Weekly News and Notes

Good morning,

With the turn to second semester, we will have a number of updates coming over the next few weeks, dealing both with plans for 2018-19 and the conclusion to the school year, including graduation and senior activities.

Guidance/Program of Studies Nights

We will be hosting a Program of Studies Night on Thursday, February 1 for grades 9-10, beginning at 6:00 p.m. You will be able to get some specifics about the course selection process for next year, and we will share some new courses and programs that are being offered at UHS.

For grade 11, we will be hosting our Junior College Planning Night on Wednesday, February 7, starting at 6:30 p.m. In addition to learning some specifics about the course selection process, most of the evening will be spent on post-high school planning. Our counselors have been working with juniors in class this week and laying the groundwork for the application process. Additionally, Paul Lynskey from the Blackstone Valley Education Foundation, who has decades of experience in the college admissions and financial aid world, will present. For parents of grade 11 students, this is a must-attend event!

We will also be hosting orientation nights for grade 8 on February 8 at 6:00 p.m., while grade 7 will be joining us at 6:00 p.m. on March 1.

Graduation Events

While the graduation date was established as part of the School Committee’s school calendar process last year, we will be finalizing dates for the rest of senior week before February vacation. Generally, it is a safe bet to keep a couple of nights following Memorial Day open. Graduation is Sunday, June 3, and the event starts at 2:00 p.m.

January Newsletter

If you missed our January newsletter, there are many photos and pieces of information about happenings on campus. We hope you’re able to check it out. It was posted at http://pub.lucidpress.com/UHSJanuary2018/.

Report Cards

Report cards for the end of first semester are going to be issued at the end of next week.
As part of the comments, parents/guardians and students will be able to see student progress toward achieving a specific schoolwide learning expectation. In most cases, it will say “progressing toward meeting” or “meeting standard X.” To get a sense of what that standard reflects in terms of comments, please view here. Meeting expectation 3, for example, will tell a parent far more than the “old comments,” as it reflects that the student, with respect to “Work independently and collaboratively to solve problems, think critically, and create original products,” does the following, according to criteria evaluated over the course of the semester:

-Uses existing knowledge to create appropriate questions for investigation

-Creates a working plan with minimal assistance

-Locates and uses appropriate resources

Student contributes and is receptive to others’ contributions, while maintaining a respectful environment.

Approach is appropriate and addresses all aspects of the task.

Uses existing knowledge to create a plan without assistance.

Student meets the criteria of the task and produces an original product.

The comments are far more specific and assess student progress toward meeting the goals of our learning expectations, beliefs about learning, and, thus, core values. We hope these give students a broader idea of the skills with which they are successful in specific academic areas and support our academic goals concurrently.

We hope to see many of you in the coming weeks at many of our events. Have a great weekend!

Michael Rubin, Principal

Uxbridge High School