WHS eNotes

Dear students, staff, and parents/guardians:

There are now statewide laws or orders in 14 states mandating that schools operate as phone-free environments. Massachusetts is not far behind. We have had a cellphone policy at WHS for many years. What is more critical is that we all (educators and parents) understand how cellphones, and more specifically social media, is affecting our children.

In a recent New York Times article, Catherine Pearson interviews Jean Twenge (pronounced TWAIN-gee), a psychology professor at San Diego State University and leading expert on how heavy social media use among adolescents - averaging 4.5 hours per day - is linked to anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Twenge, who is also the mother of three adolescent daughters, applies the same limits at home that she recommends publicly, despite her children’s strong objections.

The article can be found here: “An Unwavering Warning About Teenagers and Screen Time”

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Stephen Imbusch

Principal

Recently, our school has begun the use of TalkingPoints for two-way communications between teachers and families. Families can send and receive messages either by text or via the TalkingPoints app.

Please note that our system connects one phone number per household for TalkingPoints (generally the first phone number on record in Aspen). If you would like more than one household member to receive TalkingPoints messages, please follow the instructions found below:

https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/documents/other-documents/technology/troubleshooting-tips/848735

If you have trouble with TalkingPoints, please send an email to helpdesk@walpole.k12.ma.us

On Friday, October 10th, we are administering the PSAT’s to all Sophomores and Juniors during the school day. As this is school day testing no action is required on the part of students and families. The students have been registered for the test by WHS.

Students should come to school on testing day with their school issued chromebook, pencil for scratch work and a calculator. The PSAT is a digital test.

In order to prepare for the PSAT’s students and families can visit the Collegeboard’s PSAT site.

Other helpful links:

PSAT Student Guide

Parent’s Guide to the Digital PSAT/NMSQT

Please note this is not a numbered day. There are no scheduled classes and all underclassmen need to be at school by 7:25 a.m. Students in 10th & 11th grade will report to the assigned testing rooms. 9th grade students will be participating in a Career Fair, Team Building Exercises and hearing from a guest speaker.

Seniors are encouraged to use this day to focus on their post secondary planning, whether that is college visits, meeting with a recruiter, scheduling interviews or catching up on applications and supplements.

Attention Walpole community! WHS is holding a Career Day for students on the morning of October 10th. If you or someone you know would be interested in speaking to students about your career, please fill out this form.

Would you like to help plan the prom? There will be a prom committee meeting on Monday, September 29th in room 1146 at 2:05 pm. We will be presenting ideas for this year's prom theme and choosing one. If you cannot attend the meeting, but are interested in being part of the committee, please email Ms. Allison at: sallison@walpole.k12.ma.us.

The following colleges will be visiting during intervention on Wednesday, Oct 1st in the gymnasium. All students are welcome to attend!

• Regis College
• UMass Boston
• Assumption University
• Sacred Heart University
• Pace University (New York City)
• UMass Amherst
• Salem State University
• George Mason University
• University of New England

• Babson College

The Spanish Club will be meeting Thursday, October 2nd at 2:10pm in Room 1332.

Best Buddies will hold their first meeting of the year on Monday, October 6th from 2:05-3:00pm in the cafeteria

Come join Girl Up! on 10/2! Girl Up! is a new club, focused on developing a safe space for young women to grow into leaders and address gender issues. It is an UN organization and every month we have a unique theme! For the month of October we will be focusing on Gender Equity in Academia. This is your chance to make a difference in the community, attain leadership skills and meet new people

Do you like to travel? Do you like to participate in community service projects? Are you a global citizen? If you answered yes, then this opportunity may be a good fit for you..

If interested please check out the link and let me know if you have any questions (swick@walpole.k12.ma.us). This trip is available to all students in good academic, conduct and attendance matters. Final deadline is mid October. Miss Wick

We're very excited to see the senior portraits for the Class of 2026! The Due Date for portrait submissions is Friday, Oct. 3rd, 2025. Our next deadline for the senior pages is a baby picture. This is due October 17th. All pictures should be uploaded as jpg, jpeg, or png files and should be titled lastname_firstname. There are 3 ways to submit pictures (senior, baby, candids) to the Yearbook:

1. Seniors can upload and submit to the Yearbook Classroom dropbox assignment

2. Upload to the Yearbook website via https://photos.jostens.com/4NDFVZ

3. Email Mrs. Harris: lharris@walpole.k12.ma.us

please check in with our Class of 2026 Information site for ALL info regarding Senior year, including Yearbook due dates and updates!

Join us for the Building Bridges HBCU College Fair at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center! This is your chance to connect with representatives from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, learn about admissions, scholarships, and discover what makes HBCUs special.

Date: October 16, 2025

Departure from WHS: 8:00 a.m.

Return to WHS: 1:00 p.m.

Permission slips are available in the School Counseling Office

Congratulations to the Walpole Speech and Debate Team for competing at the Yale Invitational this past Friday and weekend! The team had a blast at the overnight field trip, and developed more street smarts, made new friends, strengthen friendships, but also competed, learned, and were inspired!

Congratulations to these students:

Aaron Arora- Semi-finalist in Duo
Swara Sonchhatra- Semi-finalist in Duo
Vanya Singh- Octo-finalist in Original Oratory
Veronica Binsack- Duo
Damien Black- Duo
Cara Coyne- Duo
Ameya Kulkarni- Duo
Ramu Muthukaruppan- Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Shaurya Panchal- Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Anna Pileggi- Humorous Interpretation
Elaina Shobin- Informative Speaking
Vanshi Shroff- Duo
Sawyer Young- Duo

A huge thank you to our Debate Coach Trent Kuykendoll for judging as well as parent judges and chaperones: Muthu Annamalai, Helen Coyne, and Vipul Panchal!

Bonus: We loved catching up with former Debate President ‘25 Sarah Mukkuzhi who is in her freshman year at Yale!

Please follow us @walpolespeechanddebate and like us on Facebook: Walpole High School Speech and Debate Team.

Photography Club met Thursday and we shared our water themed pictures and had some really amazing pictures of waterfalls, Niagara Falls, and rain. We have a lot of new members and we always welcome more. The club meets on Thursday afternoons after school This week the theme is fall leaves as the seasons start to change even though the weather is still warm. We can see the yellow, orange, and red leaves coming out on the trees. The weather is still going to be great this week so hopefully you can get outside and find some colors of fall in the trees. Anyone that would like more information on the Photography Club can contact Mrs. D'Agostino: jdagostino@walpole.k12.ma.us and follow our instagram page to see our photos: photography_whs123

Please check the lower back portion of your students profile form and make sure to sign for medication permission for this school year. Return your profile forms to the main office as soon as possible.

Timber Talk will premiere on our YouTube channel every Tuesday with highlights from previous WHS games and previews of upcoming schedules.

Here is this week's show

The Athletic Department welcomes you to the 2025-2026 Athletic year. As always, we are excited about the upcoming year.

The Athletic website is located on the High School homepage. On this page, you will find forms, registration instructions, online payments, Twitter information, coaches' contact information, and an athletic calendar with the daily game schedules.

There is an Athletic Handbook found on the site as well. Please read it. I look forward to meeting you all, and seeing you at the games in the upcoming year cheering on the Walpole Timberwolves.

David St. Martin

Athletic Director

Walpole Timberwolves apparel check out the link below.

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/massachusetts/walpole/walpole-high-school

For a list of upcoming events please click on the following link: https://sites.google.com/a/walpole.k12.ma.us/athletics/

Email: dstmartin@walpole.k12.ma.us

Phone: 508-660-7257
Twitter: @WalpolehighADSM

Email: simbusch@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/whs
Location: 275 Common Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: (508) 660-7257
Twitter: @WalpoleHS

Instagram: @WalpoleHighSchool