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.

We are planning to celebrate Staff Appreciation Week during the week of May 18!

This is a special time for us to recognize the incredible dedication, care, and hard work of our teachers and staff who support our students each and every day. If your family would like to participate, simple gestures such as a kind note, drawing, or message of appreciation mean so much and are always welcomed.

Thank you for your continued partnership and for helping us celebrate the amazing staff who make our school such a special place.

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 the surface to our playground has been repaired and are excited to share that the playground was reopened on Friday afternoon.

With the arrival of warmer weather, many of us are spending more time outdoors. It’s a wonderful time of year, and we love seeing our students and their families active and engaged outside.

As a friendly reminder, this is also peak tick season in our area. After spending time outdoors, especially in grassy or wooded areas it’s really important to do a quick tick check when your child comes in from being outside.

A few simple tips:

Taking a few moments for a quick check can go a long way in keeping everyone safe and healthy while still enjoying all that spring has to offer.

Thank you for your partnership, and we hope you enjoy the beautiful weather!

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.

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:

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.

Welcome to the 2026/2027 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:

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.

Dear Pre-K Families,

We are excited to share that the Extended Day lottery form opened at 10:00 AM yesterday for students entering PreK, next year. Please note WPS does not offer an extended day option for students in preschool.

Families with a reserved Pre-K spot who have completed their registration are eligible to apply for an Extended Day lottery spot. If this applies to your family and you are interested in additional programming, please be sure to complete the form once it opens.

If you have not yet confirmed your child's Pre-K spot and completed the required steps to register your child, you will not be eligible to receive an extended day spot. 

For more details about the Extended Day program, eligibility requirements, and next steps, please review the linked notification from our coordinator, Deb Cornelius.

The lottery form will be open from May 1 at 10am through May 21 at 11:59pm. 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.

We encourage families to read through the information carefully before submitting the form.

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Thank you, and we look forward to supporting your child’s Pre-K experience!