Friday, May 17, 2019

Good afternoon,

The Class of 2019 Senior Prom is this weekend and the weather looks good! YES!!! Seniors will be traveling to the Danversport Yacht Club in Danvers, MA for a night of dinner and dancing. 

Below are some updates for you regarding the afternoon festivities.  

•  Prom-goers, parents, family, and friends- please join us on the Town Common beginning at approximately 4:30/4:45 PM for pictures.  A wonderful tradition!  (NOT mandatory, but a NICE TRAIDTION!)

******The Danversport Yacht Club is expecting us at 7:00 PM.  Please leave the Town Common by 5:45/6:00 PM. ******

• The Prom begins at 7:00 PM and ends at 11:00 PM.

****Please DO NOT PARK on LINCOLN STREET- the WPD may ticket and may tow your vehicle.****

• Lincoln Street will be closed to regular traffic.  Lincoln Street will be used for all of the limousines.  There are approximately 35-40 limousines being staged side-by-side on the street that afternoon.

****Parking is available at the Westford Town Hall, the Roudenbush Community Center, Cameron School, the JV Fletcher Library and there are some handicapped spaces in the Fire/Police parking.****

• Please park in the marked spaces on Connell Drive-ONLY.Individuals that park outside of the marked space on Connell Drive WILL receive a citation from the Westford Police Dept.

• We ask for parents, family, and friends to allow the prom-goers to walk from their respective limousines to the Town Common before starting pictures.  This is a safety issue.   Lincoln St. will be hectic.

• The Westford Police Department will have three detail officers on site to assist the W.A. Administrative Team with traffic.  IT WILL BE VERY BUSY.  

• I recommend getting to the Town Common early if you have a handicapped family member.  

• Please stay off of the streets surrounding the Common and use the crosswalks. The safest location is for everyone to be located on the Common.

• REMINDER: Handicapped parking spaces will be available in the Westford Police and Fire Dept. parking lot.

• Last but not least. Parents would you please remind your son/daughter's to make good decisions tomorrow evening.  The portable breathalyzer machine will be with us and utilized if we have reasonable suspicionto believe your son/daughter is under the influence of alcohol. Serious ramifications may follow, (i.e. loss of Disney, other Senior Week Activities, and even the loss of Graduation).

I look forward to a great night. So far the weather looks great.  I hope all of our students have a wonderful time.  Be safe!  Jim Antonelli

MCAS TESTING for SOPHOMORES:  ***Important Message***

Grade 10 Parents/Guardians/ & all sophomores: MCAS testing is next Tuesday and Wednesday.  It is CRITICALLY important that Chromebooks are FULLY charged and ready to go for Tuesday and Wednesday.  MCAS 2.0 is now in place and it is ALL computer-based.  If your child uses a personal device (BYOD) they will be provided with a Chromebook for testing.  ALL testing must take place on a Chromebook.  This is a MA Department of Education policy.  

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Graduation Balloons Order Form 2019 - Westford Education Foundation

The Westford Education Foundation is doing it again!   Send your favorite WA Class of 2019 graduates shiny maroon and silver Mylar balloons as a fun way to congratulate them on this big accomplishment.  Imagine hundreds of balloons decorating mailboxes and front porches of WA seniors throughout town on graduation day.  Balloons are just $6 each.  An array of six balloons to the same address (ordered at the same time) is $30. The deadline to order balloons is THURSDAY, May 30, 2019. Be sure to include the grads' names, addresses, and your own personal note for each recipient, and WEF will take care of the rest. Balloons will be delivered the day before graduation. Questions? Contact Kelly Guthrie at kellyguthrie1@gmail.com.  Proceeds from balloon sales help WEF fund a wide variety of innovative educational and professional development grants for  Westford schools, as well as two scholarships to graduating seniors majoring in education. The Westford Education Foundation is grateful for your support.

https://www.westfordk12.us/wa/friday-email/files/balloon-order-form-2019

Graduation Announcements

Graduation Announcements are being sold in the main office.  These are not graduation tickets.  They are simply nice announcements to serve as a keepsake for graduation or to send to family members.  The cost is $2.00 per announcement (10 announcements per family while they last.) Please see Mrs. Langille to purchase.

Westford Crew - Bamboo Fundraiser - May 21st

https://www.westfordk12.us/wa/friday-email/files/wa-crew-bamboo-fundrais...

Graduating Students: Lunch Account Refunds

Please contact Colleen Wallace, Food Service Director, cwallace@westfordk12.us  for lunch account refunds for graduating students or to transfer funds to siblings. These requests should be made in writing (email) before the end of this school year. Additionally, there is a lunch fund in each school for students in need to which you may donate the account balance.

Graduation Details - June 7, 2019

Graduation will be held on Friday, June 7, 5:30 PM, on the Westford Academy Alumni Field  (First rain date: Saturday, June 8, 5:30 PM. Second rain date: Sunday, June 9, 2:00 PM) NO TICKETS ARE NEEDED and you may bring an many guests as you wish!  Our seating is first come, first served. We rent 1,800 chairs in addition to having the use of our bleacher seats. We have plenty of handicap parking and have a handicap/elderly drop-off area.  There will be people assisting with traffic flow and parking.

Westford Academy History Department: Puerto Rico & Japan Trips

The Westford Academy History Department is offering two trips next year for WA students. The first will travel to Puerto Rico over April vacation in 2020 and is open to current 9-11th grade students. The second is to Japan in June/July of 2020 and is open to current freshmen and sophomore students only. Juniors are excluded because they will have graduated when the trip runs. Informational meetings will be held for both on Thursday, May 30th in room 144 at Westford Academy. The Puerto Rico meeting will run at 7:00 PM and the Japan meeting at 8:00 PM. Additional details may be obtained by emailing Mr. Scully at sscully@westfordk12.us.

LAST NIGHT 2019

WA Last Night 2019 is the all-night, substance-free celebration for our Westford Academy graduating seniors, which will be held on Friday, June 7th starting at 10:00 PM. With almost 100% participation, Last Night is a highlight for WA graduates. It takes over 300 volunteers and many, many generous donors to make this evening a success. Parents of all students from K to 12, are encouraged to volunteer.  For more information, please see the Last Night website at www.walastnight.org

 Donations to support Last Night can be made online at www.walastnight.org/donateor please send your contribution to: WA Last Night 2019, PO Box 4079, Westford, MA 01886. All gifts are tax-deductible.

 Last Night Needs Volunteers! Help is always needed at the event, but you can also volunteer before the event. To volunteer in any capacity, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Cindy McKeen at volunteer@walastnight.org.  More information can be found on the Last Night website at www.walastnight.org

Digital photo deadline has been extended to Sunday, May 5th. Small group shots are preferred for the slide show (two to four people are best).  Larger group shots can be included in the Facebook group. Please be sure to label all students in all photos.  Please email your digital photos to ann.brazinski@gmail.com.

Westford Cultural Council Logo Contest 2019

Eligible Applicants: Current high school and college students residing in Westford, MA

Award: $200

Timeline: Open submission from: May 1 - May 31

Deadline: 6:00 PM on May 31, 2019

About the Westford Cultural Council: The Westford Cultural Council (WCC) is a volunteer-led committee appointed by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Westford.  The WCC's mission is to enhance the quality of life in the Westford community by supporting arts, humanities, and sciences programs held in Westford, and by Westford artists, arts organizations, schools, and community organizations.  The Westford Cultural Council promotes the availability of cultural experiences in Westford through an annual grant awarded by Massachusetts Cultural Council. These grants can be used support a variety of projects and activities within Westford - including exhibits, festivals, field trips, short-term artist residencies, or performances in schools, workshops, and lectures.  More information about the WCC can be found at: https://www.westfordma.gov/627/Cultural-Council. 

How the Logo will be Used: The logo will become the property of the Westford Cultural Council and be used on the WCC website, social media accounts, press releases, and other promotional materials. Logo Design Contest Rules: All current high school and college students who are residents of Westford are eligible to participate. The logo submission must be in .PNG file format. Any software program may be used to create the design. The logo MUST include “Westford” and “Cultural Council” in the logo design. The logo should be versatile enough to be used on a website, brochures, stationary, press releases, etc.  Make sure the logo is recognizable when resized and will look good in black and white. No copyrighted or trademarked images should be included in submissions. Logo designs must be submitted to Westford Cultural Council no later than 6:00 p.m. Friday, May 31, 2019.

Voting Process: The members of the Westford Cultural Council will determine the winning logo design.  

All entries will be judged based on the following criteria: Artwork's relevance and clarity in design, overall creativity and concept, visual appeal / impact

Entry Information: The logo design should be electronically submitted on an 8.5x11” page along with the following information: Contact Information: Name, Westford mailing address, Email address, grade and school name, information about the logo design (Description of what the logo signifies or the meaning behind your design). Submissions should be emailed to WestfordCulturalCouncil@gmail.comby 6:00pm on Friday, May 31, 2019. Winners will be notified by August 31, 2019. 

'Hit a Homerun for Habitat' at Fenway Park

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell is partnering with Friends of Rajiv Paluri to host a Red Sox Night! Purchase discounted upper bleacher tickets for game on Wednesday, September 4th, 2019 at 7:10 PM, Red Sox vs Minnesota Twins. At just $30 per ticket, this fundraiser is a great way to enjoy a night at Fenway with friends & family, while supporting the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell & The Rajiv Paluri Memorial Foundation. To order by mail, download order form http://bit.ly/homerun4habitatform

To order tickets online, http://bit.ly/homerun4habitat

Order deadline is May 31st; e-tickets will be emailed to all purchasers week of June 10-14th. For more info, contact Heidi Tierney at htierney@lowellhabitat.orgor (978) 692-0927.

Have a great weekend!  Jim Antonelli