Weekly News & Notes
Week Ending March 10, 2023
News Briefs
1. The superintendent recently hosted a parent town hall at which a number of questions were raised regarding family volunteers at schools. While we have several opportunities for students and parents to volunteer with organizations and other community projects, we realize several families have asked for ways to engage with the school. If you have ways you can support us that are of interest, feel free to reach out. In particular, we love having families who can share real-world learning opportunities for our students, including sponsoring internships.
2. Students have been provided course recommendation forms for next year, and they will be inputting course requests the week of March 20. At this time, students will be communicating with teachers about the recommendations being made for next year, after which each student will meet with his or her school counselor to review and finalize. It is important that all students input the courses that they wish to take, the correct number of electives, and a full slate of courses - and that they come prepared for the course input, rather than waiting until the day of! If families have questions, reach out to counselors.
3. We currently have limited numbers registered for boys tennis. Registration closes today, but if students are still interested, we could extend the window to ensure we have a team. We are in danger of cancelling the season because we do not have the minimum number of participants. If there is a remote interest in participating, please reach out to Ms. Wandyes.
All of the documents can be found at https://www.uxbridgeschools.com/Page/450
The course selection presentation for students who will be in grades 9-12 next year can be viewed below.
Student Council Earns Gold Council of Excellence Award
Science Olympiad Takes 15th
UHS Science Olympiad takes 15th in Massachusetts
The Uxbridge High School Science Olympiad team finished in 15th place out of 63 schools at the Massachusetts State Championships, held on Saturday, March 4 at Wentworth Institute of Technology. This year’s team finished with the best overall placement in school history, with multiple events earning medals and placing in the top ten of their respective events.
“We had certain goals going into the season in order to consider it a success,” said Science Olympiad Coach Elliot Lui, who teaches physics at UHS. “We had not earned a medal in the state tournament since 2019, which was before the pandemic, and this was our youngest and most inexperienced team in my six years coaching at Uxbridge. We really wanted to get a team to a position of earning a medal.”
UHS finished with multiple medalists, including:
Aerial Scramble, silver medal: Cam Caso and Dominic Silva
Bridges, bronze medal: James Bernard and Jack Tasick
Write It/Do It, silver medal: Stella Roy and Alicia Gauvin
In addition, several teams earned ribbons for top five finishes:
It’s About Time, 5th Place: Sophie Compston and Dan Mach
Experimental Design, 5th place: Sophie Compston, Julie Compston, and Jack Tasick
Each of the events require UHS students to compete against other teams from across the state, with specific criteria for each event. For example, “Aerial Scramble” required teams to build a kit airplane within an hour from scratch, which would then be timed for longest flight by time, while “Write It/Do It” required one teammate to write out specific instructions on how to construct an apparatus, for the second team member to complete within a set time period. UHS had teams competing in 24 events, with top 15 finishes in Code Busters (7th place), Scrambler (13th place), and Forestry (14th place). The team as a whole narrowly missed a top-ten overall state finish.
“I’m so very proud of Mr. Lui and the team for its performances this season,” said UHS Principal Michael Rubin. “They continue to improve each year. I really marvel at the dedication of these competitors and Coach Lui to practice after school and sacrifice long weekend days to compete.”
UHS was the smallest public high school to compete at the state championship with an enrollment of 431 students in grades 9-12. Among schools from Central Massachusetts, the team finished behind only Westborough High School, who finished in 9th place. UHS’ Coach is also a member of the state Science Olympiad board and attended the national conference for Science Olympiad in the summer of 2021.
Grease Takes the Stage!
The Uxbridge High School Drama Club will present GREASE: SCHOOL VERSION Book, Music and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Performance dates are Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18, at 7:00PM and Sunday March 19 at 2:00PM in the Uxbridge High School Auditorium. “Grease: School Version” is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., a Concord Theatricals Company. www.concordtheatricals.com
Grease is a turbo-fueled nostalgic musical road trip through the joys, relationships, and dances -- literally and emotionally -- of the students of Rydell High in 1959. Come share the excitement of new love, shiny cars, future dreams, and best friendships as “We Go Together” from those “Summer Nights” “Hopelessly Devoted to You”. and so much more! We go together is absolutely right as the UHS Drama Club has a cast and crew sixty members strong! They are directed by Mrs. Kathleen Penza and Ms. Mary Mangnall, with a great deal of assistance from Ms. Sue Hirtle. The production is also collaborative effort between several departments at Uxbridge High School including Performing Arts, Visual Arts/Graphic Design, and Technology and Construction. The annual musical is truly a school-wide effort!
Contact the Uxbridge High School office to reserve tickets. Tickets are free but required for admission. They will be available to the public starting March 6.
LATEST PODCAST!
Uxbridge High School
Email: mrubin@uxbridge.k12.ma.us
Website: www.uxbridgeschools.com
Location: 300 Quaker Highway, Uxbridge, MA, USA
Phone: (508)278-8633
Twitter: @UxbHSPrincipal