Address: Wellington Elementary School 121 Orchard Street, Belmont, MA 02478
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Dear Wellington Families,
We can’t believe that it is almost time to welcome your children back to school. We have been busy preparing for our students’ arrival and are excited to begin the school year together. This letter contains a lot of important information for the beginning of the school year. Thank you for reading through all of it carefully.
The first day of school for grades 1 - 4 is on September 7th. Weather permitting, we will begin the day by lining-up outside together at 8:30 AM. We will line-up in age order, with first grade standing closest to the building and 4th grade closest to the playground. The teachers will gather with their students before bringing them inside as a group beginning at 8:40 AM. Please see the map below for details. Kindergarten students do not have school on September 7th but will have an optional short visit in the morning for those who are available. Kindergarten begins on the 8th and the 9th.
On all subsequent days children will enter at the door indicated in the map below. Families dropping-off children by car should enter on Orchard Street, follow the designated signs, pull-up as far as possible, and only let children out on the building side of the car where the curb is painted yellow. Car drop off at any other locations in the school is not permitted. Please remember to follow the one way signs surrounding our school. Staff will be available to welcome your children into the building starting at 8:30 each day. Instruction begins at 8:40, so please plan to arrive with enough time to allow your children to be in their classrooms by 8:40. Kindergarten teachers will meet students who walk to school outside near the blacktop during the first week of school.
Dismissal for grades 1 - 4 on the first day of school is at 11:40 and no lunch will be served. Dismissal on the first day and all subsequent days of school will occur in the manner described in the map below. In order to protect the safety of our students, elementary families should never drive on our campus during dismissal and there is no car pick-up at the end of the school day. Dismissal is at 2:50 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and on Wednesdays at 1:40, with the exception of early release days. The first two days of kindergarten are half days; dismissal is at 11:40.
Students who take the bus arrive in the doors near our gym and walk directly to class with age-appropriate adult supervision. In the afternoon students who are taking the bus line-up in the hall and are directed by staff to their buses when they arrive at the building.
Traffic can be busy and parking is limited around Wellington. Please follow all marked signs and only park in designated areas. Our school parking is for staff only, and is only available to those families who require handicapped parking or who struggle with mobility. For detailed information about parking and driving around our neighborhood, please see our Family Handbook.
Please join me in welcoming new teachers:
Additionally, we are happy to have several new aides and assistants:
Classroom teachers have been in touch with specifics about what children need to bring to school each day. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. All students should come to school with a snack, a water bottle, and a lunch if they are bringing it from home. Masks are optional this year. All school meals are free again this year and will begin on September 8th. Families who qualify for free and reduced breakfast and lunch should continue to fill out a free and reduced lunch form which is available at this link.
We are committed to the health and safety of all members of our community. Please see the Superintendent’s Health and Safety updates for more specific information.
Please save September 29th in the evening for Curriculum Night. More details will be coming soon.
Our Public Health Nurse, Terry Grimm, will be available to receive students’ medication on Wednesday from 9 -2. Please reach out to her with questions or concerns about medication at tgrimm@belmont.k12.ma.us.
Please explore the website to find our school calendar, information from our PTO, and our Family Handbook. The website can be translated into a range of languages, read aloud through our web reader, and the calendar can be synced to your devices. It can be found at this link.. We are still updating the website, and will continue to do so over the course of the next few months.
We know this was a lot of information and we are incredibly grateful to you for taking the time to read it. The most important message we can share with you is that we can’t wait to see your children. They are the reason that we come to work each day and they fill us with pride and joy. Thank you for sharing them with us.
With warmest wishes and great excitement,
Heidi Paisner and Molly Carone