WMS Family Newsletter

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We have one week of school left until Winter Break, let's make the most of it! There can be many emotions for students and adults, and a good time of year for families to talk with your child about one of our WMS Core Values - service. What opportunities are there for your children to provide acts of service to those around them in their community?

Quick Updates:

• This the last WMS Family Newsletter of 2023, see you in the new year. We will have an early dismissal on Friday, December 22 (11:30am Dismissal, grab-n-go lunch). The next day of school will be Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

• Please join us for an art-making session on Monday, December 18, 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm, in the WMS Cafeteria. Come for as long as you want, bring your friends and family, and have fun working on new designs for 'The Gifts to the World'!

• This is the last week for caregivers to complete the 2023 Watertown 5Essentials Parent Survey With 18% of parents/caregivers already completed the survey, we just need a few more to get to the minimum threshold of 20% - thank you for taking the time to give us some feedback!

• Please note that Trimester 1 report cards were mailed home on Friday December 15, along with a Yardsticks guide to understanding your child at this age. Students and caregivers can always log into PowerSchool for more up to date information on grades.

Upcoming Dates:

• December 18: WMS Peter Clough Memorial Community Art Event (drop in from 2:30-7:00pm in the WMS cafeteria)

• December 22: Early Release (11:30am Dismissal, grab-n-go lunch)
  
• December 25-January 1: No School - Winter Recess
• January 3: WMS Site Council (agenda), 4-5pm, WMS art room/zoom,
  

Respectfully yours,

Ms. Jennifer Chen Fein, Principal

Ms. Susan Carle, Assistant Principal (Clusters 1, 3, 5)

Ms. Jennifer Sarmiento, Assistant Principal (Clusters 2, 4, 6)

Starting this month, all Clusters emailed their monthly update directly to caregivers, as well as having the information available here. We hope these updates help you engage in conversation with your child about what they are learning.

Please see our monthly update from WMS teachers:

Cluster 1

Cluster 2

Cluster 3

Cluster 4

Cluster 5

Cluster 6

World Language

Specialists

Wilson Reading

*New* Library & Literacy

Nurse Lisa

Congratulations to our students in Performance Music for a wonderful concert. It was great to see so many families. Thank you Mr. Rick Saunders our FAPA Coordinator, Ms. Culley Byham (orchestra), Mr. Max Thew (band, jazz band), and Mr. Frontz (chorus)!

Hi, my name is Christopher Cotreau and I am an Instructional assistant here at the Middle school. I have been a part of the Middle School community for 25 years. This letter is to advise that after Winter Recess I will have a new service dog accompanying me to work. The Service Dog is trained to provide service in a manner that does not disrupt the learning environment for others and is identifiable by its vest or harness. My past dogs Dallas, Tanner, and Tippy all became important parts of the school community. A picture of me and one of my past service dogs is shown here.

The Service Dog will be assigned a specific seating area very close to me and the Service Dog is trained not to be disruptive while in school. It will be identifiable by its vest or harness. We will share the dog’s name and picture when they arrive next year!

We respect the needs of all students in providing a safe and inclusive learning environment. Please reach out to Principal Chen Fein at jennifer.chenfein@watertown.k12.ma.us to let us know if you have any specific concerns regarding the presence of a Service Dog in our school. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Announcement of Design Workshop:

Please join us for an art-making session on Monday, December 18, 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm, in the WMS Cafeteria. Come for as long as you want, bring your friends and family, and have fun working on new designs for 'The Gifts to the World'!

Background for the Workshop:

Last fall, WMS embarked on a community conversation about the Peter Clough Memorial Community Art Installation in the entryway of the Watertown Middle School. Previous WMS students wanted to reimagine/refresh some of the images portrayed on the art installation to more closely reflect the cultures and the people that walk through our doors every morning at WMS.

Mr. Peter Clough was a beloved former Global Studies Teacher and Assistant Principal of WMS who died from Lymphoma in 1995 at the age of 32. Mr. Clough made a significant impact on WMS students, encouraging them the value of character, service, allyship, selflessness, and sacrifice. The contract that Mr. Clough asked his students to sign still remains in his former classroom at WMS. There is also a memorial art installation for Mr. Clough in the main lobby of WMS, which portrayed the gifts he gave to the world. The installation was created by students and staff through a collaborative community art project facilitated by artist Joshua Winer. The large ring mounted on the ceiling is a halo for the sculpture. The initial letters of the words create an acrostic which spells “Peter Clough”. These words express the values of Peter B. Clough, and were chosen by his wife Kerri in honor of her husband.

Pride, Education, Tolerance, Esteem, Respect

Communication, Love, Open Mindedness, Understanding, Gratitude, Happiness

With students currently attending WMS from across the globe, we seek to portray our diverse community in a way that continues to honor Mr. Clough’s memory and contributions to WMS while creating a sense of belonging for all members of our WMS of our community.

After months of productive dialogue, working closely with the original artist Joshua Winer, we are inviting you to participate in this community art hands-on workshop session with Josh, and inclusive of those who knew and loved Mr. Clough, current WMS students, WPS Students and any interested member of the Watertown Community.

One final note: In the near future, in collaboration with Artists for Humanity, we hope to also include the WMS community in our process to update the design a new centerpiece for the mobile that expresses the sense of belonging that Mr. Clough would have wanted.

Please join us to collaborate on this community art project on Monday, December 18 in the WMS Cafeteria anytime from 2:30-7:00pm.

If you have questions, please ask Dr. Ceronne Daly, WPS Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, at ceronne.daly@watertown.k12.ma.us.

The WMS Diversity & Belonging Council is a forum for caregivers and other community members to work toward more equitable practices at the middle school by encouraging accountability, raising awareness, and fostering community engagement.

We will usually meet the third Monday of each month, with our next meeting being in person and coinciding with the WMS Community Art Event (WMS Cafeteria, drop by 2:30-7:00pm)

You can reach out to Sarah Seldomridge at sarah.seldomridge@watertown.k12.ma.us with any questions. Thank you!

Join us for our next meeting on Wednesday, January 3. Here is our agenda.

The WMS Site Council is a body of students, faculty, parents, and caregivers that plays a strong role in the vision and direction of our school. Site Council meets on the following Wednesdays from 4-5pm in person (WMS art room, A128)/virtually (zoom). Join us for any of our following meetings:

• January 3 - guest: World Language Coordinator
  
• January 31 - guests: Math and Science Coordinators
• March 27 - guest: ELA Coordinators
• May 1 - drafting the WMS School Improvement Plan 2024-25
• May 29 - finalizing and voting on the WMS School Improvement Plan 2024-25

Do you have a question for the WMS Site Council, but can't make it to our meetings? Submit this form to ask, and we will share a summary in this newsletter and/or follow up with you.

Reach out to Principal Chen Fein at jennifer.chenfein@watertown.k12.ma.us with any questions or to express interest in joining next year.

The PTO hosted a bake sale for the Winter Concert this past week. Teachers loved a little extra treat with the leftover items. Thank you to all who helped our PTO support WMS students and staff!

Please join us for our next meeting, January 9 (in person - WMS Art Room/virtual) at 6:30pm. Upcoming meeting date for the year include: February 13 (virtual), March 12 (virtual), April 9 (in person - WMS Art Room/virtual), May 14 (virtual), June 11 (virtual)

Are you interested in being on the WMS PTO? Reach out to our new co-PTO Presidents Elena Poillucci <elenapoillucci@gmail.com> and Melissa Parker <melissapisces@yahoo.com> with any questions or to express interest in joining next year.

Dear Watertown Community,

As promised, we held our 2nd monthly meeting of the newly relaunched Watertown Anti Bias Coalition on December 11, 2023 at 5:30pm in the Lowell Learning Commons at the J.R. Lowell Elementary School.

Here is a link to the SY 23-24 Watertown Anti Bias Coalition Meeting Dates. This document will be updated at the conclusion of each session with a link to the meeting agenda/slidedeck and a link to each session's feedback forms.

In addition for anyone who has completed the SY 2023-24 Anti-Bias Coalition Participation Survey, you will receive a mtg invite directly to your personal calendar.

Thanks to all in advance.

Best,

Dr. Daly and Superintendent Galdston

Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

We need your feedback! Watertown Public Schools is , and we need at least 20% of parents/caregivers to complete the 2023 Watertown Parent Survey (so far 18% have completed it). The survey will be open until December 22, 2023.

Here is a short quote from Dr. Galdston's message to all families:

Research has shown that schools that are strong on three or more of the 5Essentials were 10 times more likely to improve student learning gains than schools weak on three or more of the Essentials.

The 5Essentials are:

• Effective Leaders

• Collaborative Teachers

• Involved Families

• Supportive Environment

• Ambitious Instruction

With three years of data after this year's administration is complete, we look forward to sharing the data with staff and with the larger community.

WMS Winter Clubs run through March 14, 2024.

Students pay $50 one time to participate in any sports or clubs all year; please reach out to the guidance counselor to inquire about a scholarship. Students may participate in any enrichment activities for free (Learning Lab, Student Leadership, GSA, and Yearbook).

The late bus runs Monday-Thursday at 3:45pm.

It was great to see so many caregivers at our first Caregiver University Event in November.

If you missed it, here are the slides we used in our presentation.

Supporting Students with PowerSchool and Google Classroom - English slides

Supporting Students with PowerSchool and Google Classroom - Portuguese slides

Supporting Students with PowerSchool and Google Classroom - Spanish slides

Supporting Students with PowerSchool and Google Classroom - Arabic slides

Our next Caregiver University event will be focused on Teen Mental Health and how to support your child, coming up in early 2024.

Teaching and learning is best done with students and staff are regularly in attendance at school. There will however, be times where WMS staff are absent, and students have their learning supervised by a substitute teacher or other adults at school. Our Supported Substitute Classroom (SSC) is a structure we implement 6-12th grade in Watertown, to ensure learning is able to continue even with an unexpected teacher absence. The SSC is located in the auditorium during periods 2-5 and the cafeteria periods 6-8.

If we have a known adult who can take a class to teach in their regular classroom when the teacher is out, we try our best to do that. However, the system we have established in our district is to have all students in one place to start so that we can establish routines whether there is one or multiple teachers out.

The routine in the SSC is that students need to arrive for success by bringing their D.E.A.R. book, a pencil, and their Chromebook. They must have these to enter the auditorium or cafeteria. We are implementing D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read), as a part of the daily SSC routine, which helps to establish clear expectations as students are arriving. Students will read, complete classwork, and complete their check-in and exit ticket for each period they are in the SSC. We have students read first, as this helps us to minimize students who are tempted to be off task on their chromebooks later in the period.

D.E.A.R. ("Drop Everything and Read") is a structure we are intentionally re-incorporating into our school day as part of our school wide literacy development goals. Our goal is to support all readers’ growth through student choice and by meeting each reader “where they are” in order to improve decoding, fluency, and vocabulary acquisition. Students are supported to develop independent reading strategies and practices. D.E.A.R. is a national celebration of reading designed to make reading a priority activity in our lives. April 12th is national D.E.A.R. day in honor of author Beverly Cleary’s birthday. D.E.A.R. time was a reading practice featured in the Ramona books.

Something that caregivers can help with is reminding your child to pack their D.E.A.R. book every day, along with their charged chromebook, planner, and any other school supplies.

• December 1-22: Parents and Caregivers can complete the 2023 Watertown 5Essentials Parent Survey (We need at least 20% of parents/caregivers to complete the survey

• December 18: WMS Peter Clough Memorial Community Art Event (drop in from 2:30-7:00pm in the WMS cafeteria)
• December 22: Early Release (11:30am Dismissal, grab-n-go lunch)
  
• December 25-January 1: No School - Winter Recess
• January 3: WMS Site Council, 4-5pm, WMS art room/zoom
• January 9: WMS PTO (6:30pm, virtual)
• January 10: Early Release (11:45am dismissal with grab-n-go lunch)
• January 15: No School - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• January 22: WMS Diversity Council (virtually here at 6:00pm)
• January 25: Trimester 2 Progress Report Reminder
• January 26: 90s Party - hosted by the WMS PTO - Sons of Italy (7-10pm)
• January 29-30: WMS i-Ready mid-year diagnostics (Reading, Math)

• January 31: WMS Site Council, 4-5pm, WMS art room/zoom
• February 8: Caregiver University: Your Teen and Mental Health (6:30-7:30pm)

• WMS Bell Schedule and Trimester Dates 2023-2024
  

• Watertown Public Schools Calendar 2023-2024
  

• WPS MCAS schedule Spring 2024
  

• Watertown Community Resources - English
• Watertown Community Resources - Spanish
• Watertown Community Resources - Portuguese

• Ms. Jennifer Chen Fein, Principal, jennifer.chenfein@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Ms. Jennifer Sarmiento, Assistant Principal (Clusters 2, 4, 6), jennifer.sarmiento@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Ms. Susan Carle, Assistant Principal (Clusters 1, 3, 5), susan.carle@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Ms. Lisa Gallagher, Nurse, lisa.gallagher@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Ms. Sarah Juusola, Special Education, Team Chair, sarah.juusola@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Mr. Tom Cloherty, Grade Six Counselor, thomas.cloherty@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Ms. Jody Gladstein, Grade Seven Counselor, jody.gladstein@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Ms. Amanda Skypeck, Grade Eight Counselor, amanda.skypeck@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Ms. Saira Chaudhry, Administrative Assistant, saira.chaudhry@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Ms. Laurie Brackett, Administrative Assistant, laurie.brackett@watertown.k12.ma.us
• Officer Anna Margaryan, Watertown Police Department School Resource Officer, anna.margaryan@watertown.k12.ma.us

Watertown Middle School Full Staff Directory

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Website: https://wms.watertown.k12.ma.us/
Location: 68 Waverley Avenue, Watertown, MA, USA
Phone: 617-926-7783