September 2024 Newsletter

Dear WHS Families,

We have enjoyed a wonderful start to the 2024-2025 school year! The energy in the building has been amazing as we welcomed new and returning students and their families to the WHS community. Our students have hit the ground running, reconnecting with classmates and staff, exploring new opportunities, and quickly adjusting to new schedules, routines, and expectations on campus.

I hope these monthly newsletters will provide useful updates and glimpses into what makes the WHS community so special. This month, I’m highlighting opportunities for parents/caregivers to participate in the high school community:

• New Parent/Caregiver Orientation: A huge thank you to the parents and caregivers who participated in our new family orientation last week! We enjoyed getting to know you, hearing your thoughtful questions, and showing you around campus. If you were unable to join us, you can view the presentation here: Orientation 2024

• Site Council: I am currently seeking nominees for parent representatives to serve on this year’s high school Site Council. The WHS Site Council is an advisory group to the principal, composed of teachers, staff, students, parents/caregivers, and community members. Appointments typically last for two years. Meetings take place quarterly from 4:00 - 5:00 PM. Please submit your Site Council nominations to Jackie Kinsman, administrative assistant to the Principal, no later than Wednesday, September 27th. Interested nominees will craft brief statements of interest, and an election to determine the representatives will take place as needed during Curriculum Night.

• Curriculum Night: Please join us on Tuesday, October 1st at 6:00 PM for Curriculum Night, an opportunity for you to meet our faculty and to learn more about the curriculum at Westwood High School as you follow an abbreviated version of your child’s class schedule. We follow the Day 1 schedule for blocks A-E and the Day 2 schedule for blocks F and G. Each “class” meets for ten minutes starting at 6:00 pm. We are thrilled to welcome you into our classrooms in a few weeks!

• Westwood Roots: Westwood Roots is a new opt-in course being offered during S-block, aimed at building skills that will result in a greater sense of belonging within our school community. You can review the course description here and join the Webinar on Monday at 6pm to learn more.

Thank you for partnering with us to support our students and school.

Sincerely,

Amy L. Davenport

Principal, Westwood High School

Curriculum Night Meet and Greet with Guidance

Please join us for an informal meet and greet with your student’s guidance counselor on Tuesday October 1st from 5:30-6pm before Curriculum Night officially begins. This is a chance to meet your child’s counselor face to face. Keep in mind this time is for all, and if there are individual questions, we will provide an opportunity to connect via email. The assignments are as follows with exceptions that will be listed on each door in case you don’t know who your student’s counselor is:

• A215- Ms. Shields (Students with the last name A-C)

• A217- Ms. Parker (Students with the last names D-H)

• A255-Mr. Erilus (Students with the last name J-M)

• A202- Mr. Fredrickson ((Students with the last name L-S)

• A235- Ms. McKearin/Ms. Haskins (O-W)

• Guidance Office- Ms. Higgins (W-Z)

Parent Talks

Guidance run Parent Talks give parents the opportunity to meet with guidance counselors and discuss topics including the college application process, standardized testing and course selection. The meetings will continue to be virtual and recorded and posted to the website for those unable to attend. A Zoom link will be provided to all parents the week of each meeting. The meetings will be recorded and posted on our website afterwards. All meetings are 8:30-9:30 a.m. Future dates:

• September 13th - for parents of 12th grade students

• October 18th - for parents of 10th and 11th grade students

• November 22nd - for parents of 9th grade students

• March 7th – for all parents

Information for Seniors

Guidance counselors are meeting with Seniors to go over the college application process in detail in one on one meetings this month.. Information about how students send their applications and how Westwood sends supporting materials has been shared at this time.

Students applying to colleges with November 1st deadlines should have their caregivers submit transcript release forms to the Guidance Office by October 18th. More information can be found on the Senior Page of the Guidance Website.

Financial Aid Forms

-FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, at fafsa.gov

-CSS Profile, at cssprofile.collegeboard.org is required by some colleges in addition to the FAFSA (colleges that require Profile)

Financial Aid Night

MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority) will be offering their “College Financing Seminars” throughout the next few months. You can register at mefa.org/events for a date and time that is convenient for you. Topics will include: financial aid applications, types of financial aid, the factors that determine aid eligibility, how colleges determine the amount of aid to offer and financial aid award letters.

Information for Juniors:

PSAT

Juniors may take the Digital PSAT on Saturday, October 26th at 7:30 a.m. Registration closed September 16th for the test.

The Junior Year College Planning Timeline forecasts college related events for the school year.

Sophomore Seminars

Guidance counselors will lead Sophomore Seminars during term 2, topics include standardized testing, stress management and career exploration. Students will be given an overview of options for college majors and careers, and complete a career interest inventory on Naviance.

Information for Freshmen:

Freshman Seminars

This month counselors are presenting the first of three Ninth Grade Guidance Seminars. Topics include accessing resources at the high school, graduation requirements, and the importance of extracurricular activities. The second round of seminars will take place in December.

Information for all students:

Learner’s Permit Information:

In order to fulfill the residency/proof of enrollment requirements for a learner's permit, students can print out both documents directly from their Aspen account.

1. Proof of Enrollment Letter - under the “My Info” tab, go to Reports, scroll down to Proof of Enrollment

2. Report Card - on the Aspen homepage, left side in PDF form.

The Guidance Office maintains a job board, where we post job opportunities called in by local businesses.

Class of 2025: We are excited to inform you that the NHS application for Seniors will be sent out next week for those who qualified based on a 3.7 weighted GPA. This is a great opportunity for your child to get involved and make a difference in their community. Please note that the application deadline is October 4th at 3 pm and is submitted virtually via GoogleDocs. Applicants who successfully submit their applications will receive receipt confirmation via email. We encourage you to support your child in completing their application before the cutoff date. If you have any questions or need assistance, contact NHS advisors Katherine Griffin and Miki Kinugawa

Class of 2026: The NHS application for Juniors will happen during Term 3. Parents/caregivers of juniors, please expect more communication in the spring about this application process.

One School, Many Stories, our Summer Reading Initiative, will conclude next week with an all-school assembly featuring local author Jennifer De Leon.

Born in the Boston area to Guatemalan parents, Jennifer De Leon is the award-winning author of the YA novels, Borderless, featured on the TODAY show, and Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From. She is also the author of White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing, which won the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press. Jenn is also the editor of Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education, an International Latino Book Award-winning anthology. As an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Framingham State University and faculty member for the Newport MFA Program directed by Ann Hood, she has published prose in over a dozen literary journals including Ploughshares, Iowa Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and more. She is also a contributor on NPR.

Jenn graduated from Connecticut College with a double major in International Relations and French, earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of San Francisco’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Social Justice while in the Teach For America program, and later, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from UMASS-Boston.

Jenn is the founder of Story Bridge, LLC, which aims to bring people together from all walks of life to shape, share, and hear each other’s unique stories. Jenn currently makes her home outside the Boston area with her husband and two sons. Connect with her online @jdeleonwriter or www.jenniferdeleonauthor.com.

Please visit the WHS gallery to enjoy a pop-up show from our J Term “Your Extraordinary World”.

Your Extraordinary World is a J Term Art Making Exploration.

Our essential question:

How can we uncover new ways to be creative by exploring the extraordinary world both around and inside us?

We explored InkBlock Underground, downtown Boston, and Quincy Quarries.

We learned:

• How to use a DSLR camera, make and edit interesting photographs

• Printmaking techniques

• Collage techniques both digital and physical

• How to use text & spray paint to express ourselves and inspire others

This pop up show is our culminating work. Each artist chose, combined, and explored techniques to create work that was inspired by their experiences in our extraordinary world.

Students in Latin II have been diving into new material and exploring the relationship between sports and politics in the ancient and modern world. To begin this unit, students examine the ancient Olympics and describe (Latinē) both what ancient athletes had to do to win and what the differences were between the ancient and modern versions of events. For example, in the ancient long jump, athletes held hand weights called “halteres,” and the discus weighed twice as much as it does in competition today. To make the unit come alive, students attempted many of the events, as well as other physical challenges, this year without any injuries! Eugepae (i.e. Hooray)!

The Education Cooperative (TEC) students made cards and cookies for the Westwood Fire and Police departments to commemorate the anniversary of September 11th.

Your Westwood High School Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) is working hard to start the new school year off right. Before school started, the PTO was hard at work… we provided Westwood t-shirts for the freshman and new students and were honored to provide lunch for the teachers during their class prep. Once school started, we hosted a breakfast for the incoming Seniors. These are just examples of the PTO activities throughout the school year. Want to sponsor a future teacher lunch - please donate here.

The PTO will meet quarterly. The first meeting will be held on Monday, September 30th at 7:00 PM. All are welcome, please send an email to westwoodhspto@gmail.com for further details.

Want to know more about the PTO and/or get involved? All the details and a link to contribute are on the PTO Website. All families at Westwood High School are automatically members of the PTO and have access to the directory, regardless if you donate or not. If you are able, we recommend a $50 donation per family so we can continue the great work to benefit our students and the teachers of WHS!

• September 16: Picture Day
  
• September 18: Early Release
• October 2: Early Release
• October 1: Curriculum Night
• October 3: No School
• October 14: No School
• October 16: Early Release
• October 30: Early Dismissal
• November 5: No School (In Service Day)
• November 11: No School
• November 13: Early Release
• November 27: Early Dismissal (Time TBD)
• November 28 & 29: No School
• December 11: Early Release
• December 20: Early Release
• December 23 - 31: Vacation
• January 1: No School

TERM 1 (44 days) Last day of term: November 1st

Progress Reports Grades due: Friday, September 27th at 12:00 PM

Available to students: Friday, September 27th at 3:30 PM

SPED Progress Reports Due: Wednesday, November 20th

Report Cards Grades due: Friday, November 8th at 12:00 PM

Available to students: Friday, November 8th at 3:30 PM

TERM 2 (43 days) Last day of term: January 17th

Progress Reports: Grades due: Friday, December 6th at 12:00 PM

Available to students: Friday, December 6th at 3:30 PM

SPED Progress Reports Due: Friday, February 7th

Report Cards: Grades due: Friday, January 24th at 12:00 PM

Available to students: Friday, January 24th at 3:30 PM

TERM 3 (44 days) Last day of term: March 28th

Progress Reports: Grades due: Friday, February 28th at 12:00 PM

Available to students: Friday, February 28th at 3:30 PM

SPED Progress Reports Due: Friday, April 11th

Report Cards: Grades due: Friday, April 4th at 12:00 PM

Available to students: Friday, April 4th at 3:30 PM

TERM 4 (44 days) Last day of term: June 9th

Progress Reports: Grades due: Friday, May 2nd at 12:00 PM

Available to students: Friday, May 2nd at 3:30 PM

SPED Progress Reports Due: Friday, June 13th

Report Cards Grades due: Monday, June 17th at 12:00 PM

Available to students: Monday, June 17th at 3:30 PM

J-TERM (5 days): June 10th - 13th, June 16th

Last day of senior classes: May 23rd

Grades Available to Students: Wednesday, May 28th, at 3:30 PM

Class Night: May 30th

Graduation: June 1st (Time TBD)