Parent Update 2025

As we move further into the holiday season, I want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible achievements and efforts of our students and staff.

A special shout-out goes to our Music Department, who delivered a truly wonderful performance last weekend with their Carol and Bells Concert! The students’ talent, dedication, and holiday spirit lit up the stage, creating a joyful experience for everyone in the audience. What a fantastic way to kick off the season! We are so proud of their hard work and the pride they bring to our school community.

Throughout the year, if there is a staff member you would like to recognize for their work with your student, please feel free to email me at any time—you don’t need to wait for another survey widikerj@mywusd.org. We will gladly celebrate their impact.

Thank you for your continued support of WHS.

Jason Widiker, WHS Principal

Thank you to all of the families who have scheduled and/or attended Junior Conferences so far. Your partnership is a huge contribution to future planning for our students, programming, and our community. If you still would like to make an appointment, please do so by December 23, 2025.

Registration rollout will begin shortly after winter break, and we want our juniors to be as prepared as possible to choose courses for next year. Please use this LINK and click on your child's counselor name to make an appointment. Thank you!

Junior students with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher should have received a hand delivered invitation this week to apply for Watertown High School's chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS). Instructions for how to access the formal application are in the invitation. The application includes components related to scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Completing the application does not guarantee acceptance. If your student meets the cumulative GPA requirement but did not receive an invitation, please contact the school’s NHS advisors: Mrs. Klubertanz (Media Center) or Mrs. Gilbert-Crane (S226).

Parents/Guardians are reminded that once your child has used the 10 days of excused absences, any additional call-ins will be marked unexcused, though they will not be considered truant. If you provide a doctor’s note, the absence will be changed back to excused.

A friendly reminder for you and your student that for any absences coded as unexcused, teachers do not, by state statute, have to allow retakes or provide make-up work for those days. This decision is up to each individual teacher, so students should check directly with their teachers about expectations and available options.

Support Staff Paraprofessionals

WHS is actively hiring support staff paraprofessionals to join our school community. Paraprofessionals play a vital role in supporting student success, assisting teachers, and helping create an inclusive, engaging learning environment for all learners. Please see the WECAN website below to apply. If you or someone you know is interested in being part of a team committed to empowering students, we encourage you to apply! For more information, please contact Associate Principal Jen Pennington for more information.

Watertown High School's National Honor Society members have been busy spreading kindness these past few months! In November, a student-led team baked homemade treats and delivered them to our local police and fire departments to say thank you. Many of our members volunteered with the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign, ringing bells across the community to support a great cause. We also jumped in to help at Douglas Family Night, running and supervising architecture-themed stations for families — such a fun night! And to top it off, a small group of students created goody bags for our amazing bus drivers to show our appreciation.

So proud of our NHS students for leading with service, heart, and community spirit!