Friday, May 20, 2022 | Westford Public Schools

Good afternoon,

One more reminder…

The Class of 2022 Senior Prom is this weekend and the weather looks good! Seniors will be traveling to The State Room in Boston, 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 Westford Town Common beginning at approximately 3:45-5:00 p.m. for pictures. A wonderful tradition! (NOT mandatory, but a nice tradition!)

*****IF the weather is rainy, we will open up W.A. for pictures. The Bell Lobby, main gym, and the Performing Arts Center will be open. *****

******The State Room is expecting us at 6:00 p.m. Please leave the Town Common by 5:00 p.m. ******

• Students taking the free transportation, please look for the Buckingham Bus or see Mr. Antonelli on Lincoln St. Mr. Antonelli has the list and will direct you to the free bus. Buckingham Bus will pick up prom-goers at the Town Common, but will drop off after the prom at Westford Academy. Approximately 11:00 p.m.

• The Prom begins at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 10:00 p.m.

****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/buses 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 Police Dept. parking lot.****

• 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 Department parking lot.

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

I look forward to a great night. So far the weather looks good. I hope all of our students have a wonderful time.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Graduation Announcements

Graduation Announcements are now available for purchase 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 and friends. The cost is $2.00 per announcement (10 announcements per family while they last). We accept checks (made payable to Westford Academy, memo section “Graduation Announcements”) and cash. Please come to the main office to purchase.

Reminder to graduating seniors -

Please be sure your student's mailing address is correct in iPass! This is the address we use to mail invitations for the Senior Scholarship Night, the Senior Morning Awards and if we need to mail awards, scholarships, certificates, etc at the end of the year. We want to be sure we are using the correct address. If you need to update your address in iPass, please contact kbrown@westfordk12.us

Senior Capstone Exhibition- Friday May 27 10 am - Noon

Parent(s) and Guardian(s) are invited to come to Westford Academy on Friday May 27 between 10 am - noon to see the Senior Capstone Exhibition. Members of the senior class will be at assigned tables in the main gym, auxiliary gym and bell lobby presenting their experiences during their senior capstone.

From the Counseling Department

If you plan to apply to a summer program that requires your counselor to generate a transcript, complete a form and/or write a letter of recommendation, please do the following at least 2 weeks prior to the application deadline:

1. Notify your counselor of your request and deadline via email or in person.

2. Complete this form: https://forms.gle/3zp5E7pv68WpxxWK9

3. Email your resume OR upload your resume to “My Drive” in SCOIR OR complete the Activities/Achievement section in SCOIR. (any of these methods work)

It is most important that you give your counselor at least 2 school weeks notice.

Graduation 2022 - Graduate Photos - Legacy Studios

Each graduating senior will have their photo taken at the graduation ceremony as they are receiving their diploma.

Parents/Guardians/Graduates, please use the link below to view and purchase your portraits

https://legacystudios.com/purchase/

Code - 3542E22

To the Parents/Guardians of Graduating Seniors

If your graduating senior has money left on his/her lunch account, you may request a refund or a transfer of funds to a sibling. Please contact the Food Service Department in writing: cwallace@westfordk12.us , trazzaboni@westfordk12.us or kthompson@westfordk12.us

Requests must be in writing and should be done by June 6th of this school year. Requests received after June 6th cannot be processed until September, 2022.

Please be sure to disable you auto pay prior to requesting a refund.

WA LAST NIGHT 2022

WA Last Night 2022 is the all-night, substance-free celebration for our Westford Academy graduating seniors, which will be held on Friday, June 3rd 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. We are in DESPERATE NEED of more volunteers. There are Pre and Post Event volunteer opportunities as well as During the Event volunteer opportunities. We really hope you can join us for the event this year. For more information on how to sign up to volunteer, to donate, or to buy a raffle gift off our Amazon wish list, please see the Last Night website at www.walastnight.org.

Working Papers

Working papers are requested online. If your student has been offered a job, please have them go on the Westford Academy webpage. Click on “For Students” and then click on “Working Permit – Ages 14-18”. https://www.westfordk12.us/wa/students/links/working-permit-ages-14-18

Attn Seniors: Your 2022 Yearbook

Attn Seniors: Your 2022 Yearbook is almost ready to ship to WA. Please save the date of May 26 at 12:45 PM for the Dedication and Distribution ceremony that will be held in the PAC. If you haven't already purchased it - please click this link and reserve your copy now. Thanks so much!

https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productBrowse/1065285/Westford-Academ...

Volunteer Host Families Needed for Foreign Exchange Students

Are you interested in welcoming an international exchange student into your home for the 2022-2023 academic year? We are currently seeking volunteer host families to host a foreign exchange student for one full academic year, or one academic semester. This is a big commitment. But the experience can and has been life-changing for both exchange students and host families. You would: provide a room for the exchange student to sleep in,

provide three meals a day, arrange transportation to and from school, (we waive the bus fee!) act as a sort of personal cultural ambassador, and show the exchange student how wonderful, crazy, and warm and welcoming your family is! Sound like fun?? It is. We are very proud to say that Westford Academy has hosted over 200 international students from 40 countries around the world since 1976. We are successful because of the generous support of our volunteer host families…..Do you want to become one? :-)

For more information or to begin the application process to host in 2022-2023, please contact Tim Welch, WA International Exchange Coordinator, at twelch@westfordk12.us.

Westford Flag Football

Registration begins online at www.westfordflag.com on May 1st. All ages are welcome!

Westford Curbside Recycling

Do you need help determining what can and can't go into your curbside recycling bin? Check out https://recyclesmartma.org/. This website provides many resources and answers many questions. It is managed by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and applies to most communities in MA. This is where the Westford Recycling Commission goes for answers! @westfordma.gov

The guides are provided in several languages as well:

Smart Recycling Guide Your go-to reference for recycling in Massachusetts

Guía de Reciclaje Inteligente Su referencia para el reciclaje en Massachusetts

Guia de Reciclagem Inteligente Sua referência para reciclagem em Massachusetts

Smart Recycling Guide Mandarin Chinese 明智的回收指南

Have a great weekend! Stay hydrated!

Respectfully, Jim Antonelli