Spooky fun had by all at Wellesley’s Bates Pumpkin Fair

October 18, 2018 by bbrown Leave a Comment

Kids and their adults showed up in force at the annual Bates Elementary School Pumpkin fair on Saturday morning/afternoon, with some playing Halloween-themed games, others getting made up to get into the spirit, and still others braving the scary/medium scary/not-so-scary versions of the haunted house. We heard during an exclusive interview with the werewolf’s mom and her ferocious dog that haunted house visitors were in for a real fright.

wellesley bates pumpkin fair football

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MORE Wellesley Halloween action

State recognizes Wellesley elementary schools for Morses Pond rescue plan

May 16, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley Public Schools 4^th grade teachers Irene Gruenfeld (Bates Elementary) and Anne Gayner (Fiske Elementary) and their classes were recognized this week at the State House for efforts to address erosion issues at Morses Pond. Nearly 3 dozen programs were honored at the Annual Secretary’s Awards for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education.

The Wellesley classes did field work at the pond, designed scale models to illustrate solutions to erosion, and presented their results to town officials. The schools received guidance from the Natural Resources Commission on the project.

EEA awards — Wellesley teachers and students honored at the State House (photo via NRC)

Wellesley School Committee holding important meeting on FY19 schools budget, other issues

December 12, 2017 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley School Committee is holding an important public meeting on Tuesday, December 12 at 6:30pm in the Juliani Room at Town Hall, 525 Washington St.

On the agenda:

The Wellesley Public Schools FY2019 budget presentation (this one is last on the Action/Discussion part of the agenda, scheduled at 8:15pm, if all goes in a timely manner). For context, here’s the FY2018 budget request.

Earlier on the agenda:

Discussion about Hardy and Upham Schools Improvement plans

Discussion about Wellesley Middle School facilities projects

A vote on the WMS and WHS programs of studies

A vote on the 2018 – 2019 academic calendar

A vote on the PAWS (Preschool at Wellesley Schools) feasibility study. Some discussion points have been: whether to 1.build out of the existing site, 2. do an addition onto Fiske Elementary to hold the preschool, and 3. develop a freestanding model for potential relocation of PAWS to another site

If you can’t make it to the meeting, you can watch it on the public access TV via Wellesley Media Corporation.

Scrape together your coins for Wellesley trick-or-treaters collecting for UNICEF

October 30, 2017 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

UNICEF, Wellesley — Set aside your change for Wellesley’s trick-or-treaters who will be collecting for the charity that has raised over $175 million to provide humanitarian aid since 1950.

A reminder to set aside coins for Halloween, as many trick-or-treaters will be looking to collect your spare change on behalf of UNICEF, which raises millions of dollars for children who’ve been victims of war, natural disasters, exploitation or disease.

The funds Wellesley trick-or-treaters raise help children in Mali to get life-saving rehydration salts; ensure that mothers and newborns in remote Bolivian mountain areas survive childbirth by way of UNICEF-trained mid-wives; and help keep Laotian teenage girls in school and therefore out of child marriage with the help of UNICEF social workers. Those are just a few examples of the important work that UNICEF funds every year.

Last year, Bates students raised enough money to fund the equivalent of providing two clean water pumps and a medical delivery bicycle.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF provides more info.

Any checks given in lieu of coins may be made out to the “U.S. Fund for UNICEF”.

Scenes from Wellesley’s Bates Pumpkin Fair

October 15, 2017 by bbrown Leave a Comment

Bates Pumpkin Fair, Wellesley

A big crowd flocked to the annual Bates Pumpkin Fair, where kids were treated to a haunted house, lots of clever and spooky games, and of course inflatables to jump on.

Check out a sampling of the action in the slideshow below (click arrows on left or right).