We hope to see you at the presentation this Tuesday evening on internet safety & best practices by nationally known guest speaker, Katie Greer. We’ll start promptly in the WMS Auditorium at 6:30pm and ask that you enter through the Donizetti Street entrance 10 minutes early please. Katie Greer won’t be back for another two years so this is one event to add to your calendar!

The much anticipated Anastasia Musical starts Thursday @ 4:30pm and we cannot wait to see the show! There are 4 performances and the link to purchase $10 tickets is below for assigned seats. See you there! (P.S. Please don’t forget to bring cash for concessions and your water bottle, we are being green.)

All the best,
Your 2023-2024 PTO Presidents
Katie Sullivan & Annie Oh

Links for information on dates and events that are further out: 

LINK to Wellesley Middle School Events Calendar

LINK to Wellesley Public School Events Calendar  

Please join us in the WMS Auditorium Tuesday evening from 6:30-8:00pm to hear nationally-known guest speaker, Katie Greer, talk to parents about how to help their children use technology in a healthy and safe way. This special event is made possible by your contributions to the PTO Creative Arts budget. Click here for an overview of Katie Greer's presentation.

Katie will present to 7th & 8th graders during the day, to WMS teachers right after school, and to parents in the evening. She will be back in two years to speak to our 6th graders when they are in 8th grade. This 3-pronged approach provides an impactful, cohesive message between students, teachers, and parents. 

If you know any 5th grade elementary parents who would like to attend, please feel free to pass along the news. Just let them know that the content will focus solely on the middle school years.

We have a half day on Wednesday and the Spirit Store (at the Donizetti entrance) will be open from 11:20-Noon. Grab your holiday gifts and stocking stuffers! See pictures of our latest offerings here.

BRAND NEW ITEMS: pom pom beanies, cozy joggers, updated car magnets and WMS car window stickers. Contact wmspto.spiritwear@gmail.com with any questions. 

If you placed an online order last month, the spirit wear team will be in touch this week to provide pick up instructions. Orders shipping directly to home will arrive this week. 

If you have already donated to the PTO’s annual appeal this year, please swing by for your complimentary (and newly updated) WMS Car Magnet or Car Window Sticker. Or email Katie Sullivan at wmsptoinfo@gmail.com with your preference (magnet or sticker) and she will mail it directly to you to say thank you!

Tickets are still on sale for the WMS Musical: Anastasia

Thursday, December 7th @4:30pm
Friday, December 8th @7:00pm
Saturday, December 9th @2:00pm & @7:00pm

Click here to purchase your Anastasia tickets today!

Each cast is listed by performance on the ticket link.

Concessions will be sold at all shows but please be sure to bring your own reusable water bottle, as we will not be selling single use water bottles as a part of the Wellesley Green Schools initiative. Thank you for your help. 

• 12/12 (Tuesday) 7-8pm: Winter Band Concert
• 12/19 (Tuesday) 7-8pm: Winter Orchestra Concert
• 12/21 (Thursday) during the day: Grade 8 Winter Concert for students/staff
• 12/22 (Friday) during the day: Grade 6 & 7 Winter Concert for students/staff

Our winner from the November Annual Appeal drawing is being drawn by our (blindfolded) treasurer, Lara Sojka, and will be notified via email. Thank you so much for your November donations everyone! Your dollars help bring guest speakers like Katie Greer to WMS to educate students, faculty and parents. Keep an eye on the newsletter for information about our next guest speaker for students this spring, Dr. Mykee Fowlin. 

Wellesley Public Schools, in collaboration with the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club grant program, is proud to welcome Dr. Merritt Moore to help us celebrate National Computer Science Education Week.

Dr. Moore, who graduated with Magna Cum Laude Honors in Physics from Harvard and a PhD in Atomic and Laser Physics from the University of Oxford, has also pursued a professional ballet career. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at NYU Abu Dhabi teaching “Creative Robotics”, which fuses the arts and science.

We invite you to join the WPS Community on Zoom the evening of December 13th from 6:00-7:30pm. The impressive and accomplished Dr. Moore will talk about how STEAM helped her follow her passions by combining science, coding, and art.

Click here for more information
Click here to register for the zoom

Our third PTO meeting for all parents will be a webinar on Executive Function skills and good study habits for middle schoolers. Please mark your calendars for Monday, January 29th at 7pm for this special online presentation by “Engaging Minds” in Newton. 

Click here to read more details and register in advance. Note: The recording will be emailed to all registrants after the webinar and the link will remain live for one week. If your student struggles with organization skills and effective study habits, this webinar is for you! We are excited to see 35 parents signed up so far! 

The WMS Drama Department is excited to announce auditions for its winter musical, Newsies, Jr.! Auditions are Tuesday, December 12 and Wednesday, December 13 from 2:40-6:00. Students must choose one day to audition and must be prepared to stay for the duration.

The WMS Drama Department has determined that they can have no more than 100 students cast in a production due to safety reasons and space limitations. In the event that more than 100 students audition for our production of "Newsies", they will prioritize casting 8th grade students in an effort that all will be able to participate. After 8th grade casting is completed, they will then cast 7th and 6th grade students. Casting will be based on the drama skills needed for the production, availability for rehearsals, as well as student focus and effort. It may mean cuts will be made.

Before auditioning, the following needs to happen:

• Every caregiver must fill out this Newsies Contract.  
• Every student must join this google classroom (please give this code to your child): bl43qpo
• Every student must choose an audition date via this signup genius.  

Thank you! 

Did you know that we share news and approved pictures on our two social media sites below? Please thank 6th grade mom, Lina Musayev, for doing such an amazing job keeping us all up-to-date this year!

Follow us on Instagram here
Follow us on Facebook here

Don’t forget to order your yearbook on the Coffee Pond website. Go to “Order Online” and “Yearbooks”, then enter the password “Raiders”. Yearbooks are $33 and the last day to order is April 5th. Teachers Jacqui Martell and Sarah Steinberg really appreciate the early orders if you’re able!

50 Kingsbury Street
Wellesley, MA 02482