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Natick Redhawks
Your Weekly Update from Natick High School
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From the Principal's Desk
Hello Natick High School Caregivers,
As we head into March today, each class had an opportunity to attend an assembly to celebrate our National Banner Recognition from Special Olympics North America. This status was only given to 22 schools in Massachusetts and 205 schools nationwide. It signifies the ways that NHS has successfully achieved national standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy and respect! During this morning's assemblies, students heard from the CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts, Mary Beth McMahon, and from NHS parent and Special Olympics Vice President of Schools and Community Development, Patti Doherty. Our Unified Student Athletes also spoke about what the program means to them, and challenged some of our staff to a student vs. staff basketball game.
Next week, our junior class will have another chance to come together for an assembly called ThinkFast! This program has been widely praised by area high schools for its interactive nature, and will be focusing on distracted driving, which our past Metrowest Adolescent Health Survey data indicate is an area of high need for Natick.
As we head into next week, some of our students, families and staff will begin observing Ramadan, which will last from the evening of Sunday, March 10th through April 9th. Ramadan is a significant period or prayer and reflection in the Muslim tradition. During Ramadan, it is customary for many Muslims to fast from sunrise to sundown. If your student is fasting, and would like to avoid the cafeteria, the library is a great place to go. We are also aware that students observing Ramadan may be getting up earlier to eat or going to bed later following a family meal, and that this can impact school as well. If you have concerns about how your family's observance could impact your student's ability to do their best, please be in touch with their guidance counselor so we can help support them to be successful.
I wish you a wonderful week ahead.
Warmly,
Josepha Blocker
Principal, Natick High School
Calendar for the Next Two Weeks
UPCOMING STUDENT EVENTS
Career and Training Fair 3/12 @ 6:30pm
Class of 2025 Fundraiser - Students vs. Teachers Basketball Game on 3/14
Class of 2024 - Senior Prom - Friday, May 17th
Friday, May 17, 2024
Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel
138 St. James Ave., Boston, MA
7 PM to 11 PM
Senior Prom is just over 3 months away! The Class of 2024 Officers and the Prom Committee have been working hard to finalize the last details of the big day! Tickets are $125 per person and may be purchased online or via cash or check during lunch from 2/28 - 3/8. Seniors in need of financial aid for prom should email Senior Class Advisor, Mr. Cuoco (ancuoco@natickps.org).
Other important information about prom was recently sent to all seniors via email from Senior Class Advisor Daniel Joseph. This email details including planning for transportation, online ticket sale information, information on seating arrangements and meal choice, and the After Prom Party held at NHS.
Parents/Guardians of Seniors, if you have any questions about Senior Prom, please email Senior Class Advisors Daniel Joseph (djoseph@natickps.org) or Anthony Cuoco (ancuoco@natickps.org)
Join the School Committee Calendar Committee!
An Invitation for STUDENTS to join the School Committee's Calendar Committee
The following message comes from the NPS School Committee. Please encourage your student to email Ms. Daigle at mdaigle@natickps.org if they are interested.
As you may know, the Natick School Committee recently created a task force to review the school year calendar. The purpose of the task force is to solicit NPS staff and families/caregivers feedback on the structure of the school year calendar and the observance of religious and cultural holidays.
As background, two years ago, the policy subcommittee undertook a process to consider adding religious and cultural observances as days out of school. The process followed the School Committee’s commitment to improving inclusion and belonging in our school communities and to better recognizing the increasingly diverse nature of our community. Extensive outreach was conducted with religious leaders to better understand religious and cultural observances.
Now, the School Committee would like to conduct more extensive outreach to staff and families to better understand their values and preferences related to the school year calendar. The outreach also seeks to better understand the impact to days both in and out of school for staff and families.
To lead this work, the School Committee has created a task force to lead this outreach and feedback effort. The task force will include, NPS staff, NPS administrators, families/caregivers, students, and School Committee members.
We expect the Task Force to meet twice a month for March, April, and May for approximately 1-2 hours. Meeting times can vary based upon the schedules of the group. A final report of the findings will be delivered to the School Committee at the beginning of June.
If your student is interested in serving as a volunteer, they should email Ms. Daigle at mdaigle@natickps.org by next Friday, 3/8 at noon.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Health/PE Parent Survey
A Message from:
Sue Balboni, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching. Learning and Innovation
Bob Anniballi, Director of Health and Wellness K-12
Our Health and Wellness staff
Natick Public Schools is committed to providing all of our students with the best possible educational experience. Because of this, we conduct regular curriculum audits. This year, we are reviewing our current Health and Physical Education curriculum. We value the feedback from all of our stakeholders. We ask that you please complete this survey to provide us with feedback as we work to assess and improve our curriculum. Thank you in advance for your time in completing this survey.
Share Your Culture at our Annual Equity Co-Op!
Do you have a special recipe for biryani or Spanish tortilla? Expertise with a cultural craft? A musical or dance performance??
Our annual Equity Co-op will take place on Thursday, March 21st. Students will attend workshops centered on this year’s theme, “We Are Natick.” New this year, we will hold a culture fair during the midday Flex Blocks and are inviting staff, students, and community members to lead a mini-cultural celebration or demonstration during this time. Families, friends, or individuals are invited to come share a cultural tradition at a “booth” during the blocks opposite student lunches to offer engagement, fun, and learning. The Flex Blocks will run from 11:10-1:15 in the gymnasium.
Please reach out to the Equity Advisors, Lauren Adams (ladams@naticks.org), Kate Burns (kburns@natickps.org), and Jill Conroy (jiconroy@natickps.org), with your contributions or questions.
NHS Athletics Department - Spring Sports Registration Closes on 3/8
Registration continues to be open but will close on Friday March 8, 2024 at 4pm. Any registration after this date may not be approved AND will incur a $25 late fee. Do not wait. Sign up now.
If you have played a sport this academic year, then the registration will only take a few minutes. If you have not registered for sports this academic year, there are new courses to take. We have updated the courses to make them more time efficient and effective. If you have not taken the NFHS Concussion course since July of 2023 then you have to do it again. By State Mandate this course has to be done each academic year. All of the courses are embedded in the registration to make it easier to find them and to upload the certificates of completion.
Please find linked here our registration information for 2023-24 Natick Spring Athletics. Read all of this thoroughly so you understand and do not miss anything.
Registration
OPENED: January 22, 2024 at 12 pm
CLOSES: March 8, 2024
PAYMENTS DUE: March 8, 2024*
* Payments received after March 8, 2024 will incur a $25 late fee.
This Week's Guidance Update
Each week our Guidance Department updates their page with important grade-specific information, including:
- Information for all grades on College and Career Readiness
- Information on specifics for post-secondary planning and other school details.
Dismissing Students Early
A Reminder from Our Main Office Staff
If your student needs to leave school early for a doctor's appointment or other reason, please send them into school with a note that morning. Students should come to the Main Office with the note, and exchange it for a pass, which they can show their teacher to be released from class at the correct time.
We are happy to accept phone calls, but they often take longer to get off the machine when the office is busy; so if it is possible, we would prefer you send students with a note.
REDHAWK PRIDE
5 Natick Redhawks Will Sing in the All-Eastern US Honor Choirs
Five Natick High School students have been accepted into All-Eastern US Honor Choirs and will be participating in the American Choral Directors Association conference in Providence later this week. These students were selected amongst thousands of students, including singers from Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C.
Congratulations to the following talented musicians:
Shannon Flynn, grade 12
Sofia Zay, grade 12
Evan Hyman, grade 11
Sammy Rennie, grade 11
Joshvin Thomas, grade 9
Natick Students Donate Their Coding Skills to the School Community!
Two groups of NHS students are giving back to the Natick Schools Community using their coding talents!
Priyadarshini Kathiravan, Sanjhbati Das, and Sandra Kintu, members of the Girls Who Code Club are building a website called the Johnson Website for the Legacy Project to celebrate the Johnson School in its last year.
Jayden Chu and George Dimitrov are designing a website for the new planetarium at Kennedy Middle School.
Redhawks Running the Boston Marathon!
Robin MacBlane (Athletics Dept.) Will Run the Boston Marathon to Raise Money for NHS!
After running the New York, DC and the Chicago marathons, Ms. MacBlane has signed on to run the 2024 Boston Marathon to raise money for Natick High School. Besides working in the Athletic Department, Ms. MacBlane has four children who all attended NHS, and she is looking forward to giving back to the school. She needs to raise at least $4400, with an ultimate goal of hitting $6,000! Please help support her to support NHS!
With the funds she raises, she is hoping to donate:
- $1000 to the Athletic Department
- $1000 to the Music Department
- $400 to the Unified Basketball Team
- Funds to the Natick High School After Prom party
- Create scholarships for
- One student going to a trade school
- The NHS student with the most community service hours
- One student on an IEP attending a four year college
- One student that is playing a D3 sport in college, with a GPA between 2.7 and 3.5
Ms. MacBlane would like to thank NHS PTSO for their support and assistance in making this possible.
Here is the link to donate: https://www.givengain.com/project/robin-raising-funds-for-natick-high-school-parent-teacher-student-organization-72826
Special Olympics Partners with NHS Student Yousef Abdelmessih for Boston Marathon Run!
NHS has a very special relationships with the Special Olympics through our work as a Unified Banner School. Through this partnership, senior Yousef Abdelmessih has been selected to be a part of a duo-rider team in the Boston Marathon, representing Special Olympics MA! He will be pushed all 26.2 miles with a runner from Bank of America.
Huge shout out to NHS educators Joe Guidice and Christine Small, who have been in supporting Yousef and Special Olympics MA to make this a reality!
MESSAGES FROM OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Natick 180 Presents: Youth Substance Use and Mental Health
Youth Substance Use and Mental Health Panel Presentation with Dr. Safdar Medina that is taking place on Tuesday, March 12th from 6:30 - 8:00 PM in the Natick High School library. Here is the link to the registration page.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS AND REPOSTS
Help for Teens Who Want to Quit Vaping
We have a number of resources at the high school for students who are struggling with early vape use, including the iDecide program and a partnership with the Natick Service Council. If you or your NHS student would like to know more about these resources, please contact your students' guidance counselor, dean or vice-principal. Those who are trying to stop using on their own may also find that practicing the 6 D's can help.
- Text VapeFreeMass to 88709 to use a free, confidential texting program called This is Quitting.
- Call or text Start My Quit to 855-891-9989 to access trained coaches at My Life, My Quit (www.mylifemyquit.com) who can help.
- Visit teen.smokefree.gov
Clubs at NHS!
Does your student want to join a club?
Check out our clubs list! Students are invited to speak to their guidance counselors if they aren't sure which clubs they want to try. There is something for everyone.
A Message From the Class Officers and Advisors
The class advisors and class officers are busy planning important events for your class. However, in order to begin securing locations and vendors, we need each student to pay their class dues. Class dues are a $100 payment that each student is required to pay before they graduate. These dues help cover expenses and lower the cost of admission for events such as the Senior Prom.
Students should bring a check, made out to the Class of (the year they are expected to graduate), for $100 and deliver it to one of their class advisors. Class Advisors are:
Class of 2024: Anthony Cuoco - ancuoco@natickps.org & Danny Joseph - djoseph@natickps.org
Class of 2025: Neil Donohue - ndonohue@natickps.org & Brenna Keefe - bkeefe@natickps.org
Class of 2026: Emily Cunningham - ecunningham@natickps.org & Becky Tramontozzi - rtramontozzi@natickps.org
Class of 2027: Deanne Kanavas-DeRocher - dkanavas-derocher@natickps.org & Jim Brosnihan - jbrosnihan@natickps.org
Financial support is available for those who qualify. Students can see their guidance counselor or class VP/Dean to seek aid.
Please reach out to your class advisor with any questions.
Does Your Student Need Academic Help?
All Natick High School students have access to Paper Tutoring, which offers 24-hour online support to students in the form of live, one-to-one sessions with knowledgeable tutors. Paper also offers feedback on written submissions. Students can log in to paper using at app.paper.co/login/students. There are also online info sessions available for parents and guardians if you would like to learn more.
Student Parking - Important Reminders
Juniors and Seniors are permitted to park on campus, with a parking permit decal displayed on their vehicles, in the following locations:
- Seniors are permitted to park in the Memorial Football Lot or the Mahan Baseball Field Lot.
- Juniors are permitted to park only in the Mahan Baseball Field lot.
- No students are permitted to park in the Faculty or Visitor lots without individual approval from administration.
- Students may NOT make their own spots by parking in unlined areas. This creates potential safety issues.
- Students who do not abide by the school parking rules risk disciplinary action including detention, loss of priv. and/or loss of parking privileges.
Obtaining a Parking Permit
To obtain a parking permit, students must register their cars. Students may also obtain a parking permit in the Main Office during school hours.
Students must bring photocopies of the following to obtain a permit:
- A copy of their driver's license*
- A copy of the car's registration*
- This form filled out an signed by a parent/guardian and the student
- $200 - Cash or check accepted. (Checks should be made out to Natick Public Schools.)
* Please note that we will be KEEPING these photocopies for our records.
Parking permits are distributed on a first-come-first-served basis.
Free Breakfast and Lunch for All Students this Year
Governor Maura Healey's Office decided to institute free breakfast and lunch for all public school students in Massachusetts.
In the NHS Dining Hall, you can pre-order your lunch so it is waiting for you when you arrive!
With Nutrislice, students can pre-order their lunches, so they are ready when they get to lunch. Just order through this link by 9:30 a.m. each day, and lunch will be ready to pick up in the far left line near the salad and sandwich area. Students' names will be on the receipt attached to their orders. Just grab and go!
Calling Your Student in Absent
Thank you to our PTSO for their ongoing support to our students and faculty. Our PTSO is looking for more volunteers to assist them with their work for the school year. You can learn more about the NHS PTSO, and how to get involved by visiting their website. Thank you in advance for your help!
You can subscribe to their monthly newsletter at the top of their webpage.
Reminder for Parents Who Want to Volunteer--CORI Checks
Reminder If you want to volunteer in schools, you must have a CORI check conducted and you must go into the building with identification (driver's license or passport) to do this. Click here for description of what a CORI check is and does. Without a CORI check, you cannot volunteer in the school. Here is the form to fill out for a CORI.
Quick Links
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COVID-19 Updates
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