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John Wallace Middle School

Preparation. Respect. Integrity. Determination. Excellence.

Superintendent Weekly Update #18

Posted Date: 01/11/26 (05:30 PM)
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Superintendent's Update

Weekly Update #18 January 9, 2026

Diverse students

Leveling Up Culturally Responsive and Engaging Pedagogy "With a Little Help from our Friends"

District Intended Outcome: That we maintain the high performance of students meeting and exceeding district standards/expectations, increase performance of students performing below district standards/expectations, and reduce the predictable performance gap between groups of students performing at or above standards/expectations and groups of students performing below standards/expectations.

Our Educators and Students are Doing Amazing Things!

Google Vids and AI in ECE Spanish Projects
Jamie Rodriguez, Spanish teacher at NHS, shared that ECE Spanish students just finished a unit on myths and legends. The culminating project was to create their own original legend. They wrote their legend in rough and final versions, then they made it into an audiovisual presentation to share with classmates- in the long-standing tradition of storytelling that so many cultures have!

Many used Google Vids and AI to help them, but the project required their own ideas and writing to complete. Here are two to check out:

Stars
Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards
The Newington High School art teachers are proud to share that students Aidan Rodriguez, Nicholas Winiarski and Olivia Zajack received awards at this year’s Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards! Congratulations to all for their achievements in this competition! An exhibition of the accepted artworks will be held at the Silpe Gallery at the Hartford Art School from January 12-30, 2026.

A PDF featuring their artwork and information about the exhibition can be found here.
Olivia Zajack Family Clean-up Painting Honorable Mention
Aidan Rodriguez Borikén Experimental Photography Gold Medal
Newington High School Achieves AP Honor Roll
Newington High School has earned a place on the AP® School Honor Roll for the 2024-25 school year! You can view our school's recognition details below. Congratulations to our staff members who have done outstanding work to welcome more students into AP courses and support them on the path to college success.
AP Honor Roll Progress Report
AP Honor Roll Progress Report
Josiah Sims

Josiah Sims Scores 1000th high school career point!

NHS Senior, Josiah Sims, scored his 1000th high school career point during a basketball game against Hall Hall on Thursday. The Nor'Easters went on to beat Hall 67-52. They are currently 3-0 this season. It was an amazing game.
helping hands

Everyday Hero 2025-26

Linked here is the Everyday Hero nomination form for this school year.
Coming Attractions

Coming Attractions

Equity

Equity

Celebrations and Condolences

Celebrations:

Condolences:
Wendy Crouse, former Assistant Superintendent, lost her newborn granddaughter, Charlotte Grace Crouse, on December 26th.

Sherri Laabs, Speech and Language Pathologist at Elizabeth Green, lost her mother on January 4th.
Be Well
Maureen