UHS: Weekly News and Notes

Good morning,

We have a few updates from UHS this week. Please note: we will not be sending a weekly update next week.

School Building Closed

Classes will take place on Monday and Tuesday in a fully remote model. For students who may need materials in the school, they will be available, but please check with teachers first, as some teachers may also be working remotely. On Wednesday, our students will participate in advisory and office hours, with an opportunity to tidy up any loose ends prior to the start of January.

Food Service Update

The Food Service Department will be providing meals during school vacation. Our schedule for the rest of December is as follows:

• December 23rd, Wednesday, pick up at Taft between 7:00AM to 8:00AM
• December 30th, Wednesday, pick up at Taft between 9:00AM to 10:00AM  (Time Change)

We will resume our normal schedule on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 with pick up at Taft from 7:00AM to 8:00AM.

We will be distributing 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and a gallon of milk per student.

For questions, please contact Kelly Haley, Food Service Director, at khaley@uxbridge.k12.ma.us.

Winter Athletics: Most Recent Update

Podcast

We will be sharing our next podcast episode over the weekend, which features a conversation with our school counselors, information about winter athletics, and a couple of additional updates on some programming options and developments at UHS.

Supports for Students

For students who have had difficulty accessing remote and virtual learning through our schedule and current model, our school counselors have reached out to students who have failed classes in the first quarter, particularly multiple classes, and have not been able to return to school despite offerings of an in-person model, even some of the time. We will have support staff available after hours to work with these students, and the hope is that this pilot group will meet greater success. While this program is, at present, by counselor and administrative recommendation, we hope that the pilot will also lead to additional opportunities for more students in the future.

In addition, we have had a number of students who have been remote who have requested returning to school in-person. While transportation is tight, we have been able to support all of those requests. If there are parents who are still curious about whether a return from remote to hybrid is possible, we ask that they reach out to their child's school counselor.

Senior Events

We know that there are already individuals inquiring about end-of-year events for seniors. While we are governed by state guidance and requirements, we have already started to plan in earnest for a number of different scenarios. Please know that we have not forgotten about events like prom, graduation, and awards night, and that we hope, in time, to release additional details about our plans. Please know that this will not likely happen until early spring, but we want to be able to give families ample time to make arrangements if we are able to have some of these events.

As with anything else, there is always the possibility that these events are not able to be scheduled, either because of state guidelines or logistics. Please know we will do our best to make sure these happen, even if they look different.

School Council

We are still looking for a grade 8 or 9 parent to serve on our School Council. The Council typically meets monthly and informs School Improvement goals, including the development of our School Improvement Plan and ongoing plans and initiatives. If interested, send an email to mrubin@uxbridge.k12.ma.us.

Finally, it has been a challenging 2020, to say the least. As we bid farewell to this year, on behalf of everyone at UHS, I wish you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season, and good tidings as we look ahead to 2021. Please enjoy time with your immediate families and close contacts over the next few weeks, and do your part to limit any risk or spread of the virus, so that our January and February are consumed more with the business of school and less with the existential health crisis of a generation. Mask up, be safe, be in good health, and we look forward to continuing to move our school and community forward as we return to the new year!