The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Wellesley Mothers Forum helping local moms navigate the pandemic

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wellesley mothers forum logoThe Wellesley Mothers Forum has been helping local moms learn from and support each other for more than 25 years. but perhaps it has never been needed as much as during the pandemic.

“Without normal in-person methods of meeting other families, the Wellesley Mothers Forum is more important than ever to help families share resources and form important personal connections with children of similar ages,” the forum says.

While COVID-19 is putting the kibosh on high profile in-person events, like the annual Fall Carnival, the nearly 300-plus member group is adapting to an increasingly virtual and social distanced world by adhering to state and local guidelines with its programming. This includes everything from online lectures on topics such as creating a greener home and minimalist parenting, to contactless delivery of welcome packages to new members. Co-Presidents Lillian Lau and Julie Byrne and team recently kicked off the 2020-21 membership year with an online board meeting.

Many years removed from our own babies, we wondered how the heck young parents are dealing with infant socialization during the pandemic. The forum says it offers a variety of opportunities for young children to socialize, from virtual playgroups to backyard playdates to online music classes and storytelling sessions.

While playgrounds in and around Wellesley are now mainly open, members have varied feelings about taking their kids there. Forum members share information through a members-only Facebook group and other methods on topics such as playground locations, busyness of playgrounds at different times of the day, amount of sun exposure, and mask compliance. This has helped members discover new playgrounds and decide on which are right for them.

The forum understands that Zoom fatigue is real, especially for working parents. It offers online information sessions but also small socially distanced outdoor gatherings where appropriate to help members learn and connect.

Use of the forum’s Facebook discussion group has skyrocketed over the past year, with more than 200 active members. Participants share information on everything from services like contractors and counselors to nanny-sharing and gently-used items. A poll on the best face mask brands for kids proved popular, as has a rising subgroup for parents of rising kindergarteners in light of many schools starting remotely. Information on local merchant discounts available to members can also be found here.

While the group won’t have its usual Halloween costume party due to gathering restrictions, it does plan for a family-friendly Halloween scavenger hunt along the Morses Pond trail. Members and the general public can take part at their leisure during the last week of October.

New members and renewals receive 20% off before Oct. 1.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 1998 Wellesley College speech: ‘The Supreme Court: A Place for Women’

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The late Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the annual Wilson Lecture at Wellesley College in 1998, and titled it “The Supreme Court: A Place for Women.” That was five years after President Bill Clinton appointed her to the court.

WILSON LECTURE
“The Supreme Court: A Place for Women”
Delivered by
The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Associate Justice
The Supreme Court of the United States
at
Wellesley College
November 13, 1998
Two frontrunners are responsible for my visit this evening: Diana Chapman Walsh, Wellesley’s President, highly regarded in academic, medical and management circles, and celebrated, too, in the pages of Runner’s World, and Barbara Preiskel, a dear friend whose extraordinary service on Fortune 500 boards is surpassed by just one thing – her devotion to making opportunities to aspire and achieve genuinely open to all people.

To gain an introduction to Wellesley, I watched in the company of my Court staff, a videotape called “Hillary’s Class,” a film made by a young woman I knew in her growing up years. It is a remarkable documentary of the way things were and an aid in thinking about the way things should be.

My talk tonight centers on the same themes—the way things were, are, and will be. The setting is the place I know best nowadays; the title, The Supreme Court: A Place for Women. Let me begin with a question Justice O’Connor and I are sometimes asked. Does it make any difference that you are there? Do women judges decide cases differently by virtue of being women? As a first response, I have several times quoted, as has Justice O’Connor, the words of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Jeanne Coyne. In her experience, Justice Coyne said, “a wise old man and a wise old woman reach the same conclusion.”

And so they do. But it is also true, I am convinced, that women, like persons of different racial groups and ethnic origins, contribute to the United States judiciary what a fine jurist, the late Alvin B. Rubin of Louisiana, described as “a distinctive

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Phil the Wellesley philodendron: an update

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Thanks to all for your comments and concerns about Phil the Philodendron, the once sad little rescue houseplant with an indomitable will to live. I wrote last month about the big lug and how after a few short years he’s grown into a handsome specimen with confidence and swagger to spare.

We just moved him upstairs after his summer spa vacation on the front steps of our house. Fall is coming, and Phil is cold-sensitive. Uncle Jerry from Dorchester, gardener extraordinaire says so, and when Uncle Jerry says get that plant inside, I don’t argue.

Here are his new digs. Please wish Phil well as he readjusts to life on the inside.

Phil the Wellesley Philodendron
Phil the Wellesley Philodendron enjoys a sunny corner. Linen panels and braided rug from the RDF Reusables Area, as was Phil himself.

Here’s Phil on his yearly front-step spa vacation:

Wellesley philodendron

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Pandemic Aftermath

Wellesley Public Schools viral testing program update

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Wellesley Public Schools Supt. David Lussier, who calls the evolving viral testing program a core part of the school reopening plan, gave an update on the effort during this week’s School Committee meeting. Note that this is a topic nearly impossible to report on, as details change daily, hourly, etc.

The plan now focuses on baseline testing for all students and staff to start the school year, then ongoing surveillance testing of staff (perhaps a third of the staff per week, to give an early warning about trends). The school system will defer to the town’s Health Department, which partners with Newton-Wellesley Hospital, on testing residents (and possibly WPS staff) with COVID-19 symptoms.

A request for proposals (RFP) to operate the testing program has been issued, and responses have been received that give the school system an idea of how much this could all cost, as seen in the slide presented by Dr. Lussier at the School Committee meeting. Some expenses will be covered through grants or other programs (including one called Immune Observatory that will cover baseline saliva testing for WPS staff), though budgeting also includes spending by the school system with support from the Wellesley Education Foundation, which has committed funds and is raising more.

 

viral testing program

Katey Goehringer, who has been spearheading the RFP process, said the hope is to begin testing next week, before in-person school begins. The RFP has focused on non-painful PCR testing—shallow nasal (anterior nares) or saliva varieties, with the anterior nares option targeted for students.

Information materials are being prepared for the community, and a webinar will be offered next week, too, Goehringer says.

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Continued free 2-hour street parking in Wellesley, with a few simple rules

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Wellesley parkingTo help support local businesses and encourage shopping in Wellesley, the Board of Selectmen has extended free parking at all 2-hour street meters in Wellesley until January 1, 2021. These meters have been bagged.

This is the second time this year that the BOS has extended the 2-hour free meter-parking perk.

The town has  traditionally bags the 2-hour meters for the month of December.

To keep traffic moving and allow for frequent parking turnover, the 2-hour parking limit will be strictly enforced by Wellesley parking attendants. After 2 hours, vehicles must leave the street entirely or they will be ticketed. Drivers may not move to other free parking spaces on the street for another two hours. This will also result in a ticket as parking attendants are monitoring cars. The 2-hour meters are primarily located in the Wellesley Square and Wellesley Hills business districts and along Central and Washington Streets.

The free parking benefit is only for customers.

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Pinnacle Residential Properties—owning a Wellesley Victorian, a love story

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SPONSORED POST: Jane Neilson is a real estate agent at Pinnacle Residential Properties. She writes about her experiences renovating her antique home, one of Wellesley’s lovely grande dames. 

Wellesley offers an amazing array of homes for buyers drawn to our beautiful town for its proximity to Boston, excellent schools and charming neighborhoods. As a local Realtor and the wife of one of Wellesley’s top builders, I have personal experience in just about every architectural style of house out there. We are now living in our sixth Wellesley home, all of which were built prior to 1940. We have relished many adventures renovating and adding on to each one.

Pinnacle, Wellesley
Jane Neilson’s home, one of Wellesley’s architectural gems.

While many of my buyers prefer the convenience of new construction with modern floor plans, attached garages and poured concrete basements, some of us prefer the charm and character — or perhaps the challenge — of a Victorian or antique home.

Our current home is a Greek revival built in 1878 by Andrew Lees, known as “Boston’s first wood carver.” We enjoy tall ceilings, quarter sawn oak floors, mahogany balustrades, and oversized wood windows with wavy glass. Enchanted by its character and three floors of living space, we fell in love with it in 2017 and got to work updating the kitchen and powder room before moving in with our 16-year-old twins.

However, the house also featured a spooky basement, obsolete knob and tube wiring, hazardous asbestos insulation, and some groovy finishes from the ’70s. Our first call was to Mass Save to blow in insulation and install a shiny new boiler to replace the relic that was on its last legs.

This year we’re updating the master and family baths. “Are you selling the house?” one daughter asked suspiciously, familiar with our pattern of buy, renovate, and sell. “No!” I said. “This renovation is for us!”

Pinnacle, Wellesley
Jane Neilson and family outside their beloved Victorian home.

If you are considering selling or buying an older home and are wondering which home improvements offer the highest return, call me at 781.223.7338. I am happy to provide you with some ideas and insights using my 20 years of expertise and experience. It would be complimentary and confidential.

More about Jane Neilson

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School Committee meeting: keeping Wellesley’s eye on the prize of in-school learning

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At a Wellesley School Committee conducted on Tues., Sept. 15 via Zoom, SC members and WPS administrators reviewed topics that have been at the forefront of the school re-opening process and issued a reminder that a virtual community forum on the Hardy/Upham project will take place on Thur., Sept, 17 at 7pm. Details below.

During Public Comment, Carrie Sullivan, who has a second grader at Schofield, expressed concerns about her child’s core academic skills. She pointed out that first graders lost 1/3 of the academic year. “Our kids don’t know how to use computers. They don’t know how to spell. They’re learning to read still.”

Sullivan said second-grade families are disappointed that they were not included as part of the Pre-K through grade 1 group who have been prioritized for in-person, 4-day per week learning. “It’s really important and critical for our kids also to get in more days,” she said.

Superintendent David Lussier said that he didn’t doubt anything said at Public Comment, however, “The degree to prioritize comes down to space within our schools. Unfortunately we can’t do as many grade levels as we’d like.”

Back to school jitters

Endless meetings, contingency plans, and family demands don’t seem to faze School Committee members and WPS administrators as a group. There’s only one thing that makes them blanche—the idea of having in-person education plans derailed by careless behavior. There was much “community partnership” talk, and it seemed obvious that recent delays of in-school learning in nearby towns weighted heavily on everybody’s minds. All Wellesley students are learning remotely now. The first students are expected to enter school buildings on October 1, as the town moves to a hybrid model.

SC member Catherine Mirick said, “I know lots of us have seen news reports about multiple school districts around us having to put off their hybrid re-openings. I just want to point out how dependent we are on families in the community continuing to follow social distancing and mask wearing and all those things we know we should be doing to make this plan work.”

Lincoln-Sudbury’s Superintendent Bella Wong (who held the top educational job in Wellesley from 2007 -2012) expressed her disappointment when that district had to abruptly switched their anticipated hybrid opening to remote learning only after police broke up a gathering of dozens of partying students.

Dedham, which has experienced a recent town-wide spike in COVID cases, putting it into the statewide “Red” category, started remotely on Sept. 16, and expected to begin in-person learning on Sept. 21. With the significant community spread, the in-person component of school has been delayed indefinitely. School officials say a return to in-classroom learning will depend on the trajectory of the virus in town.

Remote Learning School

Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Cindy Mahr as part of the re-opening update gave the most recent numbers on Remote Learning School (RSL), which is an option of all students. So far almost 500 have taken Wellesley up on the offer to study at home and forgo in-person learning for the year. Most of those students are at the elementary level.

Mahr said that 12 Pre-K students will take part in RLS; 288 elementary school kids; 125 at the middle-school level, and 71 high schoolers, for a total of 494.

To educate these students, Mahr says staff throughout the school system have been “repurposed” to cover both classroom and RLS openings. Some teachers have been reassigned, and some sections have been consolidated.

The total added costs of the RLS are just over $2 million, with potential health benefit costs of $547k. Funding of $1.8 million will be requested by the WPS at Wellesley’s Special Town Meeting, scheduled for Monday, October 26th. “That’s our deficit right now,” Mahr said.

Sports

The fall athletics plan has been approved and “It’s likely that spectators will not be allowed in the limited sports that were approved last week,” Lussier said.

Fall sports for high school will start on Sept. 21, and the season will go until the end of November.

Unfortunately, middle school sports will be a no-go.

At the high school level, football and cheerleading, as well as girls volleyball are also out for now, as they have been deemed “high-risk sports” based on the close contact required between participants.

That leaves cross-country running, soccer, field hockey, and girls swimming and diving as the sports that will make up the Sept. – Nov. season. That season won’t include any season-ending state tournaments, in an effort to minimize travel and interactions among many teams.

A winter season will run from the end of November until the end of February, and an additional season will be wedged in between Feb.22-April 25.  That’s when football and cheerleading might be allowed.

Hunnewell School trees can’t get a break

In January, Hunnewell School’s iconic 200+-year-old iconic White Oak tree in the front courtyard was chopped down by the Department of Public Works. The beloved tree had been deemed high-risk by an arborist hired by the Natural Resources Commission. A 3’ vertical trunk crack, which apparently led to several additional cracks, sealed the tree’s fate, and it was removed.

Now Sharon Gray reports that the construction team wants to remove one or more trees from the Ruth Stiles Walter Garden, put in years ago to honor a former School Committee member. Gray said that the project team has concerns about contaminated soil under one of the areas in that garden, located in a small area adjacent to the gym.

Gray asked the team to provide a memo explaining what they wanted to do, along with a map of the garden and photos as needed. The long-term plan for the Asian-themed contemplative garden currently is undetermined.

Hardy/Upham plan

No updates on Hardy/Upham, except that the School Building Committee agrees with the SC that the preference for swing space is to focus on a plan that will allow building a new school behind either Hardy or Upham. Such a plan would allow students to remain in either Hardy or Upham while the new school is being built, as did WHS students during construction of the present-day high school.

For more on the Hardy/Upham project, tune in to the virtual community forum on Thur., Sept, 17 at 7pm.

The webinar-style meeting is hosted by the School Building Committee (SBC) and will feature an update from the project team on the status of the feasibility study. The public will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer comments.

The forum will be broadcast live by Wellesley Media on Comcast Channel 8 and Verizon Channel 40, and live streamed on the Wellesley Media Government Channel.

Residents who wish to participate in the webinar must use this form to register in advance and receive the Zoom link.

At its meeting on September 24, the SBC is expected to make a recommendation on whether to build at Hardy or Upham with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

Wellesley higher education news: spring 2021 semester at MassBay to be mostly remote

MassBay Community College President Dr. David Podell announced that MassBay will offer its spring 2021 courses exclusively online or remote, except for a handful that involve laboratory work. This format mirrors how the fall semester courses are currently being delivered to students.

All fall semester courses at MassBay are being offered online or remotely except for a few Biotechnology, Health Sciences, and Automotive Technology courses that contain a required hands-on laboratory component.

Applications are now being accepted for MassBay’s spring semester, which starts on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. To learn more about MassBay, attend the virtual Fall Open House on Saturday, November 14, 9am – noon.

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