Westfield Public Schools

The Westfield School Department’s Thanksgiving meal drive went into overdrive this year, with co-chairs Sue and Ralph Figy and Eileen and Jimmy Jachym ordering and delivering turkeys and all the fixings to a record-breaking 230 families this year, 80 more than anticipated. Ralph Figy said the district coordinated with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield, which is providing 100 meals for area families. The school volunteers put together 230 meals, so that between them 330 families would receive meals. https://www.masslive.com/news/2022/11/thanksgiving-effort-goes-into-overdrive-to-help-families-in-westfield.html

Share the Warmth Coat drive is ON! From now until Dec. 14th, visit any of our participating members locations to make a donation to benefit Westfield Public School students.

On Saturday, Nov. 12, Westfield State University was the setting where hundreds of student musicians from high schools across Western Massachusetts auditioned for the Senior District Music Festival sponsored by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association. One dozen instrumental and vocal students from Westfield High School qualified for the district competition. “These students went above and beyond practicing a prepared solo on their instrument or voice, were required to demonstrate proficiency in scales and sight reading — and in some cases created on-the-spot improvisations as part of their audition,” said Westfield High School Band Director Patrick Kennedy. https://www.masslive.com/news/2022/11/westfield-high-schools-vocal-and-instrumental-students-make-districts.html

WIS had a team of girls run in the Girls on the Run 5k at Stanley Park today. They braved the cold, wind, and tough conditions to overcome the challenge. Mrs. Haramut coached the team this fall preparing for today. We are very proud of each of them to set a goal and work hard to accomplish it!

A custodian at Westfield Abner Gibbs Elementary School has been vacuuming illustrations into a rug each morning to bring smiles to third-grade students. Hank Kimball has adopted it as a routine, creating flags, trees, sailboats, and even 22News with the vacuum cleaner. 22News visited the school and spoke with Hank and the students about how this all began. The artist behind these uplifting illustrations told 22News why he began creating them. “It started with me just making the lines in the carpet with the vacuum cleaner, somebody said they really liked how it look so clean and stuff,” said Westfield Abner Gibbs Custodian, Hank Kimball. “One day I was doing it and I was like you know what let me just try a little design.” Hank adds, “it affects the children in how excited they are about it and I just thought, oh wow, that’s amazing.” It has been an experience for the students to see his work every morning as they enter the classroom. “They’re walking around the carpet trying to be careful and figure it out, and it’s like this little brain teaser,” said Carolyn Laframboise, Westfield Abner Gibbs Elementary School 3rd grade teacher. “It makes me happy and gets my mind ready in the morning,” expressed Westfield Abner Gibbs Elementary School 3rd grader Jon Baahre. While this rug has been used as a focal point for reading time, the illustrations have now brought an additional meaning to it. Hank’s art will continue to be shared with this class and many others in the future. https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/westfield-elementary-school-custodian-uplifts-students-through-rug-art-creations/

With the weather turning cold and stormy this week, School Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski is getting ready for another season of deciding when to call a snow day. It is not a call that he makes by himself, however. “We look at the weather forecast, which is a pretty good guide, although not always 100% accurate,” he said. “We check with the Maintenance Department, the Westfield Police Department, [school Transportation Director] Pam Kortarski, who checks with the bus company, and area superintendents,” Czaporowski said. ”We try to make the call as early as possible to not inconvenience families.” https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/many-factors-influence-snow-day-call-westfield-school-superintendent-says.html

Tune in this Thursday, November 17, from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. on WSKB 89.5 FM, WCPC cable channel 15, or westfieldtv.org for the next episode of "Superintendent's Spotlight". This week, we are talking with our Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Director of Special Education, and our Director of Assessment and Accountability about our Multi-Tiered system of Support. Thanks for watching!

The newest thrift shop downtown, Blessed Buys, has expanded its offerings and has made the decision to donate a portion of its profits during the holidays to families in need with children at Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue elementary schools. Blessed Buys volunteer Cindy Gaylord said that the shop had been exploring how to help charities and causes in Westfield that may not get as much attention as some more prominent ones, like the soup kitchen and food pantry. Instead of donating to a specific charity, they decided on giving directly to families in need. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/congregational-church-thrift-store-will-donate-some-profits-to-school-families.html

One week after being eliminated from the state tournament, the Westfield High School football team sought to finish the season on a positive note. Mission accomplished. Westfield rallied from a 15-0 deficit to defeat West Springfield in a high school football consolation game 24-22 Thursday night at Bullens Field. The Bombers victory cemented their final record of the 2022 season at 7-3. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/westfield-football-rallies-from-15-0-deficit-to-defeat-west-springfield-24-22.html

Stacy Burgess, principal of the Paper Mill Elementary School, said the school has been talking a lot about community this year in a reset to their positive behaviors and interventions and supports (PBIS) program. “We talk about building a community in the school,” Burgess said, and about being a part of the larger community. As a part of the conversation, the school invited first responders and other helpers in the community to bring their vehicles for their first “Touch-a-Truck” event on Nov. 9. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/paper-mill-elementary-school-invites-westfield-first-responders-utilities-to-help-build-community-at-touch-a-truck.html

If you missed "Superintendent's Spotlight" this morning, please click on the link below. This week, we recognized Sesame Street Day. We also talked about the results from our Youth Risk Behavior Surveys administered to students in grades 8, 10, and 12 last spring. Thanks for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qODyYic7Urg

The School Committee took the first steps on Nov. 7 to create a new facilities subcommittee, to oversee the capital needs of the district and to create a capital plan for future years. Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said he had been talking with new committee member Michael Tirrell, who also chairs the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, about the new committee. Tirrell said when he was sworn in that he was interested in serving on it. “Clearly, with our aging buildings, typically, facilities are underfinanced. This is a way to push facilities to the forefront,” Czaporowski said. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/westfield-school-committee-taking-steps-to-form-capital-planning-panel.html

Westfield Public Schools and Offices will be closed on Friday, November 11, for the observance of Veterans Day. Thank you.

The School Committee considered a proposal Nov. 7 to add school safety attendants to Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS), starting with veterans and retired first responders. Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said the proposal came out of a meeting with Lesley Lambert, the VIPS coordinator; Christopher Rogers, administrator of student interventions and safety for the district; state Sen. John Velis; and city Veterans Services Director Julie Barnes. “The idea is to add a layer of protection at our schools, … to deter by having skilled eyes on site,” Czaporowski said. He said the main goal is to have educators and students feel safe. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/westfield-looking-at-former-military-first-responders-as-school-safety-attendants.html

Tune in this Thursday, November 10, from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. on WSKB 89.5 FM, WCPC cable channel 15, or westfieldtv.org for the next episode of "Superintendent's Spotlight". This week, we are talking with our Director of Curriculum and Instruction and our Substance Abuse Counselors about the results of our youth risk survey that administered last spring. Thanks for watching!

Westfield High School students Sydney Drugan and Rebekah Ruiz, who are taking Renee Sweeney’s Principles of Engineering class, recently participated in the 2022 STEM Week Challenge in their class and won $10,000 for their school. The money will be used to fund four internships in the community this spring and summer. The STEM Week challenge was to interview a professional in a field that interested them, and submit the interview online. Drugan said they reached out to Tighe & Bond, and interviewed civil and environmental engineer Tiffany LaBrie, manager of the water resource line. #STEMWeek #AchievingExcellenceTogether https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/teens-interview-project-wins-10k-to-support-internships-at-westfield-high-school.html

A reminder that there is no school for students on Tuesday, November 8. Thank you!

If you missed "Superintendent's Spotlight" this morning, click on the link below. This week we talked about special education programming in the district with our special education leadership team. We also had a little fun with National Cliche Day. Thanks for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMQb5MWMoaw

A new Exploring group organized by the Western Massachusetts Council of the Boy Scouts of America is starting up for young people in sixth grade to 20 years old, and adult mentors, to learn about the aviation industry. Art Lobdell, assistant director of the council, said BSA Aviation Exploring will hold its first meeting at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 12, in the second floor conference room of the Terminal Building at 110 Airport Road, Westfield. Lobdell, who came to Massachusetts in 2020, said aviation is one of the major clusters for BSA Exploring. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/aviation-exploring-scout-group-taking-off-at-westfield-barnes-airport.html

One year ago, the Westfield Technical Academy High School boys soccer team was shut out of the Western Massachusetts tournament because of a complicated mathematical formula they just could not solve. This year, the Tigers taught everyone a history lesson they will never soon forget. Westfield Technical Academy sophomore Sean Johnson delivered the game-winning penalty kick, striking a shot into the back of the net in a shootout, sending the top-seeded Tigers into a frenzied celebration as they outlasted the No. 3 Lenox Millionaires, 1-0, in a grueling Class D boys soccer final Tuesday night at Clark Field in West Springfield. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/11/westfield-technical-academy-boys-soccer-claims-first-ever-western-mass-class-d-championship.html