Weekly News and Notes, May 28

Here are a few updates from UHS this week:

Learning Opportunity

The Pre-Employment Training Program, more commonly known as Pre-ETS, is available to assist high school students 14 and older with disabilities to gain independence and job-readiness skills. The service is offered during the summer as well as for the upcoming school year to help prepare students for life after high school. 

This program is FREE and is accepting applications for both summer and fall sessions.

The program consists of 5 components:

• Self-Advocacy and Mentoring - Exploring Strengths and Weaknesses, Problem Solving Skills, Decision-making Skills, Goal-setting and achievement
• Job Exploration Counseling- Interest Surveys,  Assessments, Job Site Tours, and Job Applications
• Work Based Readiness- Resume and Cover Letters, Mock Interviewing, Social Skills, and Work Ethics
• Work Based Learning - Internships and Job Shadows, Informational Interviews
• Post-Secondary Education and Vocational Training - Direction in Paying for College, Disability Office services, college applications 

For more information and to sign up, please contact:

Suzanne Crosby- Supervisor of the Transitional and Community Services program at HMEA

Cell- 508-735-0463 (Call or text)

Email- scrosby@hmea.org

Free College Course Credit

Passion to Learn is a new, FREE opportunity for high school students (in Massachusetts only) to take open, multidisciplinary courses designed and facilitated by strong, innovative educators from across the state. Thanks to our partnership with UMass-Boston, we offer college credit to enrolled students.

Our two blended courses are focused on real-world, problem-based learning, blending civics engagement with core content-area learning in math or humanities.  In addition, we offer a complementary module focused on advocacy through social media.

We are in the process of finalizing the course descriptions and schedules for formal enrollment in early June. Courses will run from July 19 - August 20th. The courses will be virtual and the credit-bearing courses will include a blend of scheduled meetings and independent learning time. Students will need access to an internet-connected computer or device in order to participate. If you need help securing any of these items, let us know in the last field below.

Students who complete this interest form will be the first to receive more information and have the opportunity to register! We will be in touch very soon with more information about specific course descriptions, information on college credits, and registration forms.

The interest form can be submitted here: www.bit.ly/FREECollegeCred

Grade 9 MCAS

The grade 8 students finished MCAS this week, and our grade 9 students will be taking the science MCAS on Tuesday and Wednesday. For most of our students, this is the test in physics, and it will be counted toward graduation. Students who are unsuccessful with the physics MCAS have the opportunity to test in biology as sophomores, but our recent history has been excellent with respect to the test.

Graduation

We will be celebrating our Class of 2021 next week, with our Awards Night on Wednesday, Senior Parade on Friday, and graduation itself on Saturday. We remind those who plan on attending that no high heels are permitted on the turf or on the track! That includes our graduates.

School Council

We are hoping to have a couple of individuals join our School Council for next year. Our School Council establishes and supports school improvement goals, is responsible for approving Student Handbook changes, and helps with providing feedback that drives opportunities for our school. The group meets monthly. We would love to have student and parent involvement from our Classes of 2026 (incoming grade 8) and 2025 (rising grade 9). If interested, email or call Mr. Rubin.

Finally, as we reflect on this Memorial Day, we hope everyone takes a moment to pause and consider the many sacrifices made, both in recent and distant history, so that we can enjoy so many freedoms and that our way of life can be protected. Indeed, as we emerge from the pandemic and return to a more normal way of life, we hope that these freedoms - some of which have been compromised by an invisible enemy - are never taken for granted, nor are those who protect them.

There will not be a weekly updated shared next week. Have a great weekend. 

Weekly Update, May 21

 We have a couple of updates from UHS:

Vaccine Clinic Sunday!

Thanks to our partners at the Board of Health! The Vaccine Clinic here on Sunday will be from 11-3, and parents who accompany those 12+ are welcome as well. There will be pizza, sandwiches, and treats on hand from a number of local businesses who are supporting our efforts, such as Anzio's Pizza, Mendon Street Kitchen, and Say Cheese, as well as having popcorn and cotton candy!

Parents can sign up using this link: https://www.maimmunizations.org/appointment/en/client/registration?clinic_id=5304

Final Exam Schedule

Though we do not intend to run "final exams" in a traditional sense, we are working on a final schedule where students will wrap up classes over the last few days of school:

June 17: 1/2 Day: A-B-C (60 minutes each)

June 18: 1/2 Day: D-E-F (60 minutes each)

June 21: 1/2 Day: G Block (60 minutes, then school field day and lunch until 11:00)

June 22: 1/2 Day, all classes meet

We wanted to come up with some sort of year-end celebration/rally, given the year that we have had, where we could celebrate our Spartan Pride. Thanks to the Student Council for stepping up to help organize!

MCAS

Kudos to grade 10, who wrapped up MCAS this week. Grade 8 will test next week, and then grade 9 will test in early June in science. We're proud of the effort of the students, who were focused all week.

Masks

We have been working hand-in-hand with the Board of Health on masks and making sure that we are focusing on the implementation of new DESE guidance as well as MIAA guidance on mask-wearing and athletics. In sum, the following is now the case:

1. Students no longer have to wear masks when outdoors. At this time, adults and students must continue to wear masks indoors. We are still attempting to maintain some distancing of at least three feet when outdoors.
2. Students who are exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual, if outside, do not have to quarantine.
3. Given the low likelihood of surface transmission of COVID-19, schools no longer have to avoid sharing objects. This includes classroom materials, items for physical education, or art supplies. Shared objects no longer have to be cleaned or disinfected between use. This includes student desks and classroom spaces. 
4. For areas where masks are not worn (i.e., lunch areas), we will be cleaning surfaces between use. If a surface or object is visibly soiled, it will be immediately cleaned. If someone in the school in the past 24 hours has confirmed to have COVID-19, the spaces (i.e., classroom, bus and lunch area) they were in will be cleaned and disinfected.
5. High touch surfaces (door handles, bus seats, drinking fountains) will be cleaned once a day.
6. In terms of athletics, masks/face coverings are no longer required for all student-athletes during outdoor competition and practice only; indoor sports (ie: spring cheer) are still required to wear mask/facial covering.
• Masks/face coverings are no longer required for spectators if social distancing can be maintained. Individuals within the same family group/household may be mask-less even if distancing is not maintained.

Have a great weekend!

Michael Rubin, Principal

Weekly News and Notes, May 14

Some updates from UHS this week:

Vaccine Clinic

We are very excited to be offering a vaccine clinic for students and families who are 12 or older. The information and registration link is below and attached.

End-of-Year Events

We are into the fourth quarter for all students, with our seniors concluding in the coming week, in terms of formal classes. We have shared our end-of-year events for the Class of 2021 in recent days, and we hope that most have already reserved their seats and spots for both the awards night and graduation.

For underclassmen, we have half-days scheduled for final exams for the final 3-4 days of school. While we will probably not offer traditional exams as many of us remember them, we do plan on having teachers conduct some final check-ins with students during that last week of school, including providing opportunities to present final projects, coordinate makeup work, and have students conference in conclusion of a course. We have also been working to create some culminating events for the rest of the school that may be fun, particularly given the challenges of the school year, but we are not certain of our ability to coordinate and schedule everything with the many other responsibilities that come with closing out the school year.

There have been some questions posed about hosting events for specific classes. If parents wish to help coordinate with class advisors, we are happy to hear suggestions.

MCAS

Our grade 10 students will be taking MCAS in ELA and math next week. Grade 8 will follow the week after. We remind students to come to school with devices charged. While students have the full day to complete the test, most will finish the day's session within a couple of hours. We met with both grades yesterday (Thursday, May 13) to reiterate the importance of the test, asking the students to do their best, and remind them that, for grade 10, this is a graduation requirement.

Have a great weekend,

Michael Rubin, Principal

Weekly News and Notes, May 7

 We have a couple of updates from UHS this week:

12+ Vaccine Clinic

We will be planning a vaccine clinic with the Board of Health and our regional partners for students aged 12+, once we have the green light from the Department of Public Health. With younger students, it is entirely possible that some parents may want to be present when the shots are administered, and we will be happy to accommodate. Our clinic this Wednesday was incredibly successful and efficient. We look forward to continuing to offer these to our students in advance of the fall!

School Improvement Planning and NEASC update

We have been working earnestly on building our school improvement plan for the 2021-22. In the meantime, we received continued accreditation following the two-year progress report submitted to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, which was shared with NEASC earlier this school year. In the two-year follow-up, we received 22 commendations and have three highlighted recommendations on which we must provide updates at the five-year progress report mark. We continue to grow and innovate, and we are grateful for many efforts in making those changes and improvements to our school!

Graduation and Awards Night

As a reminder to senior parents, please make sure you register for seats for both graduation and awards night. The links were emailed earlier this week. Both events will require the tickets emailed to you at the conclusion of the registration process.

Finally, we wish all the moms out there a very happy Mother's Day!

Non-Emergency Lockdown

We just concluded a non-emergency lockdown at Uxbridge High School, ending at about 10:40 a.m. We called the lockdown in order to provide some confidentiality for an individual who needed to be transported via ambulance due to a medical emergency. Whether making the decision to transport via ambulance for a teacher, student, staff member, or parent, we take the responsibility of maintaining confidentiality extremely seriously, so clearing hallways and eliminating witnesses protects everyone involved.

As we expected, our students were incredibly compliant and respectful of direction, particularly since the lockdown occurred right before lunch and impacted cafeteria service. Once again, we had an opportunity to see how our community models so many of our core values!

We reiterate that there was no threat of any kind, which can sometimes be misconstrued when people hear the word "lockdown." Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the day.