WMS Weekly Newsletter

Dear Wayland Middle School Caregivers,

Happy New Year! I hope you and your family enjoyed a peaceful and happy holiday season and new year. We are looking forward to 2025 as our students engage in valuable opportunities to deepen their learning, build stronger relationships with their teachers and peers, and grow academically, socially, and emotionally.

As a result of the timing of the December break, we did not have an opportunity to celebrate the bright side provided by our WMS musicians. We are grateful to the 6th Grade Band, 7th Grade Band, 8th Grade Band, the Fitzgerald Jazz, and the Ellington Jazz for their amazing performances on the Tuesday evening before the break. Over 110 students, led by Mr. Greg Harris, impressed parents and staff with their musical talents as well as their ability to smoothly transition from being audience members to performers all in front of a full audience. Thank you to Mr. Harris and our musicians for bringing all of that joy to the WMS community!

If you are looking for an early January bright side, please join our orchestra and their conductor, Ms. Whitney Tandon, this Wednesday for the WMS Orchestra Concert at 7PM.

This week we will be revisiting our schoolwide expectations with our students to ensure that they understand how their daily actions and interactions bring the values of BERT (belonging, empathy, respect, and trust) to life in our school community. Whether you have questions, concerns, or simply want to share in the excitement of the school year, I encourage you to reach out.

Deborah

• Wednesday, January 8: Super Wednesday. School dismisses at 12:20 PM.
  Grab and Go Lunch available

• Wednesday, January 8: WMS Orchestra Concert 7:00-8:00 PM. 🎻

• Monday, January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL
  Wayland METCO Community Celebration Luncheon 1:30-3:30 PM
  Yawkey Club of Roxbury

• Tuesday, January 21: Principal's Caregiver Coffee 9:15-10:15 AM.☕

• Wednesday, January 29: Lunar New Year - NO SCHOOL

• Monday, February 17: President's Day - NO SCHOOL

• Tuesday, February 18 - Friday, February 21: February Break - NO SCHOOL

We are thrilled to share that Peer Mediation will now be offered as part of our school’s response to student conflict. Peer mediation is a conflict resolution process where trained students help their peers resolve disputes in a constructive way. It promotes communication, understanding, and problem-solving, allowing both parties to reach a mutually agreeable solution.

There are currently twenty-four trained Wayland High School (WHS) peer mediators. Their preparation began with three full-days of training which focused on the skills needed in a facilitative mediation model such as active listening and reframing. Mediators fully understand that neutrality and confidentiality are critical in their roles and are only involved in mediations in which there is no conflict of interest. WHS peer mediators hone their skills through authentic mediation sessions as well as weekly practice mediations facilitated by the WHS assistant principal. In every mediation, there are two student mediators and one trained adult in the room to support the mediators.

Referrals for peer mediation will only be made by WMS counselors or WMS administrators to ensure that referrals are appropriate for peer mediation. Given past experience at the high school, referrals for peer mediation will primarily be in cases of social conflicts between students.

Thanks to the collaboration of WMS counselors, administrators, WHS Assistant Principal Sean Gass, WMS PTO board members, WHS peer mediators, WMS will now benefit from the peer mediation program at WHS.

We appreciate your support as partners in ensuring that our school is a device-free learning environment. Electronic devices are a concern as they impact students’ learning and social/emotional health. At the middle school, students are expected to turn off devices such as cell phones, SMART watches, Fitbits, airpods, and headphones and put them in their backpacks before entering the school each day.

As you give thought to providing your student with a device, please be sure that your student understands the school’s policy. Also, consider giving your student a device that is specialized for communication and not for internet based apps. In other words, don’t give a smartphone as a first phone. In an earlier community forum, more than one parent mentioned Pinwheel Phones as an alternative to explore. Most importantly, monitor your student’s device use and engage in conversations about their virtual experiences.

Thirteen-year-old problem solver, Edwina, dishes out advice with the help of her friends and a little song and dance!

SHOWS:

Thursday, February 6: 7:00 PM

Friday, February 7: 7:00 PM

Have your child join the google classroom for all the info!

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NzI5NDk3MzA0MDE3

Artists: Doyun Shin

Grade: 8

Medium: Digital

Is your 8th grader interested in a public school experience that is vocational technical in nature? Vocational schools are holding information sessions, touring, and beginning the application process now. If your child attends, the town of Wayland is responsible for tuition and transportation fees.*

Feel free to peruse local technical school offerings on their websites. Know that it has been more competitive to be accepted in recent years:

• Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School - Marlborough

• Keefe Regional Technical School - Natick

• Madison Park Technical Vocational High School - Boston

• Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School - Lexington

• Shawsheen Valley Technical High School - Billerica

• Tri County Regional Technical Vocational School - Franklin

Please reach out to our 8th grade counselor, Ms. Jackie Mait, for support in the application process if your child plans to apply.

* Note: Students residing in Boston who wish to attend a vocational school listed above will need to un-enroll in the METCO program. Transportation would be organized through Boston Public Schools. For students interested in the Madison Park Vocational Technical Automotive Program, this program begins freshman year in high school, and is offered in the evening. Students don't have to un-enroll in METCO to participate in that program.

Thank you Wayland Middle School!

Our amazing community opened their hearts this holiday season and purchased 300 gifts worth over $9,000 for the teens and tweens living in residency at the Wayside Youth and Family Support Network. Every resident received gifts from the Amazon wish list provided by Wayside.

Students from the 6th and 7th grade community service clubs as well as several 8th grade students and returning high school volunteers, wrapped the 300 gifts at Wayside.

Thank you to Ms. Prasad and Ms. Duesterberg who run the community service clubs and joined in on the wrapping event. A special thanks to our amazing WMS gift drive project lead, Colleen Morneweck, and committee members, Maureen White, Anne-Louise Klaus, Andrea Winkler, Jessica Greher Traue, Catherine Horwitz, Joanna Hartunian and Krupali Shah.

We were overwhelmed with gratitude!

Let's celebrate our SOUPER middle school teachers and staff!

On January 23, let's provide a comforting lunch of soup and salad as an appreciation for all they do to support our children. Please sign-up here to contribute!

How much soup? We're asking for 12 crockpots' worth, assuming an average size of 6-7 quarts. PLEASE INDICATE which soup you're bringing, to guarantee a variety of offerings.

No time to shop? We've also included a few easy items from Amazon! Have them delivered directly to me, or drop them at your convenience. Address: 8 Brackett Rd, Wayland.

When to drop off? Soups should be delivered to the Middle School by 10am on Jan 23. Non-perishable items can be dropped off at 8 Brackett Road by January 22 before 5pm or to the school by 10am on January 23.

Any questions? Please contact Shirra Baston at shirra.baston@gmail.com

Reminder: Please label any items you would like returned to you!

We are so close! We are currently at 98.5% of our fundraising goal. Please help us reach our goal so we can provide more great programs, activities and classroom materials for our students.

Grant requests

We are currently receiving grant requests form staff and will soon be putting your donations back into the classrooms.

Please see more examples of what we can support with your help.

Many companies will match an employee's gift to a charity one-to-one or even more in donations! Ask your employer if they offer a charitable match!

The WMS PTO adds weekly updates in the Monday newsletter, but additional details, reminders, photos and videos are shared on the WMS PTO Facebook Group. Stay in the loop!

Other opportunities to volunteer

To see some of the descriptions, please see here.

We have many ways to get involved! Please fill out our survey below or send an email to Waylandmiddleschoolpto@gmail.com

We are looking for volunteer(s) that would like to create engaging content for the WMS Facebook page and assist with other communication related tasks. The PTO uses canva.com to create fun videos, graphics and more. Please send and email to: Wayalndmiddleschoolpto@gmail.com