complete

NC = Not Complete

Math:

C= Complete

PC = Partially Complete

NC = Not Complete

This Humanities site for parents serves as an informational hub for curriculum topics in ELA, Social Studies and Reading. Other useful tabs include IXL, and CER writing with more to come.

Parents are asked to send a note to the office if their child is going to be dismissed during the school day for an appointment. If a student does not have a note to bring to school, parents should complete this Google Form in order to alert the office of their upcoming departure. In addition, we ask that you complete this form at least two hours prior to dismissal, so our staff can be prepared. If you are dismissing multiple students at the same time, please complete the form once for each student. Thank you for your help with this.

Dear Walpole Middle School Parents/Guardians,

This letter is to inform you that the WMS Health Office will begin the State Mandated Screenings starting in November. In Massachusetts, public schools are required by law to periodically screen students for the purpose of identifying health related concerns. Please click this link to see the WPS required schedule for all grades. More information on the law can be found here.

Health screenings

6th Grade: Vision, Hearing, Scoliosis

7th Grade: Height, Weight, Scoliosis

8th Grade: Scoliosis

The majority of students do not exhibit any abnormal findings. You will not be notified if your child has a normal screening.

Additional Screenings

Students in grade 7 participate in SBIRT screening, which takes place in the spring. You will receive more information prior to the start of this screening.

As a parent/guardian, you have the right to opt your student out of these screenings. We request medical documentation showing that the required screening was completed within the last year in order to exempt a student. Please notify Mrs. Ludwig at sludwig@walpole.k12.ma.us or Mrs. Slotnick at jslotnick@walpole.k12.ma.us by Nov 4 , 2024 and specify the screenings you request your child not participate in and include the appropriate documentation.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Ludwig or Mrs. Slotnick.

From the Office of Student Support & Attendance:
Dear families,

Please read this month's newsletter. It contains links to the WPS Health Services Department and other helpful sites you can use when making decisions about whether or not you should send your child to school based on symptoms of illness.

"What if my child is sick?" - https://secure.smore.com/n/9ga8n

The newsletter is also posted on the Walpole Public Schools website.

Did you know that the Walpole Middle School has a new account on Instagram? You can find us at walpolemiddleschool. Be sure to follow our account to see announcements, information, and scenes from WMS.

November

5 - Election Day - No School - Students

11 - Veteran's Day - No School

12 - PAC Meeting

13 - Parent Teacher Conferences - evening

15 - Parent Teacher Conferences - afternoon

15 - Chez Vous Skating Party

18 - Picture Retake Day

19 - Parent Teacher Conferences - evening

Find the month's school menu here.

Please be sure to visit the Virtual Backpack for upcoming events such as:

Principal

Website: https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/wms
Location: 625 Washington Street, Walpole, MA 02081
Phone: (508) 660-7226