Wellesley Public Schools

40 Kingsbury Street Superintendent’s Bulletin

Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481
http://www.wellesley.mec.edu/district/bulletins.htm

Bella T. Wong Bulletin #1

Superintendent of Schools September 4, 2009

The Superintendent’s Bulletin is posted weekly on Fridays on our website. It provides timely, relevant
information about meetings, professional development opportunities, curriculum and program development,
grant awards, and school committee news. The bulletin is also the official vehicle for job postings. Please
read the bulletin regularly and use it to inform colleagues of meetings and other school news.

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back, and congratulations to everyone for a smooth and enthusiastic opening at all our ten schools!
Both Hardy and the High School opened with new traffic patterns in place. Thanks to good planning and a little
help from the Police Department, those tricky openings were a resounding success.
Thank you to our staff in our personnel, business, custodial, secretarial, and food service groups, who worked
through the summer to close out the previous year and prepare to receive students in the coming year. Thank you
to all our special ed and counseling staff who work with students through the summer, or welcome new families to
our schools.
A special acknowledgement to the support and expertise of the custodial and maintenance staff who worked so
well, in and around our many capital projects during the summer, to prepare our school buildings. There were new
roofs, new gutters, new boilers, asbestos abatement and new flooring, new ceilings, new lighting and new
classrooms! Getting the work done was quite challenging. But now we have much brighter and safer schools in
which to work.
encourage all of us to remember that in these times of change, it is vital to keep our communication productive
and open. The quality of every interaction among us contributes to the overall culture and climate in which we
work. How often does a thoughtful gesture make our day, and an insensitive one have the opposite effect? We
cannot control all the factors that stress our work environment, but we can work together to reinforce a supportive
and cooperative culture.
Great start everyone. Enjoy the Labor Day Weekend!

Calendar
Monday 09/07 Labor Day -- No School
Tuesday 09/15 School Committee Meeting, Town Hall, 7:30 pm
Instrument Registration Night, Middle School
Wednesday 09/16 PTS Reception, Sprague School Atrium, 3:30 pm
Back to School at Fiske, Hunnewell, Schofield, Sprague
Thursday 09/17 Middle School Back to School Night

2009-10 Inservice Courses

Our full catalog of Inservice Courses for Fall, Winter and Spring is posted as a
downloadable pdf from the Professional Development section of the Wellesley
Public Schools website.
http://www.wellesley.k12.ma.us/pages/prof_dev/pdfs/prof-dev.pdf
 School Committee Complete School Committee Minutes are posted at
Report http://www.wellesley.k12.ma.us/schoolcom/PAGES/minutes.htm
l
September 1, 2009
Recognitions Faculty and staff attaining milestone years with the Wellesley Public Schools Paul Esposito,
Latin Teacher (35 years) Penny Armstrong Middle School Secretary (35 years) Rick Balboni, Middle School Head
Custodian (41 years) Gretchen Bravacos, Director of Preschool Services (41 years) Lynn Moore-Benson, Director
of Technology (42 years) Karen Perry-Kaplan, Fitness and Health Teacher (42 years)

Faculty and Staff of the Preschool at Wellesley Schools, Gretchen Bravacos, Director, upon recently attaining
accreditation through the National Association for the Education of Young Children

Discussion/Action School Committee received update reports regarding summer work on the new high
school project; capital projects undertaken during the summer at five elementary schools, the middle school and
the high school; and impacts on the FY10 budget due to reduced circuit breaker funding. The Committee gave
first reading to a revised draft policy regarding student residency and approved system goals for 2009-2010.

Teachers as Scholars
The online catalog of Teachers as Scholars offerings for 2009-10 is posted at
http://www.teachersasscholars.org/. This year there will be no hard copy catalog distribution.

Registration is a three-step process.

1. Obtain approval from your Department Head (because you will be missing school days).

2. Email Janice Gross (and copy your department head) three choices of seminars you would be interested in
attending, including the name and the seminar number, no later than Wednesday, September 16.

3. If approved by Becky McFall, you will be notified that the next step in the process is to register online with
TAS. Attempts to register before receiving this approval will be deleted.

Criteria for requesting approval to attend:

• you are a teacher beginning, at a minimum, your second year in Wellesley (no first year teachers)
• you have the approval of your department head
• you have not attended Teachers as Scholars in the past three years (2009-08, 2008-07; 2007-06)

N.B. Preference may be given to teachers who have never participated in the TAS program.

Professional Development through

TEC and through EDCO
Catalogs of 2009 professional development opportunities through
TEC have been delivered to each school. Information about the fall
offerings is also posted at www.tec-coop.org

Professional Development opportunities through EDCO are posted on

the Wellesley Public Schools website
http://www.wellesley.k12.ma.us/pages/prof_dev/EDCO/edco.html
...2...
 News and Information
If you did not receive your letter of assurance covering the 2009-2010 school year (letters were
emailed to all faculty on Monday, 8/31, please contact Mary_Wolf@wellesley.k12.ma.us

Substitute Coordinator
Nancy Finn is our substitute coordinator.

The phone number for calling in your absences is: 781.446.6210, Ext. 4550
Please remember:

1. Report ALL absences, even absences that do not require a substitute.

2. Please utilize email to Nancy for your substitute requests whenever possible to cut down on the number
of calls to the sub line.
3. If you find a substitute on your own, please notify Nancy by email (nefinn@msn.com) or on the sub line
so that the substitute can be paid.

Please call me if you have any questions or concerns.

Kathy Riley
Central Office (Centrex 6210, Ext. 4503)

High School Fitness Center

Beginning in the fall of 2009, the fee policy for use of the High School Fitness Center (HS
FC) will change. There will be no charge to use the HS FC for WPS Faculty, Staff and Town
of Wellesley employees. However, the procedure to register and train to use the Fitness
Center has changed. These careful guidelines are in place to ensure safe and proper use of
the equipment in the HS FC.

The certification process is as follows:

1. Registration form and doctor’s note – a current or updated doctor’s note stating that
you are in proper physical condition to work out is a requirement. It must be signed by
your physician. ALL users of the HS FC will be required to complete an updated HS
FC registration sheet.

2. Training – You must attend an orientation and training session with a member of the
Fitness and Health staff in order to learn how to use the equipment properly and
safely. This will cover general training guidelines and HS FC rules. The training
schedule will be determined throughout the school year. Please contact Stephanie
Boggs to make your appointment beginning in the fall. Staff who have been trained
previously do not need to attend again.

3. When steps 1 and 2 are completed, a current High School Fitness Center workout
card will be provided and must be presented every time you use the HS FC.

FYI- Parking at the high school will be limited and located further from the building, so please
plan accordingly.
...3...
 plan accordingly.

Are You Working Toward

a Higher Salary Lane?
All teachers who expect to receive a Master’s degree, M+30, or
M+60/Doctorate during the 12 month period July 1, 2010 - June
30, 2009, must send formal notification of intent to change
salary lanes to Mary Wolf c/o the Superintendent’s Office no
later than November 1, 2009. This early notification deadline
is required so that provisions for anticipated salary lane
changes may be made within the new fiscal year budget. nb
The list does not carry forward. Teachers must provide written
notice each year until they have received their new degree.

To Newlyweds Jessica (Crowley) Mead...Alissa (Cohen)

Mandel...Robyn Holzman ... Sarah (Cleary) Razzaboni ...Katie
Congratulations (James) Vitas ... Kim (Prokop) Fleming ... Ashley (Tyler) Gardner ...
Miranda (Miller) Miller-Wolfskill ... Ally (Misko) Hart... Marie (Foley)
Cosgrove ... John Mulryan

To New Parents Caryn (Green) Berkowitz,

Elementary Teacher at Hardy, on the birth of
Maxwell Abe, June 18 . . . Andy Crowe, Middle
School English Teacher, on the birth of Moxie Mary .
. . Molly Jacobson, Middle School Social Studies
Teacher, on the birth of Nora Eklund Grossman,
July 16 ... Eileen Hawkins, High School Spanish Teacher, on the birth of
James Christopher Baley, August 15 ... and to proud grandmother Karen
Perry-Kaplan, celebrating the birth of Perri Isabel Kaplan, August 30

Condolences To Margaret Lynch, High School Literacy Specialist,

upon the death of her mother, Martha Buonanno, July 6. ... to Penny
Armstrong, Secretary to the Middle School Principal, Lynn
Hershelman, Technology, and Daryl Hedlund, Upham School Library
Media Teaching Assistant, on the death of their mother/grandmother,
Janet Doswell, July 19 ... to Adam Levin, Elementary Teacher at Hardy,
upon the death of his father August 5 ... to Beth Murphy, Special
Educator at Hunnewell, upon the death of her mother ... to Betsy
Hindmarsh, Nurse at Fiske, upon the death of her mother ... to Joe
Smus, Head Custodian at Upham, upon the death of his father ... to all
her former colleagues in the Wellesley Public Schools and to her family,
condolences upon the sudden passing of Cheryl Allison, who retired last
June as a Kindergarten teacher at Fiske.

...4...
 Positions Available
Long Term-Substitutes ($166.76/day)
Middle School ELL (.6FTE) long-term substitute to work with students in a pullout model and with
students in their English and Social Studies classes from end of October, 2009 to end of January, 2010.
ELL certification required.
Grade 4 Long-term substitute beginning mid October, 2009 until end of January, 2010.
Please send cover letter, resume, three letters of reference, transcripts and licensure to Personnel,
Wellesley Public Schools, 40 Kingsbury Street, Wellesley, MA 02481.

Opportunities at the High School

• WHS Bus Supervision - $1,069.00
• Supervisors of Detention
1. Supervision of After School Detention -
$2,450 for 0.75 hours per day for 3 days per week of 36 weeks
2. Saturday School Supervision
$1,400 for 2 hours a day for 2 Saturdays a month for the school year

For each listed opportunity, please send letter of interest to Andrew Keough by September 14.

Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator

High School Enrichment and Recreation Program
Coordinator and assistant coordinator are responsible for developing intramural teams that include as many
high school students as possible, hiring coaches, and overseeing entire program. Hired (stipend paid)
coaches run activities/classes/clubs/teams weekly. Some possible intramural activities include:

Yoga and Meditation Financial Planning Board Games

Environmental Science Research Ultimate Frisbee
Personal Media Computer Tech Training Homework at School
Current Events Dance Class Creative Writing Workshop
Film Discussion Video Gaming in Public Competitive sports for the uncommitted
Cycling
Outdoors club (Hikes, rock climbing, kayaking, and canoeing trips)
Pick Up Basketball Fitness Retro Games (Dodgeball, 4 square, kickball)
Cooking Class Walking Group

The stipend for a coordinator and assistant coordinator at the negotiated contract rate for Intramural
Coordinators
Please send a letter of interest by 9/14/09 to Andrew Keough if you would like to be considered for either
of these positions.

Coaching Positions
Winter Season
High School Varsity DanceTeam Coach

Please contact Athletic Director John_Brown@wellesley.k12.ma.us

...5... Wellesley Public Schools Actively Seeks to Increase the Diversity of its Workforce
 Wellesley Public Schools
2009-2010 Wednesday Calendar
SEPTEMBER 2 PreK-5 Planning & Prep FEBRUARY 3 K-12 Articulation as Needed
9 PreK-5 Faculty M.S. Depts
16 PreK-5 Planning & Prep H.S. Depts
23 PreK-5 Planning & Prep K-12 Depts
30 PreK-5 Faculty 10 PreK-5 Faculty
17 February Vacation
OCTOBER 7 PreK-5 Grade Level/Prof Dev 24 PreK-5 Planning & Prep
M.S. Depts
H.S. Depts MARCH 3 PreK-5 Planning & Prep
K-12 Depts M.S. Depts
PreK-12 Student Services H.S. Faculty*
14 PreK-5 Planning & Prep K-12 Depts
21 PreK-5 Faculty PreK-12 Student Services
28 PreK-5 Parent Confs 10 PreK-5 Grade Level/Prof Dev and Depts
17 PreK-5 Faculty
NOVEMBER 3 PreK-5 Parent Confs (TUESDAY) 24 PreK-5 Parent Confs & Depts
4 PreK-5 Parent Confs & Depts 31 PreK-5 Parent Confs & Depts
M.S. Depts
H.S. Faculty* APRIL 6 PreK-5 Parent Confs (TUESDAY)
K-12 Depts 7 PreK-5 Parent Confs & Depts
11 Veteran's Day - No School M.S. Depts
18 PreK-5 Parent Confs & Depts H.S. Depts
25 Early Release - Thanksgiving K-12 Depts
30 Professional Day (MONDAY) 14 PreK-5 Faculty
21 April Vacation
DECEMBER 2 PreK-5 Planning & Prep 28 PreK-5 Planning & Prep
9 PreK-5 Grade Level/Prof Dev & Depts
M.S. Depts MAY 5 PreK-5 Grade Level/Prof. Dev. and Depts;
H.S. Depts M.S. Depts
K-12 Depts H.S. Depts
PreK-12 Student Services K-12 Depts (Perf Arts Calendar Setting)
16 PreK-5 Faculty 12 Planning & Prep
23 PreK-5 Planning & Prep 19 PreK-5 Faculty
30 Year-end Vacation 26 PreK-5 Planning & Prep

JANUARY 6 PreK-5 Planning & Prep JUNE 2 Early Release - Elementary and Middle Only
13 PreK-5 Faculty PreK-5 Faculty
20 PreK-5 Planning & Prep M.S. Depts
27 PreK-5 Planning & Prep 4 FRIDAY - Early Release for High School Only
M.S. Faculty H.S. Depts
H.S. Faculty 9 PreK-5 Faculty
16 PreK-5 Planning & Prep

*Art, Music, Library, and Fitness & Health teachers should meet with their K-12 department.

System-Wide Release