WPY UPDATES:

Wraparound Waltham

Collaborating to create a community of belonging and opportunity for newcomer immigrant students and their families.

Pictured above: On the left, parent attendees of a Basic Rights in Education Training--hosted by Massachusetts Advocates for Children--participate in a True or False activity. On the right, WPY Wraparound High School Coordinator, Alexa Cuellar, answers questions for the crowd at the Boston Children's Hospital Route 128 Community Health Initiative Welcome & Kickoff.

Our Welcome Center hosted two events for the community this month. Between the Healthcare for Immigrant and Refugees workshop and the Basic Rights in Education Training, we loved highlighting resources in our community, while also engaging with our families. We'd like to extend a big thank you to Boston Medical Center's Immigrant & Refugee Health Center and Massachusetts Advocates for Children for leading our two workshops!

We're so excited about the three-year, $600,000 grant we've received from Boston Children's Hospital. Our Wraparound team had the privilege of attending the Boston Children's Hospital Route 128 Community Health Initiative Grant Kick-Off meeting this month. It was great to meet with fellow grantees and brainstorm ways to collaborate, all in service of improving mental health and well-being outcomes of children, youth, and families!

Career Exploration & Training (CET)

Connecting students to life-altering career development opportunities through meaningful paid internship experiences.

Pictured above: WPY students and staff enjoy an educational finance field trip at Abcam.

Our Career Exploration & Training (CET) team had an exciting month of introducing students to new professional experiences. We hosted our first career exploration activity of the school year with a finance field trip at Abcam. Students joined Abcam professionals for a conversation on working in finance for a healthcare company. They also completed an activity on the differences between building personal and company budgets. Finally, we wrapped up a panel with members of the Abcam team where the WPY students asked insightful questions on the panelists' career journeys. Thank you for your partnership, Abcam!

The CET team has also been working diligently to interview School Year Internship Program applicants. So far, students have been placed as Spanish for Educators Conversation Partners, WPY Communications Associates, McDevitt Bilingual Mentors, and YMCA Interns. These students will gain experiences in teaching Spanish to WHS educators, supporting WPY with communications projects and social media, mentoring McDevitt Middle School students, and early childhood education, respectively.

Finally, we kicked off the 2023-2024 Roses in Concrete program on the 25th. Roses in Concrete is a mentorship program between Waltham High School and Brandeis University students. We started with a mentor/mentee meet and greet at the Brandeis Intercultural Center. The session began with a fun icebreaker activity where each mentee/mentor had fictional characters closely connected with one another in the room. Then, mentors and mentees went around the room to find their match. Once mentors and mentees found their matches, they spent the rest of the time getting to know each other and building community. We can't wait to see how these mentoring relationships grow this year!



Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Every two years, Waltham Partnership for Youth collaborates with Waltham Public Schools and MXM Research to administer the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. We worked with our partners to receive student feedback about survey wording, created an informational video--in English and Spanish--to educate and emphasize the importance of the survey, and successfully administered the survey to Waltham middle and high schoolers last spring.

The survey measures the risk behaviors and protective factors that influence Waltham students' ability to thrive. This data informs our programming and ensures that we incorporate this youth feedback into our decision-making and our work with strategic partnerships to address student needs.

Read the survey at the link below to learn more about the experiences of Waltham youth.

WPY Staff Retreat at Dynatrace

Earlier this month, the full WPY staff participated in a retreat at Dynatrace in Waltham. We were grateful to use Dynatrace's gorgeous building for the day as we participated in professional development and worked together to build a community of belonging and opportunity for Waltham youth.

Opportunities for Youth and Community Members:

WPY is Hiring: Bilingual McDevitt Mentors!

WPY is still has several spots for bilingual McDevitt Middle School Mentors! Waltham High School students mentor 7th-8th grade McDevitt students to prepare them for the transition to high school. We're specifically looking for bilingual Spanish speakers. Participants must be 14 or 15 years old to apply. To apply, email Mary Krathwohl, Educators of Tomorrow Specialist: Mary@walthampartnershipforyouth.org. 

Waltham Welcome Center

The Waltham Welcome Center is switching back to school-year hours! Visit the Welcome Center at McDevitt Middle School from 3:30-6:30pm, Monday-Thursday. Please note that Welcome Center Coordinators are not available in-person or via phone/email on weekends.

Take the MA Community Health Equity Survey!

In collaboration with Health Resources in Action (HRiA) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), we invite you to take the Community Health Equity Survey (CHES). The Community Health Equity Survey aims to help communities address barriers to health. Your story can shape our future health! DPH will use survey results to improve programs, make decisions about funding and resources, and support policies to improve health inequities. They will also share the results of the survey with partners across Massachusetts to support the important work we are doing to improve health in their communities. Massachusetts residents 14 years or older are encouraged to take the survey. The survey should take about 20 minutes to complete, and is available in 11 written languages and ASL. 

Students who take the survey by 10/31/23 can send a screenshot of their completion to Magali at magali@walthampartnershipforyouth.org to be entered in a raffle to win one of four gift cards!

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