Welcome Back DHS Community,

It is with excitement that I write to you about our start to the new school year, culminating with our annual senior sunrise this morning. These are the moments that continue to build our Dartmouth pride. As I walk through the halls of Dartmouth High School, my heart is filled with pride seeing our students supporting one another and our dedicated teachers focusing on the growth and learning of our student body.

DHS is truly a special place. The combined effort of our community, staff, and students transforms this building from brick and mortar into a place of academic excellence. This transformation happens because of the daily investment we all make in supporting our students' success. Our shared goal is the commitment to providing the best education, and support and, creating well-rounded individuals who will make Dartmouth proud. By working together, we create an environment where our students can flourish academically, socially, and personally.

Lastly, as you will notice later in this newsletter, I'd like to remind you all of an important upcoming event: Our Open House will be held on Wednesday, September 11th at 6:00 pm. Additionally, we will be hosting a session for parents on ParentSquare at 5:30 pm for anyone seeking support in utilizing our main communication tool. We encourage you to attend if possible.

Thank you again for your support and engagement in our school community.

Ryan

We are looking forward to our Open House which will be held next Wednesday evening, September 11th starting at 6:00 PM in the auditorium for a brief introduction from our administrative team and a warm welcome to set the tone for the evening. Following the introduction in the auditorium, please follow your student's schedule as shown below.

Please see the information below regarding accessing your student's schedule in Aspen. It is advised that you either print a copy at home or screenshot the schedule image on your phone so you have it at your fingertips. If you need assistance, your child will be happy to help you!

The school store will be open for the evening so please stop by to purchase Dartmouth gear. Our PTO will also be present in the main foyer if you are interested in lending a helping hand!

We are inviting parents/guardians to a Parent Square Session before Open House. Ms. Brittingham who is our Instructional Technology Specialist will lead this session on how to customize notification and language settings, in addition to how to use the application to support DHS students. The application is fully customizable to meet user needs and preferences, which makes it an ideal alternative to email. If families need to update Aspen data to ensure all family members are receiving notifications from the schools, please stop by the LMC; Mr. Galishaw our District Technology Director will be there to aid parents in updating their Aspen data.

Please report to our Library Media Center at 5:30 PM before the presentation by our administrative team in the auditorium at 6:00 PM.

This Friday, September 13th is our first home football game against Braintree. Any student who wears their Dartmouth High School Class t-shirt will be allowed into the game for free! Students will meet at the back gate at 6:20 PM to be allowed in. Let's show our Dartmouth PRIDE while we support our team!

Please see the MCAS testing schedule for the 2024-2025 school year. Please mark your calendars now. All sophomores will take the ELA and Math MCAS; freshmen take the Biology in June.

It is so important that our students are here to take the MCAS as it is a graduation requirement, and we want our students to shine as they demonstrate what they have learned!

Students who are enrolled in an Advanced Placement course(s) will have until October 31st to make a level change. This is the case because exams are ordered through the College Board, and the December 1st Course Level change deadline is after the exam order is placed.

Just a note, exams are ordered for ALL AP students as the expectation is that students take the exam. If a student needs financial assistance, please reach out to rachelchavier@dartmouthschools.org; no student should be unable to take the exam(s) due to financial hardship.

On September 18th during PASE, AP students will attend a mandatory AP assembly which will share all pertinent AP course and exam information for our students

Students should have selected a summer reading title back in June or over the summer. Summer Reading Discussions will take place on September 19th during our PASE period. Stay tuned for room assignments and further details.

If your student has not selected a book yet, please complete this form and submit.

Our annual College Fair will be held on September 25th. Juniors will report to the Carlin Lynch Activity Center from 8:37 am - 9:37 am. The Seniors will attend during PASE from 9:40 am - 10:20 am. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to connect with colleges, universities, and opportunities for service.

Where: Dartmouth High School Auditorium

This presentation will provide information and clarity on the entire college financial aid application process. You'll learn about financial aid applications and types of financial aid, the factors that determine your aid eligibility, how colleges determine the amount of aid to offer, and the details of financial aid offers.

If you are unable to make the in-person presentation on September 30th, there are online webinars available to watch. Click link to view dates and times!

The DHS PTO would like to welcome back all of our new and returning students and families, teachers, administration, and all staff for the 2024-2025 school year!

What we do...

The DHS PTO raises money for senior scholarships AND for teacher mini-grants to enrich student learning and supplement classroom needs that are not covered by the budget. Last year we were able to provide $2500 in scholarships and an additional $2500 for teacher mini-grants! We have purchased items for many current teachers in the past! An escape game for the library teacher, supporting half of the Shakespearean play that came for the entire school in recent years, furniture and lighting in the Dartmouth TV production room, and much more! We also like to spoil our amazing DHS staff during Teacher Appreciation Week.

Here are the PTO meeting dates for the 2024-2025 School Year below. All meetings are on Thursdays at 6:00 pm in the LMC (Library Media Center); we aim to keep our meeting to about 1 hour. Please join us and bring your ideas! See you there!

This year's meeting dates:

• September 19
• October 17
• November 21
• January 16
• February 13
• March 20
• April 17
• May 15

Contact info for PTO Board Members:

Andrea Moniz, President

andrealee101599@gmail.com

Tracie Ferreira, Vice President

tferreira@umassd.edu

Mary Francisco, Treasurer

mary.francisco0302@gmail.com

Gina Camacho, Secretary

riccardicamacho@gmail.com

Check out our DHS newspaper, The Spectrum for our latest articles and podcast.