A Welcome Letter from Chief Operating Officer Ian Moorhouse

Chief Operating Officer Ian Moorhouse
Chief Operating Officer Ian Moorhouse

Dear Families,

Our campuses have been a hub of activities this summer, from our full and action-packed camps at the farm, to the Hamilton and Breakthrough programs in Providence, to painting, deep cleaning, and building upgrades in all areas.

As we prepare for the upcoming school year, I want to bring you up to speed on some exciting operational changes at Wheeler. Since there is a lot of information provided in my letter, I am highlighting the areas where action may be required on your part. They include: signing up for a meal plan; ordering a Wheeler water bottle; signing up for transportation; and signing up for our After School program.

Dining Experience

We appreciate the feedback and creative ideas we received last year about the overall dining experience, and in response, we have made some improvements for the coming year, including:

The Market – This fall, students will find that we have significantly reduced the number of snacks and sugary options and replaced them with price-friendly, healthy options. In addition, we have reduced the number of plastic bottles and packaging we use.

The Cafe – There will be an increase in menu options with a renewed focus on healthy meals for vegetarians and vegans, as well as an enhanced salad bar. Weekly menus will be available online by visiting our website. You can also access the menus webpage by scanning the QR code on your wall calendar.

Meal Plan – We have changed the structure and payment options for the meal plan. The cost for the daily meal plan, which includes a hot meal, an open salad and vegetable bar, a deli bar, and a variety of flavored water, is as follows.

  • Lower School – $6 per day or $900 per year
  • Middle School – $7 per day or $1,000 per year
  • Upper School – $8 per day or $1,100 per year

Families who sign up for the yearly meal plan will receive monthly invoices through their student’s account. To sign up for the yearly plan, please complete this form.

Payment Options – We will continue to use My Kids Spending to track any purchases. However, this year all billing will be processed through student accounts, and you will receive monthly invoices from our Business Office. Our community can use bank cards and ApplePay to pay for items in The Market. Cash will not be accepted. Please ignore recent emails from MyKidsSpending regarding loading money into your accounts. We have discontinued this service and apologize for any confusion or inconvenience.

Water Bottles/Reducing Plastic Use – We are continuing our goal of reducing the amount of plastic we use and increasing our recycling as much as possible. With that in mind, we will no longer use plastic cups in The Cafe, so we ask that all students bring a reusable, non-plastic water bottle daily and use the refilling stations throughout campus. You can order a Wheeler (non-plastic) water bottle by completing this order form. Students are also more than welcome to bring other reusable water bottles from home.

Transportation to and from School

Once again, we will offer bus transportation along the Route 95 corridor and the South County area. For more details, please visit our Transportation webpage.

Although Wheeler does not coordinate carpools, we encourage families to log in to the Parent and Guardian Portal, search the Parent Directory by town, and reach out to others in their area to organize ride-shares for students who live near each other.

I’m also pleased to tell you that we will now offer transportation to and from Wheeler Farm.

If you would like to use the school’s transportation, please sign up through the links on our Transportation webpage.

Campus Store

Kick off the year with some stylish Wheeler gear! We invite you to check out our online School Store. We will also provide opportunities throughout the year when you can purchase items in person.

After School Programs

We look forward to running our After School programs this year starting September 7. In addition to the regular After School programs, additional care will be offered on some days when school is not in session, such as on Conference Care Days and Professional Days. You can find more information on the After School webpage. Please contact After School and Enrichment Program Coordinator Janelle Ickes if you need additional assistance.

Please note: due to the lack of interest, vacation camps will no longer be offered during school vacations. For families looking for alternatives, please contact Auxiliary Programs Camp Director Danielle Levya who can provide you with a list of options in the area.

Parking

Upon return to campus, you will note that there is an electronic gate at the entrance to the faculty and staff parking lot in Providence. We installed the gate this summer to ensure that faculty and staff members with parking spaces can get to and from those spots consistently. We also have a limited number of visitor spots; if you are planning to visit campus, please inquire with the person you are visiting about whether one of the spots is available. As usual, the lot will be open to the community on the weekends, and the gate will be open.

That is all for now. I look forward to seeing you all in person! Enjoy the rest of your summer, and as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Ian

Ian A. Moorhouse
Chief Operating Officer