Blue Hills News
Dear Blue Hills Families,
Report Cards will be published tomorrow, February 3. Please make sure you review your student's grades. Reach out to teachers or guidance counselors if you have concerns about their progress to this point.
Spring Sports - Believe it or not, spring athletics are right around the corner! Sign up is open on Family ID. You must register on Family ID to participate or try out. Physical exams must be up to date. There are no exceptions! Register early and take care of any issues with your paperwork well in advance of the spring season!
Congratulations to our Athletic Director, Mr. Ed Catabia, for being nominated and selected as the District 8 Athletic Director of the Year. Mr. Catabia has served Blue Hills for many years as a teacher, coach, and Athletic Director. He will be honored on March 30, at the MSSADA Annual Awards Banquet. Congratulations Mr. Catabia!
A reminder from the Academic Office:
Please note the dates for this year's MCAS, below.
It is imperative that all grade 10 students are present for these state-required evaluations. The state only allows medical excuses for absences during testing dates. If you need any clarification on this year's MCAS administration, please do not hesitate to reach-out to the Academic Office at your earliest convenience (pbavuso@bluehills.org).
English Language Arts: March 28 and March 29
Mathematics: May 16 and May 17
Biology: June 6 and June 7
Entrepreneur Week
For the first time, we are holding an "Entrepreneur Week" for the school from February 13 - February 17. During this week, students will see short videos about entrepreneurs, have the opportunity to highlight people that started their own business, and even see some of our own student entrepreneurs during the week. On Wednesday, February 15, we will be hosting a moderated panel for our seniors and juniors, letting them hear from local business owners and graduates. For the full schedule, see the document below.
February is Black History Month!
"The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society." (from https://blackhistorymonth.gov/).
Blackhistorymonth.gov is an amazing collection of resources, videos, articles, and exhibits. The collective is expansive, so I want to highlight just one. Many may remember the documentary series "Eyes on the Prize" - this collection calls out a project compiled by the American Archive of Public Broadcasting which put together the 308 interviews - in full - that were recorded and used in the production of "Eyes on the Prize." Here is a link to the overview and the interviews: https://americanarchive.org/special_collections/eotp-interviews.
John and Abigail Adams Scholarship
On February 1, Blue Hills hosted our annual John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Breakfast. Our guidance department did a tremendous job of planning and coordinating a great event for 56 students and their families. We thank State Senator Walter Timilty for his keynote address, as well as Representative William Driscoll, Representative Paul McMurtry, and State Senator Michael Brady for being in attendance and honoring our students. Also in attendance were School Committee Represenatives Tom Polito (Dedham) and Sheila Vazquez (Westwood). It was a wonderful morning and the first glimpse toward an exciting 2023 Graduation season!
Public Education Initiative on 9-1-1
Recently, the state issued information in an effort to educate the public on some key features of the 911 system.
- The first is “Text-to-911”, which allows a person that is unable to speak or hear to communicate via text with a 9-1-1 dispatcher.
- The second is the “Silent Call Procedure”, which allows a person that is unable to speak to call 9-1-1 and when the call is answered by the dispatcher to press the following digits on their phone - 1 for police, 2 for fire, 3 for an ambulance - so that the dispatcher can immediately send help.
These two features of the 9-1-1 system are valuable and can provide the ability to save a life when used.
Reminder: Parent Toolkit Available for Social Media & Apps!
The Social Institute:
We announced in September that Blue Hills Regional Technical School has launched a partnership with The Social Institute (TSI), a national leader in curriculum designed to equip students to navigate the complex intersection of well-being, social media, and technology. I would encourage you to read below and to sign up for the Parent Toolkit - it is free and contains an amazing amount of information about social media apps, gaming, and other realities of teenage life.
At a time when students spend many hours a day on digital devices, and cyberbullying and reputation-damaging posts run rampant, TSI equips students to make positive, healthy, and high-character choices that fuel their health, happiness, and future success. Our school will be adopting TSI’s comprehensive program, called #WinAtSocial, which promotes character, empathy, teamwork, and other important life skills.
Whether or not your child uses social media or a device of their own, we hope that you will consider how these free resources outlined below could be useful to your family.
To be clear, information offered through this partnership does not instruct anyone how to parent. Instead, these supplementary resources provide insight into social media, technology, and student experiences, offering family discussion prompts and informative resources that you can incorporate into family conversations as much or as little as you like.
How Your Family Can Participate:
Continue the conversation at home: As students experience #WinAtSocial each month, Family Huddles may be emailed to you as a supplement to a lesson. These are completely optional to run as a family!
Register your free account for the Parent Toolkit. Many families refer to this as the Cliffs Notes of social media and technology! Go to the Toolkit, click Activate Account, and enter our school code: 16978DAFA8D154.
Click here for more information on how The Social Institute supports families.
We are excited to be able to offer this important and timely education to our community.
Upcoming Events
February 3: Report Cards
February 7: AFL-CIO Testing
February 9: In-Service, Late Arrival at 10:40 a.m.
February 20: Presidents' Day
February 20-24: School Closed for February Vacation
**Previous Information**
**Past Information**
Attendance
Just a gentle reminder about our attendance policy. Students who accumulate 16 absences for the year are required to attend summer school. We do not excuse single days. We do "reduce" consecutive days to count as one absence when a doctor's note is provided. We also fully excuse all covid related illnesses, so please report these to the nurse. Family trips, weddings, graduations are not excused days. If you have questions, please contact your child's guidance counselor who can review your child's attendance with you.
Winter Athletics
Winter sports are in full swing with games starting this week. You can find all the BHR schedules here. Come out and support our athletes!
- Vaping continues to be a major concern at Blue Hills and at schools across the country. Part of the inherent danger of vaping is that it is difficult to know what is inside a vaping device. One of the latest trends has seen vapes laced with fentanyl - a potentially lethal drug. I encourage you to read this article discussing the concerns with vapes. At Blue Hills, students are not allowed to carry or use vapes at any time, and will be subject to disciplinary measures.
- Seniors may be eligible to start co-op. Please email Ms. Poliseno at kpoliseno@bluehills.org for more information.
- Important Note: There is a viral social media challenge re-emerging called the "One Chip Challenge" - you can read about it here - that can cause physical harm to participants. There is no place for this at any school, and that goes for Blue Hills. Please talk with your student about the serious injury that can occur from eating these chips, and the danger of following certain social media trends. Please be advised that Blue Hills does not condone this type of dangerous activity during the school day. Students please note that there may be consequences if you are involved in this type of activity.
** Please Read** Dismissal Procedures:
Please help us by sending a note in with your student on the day that they will be dismissed. They should bring the note to the main office in the morning. This allows your student to sign out at the appointed time and meet you at your car. Otherwise, we need you to come into the building and identify yourself, at which time we have to call your student's classroom or shop to dismiss them. It is far easier and faster if you send a note in the morning. Thanks for your help with this.
Other Information:
- Aspen X2 is used by Blue Hills to record student grades, attendance, discipline, family contact information, and much more. If you need assistance logging in to Aspen X2, you may follow this link. For further assistance, you may call the Academic Office at 781-828-5800 X2670.
- Breakfast and Lunch are available for free again this year. Through the first few days of school, we have noticed many students getting off the bus, waiting in line for breakfast, and immediately throwing it out or giving it away. This is not the intention of the free breakfast program, and those students will be asked to remain on the bus instead of coming into the cafeteria.
- Please be reminded: Earpods/headphones may not be worn during the school day except with the explicit permission of the teacher. This includes breakfast, lunch, and passing times. Earpods will be confiscated if seen, and consequences assigned.
- If you have not, please complete the SY 2022-2023 Mandatory Registration & Student Emergency/Contact Information on Family ID. This is required of all students each year, and includes the Parent-Student Handbook. This helps us keep your emergency contact information up to date in our system.
- Grade 9 Parents Night Information: The presentation is available here.
Update from the School Health Office:
We continue to have self-testing kits available in the main office and in the nurse's office. These are a limited supply and will only be provided if they are available and if you are symptomatic.
If you test positive for Covid-19, please email letheart@bluehills.org and include in your communication the day your symptoms started. You will receive a response back with your isolation dates and the date of return to work or school. Remember, symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.
Symptoms include:
- Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- New loss of taste or smell
- Muscle aches or body aches
- Cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough)
- Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms
- Nausea, vomiting, when in combination with other symptoms
- Headache, when in combination with other symptoms
- Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
- Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies), when in combination with other symptoms
Reminder: although there is no statewide requirement for masking at school, masks are required when entering the school health office. They are available upon entry.
2022-2023 School Year Calendar
Blue Hills Regional Technical School’s mission is to continue its history of academic achievement, technical training and character development through a curriculum which emphasizes the integration of cutting-edge technical programs and challenging academic courses, enabling its students to become competent, caring and productive people in a diverse and changing world.
Core Values:
Community, Opportunity, Relevance, Employability
Website: www.bluehills.org
Location: 800 Randolph Street, Canton, MA, USA
Phone: 781 828 5800
BHR on:
The Blue Hills Regional Technical School District is an equal opportunity educational institution. All programs, courses of study and activities are open to all students without regard to race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or disability. The School District is in full compliance with Massachusetts Law, Chapter 622 of the Acts of 1971, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (U.S. Code), and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Individuals may make inquiries relative to Chapter 622 and Title IX from the coordinator, at the school address or by phoning 781-828-5800.