It’s been a busy summer here at WJSHS, and we are excited to have students back on campus for what we expect will be an awesome 2022-2023 school year! As the first day of school approaches, we want to provide our families with information that will be useful moving forward. Additionally, there have been a number of changes made at WJSHS, and we wanted to share those with you, as well.

Leadership team

Administratively, there will be a new building principal at WJSHS this year. Ms. Jessie Richards comes to us from Niskayuna CSD, where she was the director of secondary special education. Prior to that, she served as an assistant principal in Schenectady City Schools, and has several years of experience as a special education teacher and behavior specialist. Ms. Richards will be accompanied by a familiar face at WJSHS as Mr. Michael Foust returns to WJSHS as assistant principal for grades 6-8. Mr. Foust spent the last three years at WES in the same capacity.

School Hours, Class Schedules

This summer, we were able to align our schedule to better suit our students’ and faculty’s needs. Junior High (grades 6-8) students will start their day at 7:40 a.m., while Senior High (grades 9-12) students will begin at 8 a.m. Grades 6-7 will dismiss at 1:49 p.m., but grades 8-12 will dismiss at 2:09 p.m. due to additional academic requirements.

Tentative schedules for grades 6-12 students are available on the Parent Portal and the Student Portal. For help with access to your parent or student portal account, go to: www.watervlietcityschools.org/academics/watervliet-city-school-district-parent-portal/.

Bus Cards

Transportation postcards have been mailed to families of students who ride the bus to school. If you do not receive your child’s information, please email Roni O’Brien or call 518-629-3224.

ParentSquare

Lastly, our schools are using ParentSquare for all communications with families and staff. This includes text and email alerts for school closures, bus delays, news about school events and more! We encourage parents/guardians to visit www.parentsquare.com/signin to activate your ParentSquare account using the same contact information on file in our Parent Portal. If you cannot activate your account, please contact the registrar’s office at 518-629-3204 to update your contact information.

Over the summer, our faculty and staff have been hard at work preparing for the school year, and we cannot wait to welcome back our students on the first day of school, Wednesday, September 7. If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please contact the main office at 518-629-3300.

Gratefully,
WJSHS Administration