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A Moment of Silence was held for Mrs. Dolores Efthim. Dolores was a tremendous educator and life coach. She had also served on the Walpole School Committee. She will be missed by the Walpole community. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Dolores Pereira Efthim Memorial Scholarship, c/o Walpole High School, 275 Common Street, Walpole, MA 02081, Attn: Deb Wolfe.

Students from Walpole High School were invited to submit designs for painting the Jersey barriers in the town forest. The Town Forest Committee reviewed the submissions and chose four designs to be brought to life. In just two days, the students painted the barriers, and the results are truly remarkable. Walpole Public Schools is proud of these students' talent, hard work, and civic dedication in helping to beautify the town of Walpole.

In honor of Walpole's 300th anniversary, five vibrant duck sculptures made their debut throughout the town. Designed and painted by a group of Walpole High School art students, under the guidance of Art Department Chair Sandy Allison, these ducks highlight the students' impressive talent and creativity.

1. MCAS Presentation: Assistant Superintendent Dr. Bill Hahn presented 2024 MCAS results. Dr. Hahn’s presentation can be accessed here at time marker 12:04.

2. FY ’26 Budget Timeline: The FY ‘26 Budget Timetable was presented to the School Committee. The FY '26 Public Budget Hearing is scheduled for January 21, 2025.

• Dr. Gough attended the Unified Banner Ceremony this morning at Walpole Middle School, where our school received the National Banner of Recognition. We were thrilled to honor and celebrate the unity, inclusion, and spirit of teamwork embodied by our Unified Sports Program. Congratulations to the coaches, staff, and student-athletes on this well-deserved honor!

• Dr. Gough provided an update on several key pillars of the district’s Strategic Plan. The update can be accessed here at time marker 57:10.

• Last weekend, it was exciting to watch some of the MIAA Playoffs. Cross Country All-State Championship is this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Ft. Devens. Field Hockey advanced to the Championship game on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (Worcester State). Dr. Gough is looking forward to supporting our teams and athletes.
• Along with Dr. Gough, School Committee Chairperson Bill Buckley and member Nancy Gallivan had the opportunity to attend the MASC/MASS conference. This is one of the largest annual gathering of education leaders in Massachusetts. The conference consisted of multiple workshop opportunities and an in-depth discussion of the critical education issues of today. It also afforded them the opportunity to collaborate and network with other Superintendents and School Committee members across the state.
• Regarding scholarships, all School Committee members should have received an email from Mary Mortali regarding Fales, Leach, Rogers, and Kunde Scholarship applications. A meeting is scheduled for Monday December 9th at 6:00 p.m. to discuss these applications.
• With winter approaching, Dr. Gough reminded everyone about our snow day procedures. The Superintendent of Schools is responsible for the final decision to cancel school based on weather-related factors and information received from the Department of Public Works. In the event of a cancellation or delayed opening, we will communicate through various channels, such as recorded phone messages, local news channels, social media (Walpole Public Schools app), and the WPS website. Please note that DESE will not allow district-wide remote learning days to replace snow days, and therefore any snow days will be made up in June.
• Finally, Thanksgiving break is in two weeks. There is an early release on November 27th and no school on November 28th and 29th. We hope everyone has a well deserved break to relax and spend time with family.

Middle School Building Project: Mr. Breen reported that the contractors should be off site by the end of this month, and will return in the spring for any landscaping needs. He reported that the project is about 97% done.

High School Project: Mr. Friscia indicated that a high school project kickoff meeting was held last week and that fencing will be installed after the Thanksgiving break where the new field house will be located. Fencing is in place already for preparation of the new parking lot. Updates to the project can be seen on the WHS project webpage here.