Early Steps Updates April 13, 2026

Posted Date: 04/13/26 (11:00 AM)

Early Steps Updates

Image of a corgi puppy wearing a W on its collar.

Hello School Community

Welcome to this edition of the Early Steps Newsletter! We’re excited to share the latest happenings and updates from our school community to keep you informed and engaged.

As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, we are excited to spend more time outdoors with our students! As a reminder, the weather can change throughout the day, so please be sure to send your child to school with layers.

We want to let you know that our shade shelter will be reinstalled on Monday, April 13. During the installation, the playground will be temporarily closed to ensure the safety of all students and staff.

We appreciate your understanding as we complete this important update to our outdoor space. We look forward to having the shade structure back in place soon for students to enjoy during outdoor play.

Winthrop and Hancock Street Closure

This is a reminder that Winthrop Street and Hancock Street are closed to regular traffic beginning at 8:00 AM to allow for the safe arrival of school buses and vans.

Please also remember that once a bus or van has stopped and has its flashing lights activated, vehicles are not permitted to pass under any circumstances.

These streets are active roadways, please be sure to use the sidewalks, cross at the crosswalks, and remain out of the street

These procedures are in place to protect our students as they arrive at school. It is very important that all drivers follow these protocols to help ensure everyone’s safety.

April Break

As a reminder, April Break will begin at dismissal on Friday, April 17.

School will be closed the following week and will reopen for students on Tuesday, April 28.

We hope this break provides your family with an opportunity to rest, recharge, and enjoy time together.

If you are looking for ways to keep your child engaged during the week, here are a few simple ideas:

Visit a local park or playground and enjoy the spring weather
Take a trip to the library and explore new books together
Try a family nature walk or scavenger hunt
Create art projects or build with recycled materials at home

Please note that Monday, April 27 is a Professional Development Day for staff, and there will be no school for students on that day.

We look forward to welcoming students back!

Corgi sitting in a car seat with a five point harness.

Child Passenger Safety Law Reminder

As part of our commitment to student safety, we’d like to share a reminder with our families about Massachusetts state laws regarding children riding in vehicles.

In Massachusetts Child Passenger Safety Law:

Children must ride in a federally approved car seat or booster seat until they are at least 8 years old OR over 57 inches (4 feet 9 inches) tall.
Children should remain in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the maximum height or weight limit set by the car seat manufacturer.
After outgrowing a rear-facing seat, children should use a forward-facing car seat with a harness for as long as possible.
Once they outgrow the forward-facing seat, children should use a booster seat until they meet the height requirement above.
All children under 13 years old should ride in the back seat whenever possible.

These guidelines are in place to help ensure that children are as safe as possible while traveling in a vehicle.

We appreciate your attention to this important safety information and your continued partnership in keeping our students safe.

If you have any questions or would like additional resources on proper car seat use, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Registration Information for New Students

We are excited to begin planning for the upcoming school year!

If you have received an email indicating that your child has been offered a PreK or Preschool placement for the 2026–2027 school year, please note that the registration link is now open and available for you to complete.

For our returning Early Steps families, there is no need to complete the registration paperwork again.

However, you will need to submit the following to the Early Steps main office:

Proof of Residency
An updated physical

If you have any questions or are unsure whether this applies to your family, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re happy to help!

As a reminder: We have been using a new email address to send registration information to new and returning families: early_steps@watertown.k12.ma.us. Some families have reported that these messages have been routed to their spam folders. Please take a moment to check your spam or junk folders and mark this email address as “not spam” to ensure you receive future updates.

Thank you, and we look forward to another wonderful year together.

New Student Registration Link

2026/2027 Waitlist Form

Our waitlist registration form is now open! If you are interested in enrolling your child in preschool or pre-kindergarten for the 2026/2027 school year, please complete the linked form.

Enrollment Waitlist Form

School mascot - corgi in the center of a circle with Watertown Public Schools Early Steps text

Information for Next Year - Kindergarten

As a reminder, all current PK4 students do not need to complete the online kindergarten registration forms.

Instead, please provide the following items:

Proof of residency: An up-to-date utility bill (electric, gas, oil, or cable) should be submitted to Tricia D’Amelio at Early Steps main office (1 Concord Road) or via email at tricia.damelio@watertown.k12.ma.us
Updated physical exam form: Please submit this to Nurse Kaitlin Reynolds at Early Steps or via email at kaitlin.reynolds@watertown.k12.ma.us

For additional information, please refer to the email sent on Wednesday, February 25 from the Early_Steps email address, which includes more details and links to the required forms. If you do not see it in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folder, as it may have been sorted there by mistake.

If the online registration form is completed, the registrar, Terri Stafford, will need to discard it, as it is not required for current PK4 students.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. We’re happy to help!

Extended Day Program Information for 2026/2027

2026-2027 Extended Day Program New Student Registration period will open at 10:00am on May 1, 2026 through May 21, 2026.

Students with confirmed enrollment in the WPS daytime PreK program are eligible to register for this program during the new student registration period.
We have limited capacity for the Extended Day Program and space is not guaranteed.
A lottery for enrollment will be held following the 2026-2027 Extended Day Program new student registration period to determine space assignments.
Registration will be held online via Google Form. A one-time registrations fee of $100.00 per child to activate your student’s registration.

Following the lottery for enrollment, families will be notified via email on or before Friday, May 29, 2026, if their student is being offered a confirmed space in the program or if they have been waitlisted.

Absence Reporting Form