February 2-6, 2026 Dear Weston Middle School Community, Happy Friday and Happy February! We are excited to welcome a new staff member to the WMS community. Mr. Michael Ferrari will be joining our sixth grade Innovators team as a social studies teacher on February 23rd.We are excited about the experience, leadership, and dedication he will bring to our students. Mr. Ferrari currently serves as an eighth grade social studies teacher and team leader for the New Britain Public Schools. In this role, he has demonstrated strong instructional leadership, a commitment to his students, and the capacity to support and engage a wide range of learners. His current principal described him “as very personable and a good communicator” with strong pedagogical skills that allow him to scaffold and enrich for all types of learners. During the hiring process, which included multiple interviews as well as a demonstration lesson with WMS students, Mr. Ferrari demonstrated many qualities that we believe he will bring to his work with the Innovator team. He is personable, passionate, and a strong advocate for student centered learning, collaboration, and inclusive instructional practices. We believe that he will be a positive influence on our sixth-grade students as they continue to grow as learners and citizens. I also wanted to extend a special thank you to Ms. Allison Anderson who has served as the long term substitute for your child in social studies since the beginning of the school year. She has served our school with dedication and grace, and as she moves onto her next role at WIS, we wish her well. Important Upcoming Dates February 4 - Eighth Grade Transition Night for Students and Parents at WHS 7:00 PM (Snow Date: February 5) February 6 - Early Dismissal 11:45 February 11 - Coffee with the WMS Counselors on Wednesday, February 11th from 9:00–10:00am in the WMS Think Tank February 10 and 12 - Grade Level Assemblies, Black History Month February 13 - No School, Professional Development Day for Staff February 16-20 - Winter Break, No School February 24 - No Place for Hate, Activity 2 Ninth Grade Transition Information The following LINK contains information from WMS administration to eighth grade parents about the transition process. It contains important dates and a timeline of the process. Here is a LETTER from WMS Principal Meghan Conetta with information about the upcoming Eighth Grade Transition Night for Students and Parents on February 4th. Coffee with the Counselors - Save the Date - February 11 Open to all 6th–8th grade WMS parents, this informal gathering is a chance to connect with school counselors Lauren Davi, Jen Doyle, and Ande Ogden. We’ll spend time talking about the emotional lives of middle schoolers and how we can best support them, both at school and at home, in the new year. We'll have coffee, but bring your questions and join us for conversation and connection. WMS Student Newspaper Our newspaper staff has been hard at work on the first edition of the Warrior News. It is linked HERE. Enjoy. One School, One Book - Coming in March We are excited to read a book as a school community. It's a great opportunity to engage in a common experience and talk about the characters, issues, and themes in the story. Every student will get their own copy. The title is a secret but stay tuned!. Bricks and Mortar Bricks and Mortar is a newsletter from Superintendent Erica Forti that contains updates and important information about Weston's facilities. Holocaust Remembrance Day On January 27th, students in grades 6,7, and 8 participated in powerful presentations connected to Holocaust Remembrance Day. In grade 6, students heard the story of Marc Fontaine's family and their resistance and heroism during World War II in Holland. Grade 7 students met with Rabbi Friedman to discuss the meaning of symbols - from daily symbols embedded in our lives like the Nike swoosh or the American flag to hate symbols. Eighth graders heard from student representatives from Weston High School's Jewish Student Union who showed students a documentary that they made with a Holocaust survivor. For all three assemblies, students were attentive, respectful, and asked really insightful questions. Members of WMS's Jewish Student Union presented to eighth graders. Mr. Marc Fontaine sharing his family's story with sixth graders. Rabbi Michael Friedman teaching seventh graders about symbols. Parent Talk This past week the WMS and WHS PTOs co-sponsored a talk with educator and psychologist Charlie Del Santo on the topic of executive functioning and middle school students. The turnout was large and parents had many questions about how to help their children improve their executive functioning skills with homework, household chores, and daily life. One big idea that she highlighted - which is a talk in and of itself - is the importance of emotional regulation when modeling, teaching, and reinforcing executive functioning skills. Without emotional regulation, a middle school child will not be ready and present to learn. Another major point she made was that executive functioning skills are skills that can be explicitly taught to children. With a quick assist from AI, here are some concrete STRATEGIES AND SUGGESTIONS. Team Landing Pages This link is to team landing pages for each of our six teams. It is a great hub for team based information about homework and team news. Reminders Chromebooks We will not be loaning out Chromebooks to students who forget their Chromebook at home anymore. This is due to a lack of extra Chromebooks. Please remind your child that they should be bringing their Chromebook back and forth between school and home every day and should be fully charging their Chromebook each night. Drop Off / Pick Up Please remember to use the drop off/pick up line in the back of the school at arrival and dismissal. The parking lot across the street from the front of WMS is for juniors at the high school to park. Scenes from WMS Jason Bluestein's picture Jason Bluestein Jason is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters