Westfield Public Schools

The United States Attorney’s Office will be hosting a virtual internet safety presentation for all adults who wish to keep children safe online. Assistant United States Attorney Luke Goldworm and Victim Witness Specialist Lauryn Mackey will be joined by Special Agent Andrew Kelleher from Homeland Security Investigations Child Exploitation and Digital Forensics Unit to present a Webex Webinar: Keeping Kids Safe and Secure Online: A Project Safe Childhood Presentation for Parents Wednesday, June 4th from 6:30 – 7:30 pm. A Q & A session will follow the presentation. The presentation will bring awareness to how predators are sexually exploiting children online and how to keep them safe. Advanced registration is required. You may register for the webinar at the link below: https://usao.webex.com/weblink/register/r4617269953953d7a4aaa839f6c3e110b

Munger Hill’s first grade students are learning about plants with WTA students in the Horticulture program, fostering real world connections, deeper understanding, and motivation - the hallmarks of relevant learning. Jennifer Kubic, Rebeccca Conroy, and Sandy O’Connor, Grade 1 teachers at Munger Hill, and Vicky-Lynn Toro, Horticulture teacher at the Tech Academy, have brought their students together twice before. During the first and second years of the collaboration, Ms. Toro and her students visited to help plant flowers in the beds in front of Munger Hill. In the second year, a visit to WTA was planned, but due to unforeseen circumstances, that trip did not happen. This year, everything about the collaboration was coming up roses! The first-grade students were able to visit WTA, where they toured the greenhouses and shop areas. The students also had the opportunity to see the hydroponic greenhouse, where vegetables are grown without soil! Every first grade student was able to plant both an herb and a flower—one to take home and one to leave at WTA! Ms. Toro and her students will return to MH in May to help plant the flowers that stayed behind. These will be added to the front flower beds of the school. Students had the opportunity to think about whether they may want to have a career related to horticulture, and the trip was the perfect kick off for the Grade 1 Life Science Unit focusing on Plant Traits and Survival. As an added bonus, Mrs. Kubic ran into a former student she had at Fort Meadow, and he is thriving in the Horticulture program!

No EBT Card Access April 26-27: The state Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) is changing Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) vendors. As part of the transition, families will not be able to use their food benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP) or withdraw cash benefits (Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children, TAFDC; or Emergency Aid to the Elderly Disabled and Children, EAEDC) from 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 26 through mid-day on Sunday, April 27. No food purchases can be made during this time.

Spring Vacation starts on Monday, April 21, 2025, and ends on April 25, 2025. School resumes on Monday, April 28, 2025. Have a safe and enjoyable break!

Westfield Public Schools and Offices will be closed on Monday, April 21, in observance of Patriots Day. Thank you.

If you missed Thursday's NEW "Superintendent's Spotlight", please click on the link below. This week, we spoke with staff from Southampton Road Elementary School and Smith College about their STEM/STEAM partnership with fourth grade students. Students and staff from Westfield Technical Academy's Culinary Arts Department also helped us to celebrate 'National Crawfish Day' with some delicious Crawfish Etouffee. Thanks for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au90BU7GckA

At the School Committee meeting on April 7, Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski and Human Services Director Michael Morris introduced Dr. Gregory Rosenthal as the search committee’s pick to be the new administrator of special services and student support services. Rosenthal will replace Debra Ecker, who is retiring after serving five years at the top special education post and previously as a supervisor. Rosenthal is the current director of special education and student services for the Douglas Public Schools. Before to that role, he had a similar one with the Northbridge Public Schools. He has also worked as a special education teacher and administrator in public schools and out-of-district private special education schools. He has led professional development on topics such as differentiated instruction, student engagement, and co-teaching, said Morris. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2025/04/dr-gregory-rosenthal-hired-as-new-administrator-of-special-services-in-westfield.html

Water Filter Showcase at Westfield Intermediate School May 30th, 2025, 8:15-10:00: 5th grade students have engineered water filters after learning about Earth’s Water and Interconnected Systems in Project Lead the Way. Sign up to give feedback to students at this event. See the flyer for more information. Thank you!

Career Expo at Westfield Middle School May 29th, 2025, 9:00-12:00: Introduce our Middle School students to career paths. Sign up to participate in the Middle School Career Expo. See the flyer for more information. Thank you!

Young adults ages 14-25! Are you in high school or out of school? Are you looking for a job? Come to our Job Fair to explore paid and volunteer opportunities through one of our many job and career pathways. Tuesday, April 22, 2025 1:00 P M – 4:00 PM MassHire Springfield Career Center Dress to Impress Bring your resume For list employers go to www.masshiresprinfield.org/YouthWorks For more information contact: Phylis Gedeon—pgedeon@masshirespringfield.org/413-858-2818 Katherine Perkins—kperkins@masshirespringfield.org/413-858-2831

At the Credit for Life Fair on April 10 at Westfield High School, the students entered the gymnasium in two shifts, with upperclassmen from Westfield High School visiting first, followed by Westfield Technical Academy, Gateway Regional and St. Mary’s High School. The interactive event of the Western Mass. Credit for Life Committee, co-chaired by Melissa Taylor of Berkshire Bank and Linda Saltus, formerly of MassHousing, teaches students real-world budgeting and money management skills. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2025/04/students-learn-real-life-costs-at-credit-for-life.html

High school seniors should complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or, for students who are eligible non-citizens, the Massachusetts Application for State Financial Aid (MASFA), by May 1, the priority deadline for state aid. Both can make higher education more affordable. All federal and state student aid and some private sources require completion of the FAFSA. The FAFSA or MASFA are required for students to access MassGrantPlus for four-year colleges and to access no-cost community college through MassEducate. https://www.mass.edu/osfa/programs/massgrantplus.asp

The School Committee Budget Review Meeting scheduled for Monday, April 14, 2025, has been postponed to Monday, April 28, 2025, at Westfield intermediate School at 6:00 p.m. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause. Thank you.

Fourth-grade students and families are invited to Westfield Intermediate School for an information session to begin the transition to 5th grade at WIS. The WIS Information Night is scheduled for Monday, May 12 at 6:00 pm in our auditorium. Please note that this information night does not include tours of the building, but it is a great opportunity to learn more about WIS and meet the administration team.

Click on the link below for a brand new "Superintendent's Spotlight". This week, our guests included Patrick Kennedy and members of the Westfield High School Jazz Band. We also took some time to recognize National Sibling Day. Thanks for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yuf-ru8PXc

Hear ye, hear ye! Amelia Park Children’s Museum invites you to join our tea party on Friday, May 9th. Come dressed as fairytale royalty or your favorite fantasy character. Adorn yourself with jewels and designs, paint a teapot, and decorate a mask (we provide the supplies). Your reign lasts from 10am to noon, with light refreshments beginning at 11am. Regular admission fees apply. Members of Amelia Park Children's Museum are admitted free of charge. Amelia Park Children's Museum is located at 29 South Broad Street in Westfield, MA and is open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Thursday-Tuesday. The museum offers hands-on learning for children ages 1-7 in a safe and welcoming environment. Cost of admission is $8 per person. Grandparents and seniors are admitted at a reduced rate of $4. For those who present a valid EBT card, the rate is $2 per person (up to 6 people). Questions? Call us at (413) 572-4014 or email us: fun@ameliaparkmuseum.org. Learn more about the museum at ameliaparkmuseum.org.

Recently, thirty-one students from Westfield Technical Academy’s ‘Flying Tigers’ Aviation program were given a tour of American Airlines (AA) at Boston’s Logan International Airport. The tour was arranged by AA pilots Captain Chris ‘Biggs’ Bigelow (USAF retired and WTA Aviation Advisory Board member) and Captain Bradley Nordgren (Prior Army aviator and AA Chief Pilot) in conjunction with Mr. Galen ‘Chief’ Wilson (WTA Aviation Dept Head). Through many hours of coordination and airport security protocols the students were able to view, amongst other things, up-close a Boeing 777 aircraft. After a superb AA in-briefing and lunch, provided by AA, the students split into six groups and then were off to tour the facility. Here’s how it went - The students were given a tour of the aircraft cockpit by two senior AA pilots. The pilots informed the students on such systems as aircraft flight control, communications, electronic flight instrument system, navigation systems and engine control/monitoring systems, just to name a few. Each student was given a chance to sit in the left (Captain’s) or right (First Officer’s) seat while simultaneously briefed on the cockpit’s instrumentation and glass (monitor screens) cockpit functions by AA senior captains. Students were also introduced to the cabin of the aircraft by two flight attendants. The flight attendants (FA) explained their role in customer service, passenger protection and flight safety. The FA’s also explained the training that goes into being an FA along with their ‘typical’ flight schedule. The students then went outside and toured the exterior of the aircraft. They also took turns getting inside the cargo area and the avionics bay, where they saw the line-replaceable units (LRUs) that make up the electronics used in the aircraft for navigation, weather monitoring, surveillance and control. Lastly, the students went to the aircraft maintenance facility where the AA technicians service/troubleshoot/repair up to eighteen aircraft per night. The technicians were able to explain their day-to-day life, all-the-while answering many questions from the students. The technicians were AWESOME! The students and faculty of WTA ‘Flying Tigers’ would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to American Airlines for such an informative and memorable day – THANK YOU!

Westfield High School Band Director Patrick Kennedy and seven members of the high school’s jazz band entertained folks at the Westfield Senior Center during breakfast on April 4, as a makeup for the Senior Citizens Pops Concert on March 7, which was canceled due to a power outage caused by downed trees. Raffle prizes previously donated for the Pops Concert by MGM Springfield, Westfield Technical Academy, the Boys & Girls Club and the YMCA were also given out, to the delight of the seniors. “The concert was such a huge success, that we all decided it just has to be an annual event,” said COA Special Projects Coordinator Tina Gorman, referring to herself as well as COA Executive Director Michael Squindo, Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski, Kennedy and the seniors in attendance. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2025/04/jazz-band-performs-makeup-concert-at-the-senior-center.html

The Volunteers in Public Schools of Westfield recently received a $1,000 grant from the Massachusetts Bankers Association Charitable Foundation after the organization was nominated for it by bankESB, according to a statement from the bank. VIPS of Westfield works to strengthen public education by engaging community volunteers in supporting students and educators through mentoring, tutoring, and program support, works to foster partnerships between the community and the school system, and providing vital resources such as tutoring, mentoring, and program support to benefit students of all ages. The $1,000 grant will help the nonprofit organization continue its mission of engaging volunteers and enhancing educational programs in Westfield’s public schools. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2025/04/westfield-public-schools-volunteer-organization-get-1000-grant.html

📚🔬 Big day at Southampton Road Elementary! Senator John Velis stopped by Ms. Dougherty’s Pre-K classroom to see our youngest scientists in action as they explored states of matter during a Project Lead the Way module. Superintendent Czaporowski and our PreK-4 STEM Coach joined the visit, witnessing hands-on learning at its finest. The students rotated through engaging stations designed to build background knowledge and prepare them to solve a big challenge—helping Milo, Angelina, and Suzie get their message across the creek while staying dry and afloat! 🌊💡This is the foundation of our Pre-K-12 PLTW STEM Pipeline in WPS. Thanks to Senator Velis for supporting STEM education and our future innovators!