The Common, Edition #7

Dear Nashoba Families,

Please forgive this long message. There is a lot of important information to share with you regarding the community forum for the high school building project. This email will outline how you can participate in providing feedback on the preliminary design concepts to the School Building Committee and the Nashoba Regional School Committee.

When will the forum be held?

On Tuesday, October 11th at 6pm the architects from Kaestle Boos Associates will present to the residents of Bolton, Lancaster, and Stow the preliminary design options for the Nashoba Regional High School building project. Members of the community will have an opportunity to ask questions about the design options and provide feedback to the School Building Committee (SBC). See specific details about the forum in the graphic below.

How can I participate in the forum?

The best way to learn about the options is to attend the forum on October 11th. If you cannot attend the forum in person you can participate remotely by clicking on the meeting link for the forum. In the meeting link you can submit questions for consideration in the chat box and a designated member of the School Building Committee will present your question to the presenters. If the question you submit has been answered in the presentation it will not be asked for efficiency purposes. However, the meeting will be recorded and you can always review the presentation.

What if I can not attend the forum in person or remotely?

The forum will be recorded and a link will be available on the School Building Committee website. You can view the recording of the meeting any time that is most convenient to you.

How do I provide feedback on the options?

At the beginning of the forum, you will be presented with a link to the NRHS Preliminary Design Concept Feedback form. It will also be posted on the SBC website. After the design options are presented, we will ask participants to fill out the feedback form. You will have an entire week to complete your feedback form and submit it to the School Building Committee.

Will I be presented with information about the options prior to the forum?

YES!!!! Here is the link to the slide deck presentation, NRHS Preliminary Design Options. You can help the efficiency of the presentation by reviewing the slide deck and submitting your questions in advance of the meeting. To submit your questions, please complete the Design Options Questions form. Remember, you can choose to ask your questions at the forum or online during the forum. By submitting your questions ahead of time, you will give the presenters an opportunity to embed their answers into the presentation

What happens after the forum?

The School Building Committee will convene on Tuesday, October 18, 2022. The SBC will review the comments from constituents, deliberate, and vote to recommend a preferred option to the Nashoba Regional School Committee. The Nashoba Regional School Committee will convene on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 to deliberate and vote on whether to accept the recommended option, which will be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority no later than October 27, 2022.

It is important that the residents of our three towns appear and participate in this process of selecting a design option. Our communications team will work with all three towns to disseminate this information to all residents, including those who do not have children in the school system. You can help that effort by forwarding this email to friends and neighbors who live in our towns.

I look forward to seeing you at the community forum.

Peace,

Kirk Downing

(He/Him)

Please use this link to view or participate in the forum in real time; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CZSFloESzA

Next Friday, October 14th, Spring 2022 MCAS Parent/Guardian Report will be mailed home to families. The MCAS Parent/Guardian Report provides families with their child’s results from the Spring 2022 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science and Technology/Engineering, where applicable. Last year’s MCAS testing marked the first year of full test administration in grades 3-8 and at the high school since 2019. Due to the pandemic, MCAS tests were not administered in 2020, and in 2021 modified MCAS tests were administered with the scope of the tests shortened and the structure adjusted. Families are encouraged to reach out to their child's teacher or building principal should they have any questions about this year's report

As we look ahead, we will continue to work towards continual improvement for all students. We see parents as critical partners in the success of our students and school, and we are grateful for the continued support of our families. The following site contains resources that may be helpful, MCAS Resources for Parents and Guardians.

Did you know? October 2nd is recognized annually as National Custodian Day, a day that recognizes the hard work that it takes to keep our facilities in tip-top shape. A special thank you to our dedicated Nashoba custodians who work tirelessly each and every day to keep our classrooms and schools safe and clean for our students and faculty. We value our custodians as integral members of our community and extend our gratitude to them on National Custodian Day and every day moving forward. Thank you!

Our adult students recently visited the Alpaca Ranch in Harvard. During this trip, the students worked on a variety of skills that are needed to assist in their home and work environments.

Students practiced communication skills, by speaking with and talking to unfamiliar adults, which included the tour guide and the farmers at the orchard. These skills are imperative to practice, because when we are working off-site, we often need to approach supervisors and co-workers to ask questions and seek guidance. Secondly, given our schedule changed for the day, students learned to adapt to changes in routine which assist with learning flexibility. This is an important skill to learn, as in adult life we often have to deal with unexpected changes to our schedules. Finally, students enjoyed apple picking at the ranch. This led to the students selecting recipes of items to make with the apples, determining what we needed for the selected recipe, developing a budget and shopping for the items at the local grocery store. These opportunities assist students with developing independent living skills.

The students enjoyed the trip tremendously and wanted to tell everyone that in addition to the skills they learned, they loved learning about how the animals are cared for and enjoyed having the opportunity to eat new foods!

Nashoba Regional High School will be hosting a flu clinic and health fair on Oct. 13, 2022 for all community members from 3-6PM. Pre-registration for the flu vaccine is required using the links posted on the Nashoba Associated Boards of health website at https://www.nashoba.org/calendar. If you are unable to attend this evening, other locations and times are on the website.

In our continued efforts to support students and families who may be experimenting with substances. Hidden in Plain Sight will be available at our health fair. You do not need to attend the flu clinic to participate.

Hidden in Plain Sight is a parent education exhibit created by Influence the Choice. This exhibit is a re-creation of a "typical teenager's bedroom" that teaches parents how to spot signs of drug use or abuse. The program offers adults insight into what youths may be hiding in their rooms by providing a mock-up of a typical teenager's bedroom.

After exploring the exhibit, the hope is that participants will have a developed awareness of the indicators of drug abuse, common methods of concealment and the paraphernalia used in the processing and use of illicit drugs.

Participants will also learn about law enforcement's efforts and experiences in combating alcohol and drug abuse and about resources for those seeking help and information.

Affordable Connectivity Program- Last week, school districts were notified of an additional benefit to those families that qualify for free/reduced meals. The benefit comes in the form of a credit toward internet service bills and credits towards devices. For more information on the program and to apply, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/getinternet. Please visit our NRSD Nutrition website to review the free/reduced lunch application information if you have not done so already and believe that may benefit your family. Please remember that the qualification benefits include possible waivers/reductions to fees in our district.

The NRHS volleyball team held their annual Dig Pink Game this week. The program collected donations and will be making a donation to Saint Jude’s Children Hospital