Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Grade 7 Open House

Good morning,

We are excited to welcome our grade 7 students and parents to an Open House and Information Night on Wednesday, March 13 at 6:00 p.m. The night will be an opportunity for us to share some details about the transition to UHS for grade 8 next year, to give some guidance on the elective courses being offered to grade 8 students, and to provide some details about the school in general. In addition to this week, we are planning a separate "step-up" day with the grade 7 students on March 7 during the school day. We will also be scheduling some parent coffees in April and May to provide families with other opportunities to interact with counselors and administration to ask questions.

We have already shared some FAQ's, which are linked here: http://uhsprincipal.blogspot.com/2018/01/faq-for-grades-7-8.html. We also have a great deal of information on course selection, as well as some presentations, linked on the high school webpage, under the "Academics" tab, by following the "Scheduling" link (click here: https://sites.google.com/a/uxbridge.k12.ma.us/the-uxbridge-high-school/scheduling). 

We hope to see many of you there. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Best,
Michael Rubin, Principal
Uxbridge High School

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

UHS Report Card


February 26, 2019


Dear Families:

Every year, each public school and school district in Massachusetts receives a report card. Just as your child’s report card shows how they are doing in different subjects, the school’s report card is designed to show families how our school is doing in different areas. Since the report cards are based on the 2017-2018 district configuration, we are sending you links to both the McCloskey Middle School Report Card (http://reportcards.doe.mass.edu/2018/03040015) and the Uxbridge High School Report Card (http://reportcards.doe.mass.edu/2018/03040505).

The report card includes multiple measures of a school’s performance – more than just MCAS scores. It represents a new way of looking at school performance, by providing information on student achievement, teacher qualifications, student learning opportunities, and more.

Report cards are designed to be useful tools for everyone connected to our school. Families can use the information to have meaningful conversations with us about what the school is doing well and where there is room for improvement. Community and education leaders can use the information to better understand how to support students and our school.

You will notice on our report cards that the percentage of students who scored advanced or proficient increased for all tenth grade MCAS assessments.  In addition, MassCore completion and graduation rates at UHS exceed the state rates. To improve student performance in our school, we are continuing to implement our Innovation Pathways to increase the advanced coursework completion of our students.  We are also focusing on social-emotional learning to address increases in chronic absenteeism experienced at all our schools. We encourage you to become involved in helping us improve our school. We see parents as critical partners in the success of our students and school, and we are grateful for your continued support.

Finally, if your child attends a school that receives federal Title I funds, you also have the right to request the following information about the qualifications of your child’s classroom teachers:

  • Whether your child’s teacher is licensed in the grade levels and subject areas they teach,
  • Whether your child’s teacher is teaching under an emergency license or waiver,
  • The college degree and major of your child’s teacher, and
  • Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

If you have questions about our school’s report card, would like to become involved in school improvement activities, or would like to request information about the qualifications of your child’s classroom teacher, please contact Michael Rubin at 508-278-8633. To see our district’s report card or to search for other schools’ report cards, visit reportcards.doe.mass.edu.

Sincerely,

Wendy Phillips
Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Accountability

Monday, February 25, 2019

Scheduling Night This Thursday

Good afternoon,

We are excited to be hosting our Grades 8-11 scheduling night on Thursday, February 28. The event will start at 6:00 p.m., and, depending on numbers, will either take place in the cafeteria or library. We anticipate the presentation taking about 30-45 minutes, which will enable parents who wish to attend the Strategic Plan focus group, which starts at 6:30 in the high school auditorium, to do so.

We will be reviewing some of our course selection guidelines, important dates, and processes during the presentation. After the event, the slides will be posted online.

Thank you and hope to see you there!

Michael Rubin, Principal
Uxbridge High School

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Spring Sports Registration

We have had a very exciting athletic campaign so far at Uxbridge, and, with the onset of the spring season hopefully ahead of us, we are writing to announce the opening of spring registration.
As with the fall and winter sports, we require student-athletes and their families to register using FamilyID. The instructions for registration for those of you who have not registered before are included with this message. For those who have registered for a winter or fall sport, the process is simple, in that you choose your participant and update with the requested spring sport. If any physical examinations have expired within the last 13 months, or will expire this spring, we remind families to upload a copy of the physical examination or provide a copy to the school nurse before a student-athlete is permitted to participate.
We are opening the FamilyID portal for the spring on March 1, and registration will remain open until March 13, which will allow our nurse to approve all physical examinations and our administration to doublecheck academic eligibility before the start of practice. Any student-athlete who does not register before March 13 could have his/her approval delayed beyond the first day of practice, and the athlete will not be permitted to participate until we re-open the portal and approve all requisite documentation.
Additionally, if a student-athlete has been previously registered and medical information has changed (i.e. new injuries, concussion, diagnoses, etc.), please make sure the portal is accurate. There are other helpful links on the FamilyID site, including the required concussion course, our school athletic schedules, and school websites, as well as contact information, should you need it.
The site can be accessed through clicking on this link: FamilyID. You can also paste the following into the address bar of your browser: https://www.familyid.com/organizations/uxbridge-public-schools.

Friday, February 15, 2019

Weekly News and Notes

A few items of interest this week from UHS:

Grades 8-11 Course Selection Night

We will be holding a course selection information session at UHS on February 28, 2018 for all parents of students currently in grades 8-11. We will review course selection procedures, the process for course recommendations, and scheduling for 2019-20. The presentation will start at 6:30 p.m. in the UHS auditorium.

Music Student World Travelers!

Congratulations and bon voyage to Nathaniel Holden and Erin Newhall, who are traveling to the Czech Republic during February break with the Worcester Youth Orchestra! What a great opportunity!

Students Compete in Biomedical Industry Challenge

Students in Ms. Larkin's Principles of Biomedical Science participated in an innovative competition or industry challenge this week, which had students develop innovations for the future of diabetes treatment or management. The students' projects will be evaluated by research scientists, clinical dietitians, and doctors from MGH Diabetes Research Center, the Joslin Diabetes Center, and Charles River Medical Associates. Some of the projects were quite creative and innovative, and we look forward to seeing the feedback from industry!

Boys Basketball at Clark Tournament

The boys basketball team will face Westborough on Sunday, February 17 at 1:00 in the first round of the Clark Tournament. Best of luck to the team, which has clinched the SWCL "B" title.

Week That Was

Our Week That Was Video can be viewed below:



Have a great week!



Saturday, February 9, 2019

Week That Was, 2/8

Here's a look back at the Week That Was for Uxbridge High School for the week ending February 8:


Thursday, February 7, 2019

Weekly News and Notes

Good morning,

We have just a couple updates from UHS this week:

Coffee with the Counselors:

Join our Counselors for "Coffee with the Counselors," being hosted on Monday, February 11 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Counselors will be able to answer your questions about college searches, post-secondary planning, scheduling, or anything else you could be interested in finding out more information.

Yearbook and Library Newsletters

Yearbook Newsletter linked here.
Library newsletter linked here.

Best of luck to our track teams competing at the district level this weekend!

Have a great weekend!




Friday, February 1, 2019

State of the School Podcast

Good afternoon!

It is our pleasure to present this month's Spartan Podcast, which will include a "State of the School" address that we have prepared. The podcast outlines some of the successes we have had this year and some plans for improvement we are making for the future.

Happy listening!