2019-2020: Episode 8
Welcome to the year 2020!!!! For most readers, and myself, the year 2020 always seemed like the far-off, distant future. But, here we are, living the future today. The new year, and the scheduled break, always energizes and excites us to get back into school and our classrooms with a renewed vigor and joy. We are pretty pumped up to see what our students will do for the second half of the school year, and we know that they are all capable of great things! We hope that your 2020 is a great year!
Mid-Year Exams: They come up QUICKLY don’t they?! Please check the midyear exam schedule posted in the shared main office docs folder for the schedule for those days, and note that blocks D and E will be meeting on Tuesday before exams begin.
Snow Days: A reminder to all that our *new* last day of school is now June 22…and we may need to add more days if we have we continue to have snow days. Please be mindful of this as potential family vacations, camps and summer employment opportunities are being planned.
WHS Solar Project: Below is a very cool drone-generated picture of WHS with our new solar panels on the A-B-C wings. The panel installation has been an extremely smooth process that took place over the past few months. We expect the panels to be wired and operational sometime this spring!
The PFA and WHS Gives Back: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! With all of your help, our fantastic PFA and our WHS students and staff raised enough money to take good care of 99 WPS students during the holiday season! Staff and students, along with community members from our PFA, joined together and spent time wrapping the gifts, and we had a fantastic assembly during WIN BLOCK that focused on the joy of giving and helping those less fortunate as well as listening to some terrific music from our Sachem chorus and jazz band. Thank you again for your help and generosity! You all have helped make a great impact on the community- we couldn’t make this difference without you. A personal thank you to our PFA for taking on some of the organizational responsibilities this year. Your support is always deeply appreciated. A special recognition to Dot Butler and WHS staffers Mr. Amber Haines and Ms. Nicole Dieuseul for their community outreach and support. Lastly, we hope that folks are able to recognize Mrs. Stephanie Younker and Mrs. Kristen Beauchesne as they are the driving force and main organizers of this annual program. Without Mrs. Younker and Mrs. Beauchesne, this program would not be nearly as successful as it is. Thank you!!!!
The 2019 WHS Pep Rally Video: A big thank you to all involved as there are many many moving parts that go into this yearly event. Most folks would agree that this was the most well-attended rally that we have had in years! Thank you, Mr Moriarty, for putting together this video. Pep Rally 2019
Good things are always happening at WHS! Below are a few pictures of the many goings on from the month of December at WHS.
Some pictures from the excellent fall production of “Loving Lives.” Pictures courtesy of Mr. Ampe.
Ms. Pickett’s classes enjoyed some collaboration work on their short stories. Active reading strategies, peer discussions and hydration methods were all brought to the lesson.
Mr. Weiss’ economics classes working on their business projects. The business models of a variety of companies, from Domino’s to Adidas to Chick-fil-A, were explored and dissected. Our WHS Latin students attended the annual Classics Day sponsored by the Junior Classical League at Boston University on December 5th. After attending workshops of their choice and participating in an assembly of 15 schools, students competed by performing an original skit. WHS proudly displays its award for 3rd place!
Mr. Haver’s students presented their PBA work centered on student vaping statistics at WHS. Students shared survey data and methodology as they presented student vaping experiences by grade. Mr. Carlson, hands raised in triumphant victory, and his physics classes participate in the physics Olympics as they race up the stairs in a on-location physics lab. We are told that the pre-competition PED testing was rigorous.
Lastly, new staff member, and Winchester resident, Mrs. Chiodini, spent time connecting with students 1:1 during conversational Italian testing. And many of our students with driving licenses took part in WHS’ visiting “Distractology” course coordinated n part by SRO Sgt. Perenick!
WINspiration: “What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
The links:
Athletics: winchestersachems.org
Learning Beacons: Please be sure to give yourself a reminder every now and then of our WPS Learning Beacons
Vision of a WHS Graduate: Please be sure to be familiar with and mindful of this document. Official Vision of A WHS Graduate
Thank you for reading the first WHS blog of 2020!
-Dennis P. Mahoney
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