DHS Community Update
October 30, 2020
Adjusting the Hybrid Learning Model
Greetings DHS Community Members:
As we continue to navigate these unprecedented times we continue to reflect on and when necessary make changes to our practices. One such change that is necessary is to adjust how we conduct remote learning days in our hybrid learning model.
The plan as it was designed this summer required students to attend school in person every other day to receive live instruction while completing asynchronous assignments on the day that they did not attend school in person. It has become evident that this model can and should be tweaked in order to address a variety of concerns and improve upon the educational experience for our students.
As a result, beginning effective Monday, November 9, 2020, students will be expected to attend classes remotely via Google Meet on the day that their cohort is not assigned to attend school in-person. Students will be expected to attend class for the duration of the class, have their camera on and microphone muted unless otherwise directed by their classroom teacher. The same hybrid schedule (i.e. Day 1 Cohort A, Day 1 Cohort B) will remain in place in order to ensure remote and in-person learning is distributed as equitably as possible.
Making this adjustment will allow us to ensure that the entirety of the curriculum will be addressed more easily than it would have been if we remained in the current hybrid model. Additionally, this change will allow us to support those students who are unable to attend in-person for a given period of time due to medical or other extenuating circumstances.
It remains the expectation that students attend in-person on the day their cohort is assigned to unless there is a medical reason that prevents the student from attending school in-person that day. In the event that a student is feeling ill or exhibits any of the common signs of COVID-19, then the student should remain home and IF they feel well enough, should attend class virtually using Google Meet.
Next week's schedule will be as follows:
Monday, November 2, 2020--Day 1 Cohort A
Tuesday, November 3, 2020--Day 1 Cohort B
Wednesday, November 4, 2020--Day 2 Cohort A
Thursday, November 5, 2020--Day 2 Cohort B
Friday, November 6, 2020--Day 3 Cohort A
With Appreciation,
Ross A. Thibault
Principal
Still Looking for Volunteers to Serve on the School Council
We are still in search of two parent representatives for the DHS School Council. If you are interested please email Principal Ross Thibault as soon as possible at rossthibault@dartmouthschools.org.
The School Council meets with the building Principal monthly to discuss various topics related to school improvement initiatives as well as to provide advice on the construction of the annual school budget request. The council includes an equal number of student, parent, and teacher representatives as well as a community representative.
School Council meetings will take place virtually at 6 p.m. on the following dates:
November 9, 2020
December 8, 2020
January 12, 2021
February 9, 2021
March 9, 2021
April 13, 2021
May 11, 2021
June 8, 2021
LMC To Begin Opening After School
We are happy to announce that our Library Media Center will once again remain open to students beyond the school day. Students who would like to visit the LMC after school hours MUST schedule ahead of time through Enriching Students as capacity is limited in order to comply with all COVID-19 safety guidance. Students who are not signed up in Enriching Students may not be permitted to the LMC if capacity has been reached.
The extended hours for the LMC will begin on Monday, October 26, 2020 and will be open from 2:15 p.m. until 3:25 p.m.
Please note that free bus transportation is available on a reservation only basis on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Students MUST reserve a seat on the late bus at least one day prior to the requested date.
From the Desk of the Associate Principal
Advanced Placement Exam Deposits Due October 30th
All AP students must join their AP classes using the Join Code their AP teachers provided them. This will ensure that an AP exam will be ordered for each AP class a student is enrolled in. Deposits for exams are due by October 30, please visit the Town of Dartmouth to make your payment.
Student Council Elections
Our candidates have worked diligently to create campaign videos: Senior, Junior, Sophomore, Freshman for our 2020 elections. Because of this, the election will take place starting Friday, 10/30. The polls will close Monday, 11/2 in the morning.
Clubs and Activities
Our students are back and Clubs and Activities are underway! Please see the DHS Get Plugged In Newsletter to see what we have to offer.
School Counseling & Support Services Department Updates
School Counseling Updates
SAT test on December 5th - registration deadline is November 5th
ACT test on December 12th - registration deadline is November 6th
Schedule an appointment with your School Counselor by visiting Dartmouth High School website and click on the School Counseling tab. Click on meet the School Counseling Department for the appointment links.
New Information added to the School Counseling website! Look under College/Career side tab. Post Secondary Resources is now a link to our newly created Google Sites. The Google Sites lists all areas of post secondary planning information!
Future Friday Topic for Friday, November 13th - Create The Life You’ve Imagined: Navigating the Road to Success presentation from Universal Technical Institute. Emphasis on post secondary planning and labor market data. Please sign up in Enriching Students under Admin - DaSilva.
From September 28th through November 5th, MEFA will host a live College Financing webinar daily every Monday through Thursday, with daytime and evening hours. The webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of the full financial aid application process. To register for a live webinar click this link.
MEFA on-demand College Financing webinar in Spanish, available any time, reviews the entire financial aid process and includes information on the FAFSA and CSS Profile, different types of financial aid, and how colleges determine financial aid offers.
MEFA upcoming webinar on the college process for undocumented students on Nov 5th at 4pm will provide guidance and resources for undocumented students hoping to pursue a college degree. Families simply need to register to attend.
Bristol Community College is holding virtual information sessions as well as admission appointments. If you are interested click on the link below to register.
Class of 2021 - College Virtual Visits with Admission Representatives are listed on Naviance. Students will register through Naviance to attend the virtual visits. All College Virtual Visits are held during the PASE period.
November 2nd - Plymouth State University
November 3rd - Emmanuel College - Boston
November 4th - University of Tampa
November 5th - Saint Anselm College
November 9th - Suffolk University
November 10th - Curry College
November 10th - University of New Hampshire - Main Campus
November 12th - Fitchburg State University
School Social Workers and School Psychologist Update
Schedule an appointment with your school social worker by visiting Dartmouth High School website and click on the School Counseling tab. Click on Meet the School Counseling Department for the appointment links.
Social workers are available during the school day to students and families. Students can sign up in Enriching Students to see a social worker during the PASE period or sign up with an appointment slot.
Students who have an appointment with their school social worker while they are in school should show their classroom teacher their appointment on their chromebook or phone. No paper passes will be issued.
Updates from the DHS Virtual Learning Academy
The VLA Testing Center continues to operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9:30-11:30, DHS counselors continue to monitor student progress and proactively reach out to connect with students weekly and content-specific academic support continues to be available through the DHS Lead Teachers during PASE and upon request.
Parents and guardians of VLA students should be receiving weekly progress reports from the Edgenuity learning platform.
VLA Student Attendance:
In accordance with guidance from MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), DHS will report VLA student attendance using engagement data from the Edgenuity program. To have perfect attendance, students are expected to be working on their courses for a minimum of 20 hours per week. Each four hours under the 20 hour minimum will result in an absence one day that week as follows:
20+ hours/week = present 5 days
16 - 20 hours/week = present 4 days / absent 1 day
12 - 16 hours/week = present 3 days / absent 2 days
8 - 12 hours/week = present 2 days / absent 3 days
4 - 8 hours/week = present 1 day / absent 4 days
0 - 4 hours/week = absent 5 days
Based on the work required to complete a full schedule of classes online, we expect that most students will need to work well in excess of 20 hours per week to maintain good grades. If health (or other) situations prevent students from engaging in their work, please reach out to Mr. Gill: richardgill@dartmouthschools.org.
From the DHS Health Office
If your child is exhibiting cold-like symptoms or any other symptoms that mimic or include symptoms of COVID-19, please keep your child home and call your PCP for advice. If your child comes into school with symptoms of COVID-19, they will be isolated and parents will be called to pick up their child and to have their child evaluated by his/her PCP. If the PCP feels the symptoms are related to an illness other than COVID-19, a medical note must be written to the school indicating the diagnosis and when the child may return to school. In EVERY case, the child must have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication before returning to school. Resources to support parents in monitoring symptoms are included below.
Halloween Guidance from the Dartmouth Board of Health & Select Board
With Saturday being Halloween, we would like to share the following guidance that was recently provided by the Dartmouth Board of Health and Select Board with respect to Halloween celebrations:
The Town of Dartmouth Board of Health and Select Board have discussed Halloween celebrations at recent meetings due to the ongoing pandemic.
The following recommendations are being provided to the residents who wish to participate in Halloween this year.
- Trick or treating should be limited to children through 8th grade.
- Trick of treating should be performed between the hours of 4:30-7:30.
- Trick or treating should not occur in groups of people that are not within your household cohort.
- Halloween masks do not substitute for face coverings and masks required by Governor Baker’s Order No. 31 and the terms of this Order must still be followed during Halloween trick or treating.
- If you would like your home to contribute candy to trick or treaters, have your outdoor lights on and leave a bowl/basket of candy outside. This will minimize repetitive in person exposure at the front door.
- DO NOT go onto properties when the outdoor lights are off.
- Participating in one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance.
- Consideration may be given to wiping off candy brought home and allowing it to sit for 24 hours prior to consuming it. This amount of time is not evidenced-based.
The complete post can be found by accessing the following link:
Homework Hangout has started virtually and will run after school from 2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. This fantastic support is supervised by DHS Teacher Mrs. True and provides students an opportunity to receive support from peer tutors. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, students should utilize the following link: Homework Hangout Meet Link.
Opportunities to Explore 30 Minute Classes at Boston College
Thinking about what your post-secondary plans might look like? Why not take advantage to explore a 30 minute class virtually at Boston College in their upcoming Splash event. See the flyer below for more details.
Reporting Student Absences, Tardiness & Dismissals
Attendance and academic success go hand-in-hand. We ask that parents continue to report known absences or tardiness to Dartmouth High School using the attendance line (508-961-2700 ext.1). In addition, parents are encouraged to submit medical notes and/or discuss illness related absences with Nurse Wildrick in order to ensure we are able to support your child's health and wellness. Nurse Wildrick can be reached at 508-961-2700 ext. 7420.
If your child needs to be dismissed we ask that you please email DHSdismissals@dartmouthschools.org as early as possible. This will allow us to maintain accurate attendance records.
Dartmouth High School
Email: rossthibault@dartmouthschools.org
Website: dartmouth.school/domain/8
Location: 555 Bakerville Road, Dartmouth, MA, USA
Phone: 508-961-2700
Twitter: @DartmouthHS