HRHS Faculty Newsletter
September 16-20
This Week's Calendar
Day 7
4pm: Boys JV Soccer (Home)
6pm: Boys Varsity Soccer (Home)
Tuesday Sept. 17:
Day 6
2:30-3:30: Program Leaders
3pm: Golf (Beaver Brook)
4pm: Girls JV Soccer (Home)
6pm: Girls Varsity Soccer (Home)
Wednesday Sept. 18:
Day 5
4pm: Boys JV Soccer (Home)
6pm: Boys Varsity Soccer (Home)
Thursday Sept. 19:
Day 4
Friday Sept. 20:
Day 3
3pm: Golf (Beaver Brook)
For Your Information and Action
Middle School Counseling Appointments: Due to the current schedule and the number of students receiving counseling services, some students will need to be pulled from some of their classes in addition to study hall and guided academics. We understand that this is not ideal, but it is necessary in order to meet the needs of our students at this time.
Scheduling Meetings: Please schedule meetings by using the period times on the bell schedule. For example, it is easier to find coverage for a meeting during Block 2, 8:45-9:35, rather than a meeting that is 8-9am. Also, please check the "Out Today" calendar to see if there are a lot of staff already out that day- it is easier to schedule on slow days.
NEASC Visits:
If anyone would like to do a NEASC visit, they are desperate for:
- Peabody Veterans Memorial High School in Peabody, MA--Sept. 22-25 OR
- Agawam High School in Agawam, MA--Sept. 29-Oct. 2
All expenses paid and it counts as professional time off. Let Kristen know by end of day Monday.
Tier 2 Support Class: This year, we are excited to offer a "Tier 2" support class for students. It's not a guided academic because that is only accessible for students on IEPs and their grid needs to reflect this service. This Academic Support class is for any student, but prioritized for students who have 504s or identified needs/accommodations that are not special education. If one of your students has separate setting for testing but is not on an IEP or does not have a separate space identified, this academic support class could be available. Please email Michele McHale to notify her that you would like to send students 24 hours before the assessment with how many students are coming and if a para is coming with the students. She will let you know if she has space in her room for the separate testing setting. Thank you!
Stetho-Scoop: Information from your favorite school nurses! For your information, please see the announcement from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health regarding vaping associated illness. We, as health care providers, must report to the DPH any events of serious respiratory illness related to vape use. We realize there is some medical jargon that you may not understand in this report, but bottom line: this is a serious issue facing students who engage in THC or nicotine vaping.
Sub Plans: In your sub folder, please leave any pertinent information about IEP/504 accommodations that a sub would need. They do not need access to the whole plan--just the information that is relevant for their needs.
Grading Schedule 2019-20: Grading due dates for the entire year are linked here.
School Committee Visits:
Part of the school improvement plan is to develop new opportunities for collaboration with the community. Because of this, the elementary and Hampshire Regional school committees, select boards, and finance committees will be invited to HRHS on the following dates and times:
Tuesday, October 1 from 8am-8:45am
Wednesday, October 2 from 10am-10:45am
- Monday, October 7 from 1:00-1:45pm.
Reminders
Kristen: (508) 335-9213
Mark: (413) 297-8083
Lauren: (413) 539-3662
Parent Portal: The portal will be open Mondays-Tuesdays each week. Please make sure your grades are updated.
Fire Drill: New fire drill flow charts have been distributed to all staff and updated on the server.
Requesting a Personal Day: Please submit your request for a personal day at least five days in advance (except in emergency situations), per the contract.
Department Intros: On Tuesday, program leaders will be picking the dates for each department's intro to the staff! These will run at each PD/faculty meeting from October to May. As a reminder, here are the requirements:
Must include include everyone’s name and something about them
Be limited to 2 minutes per person (so if your department has 6 people, no longer than 12 minutes total)
Has to include creativity, fun, and positive risk taking!
We will record all presentations!
And if you missed it, here is the admin intro that we did on Sept. 3!
Staff Shout-Outs
- The admin team was able to observe every classroom in the building this week! We were blown away by the high quality teaching and learning that was happening school-wide. Thank you for amazing use of technology, high student engagement, amazing group work and labs, and an overall awesome feel during the first two weeks of school. Thank you for all that you do!
Responsibility and Perseverance:
- Props to new paras Melinda Conway and Madison McCarthy who are really doing a fantastic job as first times paras!!! They have great questions, are meeting all expectations thus far, and seem genuinely invested in doing the right thing.
- Thank you to Lindsey Sojkowski and Cyndy Domina for your perseverance and compassion with a few families who need extra supports and accountability.
Collaboration and Engagement:
- Aidan Talbot and Kirsti Wiemokly were the first faculty members to post their lessons on the Pineapple Chart! Thank you both!
- Thank you to Tonya Aitken for sending a super informative and collaborative email to 9th grade families!
- Congratulations to the HRHS Staff School Council Representatives: Tonya Aitken, Kelly Carpenter, Kim Hallett, and Amy Scully (usually there is an election, but because there are four open spots, no election needed).
- Congratulations class of 2023 advisor, Sydney Cloutier!
Respect and Compassion:
- Thank you to Patti Richmond who is helping a student navigate some tough obstacles outside of school.