Friday, May, 22, 2020
Good afternoon,
I hope all of you are staying healthy and safe! Lots happening this week in preparation for the end of the school year at Westford Academy! The last assignment for the school year 2019-2020 will be shared by teachers on June 8, 2020, and will be reviewed by the end of the week. Teachers will then reach out to students the last two days of school, June 15 and June 16 in order to provide some closure to this year. The portal for grades Credit or No Credit will be shared soon thereafter for parents and students to view.
Please remind your student to keep ALL books together in one location, (Book Bag) in order for us to collect books sometime in the fall. The last thing we want to do is send home an obligation form requesting payment for a lost book. We are in this together and we appreciate your support.
The Last Night Committee met again this week in preparation for some kind of “senior celebration” the weekend of graduation. The committee has collected many gift items for the seniors and they are formulating a plan for the gift raffle. The community of Westford is VERY generous! I will not share too many secrets today, but please know that this committee is working really hard to create the best send off possible for our Class of 2020.
Next week is the virtual senior week and we hope that all of our seniors engage in the activities that have been planned. We will have a guest speaker, a random act of kindness day, and even a virtual mock accident is in production for the week of June 1st! And don’t forget about the Thursday night from 4:00-6:00 PM ~ the Senior Parade (motorcade). Many of our faculty will be on site to wave to our Class of 2020 as they drive through W.A. We will send out specific details next week about traffic flow. There will be no parking for seniors at W.A. Just the drive by, thank you! Stay positive S E N I O R S! We love you! Stay healthy and Stay strong!
We are planning for a senior drop off books and Chromebooks and pick of Caps/Gowns/Stoles, school records and a keepsake from the Last Night Committee the week of June 1-5. Dean Dan Twomey will be sending out a sign up genius for seniors to come by W.A. Stay tuned. Seniors- we need your Chromebook, Chromebook Cover and Power Cord returned. That is station #1 and it is located in the café. More details to follow next week. Students PLEASE keep all of your books in one place and ready for the big return. We want to make things easy and simple and as stress-free as possible.
CSA Graphics- If you ordered a free Class of 2020 t-shirt, they are ready for pickup beginning next Tuesday. CSA Graphics is located at the Millworks on Town Farm Road. Gary and Mary Jo Lavelle will be on site daily from 8:00-5:00 PM. Stop by to pick up your shirt!
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SCOIR (Formerly we used Naviance)
Notice to seniors re: final transcripts: Following our official graduation date of June 5, your counselor will send your final transcript to the college marked as “Enrolling” in your SCOIR account. We automatically send a final transcript to the one college to which you have sent your deposit.
Colleges and universities require a copy of your final transcript before they will allow you to register for courses for the fall. If you did not tell your counselor where you intend to enroll in the fall, or if the college marked as “Enrolling” in SCOIR is inaccurate, please email your counselor to give them the correct information.
If you have any questions, please contact your counselor directly.
LAST NIGHT COMMITTEE:
Re: WA Graduating Class of 2020
Hello Westford,
We hope that this note finds you and your family healthy and safe during these unprecedented times.
So many people have been adversely impacted and our hearts go out to anyone that has been hurt by the pandemic.
We are writing to you today to discuss one group that has been badly impacted by the current situation. The Westford Academy Class of 2020 has lost many of the rites of passage that they were about to enjoy after 12 years in the Westford school system. Many of you are aware but the Class of 2020 has had their senior capstone project cancelled, their trip to Disney cancelled, their traditional Boston prom has been cancelled, graduation and Last Night will likely look different to what other Westford Academy graduates have experienced for years. Much of their senior year has been robbed from them and unfortunately there is no getting these precious moments back.
The Westford Academy Last Night Committee is trying to do something for this class that has lost so many of memories and experiences that they should have looked forward to and should have been able to enjoy.
Last Night has been celebrated with the WA graduates for over 25 years. Although Last Night likely can’t happen in its traditional format this year, one component can. Among the activities that normally occur during Last Night (graduation night), is a raffle for the seniors. Typically, the raffle committee would purchase or have donated approximately enough raffle items to award approximately 1/3 of the class a raffle item the night of graduation.
To give a little something to the class that has lost so much, we are going to do a virtual raffle and our ultimate goal would be to have a raffle item for each of the 423 graduating seniors.
How can you help?
We have created a number of wish lists for the class of 2020 and if you would like to help bring a little joy back to this class, please take a look and see if you are able to donate a raffle gift to the class.
Any gift you might be able to donate large or small is greatly appreciated. Maybe even team up with others to sponsor a raffle gift. We understand that this may not be possible for all, depending on how they may have been adversely impacted by the pandemic and that is okay. Last Night is normally funded through generous donations of Westford Families and area businesses. Through a history of strong support from the community Last Night has been able to be held without needing any funding from the school system. Donations from individuals are more important this year as the economic challenges facing our local businesses are likely to limit what contributions they can make. Local businesses normally make up a large percentage of our raffle gifts.
We appreciate your consideration in helping us give to this class, if you can please spread the word.
Amazon Wishlist:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/19O570LS579AM
Walmart Wishlist:
http://www.walmart.com/lists/view-events-registry-items…...
Bed, Bath & Beyond:
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/…/viewregistryg…/548905114…
Cash donations are also welcome see below link:
You can also mail a check to – payable to “Last Night”:
WA Last Night
P.O. Box 4079
Westford, MA 01886
Many thanks for considering helping us give to this class.
Any questions, gift ideas or concerns, please feel free to reach out to either of us.
Warmest regards,
Christine Saro and Kristin Cressman
Last Night Raffle Committee Co-Chairs
May 25 - June 8: FAME will host the 'Music in Our Schools' Online Auction
Open to the Public. Online Only. Register Now to Bid. Instruments, Cultural Arts, Entertainment and much more .... All proceeds support music education and senior scholarships.
https://www.32auctions.com/FAME2020 Friends Advancing Music Education (FAME) is a non-profit all-volunteer parent organization that supports music programs in WPS K-12. Despite our best efforts to recruit new volunteers over the last few years, we see the same parents volunteering their time and energy to fill critical leadership positions on the board and 3 out of 6 board positions will be vacant for '20-21. Without new parent volunteers to fill key positions this year, FAME will face eminent dissolution of our non-profit organization. Interested in joining FAME, now is the time. Email fame.westford1@gmail.com with questions about open positions or to join our final virtual meeting of the year on Tuesday, June 9, 7:00 PM.
National Alliance of Mental Illness: May is Awareness Month
Each year, millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. During May, NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) and the rest of the country are raising awareness of mental health. This year, more than ever, it is important to fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness and their families.
Mental Health Facts:
· 1 in 5 (46.6 million) adults in the United States experience a mental health condition in a given year.
· 1 in 25 (11.2 million) adults in the United States experience a serious mental illness in a given year
· Approximately 46.6 million adults in the United States face the reality of managing a mental illness every day.
· Half of all lifetime mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24, but early intervention programs can help.
· Up to 90% of those who die by suicide have an underlying mental illness as revealed by psychological autopsy. 46% of those who die by suicide have a diagnosed mental illness.
· Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. With effective care, suicidal thoughts are treatable, and suicide is preventable.
· Individuals with mental health conditions face an average 11-year delay between experiencing symptoms and starting treatment.
· Common barriers to treatment include the cost of mental health care and insurance, prejudice and discrimination, and structural barriers like transportation.
· Even though most people can experience relief from symptoms and support for their recovery in treatment, less than half of the adults in the United States get the help they need.
What Is Stigma? People experiencing mental health conditions often face rejection, bullying and even discrimination. This can make their journey to recovery longer and more difficult. Stigma is when someone, or you yourself, views you in a negative way because you have a mental health condition. Some people describe stigma as shame that can be felt as a judgement from someone else or a feeling that is internal, something that confuses feeling bad with being bad. Navigating life with a mental health condition can be tough, and the isolation, blame and secrecy that is often encouraged by stigma can create huge challenges to reaching out, getting needed support and living well. Learning how to cope with stigma and how to avoid and address stigma are important for all of us. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact a trusted adult, the Crisis Text Line by texting HELLO to 741741 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Enjoy the long Memorial Day Weekend! Stay healthy, Stay Safe!
We got this!!!
Respectfully, Jim Antonelli