8/16 Letter to Families

Posted Date: 08/16/2024

August 16, 2024

Dear WHS Families,

We are excited to welcome you to the 2024-25 school year! The first day of school is August 27th. We are busy readying the school for your arrival. Next week our Student Government leaders will be in the building for their retreat, followed by our Link Leaders as they gear up to lead our 9th grade orientation. Students are at the center of all we do and it is so great to see them at the center of these programs, taking initiative and leading with integrity.

As you will see below this new year also comes with new beginnings. Some of our staff members have changed roles while we have also welcomed new colleagues to our team. This is sure to be a wonderful year at WHS! As part of our continuous growth WHS is honored to be the recipient of generous grants from the Weston Education Foundation and the WHS PTO to support our partnership with Challenge Success throughout this next school year. One component of the work will be seeking feedback from students, staff and families. I hope we can count on you to provide us the needed feedback as we look to the future and continue to student’s well-being, engagement and belonging. 

Senior Yard Signs

It’s time to order your lawn signs for the CLASS OF 2025! This is the largest fundraiser for the Class of 2024.  All proceeds go directly to helping to reduce costs for Senior Specials throughout the year as well as the Post Graduation Event (PGE) in June.

Signs will arrive in August, prior to the start of school and be placed at the end of your driveway.  If you have any questions, please email Megan Burns at meganschmaling@gmail.com. Cost as of August is $50 and the sale will close on August 19th (Monday) or when the last sign is sold. 

PACT (Advisory Program)

For our new and 9th grade families, our advisory program continues to evolve. Known as PACT (Positively Achieving Community Together), it meets once weekly on Wednesdays, mid morning throughout the school year. Students stay with their PACT Advisor for all four years. This is a great opportunity for students to be connected to one adult in the building while also participating in various lessons from Portrait of the Graduate work, our counseling curriculum, connections activities, Student Government spirit activities and much more.

Student Schedules

The PowerSchool Parent Portal will be opening at 10am on August 21st for students and families to access 2024-25 schedules. Please keep in mind that when the portal opens there is initially a lot of traffic which could cause some access issues. Please continue to try throughout the day. If you continue to run into trouble please email your child’s counselor. If you have trouble logging into PowerSchool please contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@westonps.org.

Schedule Changes

Per our Program of Studies and conversations last spring regarding schedule requests, schedule changes will only be considered for the following reasons:

At Weston High School we consider a student’s schedule a contract. We spend an incredible amount of time creating our master schedule to fulfill the needs of our students. Changes are not taken lightly and should be made only under the above parameters and through consultation with a student's school counselor. 

School Schedules

• First Day of School Schedule (August 27, 2024)

• Bell schedules (including lunch rotation and PACT days) can be found under School Information on our website or HERE.

• Letter Day Rotation Calendar can be found on the same page by scrolling down.

Facilities Upgrades

Thank you to the entire crew in Facilities and Grounds for all of their hard work this summer!

• Our front gardens received a makeover to match the student work in our beautiful interior pollinator garden

• Windows were replaced along the front view of the school in the library and A wing hallway.

• HVAC upgrades were completed is a few areas, we’re still hopeful our D-wing will be air conditioned in the coming years 🙂

• We have new & beautiful front steps to support safe access to the building during the winter months.

• Side and back driveways are in the process of being paved

• Hot water is now available throughout the building!

Camp College Success

A huge thank you to Meredith Jackson and Randi Green for the incredible work it takes to run Camp College which took place this past week. It was once again a huge success and seniors left feeling some relief and prepared as they head into the fall. Thank you to Meg Sullivan, Arielle Luksberg, Eric Horton and Mike Parlanti for your support, planning and facilitation of the event as well. Thank you to our teachers who also came to help our seniors as they started on their essays: Tina Conetta, Kara Swezey, Venessa Eisenman, Amy Holmes, Eric Jennette, Damien Long and Nick Torres. We hope our seniors are feeling supported and encouraged!

Communication Protocol

We have updated our communication protocol. Please remember that the best person to contact is the staff member closest to the situation. Often this is the classroom teacher. For concerns regarding anything that is going on in a classroom or grades this is your first step. The protocol is intended to support the most effective and efficient system to resolve any concerns. The protocol can be found on our website under School Information or HERE.

It has been a busy summer for us at Weston High School. We are welcoming a number of new staff members (this may be a record) and we’re excited to support those who have requested new roles:

Assistant Principal (M-Z): Dr. Parthena (Penny) Proskinitopoulos joins the WHS leadership team having served as a school leader in Westport for the past three years.

Assistant Principal (A-L): Mr. Nicholas Torres, who has been serving WPS as our Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction Leader is eager to work with our students and families!

Assistant Director of Pupil Personnel Services: Mr. Matthew Hartigan has extensive experience in special education coming out of the Greenwich Public Schools and is excited to join the Weston High School team.

Administrative Assistant: Ms. Jennifer Herford is joining us in the main office after working in special education at the middle school and will be primarily assisting Ms. Conetta to help the building run smoothly and continue to support families.

Art Teacher: Ms. Sarah Webb enjoys helping students develop creative ways to express their ideas, and she is excited to be teaching at Weston High School along with her role at Hurlbutt Elementary School.

Band Director: Mr. Geoffrey Brookes comes to Weston from Derby High School where he was an integral part of the performing arts community and Teacher of the Year for Derby last year! 

Board Certified Behavior Analyst: Mr. Chuck Kochan has served as a special education teacher and behavior analyst, committed to encouraging and motivating the students and staff with whom he works.

English Curriculum & Instruction Leader 6-12: Ms. Nicole Clements comes to Weston with over ten years’ experience as an ELA teacher, curriculum developer, and executive functioning tutor. 

Mandarin Teacher: Ms. Li (Leah) Qing taught Mandarin Chinese in private settings for several years and is eager to share her knowledge of the Chinese language and culture with our students.

Math Teacher: Mr. Matthew Filip has decided to take all of his administrative experience back into the classroom as a math teacher at WHS and we are so excited for his students!

Multilingual Learner Teacher: Mr. Michael Keleher has taught French and Latin in MA, NY, and CA and hopes to continue fostering students’ love of language and culture in his work in Weston.

NEASC Coordinator: Mrs. Trinity Klein, in addition to her English teaching role, will be supporting WHS as we welcome the New England Association of Schools and Colleges in the spring for their decennial visit where we will showcase all of the great work taking place.

Orchestra Director: Mr. Glen Ullman comes from Norwalk Public Schools, having served as an orchestra director and brass instructor and looks forward to making music with Weston’s string ensembles.

Paraprofessional: Ms. Dawn Murray has retired from her special education teaching position and we are so fortunate to have her stay with us to support our students in special education. 

Paraprofessional: Ms. Chelsea Troxell returns to Weston with extensive experience as a paraprofessional and is excited to connect with WHS students and staff.

Science Teacher: Mr. John Macaluso has embraced opportunities to engage students in hands-on experiences investigating the natural world, and he is thrilled to bring this passion to a high school setting.

Science Teacher & Student Support Specialist: Mrs. Erica Zirulnik derives energy from engaging with students and looks forward to doing so in her new role.

Security Specialist: Mr. Rob Daubert is moving over to the high school from the middle school, we’re excited to have Mr. Daubert join our team!

Social Studies Curriculum & Instruction Leader and WHS Social Studies teacher:  Ms. Shawna Johnson is a teacher leader with an interest in cultivating inclusive curricula and she looks forward to continuing this work with the Weston team.

Special Education Teacher: Mrs. Marcie Ames is excited to continue her work at Weston High School and we are excited to see her relationships with students grow at the secondary level. 

Special Education: Mr. Benjamin Neumann is taking his administrative experience back into the classroom where he is looking forward to supporting students in smaller settings and continuing to develop close relationships with families. 

Substitute: Ms. Michelle Black, we’re looking forward to her involvement in our performing arts program as well! 

We are looking forward to seeing our students and families back in the building, the summer is always too quiet. As always if you have any questions, concerns or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me: meghanconetta@westonps.org.

Kindly,

Meghan

Upcoming Events:

August 21: PowerSchool Parent Portal Opens at 10am

August 23: New Families Orientation (Grades 10-12) WHS Library 1pm

August 26: 9th Grade Orientation (9am -1pm) New Gym (enter through Athletics Entrance)

August 27: First Day of School

September 2: Labor Day (No School)

September 16: BOE Meeting

September 26: WHS Back to School Night

October 3: No School (Rosh Hashanah)

October 14: No School (Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day)