HRHS Faculty Newsletter
February 4-8
This Week's Calendar
Day 6
6:30pm: School Committee Meeting
Tuesday Feb. 5:
Day 5
1/2 Day for Students
7:35-11:00: AP Practice Exams: Economics, French, Spanish
11:00-2:30: Staff PD
Wednesday Feb. 6:
Day 4
7:45-11:00: MCAS Biology
Period 2: STEM Internship Meeting
5:30 & 7:00: Boys Basketball @ HRHS vs. Gateway
Thursday Feb. 7:
7:45-11:00: MCAS Biology
5:30 & 7:00: Girls Basketball @ HRHS vs. South Hadley
Friday Feb. 8:
Day 3
For Your Information & Action:
Feb. 12 Faculty Meeting: We have a dynamic theater troupe coming to present to our students to kick off the white ribbon campaign on March 4. The District Attorney is also involved with our WRC. Given the sensitivity of the presentation, we need to do a staff training. Therefore, the Feb 12 department meeting is changed to a faculty meeting.
March MCAS Schedules: 10th grade MCAS kicks off on March 26-27. Schedules for these days are forthcoming!
Laptops: Please do not remove laptops from COWs or CALFs. Computers have different programs loaded on them based on their assigned cart and should all stay together as a unit.
Disinfecting Classrooms: Our custodians are working on disinfecting the building, classroom by classroom. They are working on getting to each classroom and spraying down the desks, door handles, and tables. If you notice a residue on the student desks, it can easily be wiped down with a damp towel/paper towel, but this is not necessary. The handrails in the stairwells are also being disinfected.
AP Capstone: AP Capstone will be a new experience that we will be offering 9th and 10th graders this year. It was introduced in the program videos shown last week in advisory. It is a two year AP program consisting of AP Research its first year and AP Seminar for the second year.
- AP Seminar is a full year course focused on teaching research skills. It will be taught by Andrea Belanger. There is an AP Exam students need to pass in order to go on to AP Seminar. (if they fail, they make take it during the year)
- AP Research is a full year course where students will conduct their own independent research on a topic of their course. This course requires students to present their findings to a panel to be evaluated.
Only two schools in Western Massachusetts offer this opportunity for students, so it is great that HRHS will be offering it, but the requirements are rigorous and require independent initiation, so we will be selective as to who is able to access the program. We will answer questions about this at the faculty meeting on the half day, but we wanted to give you a brief overview.
Safety
Staff Shout Outs!
- Thank you to Kim Bush for all of her work around helping the English department to understand PDPs/renewal of license. She has sent us resources, made us all binders to hold our paperwork, offered time to meet with us, and more. It's really helpful and very kind of her to expend the energy and effort!
- Shout out to Greg Reynolds for covering Tara Winters' homeroom and two classes when there was no sub. You are the best neighbor a teacher could have!
- Thank you to Ellen Doyle for your organization and perseverance with ACCESS testing! Ellen tested 10 students this week (more students than in the past) and has two more to go next week. Even though the two-hour delays changed the testing schedule and days, she has been a trooper and is always willing to do whatever is necessary for her students!
Collaboration and Engagement:
- Thanks to the teachers and paras on Team Matterhorn and Team Rocky Mountains for pitching in to help each other out. With several teachers out sick lately, everyone has been willing to step up by printing lesson plans, making copies of worksheets and covering Homerooms and Advisories. Everyone seems to have the same response... "How can I help?" It has made a hectic time very manageable!
- Amy Scully, Katie Watkins, and Patti Richmond put on a clear, concise, and well-attended 8th Grade Transition Night on Wednesday! Thank you for your hard work in making sure HRHS families are prepared for the transition from middle to high school!
- Thank you Tara Winters for your willingness and eagerness to support with 10th grade MCAS!
- Thank you to Kristen Smidy for organizing such a thoughtful after-school celebration for the Aldrich twins as they signed their National Letters of Intent!
Respect and Compassion:
- Shout out to Chalam Hosig for doing everything you possibly can to hold students accountable and for communicating about their needs!
Student Spotlight
Senior of the Week: Olivia and Sophie Aldrich signed their National Letters of Intent to play soccer at Caldwell University in New Jersey! Congratulations!
Junior of the Week: Kaitlin Schott was so welcoming to a new student in English class this week and in general always gives her full effort on a daily basis. Thank you, Kaitlin!
Sophomore of the Week: Jillian Scott and Zoe Paradis-Stern both helped staff the Hidden in Plain Sight exhibit this past week, in addition to being all-around excellent students!
Freshman of the Week: Kylie Cleggett has been a rockstar in history class! She was the most active participant in class and had high quality homework completed! Way to go, Kylie!