Friday, September 16, 2022
Good afternoon,
A lot of information for you today!
Chromebook Safety
The Children's Internet Protection Act requires schools to implement technology protection measures and monitor the activity of minors online to detect potential inappropriate use. The software used to control access to inappropriate material on district Chromebooks also detects troubling content created or searched by students. Content in Emails, Chats, Docs, Sheets, Slides, images, and searches are scanned for things that might indicate cyberbullying, threats, toxicity, self-harm, adult images, or images of violence. When detected, an alert is sent to school administration to assess whether there is cause for concern and need for follow up. Please remind your student that the Chromebook is a learning tool that should be used for school purposes only, and this system is in place to help keep them safe. Thank you for reinforcing safe technology use at home.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Westford Academy vs Billerica Football Tonight
Beat the line and buy tickets online for tonight's home football game vs Billerica.
https://gofan.co/app/events/595134?schoolId=MA14773
Game starts at 7:00PM
FROM THE DEAN'S OFFICE
Class of 2026 Elections will take place on Wednesday, October 12th during Advisory. Students who are interested in running for an elected position in Student Council, Class Officers, Student Advisory Committee, and Legislative Council should visit the Student Council website for more information. All interested students must attend an overview meeting before school on 9/20 or after school on 9/22. Letters of Intent are due by Thursday, 9/29 at 2pm. Speeches are due by Tuesday, 10/4 at 2pm. The Elections Preparation Meeting will be held on Friday, 10/7 at 2pm. Interested candidates must attend all meetings and meet all deadlines. Please visit the Student Council website for more details and procedures for submitting forms.
HOMECOMING DANCE - September 30th - If your child signed up by filling out our form, but hasn't paid for their homecoming ticket, please send 10 dollars (cash or check) with them to school in order to secure their ticket. The deadline for payment is Wednesday September 21. If they don't pay by the deadline, we are re-releasing the tickets back into inventory for others who would like to attend. This means their reservation will no longer be active. It will be first come, first served for additional sale of tickets after the deadline. Thank you, Student Council
FROM THE COUNSELING OFFICE
This is a reminder that we need ALL WPS families to take time this week to fill out the "Student Emergency Contacts and Biographical Updates" form found on the Parents section of the WPS district site https://www.westfordk12.us/district/parents
Direct link to Google Form:
https://forms.gle/GXa6xoXiovKZE1YF9
We need this form filled out by you to make additions or corrections to your students' biographical and emergency contact information. If your emergency contacts are the same for all of your children, please enter the information for the oldest child and provide us their sibling's student IDs. Please contact the school for any assistance. Thank you.
College Financial Aid Night for Parents at Westford Academy
Tuesday, October 11th at 6:30 (Performing Arts Center). MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financial Authority) will be presenting an overview of college financial aid processes, applications and programs (FAFSA, CSS, Merit Aid, etc) followed by a Q&A session afterwards.
PSAT Information
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c-I_JRxTgscwIkHBd2PDZ_PtEZVrSj4TmqLo...
***AP EXAMS REGISTRATION DEADLINE: SEPT 30th***
For more information about the exam registration process, steps, policies and all deadlines, parents please visit the WA Counseling page, under the AP Testing Registration tab or students can view registration info and steps in AP Google Classroom 2023.
https://www.westfordk12.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif5181/f/uploads/ap_testing...
SAT Math Prep Course - The Roudenbush Community Center
The Roudenbush Community Center is offering an in-person one night SAT Math Prep Course on September 28th. Students will take actual SAT practice tests and will learn strategies for taking the SAT. Please go to the Roudenbush website for more information.
https://www.roudenbush.org/service-page/sat-math-cram-prep-course-sept-2...
Compost Driver Volunteers Needed for 2022-2023
Would you like to help our schools compost their fruit and veggie scraps at Westford Academy? For the 2022-23 school year we need volunteers to transport bags of food scraps, twice-a-week, from the Crisafulli school over to Westford Academy, where students make compost. Volunteer drivers can sign up even if they can only commit to transporting food scraps once or twice-a-month. Compost drivers get a free bag of WA’s good, good Compost! If interested contact Sharon at westfordcommunitycompost@gmail.com
United States Attorney’s Office - Virtual Internet Safety Presentation
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 inperson meeting. The presentation will focus on prevention by educating parents and community members how to help keep children safe online. We 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. Registration link to register:
https://usao.webex.com/mw3300/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=usa...
College Rep Visits Week of 9/19 - students must register in SCOIR
Monday September 19th, 2022
-Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 8:50 - 09:30 AM, PAC
-Florida Institute of Technology, 10:00 - 10:40 AM, Counseling Office
-Rutgers University (New Brunswick), 11:00AM - 11:40 AM, Counseling Office
-Lesley University, 12:50 - 1:30 PM, Counseling Office
Tuesday September 20th, 2022
-Illinois Institute of Technology, 8:50 - 9:30 AM, Counseling Office
-Indiana University (Bloomington), 10:00 - 10:40 AM, Counseling Office
-Muhlenberg College, 11:00 - 11:40 AM, Counseling Office
-Drexel University, 12:50 - 01:30 PM, Counseling Office
Wednesday September 21st, 2022
-Case Western Reserve University, 8:50 - 9:30 AM, Counseling Office
-Purdue University (Main Campus), 10:00 - 10:40 AM, Lecture Hall Room 144
-Endicott College, 11:00 - 11:40 AM, Counseling Office
-University of Toronto, 12:50 - 1:30 PM, Counseling Office
Thursday September 22nd, 2022
-Mitchell College 8:50 - 9:30 AM, Counseling Office
-Union, 10:00 - 10:40 AM, C, 11:00 - 11:40 AM, Counseling Office
-Clarkson University, 12:50 - 1:30 PM, Counseling Office
-Bucknell University, 4:00 - 4:50 PM, Virtual
Friday September 23rd, 2022
-Worcester State University, 8:50 - 9:30 AM, Dean’s Conference Room
-Johnson & Wales University (Providence), 11:00 - 11:40 AM, Counseling Office
-Saint Joseph's University, 12:50 - 1:30 PM, Counseling Office
-Lafayette College, 3:00 - 3:40 PM, Virtual
Senior Presentations
Below are the senior presentations that were given to students and parents/caregivers on 9/13.
Student College Presentation
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ER2RdV1Y2ga7iMJJaU_4Ayzm8jxE5KRh/view
Parent/Caregiver College Presentation
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QA0Q89Y7Aw-AEmN3Ic3qQlnoMwfzi3Pv/view
Please reach out to your counselor/your child's counselor with questions.
CEREMONY TO HONOR CAPTAIN JOSEPH READ, PARTICIPANT IN THE BOSTON TEA PARTY (FAIRVIEW CEMETERY at Main Street & Tadmuck Rd, WESTFORD, Saturday OCTOBER 15 1PM) The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum (306 Congress Street, Boston MA) is hoping to find and honor the participants of the Boston Tea Party by placing a special medallion at their gravesites in time for the 250th anniversary of the famous American historical event. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty and their supporters protested "taxation without representation" by boarding a ship at Griffin's Wharf and dumping 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor (about 45 tons, worth over one million dollars today). The event was considered to be the first major act of defiance to British rule and it inspired and rallied the 13 colonies in the fight for American independence. One of the men on board that night has been verified as Captain Joseph Read (1716-1795) who is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westford. Captain Read, who fought in the Revolutionary War and was a member of the Massachusetts Third Provincial Congress, was at 57 one of the oldest of the known Tea Party participants. The Westford Cemetery Department, the Veterans Services office, the Westford Historical Society & Museum, and the Westford Minutemen will be pleased to host representatives from the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum and see Captain Read receive the honor. Please join us for a ceremony to place Captain Read's medallion on October 15, 2022 at 1pm in the Old West Division at Fairview Cemetery (close to the middle entrance). We thank the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum for making this happen.
From the Yearbook Advisor
We are creating the 2023 WA Yearbook and we need your help! Below is a link to the website that was created to inform you of deadlines and procedures.
https://www.westfordk12.us/wa/wa-yearbook
In school Back to school promotion: Order your copy of the 2023 Yearbook between now and Oct 30 and get your child's name embossed on the outside for FREE. Please email Gina Mustoe for details: gmustoe@westfordk12.us
Senior Parents: I understand that an email went out earlier this week from Jostens/Legacy yearbooks promoting the parent ads. This IS a valid link to the site and NOT spam. The PDA tributes are due Dec 11 and will be completed completely online. Please reach out if you have any questions. https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/ybAdDesigner/1065285/-/20220830225112...
Have a great weekend!
Respectfully, Jim Antonelli