The Swellesley Report » schools

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.

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Wellesley School Committee meeting shuffle

bbrown — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:52:44 +0000

If you were planning on hitting any of the Wellesley School Committee meetings this week, note that some meetings have been pushed back to later in the week, with the School Committee now meeting Tuesday at 730pm to have a public hearing on the budget and to give an update on the school lunch program and superintendent search. A vote on the budget is now slated for Thursday at 73opm at Town Hall.

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Latest audit gives Wellesley schools more fixes to mull

bbrown — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:45:59 +0000

There’s too much junk in the athletic director’s trunk. Financial planning software is put in the hands of too few. The Business Office is crowded and a bottleneck. The Chartwells food service outfit deserves another chance.

Those are some of the findings in a Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials audit of the Wellesley Public School system conducted last fall and now available for your reading pleasure on the school website.

The audit, which is written in a very supportive tone, nevertheless points out a slew of problems with how things are runs and makes a bunch of recommendations to fix the issues (no misappropriation of funds is cited, just bad or no procedures).

The audit group was not at all wild about how Wellesley manages cash from Performing Arts, athletic events and student activities, and outlines recommendations that it says will be more time and cost efficient (including ways to get around transferring gate receipts from sports events via the AD’s car trunk). Among the recommendations: decentralizing access to the school system’s MUNIS financial management software; putting procurement cards (P-cards) into place to streamline cash management for student activities; and getting more frequent (quarterly vs yearly) financial updates.

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Wellesley High boys basketball pulls one out

bbrown — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:11:11 +0000

We’re not getting into the sports reporting business, but did happen to attend the Wellesley High vs Milton High boys basketball game on Tuesday night. Quite a matchup, with Wellesley sprinting to an early lead, then Milton coming on strong to tie it in the second half and send it to overtime. Wellesley won in the extra period for a final score of 57-54.

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Wellesley High singers perform national anthem at Friday’s Celtics game

bbrown — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:33:53 +0000

UPDATE (1/15/12): Here’s a picture of the students at the game and below, a YouTube video.

Wellesleyites not only get to root for neighbor Ray Allen at tonight’s Boston Celtics game against the Chicago Bulls, but also for Wellesley High School’s Keynote Singers, who will be performing the National Anthem before the game.

Kevin McDonald, director of choral music at Wellesley High, describes The Keynote Singers as a 44-member select ensemble that recently expressed interest in singing at a Celtics game. McDonald says senior Adam Johnson brought his own gear into class and the group recorded a demo version of its National Anthem performance. Then 10th grader Erika Madrian hit up the Celtics with a request for the group to perform. The Celts liked what they heard and asked the group on short notice to replace a previously scheduled performer for tonight’s game.

“Our group was extremely prepared, so we jumped at the opportunity,” says McDonald, who also serves as director of youth music at Wellesley Congregational Church. “Personally, I have dreamed of doing this with one of my ensembles for a long time and it is very exciting to do this on a night that has such a high profile game being broadcast by ESPN as well as Comcast SportsNet.”

McDonald suggests watching the Celtics pregame show on Comcast SportsNet from 7:30-8 to get to listen to the anthem.

(I personally will be at the Swell-tics game in very un-Wellesley-like $10 seats — yes, they do exist — high above courtside. I *might* be able to hear the ensemble and see the game from there…)

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Wellesley Public Schools roundup: More CORI, tallying lunch debts, easier agenda access

bbrown — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:55:20 +0000

The Wellesley Public Schools have been prodded into divulging more and more info these days about its operations in the wake of the well documented negative series of events that have led to closer public inspection through audits and such groups as the Concerned Parents of Wellesley. The latest:

*School Superintendent Bella Wong during the School Committee meeting this week gave an update on school lunch debts owed: about $37K — that’s down from around $170K reported early last year. More from the Townsman.

*The School Committee this week approved new CORI policies designed to ensure that those with sketchy records aren’t hired by the schools. More from the Boston Globe.

*The School Committee, through the town’s email subscription service, is now sending out its agendas to those who sign up. (Let’s hope they start promptly posting meeting minutes as well… the last ones on the WPS website now are from October.)

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Wellesley High football coach steps down

bbrown — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:12:10 +0000

Bill Tracey has resigned as Wellesley High School’s head football coach after 10 seasons at the helm, and the school plans to post the job opening next week, according to a Metrowest Daily News report. The team had its best record under Tracey in 2009, when it went 9-2. Tracey also teaches industrial technology at Wellesley Middle School.

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Wellesley elementary school teacher in search of spring housing

bbrown — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:32:58 +0000

A 4th grade teacher at Wellesley’s Upham Elementary School, returning from maternity leave in April, is on the hunt for temporary housing in the area and asked for our help in spreading the word. She’s looking for a furnished place (such as an in-law apartment or carriage house) to house herself, her infant and husband from April 8 through around mid-June. Call 774-487-0278 or email KateH if you can help or know of such a property.

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Wellesley has new ways to spread joyous school cancellation news

bbrown — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:19:39 +0000

From Wellesley Public Schools and Wellesley Police Department:

Wellesley Public Schools and the Wellesley Police Department are pleased to announce that school cancellation notices will now be available through text messages and email. The Wellesley Police Department’s Community Notification System also includes text and email alerts about Wellesley traffic delays, crime and emergency alerts, power and utility outages, as well as weather alerts. The service is free, and the messages are sent directly from the Wellesley Police Department’s Emergency Communication Center.

You must first register in order to avail yourself of this optional service. To sign up for this free service, go to www.WellesleyPolice.com and look for the sign up box located in the lower right hand corner of the front page. Families can also sign up directly by clicking on this link.

Please note that you must check off ‘Send updates immediately by email’ in order to be notified instantly via email. If you have questions or problems with signing up for this service, please contact Sgt. Scott Whittemore at 781-235-1212 or swhittemore@wellesleyma.gov for additional information. Upon registration for this service, announcements will then be sent directly to your cell phone or email inbox when school is cancelled due to inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances.

Although the Wellesley Police Department will be transmitting these messages, please do not call 911 or the Wellesley Police Department to inquire as to whether school has been cancelled for the day. The text message and email alerts are in addition to, and do not replace, the other methods we use to notify families that school is cancelled, such as through cable TV and news websites.

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Wellesley’s Schofield School breathing easier thanks to air quality fixes

bbrown — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:01:03 +0000

Wellesley’s Schofield Elementary School students, teachers and other employees are breathing easier after steps have been taken to improve the air quality at the school.

Concerned Parents of Wellesley has passed along a note from Schofield’s PTO that details changes made to the school’s ventilation system. It reads in part:

“I am pleased to report Joe McDonough [director of facilities for Wellesley Public Schools] has worked magic and has brought in HVAC technicians who have completely reworked, readjusted, cleaned, installed filters, replaced parts and reassembled the univents in our classrooms. This was done throughout the 1993 wing, as well as the rest of the school. Why is this a big deal? Because mold, lethargy, headaches and increased exposure to airborne germs and illness are all symptoms of poor ventilation due to a poorly or non- operating ventilation system. FINALLY, after a decade of documented, subpar environmental health and air quality conditions at Schofield, the moisture and ventilation issues are actually being fixed! YAY!”

The state’s department health will be reviewing the changes and issuing a final report. A public session will be held regarding the issues, probably in January.

BACKGROUND: Indoor air quality study for Schofield Elementary School released this month

Schofield PTO

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