West Bridgewater Students, Staff and Families,

As we near Thanksgiving I hope you all get some well deserved rest and time to relax. I hope you enjoy the time with your family and friends. Life moves very fast and everyone is so busy! Taking time to do the things you enjoy the most is so important and necessary.

I hope you find this newsletter informative as there is a lot going on in West Bridgewater. Thank you to all our hard-working and dedicated staff in the district. We want to continue to do our best for our students!

Check out the bulletin board for the preschool at the Spring Street School. They did such a GREAT job!

West Bridgewater earned a Silver on the AP School Honor Roll Recognition. The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose AP programs are delivering results for students while broadening access. Schools can earn this recognition annually based on criteria that reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness. The AP School Honor Roll offers four levels of distinction: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Great job!

The Unified Bocce Team completed their first ever season last week by hosting a Bocce Tournament at the Middle-Senior High School with help from Special Olympics and many high school volunteers. The tournament began with seventh grader Adri Guardione reading the Athlete's Oath and helping representatives from Special Olympics introduce the teams. Competitors included athletes from Pembroke, Bourne, Dartmouth, Plymouth, and Foxboro. Athletes Adri Guardione, Zachary Folger, Joseph Dangoia, Thomas Dubois, Mekenna Clark, Ryan Callahan, Elijah Pereira, and Xavier Popotte showed great teamwork and represented the Wildcats well playing through multiple rounds of 10 minute matches against their opponents. Joseph Dangoia, Adri Guardione, and Zachary Folger were top scorers in the matches they participated in and helped lead the Wildcats to multiple victories during the tournament! Thank you to Coaches Nikki Maloney and Jennie Keeley as well as Ms. Hammel, Trainer Emma and Mr. Campagna for helping to set up!

Earlier this year in their first ever season of Unified Bocce, Wildcat athletes from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade played two matches against students from Pembroke Community Middle School! Join us for our upcoming event on Tuesday, November 7 at the Middle-Senior High School gymnasium and cheer on our team as they take on students from surrounding communities in a tournament from 3:30-5pm!

Congratulations to the newly inducted members of the West Bridgewater National Junior Honor Society. The students were inducted on November 14th.

Come to the MSHS to see the Drama Club present Matilda! It is always a good time and our students do an amazing job!

MSBA Elementary School Building Update - At the Town Meeting in October the town passed the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design with 84% approval (needed 2/3 to pass) At this time we are working with the MSBA to complete all required paperwork and will be on the agenda for the December MSBA board meeting. After the board meeting we will discuss with them the next steps as we move towards the selection process of an OPM (Owners Project Manager) and then a designer. We will work with both as we progress through the feasibility phase which typically takes approximately 2 years.

The Lions Club of West Bridgewater sponsors the Lions Club International Peace Poster Contest for our district each year. This year’s theme was “Dare to Dream." The theme should show how students dare to dream and make world peace a reality. Please congratulate Mya Pombo (1st place), Maddy Lefferts (2nd Place), and Mackenzie Killgoar (3rd place). Mya's poster will be sent to the district competition to be judged in December. The Lions club of West Bridgewater generously donated participation buttons for each student who participated and also monetary prizes for the winners. Congratulations everyone!

Just a reminder that conferences are set for Friday, November 17th (PreK-8), Monday, November 20th, and Tuesday, November 21st (PreK-12). Building principals will be sending out more detailed information as to how to sign up and times. A reminder that Wednesday, November 22nd is a half day of school and there is no school on November 23rd and 24th.

We are always looking for qualified persons to fill substitute teaching positions. If you are interested, please visit https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/page/substitute-teaching for more information or contact one of the building principals for more information.

In partnership with the West Bridgewater Fire Department, West Bridgewater Public Schools and the West Bridgewater PTO, we are having a Toy Drive to gather toys and gift cards for local West Bridgewater families in need. (The ages of the children range from 5 to 17.) Last year, we assisted approximately 50 West Bridgewater families.

If you would like to donate, please drop an unwrapped toy or gift card to the police or fire station lobby. Or if you have a school-aged child, please have them bring the item to their school. There will be collection bins at each location. If you schedule a Santa visit in December through the West Bridgewater Police Department, please consider donating an item for Santa to bring back to the police department that night.

Any questions, please contact our School Resource Officer, Officer Pope at tpope@wbpd.com or 508-586-2525 ext 5119.

On behalf of the WB Athletic Boosters we would like to thank all who came out in support of our organization at this year's Comedy Night show. We could not do this without the generosity of those who donated raffle & auction items, as well as those who sponsored this event, thank you! A big shout out to Funny4Funds for all the laughs! Wishing you all a Happy & Healthy Thanksgiving!

WB Athletic Boosters
Jenn Gately, President
Kim Foley, Vice President
Lynda Hulme, Treasurer
Terry Kearton, Secretary
Jen Morash, Comedy Night Event Coordinator

Universal free school meals - Both Breakfast and Lunch are Free! We hope your student dines with us!

Click on WB Food Services to find Monthly menus. Locally grown fruits and veggies are still being served each week. This week we served Thanksgiving-themed lunch in every school that the students really enjoyed!

The holidays can be a stressful time for families struggling to make ends meet.

Food Assistance- Project Bread Food Source Hotline , West Bridgewater Food Pantry.

Do you have a passion for gardening? Help is needed to start school gardens. Interested individuals should contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or (508)894-1220 ext 1320

Adding money for a la carte items: While meals are free, students must have money on their accounts to buy extra items. Milk is available for students that bring meals from home for $.75 at all schools and Howard and the MSHS offer many healthy snacks and bottled water. 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.

Mr. Bodwell enjoys visiting the schools and seeing the students and staff. A couple of years ago he did "shadow days" in each of the schools. This year he would like to spend time again in each of the schools and do it over two consecutive days. This will allow him to "live" in the buildings and really get to see what is going on. He is really looking forward to these days and it is his plan to be in and around classrooms, passing times, lunch/recess, shadowing admin, and generally just being present. Last week he spent Wednesday and Thursday at the MSHS and have dates scheduled for the other buildings later this month and in December.

If you are able, please support a Sock Drive organized by Matthew Navin to help the homeless and those less fortunate. There is a sock drop in the MSHS lobby. Thank you in advance! @WBPSwildcats

Great News! - The school district (specifically Debbie Llanes and Julie Diedrichsen) applied for the School Behavioral Workforce and Service Expansion (SBHE) grant program in March of last year. Unfortunately, we were notified soon thereafter that we did not receive the grant. However, because of an increase in the state appropriation for the school health services line item, we were notified late last week that they are now able to expand the number of grantees. The SBHE program is part of the Comprehensive School Health Services program so the funding and related activities will be integrated into that contract. We are currently receiving $30,000 in this grant and using it for additional nursing services. So it is great news that we were recently notified that we are being awarded an additional $100,000 to hire a full-time elementary school adjustment counselor and part-time school psychologist to be used at the elementary level. We are very excited about these additions that were included in the grant. The positions have been posted. The funding is only for FY24 (this year) with potential for FY25 and FY26 but nothing is known at this time for future years.

Inclusion Matters partners with families with children with special needs, including children with IEPs and 504 Plans.

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Inclusion Matters was begun by a group of parents in response to the school district's need for a SEPAC. As an official 501(c)3, Inclusion Matters now offers workshops for caregivers and families, IEP and 504 consulting, an annual conference (on hold due to the pandemic), and family events for families with and without special needs in communities across the South Shore of Massachusetts.

Here is the tentative agenda for the meeting on November 17th at 9:15 am at the Spring Street School.

• Building Project and Feasibility Vote and Next Steps

• School Behavioral Grant

• Parent-Teacher Conferences

• Superintendent in Residence MSHS experience

• Bus Transportation and Arrival/Dismissal

• WB Drama Club - Matilda

• Budget Meetings with Town

• Morning Arrivals

• K Lunch with Superintendent

• School and District Newsletters

• Unified Sports - Bocce Tournament

• Fall/Winter Athletics

• Open Discussion/Questions/Concerns

• Check out website www.wbridgewaterschools.org Facebook www.wbridgewaterschools.org/o/district-office Twitter @WBPSwildcats

• Next Meeting - December 22 , 2023 9:15 am Location TBD

Congratulations to Allie Edgerly for being selected as the Grade 8, Project 351 Ambassador! We know you will represent West Bridgewater well! Great job Allie! Check out the link below for more information on the state-wide program.

The Surround Care program is available for before and after school care. The program opens at 7 AM and is available until 6 PM at Spring Street, RLM and Howard Schools. Programs provide indoor and outdoor play, crafts, games, and fun with friends. Snacks are provided!

Register online: https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/page/surround-care

November's school schedule will include 3 early release days to facilitate Parent-Teacher Conferences. To accommodate parents schedules, we offer the opportunity for your child to remain at school after dismissal as part of our Surround Care program at the Spring Street School for Kindergarten, at the Rose L. MacDonald School for grades 1-3, and at the Howard School for grades 4-6. The fee is $9/hr. You may pick up your child at any time before the closing time of 6 pm. A snack/drink will be provided later in the day as well.

To be sure there is adequate staff available, we ask that you complete the registration below no later than 12:00 noon on Tuesday, November 14th.

The early release days are: Friday, November 17th

Monday, November 20th

Tuesday, November 21st

There will be no Surround Care on Wednesday, November 22nd

***Please complete this registration form even if your child is a regular attendee in the program so that we know your plans for the day. A separate registration is required for each day you plan to have your child attend.

Congratulations to all of our WBMSHS Fall Teams throughout their season! As we come to the end of this season we have the start of the Winter sports season right around the corner! Make sure to sign up for Winter Sports as they will start following the Thanksgiving Break. Please follow @WBMSHSAthletics for updates on the schedule and highlights from games and matches.

Check out some highlights from our WB Coaches below!

Winter Sports Sign Ups: Our winter sports season begins on Monday, November 27th. If you have not signed up please do so as soon as possible. The link to sign up is below:

https://students.arbitersports.com/west-bridgewater-middle-senior-hs-activities-and-fees/west-bridgewater-2023-2024-west-bridgewater-athletics-registration

The registration for winter sports will close on Wednesday, 11/22 at 8:00AM. It will reopen after the first day of tryouts and close at the completion of the second day of tryouts.

Unified Bocce

The Unified Bocce Team hosted their first bocce tournament in the gym at the MSHS on Tuesday, November 7th from 3:30-4:45. Thank you to all who came out to support our Unified Athletes as they faced off against students from Dartmouth, Pembroke, Plymouth South, Bourne and Foxborough. Congratulations to all of our athletes who took part!

G and B XC

Congratulations to the members of the boys and girls cross country teams who literally ran up a mountain at their MIAA championship meet on Saturday in Western Massachusetts. Both teams did a fantastic job against tough competition. Ella Dunbury was able to qualify for the state championship race Saturday November 18th in Devens! Good Luck Ella in your race!

Field Hockey

The Varsity Field Hockey team lost in the first round of the State Tournament 2-0 to Hopedale. They trailed by a goal going into halftime and surrendered the final goal with four minutes left in the game. The team fought hard until the finish and is looking to build on all they accomplished this season.

Girls Soccer

In the first round of the state tournament the Girls Soccer team defeated Millbury 2-1. Rachael Geniuch and Kylie Fuller scored the goals and Ava Xayavong and Olivia Milton had the assists. Aly Basset and Shayna Wallach had strong defensive games for the Wildcats.

The girls varsity soccer team lost to South Hadley this weekend in the round of 8. Kylie Fuller, Sophia Hulme and Mya Hebert each scored a goal. Olivia Milton, Kylie Fuller and Rachael Geniuch each picked up assists. A special thanks to our seniors Ava Xayavong, Cassidy Perrault, Mya Hebert, Aly Basset and Rachael Geniuch. You were tremendous leaders and will greatly be missed.

Football

The Wildcats lost to Amesbury 34 to 18 in the second round of the MIAA tournament. James Harris rushed for two touchdowns for the Wildcats. Ty Holmes rushed for a touchdown as well. James Harris leads a senior class that also features receiver Luke Destrampe, receiver Miguel Pleasants, receiver Sam Salter, running back/linebacker Christian Packard, linebacker Matt Murphy, defensive end Nate Frechette, and linemen Ben Neilan, Aidan Burke and Chris Flipp. The Wildcats will play their last game of the season against Southeastern on Thanksgiving at 10 a.m.

Volleyball

The Volleyball team traveled to Cohasset for the first round of the state tournament. The team put up a great fight but ended up falling 3 sets to 2 to the Skippers. The team played their hearts out. We are so proud of what you have accomplished the past few years!

Boys Soccer:

Varsity boys soccer won their final game of the season 6-0 over Carver. Dylan Spadea had 3 goals and 1 assist, Aiden Mussari scored the opening goal off a great back post header, and senior captains Noah Schneeweis and Derek Cashman scored a goal each. Goalkeeper Ben Stapleton earned his 2nd consecutive shutout and 5th of the season. Congratulations on a great season.

Golf:

Aiden Delehoy participated in the MIAA Golf Championship at Kettle Brook Golf Club in Paxton, MA representing the Wildcats!! He did a great job representing the team in the individual tournament. Aiden Delehoy, Collin Baker, Aiden Maher, Ben LeGrice, Sean Petras and Patrick Harrington represented the Wildcats at the South Coast Conference Golf Championship. Aiden Delehoy turned in an impressive 79 to lead the Wildcats. Great season!

Cheer

The Cheer team competed at Durfee High School on Sunday October 29th. The competition was titled “ Pink Intensity”. Great job preparing and competing as a team! Well done Wildcats!

Other Athletic News:

A group of Wildcat Athletes represented WBMSHS at Gillette for the Sportsmanship Summit. It was a great day where they got the opportunity to interact with athletes from different schools, take part in discussions about sportsmanship and leadership. As well as to hear from speakers on those topics. Great job representing WB and we look forward to them bringing that message back to the student athletes at WBMSHS.

Ms. Hammel is selling a sports student pass on Go Fan. Pass costs $50 for the year and will get you into all basketball season home games. You will need your SASID # to purchase the pass. Ms. Hammel will be sending more information.

**WB-CAM:

A big thank you to the WB-CAM for live streaming our athletic events! They do an amazing job! Please follow them on Twitter to find out which athletic events are being live streamed. Let's Go Wildcats!

Twitter: @WBCAM0998

**Game schedule:

Please check out the WB game schedule on Arbiter Live! Link is below.

https://arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=25160

Avoid waiting in line! Please check out our online ticketing through Go Fan!

https://gofan.co/app/school/MA14770

October 30, 2023

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 October 30, 2023, the following policies were reviewed and revised as indicated:

• BA- School Committee Operational Goals

• BAA- Evaluation of School Committee Operational Procedures

• BBA- School Committee Powers and Duties

• BBAA- School Committee Member Authority

• BE- School Committee Meetings

• BEDA- Notification of School Committee Meetings

• BEDD- Rules of Order

• BEDF- Voting Method

• IHB- Special Instructional Programs and Accommodations

• IHBA- Programs for Students with with Disabilities

• IHBAA- Observations of Special Education Programs

Additionally, the following policies were opened and are scheduled for review at the next school committee meeting on December 4, 2023:

• ADF - School District Wellness Program

• FA - Facilities Development Goals

• FCB - Retirement Of Facilities

• FF - Naming New Facilities

• FFA - Memorials

• JEB - Entrance Age

• JF - School Admissions

• JFABC - Admission Of Transfer Students

• JFABD - Homeless Students: Enrollment Rights And Services

• JFABE - Educational Opportunities For Military Children

• JFABF - Educational Opportunities For Children In Foster Care

• JFBB - School Choice

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 in the WB Policy Index at https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org under the School Committee tab.

Congratulations to our John & Abigail Adams Scholarship Winners for the Class of 2024 - Riley Bain, Alyssa Bassett, Christian Bates, Kendall Beady, Kiara Brache, Reese Bunker, Derek Cashman, Avrey Cloutier, Luke Destrampe, Emma Dowdall, Ella Dunbury, Mia Estabrooks, Christian Fredericksen, Derek Fredericksen, Rachel Geniuch, Victoria Hunt, Rachel LeBaron, James LeGrice, Aidan Maher, Michael McCallum, Brooke, Robichaud, Noah Schneeweis, Ryan Sergi, James Sheedy, Katherine Spadea, Thomas Stapleton, Rushell Victor, Anna Winchell & Brendan Woods

Thank you everyone for another successful Fun Run! We appreciate all of the volunteers and everyone who was able to make it out and watch the event! We saw lots of smiling faces. We also want to say thank you to all who donated to the Fun Run.

Mark for calendar for these upcoming events:

• Dining for Dollars with Grand Slam! On Tuesday November 21st dine in for lunch or dinner at Grand Slam and 10% of your bill will go back to the PTO!
• Breakfast with Santa! On Saturday December 2nd we will be hosting our Breakfast with Santa! It is at the RLM from 9 am to 11 am. Tickets will be sold in advance.
• Book Fair! Spring Street will shop on December 4th and 5th. RLM will shop on December 7th. Howard will shop on December 6th. More specific information will come out closer to the shopping dates. Each class will be assigned a time to shop.

Our next meeting is December 6th at 7 pm at the RLM!

Follow our Facebook page ... West Bridgewater PTO ... for more information on our upcoming events!

Principal newsletters contain some great information about what is going on in each of the schools

Rose L MacDonald School (grades 1-3) https://www.smore.com/5x0ug

Spring Street School (PreK-K) https://www.smore.com/bcr0p

Howard School (grades 4-6) https://www.smore.com/zsp92

Middle/Senior High School (grades 7-12) https://www.smore.com/6jqkz

Check out the link below to see the School Committee-approved calendar for this year 2023-2024

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