SHS Warrior Call
Respect: Earn It, Give It, Live It!
Welcome!
May 5, 2017 - Volume 2 - ISSUE 29
Welcome to the Seekonk High School Newsletter! It is designed to keep everyone (parents, students, staff, and community members) informed of the many events that are happening around the school. It contains links, pictures, and videos so that you have a more interactive experience and the ability to learn more (if you wish) about various topics.
As always, we welcome feedback! Let us know what you think by contacting us and sharing our news!
Time to Think Summer Reading!
Seekonk High School is pleased to announce that for summer 2017, we will again have our “One School, One Book” reading program where all SHS students will read a book that has been selected by their peers and teachers. More than 35 books were reviewed and considered by 2 English classes and a student/faculty committee. This year’s selection is Shift by Jennifer Bradbury (272 pgs, 2012), a realistic mystery involving two high school friends.
The entire summer reading list is available here - please check the list for your student’s classes. Students enrolled in honors English classes and Advanced Placement (AP) classes will be required to select and read an additional book or books.
SHS families can order books at a discounted, tax-free price through the school and receive them before the end of the year. Print out the order form here. Students can bring in their book orders and payment and drop them at the school’s main office or library through Tuesday, May 16, 2017. We can accept cash or checks made out to “Town of Seekonk.” Books will be delivered to students at school during the week of June 5, 2017.
Monday, May 1, 2017 - Monday, July 31, 2017: Bus registrations are open. Please review these forms and print the ones you need. This will help you be prepared for next year.
Saturday, May 13, 2007 - Monday, May 15, 2007: The senior trip will be taking place. Please see the class advisors for details.
Thursday, May 18, 2017: One night, three great Science Club events! There will be, Science Cafe with students talking and presenting, Envirothon soil testing for just $5.00/sample, and a Greenhouse plant sale fundraiser
Tuesday, May 30, 2017: Senior Class Day
Tuesday, May 30, 2017: The Seekonk High School Senior Student-Athlete Banquet will be taking place at 7:00PM. This event will be held at the Attleboro Elks Club.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017: Senior Class Night will be taking place at 7:00PM in the auditorium. All seniors are expected to be present and in their graduation gowns.
Friday, June 2, 2017: GRADUATION takes place at 6:30PM! The location will depend on the weather.
Notary Services are available for residency documents at every school in the district. If you are submitting residency paperwork, just bring it to the school and we will notarize it for you when it is submitted!
For Future Planning:
Underclassmen Exams - Monday, June 12, 2017 - Thursday, June 15, 2017
Last Day of School - Friday, June 16, 2017
Seekonk Students Inducted into Honor Societies!
Dr. Jones
The Struggle of Learning
I recently read a summary of a larger study about learning. The important takeaway is this: When you experience a difficult learning experience, it has a greater impact on your memory. Therefore, the information stays with you longer and is easier to retrieve when needed. That may not seem like good news to those of us hoping to find an easy path to learning something new, but it does reinforce a belief that is finally gaining more popularity.
Learning takes work, often hard work that is fraught with mistakes and failure. It is when we look for the easy road or don’t reflect on our shortcomings that we do not find success. So the question becomes about our willingness as teachers, parents, and students to accept that we need to face difficulty instead of having someone else solve our problems.
I was reminded of something I wrote in an earlier blog post about the National Honor Society Induction when I reread my introduction to this event. I said:
Standing here on this special night, looking at the students, I am reminded of the quote by Calvin Coolidge; “No person has ever been honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” The individuals on this stage tonight have made sacrifices and tirelessly given in the areas of Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character.
Clearly, these students were willing to push forward and take responsibility for their failures, which allowed them to accept full responsibility for their achievements. No one likes to see another person fail and we often jump right in to help; especially when it is someone close to us. Unfortunately, this often cuts short the opportunity for a person to learn and grow into a stronger, more successful individual. Education is not about grades. Rather, education is about learning how to become the most informed, best version of ourselves possible. Which ultimately, we must do on our own.
Weekly Message...
guidance - mrs. whatley
Parents of Seniors- 4th quarter progress reports were distributed Monday, May 1st to seniors. Please ask your senior to see the progress report if they have not shown it to you or log in to the Parent Plusportal to view grades. As the year rapidly comes to a close encourage them to finish strong and boost or maintain their grades to reflect a strong final average for their lifelong high school transcript. It is not the time to take shortcuts and coast to the finish. All graduation requirements and obligations need to be met by the last day of final exams on May 25th in order to participate in graduation on June 2nd.
Providence is hosting a College Fair on Monday, May 8th from 5:30-8:30 PM at the RI Convention Center. Representatives from over 200 colleges will participate. This is a great time for juniors and sophomores to gather information from college representatives.
Scholarship applications for our seniors continue to come in each week. You cannot be selected as a recipient if you do not apply. Please encourage your senior to review the available scholarships, select some that are suited to them and to apply. Many community organizations and families work hard to provide scholarship opportunities for our seniors. Here is a complete list of the scholarships remaining.
Congratulation to two of our outstanding seniors who were recognized this week at the Attleboro Elks Outstanding Youth Appreciation Night. Mr. Byrne accompanied the students and their families to the festive night held at the Attleboro Elk's Golden Antler room. The recipients of the awards were Lauren Voccio and Griffin Hoskins. They were selected for their outstanding community service work and positive impact on the school community.
assistant principal - mr. aguiar
Spring is here and as we head into the final portion of the school year I would like to reiterate several policies that could affect students at SHS. Please contact me if you have any questions.
LATE TO SCHOOL POLICY
For safety purposes, all outside doors will be locked at 7:25 A.M., the beginning of first period. Any student not in his/her first class at 7:25 A.M. will be considered tardy.
**Students who accumulate 9 tardies during a semester will lose their extracurricular eligibility for the remainder of the semester.
Extracurricular activities include sports, clubs, dances etc. Students will be ineligible for membership on athletic teams and clubs, and attendance at school sponsored activities including the prom, other dances, and end of the year activities. This policy will re-start new each semester.
OBLIGATION LIST
Obligations for the purpose of this handbook include, but are not limited to text books, library books, detention hours, materials fees and lunch balances. It is important that part of the learning process include responsibility and accountability for fulfilling one’s obligations. Therefore, students who do not fulfill their obligations to Seekonk High School by the designated times will receive consequences. Specifically, students who have outstanding obligations will be restricted from the following:
• participation in or attendance at any extracurricular activity
• all sports
• all dances (including prom)
• participation in graduation ceremony
The administration holds the right to assign additional, appropriate consequences based upon the circumstance if necessary. Obligations as well as their consequences carry over from year to year.
shs unified track defeats dartmouth and durfee!
The Unified Track Team did a great job in their tri-meet against Dartmouth and Durfee yesterday!
It was a great afternoon on the track for the WARRIORS!
Seekonk -1st place- (427)
Dartmouth- 2nd place-(390)
Durfee-3rd place-(41)
Highlights: (FIRST PLACE FINISHES)
100m-Olivia, Dan, Felicia, Merry, Alexis
400m- Jadon, Leo, Tommy, Marc
800m- Troy
4X400 Relay-1st place
Music - mr. smialek
Music Department Scholarships: Seniors are reminded that the Seekonk Music Parents Association sponsors three scholarships each year to students who participated in Band at SHS. Applications for these scholarships are available in guidance and usually need to be returned early in May.
Upcoming Music Dept. events: Spring Concert, Wednesday, May 17th, Great East Band Festival, Friday, May 19th, SHS Band Banquet, Sunday, May 21st at 6:30 pm, tickets go on sale May 1st.
science - mrs. cunard
2017 Summer Science Academy!
SCIENCE CLUB NEWS
Science Cafe: The next Science Cafe will be on Thursday, May 18th during the Seekonk Arts & Exhibition Festival. SHS seniors will present their performance-based projects and Bio II and AP Biology students will present their research on the Runnins River. The club is hoping to have a guest speaker as well.
Envirothon Team: Members of the team will be attending a workshop at Alden Labs in Holden, MA on Saturday, April 8th in preparation for the Envirothon Competition May 18th. The team will be accepting soil samples for testing at the Seekonk Arts & Exhibition Festival on the evening of May 18th. The soil testing is a fundraiser and is related to the current topic of soil and water sustainability. Each sample will cost $5 to test. Test results and recommendations will be provided.
Greenhouse Group: The Greenhouse Group will be selling plants at the Seekonk Arts & Exhibition Festival. The plants will have been raised in the greenhouse which the group obtained through a grant from Mass Agriculture in the Classroom.
science opportunities for students:
Explore your career interests & make your college application stand out!
UCONN Explore Engineering: http://edoc.engr.uconn.edu/explore-engineering/
Summer Community Swim Hours
Nurse - Mrs. Rok
Glaxo Smith Kline has issued a voluntary recall for Ventolin HFA 200D inhalers for possible package leakage. The lot numbers are: 6ZP0003 and 6ZP9944. Patients may call the company with any questions: 1-888-825-5249.
There has been an update on expanded Epi-pen recalls. Please read this link for the lot numbers and expiration dates. Some students have the Epi-pens that were recalled. Mylan Specialty Co. has issued the steps to take with a recall Epi-pen and the link is attached.
Spring weather is finally here and parents need to make sure that students with asthma are carrying updated inhalers if needed. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Mrs. Rok.
Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance of abuse among teens in the US and may put your health and safety at risk. The following facts on alcohol are from National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens on the effects on teen’s brains:
Short-term Consequences of Intoxication (being “drunk”)
An intoxicated person has a harder time making good decisions.
A person is less aware that his/her behavior may be inappropriate or risky.
A person may be more likely to engage in risky behavior, including drinking and driving, sexual activity (like unprotected sex) and aggressive or violent behavior.
A person is less likely to recognize potential danger.
Long-Term Consequences as the Teen Brain Develops:
Research shows that drinking during the teen years could interfere with normal brain development and change the brain in ways that:
Have negative effects on information processing and learning.
- Increase the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder later in life.
Sports - Mr. Crippen
All prospective Fall 2017 student-athletes and their parents should take advantage of the Early Registration Process available online now. Take the time now and register for one of Seekonk High School’s Fall Sports (Football, Cross Country, Soccer, Field Hockey and Golf).
A special thank you to Coaches Matt McCartin, Earl Berwick and Linda Horton as well as Boosters Club Officer Colleen O’Halloran for all their help and support in making Coach Kristin Nelson’s first home Unified Track Meet Thursday such a success. All present would attest to the fact that these kids were awesome!
There are several noteworthy performances from the Girls and Boys Outdoor Track teams so far this year. Last Saturday at the State Relays, the Seekonk High relay team of Cammy Garabian, Audrey Rose Wooden and Brooke Parks won both the Shot Put and the Discus Events, while the boys relay team of Kyle Plouff, Dawson Brosnahan and Cameron Sears took sixth place in the Javelin event. Tuesday, Dawson threw 161 feet in the Javelin, just 9 feet off the qualifying distance for the Nationals.
Also on Tuesday Freshman Abigail Tenreiro won the 800 and the two mile in a Tri Meet with Wareham and Case High Schools and fellow Freshman Mia DiBiase won the mile event and ran the anchor on the winning 4 X 400 team.
Both the Boys and Girls Outdoor Track teams will be busy this weekend. Saturday morning the teams will compete in the State Frosh-Soph Meet and then turn around and compete in the Sunset Invitational Saturday afternoon. Good luck!
There is little doubt that the feel-good story of the early Spring Season is the dramatic improvement for the Seekonk Girls Tennis team who defeated Fairhaven and Wareham this week by identical scores of 5-0. The Lady Warriors now sit of 5 wins and 3 losses for the season and look primed to make a run at qualifying for the post season.
The Seekonk Boys Baseball team seems poised for a return to postseason play this season following their 13-1 thrashing of Fairhaven High School Wednesday. Senior Tanner Emond and Freshman Brendan Morales supplied the pitching while Junior Luke Robitaille continued his hot hitting for the 7 and 4 Warriors who will host Bishop Stang High School Saturday afternoon.
Please note that there is a time change for this year’s Senior Sports Banquet at the Attleboro Elks Club. The date is still the same, Tuesday, May 30th but the time will be seven o’clock instead of the originally scheduled six-thirty.
Be sure to check out the Athletic Website for more information about requirements, deadlines, scores, and schedules.
The Seekonk Public Schools strives to provide a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment in which all students can thrive and succeed in its schools. The Seekonk Public Schools prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation and ensures that all students have equal rights of access and equal enjoyment of the opportunities, advantages, privileges, and courses of study.
Contact Information
Email: jonesc@seekonkschools.org
Website: http://shs.seekonk.sharpschool.com/
Location: 261 Arcade Avenue, Seekonk, MA, United States
Phone: (508) 336-7272
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeekonkHighSchool/
Twitter: @SeekonkHS