November 2025 District Newsletter
District Newsletter
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December 1: Board of Education Special Meeting (Facilities)
December 2: Pupil Personnel Services Parent Meeting at HES
Decembre 3: Curriculum Committee Meeting
December 3: WHS Band Winter Concert
December 5: Communication Committee Meeting
December 9: Safety & Security Committee Meeting
December 9: WMS Band Winter Concert
December 10: Policy Committee Meeting
December 10: WHS Orchestra and Choirs Winter Concert
December 11: Board of Education Special Meeting (Grievance)
December 11: WMS Orchestra Winter Concert
December 12: Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee Meeting
December 15: Board of Education Workshop
December 15: Board of Education November Meeting
December 16: WMS Chorus Winter Concert
December 17: WHS Jazz Night
December 19: Educational Optimization Committee Meeting (TBD)
December 23: Early Dismissal (Winter Recess)
December 24 - January 2: Winter Recess (no school/district offices closed: 12/25, 12/31, and 1/1)
Refer to the district calendar for additional details.
The Pupil Personnel Services parent meetings will be held in a different format this year. Rather than selecting topics that are relevant district-wide, each presentation will focus on the needs of a specific building within the district.
In partnership with the Special Education PTO liaisons, our first meeting of the year is scheduled for Tuesday, December 2nd at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will be held at Hulbutt Elementary School in the South House Cafeteria. The focus of this presentation will be on Understanding Special Education Services at HES.
We kindly request that you arrive after 8:45 a.m., allowing Hulbutt to complete their arrival before we begin welcoming families for this presentation.
The meeting will be recorded and made available on the website for families who are unable to attend.
Last week, our K–5 PTO hosted a well-attended evening presentation on the importance of play in children’s learning. Suzanne Clement, Early Childhood Coordinator for Cooperative Educational Services (CES), spoke with families about how various types of play, including free play and guided play, support children’s executive functioning, social skills, and overall development. A parent guide with resources was provided to parents during the presentation and is attached below.
Suzanne has been working with Weston teachers over the past two years to strengthen our district’s play-based learning practices in response to recent Connecticut legislation. With a rich background in early childhood education, as a teacher, administrator, professor, and family specialist, she brings deep expertise to this work. Families who were unable to attend or wish to learn more may view Suzanne’s slide deck, attached below.
WHS Students Chosen for Next Level in Prestigious Scholarship Program!
Congratulations to Weston High School seniors Bruce Matos and Gavin Villepigue have been named Semifinalists for the 2026 Coca-Cola Scholars Program, advancing in the selection process for a $20,000 college scholarship. The Coca-Cola Scholars Program, a joint effort of Coca-Cola bottlers and The Coca- Cola Company, is the nation’s largest corporate-sponsored, achievement-based scholarship program. With the 2026 class, the Foundation will have awarded over $90 million to more than 7,200 scholars in its 38-year history.
Semifinalists will now complete Phase 2 applications, including essays, a recommendation, and a transcript. An independent committee will select 250 Regional Finalists in early January for online interviews. 150 students will then be chosen as Coke Scholars-select in late February and invited to Scholars Weekend in Atlanta (April 23–26, 2026) and be officially named Coca-Cola Scholars and receive their $20,000 scholarship.
Hurlbutt Elementary School
This fall, our school was proud to offer families three engaging workshop experiences designed to strengthen the home–school partnership—a critical foundation in a PreK–2 community, where early learning habits, skills, and attitudes develop both at school and at home. Our Curriculum Instructional Leaders led sessions focused on supporting student learning at home. One series of workshops was on the Science of Reading with literacy specialist Andrea Noble—who modeled classroom activities and shared practical reading strategies for families. We held two math workshops with Math and Science Curriculum Leader Kelly DelVecchio on how children develop mathematical thinking.
We also welcomed Suzanne Clement as a guest speaker at the November evening PTO meeting. A statewide leader in early childhood education and the Early Childhood Coordinator for Cooperative Educational Services, Suzanne shared powerful insights on the importance of play in children’s development, reflecting the play-based learning work she has supported with Weston educators. Together, these workshops equipped families with meaningful tools to support their children’s growth and learning.
During the first week of November, our families attend individual teacher conferences. These meetings support two way communication between our families and their child’s teacher. Progress towards grade level standards as well as information about a child's social emotional development was shared with families. We value these conversations which further develop our home-school partnerships.
Weston Intermediate School
This month at Weston Intermediate School has been filled with powerful moments of connection, gratitude, and community pride. We began by honoring six veteran guests, all family members of our students, who visited for our Veterans Day celebration. They shared meaningful stories of their service, and our students sang songs in their honor, creating a respectful and beautiful experience that brought our school community together in reflection and appreciation.
Our celebrations continued with the CT Blue Ribbon Parade, a joyful recognition of this exceptional achievement. First Selectwoman Samantha Nestor, Board of Education members, and students and staff from both the middle and high school joined us for the event. It was a beautiful day as the community lined the parade route, cheering for our WIS students and reconnecting with former teachers. The atmosphere reflected a genuine display of Weston pride and the strength of our school community coming together.
Inside our foyer, the Gratitude Tree now stands as a vibrant reminder of thankfulness, filled with submissions from every student. Each leaf reflects something meaningful that our students appreciate, forming a colorful display that encourages reflection and positivity. In the courtyard, our fifth graders planted daffodils that will serve as a lasting reminder of their time at WIS.
Throughout these moments, honoring local heroes, celebrating schoolwide achievements, and sharing personal expressions of gratitude, our school has shown the true power of community and connection. These experiences continue to shape our students not only academically but socially and emotionally, reminding us all of the joy and purpose that come from learning and growing together.
Weston Middle School
WMS students participated and helped lead our Veterans Day assembly - probably the most important and special assembly we do each year. We started the day with a whole school assembly in the gymnasium. A special thank you to our student band and chorus performers, our student masters of ceremony, Mr. Jim Day, who gave special guest remarks to our students, Superintendent Forti, who concluded our assembly with special remarks, and, of course, our ten veteran guests. Eighth graders then had the special opportunity to participate in living history seminars in the library with individual veterans. This allowed students to hear the specific stories of veterans and ask questions about their experiences.
We also implemented our first No Place for Hate activity in November. The focus was identity. It was chosen because we felt that understanding your own identity ultimately helps you understand the identity of others. Students completed an iceberg activity where they got to explore the aspects of their identity that are visible “above the waterline”, “at the waterline”, and “below the waterline.” Students then met in small groups - which were composed of a mix of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders - and shared aspects of their own identity and learned more about the identities of their group mates. It was a thoughtful experience for everyone.
Happy Thanksgiving. Go Warriors!
Weston High School
Our 9th graders participated in the final round of our Poetry Out Loud contest on November 21st. The recitations by our finalists were so impressive. A special congratulations to Henry Porter for coming in first place with “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. The list of finalists and their poems can be found here. Thank you to Ms. Roehl, Mr. Jennette and Mr. Long, our 9th grade English teachers for supporting and running this event. Thank you as well to Mrs. Holmes and Dr. Opidee for all of your efforts to bring this event to fruition each year!
WHS Company recently wrapped up their fall drama, “12 Angry Jurors”, and will begin holding auditions in December for the spring musical. Check our WHS calendar for winter concert dates and times, coming up in the next few weeks. Hope to see you there!
The successful fall sports season will conclude this Thursday with the traditional Joel Barlow v Weston football game at Barlow. So many of our programs had a great season. Swimming won the class S State title for the 23rd time in the program’s history and, Boys Soccer won the SWC championship. Happy Retirement to Ms. Dawn Egan, thank you so much for everything you have done for WHS athletics! We will miss you.
Thank you to the American Hero’s Club and the WHS Chorale for honoring our veterans at the ceremony at Town Hall. The veterans made their way to WHS for lunch and then participated in a Q & A panel.
We ended the month with a PACT the Pantry and King of the Court Pep Rally! We have committed to more spirit events this year and our student government is delivering on that promise. Thank you to Anne Bigin from the Weston Food Pantry for joining us and sharing with our students how impactful their donations are. While it ended in a tie the very first junior/senior boys volleyball event was a success. This event was so much fun, the energy was amazing!! Thank you to Izzy Gronowetter and Alice Sullivan, our Student Government co-presidents for organizing this event! The students donated four overflowing bins of food to the Weston Food Pantry today…amazing!!!
Weston High School Athletics
What a fall season we had! Some amazing accomplishments with our Girls Swim & Dive team being named CIAC State Champions for the 12th year in a row and 23rd time in the history of our program. The focus and determination of this team is unparalleled and we watched them rise to the occasion during each heat. We had 14 athletes named All-State and 2 All-New England athletes which is also amazing. The commitment to excellence continues to set the standard for our athletic programs and inspire future generations of student-athletes. We pride ourselves that our academic accomplishments are even more important than our athletic accomplishments, and we are proud that 90% of our students-athletes received academic recognition by the NIAAA or SWC during this fall season. If that’s not enough, our athletes and coaches proved that you can be successful on your field of competition and also go about it the right way as 2 of our fall teams (Boys Golf and Girls Volleyball) won the Sportsmanship Award, and nearly every other fall team received Outstanding Sportsmanship recognition from the South West Conference.
Our winter season opens December 1st with more than 300 athletes registered so we prepare for our next adventure. As always mark your calendars and join us!
Programs, Activities, Services, and Resource
Weston Human Services offers programs, activities, services, and resources happening in our region to support and promote the health and well-being of Weston youth & families. Click here to find their current and past newsletters.
