Blue Hills News
Dear Blue Hills Families,
Please take a minute to read the updates from this week:
Boosters Holiday Fair
The annual Boosters Holiday Fair will be held on December 3, 2022, at Blue Hills. Please come by to support the Boosters and the vendors at the fair. Information is in the flyer below. Thanks!
Mass Insight
Yesterday and today, Mass Insight has been on campus meeting with students, faculty, and staff, as well as observing classes. They will be using the information they gather here as well as the survey feedback to provide us with three feedback items:
- Identify school and district strengths and challenges
- Assist school leadership in prioritizing growth areas
- Provide recommendations to promote educational opportunities and achievement for all students
Thank you for completing the survey we sent out a few weeks ago. The insights from this will prove invaluable to our planning and improvement process at BHR.
Fall Athletics
Congratulations to the boys and girls soccer teams for making the MIAA tournament. Both teams played and fought hard in their tournament games all the way to the end. Great seasons!
The football team takes on South Shore (away) tonight at 6:00 p.m. in the second round of the MVADA tournament. Our Thanksgiving Game will happen the day before Thanksgiving - November 23 at 6:00 p.m. at home under the lights against Bristol-Plymouth. Hope to see you there!
Winter Athletics
Winter sports begin the day we return from Thanksgiving break, Monday, November 28. No student is allowed to participate without registering on FamilyID and without an up to date physical exam. If you are unsure about your physical status, contact the nurse's office. If you have questions about registering, contact Athletic Director Catabia (ecatabia@bluehills.org).
Showcase & Late Start
Please remember that our 8th grade showcase is Tuesday, November 22, from 8-11 a.m. Blue Hills students arriving for their regular day of school will arrive at 11:15. Buses will run on a 3 1/2 hour delay on that day. Students helping with Showcase will have permission from their teacher and will need to arrange transportation to the school on their own.
Happy Thanksgiving
We will dismiss at 10:50 a.m. on Wednesday, November 23, for Thanksgiving Break. If you pick up your student from school, please ensure that you adjust your pickup time that day. Wishing all of you a very happy Thanksgiving and a restful break.
Upcoming Events
November 22: Showcase, student late arrival at 11:15 a.m.
November 23: Early Release at 10:50 a.m., Thanksgiving Recess
November 24: Happy Thanksgiving - school closed until November 28.
November 28: School Reopens, first day of winter sports
Outing Club
It was a little wet and cloudy to start, but the day cleared up beautifully for a hike with the Outing Club on Nov. 16 at Blue Hills!
Health Screenings at BHR
Massachusetts General Law, chapter 71, section 57 with related regulations 105 CMR 200.000 mandates that school nurses do periodic screenings of vision, hearing, growth (height and weight), and posture. Bill H. 4056, section 97 requires schools to conduct annual verbal screenings (SBIRT) for substance use. Pursuant to these regulations, BHR nurses screen students according to the following schedule:
Vision/Hearing/Posture: Grade 9
Growth (Height and Weight/BMI): Grade 10
SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) *more information linked here*: Grade 10
Parents/guardians will be notified if a vision, hearing, or postural screening requires further evaluation. Included in this notification will be a request for a report from your healthcare provider of their findings so that the nurses are aware of any problems which may interfere with learning and can accommodate any needs that are identified.
Parents may choose not to have their child(ren) participate in any or all screenings.
Please notify the school nurses in writing by Dec 16, 2022 if you wish for your student to opt-out of a screening (letheart@bluehills.org). This must be done annually.
If your student is receiving treatment for a vision, hearing, or postural concern, please provide the nurses with current medical documentation of their condition.
Update from the School Health Office:
We continue to have self-testing kits available in the main office and in the nurse's office. These are a limited supply and will only be provided if they are available and if you are symptomatic.
If you test positive for Covid-19, please email letheart@bluehills.org and include in your communication the day your symptoms started. You will receive a response back with your isolation dates and the date of return to work or school. Remember, symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.
Symptoms include:
- Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- New loss of taste or smell
- Muscle aches or body aches
- Cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough)
- Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms
- Nausea, vomiting, when in combination with other symptoms
- Headache, when in combination with other symptoms
- Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
- Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies), when in combination with other symptoms
Reminder: although there is no statewide requirement for masking at school, masks are required when entering the school health office. They are available upon entry.
**Previous Information**
**Past Information**
November 2022:
Over the next month, Blue Hills Regional Technical School and Mass Insight Education will collaboratively engage in a comprehensive School Readiness Assessment (SRA). One way that families can make their voices heard is by completing a short survey - this survey will be sent out via email in the coming weeks. Please take a few minutes to complete it. If you have multiple children at Blue Hills, please feel free to take the survey once and make a note on the survey that you have multiple children here at BHR. Thank you for your help and important feedback!
Winter Sports:
Make sure you sign up for winter sports! Registration is now open for winter athletics. This is required for all students wishing to participate in winter sports, regardless of past participation in a fall sport. Please register your child through Family ID, and be sure that physical exams are up to date. Without full medical clearance, no student is eligible to try out. Registration closes on November 15 and practices start November 28! Don't wait - register now! Also a reminder that students must be academically eligible to participate. Students may not fail their vocational program or more than one core academic class. Eligibility determinations are made at the publishing of the first term report card.
- Vaping continues to be a major concern at Blue Hills and at schools across the country. Part of the inherent danger of vaping is that it is difficult to know what is inside a vaping device. One of the latest trends has seen vapes laced with fentanyl - a potentially lethal drug. I encourage you to read this article discussing the concerns with vapes. At Blue Hills, students are not allowed to carry or use vapes at any time, and will be subject to disciplinary measures.
- Seniors may be eligible to start co-op. Please email Ms. Poliseno at kpoliseno@bluehills.org for more information.
- Important Note: There is a viral social media challenge re-emerging called the "One Chip Challenge" - you can read about it here - that can cause physical harm to participants. There is no place for this at any school, and that goes for Blue Hills. Please talk with your student about the serious injury that can occur from eating these chips, and the danger of following certain social media trends. Please be advised that Blue Hills does not condone this type of dangerous activity during the school day. Students please note that there may be consequences if you are involved in this type of activity.
** Please Read** Dismissal Procedures:
Please help us by sending a note in with your student on the day that they will be dismissed. They should bring the note to the main office in the morning. This allows your student to sign out at the appointed time and meet you at your car. Otherwise, we need you to come into the building and identify yourself, at which time we have to call your student's classroom or shop to dismiss them. It is far easier and faster if you send a note in the morning. Thanks for your help with this.
Other Information:
- Aspen X2 is used by Blue Hills to record student grades, attendance, discipline, family contact information, and much more. If you need assistance logging in to Aspen X2, you may follow this link. For further assistance, you may call the Academic Office at 781-828-5800 X2670.
- Breakfast and Lunch are available for free again this year. Through the first few days of school, we have noticed many students getting off the bus, waiting in line for breakfast, and immediately throwing it out or giving it away. This is not the intention of the free breakfast program, and those students will be asked to remain on the bus instead of coming into the cafeteria.
- Please be reminded: Earpods/headphones may not be worn during the school day except with the explicit permission of the teacher. This includes breakfast, lunch, and passing times. Earpods will be confiscated if seen, and consequences assigned.
- If you have not, please complete the SY 2022-2023 Mandatory Registration & Student Emergency/Contact Information on Family ID. This is required of all students each year, and includes the Parent-Student Handbook. This helps us keep your emergency contact information up to date in our system.
- Grade 9 Parents Night Information: The presentation is available here.
2022-2023 School Year Calendar
Blue Hills Regional Technical School’s mission is to continue its history of academic achievement, technical training and character development through a curriculum which emphasizes the integration of cutting-edge technical programs and challenging academic courses, enabling its students to become competent, caring and productive people in a diverse and changing world.
Core Values:
Community, Opportunity, Relevance, Employability
Website: www.bluehills.org
Location: 800 Randolph Street, Canton, MA, USA
Phone: 781 828 5800
BHR on: