West Bridgewater Wildcat PRIDE

Hello WB Students, Staff, and Families,

We hope you find the information included in this newsletter informative and useful. As always it is our goal to get as much information out to the families in the district. If you have questions or concerns related to your child please do not hesitate to contact the building administration.

Stay warm!

Mark Bodwell
Superintendent

Students at SSS are hard at work with ST Math, our visual, puzzle-based math program featuring JiJi the penguin! ST Math helps students truly understand math concepts by having them solve interactive puzzles without relying on words or memorization. This approach allows children to think creatively, try different strategies, and learn at their own pace. We love seeing their confidence grow as they help JiJi move through each challenge!

Congratulations to Oliver in Ms. Conroy's class for earning 100% completion !!

Delilah swam by the Rose L. today to visit our first graders! Delilah is a life-sized inflatable North Atlantic Right Whale, with measurements based on a real whale. Students even got to go inside the whale to learn all about her body and what whales eat! They also had the amazing opportunity to see and touch real whale vertebrae and baleen (whale teeth). It was truly a whale of a time and an unforgettable hands-on learning experience!

This month we are going to be planning a few fun events to help the Massachusetts Lions Club Eye Research fund. This fund helps support research to cure and stop eye diseases as well as help people get eye screenings/treatment around the world. We will keep you posted on our fund raising activities that will replace our annual Penny War. Thank you for your support in helping people around the world.

Our students will be enjoying an unforgettable journey through the universe—right here at school! A portable, inflatable planetarium is coming to RLM, transforming our space into a dazzling dome filled with stars. Inside, students will explore a realistic night sky exactly as it appears on the day of the presentation.

Guided by a skilled navigator using a digital planetarium projector and laser pointer, students will take dramatic “flights” to each planet in our solar system, learn to identify constellations of the Northern Hemisphere, and discover Greek mythological heroes hidden among the stars. They’ll also experience how the night sky changes with the seasons and looks from different places around the world. A special thank-you to our PTO for providing this truly out-of-this-world learning experience for our students!

As we are in the midst of the winter season I wanted to be proactive and share some reminders with you.

• In considering delays or cancellations I am in constant contact with many people/organizations to get updates on conditions in town and around the schools including but not limited to: WB DPW, WB Fire Department, WB Police, school maintenance, weather service organizations, Lucini Bus Company, and local area Superintendents. These communications usually start the evening before and continue into the early morning hours.

• The West Bridgewater DPW does an outstanding job clearing and treating the roads in town and the school parking lots. Our school custodial and maintenance staff also do an outstanding job clearing the school sidewalks and other areas around the schools. Thank you for your continued support and efforts!

• I will decide on a cancellation/delay when I feel I have sufficient information to do so. Sometimes this may be the night before but often it will not be until early in the morning. I do understand and appreciate that people like to know the night before but if I am uncertain I will wait to make a decision.

• When a decision is made students, staff, and families will be notified in a variety of ways. These include an email, phone calls, SMS text message, posting on the district website, district Facebook page, and news stations. A reminder that it is important that if there is a change in your email and/or phone number families communicate this with the office at the child's school.

• We may be able to have school but the conditions indicate we need a delay to the start of the school day. If there is a delay there will be no morning Surround Care. We will have either a 1-hour or 2-hour delay. This means that school will begin 1 or 2 hours after the regularly scheduled start time.

• In the event of an announced delay, the Full Day Pre-K sessions will begin at the later start time. The ½ Day a.m. (Tuesday/Thursday) session of the preschool program will be canceled.

• At this time the state does not allow "work-from-home days" So if we do need to cancel school that will extend the school year.

• If there is a cancellation or delay we ask that families have contingency plans for their child. It is our goal to be in school as long as it is safe. If as a parent/guardian you do not feel it is safe to send your child to school you may decide to keep them home.

I know and understand that not all will agree with the decisions that are made. Please know that when I make a decision it is my best judgement using all of the information I have available.

As of now (January 20th) the last scheduled day of school will be on Wednesday, June 10th. The last day of school is a half day for students.

SAVE THE DATE - SATURDAY, January 31st at 10 AM: Special Town Meeting at the MSHS for the Elementary School Building Project. Child care will be available.

Special Town Meeting

Saturday, January 31st at 10:00 a.m.

Middle/Senior High School

A two-thirds (2/3) majority vote is REQUIRED for approval at the Special Town Meeting.

Please note this is the first time the meeting has been scheduled on a Saturday. Child care will be available during the meeting.

Following the Special Town Meeting, the project will move to a town-wide ballot vote. The date of the ballot vote is set by the West Bridgewater Board of Selectmen. This vote requires a simple majority to pass. If you have ANY questions about the project please do not hesitate to reach out to Superintendent Bodwell at mbodwell@wbridgewater.com It is our goal to provide you all with as much accurate information as possible.

Do you have questions about the project? Do you want more information? Do you want answers to burning questions that you are having?

Starting in late October and continuing through the Town Meeting vote (end of January), Superintendent Bodwell will be hosting a 30-minute weekly drop-in session every Thursday at 8am to discuss any questions or concerns related to the Elementary School Building Project.

These sessions are open to parents and community members who would like to learn more or share feedback. You’re welcome to join in person or via Google Meet using the recurring link below:

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/izo-istp-gvp Please feel free to share this information with others who may be interested.

Let's start the New Year off being Cyber-Aware! It's always a good reminder to stay safe when online. Here are some helpful tips:

1. Use strong passwords, and don't reuse them on different sites.
2. Use Multi-Factor whenever possible. Ever have a website send a code to your cell phone before logging in? That's an example of 2-Factor or Multi-Factor Authentication!
3. Keep your phones, software and computers up to date. Updates usually fix security flaws that have been discovered
4. Pay close attention to emails that ask you to enter credentials. These are called "Phishing" emails. They may start with an urgent message, such as "You're account will be disabled tonight if you don't update your password". And it may come from a company that you know and use. If you receive a message like this, don't click the link in email! Instead, visit the site directly and log in.

These are just a few quick tips. For more information, visit this article: https://www.staysafeonline.org/articles/online-safety-basics

If you are looking for any of the past district newsletters from February 2022 to the present please click on the link below. We want to make sure you have access to all of them. If there is something you are looking for and cannot find just contact Superintendent Bodwell

FREE School Meals- All students in the West Bridgewater School District have access to free breakfast and lunch each school day through Massachusetts’ Universal School Meals Program. These meals help ensure that all students are ready to learn. Click on WB Food Services to find lunch and breakfast menus.

Food Assistance/Resources

We wish to remind families that support is available for anyone experiencing food insecurity and we encourage families to take advantage of local programs and school resources that provide nutritious meals and food assistance throughout the year.

Families seeking additional support can connect with the following other programs that provide groceries, meals, and nutritional assistance. The following is a list of resources:

West Bridgewater Food Pantry. 457 Rear, South Main Street, Unit #1. Offers curbside pick-up on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. You must be a West Bridgewater resident. Register at wbfoodpantry.com or call (508)510-5274.

Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline- Call or text 1-800-645-8333. This multilingual hotline is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Project Bread staff can connect families to nearby food pantries, school meal programs, and SNAP application support. Project Bread FoodSource Hotline.

The Greater Boston Food Bank- Visit http://www.gbfb.org and hit the “Request Help with SNAP” button to fill out an application for assistance, or use it to search for local food assistance by ZIP code.

Healthy Incentives Program (HIP)- This program helps SNAP clients buy more fruits and vegetables for their household. Vineyard Farms in West Bridgewater participates. No registration required, just bring you SNAP card with you! Learn more at http://mass.gov/hip

Cafeteria Position available!

We have an opening for a part-time (12-15 hours/week) cafeteria helper at the MSHS. Food service experience is helpful but not necessary. Please call Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director, at (508)894-1220 or email agrinder@wbridgewater.com for more information.

To access Hudl Livestream, Schedules, Go Fan Tickets, Sports Registration, Boosters or Gridiron information use the QR Code located below. Or go to the WB Athletics Website at the following link.

WB Athletics Apparel Store:

If you’d like to show your Wildcat pride, personalized West Bridgewater gear is available through our official Sideline Store.
WEST BRIDGEWATER, Massachusetts - Sideline Store

Highlights:
The Boys and Girls Indoor Track and Field teams have come off strong showings and look to continue their success throughout the season. They are back on the track January 19th for the SCC Championship. The Girls Varsity Basketball team is coming off of back to back wins and is ranked 15th in the state in Division 4. The Boys Varsity Basketball team just took down unbeaten Holbrook and is ranked 10th in Division 4. The WEB Boys Hockey team has played well in their last few games. They currently have a 3-6 record and are ranked 28th in Division 4. The WEB Girls Hockey team has a 3-1 record this season. The co-op team of Bridgewater-Raynham and West Bridgewater defeated Norton with a season-high score of 143.50 to Norton’s 134.45. BR/WB will return to action on Monday, January 19, when they host Somerset/Berkley at Spectrum Gymnastics. Great job WB Athletes as the Winter Season continues!

Events:

The Open Weight Room is available for students after school from 4:00PM - 5:30PM. All are welcome to join! Please see Ms. Hammel with any questions.

MIAA Power Rankings:

Power Rankings 3-4 weeks into the regular season, and subsequent updates will be released each Tuesday and Friday throughout the remainder of the

MIAA Power Rankings are based on results entered by member schools into Arbiter. The first release of power rankings each season generally will be

regular season.

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