Weekly News and Notes, March 26

 We have a couple of updates from UHS this week.

Reopening

Thank to everyone who attended our meetings on reopening this week, including staff, students, and families. We have been engaged in studying details, looking at rosters, and working with our facilities team to ensure that we are ready for the week of April 5.

We have some challenges ahead of us, but we know that we are capable and ready to tackle these head on. We appreciate the questions and feedback that some people have shared with us, so feel free to contact us if you have any outstanding needs or concerns.

Grade 7 Open Houses

We will be meeting with Whitin students in grade 7 come early April as well, as we start the process of orientation to UHS for our Class of 2026. If families have not signed up for a self-guided tour, please do so. The link was sent to all grade 7 families via email.

If you still have questions, feel free to contact us at any time.

No School: April 2

There is no school on Friday, April 2, as it is Good Friday. As such, there will be no Weekly Update sent next Friday.

School Council Openings

We will have openings on our School Council for next year for both student and parent members. Our School Council typically meets monthly, and the group helps establish school improvement goals, supports budget development, and assists with defining some of our initiatives, as well as approving the Program of Studies and Student Handbook. If at all interested, contact Mr. Rubin directly.

Finally, it is hard to believe that this is, by the count on this blog site, my 500th post since arriving at UHS. We continue to make a commitment to communicating the good, the bad, and the in-between about Uxbridge High School, and we hope that these weekly updates continue. I thought about writing something poignant about the number - 500 posts is quite a bit - but decided against it. We do know that the communication may, at times, seem overwhelming, but our plan is continue sharing information as needed: via email, blog, podcast, video - to meet the needs of this community and so nobody can claim a lack of information!

We will be in touch next week with more details about reopening. To those who are celebrating, we wish you a Happy Passover. 

UHS Student Return-to-School Meeting

 Below are the slides and video to this morning's meetings.

UHS Parent Town Hall, March 23

Below are the video and slides from the Town Hall meeting regarding the return to school at UHS.

Class of 2026: Open House

 Below are the slides and video from our parent Town Hall for the Class of 2026.

Class of 2021 Update

 

March 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians of the Class of 2021:

We are excited to be moving forward with our plans for the Class of 2021, and thinking specifically of the culminating activities such as prom and graduation. We are hopeful that this letter will clarify where things stand as of today, with the understanding that some variables may change as the year progresses.

Phase Four

The current phase for the Commonwealth provides guidance for entertainment venues, specifically those that are used for social gatherings and events. We are now permitted to host an event at an indoor venue with up to 100 guests, with the number expanded to 150 if outdoors. The Commonwealth also provided guidance for schools in planning graduation.

Prom

Based on the feedback from families and students, our plan is to host the Senior Prom on May 14 at Pleasant Valley Country Club. The positive to this venue is that it is a beautiful space that will allow us to celebrate with our entire senior class; the downside is that because of capacity limitations, the event will be limited to seniors only at this time. Should we have the ability to host with outside guests, we will communicate that as soon as possible.

Graduation

Graduation is going to be held on Saturday, June 5, with our tentative start time being scheduled for 10:00 a.m. As weather patterns become more predictable for that weekend, we will determine whether we should move the ceremony to later that Saturday, such as 5:00 p.m. or Sunday. We are going to be hosting graduation on the turf field, and we will be providing details for students and families on how to reserve spaces and seats. We have been directed by the state to keep graduation ceremonies shorter and smaller than in years past, but, fortunately, we have the benefit of our small community here at UHS.

Historically, we have had the ability to offer families up to nine tickets for graduation. Please keep in mind that it will not likely be feasible for us to provide nine tickets per family, even if we use the outdoor space of the turf field. We will likely be limiting the number of attendees to 5-6 per family, and using a more formal ticketing process, particularly should there be a need to contact trace. We will also do our best to be flexible around the specific needs of families and any necessary accommodations, as always.

While we are still at the mercy of the Commonwealth’s restrictions, we are moving forward with many plans, for both those events that are organized to celebrate the seniors, and some fun social opportunities for the students during their Senior Week.  Be on the lookout for information regarding graduation, last days of classes, iPad purchase/return, and other important updates come early April.

Thank you in advance for your continued support and patience.

Sincerely yours,

Michael D. Rubin

Principal

Uxbridge High School

Weekly News and Notes, March 19

 We have a few updates from UHS this week:

Football Opener Tomorrow

We are excited to open up the Fall-2 season on Saturday, March 20, as our football team hosts BVT at 1:00. Unfortunately, fans are limited to parents/guardians of the players, as well as sibling family members. We hope that we will get additional guidance from EEA and our District Athletic Committee in the coming weeks that will enable us to have more fans attend games, but we also are grateful for our partners at UCTV, who will be streaming the game live. All road games will also be streamed via our partners at other schools, as road fans are not presently being permitted by any of our opponents.

Senior Events

We are moving forward with hosting senior prom at Pleasant Valley Country Club on Friday, May 14. Details will be forthcoming from the class.

Graduation will be scheduled for Saturday, June 5. We expect to make some final decisions on time in the next week or so. Our current thinking is that we hope to host the event at 10:00 a.m. In the event of passing storms, that will allow us the opportunity to use Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon. We are planning an outdoor ceremony.

Senior week events are also in the planning stage. Full details are typically shared in early April, which is also when our guidance team will be sending scholarship information regarding local scholarship opportunities.

Return to School

We are anticipated our return to school to be April 5, 2021. As we plan for that day, we will be hosting a Town Hall on Tuesday, March 23 at 6:00 p.m. Following that meeting, a form will be sent home for families to designate whether they are choosing an in-person or fully remote model. We know that some people may have already made decisions and do not need any update on our plans. If that is the case, you can certainly take the time to respond starting today. The link to the form is located here.

Grade 7 Town Hall

We look forward to connecting with our Class of 2026, the current grade 7 class, on Monday, March 22, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Zoom link has been shared separately. We will also be sharing instructions on how to sign up for our gallery-walk, self-guided tours of UHS on Monday.

Have a great weekend,

Michael Rubin, Principal

Weekly News and Notes, March 12

 We have a few updates from Uxbridge High School this week.

Pool Testing

We hope to begin the process of pool testing in the next two weeks, as an additional safeguard against potential spread of COVID-19 in our building. Pooling samples involves mixing several samples together in a "batch" or pooled sample, and then testing the pooled sample. This approach increases the number of individuals that can be tested while reducing resources required for testing. 

For us to complete pool testing in an efficient manner, families are required to sign a consent. Fortunately, for the collection of samples, students above grade 2 can collect the sample using a "self-swab" while under the supervision of the school nurse. The consent form will be sent from Central Office, and the results will be disaggregated by school and shared only with school administration and the school nurse. There is no obligation for families to participate in the pool testing process, as it is entirely voluntary. No pool testing will take place for students are remote.

A video with respect to Pool Testing instructions is posted here: https://youtu.be/fJML8xBEKGk

From a process standpoint, students will be tested in the discrete location set aside as our "COVID-19" quarantine space, which is located off the main lobby. When students come in, if identified for testing, they will report directly to this space and then be sent to class immediately thereafter.

Individuals who have recently tested positive for COVID-19 will also not be included in pooled testing for at least 3 months post-recovery, as they may still produce a positive test result. We will be communicating the overall results of the pool testing with all families. Positive students and direct contacts will be directly contacted by Mrs. Schiller, and, subsequently, she will schedule individuals to come back to the building for a rapid test. The rapid test will likely help determine the positive individual, even if asymptomatic, and then that individual can be referred to quarantine and/or their medical provider.

Please be on the lookout for the formal consent form from Central Office and the School District. Should you have any questions about the process, feel free to reach out to us at UHS.

Return to School Planning

Much conversation has been had around the community, on social media, and with various individuals on staff around plans for returning to school. While the state has released guidance that requires students in grade 8 to be back in school no later than April 28, there has been no specific direction for high schools as of yet. That said, our plans are well underway, with a number of models being considered.

We will be hosting a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m., at which time we hope to have more specific details around our plans and next steps. Should we need to adjust that date, we will do so accordingly.

Course Selection Information

Course selection night information has been shared and is available on our school website. The best place to find all course information is the Academic Page, under the heading of "Students and Parents":  https://www.uxbridgeschools.com/Domain/211

As we shared, if there are questions about the student's overall program, contact the guidance counselor, and questions about individual course recommendations can be directed to teachers or teacher leaders.

Additionally, the video regarding Innovation Pathway programs at UHS can be found here:

Contact info for guidance counselors:

Ms. Smith: asmith@uxbridge.k12.ma.us

Ms. Toto: jtoto@uxbridge.k12.ma.us

Ms. Cotter: ecotter@uxbridge.k12.ma.us

Grade 7 Information Night

Just a reminder that grade 7 information night will be held on Monday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. At that time, we will be providing details on the transition to UHS, as well as providing opportunities for students and families to sign up for campus visits.

Have a great weekend,

Michael Rubin, Principal

Grade 8-11 Course Selection Information

 Greetings!

The recording and slides of the presentation for our Course Selection Information night are linked below.

Weekly News and Notes, March 4

We have a few updates from UHS this week.

Planning Ahead

We have been working diligently on a number of plans for bringing students back to UHS. We are, as you know, awaiting more guidance from the Commonwealth, but with more educators getting vaccinated, we are keenly aware that some of the barriers to the return to normalcy are being torn down. In that spirit, we assure you that we are hard at work at a number of different scenarios.

Class of 2021: Senior Events

We are moving forward with plans for both the senior prom and graduation, and there will be some opportunities for families and students to provide us feedback coming in the next few days. Though the Governor is relaxing restrictions, we are trying to be sensitive to the wants and needs of many, with consideration for the safety of our community as well. 

Class of 2023: Dues

A link to pay dues from the sophomore class (Class of 2023) is available via FamilyID: https://www.familyid.com/organizations/uxbridge-public-schools/. With questions, contact Ms. Smith or Ms. Ritacco, the class advisors.

MCAS and AP Test Dates

We are sharing below the MCAS and AP test dates, as well as the formats for those tests:

GRADE	SUBJECT	DATE(S)	DAY	FORMAT	OTHER TEST THAT DAY?
8	ELA	4/12  Day 6	Monday	Online, at UHS	N
8	Math	4/15 Day 6	Thursday	Online, at UHS	N
8	Science	5/3 Day 3	Monday	Online at UHS	AP Gov  paper
9	Physics	6/7 and 6/8	Monday-Tuesday	Legacy, Paper and Pencil	N
10 & 11^	ELA	5/17 and 5/18 Day 7,1	Monday-Tuesday	Online, at UHS	N
10 & 11^	Math	5/27 and 5/28 Day 2,3	Monday-Tuesday	Online, at UHS	Afternoon, AP stats

TEST	DATE	Day	Time	FORMAT
AP Government	5/3/21	Monday	8:00 a.m.	Paper, in school
AP English Lit	5/5/21	Wednesday	8:00 a.m.	Paper, in school
AP US History	5/6/21	Thursday	8:00 a.m.	Paper, in school
AP Stats	5/17/21	Monday	12:00 p.m.	Paper, in school
AP English Lit	5/18/21	Tuesday	12:00 p.m.	Digital
AP Government	5/20/21	Thursday	12:00 p.m.	Digital
AP Calculus AB	5/24/21	Monday	8:00 a.m.	Paper, in school
AP Calculus BC	5/24/21	Monday	8:00 a.m.	Paper, in school
AP Physics 1	5/24/21	Monday	12:00 p.m.	Paper, in school
AP US History	6/2/21	Wednesday	12:00 p.m.	Digital
AP Calculus AB	6/9/21	Wednesday	12:00 p.m.	Digital
AP Calculus BC	6/9/21	Wednesday	12:00 p.m.	Digital
AP Physics 1	6/9/21	Wednesday	4:00 p.m.	Digital
AP Stats	6/10/21	Thursday	4:00 p.m.	Digital

With Gratitude

As some of you may know, I spent the first 11 years of my career at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School, which is about the same distance from Providence as Uxbridge, looking east instead of northwest. While there, I had the privilege of coaching track and soccer, and our teams had a pretty fair amount of success; in track, we amassed 277-45-3 as a record, won about 14 championships, rewrote our school record book, and, truthfully, built what many of our student-athletes called a family.

For those who follow me on social media, you would note that I shared the news of the passing of one of the iconic students of my formative years in education. He was more than a kid on my team, certainly to me and absolutely to his teammates, and Jared's passing has really rocked a number of us to our core, particularly since it was so sudden. To those who shared messages of condolences with me, I sincerely appreciate the sentiment. 

When I think of who I am as a principal, and who I aspire to be as a leader of this school community, many of the characteristics my former student-athletes, many of whom are married and raising families of their own, have shared about our team are still so important. They have said that "we are a family," "Jared brought out our best," and "we never treated anyone badly, no matter what." Others told me that they looked forward to the work since they knew they could get better. 

My sorrow has been matched only by this unmistakable pride, an odd paradox as I think about how committed those student-athletes were to their school, their community, and our program. As I think about Jared's goofy smile, his intensity upon getting to a starting line, his triumph over incredible adversity, and his passion for lifting up those around him, it gave me cause to pause and rededicate, so that his memory will not be in vain and will continue to inspire me. 

When he was a sophomore, and just learning how talented he could be as a student-athlete who would eventually be state decathlon champion, I shared with Jared an index card on which I had written a quote from Steve Prefontaine: "To give anything less than your best would be to sacrifice the gift." Jared kept that card his entire high school career and used to quote it to his teammates. He lived that as a mantra. I hope I do the same.

Writing has long been therapeutic for me, and so I apologize for the lengthier and somewhat personal post. To Jared, I will miss you, and I will never forget your influence. As I said all those years ago, run fast, and rest well.