We look forward to seeing you on the zoom call tomorrow night, Monday @7:00pm for information about Course Selection for next year and a webinar on executive function skills. The link to register for the zoom link is below. A recording will be sent afterwards to all registrants which will remain live for one week.

Make a note on your calendars for the WMS Valen’dine Oath Pizza event on February 14th. Their dessert pizza is delicious!

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  

On Monday, 1/29 from 7:00-7:10pm we will start with an overview of Course Selection for the 2024-2025 school year, led by Kate Mahoney, Department Head of School Counseling and Lizz Gentes, Math Department Head. 

Kate and Lizz will provide a preview of course selection dates and course choices for students. This will be followed by a webinar on how to foster good study habits and organization skills for middle school aged children. Please join us for as much as you can on Monday evening, January 29th from 7:00-8:15pm over Zoom. 

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. 

The Performing Arts Department will present several "Step Up Concerts" in the next few weeks which will feature our Wellesley High School Ensembles in conjunction with our 8th Grade Ensembles. All concerts will be held at Wellesley High School in the Babson Auditorium at 7:00pm and admission is free. Please join us for the following events: 

• Tuesday, February 6th: Orchestra Step Up Concert
• Tuesday, February 13th: Chorus Step Up Concert

The Jazz Concert that was canceled twice due to bad weather, is now scheduled for Wednesday, February 7th from 7:00-8:00pm in the WMS Auditorium. Rehearsal will be after school on Tuesday, February 6th from 2:30-3:00pm.

JOIN US ~ 14th Annual Lunar New Year Celebration, Tuesday, February 13, 2:30-3:30 pm ~ Please join us in helping with this wonderful cultural event hosted by our WMS Chinese language classes. This event takes place in the WMS Cafeteria and is attended each year by about 350 WMS students where they enjoy dumplings, a traditional Asian cuisine favorite, entertainment, and games. All WMS students and faculty are welcome!  

Volunteer spots still available ~ If you would like to volunteer and /or donate, please click here: ~ https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B054DADA72AA46-17893176-2024

We appreciate your participation and support! Many thanks on behalf of Min Zhou, Chinese Mandarin Language Teacher ~ Warisa Angsupanich, Vanessa Bhang, Kara Reinhardt Block (karar9@yahoo.com), Becca Cahaly (rtcahaly@gmail.com), Ceida Chan, Jim Chen (jimhchen2@yahoo.com), Lara Cohen, Michelle Fang, Jennifer Mong Lee, Douglas Ling, Sharon Nguyen, Regina Ong, Cherry Poulicakos, and Maggie Tushman ~ Lunar New Year Celebration Committee

If you would like to share your family's Lunar New Year tradition at the WMS Lunar New Year Celebration (with food, performance, games, etc.), please contact Min Zhou (zhoum@wellesleyps.org), Chinese Mandarin Language Teacher or/and Ms. Jennifer Hannon (hannonj@wellesleyps.org), ELL Teacher.

And, if you are volunteering for the Lunar New Year Celebration and/or to be a volunteer in the classroom, you need to be CORI checked within the last three years. If you are not sure if your CORI form is still valid, you may check with our secretary; Patty Chong. (chongp@wellesleyps.org). CORI can be done in person with Ms. Chong or can be done electronically. You may fill out the CORI form (print form here) and send it together with a clear copy of your picture ID to Ms. Chong.

Our many thanks to all who have volunteered and/or signed up to donate! What a fantastic effort!  

Save the date for a WMS Valen'dine Fundraiser on February 14th at Oath Pizza (180 Linden Street - Linden Square)! Stay tuned for more details to follow in upcoming newsletters.

Congratulations to our recent Math Meet participants and WMS Math Teacher, Sandy Bogage. Check out some photos from the recent event below. 

Photo 1: Students earned perfect scores! -Anand Mani, Grade 7; Bright Zhang, Grade 7; Dylan Zhang, Grade 6; Andrew Liu, Grade 6

Photo 2: Julia Yee relaxes before another round starts!

Photo 3: Tecumseh Sadasic, Sachin Prabu, and Xaview Cortes compete in a round of the competition

We know the decision to give your child a cell phone is a big one, at any age. There is a national “Wait Until 8th” campaign which can be found on our new WMS PTO website here if you are interested in learning more about it: https://www.wellesleymspto.org/wait-until-8th.

The PTO would like to thank WMS mother Allison S. Baker, MD, Child, Adolescent and Perinatal Psychiatrist, for spearheading this initiative.

We are looking for a few parents/caregivers to join the lunch blocks from 11:20-1:00pm and stand by the composting stations to help kids dispose of their trash properly. We are finding that having a parent stand by the bins increases compliance. That's really all there is to it! Check out the sign up here!

If you can only volunteer for one lunch period, please mention your time of arrival/departure in the comments.

We are writing to share that we were recently notified that some students are using caffeinated gum while at school. In one instance the gum was being passed out from a differently labeled gum pack. Additionally there are caffeinated energy drops being used. The serving size is quite small and students have been observed adding large quantities to their drinks. There are a few lessons we hope you share with your students:

● Please speak with your students about the dangers of taking any kind of food, gum or drink from others. Students should not be sharing food, gum or drinks with others, especially if they don’t know what the product contains.

● Consumption of large quantities of caffeine can be dangerous. Students have been observed consuming multiple pieces of the caffeinated gum at one time. This can cause sleep, digestive and cardiac issues as well as anxiety. Additionally the addictiveness of caffeine is of concern. Students may not be aware of how much caffeine they are consuming from various sources.

We appreciate your cooperation in supporting the health and safety of all our students. Thank you for having a conversation with you students.

From Ms. Bennett:, WMS German & Around the World Teacher

Around the World students study Cambodia, among other countries.  They watch a documentary set in Lowell, MA about three Cambodian-American teens, called "Monkey Dance." It's  about their life as bicultural kids, about the traditional Cambodian dance which they all do, and about the recent history of Cambodia and how their parents ended up here in the US.  Two of the three, Sochenda Uch and Linda Chan Flynn, came to the Around the World classes to give them updates on their lives since the documentary was made, and to show costumes and teach the students a bit of the traditional dance.  The kids loved it!

This program was made possible thanks to your PTO contributions.

Click here to donate to WMS PTO

50 Kingsbury Street
Wellesley, MA 02482