HRHS Faculty Newsletter
October 7-11
This Week's Calendar
Day 6
1pm: School Committee and Town Officials Visiting
4pm: Girls JV Soccer Game @ HRHS
6pm: Girls Varsity Soccer Game @ HRHS
6:30pm: School Committee Meeting
Tuesday 10/8:
Day 5
2:30-3:30: Program Leader Meeting
3:30pm: Girls and Boys XC @ Stanley Park in Westfield
4pm: Boys JV Soccer Game @ HRHS
6pm: Boys Varsity Soccer Game @ HRHS
Wednesday 10/9:
Day 4
3pm: Golf Match @ Beaver Brook
Thursday 10/10:
Day 3
Period 4: PSAT Pre-Administration (approx 90 juniors)
4pm: Girls JV Soccer Game @ HRHS
6pm: Girls Varsity Soccer Game @ HRHS
Friday 10/11:
Day 2
4pm: Boys JV Soccer Game @ HRHS
6pm: Boys Varsity Soccer Game @ HRHS
For Your Information and Action
Fire Extinguisher Training: The new Westhampton Fire Chief, Dave Antosz (dad of Jake and Garrett Antosz) would like to hold a fire extinguisher training on Thursday, October 17 from 2:30-3:30pm. He is not available on Tuesdays for our typical meeting days. If you would like to attend, you can either earn 1 hour of comp time where you can leave early or come late one day or you can get paid for an after school meeting. Basically, you get to have some fun extinguishing real fires. What could be better? Please fill out this google form to let me know if you plan to attend.
Parent Portal: After consideration, it makes sense to open the parent and student portal for full viewing access the week that marks close and the few days after. So for example, we’d open it October 28 and keep it open until November 6. This way, the inputting of grades during this high stress time is transparent. The portal will be closed again on November 7 and then open again for Monday and Tuesday Nov 11/12 the following week, etc.
BIG REVEAL for Oct. 15 PD: I know everyone has been anxiously and EXCITEDLY awaiting our PD location and schedule. Please plan to engage in a great PD day at Quonquont Farm in Whately!
The day will consist of completing an important mission together as a team. We will have evidence for you to review. It is vital that we all plan to come to participate fully to ensure we can accomplish this endeavor together.
Plan to wear comfortable clothes. On the lunch break, you can access the amenities of the farm. Per the newsletter last week, danish and fruit will be provided in the morning and a light lunch of soup, salad, wraps and desserts is provided. We received TWO generous donations from George Propane and the Polish National Credit Union, so the lunch is at a reduced cost of $5/person if you are able to pay. Please see Alesia with your payment.
We will meet at Quonquont at 8am. Please plan to be there from 8am-3pm for a focused and productive day!
Deposits: Please do not hold large sums of cash in the hold drawer. Deposits should be made in weekly, if not daily increments. Having someone else double check the count makes things go much more smoothly too.
Also, there will be a lock box for deposits from now on. If you have a deposit, please give it to Alesia or Jen to put in the lock box. Deposits should not be used to make change or be touched after they are prepared. Thanks!
For teachers planning trips with travel companies: Sometimes when you plan a field trip for students, there is an “incentive” or “bonus” that the company builds in for the teacher. You may have seen that in South Hadley, a teacher was just fined for accepting this monetary incentive.
If you plan a trip where an incentive is offered, it is best not to accept it, since you as the teacher are required to fill out a W-9 as if it was your own personal income. If you are given the incentive and for some reason cannot give it back, please follow this protocol:
Return it to the company and ask for it to be distributed to the school.
Inform the Principal, as it will need to be accepted by School Committee as a donation.
Decide with the principal how it will be used--student scholarships, snacks for the students, etc.
Advisory: The Hampshire Games was created as a way to incentivize advisory-- we are not looking to add any stress to anyone's day! If your advisory doesn't finish a certain activity on any given day, feel free to continue it on a later day (just not on a red day) and email John your points whenever it's complete. You are self-reporting--we are not worried if you submit your points late or anything like that.
In addition, if you are planning activities in your advisory that you feel are "point-worthy" and are really within the spirit of advisory, feel free to let me and/or John know and we are happy to award points for that. For example, Grayson's senior advisory has been working to do a cornhole tournament with another advisory. This isn't necessarily one of the suggested activities that is on an advisory agenda, but it is collaborative and gets kids engaged with each other, and is totally within the spirit and goal of advisory. Let us know the cool things you are doing and we are happy to count those things!
Discipline Referrals: Please fill out a "Major Discipline Referral" if you are looking for admin intervention/follow-up and a "Minor Discipline Referral" if you are simply looking to document problematic behaviors that you are dealing with yourself. Definitions of both types of behaviors and the referral links can be found here. In addition, please make sure that you are contacting the parents if you fill out a minor OR a major referral. Admin will also contact parents when a major referral is filled out.
StethoSCOOP: Information from your favorite school nurses!
- Just to clarify, if you bring your class outside, students with life threatening allergies to insects (such as bees) should carry their prescription Epi Pen when they are outside. Students should not be eating in your class outside, unless they have a documented medical reason.
- Here is the latest information regarding EEE in Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/guides/eee-in-massachusetts#-printable-fact-sheets-
- The paraprofessionals completed a CPR class on the 9/27/19 PD day. We now have 20 more adults at HRHS trained in CPR and AED use!
Save the Date: Friday, December 6th for our HRHS Annual Holiday Gathering. More details to follow...
Lockdown Debrief: Great job with being alert, students up, and ready to fight! Police were so impressed. A few small adjustments:
Do not give attendance to police--that is for our internal purpose.
Please verbalize "lockdown drill" (for drills) in a loud clear voice.
Be sure to pull shades.
Be sure that your safe spot is away from the line of vision for the door.
Reminder for teachers writing letters of recommendation: Don't forget to sign in to Naviance to track the college application deadlines for your students. Also, you will need to fill out the Common Application Teacher Report for any student who is using the Common App. If you have any questions or trouble doing either of these, please let Amy Scully know.
PSAT/PreACT:
All 10th graders and most 11th will be testing Wednesday, October 16th, periods 1-3.
Cafeteria Study Halls: We will be sending out a staff survey soon to gauge whether or not we should keep study halls in the cafeteria for quarter two. We will send a separate survey to students. In the meantime, please make sure that you are spread out and are facing kids during study halls, especially the bigger ones. Thank you!
Staff Shout-Outs
- Thank you to the 9th grade experience teachers for your thorough and informative emails to families!
Responsibility and Perseverance:
- Casey Keefe has put in countless hours to support a senior student through some tremendous challenges. Thank you for your endless compassion and perseverance!
- Thank you Alesia Estabrook for your organization with managing AP fees!
- Thank you to Jen Reagan for all that you do to support senior privileges, including holding them accountable for using their privileges correctly!
- Courtney Sullivan worked tirelessly to make sure that all seniors are represented in the yearbook. Thank you for your dedication to this!
- Thank you Deena Lashway and Mariana Lara-Albert for clear and immediate parent communication when needed this week.
Collaboration and Engagement:
- Thank you to Patti Richmond for collaborating on streamlining the EPP (Educational Proficiency Plan) template while still making sure it meets DESE requirements!
- Thank you to Team Rocky Mountains for a great field trip this week, despite some last minute issues that were outside of our control.
- Carol Inman is working hard to make breakfast tasty and nutritious! Thank you Carol!
Respect and Compassion:
- Thank you to Glenda Hall for your intense work with a student who has returned to HRHS to get his diploma!
Students of the Week
Shout Outs:
- Cameron Menard (gr. 8) takes all the chairs off the tables before Morning Meeting.
- Ashton Lashway (gr. 7) is kind, thoughtful, and hardworking. Way to go Ashton!
- McKenzie Nichols (gr. 10) was featured in the Fuel Up to Play 60 national campaign email! (See photo)
- Thank you to Andrew Nichols (gr. 10) and Andrew Brisbois (gr. 8) for volunteering to be shadowed by an administrator this past week!