Happy Vacation

🎨This week, all schools in the WRSD celebrated the District Art Show at Wachusett. Mrs. Finkler has the unique opportunity to work with a group of artists spanning 9 grade levels! Choosing pieces was no easy decision, and I was honored to be a part of choosing this year's pieces. It really is amazing to see the amount of talent we have here at TPS!   I'd like to take a moment to recognize the TPS artists who were chosen to have their art displayed:  Justine Root, Benny Wojnarowicz, Effie Ciara, Emma Whitcomb, Cortland Finkler, Flora Trowbridge, Maddie Melehov, Carter Chabot, and Elianna Serewicz.  

🏀This afternoon we celebrated the kick off of vacation with a student/staff basketball game! Middle school students who signed up to play battled staff in what was a very entertaining game! I'm sorry to say, the staff won! It sure was fun and what a perfect day to have it outside!  I always love an opportunity to get our entire student body together for a special moment and memory. 

♬Mark your calendars that on May 30th, there will be two music performances during the school day at TPS!  At 9:00 the band and chorus (grades 5-8) will be performing for parents.  At 1:00, grades k-4 willbe peforming. More details will come, but I wanted to give you the heads-up so you can plan to attend!

🎓Eighth Grade Families: The middle school team will be sending home some important eighth grade-related important reminders in the next few weeks. The biggest thing to note is the tentative scheduling of the graduation for 6/10 at 6:00pm @ WRHS. 

🠞A Message from Nurse Karina to Seventh Grade Families: During the week of April 28nd, as required by state law, TPS is conducting a screening program related to the use of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances. The Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) process will screen all 7th graders. All screenings will be conducted confidentially by our school nurse in private one-on-one sessions. We will utilize the CRAFFT screening tool, the most commonly used substance use screening tool for adolescents in Massachusetts. The goal of this program is to let the students know that we are available to reinforce healthy decisions and to assist them in obtaining support if needed for substance use-related problems.If you would like to opt your student out of the screening, please fill out the form in this link and send it to the school nurse before 4/28/2025. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Karina at (978)464-5507 or email at Karina_Abbascia@wrsd.net.

🌞Reminder vacation is next week!  I hope you and your family find some time to enjoy what I hope is spring-like weather and to decompress and reset! We'll see you back on 4/28! 

                                                            

Electronic Blue Folder

Looking Ahead: 

• Monday (4/28) D Day
• Tuesday (4/29) A Day
• Wednesday (4/30) B Day
• Thursday (5/1) C Day
• Kindergarten Field Trip to the Hanover Theater
• Friday (5/2) D Day
• Celtics Spirit Day - Let's support our hometown team during the playoffs! Wear your Cetlics gear, green or your favorite basketball team gear!
• 1st Grade Field Trip to the Ecotarium

So long ELA MCAS & Spirit Week ahead!

👊ELA MCAS is behind us.  I'd like to celebrate all of our TPS students who worked hard, put forth their best efforts, and maybe even overcame technology glitches!  Looking ahead, Math MCAS is scheduled for grades 3-8 on May 5th and May 6th.  

⭐Reminder that report cards are posted for grades 6-8 today through the Powerschool portal! 

🎓Parents of 8th Grade, we are tentatively scheduled for graduation on 6/10 barring any more snow days or scheduling conflicts! Pencil it in on your calendars!

🚙I'd like to take this opportunity to revisit the parent pick up line in the afternoon.  We've been having some difficulty with cars doubling up in line a little too early, making it hard for families who are dismissing their students.   Moving forward, please don't start doubling up until 2:40 PM and stay in the line on the left until then. Please let grandparents, babysitters or other caregivers know this too.  I might  suggest to the families who are dismissing their students that you arrive before 2:40 so you can get easily in and out of the parking lot!  

😀Next week we'll celebrate spring and vacation with a Student Council sponsored Spirit Week!  The flyer is in the Electronic Blue Folder, but you can find the spirit days listed in the Looking Ahead dates  and photo below!  

🍃Yesterday was Trail Guides Day! Throughout the year volunteers/naturalists work with our middle school students teaching them about nature and exploring the nature trails around TPS. On Thursday, our Trail Guide Middle Schoolers lead grades k-5 through the trails, teaching them about their surroundings and the cool facts about nature they have learned! It may have been a little cold, but the sun was shining and everyone had fun.  Such an awesome opportunity for all of our Warriors.  Thank you to the volunteers, our Middle School Trail Guides and to Mrs. St. Pierre for organizing this program each and every year!   

🎂Today was JiJi the Penguin's birthday! JiJi is the penguin is the character from ST Math.  Students in grades k-5 use ST Math to stregthen their math reasoning and problem solving skills. Jiji is a beloved character that makes the challenges fun. He appreciated his visit to some classrooms today and the birthday cards and songs! 

💬Please read the note below from the District's ELE Department:

Dear Families,  We are excited to announce the launch of our new Facebook Group for Multilingual Families in the WRSD. This group is a space for parents to connect, share resources, and stay updated on events happening around the community.   Click on the link ELPAC Facebook Page to access the Facebook page. You can also find it on the WRSD website under the ELE Department.  

                                                            

Electronic Blue Folder

Looking Ahead: 

• Monday (4/14) C Day
• Pajama Day
• Tuesday (4/15) D Day
• Favorite Color(s) Day
• District Art Show 6:00-7:30 @ WRHS
• Wednesday (4/16) A Day
• Sports Jersey Day
• PTA Meeting @ 6:00PM
• Thursday (4/17) B Day
• Decade Day (Dress in a decade from the past!)
• Friday (4/18) C Day
• TPS Day - Wear your TPS gear!
• Student/Staff Basketball Game
• Earth Day Clean Up

• April Vacation 4/21-4/25

Celebrating the Arts!

 🎨This week we welcomed artist Bren Bataclan.  Sponsored by the PTA, Bren shared his love of art and also his talent! On Monday he met with the entire student body and shared about his art journey. He involved students in drawing exercises and collected samples to be his inspiration for the cafeteria mural. He worked all week in the cafe drawing and painting. Even staff had the opportunity to paint! He incorporated students' designs and ideas into the mural and added life to the room! The students really loved watching him work, having the opportunity to talk with him and ask questions, and of course give him feedback that he was doing the best job!  The mural came out amazing. It put a smile on everyone's face when it was revealed on Friday morning.  A huge thank you to Bren Bataclan and to the TPS PTA for the opportunity and for the joy the mural has brought and will continue to bring to TPS.  Be sure to check out the TPS Instagram (@tpswarriors) for pictures posted of the whole process and the finished product!

🎭Congratulations to the cast and crew of the The Outsiders and also to Mr. Nichols and Mr. Cormier!  Last night was the opening night and boy was it great!  I always enjoy seeing our TPS Warriors embrace their talents and share them with the TPS Community! If you didn't see it last night, don't forget you can come to tonight's show at 6:00! Bravo!

⭐MCAS is next week on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Grades 3-8 will take the ELA test on both of these days.  Mrs. Andre's class made some amazing posters for the "big kids" wishing them good luck! So cute!

🕗Just a reminder that 8:25 is the official start of school.  The office has received some recent questions about why the front door is closing at 8:25 and students are no longer being let in without a parent. I have noticed there is quite the back up around 8:22.  To avoid that, I would suggest arriving a little earlier. Thank you for understanding! 

🚒This morning we had a routine fire drill.  Students and staff did an awesome job of getting out of the building quickly and quietly. The PFD was so proud! 

📸On my walk throughs this afternoon, I captured this moment (pictured below) in kindergarten where a few 8th graders in Student Council were helping the kindergarteners to shop at the Prince Plaza. Moments like these remind me why TPS is such a special place. While it may sound cheesy, it's true!  How amazing it is that we have 9 grade levels of students under one roof and have the opportunities for kids of all ages to interact with one another in different capacities?!  I couldn't figure out who was enjoying this moment more - the 8th graders or the kindies!  Thank you Student Council for your help with our PBIS Prince Plaza! I love a team effort. 

                                                              

Electronic Blue Folder

Looking Ahead: 

• Monday (4/7) B Day
• Bren Bataclan Assembly - Thanks PTA!
• Tuesday (4/8) C Day
• ELA MCAS Grades 3-8
• Wednesday (4/9) D Day
• ELA MCAS Grades 3-8
• Thursday (4/10) A Day
• Student/Staff Basketball Game @ 3:15
• Friday (4/11) B Day
• PTA Glow Dance 

Stop & STEAM

🙌This morning the entire TPS community took pause to Stop & STEAM.  Organized by a committee of teachers led by Mrs. Chapalonis and Mrs. Robichaud, cross grade level buddies assembled together to design and build a device/structure.  Inspired by creatures in the "How to Catch a..." book series, students worked together to create some sort of "trap" that would catch leprechauns, garden fairies, tiny dinosaurs and more!  Student athlete volunteers from Framingham State joined in the fun, working with students, engaging in engineering design conversations and having fun! It was amazing to see what the students from k-8 were able to design and build.  I have no doubt they would be able to catch any creature with their ingenuity! There were a lot of pictures and videos taken. Unfortunately I couldn't fit all of the amazing pictures here on the blog. Be sure to check them out on the TPS Instragram (@tpswarriors)! 

🎒Every Spring seems to sneak up on me and with it...thoughts of next fall. We will be starting the placement process in the elementary school soon. As is the district policy and best practice, we solicit information from parents in the process. Please remember that we are not always able to honor requests, as our goal is to develop balanced classrooms and we have limited rooms to place kids. This year, we are accepting feedback on the placement process through this form. We will close the form on April 25th.

📲Since we are now in the busy season, just a kind reminder to make sure you are putting any dismissal changes into School Dismissal Manager. These changes could include, but are not limited to, Outsiders practice, theater club, chess club, track and field, Primitive Skills,  Legos, and more! We want to make sure we are sending your child to the right place! 

✋We would like to welcome Melissa Feller to TPS as our new part time Special Education Teacher.  Melissa comes to TPS with a range of experience and we are thrilled to have her joining us. Melissa is a dedicated literacy and learning specialist with a background as a certified speech-language pathologist. She has experience designing educational materials for reading and math, both in classrooms and online, for students in grades K-8. Currently working toward her PhD, Melissa focuses on understanding how students learn to read and how special education processes can be improved. She is passionate about using research to help all students, particularly those with learning differences, succeed, and enjoys working with parents to navigate the special education process. Melissa has worked in schools, private practice, teacher training programs, and educational publishing. She is also a mom to (one future) and two current TPS students.  Families of students who will work with Melissa will be notififed by Melissa and their current case manager. 

🖍Please read the following message from our very own Project 351 Ambassador, Jude Hebb!

Hello everyone! My name is Jude Hebb and I am an 8th grader at TPS. I was nominated to be the Project 351 Ambassador for the town of Princeton for 2025. Project 351 is an independent nonprofit organization that brings together eighth graders from every city and town in Massachusetts to build unity, cultivate kindness, and transform lives and communities through service. For our Spring Service Project, I will be hosting a clothing drive at TPS to benefit Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit organization which provides clothing and other essentials to children in need. It is their mission to end clothing insecurity and to supply children with items that ensure they feel safe, warm, comfortable, valued, and ready to learn and thrive. From March 31 to April 11, please consider donating new, like new, or gently used clothing to Cradles to Crayons. Let’s make a difference together! I appreciate your time and your consideration. I hope you all have a great weekend!  

Please check out the Electronic Blue Folder for the flyer pictured below!

🎭 Don't forget! TPS presents "The Outsiders" on April 3rd and April 4th at 6:00! You can find a flyer with more information in the Electronic Blue Folder! 

🐰A note from the WRHS DECA Advisor, Ryan Cody: "For the third straight year, our Wachusett DECA students are offering an Easter Egg Hunt hiding service.  To keep it simple, our students buy plastic Easter eggs and name brand candy, fill the eggs with said candy, then hide the eggs the night before Easter in your family's respective yards."  Please see the flyer with more information in the Electronic Blue Folder! 

Have a great weekend!

                                                             

Electronic Blue Folder

Looking Ahead: 

• Monday (3/31) A Day
• Bren Bataclan Assembly - Thanks PTA!
• Tuesday (4/1) B Day
• Wednesday (4/2) C Day
• Thursday (4/3) D Day
• The Outsiders Play @ 6:00
• Friday (4/4) A Day
• Red Sox Spirit Day! - Wear your Sox gear or favorite baseball team!
• The Outsiders Play @ 6:00

• Friday (4/11) Save the Date - PTA Glow Dance!

Caution: Entering the Busy Season

📕The Book Fair was a hit! Thank you again to Jessie Trowbridge, the Library Volunteers, and parent volunteers/PTA for making it happen!

⭐Reminder that report cards are posted for K-5 today through the Powerschool portal!  For more information about the report card, check the Electronic Blue Folder! 

👟Track & Field Participants: Reminder that physicals (completed in the last 13 months) must be submitted in order to participate. Please send them to Nurse Karina! 

💻Last week I shared that WRSD has a new Facebook page (Wachusett Regional School District). This week, I'd like to share the new page on the WRSD website!  Please check out the FY26 Budget Information page  for facts/data/explanations about this year's budget. All of this information will surely come in handy for the Town Meeting in May. 

🎭TPS presents "The Outsiders" on April 3rd and April 4th at 6:00!  While the performance is still a few weeks away, I thought you'd like to know so you can put it on your calendar now! You can find a PDF of the photo above in the electronic blue folder! 

🦋 Lisa's Pollinator Garden is holding a fundraiser.  You can order a t-shirt or assorted plants for the garden! Check out the flyer with more information and links to place orders in the electronic blue folder!  You can also see the latest news from the Pollinator Garden there as well! 

🎶Don't forget about the up coming Glow Dance on April 11th from 6:00-8:00! It's a perfect night for some family fun! Check out the TPS PTA Website to order your tickets! For more information, check the Electronic Blue Folder.  

🌎Be sure to check out the Town of Princeton Earth Month Clean Up (4/1-4/30)  flyer in the Electronic Blue Folder!

Electronic Blue Folder

Looking Ahead: 

• Monday (3/24) D Day
• Monty Tech Interview for 8th Graders
• Tuesday (3/25) A Day
• 3rd Grade Field Trip to the Concord Museum
• Wednesday (3/26) B Day
• WRHS visits 8th Graders for course selection
• Thursday (3/27) C Day
• Friday (3/28) D Day
• Wear your TPS gear or red today!

The Book Fair is here!

🕮Next week the Scholastic Book Fair will be set up for shopping. Each classroom will have time to visit and make purchases. Check out the picture of the flyer above for your child's day and time. Volunteers to help manage the register and organize shelves are still needed! If you are interested and available, please reach out to jessie.trowbridge@gmail.com to sign up! Community Shop Night will be on Thursday 3/20 4:30-7:00.  You can set up an e-wallet for your child by visiting this site. Check out the letter in the Electronic Blue Folder for more details!  Thank you to the Library Volunteers and PTA for organizing this experience for the students!

🐕The kids have been asking me lately about ordering Cruiser "merch". I know Ace shared it in the past, but I will share Officer Holly's email again for you! If you are interested in ordering a t-shirt or hoodie, send her an email at hdoyle@princetonpolice.org. 

🖳WRSD now has a Facebook Page!  Be sure to check out  District's Facebook page for updates, important information and to be in the know about all things WRSD!  

👛You may have heard about Prince Plaza. This is another PBIS Initiative here at school. For the past 2 years, we had Prince Plaza set up in a small office space where the students could go and shop using their Tommy Tickets.  This year, the Prince Plaza is on wheels!  With the help of the student council, the Prince Plaza is stocked weekly and can be wheeled to every classroom.  Not only are there fun little prizes for purchase, but there are some pretty amazing experiences, too.  I'm sure you have seen photos on Instagram of students cashing in their Tommy Tickets for opportunities like lunch with a teacher, basketball with the principal, lunch with Cruiser, bus announcing and more!  The students are excited to see the Prince Plaza arriving in their classrooms and to have the opportunity to shop with the Tommy TIckets they have earned! 

⭐Dear Middle School Families,

We are excited to invite you and your family to a special event at Wachusett High School on March 20th at 7pm! Come enjoy an evening of entertainment as some of our seniors take the stage to be hypnotized by Dan Candell, a renowned hypnotist. This family-friendly show is sure to have everyone laughing!

Event Details:

• Date: March 20th
• Time: 7:00pm
• Location: Wachusett High School Auditorium
• Tickets: $10 (Available for purchase at the door)

This event is brought to you by the Wachusett Mountaineers Booster Club, and promises to be a fun and unique experience for students, parents, and the whole family. It’s a great way to support our high school seniors while enjoying a light-hearted and safe atmosphere.

We hope to see you there for a night of laughter and entertainment! - Mike Pratt, WRHS Principal

Have a great weekend!

Electronic Blue Folder

Looking Ahead: 

• Monday (3/17) C Day
• Wear green today!
• Tuesday (3/18) D Day
• Book Fair
• Wednesday (3/19) A Day
• Half Day - dismissal at 11:55
• Book Fair
• Thursday (3/20) B Day
• Book Fair
• Community Shop Night @ the Book Fair 4:30-7:00
• Friday (3/21) C Day

 

Warm Welcome

This has been a great first week in my new role! I was greeted by students each morning with such sweet and throughtful comments and questions about being the principal.  When I visited classrooms I was welcomed with sweet principal greetings. It made this week so very special! I am still smiling. 

When I came to TPS, I came with the hopes of further developing the PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) structure that was in place.  For the next few weeks, I'd love to share more of what that looks on the day to day here!  Last year the PBIS Committee decided to celebrate students by electing "Warriors of the Month".  These students are recognized in each grade level for being a Warrior who has the qualities of being respectful, responsible and ready to learn. Each month their names are announced and their pictures are hung on our Warrior of the Month bulletin board located in the main hall. It's heartwarming to see classmates and peers celebrate the monthly nominees.  Next time you are in the building, check it out!  You can also find photos of the Warriors of the Month and other fun pictures posted on the TPS Instagram @tpswarriors ! 

Spring Pictures will take place on Thursday!  Check those backpacks for the order form!                                                                                    

Middle School Families, here is a word from WRHS: Join the WRHS French National Honor Society for a magical French Movie Night in the Black Box Theatre on Friday, March 21st! We’re bringing Paris to you with a special screening of Ratatouille (English subtitles included!). Don’t miss out on this unforgettable evening of film, food, and French culture! RSVP here!

$5 admission at the door 

Free popcorn! 

FNHS Bake Sale – Delicious French treats! 

Crêpe Bar – Made fresh for you! 

A fun-filled night with friends & family! 

Electronic Blue Folder

Looking Ahead: 

• Monday (3/10) B Day
• School Committee Meeting (Budget Hearing) @ 6:00 at WRHS
• Tuesday (3/11) C Day
• Wednesday (3/12) D Day
• Thursday (3/13) A Day
• Spring Picture Day
• Friday (3/14) B Day
• Kindergarten Hike @ 12:45

Don't forget 3/19 is a half day! Dismissal starts at 11:55!