The Swellesley Report

Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

What’s open and closed in Wellesley on Patriot’s Day

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Boston Marathon, Wellesley
Boston Marathon, Wellesley

Wellesley municipal buildings and departments will be closed on Monday, April 20 for Patriot’s Day.

Road closures and parking bans: Please see detailed information from the Wellesley Police Department about road closures and parking bans—Roads close at 8:30am in Wellesley on Marathon Monday.

The Recycling and Disposal Facility (RDF) and Wellesley Free Libraries will be closed.

Buildings will be open for business on Tuesday, April 21. Please check individual department webpages for specific hours.

Wellesley Public Schools will be closed Monday through Friday next week for April break.

Good luck to all runners, especially those who are running and raising funds for local nonprofits.

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black & blue, Wellesley
Olive Tree Medical, Wellesley
taste of wellesley gif

Sign up now for summer camp in Wellesley (and beyond)

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NEOC, WellesleySPONSORED CONTENT: It’s that exciting time of year again—time to register your children for summer camp. Programs officially have their sign-up links ready to go, so now’s the time to jump on things, before spaces fill up.

The Swellesley Report’s Summer Camps page lists over 100 programs from local day camps to overnight adventures.

Thanks to NEOC for their swell sponsorship of our Summer Camps page. NEOC sparks and stokes the excitement, discovery, and fun children have while outside and builds their understanding of nature, where kids explore and play outside at an easy pace, without any technology at all.

Don’t see your camp listed, or want to update your current listing? Contact us at theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

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Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley
Education

Scenes from Wellesley Middle School’s fabulous French Fête

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Wellesley Middle School French Fête food
Photo courtesy of WMS French teacher Rebecca Blouwolff

 
Wellesley Middle School in late March held its annual French Fête, a feast of food, music, activities, and culture.

The event is sponsored by the Parent-Teacher Organization and supplemented by many individual donations.

Highlights included:
• Parent volunteers abounded
• Families shared their francophone home cultures by sponsoring tables about Haiti and Mardi Gras in New Orleans
• Wellesley High School Key Club volunteers, including several former WMS French students, helped out
• WMS French teachers Hafsa Abdelmoula and Rebecca Blouwolff organized a karaoke song and dances by grade to French pop tunes (including a first-ever country line dance!), games, and activities that highlighted the French language and the cultures of the French-speaking world
• Le Petit Four bakery donated gift cards to the dance contest winners, which coaxed many reluctant dancers out onto the dance floor

Middle School French Fête
French Fête parent co-chair Christina Hurley, WMS French teacher Rebecca Blouwolff, parent co-chair Cécile Jeffords, WMS French teacher Hafsa Abdelmoula

 
Wellesley Middle School French Fête food

Middle School French Fête

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Longfellow, Wellesley
Wellesley Wonderful Weekend
Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, 2026
Sports

Wellesley Athlete of the Week: Girls’ golf’s Ruby Savarese

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Wellesley Athlete of the Week is made possible with sponsorship support from Deland, Gibson Insurance. The family-owned and operated business has carried on this Wellesley tradition for over 30 years.

Athlete of the Week: Ruby Savarese

 

girls golf champ
Coach Ken Bateman, golfers Ayla Sansone, Sanah Goenka, Denise Pan, Alika Lavu, Jenna Saini, Ruby Savarese (2025 championship photo by Peyton Doyle)

 

Sport: Golf (captain, 11th grade)

When & how you got involved in golf: My father introduced me to golf ever since I was 7 years old. Ever since, I’ve been involved in many junior golf programs including Nehoiden and Kohr golf. Now, I have been working with my coach Burgess Houston for about 3 years.

What you love most about golf: My favorite aspect of this sport is my golf team. My team is so fun to be around and we are all genuinely rooting for each other. High school golf helped me gain even more appreciation for the sport.

Pre-match routine: I always eat a protein bar or a piece of bread before. My mother makes sure of that.

Top goal for this season: My goal for this season is to help the golf team get to States and give our team a good shot at winning it.

Thoughts about this year’s team: The team this year is wonderful. The girls are so, so fun to be around, and I love sharing new moments together. Skill wise, I think we got a promising team and a good shot at winning this year.

An accomplishment that you’re especially proud of: Last year, I was out for majority of the season because I got a stress fracture in my back. However, I was able to make it back for sectionals and states and I am so happy I got the chance to help my team win.

A funny or inspiring story related to your involvement with this team: We share a lot of funny moments on the golf team. My favorite one is when we had a team “dunch” last year after practice. We all squished into a booth at Chipotle. It was so fun, and we talked about music, golf, and pop culture.

Interests outside of golf: I like to play guitar, read, play basketball, draw, and do metals work. My favorite subject has always been English.

What other sports do you play, if any? I used to play basketball.

Coach Ken Bateman on Ruby Savarese: “Ruby was named captain by her teammates, and she is a leader on and off the course. She is invaluable as a captain because she is able to bring everyone together and make them feel like they are part of a team. She encourages her teammates at practice and during matches to play the best they can, and if they do not, she is there to remind them that they did the best they could.  At the same time, she consistently leads our team in scoring on the course.”

(Athletes of the Week are nominated by their coaches.)

Past Athlete of the Week profiles

Deland, Gibson, Wellesley

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Wellesley Kitchen and Home Tour

Wellesley give-and-take area reopening on April 22

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wellelsey rdf give and take opening week

Wellesley’s Department of Public Works is reopening the Recycling & Disposal Facility’s (RDF) Reusables Area on Wednesday, April 22.

Hours of operation (subject to change) are:

  • 7-11am on Wednesdays
  • 7am-3pm Thursdays thru Saturdays
  • Closed Sunday through Tuesday

Volunteers are always needed. Please contact the RDF or stop by the administration office if interested.

Items not accepted include: Appliances (window ACs, mini fridges, and dehumidifiers), car seats (infants and toddlers).

More on the RDF:

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Rotary Club, Taste of Wellesley

Friday is letters-to-the-editor day—read what Wellesley Middle School students have to say

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Wellesley Middle School Social Studies students as part of a Civics Action Project have this week taken over The Swellesley Report‘s letters-to-the-editor page. The students are well-versed in their topics, have carefully researched all angles, and are ready to present their opinions to the community. Thank you to the WMS Social Studies teachers for organizing this community-based project.

Thanks to WMS Social Studies head Adam Blumer, and to the entire social studies department, for spearheading this important civics project.

We’ll publish several letters per week.

In this week’s letters from the middle schoolers:

 

You can see all the letters here.

How many Fridays are we going to encourage this display of civic involvement? For as many as it takes for the WMS Social Studies students to air their opinions.

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What drought? Wellesley rescinds outdoor watering restrictions

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The drought status for the southeast region of the state that includes Wellesley has been decreased from a Level 2 “significant drought” designation by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to normal conditions. As a result, Wellesley’s Board of Public Works has rescinded one-day per week outdoor watering restrictions that had been in effect since February.

“I’m surprised, I did not see that coming,” Department of Public Works Director Dave Cohen said during the Board of Public Works meeting on April 13.  “I thought that perhaps we would get to a Level 1 [mild drought] but they brought us all the way back to a Level 0.”

drought status

Despite the improved drought status, the Wellesley Water Department still discourages business and property owners from going wild with their water, both for conservation purposes as well as for lawn health. They’re recommending a voluntary conservation program of two outdoor watering days per week, and to irrigate before 9 am and after 5 pm to reduce water loss from evaporation.

You can track your water use via the Water Customer Portal. 

Contact the DPW Water & Sewer Division with questions at (781) 235-7600 extension 3355.

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Sports

Wellesley middle & high school runners to compete at pre-Boston Marathon races

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BAA logoA handful of Wellesley Public Schools student-athletes have been selected to run on Saturday, April 18 in the BAA Middle School 1k and BAA Invitational Scholastic Mile races on the streets around the Boston Marathon finish line.

Boys 1k race

Fleet Taylor, Wellesley Middle School 8th grader. Personal best Mile 5:44. Fishing is his hidden talent, and the mile is his favorite distance to run.

Girls 1k race (event record is 3:14.05 by Abigail Beggans of Wellesley in 2022)

Cora Gibby, Wellesley Middle School 6th grader. Personal best mile is 6:31: She achieved her PB this year at the Harvard Friends and Family kids meet. The 5K is her favorite distance to run.

Maren Tamburelli, Wellesley Middle School 7th grader. She also skis and swims.

Boys Invitational Mile

Sami Juma, Wellesley High School senior. Mile personal best is 4:27.91 . He ran a 15:45 5K (his favorite distance to run), at the Bay State Invitational. He also plays the piano and enjoys 12x400m workouts.

Alex Bonnette, Wellesley High School senior. Mile personal best is 4:32. ompeted at the Bay State cross country championships in 2025. His favorite workout is the 6×800, and his hidden talent is playing the saxophone

Girls Invitational Mile

Eloise Crissman, Wellesley High School junior. Mile personal best is 5:48.10. Eloise’s hidden talent is that she can do a headstand. She also completed a half marathon last spring.

Courtney Edmonds, Wellesley High School senior. Mile personal best is 6:00.4. Courtney’s hidden talent is that she can hold a plank for 11 minutes. She achieved her personal best in the mile during her junior season.

The schedule:

11:00 AM    Girls Middle School 1K Race Start

11:10 AM    Boys Middle School 1K Race Start

11:25 AM    Girls Scholastic Mile Race Start

11:35 AM    Boys Scholastic Mile Race Start

The youth races will be followed by professional runner 1-mile races.

More: Boston Marathon 2026—Wellesley guide

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Wellesley in Bloom starts May 2!

Wellesley in Bloom starts May 2!