New Bates playground takes recess to the next level

July 15, 2025 by Zoe Chen

The Bates Elementary School front playground (116 Elmwood Rd.) was replaced in the spring of 2025 and officially reopened, new and improved, in late April. The new playground has tons of features that take recess to the next level, including two slides of differing lengths, spinners, rope ladders, and obstacle courses.

The Park and Tree Division manages 18 playgrounds around Wellesley, including 11 at schools. Each playground has a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years. The newly renovated Bates playground is intended for kids ages 5-12, although a 16-year-old climbing through the rope ladder probably can’t hurt, right?

Next up for renovations are the Warren Park and Schofield Elementary School playgrounds, both of which will be replaced later this summer.

We thank Truly’s ice cream & frozen yogurt shop in Wellesley for sponsoring our summer interns. If you’d like to contribute as well, please make a tax-deductible donation & denote “intern.”

Vibe with nature’s brightest insects and the Wellesley Conservation Land Trust

July 7, 2025 by admin

Light up your night! ️Join Wellesley Conservation Land Trust Board Member, Chris Crowley, on a guided walk of Boulder Brook Reservation learning about and scouting out fireflies! Last year’s walk was crazy good. Safely catch & release.

Meet at Bates Elementary School parking lot by the fields, 116 Elmwood Rd, Wellesley, at 8:15pm, on Wednesday, July 9 (raindate, July 10).

Please wear mosquito protective clothing. Go light on insect repellant!

Sign up here (recommended but not required) so you can be contacted if the walk is postponed due to weather.

Wellesley Conservation Land Trust, Firefly Walk — Firefly Walk, 2025.

Wellesley High Class of ’25 grads revisit their elementary schools

June 10, 2025 by Bob Brown

Wellesley High Class of ’25 students who attended elementary schools in town had the chance to go back to those buildings last week after receiving their caps and gowns. They got the clap-out treatment from current students and staff.

Upham has been shuttered since students attended, but former Principal Jef Dees (now at Hunnewell) and a few teachers went over there for the photo opp.

The tradition was formalized after years of seniors showing up in a more casual way at their former elementary schools on graduation day.

Photos from several of the elementary schools courtesy of Wellesley Public Schools.

Upham senior day — Upham Elementary School

See something? Send something: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Wellesley’s Bates Elementary School in for a basketball hoop upgrade

July 11, 2024 by Bob Brown

The Bates Elementary School in Wellesley is on track for the start of the new school year to have shiny new basketball hoops to replace those on the playground.

The $7,200 project comes courtesy of the Bates PTO, and the gift was accepted this week by the Wellesley School Committee (see Wellesley Media recording). Bates Principal Toni Jolley referenced a school “auction for the ages” that raised funds for this and other projects.

The current hoops, which we believe may have replaced peach baskets, feature dreaded double rims and an unforgiving attachment to the backboard.

It sounds as if the new hoops will have single rims and fresh backboards. The poles will be replaced with padded and adjustable ones to make the hoops accessible.

As for the double rims, well, you could just swish your shots like I do and you don’t have to worry about the rims… (as seen in this single-take video in which I held my phone in one hand and shot with the other).

Supporting our Swellesley local news venture is a slam dunk

Wellesley school news: Light poles up at Hunnewell track & field; Robotics team back in action; Countdown to mini-marathons

March 19, 2024 by Bob Brown

The latest Wellesley, Mass., school news:

Lights up

Two of the four light poles at the Hunnewell track and field are up, making it possible that lighted action could take place within months. Footings for the 80-ft. poles were installed last month.

The bathroom/concession building is expected to arrive during the summer; the old concession building has been removed.

It was said during a recent Playing Fields Task Force meeting that lights could be working by April or May, though conditions must still be met for various town bodies before games or practices can take place under the glow.

hunnewell track and field 2 lights — Light poles can be seen among the trees on the left, inside the upright on the right

Robotics team back in action March 23-24

The community is invited to watch the Wellesley High School Robotics Team compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition as Team Ultraviolet #8567 on March 23 and 24 at Revere High School.

The New England District Greater Boston Event is the culmination of months of work put into building the team’s robot, and an exciting event to witness for all ages, especially kids interested in STEM.

Nearly 40 teams will compete at this event, which is free and open to the public. Qualification matches will start at 11am and run all through the day till 7pm on Saturday, March 23. On Sunday March 24, there will be additional qualification matches in the morning (9:30am-11:30am), and playoffs and award ceremonies in the afternoon (1pm-4pm).

FIRST Robotics Competition is the ultimate sport for the mind. Under strict rules and limited time and resources, teams of high school students are challenged to build industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game in alliance with other teams. Teams fundraise to meet their goals.

CAD (computer aided design) image of this year's robot — CAD (computer-aided design) image of this year’s robot

Countdown to mini-marathons

Both Bates Elementary School and Wellesley Middle School have mini-marathons on tap next month that will sandwich the Boston Marathon, slated for April 15.

The 13th annual Bates mini-marathon is scheduled for April 10, with students running or walking for 20 minutes around the school. Funds will be raised for Friends of Wellesley METCO.

The Wellesley Middle School mini-marathon will take place on April 25 at 10am-noon, with students doing a 1.3 mile loop around the school and the area. Students typically where different colors by grade in this colorful event.

All of that is a good tune-up for the Schofield 5K Race & Fun Fair, a community-wide event scheduled for June 2 at Schofield Elementary School. It’s challenging course, so get in some hills workouts if you plan to run it.

See something, send something: Our kids are outta school, so we rely on staff, parents, and students to keep us in the loop: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

It’s only fair to thank the Bates Pumpkin Fair sponsors

October 21, 2023 by admin

Bates Pumpkin Fair chairs thank their partners in fundraising

October 22, 2022 by admin

Fall fun at annual Bates Pumpkin Fair

October 16, 2022 by Bob Brown

Some braved the haunted house, some stuck to the outdoor games, but all had fun at the annual Bates Pumpkin Fair this past weekend at Bates Elementary School.

The fair had something for every kid, from face painting to music to silly spooky lawn games ranging from soccer kicks to bowling (those pins really didn’t want to go down). Obligatory bouncy contraptions let kids burn up energy against a colorful foliage background.

Some attendees experienced the fair for the first time, while others (including one mom I know who I couldn’t believe still had a kid at Bates…) are veterans of the can’t-miss event.

From what I could see, Wellesley kids look very ready to take on Halloween in a couple of weeks.