Hello. Welcome to the February 14, 2024 edition of the Highlander Times. You can access past editions on our website
Hello, all -
Thank you for your patience and understanding regarding yesterday’s snow day. As late as Monday afternoon, forecasts called for up to 12 inches of snow with difficult travel conditions. Like almost every other district in our area, we made our best effort to call a snow day early enough so that people could plan accordingly, but Mother Nature mocked us by dramatically changing the storm’s path! Again, we appreciate your patience and understanding. This snow day moves the last day of school to Friday, June 14.
Update on Report Cards
Based on a review of data and some feedback from students and families, SHS will be mailing home a paper copy of students’ Quarter 2 report card later this week. We publish report cards in Aspen, but not many students and families are accessing these reports. While many students and families monitor the “academics” section of Aspen, on occasion the report card grades do not match the grade on the report card. For example, per our policy when a student has 6 or more unexcused absences in a class, the highest grade the student can earn in the class is a 59, regardless of the grade that shows up in Aspen. In addition, parents and students might miss the teacher comments that are included on report cards. Please reach out to your student’s community if you have any questions or concerns.
Spring Sports Registration is Now Open
Click here to register your student for spring sports. Spring options include: Tennis, Track, Crew, Ultimate Frisbee, Lacrosse, volleyball (boys), baseball (boys), softball (girls). Spring Sports begin March 18.
A note on "Extended Campus" during lunch
Somerville High School offers free breakfast and lunch to all its students. On average, our wonderful cafeteria staff serve a wide variety of healthy food options to over 900 students daily. We encourage students to take advantage of our free lunch for all program. Having said that, we recently worked with the SPS School Committee to update our Extended Campus Lunch Policy. Where previously the policy applied to students in the upper grades, Extended Campus now applies to any SHS student in good standing. The updated policy reads as follows:
“Somerville High School (SHS) students will be granted a privilege to leave school grounds during lunch. The goal of this policy is to support the increasing independence of high school students as they prepare to graduate.
This is an earned privilege which can be revoked at any time if the guidelines and expectations, as determined by the Superintendent or their designee, are not followed. This policy provides the opportunity for SHS students to leave campus on foot during their scheduled lunch period. Detailed expectations and eligibility can be found in the student handbook and may be revised as needed by the Superintendent or Principal.
Extended Campus during lunch is a privilege. School rules apply off campus during the extended campus lunch period. Students who violate school rules will face consequences according to the Somerville High School student code of conduct. Students not in good standing may lose this privilege.”
I want to reiterate that extended campus is for ONLY during a student’s assigned lunch block, and it is a privilege which can be revoked. For example, if a student returns late to school from lunch, they may lose this privilege and be assigned lunch detention. And, as noted above, school rules regarding behavior still apply, and students will face consequences for violation of these rules. Please be aware that Somerville High School staffs the area immediately in front of the building during the lunch periods, but students are not directly supervised if they choose to leave campus. We believe in our students, and have faith that overall they will rise to our expectations and take advantage of this privilege appropriately. As always, please reach out to your student's community if you have any questions or concerns.
Class Cup Challenge
Our first ever “Class Cup Challenge” will come to a close Friday, February 16 with the first ever “Class Cup Olympics.” Starting at 1pm, students will participate in competitions ranging from trivia to “freeze dance” to volleyball and can earn final points for their grade level. The winning class will get a party with food of their choice sometime in March. The juniors are currently ahead - we’ll see if they can maintain their lead through this final stretch of the challenge!
We hope everyone has a safe and restful February break.
Principal Kersten
