Two great events on Friday, October 28th!
It's PBIS Character Day at Munger Hill. Students are invited to dress as their favorite character. No weapons or masks will be permitted and all characters should be school appropriate.
That night, the PTO is hosting Trunk or Treat beginning at 6pm. There will be visitors from All Stars Dance Studio to kick off the night, and a police cruiser coming by to join in the fun. Thank you to all the families who generously donated or will be hosting trunks to help make this event a success. It will be a lot of fun and we hope to see all our families!
Tune in this Thursday, October 27, from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. on WSKB 89.5 FM, WCPC cable channel 15, or westfieldtv.org for the next episode of "Superintendent's Spotlight". This week, we are talking with Andrea Allard about the Westfield YMCA. Thanks for watching!
As part of our ongoing efforts to increase communication with our school community, the district is publishing a quarterly newsletter that will contain updates, important dates, and other information. Please click on the images to view our first newsletter of the school year. Thank you.
WPS is Hiring!
Be a part of Westfield Public Schools! We are hiring multiple positions across the district including substitute teachers, substitute nurses, classroom and 1:1 paraprofessionals, and many more opportunities that can be found on our district website at https://www.schoolspring.com/jobs/?employer=11953
As there is a growing need for counselors in the state, Westfield Public Schools works in partnership with River Valley Counseling and Rick’s Place to provide additional emotional support for students.
The River Valley Counseling provides four to five clinicians that will come into the school buildings for entire days. This meets the need of about 52 referrals that came in this month so far.
Currently, there are about 36 counselors that focus on social and emotional learning, plus academics and careers. With River Valley Counseling’s partnership with the school district, adjustment counselors are allotted more time to work with more students in small groups, enter classrooms, and do social-emotional learning with a whole class.
As a result of the pandemic, students’ mental health has become more evident in a school setting. “If a student isn’t in a good place mentally then it is a barrier to learning. They really may have something else going on and can’t focus on instruction,” said Westfield Public Schools superintendent, Stefan Czaporowski. “We need to really help them to be prepared and successful in a school environment.”
For adolescents and families that may have lost a loved one due to the pandemic or another cause, Rick’s Place helps with their grief. “The counseling students receive can continue through school vacations and through the summer to carry the progress forward,” adds the Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Susan Dargie. However, counseling often takes years to have its desired effect.
River Valley Counseling continuation through summer and vacations would be at the request of parents. Students can also be seen in the clinic. Typically, a student who is referred to River Valley Counseling is already seeing an adjustment counselor, which brings additional support. Sometimes family counseling can also be a result.
“Vast majority of our students are having their needs addressed, but I always think we could do better. Counselor-to-student ratio is a strength of ours,” expressed Czaporowski.
“When we think about educating students, we are educating the whole student and we can’t separate out a child’s brain from their emotions and from their social skills and needs,” said Dargie. “So, we have to look at the big picture.”
For the school to completely replenish from the pandemic, it can take five to 10 years, according to Cazaporowksi, but is certain the vast majority of students will be ok.
A future BRYT program may also be another future development for Westfield Public Schools. This will allow more support for students that may be coming out of hospitalization. “Meeting the need that is needed at that time,” said Dargie.
“We often have students who are really struggling to maintain in the classroom, they really can’t be in that general setting,” explained Dargie. “A program like this would be another space where there is an educator there, but there is also a clinician” (hospitalized for their own safety). With these services, the school district has hopes the mental and academic needs of students will be met.
https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampden-county/westfield-public-schools-therapy-service-partnerships-help-adjustment-counselors-work-with-more-students/
Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think our collection’s complete?
The lost and found is starting to overflow with items! Remind your children to check for their belongings
What’s more synonymous with Halloween than a festively carved pumpkin, all aglow with candlelight?
Hundreds of kids and their families will get the chance to test those creative skills at this year’s PumpkinFest, slated for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, rain or shine, on the athletic fields behind Amelia Park off South Broad Street in Westfield. Now in its sixth year, the event is organized by Westfield on Weekends, and according to Co-President Bob Plasse, more than 100 people volunteer their time to make this event happen.
https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/10/westfield-pumpkinfest-promises-fun-for-whole-community-next-weekend.html
Wishing our families a wonderful and restful long weekend! There is no school on Monday, so we'll see you on Tuesday!
Sunday, October 2 is Custodian Appreciation Day!
Thank you to Mr. Miller, Mr. Newell, and Mr. Delevo for all you do to keep our school looking so wonderful each day.
Every day Ms. Kubic has been highlighting a Hispanic American leader for Hispanic Heritage Month.
Today they read "Just Ask", by Sonia Sotamayor and then spoke about why we celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, empathy, acceptance and representation.
They followed up with a fun craftivity! Colorful Pinatas!
Great questions to ask your child about school!
1. Tell me about the best part of your day.
2. What was the hardest thing you had to do today?
3. Did any of your classmates do anything funny?
4. Tell me about what you read in class.
5. Who did you play with today? What did you play?
6. Do you think math [or any subject] is too easy or too hard?
7. What's the biggest difference between this year and last year?
8. What rules are different at school than our rules at home? Do you think they're fair?
9. Who did you sit with at lunch?
10. Can you show me something you learned (or did) today?
The United States Attorney’s Office is hosting a virtual Internet safety presentation for parents the evening of Tuesday, September 20th from 6:30 – 7:30 pm. The presentation, entitled Keeping Kids Safe and Secure Online: A Project Safe Childhood Presentation for Parents will bring awareness to the dangers of the internet, including gaming and social media platforms that predators use to groom children with the intent of exploiting them sexually online or for an in-person meeting. The presentation will focus on prevention by educating parents and community members how to help keep children safe online. Theye will be covering the following topics:
Social Media 101 & Digital Footprint
Cyberbullying
Sexting
Gaming
Victim Support
Protecting Against Online Predation
The presentation is free. Registration is required. The link to register is included on the attached flyer.
September 15-October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month!
This month celebrates the cultures, histories, and contributions of those with ancestry from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America It was started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and was expanded in 1988 to a full month. The dates are significant for the community. September 15 is the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. September 16 is independence day in Mexico. September 19 is independence day in Chile
Some book suggestions for students from Hispanic authors are
Solimar: The Sword of Monarchs By Pam Munoz Ryan
Lola Out Loud: Inspired by the childhood of activist Dolores Huerta. By Jennifer Torres
Training Day By Raul the Third
Be a part of our Westfield Education to Business Alliance (WE2BA). Please click on the link below for more information. https://sites.google.com/schoolsofwestfield.org/we2ba/home. If you are interested in partnering with one of our teachers for an Adopt a Classroom opportunity, please scan the QR code.
Thank you to the amazing Munger Hill team (staff, students, families) for an incredible first day of school!
I was so impressed with how smoothly the whole day went. I'm really enjoying getting to know everyone and getting to know the routines here. This is a wonderful community and I look forward to the 2022-2023 school year!
Westfield Public Schools is thrilled to announce our new app for mobile phones! Stay up to date with access to real-time sports scores, the daily cafeteria menu, news from administrators, student stories, and even emergency notifications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9OKq6xGPe0
You can download the app for free on both Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Download for Android: https://bit.ly/3f8hysa
Download for iPhone: https://apple.co/3qO1Nc1
Only 16 days left until school starts on Tuesday, August 30, for all students in grades 1-12. Pre-K and Kindergarten students will start school on Tuesday, September 6.
Good afternoon Munger Hill School Community, Please join the Westfield Public Schools on Monday, August 8, 2022 to meet and ask questions of the Munger Hill principal finalists. Community question and answer sessions will be held at Munger Hill Elementary School in the cafeteria starting at 5:30PM. There are two finalists and we have scheduled a half hour session with each individual. We will have forms for you to fill out so that you can provide feedback to the superintendent on each candidate. Come have a voice in who the next principal at Munger Hill will be!
Buenas tardes comunidad escolar de Munger Hill, Únase a las Escuelas Públicas de Westfield el lunes, 8 de agosto de 2022 para conocer y hacer preguntas a los finalistas para el puesto de principal de Munger Hill. Las sesiones de preguntas y respuestas de la comunidad se llevarán a cabo en la cafetería de la Escuela Elemental Munger Hill a partir de las 5:30 p. m. Hay dos finalistas y hemos programado una sesión de media hora con cada individuo. Tendremos formularios para que los llene para que pueda proporcionar comentarios al superintendente sobre cada candidato. ¡Venga a opinar sobre quién será el próximo Principal de Munger Hill!
Добрый день, семьи Munger Hill школы, Пожалуйста, присоединяйтесь к нам в понедельник, 8 августа, чтобы встретиться и задать вопросы основным финалистам в выборах директора Munger Hill школы. Сессии вопросов и ответов будут проводиться в Munger Hill, в кафетерии, начиная с 5:30 вечера. Для каждого из двух финалистов мы запланировали получасовую сессию. Также, у нас будут формы для заполнения, чтобы вы могли оставить отзыв суперинтенданту по каждому кандидату. Приходите и выскажите своё мнение о том, кто должен стать следующим директором Munger Hill школы!
Cub Scouts Information Session
May 16, 2022
6 - 7 PM
More information on the flyer.
