Weekly News and Notes

Good afternoon,

We had a busy week getting back to the swing of things here at UHS. Overall, we found that teachers were building momentum, setting the stage for the stretch between now and the April break, which is one of the longer uninterrupted stretches for school that we will have this year.

Basketball Teams Bow Out

Both of our basketball teams had valiant efforts this week, but the boys dropped a close decision to Clinton High School and the girls’ comeback against Northbridge came up short. We thank the seniors of both teams, as well as the coaching staffs, for setting the tone for positive seasons for both, and while the outcomes weren’t what we had hoped, both teams represented UHS all season with heart and class.

Our Cheerleaders continue to impress, taking second in the SWCL last week and advancing to the regional championships this weekend. Good luck, girls!

Course Selection for 2017-18

We met today with all students in grades 9-11 regarding course selection for next year, which came after the 8th graders visited on Tuesday. We will hold a Program of Studies night on Monday for grade 9-11 parents, starting at 6:30 p.m. Both guidance counselors will be available to answer questions, both generally and specifically, and we will review all of our changes and updates to the Program of Studies for next year.

Students will be conferencing with teachers next week regarding teacher recommendations for courses for next year, and we anticipate course input happening the week of March 13. If you have specific questions about courses for next year, reach out to teachers, counselors, administrators, or department leaders, depending on the question you may have.

Also, please discuss with students their interests in terms of electives, their particular wants or needs, and areas of challenge or strength. We want students to be deliberate and specific with respect to their course selections - as we indicated today, they pick classes they intend to take, not that they are “thinking about.”

All documents regarding scheduling and course selection can be found at this link.

Thanks

Many thanks to our student tour guides, activities, captains, and advisors/coaches, as well as the teachers, who made the Grade 8 night so meaningful. The number of compliments paid about our student leaders who led parents in visits and conversations were innumerable. We are so very impressed by our Spartans!

Snowball Week

Many thanks to our Student Council for hosting a successful Snow Ball Week. We look forward to the dance on Saturday - and are grateful that temperatures will be more wintery! The Council will attend the state conference in Hyannis next week. We wish them well!

Blackstone Valley Ed Foundation Career Fair

UHS will host the annual Blackstone Valley Educational Foundation career fair here on Thursday, March 9, at which a number of vendors will host career information sessions and workshops for about 25 students in grades 11 and 12 from the Blackstone Valley schools. In addition, about 20 UHS students will be attending a trip on Wednesday, March 8 to Imperial Motors in Mendon, learning about different post-high school options and links between the academic curricula and post-high school placement. We are excited about all of these partnerships and are encouraged by the work our counselors are doing to ensure that students with a variety of interests and skills have post-secondary plans!

Spring Sports

Spring Sport registration is open, with the spring season starting on Monday, March 20. Registration via FamilyID is linked here.

We hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.