The Big Blue Blast
The Official Newsletter of Swampscott High School
September 13, 2019
It's hard to believe that we have already completed our third week of the school year. The weather is becoming crisp (sometimes) and we look forward to the official start of fall next week.
As it is now September, it's important to note that September is Attendance Awareness Month. A student who misses one day of school every two weeks would miss twenty days per year. That's nearly 1.5 YEARS of school throughout a student's career. Please review our attendance policy in the handbook and reach out to us should you need assistance with your student's attendance. Remember, a student with more than five unexcused absences in one academic quarter in one course could earn an attendance failure as a grade for the course. Please check Aspen to make sure that attendance records are accurate.
If your student is unable to access Aspen X2, it may be because the student's back-to-school paperwork has not been submitted. Please make sure to check with your student (and the SHS main office) regarding paperwork and Aspen X2 access.
An important mailing went out this week to all class of 2023 families. Please keep an eye out for this important mailing.
News and Announcements
Seniors may purchase a parking pass in the main office for $100. Juniors may begin purchasing parking passes on September 16. To park in the student lot on campus, vehicles must display a parking pass. Violators are subject to disciplinary action including citations from the Swampscott Police Department.
The World Language Department is running two trips during April vacation, 2020.
Our trip to France and Spain is from April16-25. This trip is open to all current students of French and Spanish, regardless of level. The registration deadline is October 1, 2019. Students should see Ms. Baralt or Ms. Albert for more information, or click on this link to see the itinerary and register: France / Spain Trip, April 2020.
Our service trip to Puerto Rico is from April 18-26, 2020. On this trip, students will visit San Juan and El Yunque, while mainly focusing on rebuilding homes for families affected by Hurricane Maria. This trip is open to all current students of French and Spanish, regardless of level. The registration deadline is November 1, 2019. Students should see Ms. Gahm-Diaz for more information, or click on this link to find more information and to register: Puerto Rico Trip, April 2020.
World Challenge Expeditions and Swampscott High School are sponsoring a trip to Viet Nam for 18 days, departing in mid-July. We presently have one team of 12 students. We would like to create a second team. This will be the seventh expedition we have run with World Challenge. The cost (including airfare) is approximately $4600.00. Betta Hanson from World Challenge will be at the High School Monday evening September 16 to discuss the itinerary and expectations for the trip. If you are interested, please contact Steph DeOrio, Lauren Skelton, Joe Tenney, or Chris Ratley at the high school. 781-599-8830
Guidance Department
Dear grade 10 and 11 students and families:
Students may now register for the PSAT exam. The PSAT is good practice for students in grades 10 and 11. Student PSAT scores from junior year will automatically be included in the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program.
The PSAT will be given on Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 8:00 am at Swampscott High School.
The fee for the exam is $35.00 and payments are made online through UNIPAY.
To pay online: log in to the SHS district website,
under the resources tab,
select families, and pay fees online.
You will be directed to the Unipay site,
select Swampscott and click on Exams High School.
Please be sure to include the student's name, grade and PSAT in the memo. Students can pick up a PSAT Student Guide from Mrs. Brown in the guidance office or click here for the online version.
The deadline to register is October 11th; we cannot guarantee a seat for students registering after the deadline as we will need to secure the appropriate number of proctors.
19-20 SCHOOL COUNSELING Newsletter ideas
September 13th EMAIL:
September 11th- September 13th: Class of 2020 Post Secondary Planning
The counselors have spent the last few days working with the majority of the senior students on their college applications, requesting transcripts, asking teachers for recommendations, and providing feedback on college essays. Our conversations started on September 11th with a senior assembly and has been followed by seven periods of Common App and Naviance Boot Camps. Thank you to all who participated; as a team, we got so much accomplished.
September 19th: 730AM New Student and SHS Ambassador Breakfast in SHS Library
NEW STUDENTS!: Please join us for a breakfast next week on September 19th at 730AM until the first bell. We are eager to see you all, check in with the new students, answer any questions, and help you get connected with clubs/activities through SHS. Out athletic director will be available to chit chat in person as well! A list of clubs and activities for you to have. Consider joining a sport, club, or other organization! It's a great way to meet new people, try new experiences, and become more involved in the SHS community. If you cannot make it, feel free to check in with your guidance counselor anytime!
September 25th: SENIOR PARENT NIGHT with the Guidance Counselors 6pm-8pm (ish)
The guidance counselors would like to remind all parents/guardians of the upcoming post secondary planning event. The guidance counselors will focus mostly on the nuts and bolts of the application process.
As we discussed with the seniors, we are also in the process of scheduling info sessions with career oriented and technical schools, GAP year organizations, and have just recently scheduled our NSCC On the Spot Admissions event for 11/7/19 at 1130AM-1:30PM. Stay tuned for all updates!
Your friendly guidance counselors will also be at Curriculum Night on 9/26/19.
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Athletics
Friday Night Lights: Tonight Big Blue Football begins the season at home against Lynn English.
This week's sports scores:
Girl's Soccer
L Beverly 2-1
W MBHD 4-1
Boy's Soccer
L Beverly 5-1
T MBHD 3-3
Golf
W MBHD 41-31
W Salem 43.5-28.5
Field Hockey
W Saugus 4-0
W MBHD 2-0
Volleyball
L Peabody 3-2
L Methuen 3-0
Boys cross country 21-38 over Classical
Girls cross country 25-36 over Classical
Mr. Chan's Class
Mr. Mahan's Class
Follow Us on Twitter
Principal: Dennis Kohut @swampkohut
Assistant Principal: Colleen Cull-Finn @cullfinnshs
Dean of Students: Chris Norkun @cnorkunshs
Swampscott High School Guidance Department: @SHSguidancedpt
Swampscott High School Athletics: @sportsbigblue
Superintendent Pamela Angelakis: @sps01907
Swampscott High School
Email: kohut@swampscott.k12.ma.us
Website: high.swampscottps.org
Location: 200 Essex Street, Swampscott, MA, USA
Phone: 781-596-8830
Twitter: @swampkohut