Friday, September 30, 2022 | Westford Public Schools

Good afternoon!

A busy week at Westford Academy! Just a reminder that our Back to School Event is Thursday. See the notes below. This is great time to put a name with a face as we begin the school year 2022-2023.

I am sure many of you have heard by now that we have a new image for our Westford Academy Ghost. The new ghost was designed by a senior student, Julia Donescu and it was voted on by students in grades 6-12. Congratulations Julia! The mascot image has been sent to our clothing vendors for future use on W.A. apparel/swag!

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Deans Corner:

***CLUB PICK UPS after school: Please pick your student up in the front of the building anytime after 3pm during club days. We have LATE BUSES outback and they can’t navigate easily with all the cars. Thank you! ***

DANCE TONIGHT! Reminder to all students attending tonight's Homecoming Dance that all school rules apply. The entire WA administration team in addition to police details and chaperones will be in attendance. This is our first “dance” since before Covid so we hope all students have a fun and safe evening.

BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT! Next Thursday we will be hosting our annual BTS event. Please remind your student to make sure they fill out their classroom schedule on the form provided by their Dean. This will be the schedule our parents/caregivers will need to follow during this exciting evening. We look forward to seeing you.

From the desk of Jeff Bunyon, Athletic Director

Robinson Tennis Courts Update - We are very excited to report that the Robinson Elementary School Tennis Courts project is progressing nicely. A considerable amount of time went into the engineering of the design and the infrastructure including a new drainage system. The newly designed parking area access point perpendicular to Robinson Road will alleviate the parking issues at the Elementary school. The fence poles are in and the fencing should be installed later this week. The base is just about complete and is on schedule to begin paving next week! If the weather cooperates, the final binder coat and striping will follow soon as after. The 8 new Tennis Courts that include 6 lined pickleball courts will be a tremendous facility for our entire community to enjoy!

Student Picture Day - Friday, October 7, 2022

shop.legacystudios.com

ONLINE CODE: 3542F23

Makeup Photo Day - Thursday, December 8, 2022

Parent Volunteers/CORI Applications

A reminder that parent volunteer CORI applications for the 2022-2023 school year will only be processed through December 2022. As of January 1, 2023, CORI's are only done on an emergency basis. If you plan on volunteering during the 2022-2023 school year, you need to be CORI'd by January 1. If you even think there may be a chance that you will be volunteering in some capacity at Westford Academy, please come to the Main Office between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM to complete a CORI application. For your convenience, CORI applications will also be processed during the Back-to-School event on Thursday, October 6th.

WA Agenda Books for Sale

Westford Academy agenda books will be available for sale at the Back-To-School event scheduled for Thursday, October 6th. Agenda books are $10, cash only.

AP Registration Without a Late Fee is Tonight!

The deadline for AP registration without a late fee is tonight, September 30 at 11:59pm. Please visit this website https://www.westfordk12.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif5181/f/uploads/ap_testing... for detailed instructions. Registration (with a late fee) will end on October 15 - no exceptions!

Please contact Mr. Doherty (bdoherty@westfordk12.us) and/or Mrs. Birnkrant (lbirnkrant@westfordk12.us) in counseling if you have any questions.

From the Westford Academy Counseling Office

The October 6th ZAPS test prep seminar to be held at Westford Academy has been cancelled. Doorway to College Foundation will be offering a live national virtual webinar for ZAPS PSAT/SAT Test Prep on Saturday October 8th, 2022 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Central Time. Students can register through Doorway to College www.doorwaytocollege.org or call 877-927-8378. Registration Deadline is Thursday, 10/06/2022.

Students' Mental Health and Well-Being

In an effort to promote the health and well-being of students at Westford Academy, students will be periodically provided with questionnaires, surveys, and screeners that address issues related to mental health. The information gained will support the school's ability to provide comprehensive and timely support for your child if they require assistance. Students can opt-out of filling out any questionnaire, survey, or screener that they are not interested in taking and you can opt-out of your child at any time by contacting your child's counselor. We are committed to ensuring your child is supported academically, socially, and emotionally, and we look forward to partnering with each of you towards achieving this goal.

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

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.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PMpElvwQogqvPOAgG26l0xATo4UzwzLN/view?u...

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...

WA's PRIDE Community Service - Ghosts & Goblins

My name is Melanie Jozokos and I am a Health & Child Development teacher at WA. I am also one of the class advisors, along with Mr. Michael Towers, for this year’s freshmen class, the Class of 2026! I just wanted to reach out about an exciting opportunity available to all students.

For the last four years I have been running WA's PRIDE Community Service organization. One of the programs that falls under this organization is Ghosts & Goblins. It's an after-school mentor program in which high school students are paired up (or grouped) with elementary school students who may need a little extra one-on-one time in their day.

WA students may volunteer for this program and earn community service hours for their time. The program generally runs from late October to the week before April vacation with about 18-22 total meetings, each lasting approximately 45 minutes to an hour. This program is a BIG COMMITMENT for students. If they commit, they MUST attend all meetings unless they are sick. The elementary students count on them to be there and have a difficult time when their high school friends don’t show up.

Students need their own transportation to and from the schools (unless they are able to walk to the schools - for instance students may walk in groups from WA to Robinson or Crisafulli - but will need their own transportation home after the program is over).

If students are interested in the program I will be holding 2 informational/sign up meetings for them in the coming weeks. If they plan to participate in the program this year they need to attend ONE of the meetings.

Here are the dates and times: Friday 10/7/22 at 7am in room 111 at WA (this is also school picture day, so please plan accordingly) Tuesday 10/11/22 at 2:05pm in room 111 at WA

I am still waiting to hear back from some of the elementary schools to confirm which ones will be participating this year and which days/times each school will pick. However, I wanted to put the word out in case students are interested. I am hoping to have all the details in time for the meetings with students.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions! mjozokos@westfordk12.us

For any student who would like more information, they can see me in room 111 at WA or they can join the Google Classroom for WA PRIDE. The Code is: 2wf3vgp

Have a great weekend! Welcome October!

Respectfully, Jim Antonelli