Weekly News and Notes, October 1

We have a few updates from UHS today.

PSAT Day

Our students in grades 10 and 11 will be taking the PSAT in school on October 13, 2021. On that day, our grade 8 and 9 students will have some different activities planned, including some regular class meetings, and the seniors are provided a day for college and career exploration, including school visits. Any questions can be directed to school counselors.

Tri-M Induction

Congratulations to Olivia Holden, Lincoln Schiller, and Sam Noel on their induction this week to the Uxbridge chapter of the Tri-M Music Honors Society! Students who belong to Tri-M have made a commitment to music at UHS, both in terms of their scholarship and service, and also share their musical talents in ways that impact the community in positive ways. 

Progress Reports

Progress report grades are being shared with students and families next week. Please keep in mind that we have had a few technological challenges at the onset of the year, and that may mean that some teachers have not had the ability to update rankbooks. With parent-teacher conferences not scheduled for a couple of months, it's entirely possible that mid-term grades may bring cause for concern, so the best place to start could be the teachers themselves. However, we also know that many students and parents should be able to access the vast majority of grades, so this may not be a significant issue at this stage of the school year.

If a class has only comments, it's entirely possible that the grades for the class have not yet been assigned because of adjustments to some practices, but the teachers will be able to communicate some performance standards in terms of comments.

The Week That Was

We are excited to return our "Week That Was" video series. With the challenges of last year, and the nuances of the schedules, we did not often share too many of these in the 20-21 school year. It's great to have some highlights to share again!

Spartan Podcast, September 24

 The latest episode of the UHS Spartan Podcast is below!

Weekly News and Notes, September 24

We have a few updates from UHS this week.

Spirit Week/Homecoming

We have much gratitude for the Student Council for organizing Spirit Week this year, including an always awesome pep rally and what we hope will be a fun Homecoming Dance on Saturday. We had fun seeing our students in their different attires throughout the week, as well as decked out in the black and orange for Friday. It's awesome to see a renewed spirit in the building, and, even though this year has been different, having our Spartans back together and under one roof has been a welcome change!

Picture Day

Picture day is Friday, October 1. All students will take a photo that will be used for student ID's and also yearbook. Order forms are available in the main office and have been sent home.

Symptoms and COVID

We have been dealing with the occasional positive test. It is absolutely imperative that students who are ill and potentially awaiting test results should not return to school - even if they are feeling better. Additionally, when students are kept home from school, as much as we appreciate folks' desire for privacy, please state if the student is being kept home for illness, and Ms. Schiller, our school nurse, can reach back out. We assure you that we keep all information confidential.

Parking Lot

Quite frankly, it is getting tiring to continually make the same requests week after week (or in this case, year after year).

1. Parents should not park in the lot in front of the building at the start of the school day.

2. Parents should not park on the left side of the road at the middle of the parking lot at the end of the day.

3. Buses must leave first.

It is a really simple request; some people have asked why administration is not in the parking lot at the end of the school day, and the reality is that we are typically conducting school business, meeting with students, or dealing with the normal run-of-the-day procedures. We are all but begging people to respect these guidelines.

Student Tardies, Attendance, and Behavior

We will be meeting with students starting to accrue excessive tardies. When students come to the building late, sometimes carrying coffees and breakfast, we are going to be asking them to leave those items in the office. Simply put, students need to be on time for school.

We were not immune to the difficulties of the recent "TikTok" challenge encouraging students to vandalize school buildings. We had a few issues that have been quickly rectified, but holding students accountable is a bit more difficult. Trying to track the culprits took significant hours of work, and we are disappointed in the actions of few. We hope that we have turned a corner on this pattern and appreciate those who came forward to share information to help us resolve these challenges more immediately.

Additionally, while we have been fortunate not to have any transmission as of yet of COVID-19 in the building, we spend a good amount of time reminding students to keep masks over their noses. For every person calling to complain about mask mandates, there is another who is criticizing the masking of some students. All we can do is assure everyone that we are trying to balance mask breaks with the requirement to wear masks with some common sense and with safety at the core. Your support and reminders is all we ask.

Student Activities

We have several new student activities that are running this year. A full list of the advisors and the clubs is below, and feel free to connect with any of the advisors if students are interested.

The website with all advisors can be found here: https://www.uxbridgeschools.com/Domain/296

Some of our newer organizations include DECA, which is a business and marketing club, ESports, "Space" (which is a club supporting students of different backgrounds, identities, and sexual orientations), and Art Club. While we may be making announcements regarding the existence of these organizations, we know that some students will be motivated if parents connect as well!

Progress Reports

First quarter progress reports will be distributed the first week of October. As a reminder, feel free to reach out to teachers if you have any questions, and the school counselor can also be a conduit should there be any identified challenges.

We hope to many of you out and about at our Homecoming Saturday events, and we wish you a great weekend!

Weekly News and Notes, September 17

We have a few updates from UHS this week:

Meet the Teacher Night

We were pleased to see many of our families, parents, and guardians at UHS on Thursday night. The presentation we shared at the event is below and linked here. Over the next few weeks, we hope that you are able to maintain communication with us, share your feedback, and provide us information that we can use to support all of our students.

Standards-Based Grading

Some parents had some questions about standards-based grading, as some of our classes are piloting this practice, while others have used this for a number of years. In short, for some of our departments that are using this practice, there will be no change (emphasis added) to the end-of-course grading practices - students will be provided a numerical or letter grade at the end of the term, and standards are being used more explicitly to provide students feedback. The only department that will not be issuing a grade at the end of the term will be world language, which is consistent with the past year.

One difference that may be occurring will be the ability of our teachers to show students specific areas of feedback and growth. We want students to have an understanding of where they can grow and improve with respect to skills, and we want our students' post-secondary applications to be able to show prospective colleges and employers more detail about what the grade means. In many departments, students will be completing portfolios and projects, and we want the students to focus on the process of learning, taking academic chances, stretching their abilities, and working to persevere through challenges, not merely "getting the right answer" or being academically compliant. For those concerned about post-secondary or college applications, we have been in frequent conversations with admissions representatives about any impact, which has been assured as minimal, and we are also actively working on ensuring that our Grade Point Average and transcript practices are best for our students' needs. 

Teachers can be the first line of communication with any questions about the type of feedback being provided to students, but rest assured that we will be continuing to revise and reinvent our practices to make sure we are meeting student needs first and foremost! Right now, the takeaway should be that there is no difference to how grades will be reported at report card time, and that feedback will hopefully be more targeted and individualized.

School Vandalism

As you may or may not know, a recent viral Tiktok challenge encouraged students to vandalize student bathrooms, and UHS has not been immune to this. Sadly, we have had students vandalize soap dispensers and even clog toilets, then posting videos to Tiktok. While we do not have surveillance in the restrooms themselves, we do have the ability to monitor when students leave classrooms, and cameras are active in the corridors. Should a student be found to have done any of these acts of vandalism, consequences will be imposed in accordance with the Student Handbook, which can include suspension, restitution, and police referral.

For more information on the topic, an article can be found here: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/viral/tiktok-removes-devious-licks-videos-students-stealing-school-property-n1279286 

Post-secondary Visits

Our school will once again be opening its doors to post-secondary supports, including college admissions representatives and recruiters from the different branches of the military. The listing is posted here and will remain updated throughout the year. Interested students will be able to participate while in school but are responsible for any missed work.

Student Tardies

School begins at 7:30. If students arrive after 7:30, they are marked tardy and will have office detention assigned after three tardies. Any students arriving late with their coffees, Dunkin Donuts run, etc., will have to leave their food in the main office - this is a privilege.

Pickup and Parking

When families arrive at UHS at the end of the day for pickup, we are asking that only the right side of the center road be used. When cars park on either side, it leaves the road very narrow and unsafe for passing, and students who dart between cars from one side to the other are particularly at risk. If you arrive and there are no spaces on the right side of the center road, please park in the student lot.

We know everyone wants to leave at the end of the day as quickly as possible. Please keep in mind that UHS only has one exit from the campus, and at the end of the day, we do not have staff outside to monitor parking lots, as there are other priorities inside the building that frequently take our attention.

We thank you in advance for your support!

Weekly News and Notes, September 10

We have a few updates from UHS as we got the metaphorical "ship off the dock" this week.

Seniors and Senior Privileges

We have had a few conversations with seniors around the use of senior privilege block. The time is intended as a useful, independent time for seniors to work on academics, college applications, and other responsibilities, even having a late arrival or early dismissal that can support their out-of-school work experiences or other life requirements. When in the building, students are required to be in the breakout areas, library, or cafeteria. If students in the building end up being a distraction - and fortunately, this has not been an issue - we do retain the right to reschedule a student into an elective and revoke the privilege, or to require the student to be in a specific place.

When we met with the Class of 2022 on Tuesday, as we hosted a class breakfast, one of our messages to the class, as they were in the building for the first time all together, in some cases, since their freshman or sophomore years, it was to deliver the message of how seniors can help set the tone for the school and how much we count on them as leaders! We hope they internalized that message.

School Pictures

All students will be taking a school photo - for yearbook and student ID purposes, minimally - on October 1. More information will follow.

Open House/Meet The Teacher Night

Our annual Meet the Teacher Night will take place on Thursday, September 16, 2021, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the auditorium. We will have a brief introduction in the high school auditorium until 6:30 p.m., at which administration will share some details, and then parents will spend ten minutes in each class, getting an oversight to the curriculum and syllabus, as well as communication and grading practices, for each class. The night typically concludes around 8:30 p.m.

There are a couple of teachers who have conflicts and will not be present that night, but they will share ways that families can connect with them beyond next Thursday.

9/11 Remembrance

Below is the text of the announcement we made earlier today to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. 

Each year, making this announcement gets a little more challenging, as 9/11 becomes more of a history lesson than a day we personally endured. For our students, most were not yet born as the events unfolded on 9/11/2001, and so it exists through the lens of history, like the Challenger disaster for children of the 80s, Watergate in the 70s, or the assassinations of JFK and Dr. King in the 60s. That day’s images are indelible, whether we lived them or relive them as part of history, tributes, or the way that it has changed the world in which we live. It is in that spirit that we will pause and reflect on the meaning not only of that day, 9/11, but the world it yielded in the immediate aftermath. On September 12, 2001, stores sold out of American flags, people were united in their resolve to rebuild, and people of all kinds and all parties put nation above self and ideology. It was a time where the return to our feet mattered more than that which knocked us down, and when country meant more than party or personality.

It is in that spirit that today, we ask that you all pause in a moment of silent reflection and dedication, with these thoughts in mind and with tomorrow a day that will mark 20 years since that terrible morning for so many:

To remember the nearly 3000 innocent men, women, and children who lost their lives on an airplane, at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, in Shanksville, PA, and on the streets of New York;

To be inspired and grateful for first responders, police, fire, and military personnel who dedicate and risk their lives to protect our opportunity to live our own;

To acknowledge and think of the thousands of families and friends, some of whom are even in this building, who still grieve the loss of life from that momentous and tragic day;

And, perhaps most importantly, to resolve to work together to bring us closer to the America of 9/12, with the compassion, strength, unity, and pride that will help keep this nation great.

We hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

First Day of School, 2021-22

 Good evening,

Just a quick update from UHS today, following what was a successful return to class. It was great to have a full complement of students back in the building. A few highlights:

1. We met with our senior class today, treating them to a class breakfast mid-morning. It was hard for us to believe that it had been nearly 20 months since we last had the Class of 2022 all together under one roof, in a "class meeting." We shared with them our hopes for their senior year and urged them to be the leaders our school needs with their senior year upon us.

2. Arrival and dismissal went fairly well. We appreciate the cooperation on all fronts. It remains our most important detail at the end of the day, but we need buses to leave first. Your assistance and patience is appreciated.

3. Most mask-wearing on campus went well today. We had no real issues of non-compliance, and we were able to deal compassionately and swiftly with a couple of hiccups. We remind students that wearing masks over the mouth and nose is the requirement, and we are liberal with frequent breaking for students throughout the day.

4. All grade 8 students were notified this morning of a password reset to iStudent; some had already logged into the system, so it was not an issue.

5. If you have questions about student schedules, please reach out to Ms. Smith (last names A-Go), Ms. Toto (last names Gr-O), or Mr. Coppolino (last names P-Z).

We are excited for the coming school year. Today was a great start.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Rubin, Principal

Uxbridge High School

Weekly News and Notes, 9/3

We have a few updates from UHS this week.

Tuesday!

We are excited to welcome our students back on Tuesday. We understand there have been a couple of concerns shared, and so consider this information carefully:

1. Bus routes have been posted. For the first few days, until times are more specific, we advise that students get to their bus stops about 5-10 minutes earlier. We also know there tends to be more traffic from student drop-offs for the first couple of days. Students will not be marked tardy or absent right at 7:30. We will be flexible.

2. We had a fire alarm alert on Thursday with staff in the building, which fortunately has been addressed and actually allowed us to practice evacuation procedures in real-time without students. The fire department and our public safety partners were present on Thursday; they permitted us to return to the building. Our annual inspections have been completed, and school will open on Tuesday.

3. When students arrive, they will wait to enter the building until 7:20 and then make their way into the building. We will have students come to homerooms for distribution of some documents that will need to be checked and returned, and, also, we want families to double-check contact information, most importantly. Cell phone numbers, emergency contacts, and email addresses could have changed - if they have, please update legibly!

ESSER-3 Feedback

You will see a letter coming within the next couple of days asking for family feedback on ESSER-3 funding to which our school district is hoping to access from the federal government. We urge you to respond by next Wednesday, September 8. It is only a couple of questions!

Class of 2022

We will be holding a senior class meeting/breakfast on the first day of school as a way to pull together our seniors for the past time in a while. They will hear from their class advisors on some plans for the school year, and we plan on chatting with them briefly about having this class set a positive tone for the year. We are looking forward to connecting the class with our school counseling team, supporting their post-graduation plans, and organizing what we all hope will be a memorable school year.

New Assistant Principal

We are excited to announce the hiring of our new assistant principal, Mr. Matthew Bertrand. He brings with him a number of years of experience in public education. He spent last year as the assessment coordinator at North High School in Worcester, and, prior to that, worked for several years as the assistant headmaster at Taunton High School, one of the largest schools in the Commonwealth. He has 12 years of experience as a high school social studies teacher, and also has served as a baseball and basketball coach in his career. We are excited to welcome him to our Spartan family, and we are grateful for the support of many students, parents, and staff members in being part of this process over the past several weeks.

Finally, with our school year about to get underway, we truly are excited to welcome back all our students. Many steps have been taken and much work completed to ensure a smooth transition back, from screening and hiring new staff, to getting the facility ready, to ordering and purchasing classroom materials, to planning instruction for these first few days of school and collaborating with new colleagues. Our secretarial, support, central office, and facility teams have been hard at work, and I know our Spartans will all reap the benefit throughout what promises to be a great school year. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any concerns or questions.