Happy holidays WHS Family! Wishing everyone a restful break and a happy New Year!

As promised, December has been a month filled with music! Last Thursday, December 12th, our band students gave us a fantastic concert. On Wednesday, our Teacher Band and two student bands performed a lunch concert for us, with the delicious addition of cookies and hot cocoa! Our final performance was last night at our Winter Showcase from our Strings Ensemble, Chorus, The Watertones, and Dance Club!

Today is the last day to complete your annual verification if you have not already! This includes verifying your contact information and permissions for the current school year. Families have also received reminder emails.

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We are excited to announce that the Fall Annual Verification is open! This process utilizes our online registration/enrollment system and is required annually to verify and update student demographics, health, family contact data, and permissions.

Families should have received an email for each student with a Snapcode. The Snapcode acts as a key to access your student’s current information. Using the link in the Snapcode email, you will be automatically directed to your student’s data on the Watertown’s Registration/Enrollment site. Each Snapcode is unique to one student. Families will receive a separate email and snapcode for each student.

All questions can be directed to our Registrar's Office at (617) 972-4216 or via email to terri.stafford@watertown.k12.ma.us.

Check out the newest edition of our Pop Music Newsletter here!

CoLAB Club's most recent after-school meeting was held on Thursday, December 12th. Students learned about an array of summer STEM opportunities and worked with local professionals to identify programs of interest and began working on the applications. Several students talked about their summer 2024 STEM experiences. In case your student missed the meeting, the list of summer STEM opportunities is linked here. The next CoLAB Club meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 30th at 3:30 PM in room 106A. All students are welcome to attend! Please reach out to Ms. Mundy if you have any questions. 

As of now, the vote on November 5th has not affected the MCAS exam process at Watertown High School. Watertown High School and neighboring schools are adhering to guidelines from the Department of Education.

Our plan remains to prepare students for the MCAS through data-share meetings for all 10th graders, emphasizing the test's importance and encouraging students to approach it seriously. Prior to the vote, we drafted a plan that includes student focus groups discussing the significance of the MCAS and interviews with students who have performed at various levels. Our coaching classes, aimed at helping students with their retakes (known as exploring ELA or Math practices), will continue with enrollment based on those who have failed one or more MCAS exams or show signs of potential failure in grade 10.

We believe that performing well on the MCAS is a valid measure of learning progress and will continue to stress the importance of high-stakes testing as part of students' educational journeys. 

If you have any further questions, please reach out to our Assistant Principal, Ms. Adrienne Eaton.

We have decided to make a change to our second chance breakfast schedule in an effort to preserve as much class time as possible. Started on Monday, second chance breakfast will only be offered between the first and second block of the day.

Our new schedule, here, includes a ten minute nutrition break. Students who arrive late to class will be marked tardy and receive the consequences outlined in the student handbook. We appreciate our food service workers who are working quickly to get all our students fed.

Please remember that breakfast is also offered before school!

Our Nurse Coordinator, Jennifer Thermenos, will be sending Wellness Watch newsletters throughout the year. Please see her first Wellness Watch by clicking here.

Although it's only November, Graduation is fast approaching! Caps & Gowns are now on sale and orders must be submitted by January 5, 2025. Students MUST purchase a Cap & Gown in order to participate in the Graduation Ceremony.

Click here to purchase!

Per State mandate, every year all grade 9 students are screened by the school nurse for possible/potential substance use. Families have the option to opt-out of the screening. For full details, please see the linked attachment below.

The Watertown Library wants to hear from you! The Watertown Free Public Library is seeking community input to guide their 2026–2028 Strategic Plan, and all community members are invited to participate in the Library's 2025 user survey! The Watertown Library would love to hear from you and your input is greatly valued! The survey is made available online in English, Portguguese, and Spanish. Paper surveys in English, Español, Português, Kreyol Ayisyen, Русский, 自行车, and العربية are available at the Library’s first floor Circulation Desk. The Library appreciates your participation in helping guide its future!

 

Find the survey at watertownlib.org/survey.

We are open to feedback! As always, if you have things you think we should know, please fill out our survey here.