The Howler
October 2026 Newsletter
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Dear Families,
It was wonderful to see so many families and community members at this year’s Open House! The school was packed, and it was a pleasure to welcome everyone into our building and share the wonderful things happening at WMS. Thank you for taking the time to visit, connect with our staff, and show your support for our school community.
As we move through October, we are also reminded of the importance of keeping our students safe. It is heartbreaking to hear about the recent school shooting, and our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy. The safety and well-being of our students and staff are always at the forefront of everything we do at WMS, and we take this responsibility very seriously.
We recently conducted a lockdown drill as part of our ongoing safety procedures. These drills are practiced several times throughout the school year to help students and staff understand what to do in an emergency. In addition, we check our exterior doors multiple times each day to ensure they remain closed and locked. You may also notice a new set of double doors at the entrance to the WMS foyer. These doors have been installed to create an additional layer of security and prevent visitors from having direct access to the school building. They will remain closed and locked at all times. We continually review our procedures and take steps to ensure that WMS remains a safe and welcoming place for our students and staff.
With the arrival of fall, please remember to send your children to school dressed appropriately for the changing weather. Mornings are getting cooler, and students should begin wearing clothing that reflects the temperatures outside. We go outdoors for recess every day, even when the weather turns cold, so jackets, sweatshirts, and other weather-appropriate clothing are important. Please help your child come prepared to enjoy time outside comfortably.
Looking ahead, we will soon be sharing information about our annual Thanksgiving meal support. Thanks to the generosity and kindness of our school community, we are able to assist families who may need support with a Thanksgiving meal. We are grateful for the people who come together to make this possible and help ensure that families in our community feel supported. Please stay tuned for additional information about how families can access this support.
As always, I'm here to support you and your family. Please don't hesitate to reach out anytime. Your partnership is essential to our students' success.
Best,
Jesse
Tomorrow, WMS students will participate in a visit from the Think A-Head program, which focuses on the importance of wearing helmets and protecting our brains from injury. Through this presentation, students will learn about the role helmets play in preventing serious injuries and the importance of making safe choices when participating in activities such as biking, skateboarding, and other recreational sports.
The program is part of the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts (BIA-MA), which provides community awareness and prevention programs throughout the state. These programs are designed to address the leading causes of brain injury, contributing factors, and the potential consequences of brain injuries.
We are excited to provide our students with this important opportunity to learn practical ways to protect themselves and make safety a priority. We hope they will carry these lessons with them both in and out of school!
For the 2026–2027 school year, midterm dates are October 16, January 15, and April 30, while end-of-trimester grades are available on December 4, March 19, and the last day of school.
Midterm grades will reflect your child's academic progress at the halfway point of each trimester and are not finalized until the end of the trimester. If you have any questions regarding your child's grades at the midterm close, please contact your child's teacher.
If you need assistance accessing PowerSchool, please contact Alexis Lemelin at a.lemelin@schoolsofwestfield.org.
Written by Kim Marshal
In this New York Times article, Catherine Pearson interviews Jean Twenge (pronounced
TWAIN-gee), a psychology professor at San Diego State University, an expert on the link
between heavy social media use among adolescents (averaging 4.5 hours a day) and anxiety,
loneliness, and depression. Twenge is also raising three adolescent girls and practicing what
she preaches, notwithstanding their fervent pleas.
“Having concrete rules that are reasonably strict is usually the way to go,” says Twenge.
“When stuff has gone wrong, it’s often because I’m like, OK, just this one time. And then it
blows up in my face… I don’t have perfect children; I’m not perfect either.” Among the
compromises so far: one is allowed to use Discord on her laptop to chat with friends, another,
who is “a total Swiftie,” can use Spotify on her phone. Twenge says her daughters have not
suffered socially. Her oldest, now in college, says that when a friend asks her to text, she says,
“No. Call me. I want to hear your voice.”
When it comes to Twenge’s recommendations to other parents, she is fighting an uphill
battle. The average age of getting a smartphone is 11, nearly 40 percent of 10-12-year olds use
social media, and half of teens, according to one study, “almost constantly.” Here are the
guidelines in Twenge’s new book:
- You’re in charge; parents set the rules versus negotiating or following peer norms.
- Start kids with “dumbphones” with calling, texting, and music but limited apps.
- Advocate for bell-to-bell smartphone bans during the school day.
- No social media until age 16 (or older)
- Give the first smartphone with the driver’s license.
- Beware of laptops, gaming consoles, tablets, and other devices; all screens pose risks.
- Use robust parental controls.- Create no-phone zones – for example, the dinner table and family vacations.
- Give kids real-world freedom, encouraging independence and face-to-face socializing.
- No electronic devices in the bedroom overnight.
On the last item, Twenge says, “The biggest link to happiness, and the biggest link to
depression, is sleep – always.”
To those who argue for flexibility around when kids get their first smartphone, Twenge
says, “We don’t say, Oh, some 12-year-olds are ready to drive and some 20-year-olds aren’t, so
it’s just up to the individual or it’s up to the parent… With so many other things in society, we
choose an age and we stick with it.”
“An Unwavering Warning About Teenagers and Screen Time” by Catherine Pearson in The
New York Times, September 9, 2025; Twenge can be reached at jtwenge@sdsu.edu . Twenge’s
book is 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World: How Parents Can Stop Smartphones,
Social Media, and Gaming from Taking Over Their Children’s Lives” (Simon & Schuster,
2025)
