Westfield Public Schools

Female pirates, British aristocrats, singing, dancing and laughter will fill the stage at Westfield Middle School for a performance by the Drama Club of “Captain Bree and Her Lady Pirates” on Feb. 9 and 10 at 7 p.m. British Captain Jennings (Christina Nguyen) loses her crew when they jump ship, leaving only a handful of prisoners and Fergus (Griffin Kuhn), a sailor who can’t swim, to protect the wealthy passengers from the pirate attack. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/sea-shanties-silly-twists-abound-in-westfield-middle-school-musical.html

Westfield Public Schools have announced that tuition-free, full-day preschool will again be offered for Westfield residents for the 2024-25 school year. Full-day preschool programs, which run during the school day from 9:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., will be available at Southampton Road, Highland and Munger Hill elementary schools, and in the new elementary school on Franklin Street when it opens, which is expected to be in January 2025. Before- and after-school programs are also available at the YMCA and Boys & Girls Club. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/02/westfield-free-preschool-lottery-is-open-until-feb-16.html

Construction on the new Elementary School continues! Click here for the January newsletter: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Construction-on-the-new-Elementary-School-continues--January-2024-Newsletter.html?soid=1127583543316&aid=dXHWYENgqB8

If you missed the latest "Superintendent's Spotlight" from this morning, click on the link below. This week, we talked about our Upcoming "Countdown to Kindergarten" Event at Westfield Middle School on February 6 from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. We also took some time to test our knowledge of the Sunshine State on National Florida Day. Thanks for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL8wj5ERW2E

Westfield’s public schools are hosting a “Countdown to Kindergarten” information and registration night in the Westfield Middle School cafeteria, 30 West Silver St., on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Families of prospective kindergartners may attend anytime between 6 and 7:30 p.m., and may bring the kids. The snow date is Feb. 8. Assessment and Accountability Director Christine Shea said the district’s goal is to get as many kindergartners registered as possible, to help plan for the 2024-25 school year. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/westfield-families-can-register-new-kindergartners-at-feb-6-family-event.html

Please share the brochures with information about the Principal searches at Paper Mill and Westfield Technical Academy so we can get the word out about these exciting job opportunities! https://5il.co/2d6q6 https://5il.co/2d6q7

Galen Wilson, the aviation department head at Westfield Technical Academy, said this week that the loss of Fredrika Ballard, owner of Fly Lugu and Aero Design Aircraft Services at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport, hit the program and his students especially hard. Ballard, a Southwick resident who died in a small-plane crash Jan. 14, along with a student and fellow instructor, also served on the Aviation Advisory Board at WTA. Wilson spoke to Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski about paying tribute to Ballard in some way. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/westfield-techs-aviation-shop-pays-tribute-to-flight-teacher-who-died-in-crash.html

If you missed this morning's episode of "Superintendent's Spotlight", please click on the link below. This week, we spoke with Principal Stacy Burgess all about our Grades 6-12 Virtual School. We also had a little fun with "National Thesaurus Day". Thanks for watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiRd4U7-9kE

Elementary school teachers in Westfield are looking to partner with professionals in the community to enhance their science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum this spring through the Adopt-a-Classroom program. Lindsey Ayers, the district’s pre-kindergarten through fourth grade STEM coach, said the students have upcoming challenges in their Project Lead the Way curriculum related to robotics, coding, computer systems and simulations. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/westfield-elementary-schools-seek-partners-for-real-world-science-lessons.html

There will be a 2 hour delay this morning, Wednesday, January 17th due to icy conditions on side roads, sidewalks, and school parking lots.

Westfield Public School elementary teachers are looking to partner with professionals in the community to enhance our STEM Curriculum. The topics are described below by grade level. We envision your role with students being related to providing feedback to students based on their prototype designs. We will work with you to create a plan that works! If you are interested in Adopting a Classroom focusing on one of the projects above, please send inquiries to: Lindsey Ayers, PK-4 STEM Coach @ l.ayers@schoolsofwestfield.org. Thank you!

Congratulations to our Westfield High School chorus members for their performance in Saturday's Western District concert!

Bram Moreinis, a new computer science teacher at Westfield High School, has brought with him a tech internship program he developed during his teaching career called “Free Web Clinic,” in which students develop websites for small businesses and community-based organizations. The WHS Free Web Clinic is a work-based learning project within the school’s computer science program of studies, where students design and manage individual and group projects. The Web Clinic team will use professional tools and work patterns, learning together and collaborating to build or upgrade websites for clients. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/westfield-high-school-class-seeks-clients-for-free-website-design-service.html

At a meeting of the new elementary school building committee on Jan. 9, Co-Chair Tammy Tefft, Owner’s Project Manager Dan Pallotta and architect Bert Gardner addressed several questions that have been raised about the project. First, Pallotta gave an overview. He said construction has passed the 50% mark, which he called a “milestone,” and said, “it looks awesome.” https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/westfield-committee-addresses-elementary-school-project-questions-concerns.html

Fathema Jaleel and Riley Westcott will join more than 300 other 8th graders this weekend in this year’s class of “unsung heroes” for a statewide youth-led community service program. Tomorrow, they will attend a day of Project 351 activities in Boston to kick off a transformative year of service and leadership. A nonprofit organization, Project 351inspires students through the ethic of service and values of kindness, compassion, humility and gratitude. Jaleel is a student at the Westfield Middle School while Westcott attends Southwick Regional School. They’re among a group of “quiet leaders” selected from eighth graders in nearly every one of the state’s 351 towns and cities. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/middle-schoolers-in-westfield-southwick-to-join-state-peers-in-year-of-service.html

Westfield, MA Public Schools will be closed on Monday, January 15, 2024, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Thank you.

If you missed "Superintendent's Spotlight" this morning, please click on the link below. This week we spoke with CEO Andrea Allard all about the YMCA of Greater Westfield. We also took some time to recognize "international thank you" day. Thanks for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWw9QQu0qRM

Please click on the link below for a message from Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler about the importance of daily student attendance. Thank you for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhK_T6PREMM

Good morning. With all of the rain we received last night, Southampton Road School is experiencing some significant flooding in several hallways, the main office area, and conference room. As a result, Southampton Road School is closed today, Wednesday, January 10. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you.

If you missed "Superintendent's Spotlight" yesterday morning, please click on the link below. This week, we talked with members of the New Elementary School Building Team about the status of the project to date. We also shared exclusive video footage of the interior and exterior of the building so far. Thank you for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGACvn3amfU