Published in the August 25, 2017 edition.
Supt. of Schools Dr. Kim Smith sent this letter to parents this week regarding the opening of the 2017-18 academic year on Thursday, September 7.
It has been an exceptionally beautiful summer and we hope this annual school-opening letter finds you relaxed and refreshed. As cooler evenings and earlier sunsets signal the approach of September, the excitement and anticipation of school opening builds and we enthusiastically await the arrival of our students!
The first day of school is Thursday, September 7, a full day for all students. Parents of PreK and Kindergarten students should follow special first-day schedules provided by their school principal.
It has been a productive summer and we are grateful for the hard work and commitment of our faculty and staff.
Teachers are preparing their classrooms and participating in curriculum workshops and professional development activities.
Clerical staff, counselors, nurses and administrators have worked tirelessly to prepare the many details necessary to ensure a smooth opening for all of us.
IT staff has been busy refreshing our fleet of student devices and our custodial staff has worked extremely hard to make sure that our schools are safe, clean, and attractive for school opening.
School hours and lunch prices are as follows:
• Doyle Early Childhood Center: full day programs 8:45 a.m. to 2:10 p.m., half day programs 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.; lunch price $2.75.
• Elementary schools: 8:40 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; lunch price $2.75.
• Galvin Middle School: 7:50 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.; lunch price $3.
• Wakefield Memorial High School: 7:30 a.m. to 2:05 p.m.; lunch price $3.
We enter the 2017-18 school year with a renewed focus on developing strong reading fluency and comprehension with the Readers’ Workshop curriculum model in Grades K-4, along with a continued emphasis on building our students’ skills in Writing and Math understanding. Across Grades K-12, we introduce new, high quality, standards-aligned Science, Technology and Engineering curriculum.
We also begin a year-long plan to research and review World Language curriculum resources and alignment. The Wakefield Public Schools also implements, for the first time, a Social and Emotional Health and Learning strategy to support every student.
Effective communication with families continues to be an important goal of the Wakefield Public Schools. Please access our district website, Facebook page, and Twitter account by visiting wakefieldpublicschools.org. Please call, email, or request an appointment with school or district administrators at any time.
