JWMS Weekly Family Newsletter #1

Greetings to all of our friends and families in the John Wallace community. We hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe and healthy summer! Here are a few updates and important information to ensure a smooth start to the 2026-27 School year!

A warm welcome goes out to our grade 5 students and families and new students and families to the JWMS district! We are so excited you are joining the Wildcat community!

Our first day of classes will be on Thursday, August 27th. Our regular school day hours are 8:05 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. The building opens at 7:55 a.m for students.

Our teachers have been hard at work preparing for school opening and will spend the first few days of school welcoming students, reviewing all routines and procedures and building our classroom communities.

Thank you to all of our staff for their hard work and preparation for the start of the school year!

8/26- Self-Guided Building Tours- 12:00 pm-2:30 pm

8/27- First Day of School!

9/4- School Kickoff Pep Rally

9/7 - Labor Day - Schools/Offices Closed

9/8- JWMS Late Buses Begin

9/8- JWMS PAC Meeting (7:00 PM in Media Center)

9/9- Board of Education Meeting - 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

9/10 - JWMS Open House - 6:30 PM - 8:00 pm

9/10- JWMS Reopening Event 5:00PM - 8:00PM

9/10- JWMS Time Capsule Opening 5:30PM

9/15- PL Day - 1:05 Dismissal

9/17- Wallace Under the Stars (PAC Fundraiser & Food Truck Night)- 5:30 pm -8:00 pm

9/21 - No School- Yom Kippur

9/23 - Board of Education Meeting - 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

We are so excited for our opening day on Thursday, August 27th! It is going to be a great school year!

Students will be brought into the building at 7:55 a.m. and dismissal will be at 2:55 p.m.

Grades 6-8 will enter through the main entrance and move to their designated homerooms. Grades 7 and 8 will turn right once they enter to head toward their classrooms while grade 6 will continue straight toward the newly finished grade 6 wing. All grade 5 students will meet in the auditorium so their homeroom teachers can help show them how to get to their classrooms. Please share this information with your child so they are aware of where to go on the first day. Please review your child's schedule with them prior to the start of school and please help us out by having your child know their assigned homeroom. Thank you!

Once in homeroom, your child will receive their final 2026-2027 schedule. Our entire staff will be stationed in the halls and these areas in the morning to help out and assist our students in getting to homeroom, please encourage your child to ask for help at any time.

The JWMS staff look forward to partnering with you and your family on a successful school year!

All visitors are required to use our service window to take care of a good deal of school business items (dropping of and picking up forms, lunches, dismissals, etc.) We are also asking you please limit early dismissals or late arrivals for essential reasons only.

Due to our own dismissal procedures, we are unable to dismiss your child between 2:30 and 2:55. Please pick up your child prior to 2:30 if they have an afternoon appointment.

For early dismissal, students will be dismissed from the building and will be escorted out to the vestibule.

Any visitors that need to enter our building will be required to provide identification, undergo background check through our visitor management system, and wear a visitor's badge during their visit. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with our security protocols.

The drop off location for students is at the John Wallace/John Paterson loop as in the past. We have staff out on duty in these areas to assist students as they exit your vehicles.

Students should not be dropped off prior to 7:45 am. Our staff begin their outdoor bus duty at 7:45 am.

Please do not drop your child off anywhere on Halleran Drive especially at the curb areas as this will cause serious safety hazards with oncoming traffic. Please use the designated drop-off area only.

Wallace parking lots are unavailable for student drop-offs/pick-ups due to the fact that these areas are reserved for our buses and staff vehicles.

Bus routes are now available in PowerSchool. To view your child's bus letter and route, log into PowerSchool and click on the Transportation tab. Please note that bus routes often change from year to year, so do not assume your route will be the same as last year, and be sure to check back on August 21st to confirm there have been no final updates.

Please give a warm welcome to our new staff members at JWMS!

Betsy Ruiz (School Resource Officer)

Amanda Whitney (Reading Interventionist)

Erica Bowen (Academy Math Teacher)

Christine Gamari (Assistant Principal)

Please ensure your child’s medical information is up to date, including all required physicals, immunizations, and medication forms. To ensure a smooth first day, students missing updated documentation will not be able to start school on August 27th.

Newington Public Schools uses ParentSquare for district and school communication, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent, using their preferred email address and phone number on file with your student’s school. We encourage parents to access their accounts so they can download the mobile app and update their preferences on when and how they are notified.

In addition to routine information, the notification system will also be used to notify you when your child is marked absent from school. Emergency broadcasts will be sent to the primary phone number and all guardian contact numbers. For more information, visit www.bit.ly/NPSparentsquare.

Dear parents and guardians, 

Please complete the NPS Yearly Update Form by submitting one form for each child you have attending Newington Public Schools.

To access the form, log into the PowerSchool website with your parent account, (do not log in with your child’s student account), click Forms in the left menu, then [NPS]Yearly Update Form. You must submit this form even if you have no changes. You can also complete this form in the Powerschool app on a mobile device by clicking More in the bottom right corner then Forms, then [NPS]Yearly Update Form.

If you cannot log into your account, please use the forgot password link on the login screen.

If you do not have a parent account, please contact the office of your child’s school to request the parent account creation letter. 

Sincerely,

Newington Public Schools

Please be advised that our school will be open for parents and students for informal (self-guided) tours on Wednesday, August 26 between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

We will not be able to have formal tours as we will be deep into final preparations for the opening of school. Also, Wallace staff members will not be accessible for parent meetings during this time as staff will be attending convocation, staff meetings, and professional development.

You may have noticed an exciting update to your 7th grader’s Encore schedule this year! A new 26-day course, Math Investigations: Thinking Like a Mathematician, has taken the place of Library/Media.

As Dr. Brummett shared in a message to families on February 18, 2026 regarding our middle school math program (The Algebra Success Pathway), this class was originally introduced as "Bridge to Algebra." We updated the name to Math Investigations: Thinking Like a Mathematician to better reflect what this unique experience is all about.

Rather than focusing on speed or memorization, this course invites students to explore rich mathematical ideas through hands-on problem-solving, teamwork, and creative thinking. Here is how this course benefits every student:

Throughout these 26 days, students will make predictions, test ideas, learn from productive struggle, and build confidence tackling unfamiliar problems. Mistakes are celebrated as part of the learning process.

Our goal is simple: to help every student leave this course with deeper conceptual understanding, greater confidence, and a new appreciation for what it truly means to think like a mathematician.

The PAC is looking for some dedicated JWMS Families to fill open positions. Please see below:

Co-President

Treasurer

Secretary

If you are interested in joining please see them at our Open House on September 10th.

Mark your calendars for Open House on Thursday, September 10! We’ll share more details in the newsletter during the first week of school, but you won't want to miss this special evening. Together, we’ll be hosting two incredible events at JWMS: celebrating the official grand reopening of our newly renovated wings and opening our 25-year-old time capsule located in the main office! If you are still in contact with former staff or classmates please let them know about these historic events. All are welcome!

Please be on the lookout for my weekly newsletter which will arrive on Friday afternoons once the school year begins. The newsletter will be sent via a ParentSquare post.

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year! We will, of course, inform you of all important updates, if, and when, they happen. We truly appreciate your patience, flexibility, and support.

Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at mtirillo@npsct.org 860-667-5888 X3201 or Mrs. Gamari, Assistant Principal at 860-667-5888 X3204 cgamari@npsct.org.

Sincerely,

Marco Tirillo, JWMS Principal

8:05am to 2:55pm

8:05am to 1:05pm

8:05am to 1:05pm

10:05am to 2:55pm