Dancing with the Wrentham Stars- March 8th- Please support WEST

I know, I can't believe it either. Yes, I  am one of the "star" dancers for this outstanding community event. After ten weeks of dancing lessons, I will be performing with my instructor/professional dancer Ashlee Bourque of Showcase Dance Productions in Wrentham. Fortunately for me, Ashlee has a great sense of humor and a lot of patience. Please support WEST by "voting" for me at  http://www.wce02093.org/

 Dr. Seuss Day-2013

School Committee Chairman Mr. Ed Goddard with his daughter Calvi and the rest of Ms. Frizzell's class. A special thank you to all of our visitors on March 1st.

 Wrentham Schools Receive USDA Award

 I am pleased to announce that the Frederick J. Delaney School and Charles E. Roderick School  have been awarded the Healthier United States School Challenge Bronze Award from the United States Department of Agriculture.

The HUSSC is a recognition award for schools who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence with both nutrition and physical education to promote a healthy school environment. We are now one of the 4% of schools in the United States that have won this prestigious award. It is a wonderful accomplishment for our Food Service Department and the entire district!

 Here is why we were selected:

• Lunch menus included broccoli, sweet potatoes, veggies sticks, romaine salads, low fat milk, whole wheat breads, whole wheat pizza and low fat entrees.
• Parent volunteers, members of the PTO, and staff from Hockomock YMCA have participated in taste tests with our children. Our kids try and enjoy "not so traditional" school lunch foods like black bean salsa, edamame and steamed broccoli.
• The food service staff is terrific. Led by Food Service Director Judy White, they love their jobs and it shows! They model our core values and give service with a smile! All of our members belong to the School Nutrition Association of Massachusetts and attend many after school trainings to help keep our children healthy.
•  Our Physical Education teachers and our Health teacher are committed to wellness. The yearly Gym Show, Field Day and the daily physical education classes are keeping our kids moving. In addition, our comprehensive Health curriculum is helping our students make great choices.
• Our Nursing staff is an integral part of our team in Wrentham. Nutrition education,vision and hearing testing, and food allergy trainings. Our nurses are great! 

Congratulations to our outstanding staff for making wellness a priority in Wrentham!

The USDA will visit Wrentham in April to present the awards

A related article:

http://wrentham.patch.com/articles/wrentham-school-district-awarded-health-and-nutrition-recognition

As always, your feedback is welcome.

Jeff Marsden

School Security-Always A Focus At WPS

As a result of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, school districts all over the country are reviewing their procedures, enlisting experts, and making improvements to their current practices. We have gone through the same process in Wrentham. In addition to working closely with the Wrentham Police Department, we also held a parent meeting to gain additional input. About 45 parents attended the meeting where the focus was on suggestions for improvement, as well as explanations of our current practices. A parent (who works as a director of security) in attendance commented,"I think we can all leave here tonight knowing that the schools are doing a good job with the two most important aspects of building security; access and communication." Even though we meet the recommendations of Homeland Security, one of our core values in Wrentham  is continuous growth and learning.  To that end, we have taken the following actions since our parent meeting:

• The entire staff met with the administrative team to review the updated lockdown procedures.
• School Committee Chair Ed Goddard and I met with Chief Anderson and Lt. McGrath to discuss the possibility of adding a School Resource Officer (SRO) for the district.
• Improved visitor signage was placed in all buildings.
• We moved foreword with the bidding process for reconfiguring the main entrance of the Delaney School.
• Panic buttons with a direct line to the Wrentham Police Department will be installed strategically throughout the district during the week of January 22nd.
• Staff members will be attending additional training organized by District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Rowe.
• A local security expert will do building "walkthroughs" and attend our next lockdown drill and give us recommendations.

In addition, we will be sending home information to all parents prior to our next lockdown drill. This notification will include information on preparing your children prior to the drill.

Please see a related story from this week.

http://wrentham.patch.com/articles/wrentham-school-committee-looking-into-new-security-measures


As always, your feedback and comments are welcome.

Jeff Marsden
Superintendent of Schools




Link to Parent Letter of December 14th.

http://wrentham.k12.ma.us/C1/School%20Notices%20from%20the%20Princi/December%20Notices/Safety%20Letter%20to%20Parents.pdf