Dear WB Families, Students and Staff - We hope you find the information in this newsletter informative and valuable. Feedback is so important so if you have any suggestions for additions to the district newsletter (sent on the 2nd and 4th Fridays) please let me know.

We are beginning the process of creating a new district strategic plan using the Planning for Success model. We had our first meeting on Thursday and I wanted to thank all of the participants. We have 30 dedicated participants who will have committed to work on the plan. We have educators of students in every grade level from PreSchool through 12th grade. This group includes our Middle/Senior High School Coordinators, Elementary Instructional Team Leaders, District and Building Level Administrators, School Committee Members, Parents, and MSHS Students. It is an awesome group and we got a lot accomplished during our first planning meeting. The focus of this meeting was visioning for the future and working to create common themes for strategic objectives that we will discuss when we meet again. Information will be shared during upcoming School Committee meetings.

Thank you to all those who attended the Coffee Hour at the Spring Street School last week. We had a great turnout and thank you to SRO Tim Pope for presenting information and for answering questions. There were great discussions on safety concerns and other safety-related topics. As always there will be an agenda of topics to be discussed but then it is open for questions by the attendees. The next Superintendent Coffee Hour with Mr. Bodwell will be on Friday, October 21st at 9:15 am at the Rose L MacDonald School (1 Stepping Stone Lane) As always there will be an agenda of topics to be discussed but then it is open for questions by the attendees. At this meeting, we are planning on having the Food Service Director, Mrs. Grinder, and the Director of Curriculum, Mrs. Llanes. We hope to see you there!

There is a family night planned on Wednesday, October 5th for multilingual families in the cafeteria at the middle/senior high school. The evening will begin at 5:30 and end at approximately 6:30. We are planning a presentation on back-to-school basics for families - how to check on your child's progress, where to find the lunch menus, how to communicate absences, how to navigate the school websites, how to build literacy skills at home, how to communicate more easily with the school and teachers, etc. There will be a time for questions and community resources will be shared as well.

Light refreshments will be served. We hope to see you all there! Questions about the program can be directed to Mary Pistorino at mpistorino@wbridgewater.com

West Bridgewater is a proud recipient of a couple major state and federal grants that have allowed us to implement new curricular materials at the elementary and middle senior high school. Below is a list of the new programs and some information on them:

Wit and Wisdom

Teachers and students in grades K-5 have embarked on their Wit and Wisdom journey this year. Wit & Wisdom® is a comprehensive English language arts curriculum crafted to help students build the knowledge and skills they need to be successful readers, exceptional writers, and effective communicators. It is wonderful to walk through the schools and see the great conversations and learning taking place.

Fundations

We are also very happy to be implementing Wilson Fundations in grades K- 3 to our instruction this year. As a recognized leader in multisensory, structured language programs, Wilson brings more than a decade of systematic and explicit instruction to the K-3 classroom. Based on the Wilson Reading System® principles, Wilson Fundations® provides research-based materials and strategies essential to a comprehensive reading, spelling, and handwriting program.

Heggerty

Students and teachers in grades K and one will be using the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum for the first time this year. The Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum provides teachers with what they need to teach daily phonemic awareness lessons.

Illustrative Mathematics

Students and teachers in grades 7 and 8, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry will be using Illustrative Mathematics this year. Illustrative Mathematics is a problem-based core curriculum for 21st century learners designed to address content and practice standards to foster learning for all, preparing students to solve problems, reason, communicate, and think critically in the classroom and beyond.

The district was also just awarded an Early Grades Literacy - From Research to Practice: Evidence-Based Early Literacy Grant Award. The purpose of the Early Grades Literacy Grant, From Research to Practice: Evidence-Based Early Literacy is to increase teacher knowledge to implement evidence-based, inclusive, culturally responsive practices in early literacy through professional learning on evidence-based, inclusive, culturally responsive early literacy with a focus on the Mass Literacy Guide, and Culturally Responsive Teaching & Leading. We will be working with a literacy consultant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to support us in our work.

We continue again this year with ST Math, our fourth year using the program. Students in grades 1-6 have been busy using ST Math to solve math puzzles. So far this school year they have solved a combined 81,635!! Way to go Wildcats!

What Is ST Math?

It’s a PreK-8 visual instructional program that leverages the brain's innate spatial-temporal reasoning ability to solve mathematical problems.

ST Math’s unique, patented approach provides students with equitable access to learning through challenging puzzles, non-routine problem-solving, and formative feedback.

With ST Math, students build deep conceptual understanding.

News from the Policy Subcommittee

The objective of the Policy Subcommittee is to regularly review the policies of the West Bridgewater School Committee to determine if they are current, consider the interests of stakeholders, and are in line with guidance from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. At the most recent school committee meeting on September 12, 2022, the following policies were reviewed and revised as indicated:

• AC: Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Harassment

• ACA: Title IX Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

• ACE: Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Disability

• JB: Equal Educational Opportunities

• JICK: Harassment of Students

Additionally, the following policies were opened and are scheduled for review at the next school committee meeting on October 3, 2022:

• EBC-Supplemental: Emergency Plans - Interim Policy on COVID-Related Issues

• EBB: First Aid

• EBC: Emergency Plans

• EBCD: Emergency Closings

• JL: Student Welfare

• JLC: Student Health Services & Requirements

For any questions or to provide feedback, please contact the policy subcommittee at kmilton@wbridgewater.com and rdragonetti@wbridgewater.com. A complete listing of policies can be found at https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/page/school-committee.

Thank you to all the parents/guardians and family members who attended the Curriculum Nights at the MSHS, Howard, and RLM schools over the past 3 weeks. It was wonderful to see so many at the schools. These nights are to provide parents/families with information about the school and classrooms. The final Open House/Curriculum Night will be at the Spring Street School on Thursday, October 6th.

We will be hosting a meeting with the MSBA next week as part of the Senior Study. We will be hosting the meeting at the Rose L MacDonald School and will be touring the RLM as well as the Spring Street School. During the meeting, we will review the needs of the district and discuss information that has been submitted to the MSBA. At the meeting will be district and school administrators, maintenance, a School Committee member and a town official. The Senior Study is not an invitation to work with the MSBA but is part of the due diligence review phase of the MSBA Statement of Interest (SOI) Process.

Last April we submitted two Statements of Interest (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). A Statement of Interest was submitted for the Rose L MacDonald and the Spring Street School with the goal of being selected by the MSBA for a future building project. The SOIs were reviewed by the School Committee and Board of Selectmen. The Spring Street School was built in 1956 and the Rose L MacDonald School was built in 1968. They are older buildings and our maintenance staff has done a great job maintaining them over the years. As the town continues to grow we want to make sure we have the best educational spaces for our students and staff.

More information will be shared at future School Committee meetings and through our newsletter.

Please 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

• Peggy Linskey 508-894-1250 x3115 or mlinskey@wbridgewater.com

• ROSE L. MACDONALD SCHOOL

• Lynn Moniz 508-894-1240 x4102 or lmoniz@wbridgewater.com

• SPRING STREET SCHOOL

• Sara Mando 508-894-1230 x2122 or smando@wbridgewater.com

From the SROs Desk:

Hello, Parents! The school year is off to a great start! I wanted to thank everyone for their patience while we get back into a routine. A big thank you to the Howard School parents who were tasked with learning a new traffic pattern during afternoon parent pick-up.

I would like to take a minute to remind Howard School parents of a few things in the hopes it will help make the traffic flow more smoothly:

1. If traffic is backed up, please do not try to cut into traffic by taking a left from Howard Street into the Howard School parking lot entrance. Drive further down Howard Street and get into the line that way. Taking a left only hinders traffic and slows down the process.

2. When dropping your children off, please pull ALL the way forward and not just directly in front of the doors. By pulling all the way forward, we can get more vehicles through the line much faster.

3. If you need to speak with me or a staff member during parent drop-off/pick-up, please either park and come to the main lobby, or email/call to set up a time to talk. The drop-off/pick-up line is not the time to do so. It's not that we don't love to chat, it's just a very busy time and we want everyone to be as safe as possible.

4. Please do not park and then walk up to the waiting/release area for students and staff during afternoon pick-up. If you don't want to wait in the parent line, please have your child's release designation changed to a "walker" or utilize the bus.

5. To speed up the parent pick-up even more, please put your child's name and grade on a piece of paper in one of your passenger windows. This helps immensely!

Any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to reach out to me at 508-586-2525 ext 5119 or tpope@wbpd.com

Below is a link to our website with the bus routes that were updated last week. If you have any bus-related questions or concerns please contact the school.

Meals are Free! Just a reminder that school meals are free again for 2022-2023 for all students but we are still collecting Household Applications forms. Families that qualify may be eligible for additional benefits and it helps fund important school programs.

Adding funds to a student's lunch account. Extra a la carte items such as bottled water, freshly baked cookies, ice cream, and milk for students that bring lunch from home are offered for sale in the cafeteria. The selection depends on the school (Spring Street only offers milk). Students must have money on their lunch account to purchase any extra items. 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.

Please check out WB's Food Services page on the District's website for menus and additional information. WB Food Services

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

Check out some highlights from this week's menu!

Inclusion Matters is a group of West Bridgewater families whose kids have IEPs and 504s. We offer webinars and events for families. If you'd like to learn more about our events for parents, guardians, and students, please email us at InclusionMattersMA@gmail.com to join our private email list.

Check out the upcoming free webinar: Understanding the IEP on Wednesday, October 12th from 7:00-8:30 pm with Dr. Ed Carter.

See our upcoming events on our Facebook page at @InclusionMattersMA and our website at www.InclusionMattersMA.com

In accordance with federal special education law, IDEA 2004, the West Bridgewater Public Schools is conducting child find activities for students who live in West Bridgewater and attend private schools located in the West Bridgewater area. This federal requirement also applies to out of state students who reside at a private school. Child find activities require the West Bridgewater Public Schools to evaluate students who may meet special education eligibility criteria. Contact the Student Services Department at 508-894-1236 with questions.

No time to catch any of the Wildcat games the past couple of weeks, well I have a run down of some of the results!

The Cross country boys lost to Bristol Plymouth 20-40 while the girls won 20-37. The

Football team lost to Fairhaven 40-20, with an upcoming home game against Nantucket this Saturday at 1:30 pm. The field varsity Field Hockey team drew a 0-0 tie with Whitman Hanson while the junior varsity won 5-2. The varsity Golf team beat South Shore Vo-GTech and the junior varsity team beat Blue Hills. Both boys Soccer teams had wins against Blue Hills, the varsity 2-0 and the junior varsity 3-2. The girls Soccer teams held their own as well with Rockland, the varsity winning 2-1 and the junior varsity winning 7-0. Rounding out the last week was the Volleyball team beating Bishop Connelly in three sets.

Hope these results keep you updated and get out there and support your Cats!

Car Wash Fundraiser - We have a car wash coming up on Sunday, October 2nd from 12 to 3 pm at WB Town Hall and it is only $10 to have your car washed and student volunteers are needed. A sign-up sheet is in the Middle/Senior High School office and students can earn service hours.

Our snack shack is also officially opening for the season on Saturday, September 24th at the football game vs Nantucket at 1:30 pm and will feature pizza from Gigi’s.

If you are interested or know someone interested in being a substitute teacher please click on the link below. If you are not sure and have any questions please feel free to reach out to the building principal and ask them any questions you may have about the position.

A message from Mr. Leeman, Howard School Principal:

Hello Howard and WB Families,

In collaboration with the PTO, we are able to bring the Organization for Social Media Safety to grades 5 and 6 during a school-based assembly next Friday, September 30th. Social media plays a big role in our students' lives today and we believe in being proactive and providing our student's education in social media is important. The assembly focuses on preventing cyberbullying, fighting back against social media addiction, understanding social media-motivated violence and how to stop it, and safely reacting to and helping reduce hate speech on social media. The assemblies are 50 minutes each and broken up by grade levels, two classes at a time.

On Thursday, September 29th at 6:00 pm in the WB MSHS auditorium, PTO will be hosting the Organization for Social Media Safety for a parent assembly for all parents (PK-12). This presentation will be different than the presentation that the grade 5 and 6 students will receive, as it is tailored to adults/guardians. Attached is a flyer for more information.

Mark Bodwell, Superintendent of Schools

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
Twitter: @WBPSwildcats