More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
It’s official, the Wellesley School Committee has announced that the last day of school in Wellesley will be Wednesday, June 20. This 180th (and last) day of the 2017 – 2018 school year will be an early dismissal day.
The last day for teachers will be Thursday, June 21.
The Wellesley Middle School Mini-Marathon was held on April 28, 2018 at the Sprague playing fields. Nearly 1,000 students ran or walked the 2-mile course. The event was organized by the WMS Fitness and Health staff in partnership with the PTO. Parent and faculty volunteers monitored and supported the runners along the race route.
The top three male and female runners from each grade were presented with medals by the fitness staff in front of their classmates:
Thanks to WMS PTO Mini Marathon Coordinator Dana Lynch for this report and WMS for the great photos.
The 7th annual Wellesley Middle School French Fête, organized by parents and WMS French teachers, brought together hundreds of children, teachers, and parents as the school community celebrated and experienced French culture. Participants tasted delicious cheeses, meringues, and crêpes, courtesy CrepeBerry, Roche Brothers, Costco, and Wegman’s (the Natick Mall Wegman’s is slated to open April 29); tested their knowledge of French artists, geography, and monuments; played a round of quilles and Twister en français; and had their picture taken with la Joconde aka the Mona Lisa. WHS Key Club volunteers helped make the day a success under the leadership of WMS parents Kim Celi and Tracy Foreman.
Here are a few pics of the fun:
It was a big day for the Wellesley Middle School Science Olympiad team last week at the State Science Olympiad Competition. Not only did the team travel to Worcester to compete, but they took home the third place trophy at the Assumption College event. It was an impressive finish as every member on the WMS main team received a medal or ribbon in at least one event.
Here’s the medal count: 3- first place medals; 2- second place medals; 5-third place finishes; and numerous fourth through sixth place finishes. Although the WMS team has placed in the top six in Massachusetts for seven years in a row, this is the first time they’ve vaulted into third place. Most of the 41 students on the WMS team competed in three or four of the twenty- three events at this year’s Olympiad.
The Science Olympiad events are STEM based and can involve tests, experiments and hands-on engineering events where students build various projects. This year the students started in October designing and building hovercraft, balsa-wood towers which support over 30 pounds, battery powered vehicles, airplanes, Rube Goldberg-like machines and insulating devices to test thermodynamic principles. The culmination of the months of preparation and multiple practices a week was the State competition, followed by a celebratory dinner where students, coaches, and parents celebrated the successes, failures, and hard work of the year.
Started in 1974, Science Olympiad is a national organization which promotes STEM. It has divisions for elementary, middle and high school teams, through which students compete in events in a range of STEM subjects. There were approximately thirty middle schools competing this year in Massachusetts and nationally there were over 7,300 teams from all fifty states.
An unsettling message greeted the Wellesley Middle School community on Tuesday morning: Graffiti spray-painted in orange on the front walkway read “ARE WE NEXT”. The message clearly referenced the recent Parkland school shooting in Florida.
WMS Principal Mark Ito informed the school community that the facilities department was working to remove the graffiti (and it has), and that the Wellesley Police department is investigating the incident.
TV news crews have made their way to the school as well.
“Right now, we are settling in for our day. We are communicating with staff and students, and ensuring them of their safety. Should you have any information about how the graffiti was generated, please call our WMS Main Office and ask to speak with me or an administrator,” Ito wrote.
Wellesley Schools Superintendent David Lussier later in the day wrote that “At this time, we have no evidence that the content of this message represents a threat, but nonetheless we are taking it very seriously. It is also important to note that there were no similar messages found at any other school.”
Additional police presence will be in evidence across Wellesley Public Schools while the investigation is underway.
The Wellesley Action Alliance hosted a community discussion about school safety last week at the library. Next week, the Wellesley School Committee plans to give an update on school security on March 13, a day before Wellesley students are expected to take part in a nationwide walkout on March 14 to demand action by the government and others on gun violence.
For their part, Wellesley teachers have said they have no interest in being armed.