WMS Family Smore

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As we head into our final week of school before Winter Break, I anticipate much joy, hard work on summative assessments, and busier-than-usual schedules for all of us. We know our students will continue to SOAR and demonstrate WMS values. Speaking of which, every month students are nominated to be an Eagle of the Month. Check out one of our December Eagles of the Month with Mr. Donato to the right!

Here are some quick announcements:

• As covid, the flu and cold season is here, we remind all of our WMS families to practice healthy habits. This includes hand washing, using hand sanitizer, coughing/sneezing into the elbow, and wearing masks. Thank you for helping keep our whole school community safe and healthy as we head into the last week before WInter Break.
• We plan to have our next student dances in January, hosted by the 8th grade Student Leadership team. We will share more details soon.

Here are some other dates to be aware of this week:

• December 1-23: Parents and Caregivers can complete the 5 Essentials Survey
• December 21: Quarter 2 Progress Reports are made available to parents/caregivers
• December 21: First Annual Holiday Bake Sale and Sing Along (WMS cafeteria, 5:30-7:00PM)
• December 23: Special schedule for WMS, with the Geo Bee whole-school assembly in the morning
• December 26-January 2: Winter Recess - No School

This will be the last smores we send in 2022 as we plan to send my next s'more to you in early January 2023, before we return from break. Be well and take care of one another.

Respectfully yours,

Ms. Jennifer Chen Fein, Principal

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

Mr. Patrick Dayton, Interim Assistant Principal (Clusters 1, 3, 5)

Click on the link below to find updates from your child's teachers. These cluster/class smores are a helpful tool to know what your child is learning. These s'mores are shared and updated every other week in the WMS Family Smore.

Cluster 1

Cluster 2

Cluster 3

Cluster 4

Cluster 5

Cluster 6

The Specialists

Reading

ELD/Phonics

Connections

LB Math

Wilson Reading

We will be having a modified school schedule on December 23rd as we celebrate our first all-school assembly with the Geo Bee! Students have participated in preliminary rounds, and clusters are getting ready to cheer on their student representatives! Students and teachers will have access to masks at any time during the assembly.

On January 3 and 4, students will start their morning in advisories. This will allow us to re-establish routines as we re-enter a new year. We will then take i-ready midyear diagnostics, with Reading on January 3, and Math on January 4. These diagnostics give us important information about what students have learned and what they still need work on as we prepare to place students in WIN classes for the second half of the year. We ask that parents/caregivers help remind your children to charge their chromebooks fully before coming back to school on January 3rd.

For all three dates, we will start the day at 8:30am with students in advisory groupings for the morning. Then we will have shortened periods of each class for the rest of the school day.

We need your feedback! Watertown Public Schools is surveying students, families, and teachers, and we need at least 20% of parents/caregivers to complete the 2023 Watertown Parent Survey. 19% of our parents/caregivers have completed the survey so far - this week is the last chance to share your feedback. This survey should take about 15 minutes to complete, and it gives our leadership team valuable information on what we are doing well and how we can improve.

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

Please let us know how you and your family are experiencing school here:

2023 Watertown Parent Survey

Opens Dec. 1, 2022 and closes Dec. 23, 2022.

The WMS SSC meets once a month on the first Tuesdays at 7:00pm, virtually. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.

The PTO meets virtually on the second Wednesday of each month, and the next meeting is on Wednesday, January 11 at 7pm. Reach out to the PTO President Erin Macomber at erin_macomber@neds.org with any questions or to express interest.

The WMS Diversity Council meets once a month on the third Thursdays at 7:00pm virtually, with the next meeting on January 19. We will be focusing on actionable steps outlined in the district equity audit taken last school year.

Reach out to Jen Sarmiento at jennifer.sarmeinto@watertown.k12.ma.us to express interest in joining or with any questions.

The Bookmobile is coming! Starting in January, the Bookmobile (aka The Speed Reader) will be making regular stops at Watertown Middle School.

If you haven’t been able to get to the Watertown Free Public Library, the library is now coming to you. We’ll be able to check out books, get new library cards, learn about library services and talk to friendly librarians.

Catch the Speed Reader in the WMS Waverly Ave front parking lot on the first Thursday of each month from 3:15-4:30pm. Upcoming dates include:

• January 5
• February 2
• March 2

In the event of inclement weather, Bookmobile service will be cancelled.

Watertown Recreation winter sports are live! There are several indoor and outdoor options.

Please see here for the entire Watertown Rec brochure- pages 8-11 focus on middle-school aged activities. The Ski Program is completely full but if there is enough interest from more students, they will add an additional bus! In the meantime, students can still get a discounted ticket to the mountain and provide their own transportation.

Lastly, the City of Watertown has Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics tickets for any resident or employee of Watertown. See here for Bruins and here for Celtics. Tickets are first come first serve.

Come to the beautiful Watertown Public Library and enjoy the amazing work of our Watertown High School Artists! The exhibit will be there for the month of December!

• December 1-23: Parents and Caregivers can complete the 5 Essentials Survey
• December 21: Quarter 2 Progress Reports are made available to parents/caregivers
• December 21: First Annual Holiday Bake Sale and Sing Along (WMS cafeteria, 5:30-7:00PM)
• December 23: Special schedule for WMS, with the Geo Bee whole-school assembly in the morning, shortened classes in the afternoon.
• December 26-January 2: Winter Recess - No School
  

• January 3-4: Special schedule for WMS, with advisory and i-ready midyear diagnostics in the morning, shortened classes in the afternoon.

• January 3: School Site Council (7:00pm, virtual)

• January 5: Bookmobile parked at WMS Main Entrance (3:15-4:30pm)

• January 11: PTO Meeting (7:00pm, virtual)

• January 13: PD Day - No School
  

• January 16: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School

• January 18-22: ACCESS Testing for English Learners

• Watertown Public Schools Calendar 2022-2023
  

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