Frequently Asked Questions

The house system is the heart of the Middle School, providing both an academic and self-esteem promoting structure for the young adolescent in grades 6-8. A house is a transitional structure, which melds the department emphases of the High School with the traditional “homeroom” pattern of the elementary schools.

The houses have teams of teachers in English, history/social science, science, and mathematics. The house facilities include an office, a conference room, and classrooms. Grouping is heterogeneous, except in mathematics classes. All students take courses outside the house in health and physical education, the arts, foreign languages, and other electives.

Click here for a listing of the morning and afternoon Middle and High School Bus Routes.
Be aware that for the Middle/High School buses, the AM routes and bus designations are different from the PM routes and bus designations (AM-number coded, PM-letter coded, Late Bus-color coded).  Please contact the Transportation Office 781-786-5280 with any questions.

Buses depart from the Middle School shortly after dismissal.  All students should leave the Middle School at dismissal time by bus or parent pickup except for the following:
•   to meet with or be under direct supervision of a member of school staff, or
•   to participate in supervised extracurricular activity (such as athletics, drama, music, etc), or

Middle School Afternoon Bus Schedule
Bus/Day: Monday-Friday
Dismissal Bus: 3:15 PM
Late Bus: 4:30 PM
Late Activity Bus: 5:30 PM
Please note that there is no 4:30pm Boston bus on Friday.

A student phone is located in the front foyer of the Middle School. Students who miss their bus should notify the Main Office immediately.

Attendance is taken in homeroom at 8:45am each morning.  The day ends at 3:15pm Monday through Friday.  On the first Wednesday of Oct, Nov, Dec, Feb, March, April, May and June the day ends at 12:45pm, after lunch has been served.  (Specific dates for first Wednesdays can be found in the PTO calendar.)

Buses drop students outside the front doors of the Middle School. Students arriving before 8:30am will wait outside of the building. No supervision is provided before 8:30am.

No. While the overall dismissal process is supervised, each student is responsible for managing his/her own after-school dismissal plan. The Middle School does not monitor individual dismissal arrangements and therefore does not require notes for regular dismissal plans. We do monitor dismissal changes for student pick-ups (e.g. dismissal time changes, someone other than parent will be picking up the student, etc.)

Notes from home are required for late arrivals and early dismissals. Students will not be dismissed early without a note. Students entering or leaving the building during the school day must always check in/out with the main office.
Parents are expected to call the absence line preferably before 8:15 am on the day(s) of their child’s absence or tardiness. A call should be made each day that a child is absent, unless consecutive days of absence are known in advance and can be confirmed on the first day out. The Middle School absence line is (781)786-5299.  When a student is absent and the school does not receive a call, administrative aides at the school have to make phone calls home confirming that the student is absent with the parent’s knowledge. Although parents may be inclined to email their child’s teachers to inform them of an absence, it is still essential to call the absence line for accurate record keeping and to avoid these time-consuming confirmation calls.

If students are absent for one day,  they should contact classmates for assignments and check in with the teacher upon return.  If 6th graders are absent for two consecutive days, or 7th and 8th graders are absent for three consecutive days, you may request homework assignments by calling your child’s house office.  Please call by 9:00am so that homework can be collected for you to pick up after 1:30pm.

Bringing snacks to school is unnecessary because there is no snack time built in to the schedule (unless decided otherwise by Teams), however, students may want to bring snacks to keep in their bags for after- school activities.

Middle School students eat lunch by grade in the cafeteria. The Middle School lunch program includes choices from the salad bar, deli or hot lunch. The lunch menu can be found on the Food Services page.   Students may pay by cash or take advantage of an individual account credited with a balance when a parent writes a check payable to the “Weston School Lunch Fund” or makes a Food Service Online Payment. Checks should be submitted directly to the Middle School cafeteria. Note: Any balance remaining at the end of the prior school year will be available to use in the subsequent school year(s), including any balances remaining from Field School.
For more information about funding that account, please contact MS Food Service Manager, Rosemary Vanaria at 781-786-5640 or at vanariar@weston.org

Yes. If you have forgotten your PIN or you did not attend the Field School, your PIN is the 5-digit code at the top of your schedule.

Your homeroom teacher will explain this on the first day of school.

Rehearsals are held as classes during the school day and should be reflected on the student’s schedule and report card. The Weston Music Department also offers a large private lesson program after school. More information about the music program is available on the school website at www.westonschools.org. Many of the instrumental and choral students take advantage of this private lesson program. There are 15 excellent private teachers offering instruction on all of the band and orchestra instruments, as well as voice. Please contact Chris Memoli, Music Director, with Questions at 781-786-5800 or at memolic@mail.weston.org.

Middle School students eat lunch by grade in the cafeteria. The Middle School lunch program includes choices from the salad bar, deli or hot lunch. The lunch menu can be found on the Food Services page.   Students may pay by cash or take advantage of an individual account credited with a balance when a parent writes a check payable to the “Weston School Lunch Fund” or makes a Food Service Online Payment. Checks should be submitted directly to the Middle School cafeteria. Note: Any balance remaining at the end of the prior school year will be available to use in the subsequent school year(s), including any balances remaining from Field School.
For more information about funding that account, please contact MS Food Service Manager, Rosemary Vanaria at 781-786-5640 or at mcdonaldr@mail.weston.org

Math placement for grade six is determined by a number of factors including the student’s placement test score, standardized test results, performance on Continental Math problems and teacher recommendation.  Both the Grade Six Level One and Grade Six Level Two courses study the same mathematical topics.  The Level One course assumes a higher level of skills and approaches the mathematics using more abstract and complex examples.  Students in either course will be well-prepared for the seventh grade program.  Grade Six Level Two with Topics Support students have indicated the need for additional support and help in mathematics.  These students are enrolled in Grade Six Level Two as well as an additional supporting math course that meets two days a week and is taught by members of the mathematics department.  A summary of Math Placement for Grade Six can be found online at www.westonschools.org

If you have questions about your individual placement, please contact James McLaughlin, Math Department Head, at 781-786-5800 for more information.

Every Middle School student should come during the first short week of school with a pencil, pen and writing paper.

Although preliminary supply lists for all grades are sent in the August mailing, students are not expected to have all the listed supplies when they arrive at school on the first day.  During the first few days of school, teachers may supplement the lists that were mailed home.  All supplies will need to be purchased by teacher-assigned due dates, and many may be purchased at the Middle School supply store which typically opens soon after the beginning of school.

On the first day of school each student is assigned a locker near their homeroom class.   As part of the orientation process, teachers show students how to open their lockers and are available to help any student having trouble with his/her locker combination.

Students may play on the east playground (just outside the lunch room) during their lunch period, weather permitting.

Gym clothes and a combination lock.  Students who choose to wear shorts in gym class should be sure that the hem of their shorts reaches at least to their fingertips with their arms at their sides.  Locks are available for rental from the school for $5/year. It is strongly recommended that students buy or rent a lock and keep all their belongings secure in their lockers while they are in gym classes. During the winter, gym classes will have a swimming rotation in the Middle School pool.

Parents are encouraged to visit this website frequently and subscribe to the MS Daily Announcements located on the top of the MS home page, Westword, and join the PTO/ get calendar.

Outside of the classroom, students and parents are encouraged to communicate with teachers either by voice mail or email. Email addresses for Weston school staff are: lastnamefirstinitial@weston.org.  When awaiting a response, remember that teachers are typically in classes or in meetings during the school day.  If you call to speak with a teacher during the school day you will be transferred to the teacher’s voicemail.

Contact the house aide for your child’s grade.  You can schedule a ten-minute conference for the first Wednesday of each month.  First Wednesday conferences are not held in September, January or June.

Some first Wednesday afternoons are reserved for parent conferences after students are dismissed at 12:45, as noted on the school calendar. Unlike elementary school, it is not expected that every parent sign up for a first Wednesday conference.  Please sign up for a conference only if you have a specific question or concern regarding a particular class.  Additionally, to allow for wide access to conference times, please do not sign up for conferences in consecutive months.

Back to school night is the best venue to receive an overview of the curriculum and teachers’ expectations.  Please email teachers if you think your child is doing well, but simply want an update on their progress.

Parents who wish to see teachers should call the house aide in advance to set up ten- minute appointments with one or more teachers.