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Wellesley schools roundup — student safety; Hardy author visit; Upham kids on TV; at State House against pesticides; Tenacre Curriculum Night; Dana theater

November 14, 2019 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley Middle School students and internet safety

Katie Greer, internet safety expert
Katie Greer, internet safety expert

Katie Greer, national expert in youth technology and cyber-safety, came to Wellesley Middle School (WMS) to speak to 6th and 7th graders about the latest in internet risks, safety, and responsibility. Later that evening, in an effort to promote communication between parents and their children, Greer spoke with the Wellesley Public Schools parents. The engaging and informative presentation provided parents with answers to help their kids stay safe in a technology-driven world. This WMS PTO funded event allowed parents to prepare for tough, but essential, conversations about responsible internet use with their children. Topics included social media sharing, cyber bullying, privacy, sexting, gaming and parental controls. The WMS PTO thanks all the WMS families who have donated to the PTO annual drive, which makes such lectures possible.


Active shooter training at WHS

In a Nov. 13 post on the Wellesley High School website, Principal Jamie Chisum reminded the school community that all students need to be out of the high school the afternoon of Thursday, November 14 from 2:45 until 3:30.  During this time the faculty and staff will be doing a joint active shooter training exercise with the Wellesley Police Department. All the school’s internal organizations this affects have been notified and are prepared for this occasion. This is the only day WHS will have to do this for the year.


Hardy School hosts author Lisa Rogers at Book Fair

Author and Wellesley resident Lisa Rogers was on hand at the Hardy School Book Fair to showcase her new nonfiction picture book 16 Words. The 40-page hardcover book, geared toward readers ages 4 – 8, tells the story of how beloved American poet William Carlos William’s process of mindfulness helped him come up with his well-known 16-word poem “The Red Wheelbarrow.”

At the Book Fair, Rogers helped children pick out books and then read to them from 16 Words. “The children were so excited to ask her questions about her book and the process she went through to come up with idea, write the story and to see it in final print.,” said Hardy parent Jamie Fussner.

Williams’ poem has a special place in The Swellesley Report’s household. The wise words were long ago inked onto the interior of Mrs. Swellesley’s backyard shed for her to ponder as she heads out into the garden:

Mrs. Swellesley's shed


Here’s how to get your school’s news into Swellesley’s weekly Schools Roundup post:

Send in a short blurb and/or picture about news and events going on at your school. Email: [email protected]

Stuff that’s newsworthy:

Upcoming events such as bake sales, book sales, fairs, etc.

Dates such as for Back to School Night, meetings, etc.

Pictures of events that may not have been open to the public but that give people an idea of great things that are happening in your school, such as author’s visits.

Congratulations to faculty/staff who are retiring, or who are new hires.

The weekly deadline is Wednesdays at noon. The post will appear each Thursday.

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Upham Elementary School’s Early risers

Check out the fun video of Upham Elementary School greeting TV news viewers with a big Good Morning.


Students Speak at Statehouse Against Pesticides

Three Wellesley sixth graders are asking State lawmakers to help towns protect residents and the environment from harmful pesticides.

Natural Resources Commission, pesticides
NRC Director Brandon Schmitt; Rep. Alice Peisch; Jack Burkhead; Kavin Shah; NRC member Raina McManus; Natalia Medina; and NRC Chair Katie Griffith. Photo: Town of Wellesley

The students joined members of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) at the Statehouse on November 12  to advocate for local legislation relating to Pollinators, Pesticides and Miscellaneous Matters.

At a hearing of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, Jack Burkhead, Natalia Medina and Kavin Shah gave testimony in favor of House Bill 776.

The proposed bill, sponsored by Rep. Dylan Fernandes (D-Falmouth), aims to give local governments more oversight on reducing toxic chemical use on private property and encouraging organic alternatives.

The students learned about pesticide dangers last year during a 5th grade project-based learning unit at Bates Elementary School.

As part of its Grow Green Wellesley initiative, the NRC has partnered with the Board of Health to educate residents about the effect of pesticides on public health.

In addition to testifying, the students met briefly with Rep. Fernandes and Rep. Alice Peisch (D-Wellesley).


Garden Club Federation writing contest

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts and National Garden Clubs, Inc. is sponsoring two writing contests for youths in the interest of raising environmental awareness.
The first is a poetry competition for kindergarten through ninth grade with the theme, “Adventures in the Garden”. There is a statewide winner at each grade level. For high school students, there’s an essay contest, “Challenges in Preserving Our Natural Habitats” with a top national prize of $1000.
The deadline is December 1, 2019
More information here.

Tenacre School Curriculum Night on Nov. 21st

Dive into Tenacre School’s curriculum on Thursday, November 21 at Curriculum Night. Learn from Tenacre’s teachers about specific components of the curriculum. Topics for the evening presented in brief will be 15-minute synopses including reading, writing, the arts, physical education and wellness, math, and science. For more information, contact Meg Burke at [email protected]


Dana Hall fall plays, Nov. 20 & 21

Dana Hall SchoolThe Dana Hall Middle School will present three plays: Jane Austin: Action Figure; Too Many Daughters: A Jane Austin Parody; and a Dana Hall original, Sunset in a Cup: A Letter from Emily Dickinson. The performances are free and open to the public.

DATES/TIMES:

Wednesday, November 20, 7:30pm
Thursday, November 21, 4pm

LOCATION:

Bardwell Auditorium
Bardwell Auditorium is located on the Dana Hall campus at 37 Cameron Street. Please note that Bardwell is not accessible. For more information, please call (781)235-3010 ext. 2731 or visit www.danahall.org.

MORE ON THE PLAYS:

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Filed Under: Books, Dana Hall School, Education, Environment, Hardy Elementary School, Tenacre Country Day School, Upham Elementary School, Wellesley High School, Wellesley Middle School

Linden Square

Wellesley schools roundup — PAWS registration; upcoming math workshops; Tenacre Open House; Dana Hall Fall play

October 31, 2019 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

P.A.W.S. registration is open

Preschool at Wellesley Schools PAWSIf you are interested in enrolling your child in the P.A.W.S. (Preschool at Wellesley Schools) program, an engaging environment where children learn primarily through developmentally appropriate play experiences, please fill out the Google form. Prospective parents must attended a Parent Informational Meeting and Tour. Upcoming dates and times: Tuesday, November 11, 10am – 11am & Tuesday, December 17, 10am – 11am. If you have any questions please contact Isabel Cashman at 781-446-6222

P.A.W.S. has been designated a developmentally appropriate, high quality program by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) through its participation in a national, voluntary, accreditation system designed to help early childhood programs meet high professional standards.

Elementary Math Workshops coming up

Wellesley math workshop

Wellesley math workshop

Wellesley High School, important Term One dates:

The last day of Term 1 at WHS is Friday, November 1. That day is also the last day a student may withdraw from a semester 1 course without a grade.

For more information, students should contact their guidance counselor in their individual houses (Bradford, Phillips, Perrin). Since 2014, WHS students have been associated with one of three “houses” under the roof of the school as a whole. It was one of then-new principal Jamie Chisum’s moves to better align administrators with students. Here’s how the name of each house was picked.

Dana Hall School Fall Play

Wellesley Dana Hall, theaterThe Upper School will present its fall play, 45 Plays for 45 Presidents, on Friday, November 8, and Saturday, November 9, at 7:30 p.m., in Bardwell Auditorium, 37 Cameron St. The performances are free and open to the public.

In each of these short snippets of American history, a member of the ensemble dons the coat of the presidency and the group explores an aspect of that administration. The entire cast will wear white throughout the production as a nod to the suffrage movement 100 years ago. Students in Dana Hall’s Creating Character: An Acting and Costume Design Class researched the symbolism of the color and created looks that span the decades.

“Each president is granted a very short play, allowing us to focus on their accomplishments, disappointments—or sometimes both,” said Daniel Morris, director and Performing Arts faculty member. “While many are quick and funny, the play does not shy away from the complicated history that we share as a nation.”

Bates Pumpkin Fair a rounding success

Wellesley Bates Pumpkin FairThe 49th Bates Pumpkin Fair raised funds for enrichment programs that benefit Bates students and teachers. The PTO thanks the Wellesley community for coming out to join in on the fun, and the volunteers for making the event possible.

Tenacre School Open House

Tenacre School will hold an Open House on Sunday, November 3, 1pm – 3pm.

More information below:

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Filed Under: Bates Elementary School, Dana Hall School, Education, Fundraising, Upham Elementary School, Wellesley High School

Wellesley Schools Round-Up: Hardy/Upham meeting; congrats Nat’l Merit scholars; Step-Up Day; Dana Hall Open House; authors visit Tenacre

October 10, 2019 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley Schools news:

Hardy/Upham feasibility study meeting, October 15th

The School Building Committee (SBC) invites all members of the community on Tuesday, October 15, 7:30pm, at the Wellesley Middle School Auditorium to come hear about the Hardy/Upham feasibility study process and timeline, ask questions of the project consultants, and learn about future opportunities to engage and provide feedback.

Topics will include the educational visioning process, key features of today’s elementary schools, the approach to sustainability and ways stakeholders will be included as the Town develops its plan to rebuild either the Hardy or Upham School in partnership with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The SBC welcomes your comments and input Email

Congratulations, National Merit Scholars

Four Wellesley students have been named semi-finalists for the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. The semi-finalists who are among 16,000 high-school seniors who will go on to compete for the scholarships that will be offered next spring are:

  • Abigail Litvak – Dana Hall School
  • Rowan de Peyster – Wellesley High School
  • Faith Ellis, Newton Country Day School
  • Andrew Kung
  • Gary Shou

More than 1.5 million students applied for the highly competitive scholarship, and the 16k semi-finalists represent fewer than 1 percent of all U.S. high-school seniors. For each state, the number of semi-finalists is proportional to that state’s percentage of the total graduating seniors in the country. Students will find out in February whether they make it to the finalist stage. The scholarship winners will be announced in April 2020.

Step-Up Day at Wellesley High School for sophomores and juniors, October 16th

Step-Up Day is Wednesday, October 16 for WHS sophomores and juniors. On Step-Up Day students come to school at 8am to take either the PreACT (10th graders) or the PSAT (11th graders). While no students will be turned away from testing, all students must pay for the exam in order to receive their scores.  Visit the WPS Fee Payment System to register for the exam.

Upper School Open House at Dana Hall School, October 20th

Dana Hall School, WellesleyDana Hall School will hold its fall Upper School Open House on Sunday, October 20, 1pm – 3pm. The event will provide prospective students for grades 9-12 and their families with introduction to the breadth and depth of the Upper School curriculum. Students and parents can visit demo classes to experience Dana Hall School’s dynamic teaching and learning. They will also have the opportunity to hear from current students, alumnae and administrators, and explore the School’s 55-acre Wellesley campus. Register here or contact the Admission Office at (781) 489-1331 or [email protected].

Tenacre School hosts young adult authors

Tenacre School, Wellesley
Tenacre School, in conjunction with Wellesley Books, welcomed young adult authors Veronica Roth and Sara Farizan to campus. Ms. Roth, the best-selling author of The Divergent series, spoke about her new book, The End and Other Beginnings. Ms. Farizan, a 1997 alumna of Tenacre School, moderated the lively, humorous, and engaging discussion.

Want your school’s news to appear in Swellesley’s weekly Schools Round-Up post?

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Filed Under: Dana Hall School, Education, Hardy Elementary School, Tenacre Country Day School, Uncategorized, Upham Elementary School, Wellesley High School

Wellesley HHU project — current status 2019

September 7, 2019 by Deborah Brown 5 Comments

A series of school briefings on the Hunnewell Hardy Upham (HHU) elementary schools project is scheduled over the next few weeks. The purpose of the meetings is to focus on the internal swing space plan for the Hunnewell School and how this will involve elementary schools throughout the Wellesley Public Schools district; overall timelines and process; as well as redistricting efforts that will impact the entire district and require the participation of each elementary school.

School briefings schedule:

Sept. 9, 2019:   Hunnewell School Library 6:30 pm
Sept. 10, 2019: Bates School Library 6:30 pm
Sept. 12, 2019: Fiske School Library 6:00 pm
Sept. 16, 2019: Schofield School Library 7:30 pm
Sept. 23, 2019: Hardy School Library 6:30 pm
Sept. 24, 2019: Upham School Library 6:30 pm

The School Committee has identified the following as key factors of the Hunnewell Project:

A new school cannot be built while occupying the current school, therefore off-site swing space is needed. The District has conducted an exhaustive search, but no viable external swing space options exist. The School Committee wants to do an internal swing space distribution of Hunnewell students during construction. That means space would be utilized at other WPS elementary schools to host Hunnewell students for 1.5 – 2 years while the new Hunnewell School is being built. How long that would last depends on whether Hunnewell opens with four years from the start of construction (January or Fall of 2023) or seven years from the start of construction (January or Fall of 2026). See the below project timeline:

Hunnewell project timeline

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Filed Under: Construction, Education, Hardy Elementary School, Hunnewell Elementary School, Upham Elementary School

Welcome back to school, Wellesley

August 25, 2019 by bbrown Leave a Comment

hunnewell school puzzleWellesley Public Schools Superintendent Dr. David Lussier has issued a welcome back memo to the community, highlighting some of the big things coming up for the 2019-2020 school year:

*A new strategic plan designed to support competencies that graduates are expected to master. These include critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, engaging locally and globally, respecting human differences and challenging inequities, and attending to social, physical and emotional health.

*Requesting design development funds for the Hunnewell Elementary School construction project at a Special Town Meeting in December.

*The feasibility phase of the Hardy/Upham elementary school project, which should result in a recommendation next spring as to which site will host construction of a new school.

*Planning for elementary school redistricting. This will entail visits and updates at individual schools, as the town seeks to match school capacity with population changes resulting from new housing projects in town as well as general population trends.

school districts wellesley

*Wellesley Middle School is due for exterior, kitchen, and other renovations, with an anticipated funding request coming next fall.

Meanwhile, our kids have now graduated from the Wellesley Public Schools system. So we’ll need all the help we can get from you in keeping us up with the latest goings-on at the schools. Please pass along your ideas: [email protected]

More: Wellesley Public Schools intros diversity director candidates

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Filed Under: Education, Hardy Elementary School, Hunnewell Elementary School, Upham Elementary School, Wellesley High School

Wellesley School Committee votes for a teardown/rebuild of Hunnewell

June 28, 2019 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

Hunnewell School, WellesleyIt’s the news story that isn’t surprising news. The votes are in, and they say that the one-level, 15-classroom Hunnewell Elementary School that currently holds 260 students should be torn down and replaced with a new two-story, 19-classroom building that will educate 350 – 375 students.

Earlier this month the Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted to affirm the School Building Committee’s (SBC) recommendation that Hunnewell be a from-scratch project. Then on June 24 the School Committee agreed with the BOS and the SBC and voted 4 – 0 for a new structure.

The voting isn’t over yet, however. Next, the question of funding must be put to Town Meeting. In addition, an as-yet unresolved issue is the question of where to educate students during construction.

As for the Hardy and Upham Schools, the emphasis right now is on doing a Feasibility Study on both sites.

Wellesley has seven elementary schools. Hardy, Hunnewell, and Upham are the three schools that have been under consideration for either renovation or teardown/rebuild.

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Filed Under: Construction, Education, Hardy Elementary School, Hunnewell Elementary School, Upham Elementary School

Let Wellesley House & Garden Club help make your garden happy with geraniums

April 27, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

The Wellesley House & Garden Club will hold its annual geranium sale on Saturday, May 4, 7am – 11am, at the Captain Marden’s parking lot and at the books drop-off area at the Recycling and Disposal Facility.

The club, which is celebrating 60 years of digging in the dirt, puts all the proceeds toward maintaining the butterfly gardens at three of Wellesley’s elementary schools — Hunnewell, Upham, and Schofield.

Last year the club raised over $2,000 for plants, mulch, and other materials needed to maintain the gardens.

SUPPORT SWELLESLEY: Here’s how to Advertise and/or Donate to support our independent journalism venture

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Filed Under: Education, Environment, Fundraising, Gardens, Hunnewell Elementary School, Schofield Elementary School, Upham Elementary School, Volunteering

Rain & cold no obstacle for Wellesley’s Upham Sports Carnival

October 15, 2018 by bbrown Leave a Comment

Upham Sports Carnival 2018

This past Saturday’s Upham Sports Carnival at the Upham Elementary School in Wellesley attracted plenty of kids who played games, ran an obstacle course and enjoyed food despite rainy and cold weather. These were no fair weather carnival-goers.

The Upham PTO thanks everyone who attended, and who volunteered for and supported the Sports Carnival.

Upham Sports Carnival 2018Upham Sports Carnival 2018Upham Sports Carnival 2018

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Filed Under: Kids, Upham Elementary School

Upham Sports Carnival set for Saturday, Oct. 13

October 8, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

The annual Upham Sports Carnival is on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018 from 10 AM – 2 PM at the Ernest F. Upham Elementary School, 35 Wynnewood Rd, Wellesley.  This is a fun day filled with carnival games and prizes for the kids, a one-of-a-kind Upham Challenge obstacle course, food and treats, a basket raffle, and the grand prize raffle.

All funds raised by this event are used by the Upham PTO to offer enrichment programs to Upham students, make investments in classroom technology, provide mini-grants to our teachers, and more.

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Filed Under: Kids, Upham Elementary School

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Sat 14

Davis Museum holiday frame and print sale

December 3 @ 11:00 am - December 15 @ 5:00 pm
Sat 14

Breakfast with Santa at The Cottage

December 14 @ 8:00 am
Sat 14

Breakfast with Santa at The Cottage

December 14 @ 9:45 am - 10:45 am
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Brunch with Santa, Wellesley College Club

December 14 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Sat 14

Disney’s Frozen, Jr.

December 14 @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

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