NHS Weekly Memo
Welcome Back Information
Principal's Corner- Tim McCormick
Let me take this opportunity to welcome you all back to Northbridge High School for the 2020-2021 academic school year!
As you all now know, the district made the decision to begin the school year teaching remotely to the vast majority of our students through quarter one. The planning for this has been immense and ongoing as new information, questions, and roadblocks seem to appear almost daily.
The purpose of my welcome back email is to highlight some of the major changes for the start of our remote learning plan scheduled to run through the first quarter of school. One of these major changes is our student schedule. Pictured below, is a seven drop two schedule where students will have five 66 minute classes per day. This fixed schedule will allow students, teachers, and families to reestablish learning routines while rotating through a schedule that allows students to take core classes and their elective courses as well. This schedule additionally adds a 15 minute break and an increased lunch block of 30 minutes for students and staff.
Our schedule on Wednesdays will have three blocks (66 minutes each) in the morning with structured classes ending at 10:58 for all students.
Grading/Homework:
At Northbridge High School, assignments will be graded as if in an in-person model and in accordance with current handbook numerical grading policies. All student grades will be posted in iPass while assignments and classroom activities will be posted in Google classroom.
We recognize that students will have an increased amount of screen time daily and because of this we have made the decision to greatly reduce the amount of homework assigned. Although we are not eliminating homework completely, teachers will structure their classes to allow for more work to be completed and assessed within the class period. Wednesday classes may assign additional work to be completed that afternoon. Advanced Placement courses will regularly have additional work for those students.
Student learning expectations:
Last spring was our trial run into remote learning and while some things went extremely well, other facets of our plan needed to be improved. For NHS students, we identified some learning expectations that needed to be changed or improved:
- Students will log in to all their remote classes via the appropriate platform on time each day with all the necessary materials, ready to learn.
- All students need to be seen/heard on camera in the virtual classroom for documentation of attendance. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each block and parents/guardians will be notified if their student is absent.
- Students will meet the due dates and deadlines set forth by their teachers, and if unable to do so, students will consult with their teachers to request additional time.
- Students are expected to check their school Google accounts (email, calendar, Classroom, etc.) daily and respond to teacher requests or questions in a timely manner.
Family Expectations:
To ensure successful remote learning, we also need our parents and families to take an active role in supporting this process. We ask that families take the following steps when necessary:
- Reach out to their child(ren)'s teachers, counselors, or administrators for assistance if their child is refusing to participate in the learning.
- Parents should make every attempt to respond in a timely manner if they receive an email or phone call from their child's teacher, a support staff member or an administrator.
Teacher Expectations:
To ensure successful remote learning, teachers will continue to take the following steps:
- Teachers will contact parent(s)/caregivers via email with attendance and/or student participation issues.
- Assignments/projects should not require students to acquire materials that they do not already have access to in their homes or that have not been provided for them by the school or district.
- Teachers will provide students and families an outline of weekly assignments by Monday morning via Google Classroom.
- Teachers will take daily period attendance and record in iPass.
- Teachers will review online expectations for students on the first day of classes and remind students of expectations, as needed throughout the remote learning period.
- Teachers will teach new material and concepts utilizing standards-based curricula developed by the Northbridge Public Schools, which is also aligned to state standards.
Administrator Expectations:
- Administrators will ensure that both students and staff are actively engaged in the teaching and learning process.
- Administrators will ensure that all teachers are participating in scheduled common planning time and necessary professional development.
- Administrators will consistently follow-up on teacher reports of students who are not participating regularly or whom are having attendance/behavior issues.
- Administrators will provide teachers and other support staff with feedback and support throughout the virtual learning model, as well as when we transition to hybrid or in-person.
Athletics and Activity updates
Athletics
On Tuesday, August 18, 2020, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in consultation with the MIAA, released its fall guidance for athletics for the 2020-21 school year. The Board of Directors subsequently approved that guidance on the morning of the 19th.
Officially, the MIAA Board of Directors approved on August 19 a four-season schedule, with a fall, winter, and spring, along with a floating fall season (fall II) between the winter and spring during which fall cheer, football, and unified basketball may be played, pending public health data. Our immediate planning will focus on the fall, during which we will have the ability to sponsor soccer, field hockey, golf, and cross country. All sports are required to follow the guidance of the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The fall season could not start until September 18 or later (practices first 10 days), and start dates for the other three seasons have not yet been finalized.
Our athletic directors and principals from both the Southern Worcester County League and surrounding area, including the entirety of District 2, which comprises most schools in Worcester County/Central Massachusetts, will be developing plans for rescheduling based on this vote. We will be creating schedules based on geographic pods, as we take into consideration transportation guidelines and requirements. We will also need to ensure a variety of safety procedures and equipment at all times, as each sport has individual nuances and considerations. This will include fewer contests and time between games to ensure that there is limited cross-contact. We will also need to secure a variety of methods to sanitize equipment and hands, and shared equipment, (i.e. pinnies used at soccer or field hockey practice). This equipment will now have to be assigned to individual players and not shared.
In the coming weeks, Mr. Kozik and I will be working with area athletic directors and principals to develop schedules that prioritize medical safety and logistics, determining our own budgetary impact, and working with families to ensure that all guidelines for sports are communicated with consistency, both for and through coaches. Additionally, he and I have been in touch with the league and surrounding area schools about the impact and importance of attendance protocols, particularly should contact tracing be necessary.
Finally, from a procedural and Handbook perspective, Northbridge High School will need to develop procedures regarding in-school attendance, particularly for days during our remote instruction. To date, the MIAA has not provided any direction for those situations.
Mr. Kozik and I will be presenting our evolving plans to our school committee next month for their approval. We will continue to keep all students and families abreast of all new details and will make our plan based on the safety and success of our student athletes.
Activities/Clubs
Our hope is to continue as many student clubs and activities as possible albeit virtually to start. By the end of September, we will be sharing all club and activity sign up information with students and their families.
Student Materials Pick up Days: September 10th and 11th
Connectivity Test- September 11th
Guidance Update- Ms. Hubbell
The Northbridge High School Guidance Department welcomes all students back to school and to NHS for the 2020-2021 school year. It doesn’t look or feel like any other year, but the goals are the same. High Schools, College/Universities and workplaces around the world are all facing similar adversity and finding new ways to excel. Find a routine that works and remember that every class and grade counts in high school. The better you do the more opportunities you will have!
School counselors will be making our regular classroom visits in the first quarter of the year. We visit English classes to see every student and cover applicable topics for each grade level based on the established NHS Guidance Curriculum. We start in the first few weeks with the Senior class working on finalizing transition plans out of NHS.
The college application process has been electronic for some time now. This year more than ever it is important for seniors to be aware of a school’s deadlines, their stance on standardized testing (many are making it optional or waiving it for this year) and program requirements. The sooner you know this the easier it is to plan. Work on the college essay began last Spring in English classes and will continue to, and the letter of recommendation process and request window will be opened after Guidance meets with seniors.
We typically have college reps from around the region and beyond visit our students in school. Until that is possible we will have virtual visits. Any student is welcome from any grade. It is never too early. These visits have proven to be very valuable to seniors looking for more information about a major, a senior applying to the school for some detailed advice, or underclassmen thinking about life after NHS. All school representative visits that are scheduled can be found on your Naviance homepage. We opened it back up this week and already have booked Bentley, Bryant, WNEC, Regis, UNE and Merrimack.
We are finalizing a quick and easy way for any student to be able to request a one on one virtual counselor visit during the school day. Keep an eye out for notification on what this electronic process will look like.