As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, April 17 - Friday, April 21 for Spring Vacation.

Weymouth High Theater Company won the 2023 State Championship in the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild State Finals at the John Hancock Theater in the Back Bay Events Center in Boston this weekend. Their production of "I, CHORUS" was a resounding success at every level.

In addition to winning the State Championship, many members of the WHTC were named to the State-Wide All Star Company for the following:

Individual Acting All-Star Awards:

Ollie Dunn

Alex Norton

Brooke Pelley

Brady Rafferty

Ensemble Acting All-Star:

The Greek Chorus - Jafar Alshimrty, Caitlyn Faiella, Kaylyn Gillespie, Madison Knapp, Molly Stockton, Ollie Dunn, Abby Etkin, Natalia Spear, Brady Rafferty, Jaime Murphy, Aliyah Madden, Brielle Griffin, Alex Norton

All-Star for Technical Excellence in Stage Management:

Samuel Riley

All-Star for Technical Excellence in Sound Design and Execution:

Keira Jipson and Elana Jipson

All-Star for Technical Excellence in Lighting Design and Execution:

Natalie Fromm and Lilly Farren

All-Star for Technical Excellence in Costume Design and Execution:

Mia Carini, Zach Dragone, Audrey Quinlan, and Leila Pearson

All-Star for Technical Excellence in Mask Design and Execution:

Mia Carini

All-Star for Technical Excellence in Movement Consultation:

Vanessa Oreadi

Thank you for all you do to support these amazing young artists year after year!

The MWC Concert Choir traveled to Westborough High School to participate in their first Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) Choral Festival, and did an outstanding job! They performed 3 pieces for a panel of adjudicators and received a silver medal for their performance. After their performance, students participated in a clinic with one of the adjudicators. Congratulations to all the MWC Choir members, and thanks to their director Ms. McDonough!

The WHS Jazz Band went to UMASS Amherst to participate in a Jazz Festival. Students Sabina Harrington (gr. 11) and Josephine Campo (gr. 9) earned special recognitions for their solos, and freshman Oscar Cordner was offered a partial scholarship to the summe r jazz program at UMass Amherst for his performance. Congratulations to the Jazz Band and thank you to their director, Mrs. Kenny.

Patriot Ledger Full Article Here

In 2008, as a student at Weymouth High School, Adam Salhaney traveled with the Wildkat World Travelers to Italy and Greece during the April vacation. It was an experience, his father, Steven Salhaney, said got his son hooked on traveling.

In college, Adam studied in Florence, Italy, and then became a tour guide, taking hundreds of students on tours to 20 countries. Steven Salhaney said his son loved giving people experiences that could change their lives.

When Adam died in October 2017 at the age of 27, the Salhaney family and their close friends, the Fitzpatricks, decided to honor Adam’s memory by celebrating what gave Adam’s life his joy and purpose: Travel. They honor his memory by helping other students have the same experiences that changed his life. Each year, they host a successful golf tournament in early October with the proceeds going towards scholarships to the Wildkat World Travelers.

This year alone, the Adam G. Salhaney Foundation gave out over $30,000 worth of scholarships to Weymouth High School students who plan to travel during April vacation to London, Paris, Venice and Rome with Ms. Kames, the same teacher who led Adam’s tour. Ranging from $1500 to $4,000 the scholarships were earned by students through an essay contest.

On March 27th, the 2023 Adam G. Salhaney scholarships were awarded to (from left to right): Sarah Salhaney (Adam’s sister), Thomas LaVoie, Olivia Godrey, Anne Marie Picard, Rebecca Tier, Joaquin Walker-Roman, Cavan Grable, Steven Salhaney (Adam’s father), William Savage, Brielle Griffin, Rose Coven, Richard McCulley and Rachael Tier.

• David Daniel will release his new book, "Beach Town," this month with Loom Press.
• Daniel, a 1963 graduate of Weymouth High School, has spent most of his career as a teacher and writer. He uses the South Shore as inspiration for the stories in his new book.
• Save the Date! David will talk about his new book at 7:30 p.m. June 8 at Tufts Library in Weymouth.
  
  

Written by Jessica Trufant, the Patriot Ledger -

David Daniel describes growing up on the South Shore as a "time of innocence," when teenagers passed their summers with trips to the beach, drive-in movie theaters and Paragon Park in Hull.

Daniel attempts to capture some of that classic sense of summer in his new book "Beach Town," which will be published this month by Loom Press. It is a collection of stories set in the fictional South Shore town of Weybridge.

"It's a nostalgic look back at the times of clam digging and spending days at the beach with baby oil, but but there are some stories about the dark side of a small town," he said. "There's a mix of flavors and moods, but it's all distinctly South Shore."

Daniel, a 1963 graduate of Weymouth High School, has spent most of his career as a teacher and writer. Time in the U.S. Army took him to Texas and graduate school to Oregon, but he said he always returned to Massachusetts.

His novel "The Heaven Stone" won the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America "best first mystery" prize in 1993 and launched the Lowell-based Alex Rasmussen mystery series. Over the last two decades, he's published 15 novels and collections of stories, a number of which are set on the South Shore

"Massachusetts was always home and I have a deep affinity and affection for the South Shore," he said. "Growing up there was a real incubator for ideas for me. You start to look back with fondness, and that's my connection to the stories. Full story by Jessica Trufant with the Patriot Ledger here.

• Monday, April 17 - Friday, April 21: No School - April Vacation
• Thursday, April 27 - Special Olympics
• Friday, April 28 - MWC Musical Club Presents Cinderella
• Tuesday, May 9 - Town-Wide Parent Council at 7PM
• Tuesday, May 16 - International Festival
• Wednesday, May 24 - Kindergarten Here I Come Event at 5:30PM

On behalf of our entire district, join us in extending a heartfelt thank you to former School Committee Chair, John Sullivan, who resigned last week. Mr. Sullivan was in his second four year term as a Weymouth Public Schools' School Committee member.

We would like to thank Mr. Sullivan for his unwavering support, leadership, and commitment to have a positive impact on every school, student and educator in Weymouth. Your hard work and dedication to many initiatives throughout the district will benefit our school community for years to come.

We are proud to partner with Weymouth High School Career and Tech Early Education Program . These amazing seniors are working to complete their final internship hours by learning how to support preschoolers in activities of daily living and curriculum.

During March, Academy hosted the district rounds where 28 district administrators, coaches, and tech integrationists visited all our 18 classrooms.

The Tile Wall is growing-Last Tuesday night, students came after school and painted tiles to add to our cafeteria wall.

The Book Fair is back!

Mrs. Ratta turns Academy's hallways into a school-wide Art Show

Enrichment Clubs!

5th Grade Slideshow

The parent council is looking for help with candids of our current 5th graders. These pictures can be anything from Kindergarten to current day. If you have pictures you’d like to share, please add to this album. Photos will appear in the slideshow during the 5th grade promotion on 6/16/23.

Summer Camp Opportunity

If you have a second-sixth grader and are looking for a summer camp opportunity, check out Stars Summer Camp.

Summer Reading Skills

Boston University is offering summer reading programs, on campus or online. Please see this flyer for more information.

March was a great month at the Murphy School as our students grew in many academic and social areas. Our incredible teachers worked each day to challenge students with academic tasks and we had lots of fun along the way with a professional art assembly, a victory in the ST Math challenge, some special projects and our annual Spring Fling on the last day of March.

Our art teacher was busy with her classes creating original work and displaying it in common areas.

Our Kindergarteners continued to make great gains with academics, including their writing skills.

1st grade had lots of fun creating leprechaun traps. They showed lots of creativity!

Parent Council sponsored an assembly with a professional artist. He brought his nationally renowned Hero Art program to our school.

We had an enthusiastic reception for Jiji the Penguin as we encouraged students to participate in the ST Math Challenge. In the end, we came out on top!

Our 5th grade band students continued to make great gains with their instruments, playing together as a "full band".

We ended the month on a high note with our annual Spring Fling. This was a great community event, filled with music, dancing, smiles and a special visit from our Weymouth Wildcat!

When Melissa Staffier, a Kindergarten teacher from Weymouth, MA expressed concern and a need to address an obvious learning gap in her students, retired school teacher, Ken Abbott came to her rescue. In fact, he’s been coming to her rescue for over 41 years. He’s her father!

Ken Abbott, began his career in the Weymouth Public Schools as a student teacher and then in 1975, landed a teaching position. He served multiple primary schools as a music teacher and then worked toward his Master’s in Special Education. Ken retired in 2011, serving his entire career in the Weymouth Public Schools.

His daughter, Melissa knew she wanted to follow in not only her father’s footsteps, but also her mother’s, and pursue a career in public education. Melissa’s mother, Ginny, worked as a fifth-grade teacher in the Braintree Public Schools. With the goal of staying home with her own children until her youngest was in school full-time, Melissa finally achieved her dream to follow in her parent’s footsteps.

Beginning in the Weymouth Public Schools as a student teacher in 2018, she hasn’t looked back. Following student teaching and working as a Title I Interventionist, Melissa landed her first classroom position in the fall of 2020 at the height of Covid.. Almost through year three of teaching Kindergarten, she has experienced and noticed many obstacles; ripple effects from how the pandemic has deprived her little learners academically, socially, and emotionally. As any Kindergarten teacher, Melissa has gotten creative in her teaching practices and thought outside the box in an effort to bridge the gap.

This current year’s class is her largest and most eclectic, consisting of a myriad of learners, English Language Learners, a multitude of students on Individualized Education Plans, some with behavioral challenges, and several with academic and social-emotional deficits. Ken to the rescue! Her father has been coming two days a week to offer individualized differentiated as well as group support/instruction.

Melissa has seen enormous growth in her students with the additional hand; a hand with such expertise. Her students look forward to their time with Mr. Abbott, and view time with him as an incentive and a privilege. Thanks to his help and support, Melissa and classroom ESP, Eileen Malone have been able to work with all students, really hone in on individual strengths and needs, and differentiate lessons. In addition, they have been able to work on a very special classroom project, thanks to Ken’s help. Returning back to his roots, and with the help of an electric keyboard, Ken has taken a Peter Rabbit play/musical script and turned it into a goal the class has excitedly worked towards, practicing each time he visits their classroom.

This project has been one that all, regardless of academic ability, behavioral, social-emotional needs, or language barriers; this Kindergarten class has come together as one. Melissa’s mother has come in to read to the class and has plans to return soon to lead in set design for the Peter Rabbit play. To continue to share their love for teaching into retirement is incredibly special, but showing their love and support for their daughter and her students is invaluable.

Students are always working hard at Pingree..

Lots of fun for St. Patrick's Day!

March was a busy month at Talbot Elementary!

📘 Grade 1 and Grade 3 Book Buddies 📗

March 14th ST PD for teachers

Parent Council brought in The Mad Scientist!

We kicked off March with a fantastic Irish Step performance by the Forbes School of Irish Dance, featuring two of our own Wessagusset students, Maggie Waters (Grade 4) and Shalane Levett (Grade 1).

Our first annual Hobby Night and Talent Showcase was a HUGE success! Students shared their hobbies and interests with visitors, and entertained the crowd with songs, dances, and comedy!

We got some cute (and fluffy!) new students at Wessagusset, thanks to the eggs hatched in Grade 1!

A lot of laughs and a few good serves at the 6th grade Teacher VS Student volleyball at Chapman.

The MWC Broadcast Club is a small before school group of students who are working with, and through, a lot of the new equipment at Chapman. This month we're featuring a drone video edited by Desmond Galusha. The Broadcast Club hopes to one day host a morning show for the school announcements.

On Friday, March 17, 2023, Weymouth High and Braintree High shared a bus to the Sutton High School Connections Conference in Sutton, Massachusetts, which was a fantastic opportunity for our DEIB leaders here at WHS. Fourteen WHS students from HRC, BSU, ASA, QSU, and Best Buddies traveled over an hour each way to listen to amazing speakers, participate in educational workshops and collaborate with over 600 other social justice student leaders from Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Sophomore Rebekah Saint Claire had this to say about her first trip to ConCon: “The entire experience was engaging and interesting while also being educational. Even the opening speech was insightful as Dr. Vinson showed how involved educators are within the social justice conversation, inspiring young people to go out and create meaningful changes in our society.”

The Colonel Thomas Lothrop – Old Colony Daughters of the American Revolution- Hingham & Cohasset Chapter celebrated three award winning high school seniors with the Good Citizens Award this month. This award recognizes individuals who possess good citizenship qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities. Jaime-Lynn Murphy from Weymouth High School, Sarah Ann Regan from Whitman-Hanson High School, and Reid Nussbaum from Cohasset High School were presented with the DAR Good Citizens Pin and Certificate,

The Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonprofit, nonpolitical volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting historic preservation, education and patriotism. Visit the DAR Website (www.dar.org) to read about steps to membership and to fill out a prospective membership form.

Pictured: Jamie-Lynn Murphy with State Senator Patrick O'Connor | For full story, click here

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

From education to athletics, WPS alumni are making fantastic things happen in their careers and communities. Whatever your accomplishment, we want to hear from you. If you've been a part of, or done something noteworthy, whether at home or abroad, tell us your story. To have yourself or someone else considered for an Alumni Spotlight feature, please complete the online nomination form below.