Wilson Wildcats
Your Weekly Update from Wilson Middle School
Principal's Message
Hello Wilson families,
Our Healthy Harvest donations are coming in. Thank you! We ask that you continue to send in canned goods for our Natick Service Council. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and they count on our Wilson community for most of their donations at this time of year. The wining grade level homerooms will win a bagel breakfast on Wednesday, November 23 and the top homeroom gets to "pie" Mr. Casey and I in the face. Yes, we are crazy and we will be sure to get it on camera and send out after the holiday!
We had a great assemblies for every grade level this week. Mat Heagerty discussed "Strength in Learning Differences" and shared his experiences with dyslexia. He concluded with a live drawing of a hybrid character (like his own Lumberjackula) which was drawn based on student suggestions. Click on the link in the library section below to see some pictures from the assembly. Many thanks to Mr. Steere, our librarian for coordinating everything to make it happen. Also, a thank you to our PTO (Cultural Arts Committee) for funding the assemblies.
We want to thank the Wilson PTO for the coffee, tea and muffins breakfast from a few weeks ago. The staff truly appreciate these types of treats! Enjoy the pictures below.
We want to update all staff, families and students of the new dress code that was passed at a recent School Committee meeting. The new policy, which goes into effect immediately, was created through a collaborative process that included students, administrators, staff, parents and the school committee board. We will all implement these expectations which are designed to allow students free expression, display their own true identities, and keep a safe and professional working environment, minimize racial, gender identity, cultural, religious and gender impacts for redirection for wearing certain clothing. We will notify students in the next few weeks. Click here to read the new dress code policy.
Thanksgiving is around the corner and we have a shorter week coming up. Please note that we have an early release on Wednesday, November 23 (11:30 am) and we are off on Thursday and Friday (November 24 & 25). The students also have Monday, November 28 off as it is a professional development day for staff. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday with families and/or friends.
Respectfully,
Teresa Carney
Twitter: @wmsnatick
Instagram: wmsnatick
Coffee, Tea and Muffin Breakfast Pictures Hosted by our Wilson PTO
Grade 7 Team Integrity Healthy Harvest Shopping Pictures
Point of Pride
Special Education Department Staff Focus
Lost and Found (Anything unclaimed by Thanksgiving, will be donated)
Upcoming Spark Kindness Presentation
Mental Wellness During Stressful Times: Your Questions Answered!
Thursday, December 8 at 7pm via Zoom — For parents, caregivers, educators, and community members of all ages
SPARK Kindness has assembled a team of experts to help you survive and thrive during the hectic end of year season. Author and expert Ned Johnson, Licensed Mental Health Counselor Janine Halloran, and SPARK founder Christine Guthery will offer practical strategies to support you and your loved ones. Everyone is welcome!
ASL Interpretation will be provided at this event. Please visit www.SPARKKindness.org to register for this or any of our FREE programs, discover additional resources, and get information about how to get involved with SPARK!
Eight Things You Need to Know This Week
1. IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
Wednesday, November 23: Early Release 11:30 am & Healthy Harvest Day
Thursday, November 24-Friday, November 25: Thanksgiving Recess-No School
Monday, November 28: Professional Development for Staff, No School
Wednesday, December 7: Picture Retake Day
2. TUTORING PROGRAM-
We are happy to announce that we are continuing our collaboration with the high school and running a tutoring program for middle school students at Kennedy and Wilson. There are members of the National Honor Society at the high school who are volunteering to tutor middle school students. Our hope is to create tutoring partnerships that will primarily meet in person at the high school library between 2:30-5 p.m. as it will be monitored by a staff member. Occasionally, sessions can be held via Google Meet as a virtual option. Families will primarily be responsible for transporting their students to the high school for their tutoring sessions. We are providing training for the tutors on best practices for working with middle school students.
If you are interested in signing your student up for tutoring, please fill out this form. The hope is to get students matched with tutors by the end of November.
3. Healthy Harvest 2022
We are gearing up to start this year's Healthy Harvest events. Healthy Harvest is our annual food drive that benefits the Natick Service Council Food Pantry. Food insecurity is a growing problem in our communities as families struggle to make ends meet. Our donation is the largest one received by the food pantry and each year we donate over 7,000 items. Beginning Tuesday, November 1, through Tuesday, November 22, students are encouraged to bring in healthy non-perishable food items and toiletry items like toothpaste and shampoo.
The goal of Healthy Harvest os for us to come together as a Wilson community to support our larger Natick community during the holiday season. Thank you for your effort and support for this important event.
4. YEARBOOKS ARE ON SALE: The yearbook is a greta way to record your student's school year. It features students from all grades, clubs, sports teams, etc. It is for everyone!
To order: Please go to www.yearbookforever.com and search for "Wilson Middle School." Please include your student's full name and homeroom number. "Be sure to select the location in Natick, MA.
Pricing: Order early to lock in the lowest price. Prices increase as the year goes on (please see the pricing schedule below):
November 1-January 31= $30
February 1-March 31=$35
April 1= $40 until they sell out*Please Note*: Yearbooks are expected to sell out. Books are not guaranteed. Any questions please contact Allyson O'Connor at aoconnor@natickps.org.
5. POSITIVITY PROJECT THEME FOR NEXT WEEK: Gratitude. Gratitude means you are aware of and thankful for good things that happen. Click here to read the parent letter.
6. WILSON ATHLETICS
Please click here: Wilson Athletics for important information.
7. LIBRARY NEWS
Please click here: Library News for important information. There is A LOT of new information so please click on the link to read it.
8. LAPS AFTER LUNCH SIGN UP & CORI CHECK REMINDER IF YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER
Please click here on the LAPS AFTER LUNCH GOOGLE FORM if you are interested in signing up to help with LAPS AFTER LUNCH. You must have a CORI check conducted and you must go into the building with identification (driver's license or passport) to do this. Click here for a description of what a CORI check is and does. Without a CORI check, you cannot volunteer in the school. Here is the form to fill out for a CORI.
Paper - On-Demand Tutoring
Natick Public Schools is excited to announce our partnership with Paper for on-demand tutoring for NHS students. Paper is a secure, online tutoring service that provides students with unlimited, 24/7 academic support. Whether they’re stuck on homework, studying for a test, or need someone to read and make suggestions to their essays, there will always be experts available online to assist students in over 200 subjects and more than 4 languages.
Paper tutors have been specially trained to conduct expert, academic support in a secure, chat-based platform. With a commitment to helping students learn, they’ll never give students answers, but rather interact with them in an encouraging tone to lead them forward.
This is a free service that we’re providing, so students are encouraged to use it as much as they need, whenever they need. Our teachers also have accounts and will be able to review all student activity to see what they’re working on and provide more targeted instruction as needed.
If you’d like to learn more about Paper you can sign up for a Paper hosted Parent Info Session, available in both English and Spanish.
To see Paper and the help it offers firsthand, we encourage you to login with your students. To get started, simply visit PAPER’s student login page, type your school’s name, and log in via Google using your school credentials
We’re thrilled to offer our students the unlimited, 24/7 support that Paper provides and we can’t wait to see what we’re able to accomplish together.
Email Blast
Do you know of any Wilson parents that don't receive our blasts? Feel free to forward this email and have them join our mailing list at http://eepurl.com/gBdwNv
If you have any questions, please contact the Wilson PTO at wilsonmspto@gmail.com.
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- Title I: Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990Title II
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990Title VI
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Title IX
- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
- MGL, Ch.76, Section 5: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 76, Section 5