Dear WB Families, Students, and Staff - We hope this newsletter finds you well. It is our goal to keep everyone as informed as possible on what is going on in the WB schools. Thank you to our building principals for sending out their newsletters every 2 weeks to provide more specific school-related information. Links to those emails can be found in this newsletter and they are also on the school's websites.

The Middle/Senior High School yearbook is called The Climber. This has been the name of it since it was first produced in 1920 for the old Howard High School. Question: Why is it called The Climber? The answer can be found at the end of the newsletter. Thank you to Mr. Jerry Lawrence for providing me with information for this section.

Congratulations to the students who were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last night at WB MSHS. It was a great night for the students and families. Thank you to the MSHS Admin, Advisors and NHS students for all their efforts in putting on a very nice ceremony.

What a great way to start the morning by having the preschool students and staff parade around the school! Thanks for stopping by!

Great job by Mr. Collins and Mr. Cray presenting "Developing an Effective Communication Strategy for your School District" at MassCUE https://www.masscue.org/ last week.

Over the past few weeks, we have had quite a few visitors around the Middle/Senior High School and the Spring Street School. Seems like they are enjoying being around the schools!

Throughout the MSHS we have framed inspirational and motivational messages that were written by WB students. As I walk the building I am always reading these. Just wanted to share a few of them.

Congratulations to the Class of 2023 (Seniors) for winning this years Powder Puff game. Lots of fun was had by all during the 5th annual competition. Thank you to all who participated and helped out during the games. This was also a fundraiser for the Class of 2023 Scholarship Fund. Check out the pictures in the Brockton Enterprise https://www.enterprisenews.com/picture-gallery/sports/2022/10/21/west-bridgewater-middle-senior-high-powderpuff-football-game/10549187002/

Save the Date - WB invites its parents and caregivers to a free webinar on Tuesday, November 29th from 7-8pm with Elise Wulff, M.Ed. The webinar is "Helping Our Kids and Teens Manage Stress and Anxiety". Check out the flyer for more information. Elise Wulff is delivering professional development to our staff during the year and also consulting in each of the schools. We are confident you will find this webinar to be valuable and informative!

As we begin to discuss the possibility of a new elementary school in West Bridgewater I wanted to share some images of the Retro Room at the MSHS. This was created through the hard work of Mr. Nenopoulos and the Heritage Committee (they also buried a time capsule out front) We felt that it was important when we moved out of the old MSHS (located on what is now the turf field) in 2015 that we dedicate a space for the memories of the old building. If you are in the MSHS and want to see it in person it is upstairs near the auditorium opposite the main entrance. Included in the space are the old auditorium seats, senior bench, locker fronts, old "technology", pictures of retired principals, a varsity jacket, canvas pictures of the school, and other items.

Thank you to the students and staff at the MSHS for doing this food drive for those in need. If anyone wants to donate (you don't need to have students at the MSHS) please drop off the items at the MSHS main office.

Students in Mrs. Mattos, Mrs. Dancey and Ms. Drayton's preschool classes were very excited while engaging in a lesson based on the book "Pumpkin Jack". The book is about a pumpkin carved by a young boy. After Halloween when the pumpkin began to rot, the boy put the pumpkin in the garden and as the weeks went on, the boy watched the changes to the pumpkin. The preschool students in each class put their pumpkin in a clear container so they will be able to watch as their pumpkin changes. What was fascinating was the language these young students were using, such as decomposing!

On October 25th we had our third meeting to work to create the district plan in West Bridgewater. This meeting was a full team meeting including building and district administration, MSHS Coordinators, Elementary Instructional Team Leaders, Parents, Students, and School Committee members. At this meeting, we synthesized common vision themes for the district.

It continues to be important to get student and parent input. If you would like to provide your input please complete this survey. You do not need to leave your name but it often is helpful to leave contact information so if we have a follow-up question or want to provide you with more information we know how to contact you. Thank you to those who have already completed the survey. Information from the survey was shared with every member of the team.

**WB District Plan for the Future Survey https://forms.gle/GhsRUh9yo9WMt67g8

The next Superintendent Coffee Hour with Mr. Bodwell will be on Thursday, November 10th at 9:15 am at the Howard School (70 Howard Street) As always there will be an agenda of topics to be discussed but then it is open for questions by the attendees. We hope to see you there!

The annual NHS Trunk or Treat will be Saturday, October 29 from 2:00-4:30pm at the MSHS. The rain date is Sunday, October 30, 2:00-4:30pm. There is a suggested donation of $5 per child and will benefit the NHS Scholarship Fund. We do not have Venmo, cash or checks are appreciated. This is a really fun event and we hope to get a lot of kids coming out to it!

Below are some Halloween Safety Tips. We hope everyone enjoys the Halloween activities while always being safe.

Any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to reach out to SRO Pope at 508-586-2525 ext 5119 or tpope@wbpd.com

Adding funds to a student's lunch account. Extra a la carte items such as bottled water, freshly baked cookies, ice cream and milk for students that bring lunch from home are offered for sale in the cafeteria. The selection depends on the grade (K-1 only offers milk). Students must have money on their lunch account to purchase any extra items. 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.

Click on WB Food Services to find November's menus. Looking for information on nutrition and fitness? Check out the Nutrition Education and Nutrition and Fitness Tips tabs for lots of great content!

Food Assistance- If you or someone you know is having trouble making ends meet, Project Bread Food Source Hotline is a great resource. West Bridgewater residents facing food insecurity can also utilize the West Bridgewater Food Pantry.

Questions or concerns? Please contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or (508)894-1220.

Interested in a rewarding, exciting part-time job? We are looking for reliable, hard-working people to work as substitute cafeteria workers. If you are interested contact Ann Marie Grinder, Food Service Director, at agrinder@wbridgewater.com or (508)894-1220

Inclusion Matters is a group of West Bridgewater families whose kids have IEPs and 504s. We offer webinars and events for families. If you'd like to learn more about our events for parents, guardians, and students, please email us at InclusionMattersMA@gmail.com to join our private email list.

See our upcoming events on our Facebook page at @InclusionMattersMA and our website at www.InclusionMattersMA.com

Upcoming Fundraiser in December - Rock Your Socks!! More information coming out in future newsletters!

It has been a busy couple of weeks! Check out some of our highlights below from the Athletic Department!

• The Cross Country boys team beat Holbrook, 23-38, as well as the Girls Cross Country team with a score of 15-50!
• The Football team defeated Littleton 42-7
• Varsity Field Hockey team as they took on EB with a 3-0 win. The JV field hockey team also defeated EB 5-3.
• The Varsity golf team finished up its season at the state tournament held at Blissful Meadows golf club. The JV Golf team wrapped up their season as well vs Abington. Congratulations to all the WB golfers on another fantastic season!
• Varsity boys soccer lost in a close game with EB 1-2 and the JV boys also battled hard vs EB but came up short with a 0-2 final.
• Varsity girls soccer fell short with a final score against EB 2-4 and the JV girls soccer team lost in a close one to EB 0-1.
• The Varsity Volleyball team defeated Norfolk Aggie 3 sets to 1 and the JV Volleyball team fought hard but came up short with a final score of 1-2. Great job to all of our Wildcat teams!!

The MIAA tournament is right around the corner! More info below on when tourney brackets will be released:

MIAA BRACKET RELEASE

FIELD HOCKEY

Tuesday, Nov. 1 … 1 p.m.

FOOTBALL

Monday, Oct. 31 … 10 a.m.

BOYS SOCCER

Wednesday, Nov. 2 … 1 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER

Wednesday, Nov. 2 … 1 p.m.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Monday, Oct. 31 … 1 p.m.

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**You can find the schedule on the Arbiter Live Website: https://arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=25160

**Check out the Power Rankings https://miaa.net/

**Football game tickets are being sold online: https://gofan.co/app/school/MA14770

Believe it or not, the winter sports season is right around the corner! Winter sports begin on Monday, 11/28. Sign up now using the link below:

https://www.familyid.com/west-bridgewater-middle-senior-hs-activities-and-fees/west-bridgewater-2022-2023-west-bridgewater-athletics-registration

A SHOUT OUT to all of those who participated in the Cow Plop Fundraiser and a HUGE thank you to Brittany DeMolles and family from Shadi Oak Farm for bringing their cows to the WBMSHS! It was a great day and we raised $2000 for the Athletic Department! We look forward to holding this fundraiser again next year!

If you are interested or know someone interested in being a substitute teacher please click on the link below. If you are not sure and have any questions please feel free to reach out to the building principal and ask them any questions you may have about the position.

Trivia Answer: It was named The Climber as a reference to the ivy that climbed the walls of the school. It says on the cover of the first edition (January 1920) "As the ivy continues to climb higher and higher on the walls of our school building, so this paper will continue to grow". The old Howard High School was located where Friendship Park playground.is now. If you drive down Route 106 next to the WB Council on Aging you will see beautiful pillars which was the entrance driveway.

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