The Swellesley Report » education

Wellesley Public Schools on lookout for Norovirus

bbrown — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:03:12 +0000

Wellesley Public Schools Tuesday reached out to families, faculty and staff regarding the Norovirus, which hasn’t been spotted of late in the schools but has been the subject of increased attention in other parts of Massachusetts, including the Boston area.

A note from head of nursing Linda Corridan reads in part:

“To date we are not seeing evidence of the norovirus in the schools. Yes, we have children absent with vomiting and or diarrhea symptoms but not to the extent of the severe symptoms associated with the norovirus. The absentee numbers in the schools for children as well as the adults remain normal for this time of year. That said, with this type of virus, the status within any school could change quickly. The school nurses continue to monitor absentee numbers, clusters of students absent and the types of illnesses seen in the schools.”

Corridan recommends reading this fact sheet on noroviruses from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Your Ad Here

Share/Bookmark

Wellesley Middle School principal Chisum staying put in town

bbrown — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:40:46 +0000

Jamie Chisum, the Wellesley Middle School principal who had been in the running as one of two finalists for headmaster/principal job at Brookline High School, says he will remain in Wellesley after all following the conclusion of Brookline’s search process.

Chisum described the process in a note to WMS parents/guardians as “exhausting” and said “I realized I am not ready to leave Wellesley and I am excited about continuing my work with you all as I look forward.”

Chisum, who is listed as interim principal on the Wellesley Middle School website, was competing for the Brookline job vs. Deborah Holman, vice principal at Newton North High School.

Share/Bookmark

Upcoming Wellesley High hoop events: Think Pink & farewell to Larsson lower gym

bbrown — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:11:52 +0000

Thursday, Feb. 16 will mark the last ever event to be held in Larsson “Lower” gym at Wellesley High School. There will be three games vs. Natick starting with the Boys JV game at 3:45pm followed by the Boys Varsity game at 5:15pm and the Girls Varsity game at 6:30pm.

According to Girls Varsity coach Kristin Cieri, the night will include many acknowledgments beginning with the Boys Varsity game, continuing throughout the night with the major dedication at halftime of the Girls Varsity game.

Separately, this coming Friday’s (Feb. 3) Girls Varsity game at 6:30pm vs. Newton North is Think Pink Cancer Awareness Night. A 50/50 raffle will be held, with proceeds going to the Jimmy V/Kay Yow foundations and the Jimmy Fund. Players will wear pink warmups and fans are encouraged to sport pink as well.

Share/Bookmark

Soccer star Kristine Lilly taking part in Title IX panel at Wellesley College

bbrown — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:07:39 +0000

From Wellesley College:

In honor of National Girls and Women in Sport Day, the Wellesley College Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics will host Title IX: 40 Years & Counting, a panel event on Monday, Feb. 13.

The event celebrates 40 years of Title IX, the legislation that positively influenced the growth and culture of women’s sports in America. Three-time Olympian and International Soccer star Kristine Lilly (shown here) highlights a panel of outstanding women sharing stories of personal challenges and successes.

Other panelists include: Carol Stiff, ESPN’s vice president for programming and acquisitions; Amy Baltzell, former Olympic rower and noted sports psychologist; Melissa Ludtke, the former Sports Illustrator writer who made headlines when SI sued Major League Baseball on her behalf; and Laura Pappano, an award-winning journalist and author who is the founder and editor of FairGameNews.com.

The panel is free and open to the public. It will be held at 7:00pm in Wellesley College’s Diana Champman Walsh Alumnae Hall.

For more information, including full biographies on all five panelists, please visit: www.wellesleyblue.com/titleix

Share/Bookmark

Breaking in the new Wellesley High School theater

bbrown — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:43:32 +0000

The new Wellesley High School’s theater’s first-ever show will be the 2012 Winter Play, a self-scripted and student-directed 40-minute one-act show based on a story of interstellar proportions.

Wed. 2/29 @ 4:30 pm

Thurs. 3/1 @ 7:30 pm

Fri. 3/2 In-school performance (3rd block) for WHS students only

Sat. 3/10 Performance @ METG (Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild) High School Drama Festival Semi-Finals at Weston High School; time TBD

$5 entrance fee at the door

Share/Bookmark

Wellesley Middle School principal Chisum up for Brookline job

bbrown — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:14:47 +0000

Jamie Chisum, who took over as principal of Wellesley Middle School last year, has informed parents and guardians that he is a finalist for Headmaster/Principal at Brookline High School. He wrote in part: “I did not anticipate applying for such a position when I began the school year. I am flattered to have been recruited to apply for this position and after much thought decided to take advantage of the unexpected opportunity to see where it may lead. The next step in Brookline’s process is to have me go visit their school. I will certainly keep you informed as to how things go from here.”

Chisum took the helm at Wellesley Middle School last year after Josh Frank slipped out of town at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Chisum is still listed as “interim principal” on the Wellesley Middle School website and Wellesley High Principal Andrew Keough recently made reference to his former assistant principal in a way that got us thinking Chisum might even be headed back there at some point.

Your Ad Here

Share/Bookmark

Entering the Year of the Dragon in Wellesley

bbrown — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:16:21 +0000

Wellesley’s Jen Looper writes to say that Wellesley Middle School on Feb. 8 will be holding its second annual Chinese New Year Celebration: “Led by WMS Chinese language teacher Min Zhou and supported by the PTO and a posse of enthusiastic parents, we are ringing in the year of the Dragon with a traditional Lion dance, dancers from the Wellesley Chinese Language School, lots of good food, calligraphy and painting demos, a traditional riddle-telling table, noodle making sessions, chopstick relays, and more!

The kids will enjoy this event from 2:30-4 pm at the Middle School Cafeteria on 2/8… Chinese Language learning is really picking up in Wellesley, especially with the hiring of a new native-speaking Chinese teacher in the High School.

Separately, Wellesley Chinese Language School‘s annual CNY event is this coming Saturday at 6 pm at the Italian-American Club.

Share/Bookmark

Wellesley Middle School “No Name Calling” wall

bbrown — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:13:37 +0000

Wellesley Middle School took a stand against bullying/name calling on Wednesday, posting on a wall a bunch of crossed-out names that kids have been called (photo courtesy Elaine Gillim)

Share/Bookmark

Trick question?

bbrown — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:18:19 +0000

Came across this guessing game at Fiske Elementary School in Wellesley. The words read: “How many items are inside the jar?”.

We acknowledge we’re not smarter than 5th graders, but we’ll say the answer is “zero” items in the jar…. since there isn’t a jar.

Share/Bookmark

Wednesday will be “No Name Calling Day” at Wellesley Middle School

bbrown — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:09:23 +0000

Gov. Deval Patrick has designated Jan. 25 as “No Name Calling Day” as part of the state’s anti-bullying efforts, and Wellesley Middle School plans to take part. The idea of a “No Name Calling Week” was inspired by James Howe’s young adult novel, The Misfits.

Among other things, Wellesley Middle School students will be asked to wear black and write down a name they have been called, with a line through it, and the words will be transferred to a wall display at the school.

Share/Bookmark