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.
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