Principal Message:Dear Parents, Guardians and Students, I am excited to share our fall newsletter with you. There is a positive energy in the air and I am eager to continue this wave into the first few months of school. Marching Band and fall athletics have begun and our CHARGER pride is growing strong! This newsletter contains several live links, surveys and videos. You will also find important dates, parent tips, and on-going updates. Additionally , we ask that you look at our newsletter closely and complete any necessary forms as soon as possible. Forms include handbook acknowledgement, Internet policy, and media release forms. School Council dates and information are posted within the newsletter. We are looking for interested parties to be part of the council. We began our school year concentrating on building healthy relationships throughout our building. Lots of icebreakers and "getting to know" you activities were observed. We have some great individuals in our school and I look forward to sharing some of these stories with you in future newsletters. I also am including an important memo centered on school attendance. Please take a look at this memo and help us with our goal of 95% attendance rate! Here’s to a productive Fall/Winter! CHARGER STRONG. Sincerely, Michael Dudek [email protected] October 25th - Mini College Fair (8:15-10:00am) October 31st - Senior Halloween Costume Breakfast (7:35am) November 7th - Winter Sports Meeting (6:30-8:00pm) Auditorium November 13th - Parent/Teacher Conferences (4:30-7:30pm) November 14th - Parent/Teacher Conferences (2:30-4:30pm) November 15th - Mini College Fair (8:15-10:00am) November 16th - Marching Band Celebration Dinner (6:00-8:00pm) November 19th - COMMUNITY Thanksgiving Feast November 21st - Half Day Dismissal - Thanksgiving Recess (10:48am) November 22nd/23rd - NO SCHOOL December 12th - 2nd Quarter Progress Reports Available December 14th/15th - Drama Performance December 17th - HS Band and Chorus Concert (7:00-9:00pm) December 21st - Half Day Dismissal - Pep Rally ONLINE PARENT FORMS:Attention Parents/Students, In the spirit of utilizing technology to gather data and make life easier for all, I have created electronic signature forms for parents and students to complete. You received physical copies of each form in the beginning of the school year but I will also provide you with live links to complete (if you have not done so). Students and parents will need to complete all forms using the live links below. Please review an electronic copy of the student handbook before signing documents. Live Links Below: FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS Opt-Out Form Signature Page - 2018-2019 Parent Acknowledgment - STUDENT HANDBOOK SIGNATURE PAGE - 2018-2019 Military Opt-Out Form Signature Page - 2018-2019 Dear Parent/Guardian, Blackstone-Millville Regional High School is making a special effort to ensure that all students fully benefit from their education by attending school regularly. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Your student should start building this habit immediately so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Consistent attendance will help children do well in high school, college, and at work. DID YOU KNOW? · Missing 10 percent (or about 18 days) increases the chance that your student will not read or master math at the same level as their peers. · Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks. · Being late to school may lead to poor attendance. · By being present at school, your child learns valuable social skills and has the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with other students and school staff. · By 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores. WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU We miss your student when they are gone and we value their contributions to our school. We would like you to help ensure that your student attends regularly and is successful in school. If your student is going to be absent or late, please contact the attendance line at 508-876-0114. OUR PROMISE TO YOU We know that there are a wide variety of reasons that students are absent from school, from health concerns to transportation challenges. We invite you to contact us if you are facing a personal challenge so that we might be able to assist you. We promise to track attendance daily, to notice when your student is missing from class, communicate with you to understand why they were absent, and to identify barriers and supports available to overcome challenges you may face in helping your student attend school. SCHOOL POLICIES AND STATE LAWS It is important that you understand our school policies and procedures. We, the school, are required to take daily attendance and notify you when your student has an unexcused absence. If your daughter/son has three unexcused absences in one quarter, we will send a letter of notification home to you. After four unexcused absences we will schedule a conference with you and your student to identify the barriers and supports available to ensure regular attendance. We are obligated to develop a plan that may require an assessment to determine how to best meet the needs of your student and reduce absenteeism. Students who have 10 excused absences within the school year will need to schedule a conference with administration to discuss how to best meet the educational needs of a student. Consultation with medical professions may be considered. At Blackstone-Millville Regional High School, we encourage students and families to commit to, and support students to meet a school expectation of a 95% attendance rate. WHAT PARENTS CAN DO · Set a regular bedtime and morning routine. · Prepare for school the night before, finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep. · Don’t let your student stay home unless they are truly sick. Keep in mind complaints of a stomach ache or headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home. · Avoid appointments and extended trips when school is in session. · Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor, or another parent. · Keep track of your student’s attendance. · Talk to your student about the importance of attendance. · Talk to your students’ teachers if you notice sudden changes in behavior. These could be tied to something going on at school. · Encourage meaningful afterschool activities, including sports and clubs. COMMON PRACTICES TO AVOID Although excused absences do not count towards the “academic 50” policy, missing days/classes hinder academic progress. Students have commonly missed a school day for routine dentist and medical appointments that do not warrant missing an entire day of school. Please be aware that individual course attendance is taken. Missing school-sponsored community events also count towards a student’s absentee record. Students will not be excused for missing events that build on school culture and positive spirit. Many students/guardians are not aware that excused absences are recorded on school records and forms. Colleges and future employers may view attendance records: excused/unexcused absences, tardies and dismissals. If you have any questions please feel free to contact myself or anyone in our guidance office. Sincerely, Michael Dudek, Blackstone-Millville Regional High School PARENTS /GUARDIANS: JOIN SCHOOL COUNCILWhat is a school council? A school council is a representative school building-based committee composed of the principal, parents, teachers, and community members and, at the grade 9 to 12 level, students. School councils are a means of promoting the educational benefits of site-based decision making for each and every school in Massachusetts. With teachers, parents and community members working together at its core, the School Council enables the school to be at the center of planning, goal setting and budgeting for school improvements. The expanded participation of the school community in its decision-making helps to provide the school with different and mutually complementary perspectives on its goals and improvements. What do School Councils do? What are their main areas of responsibilities? The primary responsibilities of the school council are to advise and assist the Principal with the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and to help develop any projects arising out of the SIP that the Principal identifies as beneficial to the successful functioning and development of the school. The school council meets each month during the academic year. We are looking for interested students, staff, parents, and community members to serve on our council. Please email Mr. Dudek (principal) if interested ([email protected]). Anticipated Dates (5:30-6:30pm): November 8th December 13th January 10th February 14th March 14th April 11th May 9th Parent-Teacher Conferences - Schedule Online! The high school will conduct Parent-Teacher Conferences on the following days: November 13th (4:30pm-7:30pm) and November 14th (2:30-4:30). For your convenience we have created an online appointment schedule. Parent/Guardians will be able to create a schedule of appointments, minimizing long waits to see specific teachers. Parents/Guardians who choose to come to school without appointments may see teachers if a time slot is available. To schedule a conference, select your child's teacher(s) who you would like to schedule a conference with on November 13th and 14th. It is easy to schedule more than one conference for one child, or more than one conference for multiple children. If you have any questions before you start this process, please email Mr. Dudek at [email protected] or call the main office and speak with Linda (508)-876-0117. Please make every effort to schedule appointments online. If you need to schedule over the phone you may do so with Linda. First come, first serve with appointments. Pick your conference(s), then register name and contact info. This creates a registration for each conference and sends you a confirmation email with a link to choose appointment times. On that same page, you will be able to add and change both registrations and appointments. *CONFIRMATION OF ALL TIMES/APPOINTMENTS NEED TO BE MADE FROM A GENERATED EMAIL SENT TO YOU AFTER YOU CHOOSE YOUR TIMES. LINK WILL BE AVAILABLE ON OCTOBER 29th September Happenings:Blackstone-Millville Regional High School embraces Summer Reading in a Unique Way Written By: Nicole Shaughnessy and Michael Dudek Over the last five years, BMRHS has worked hard to reinvent our idea of summer reading. During this timespan, the high school worked together to transform our typical summer reading assignment to a more unique experience that centered around school community and unity. At this time, we introduced our “One School, One Book” summer reading program. This new summer reading program largely centered on the “Summer Reading Celebration” which was held on a day when students and staff returned to school in September. These “Summer Reading Celebrations” allowed students to participate in activities that highlighted aspects of the selected novels annually. While this proved to be a success overall, BMRHS staff were determined to make the summer reading experience more enjoyable for all students. So, our community kept transforming. The following year, our “One School, One Book” summer reading program became our “One School, One Theme” summer reading program to give students more choice in the book they wanted to read over the summer. While students enjoyed having the choice between two novels and felt that the “Summer Reading Celebrations” were fun, staff felt that they could do a better job meeting the needs of students and our community. Thus, this past spring staff decided to center our summer reading program on the theme of community. A committee made up of the English Department and other willing teachers, met regularly in the spring to select five novels that highlighted the theme of community in some way. They also worked to come up with community service project ideas for students so that we could run workshops during our “Summer Reading Celebration” day in September. Through working on this committee, it became clear that BMRHS was committed to making summer reading something more valuable for students. In addition to participating in community service workshops on our Summer Reading Community Day, students also created community service projects in their English classes. Instead of taking a test on the novel they chose to read, students were able to design their own community service project proposal. This task was project based and it allowed students to be creative and propose something that was meaningful to them. This project allowed students to apply their summer reading in a more meaningful way. Student project topics were diverse, ranging from creating care packages for the military, collecting toys for tots, and setting up dog washes for local pets. Building community can be achieved in a variety of ways. At BMRHS, our annual COMMUNITY READING CELEBRATION has become a vital opportunity for us to not only celebrate reading, but to embrace and build our community. BMRHS Principal, Michael Dudek, states that “BMRHS’s Reading Celebration exemplifies how powerful we are when we come together as one, and work collaboratively to make a positive difference in our community. Students and staff stated that they were amazed to see and hear about the positive energy and passion in the various projects held at the high school.” With our community's hard work we were able to complete the following projects: Cleaned and painted the Senior Rock, made dog toys for the Humane Society, cleared out brush and memorialized those who lie in our cemetery, lifted the spirits of hospital patients at Children’s Hospital by writing cards, created "basic need" bags filled with toiletries for the victims of the fires in Lawrence, and beautified our campus with newly planted flowers and bushes. In addition to completing the above service projects, BMRHS hosted a community breakfast for all staff and students in our courtyard. The "No Evil Project" was also on our campus, giving staff and students a creative opportunity to experiment with labels and redefining stereotypes. In the near future we will showcase the art created by the "No Evil Project" participants with an in-school display. October Happenings:October 10th: BMR Core Values Day - PSAT’s; Career & Civic Responsibility Our recent practice of PSAT administration for sophomores and juniors have allowed us to revamp “PSAT Day” to include additional opportunities for all students. Please allow me to explain this scheduled day. A majority of the Class of 2021 participated in the Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test (PSAT) which is the primary phase of the Massachusetts Math and Science Insight initiative. This initiative is designed to expand access opportunities for all students to engage in rigorous, college-level Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Additionally, a select number of students from the Class of 2020 also participated in the PSAT exam. Juniors who did not register for the PSAT exam participated in some guidance led workshops. Students explored college and career options through NAVIANCE. Our Freshmen enjoyed hosting a guest speaker who talked about his life experiences and how to overcome challenges. Lastly, the members of the Class of 2019 explored college and career options or participated in community service. Seniors visited a college campus, interviewed for a potential employment opportunity, or finalized their college applications/scholarships and resume. To be exempt from the day, seniors were asked to write a simple reflection and pass it into the office by Friday, October 19th. November Happenings:IN THE KNOW - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTSSTUDENT VOICE! |
Michael DudekHigh School Principal Archives
May 2020
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