New Milford High School eNews Blast
April 2020
An UPDATE from Mr. Shugrue
Dear Students and Families,
I hope this update finds you all healthy and well. As you know, the district will start its District Learning initiative this Wednesday. As I stated in an earlier letter, there is no replacing the dynamics of the classroom and the learning that takes place in our schools, but we are eager to get back to the business of teaching and learning. The teachers have been working tirelessly to get their Google Classrooms in order and the lessons up an online. Students should be checking their school email as they will be getting invites from their teachers to join their Google Classrooms. This is a challenge for students and teachers alike, but I’m confident that we will all get through this and learn new skills that will only benefit us all as we move forward in future endeavors.
Timeline:
Starting on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 the expectation is that students will engage in their course-work via Google Classroom where they can respond to lessons and questions from the teacher in the virtual environment.
High School Virtual Learning
- The general expectation is that students will engage in four hours of instruction per day, five times per week for a total of 20 hours per week. Teachers will only be available to answer questions Tuesday through Friday as they will be engaged in planning sessions with their colleagues on Mondays.
- It is not expected that students be online the same time as their classes would have met during a normal day. For example, if a student had an English class on A Days at 9:00 it is not expected that every day at 9:00 a.m. they are online for English. We realize that with this crisis that every family situation differs. We know that some of our older students are charged with watching over their younger siblings while parents are out at work. Therefore, the beauty of distance learning is that students will have the freedom to work on their assignments when it works best for them and their families. With that said, students will only need a Chromebook if they do not have access to a computer, laptop, iPad, or similar device with internet capability. Students do not need their own device. The lessons will not be live, nor will they require students to be on a device at the same time.
- It is important to note that the amount of time students spend on individual topics may vary based on previous knowledge of concepts, developmental and individual differences.
- Email correspondence will be returned to students and parents within 24 hours.
- It is the student’s responsibility to complete the task and turn it into the teacher for feedback and credit.
- Attendance will be taken based on work submission
- Teachers will communicate with students/parents regularly in order to support academic needs and encourage connectedness to their teacher/school.
- Teachers will provide feedback/correct student work and provide feedback/score what they can in order to provide reports to families on student progress.
- Grades will be updated weekly in the Parent Portal
“There are no negatives in life, only challenges to overcome that will make you stronger.”
― Eric Bates
If you have questions, please feel free to email me at shugrueg@newmilfordps.org.
Be well!
Greg Shugrue, Principal
CANCELLATIONS At This Time
3/20-3/28 - All School Musical, Theatre
3/28 - Team Waramaug - Horace Greeley HS
3/28 - FIELD TRIP: Sacred Heart University, Fairfield CT
3/28 - Winter Percussion Competition - Bunnell HS
3/30 - College Fair, NMHS Arena
4/1 - Blood Drive, NMHS Small Gym
4/1 - College & Post-Secondary Planning Night, Theatre
4/2-4/4 - CMEA All State Festival - CT Convention Center Hartford
4/4 - Winter Percussion Competition - Westhill HS
4/6 - Winter Sports Awards, Theatre
4/7 - FIELD TRIP: UTI Automotive Careers Field Trip
4/8 - FIELD TRIP: Porter and Chester Institute - Waterbury, CT
4/8 - FIELD TRIP: National September 11 Memorial and Museum
4/13-4/22 - FIELD TRIP: Panama City, Panama
4/15-4/19 - FIELD TRIP: Festival Disney - Walt Disney World Orlando FL
4/21 - FIELD TRIP: Litchfield District Courthouse
4/23 - Jazz Fest, Cafe
4/27 - German Honor Society, Theatre
4/28 - FIELD TRIP: Garner Correctional Institute
4/29 - FIELD TRIP: Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th Street, NYC
4/29 - FIELD TRIP: Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th Street, NYC
5/2 - SAT Exams
5/6 - FIELD TRIP: Construction Career Days, Wallingford, CT
ALL GRADES: Communication with Faculty
UNDERCLASSMEN: Course Selection
The School Counselors will be working remotely to ensure that your course selections for the 2020-2021 school year will be entered. Counselors will be available Tuesday through Friday via email between 7:25 a.m. and 2:40 p.m. Please reach out to us with any questions you may have.
Haven’t met with a counselor yet?
Log into your portal account (an email was sent the first week of February to all students with instructions on how to establish your portal account). You must have your own portal account; it won’t work in your parent’s account.
Under the Course Request tab, view your teacher recommendations and select the courses and electives you are requesting.
You are able to view course descriptions by clicking on the icon to the right of each course. You may also access the Program of Studies on line for course descriptions at : http://nmhs.newmilfordps.org/ Left menu click on Guidance & scroll down.
When you have finished, click on the submit button for your counselor’s review.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You must complete your course selection by Thursday, April 2nd. If you have issues logging in to the portal, please email your counselor. While the scheduling process begins in the Portal we eventually export the course requests to our scheduling software (AdminPlus). Subsequent changes are made in AdminPlus. If you have discussed a level change or added/deleted a course with your counselor, it will not be reflected in the Portal.
Already met with a counselor?
You’re all set unless you want to do one of the following:
Change a level in a course
Add or delete a course
Have specific questions about a course.
If any of the above pertain to you, email your counselor (see contact info below). For more detailed information and instructions on the course selection process, click on the button below to view the Course Selection presentation.
JUNIORS: Senior Year & Post-Secondary Planning
SENIORS: Local Scholarships Will Still Be Offered, New Method of Submission
Due to the current school closure, we are implementing a new procedure for submitting local scholarship applications that are normally turned in to the NMHS Career Center (including the NMHS Common App). These must now be submitted electronically. Once your application is complete, you will submit the application to Mrs. Shaffer via email, by the specified deadline date. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Complete the scholarship application.
Step 2: Scan your completed application with supplemental documents as one PDF to your computer. If you do not have a scanner, download the free app called “PDF Scanner”, photograph your application, and save it as one PDF.
Step 3: Label/re-name your saved PDF “lastname;firstname-organization” (for example, Susie’s Thrift Mart application would be re-named: “Jones;Susie-ThriftMart”)
Step 4: Email the completed PDF application to shafferma@newmilfordps.org
Step 5: Mrs. Shaffer will print your app, add your letters of recommendation & give your application packet to the selection committee.
2020 AP Exam Information
- There will be no face to face exams
- Abbreviated (45 min) online versions of AP exams will be offered on two different testing dates
- The indication is that exams will consist of free response questions only
- Exams will only cover units that most teachers cover through March
- Units covered for each AP course are outlined in the table at the bottom of this page: AP Updates for Schools Impacted by Coronavirus.
- AP Computer Science Principles will not have a traditional exam; scores will be based on Explore and Create tasks only
- Free AP review classes starting March 25th; live streamed but also recorded and available on demand
- The full exam schedule, specific free-response question types that will be on each AP Exam, and additional testing details will be available by April 3
- College Board will unlock any relevant free-response questions in AP Classroom for digital use so students can access all practice questions of the type that will appear on each exam
- Any student already registered for an exam can choose to cancel at no charge; College Board is highly recommend students wait to make this decision until closer to the exam dates
We will share further information as it becomes available. To read all of College Board's announcements regarding AP testing, visit their webpage.
FRESHMEN, SOPHOMORES, & JUNIORS: Get FREE Customized Online SAT Prep
Naviance Tools for College Planning
As New Milford Public Schools move to a distance learning environment, Naviance offers tools to assist and prepare students to meet their college and career goals. The following free resource ensures students can continue with and successfully complete their Naviance work online (NOTE: You must be logged into Naviance to access the links below).**NEW** Show Me How is a self-service instructional tour designed to help students quickly understand the College Planning features in Naviance. Counselors will be emailing activation codes to parents in the next week. Students should already have access. If you can't remember your user name or password, contact your counselor (listed in the "Course Selection" article above).
SENIORS: Missing Information Or Error On Your FAFSA?
Students who do receive this notification typically need to provide additional documentation on the FAFSA, or to the university, in order for the school to determine and verify the student's eligibility for financial aid. It might include an income tax return, a social security card, or similar documentation. Make sure you are reading all email communications from your colleges/universities and checking the application portals, completing all requested tasks in a timely manner.
If you need assistance, Consumer Reports recommends students contact the nonprofit organization "Reach Higher, which offers UpNext, a texting tool where college advisers walk students through the college application and financial aid process by sending reminders and answering questions via text. The Department of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA) office is another good resource. You can call 800-4-FED-AID (800-433-3243) with questions or check out explanatory videos on the FSA office’s YouTube channel."
SENIORS: Understanding Your Financial Aid Package
You've been accepted to multiple colleges, and you've received your financial aid package from each of your schools. But you're unsure what the award letter means, and you may be asking, "exactly how much will it cost to attend my first choice school?" You wouldn't be the first person to ask that question. Here are a few articles to help you decipher your letter and determine what your annual cost of attendance will be:
- Forbes: Understanding Your Financial Aid Award Letter
- Princeton Review: Evaluating Your Financial Aid Award Letter
- Sallie Mae: Compare financial aid offers
- NerdWallet: How to Read a Financial Aid Award Letter
- NitroCollege: How to Read Your Financial Aid Award Letter: 5 Examples
Or, use this handy "Compare Your Aid Awards" tool through College Board's Big Future. Still have questions? Contact the Financial Aid Office at your colleges directly. Once you've determined which school is the best fit, and how much it will cost per year, you're ready to enroll by sending in your deposit. Time to put on your new spirit wear!
And Now For Some GREAT News....
NMHS DECA Club Wins Multiple Awards at State Conference
On March 4th the New Milford High School DECA (Distributive Education Club of America) members traveled to the Aqua Turf in Plantsville, CT for the Connecticut State DECA Competition.
DECA prepares emerging business leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high school and colleges around the globe. Students compete in a formal setting on the state level and gain experience with academic competition as well as professional behavior and expectations. The competitions enhance the preparation for college and careers by providing programs that integrate into the classroom. Students use knowledge, skills and applications learned in the classroom to demonstrate their knowledge of the subject. The state competition is a way they can demonstrate their skills in developing business plans, communication, interviewing, and interpersonal skills. Students also have opportunity to earn college scholarships when competing at state and national levels.
The members competed with 1,100 students from around the State of Connecticut. Our NMHS DECA members had an impressive showing by placing in the following events.
Independent Business Plan Team - 3rd place: Abigail Mars, Isabella Damiano
Start-up Business Plan - 2nd place: Mackenzie Brady and Owen Arias
Franchise Business Plan Team Event - 2nd place: Mykenzee Baier, Kallie Johnson, Madison Martinelli
Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making - 5th place: Jack Cossari, John Comaskey
NMHS Swim Team Excels at SWCs
The NMHS Boys Swimming & Diving team finished 6th (231 points) at the SWC Swimming & Diving Championships held March 6th at Masuk HS. The team was outstanding from start to finish with their best championship performance in years. Big time drops were the norm! Senior Omar Afifi (31 points) & Junior Tim Jellen (30 points) led the way in individual scoring and both were on two high scoring relays. Afifi had the top individual finish of the day coming in 3rd in the 100 Breaststroke and he also garnered 8th place in the 200 Individual Medley. Jellen racked up points with 6th place finishes in the 50 & 100 Freestyles. The 200 Free Relay of Afifi, Jellen, Sophomore Andrew Sypko, & Senior Sam Edwards brought home an outstanding 3rd place finish.
Other individual event point scorers: Max Steiger (50 Free & 100 Back), Joey Sturino (200 IM & 100 Fly), Andrew Sypko (200 Free & 500 Free), Sam Edwards (200 Free & 100 Fly), Ben Toussaint (200 Free & 500 Free), & Kyle Paist (200 IM).
Other participants: Jack Walsh, Aiden Mulligan-Brown, Ashley McLean, Timothy Blandino, Tamas Biro, Bryce Mathew, Matthew O'Hara, Joseph Biro, Ryan Carlson, & Jordi Padros. Congratulations to all!