Dear Families,

We've had a very smooth but busy return to school this September! This year I will be sending monthly newsletters, typically the third Friday of the month. In the newsletters you'll find updates from various grade levels and departments, including Athletics, Counseling/College Counseling, Enrichment and Family Engagement. Please feel free to reach out directly to the school with any questions that you have! The Administrative Team's contact info is also included at the end of each newsletter. I look forward to our collaboration this school year!

All the best,

Christine Douglas

cdouglas@phacs.org

Beginning next week you should hear from your student's Advisor to schedule a listening conference with you. Listening conferences provide the first opportunity for you Advisor to connect with you as the caregiver to begin to learn about your student and listen to your questions and concerns. Your student's Advisor is an important person in their school life and can serve as your primary contact at the school throughout the year. Please be on the lookout for emails, remind messages and phone calls from Advisors so that you can schedule your listening conference, and if for some reason you don't hear from them in the next two weeks, reach out to Mrs. Quinlan or Ms. Douglas and we can help you connect

On October 16th, all 10th and 11th graders will be taking the PSAT, an important experience for them as they prepare to take the SAT later in their junior year, that is required by most colleges and universities for application and admission. PHA pays the fee for all of our students by pre-ordering the exams and our expectation is that all sophomores and juniors take it. We appreciate parent support in ensuring that your student attends school that day! Students will also have one class after the test and attendance counts. If you'd like to learn more about why we have our sophomores and juniors take the PSAT with more information., click on the PSAT image above or the following link to visit a helpful web page- Why You Should Take the PSAT.

Also on October 16th, all 12th graders will participate in our annual College Application Bootcamp. This event is an important part of our college readiness programing as it provides uninterrupted time to work on college essays and applications for 3 full hours with support from all of our college counselors. Again, we appreciate parent support in ensuring that your students attend school that day! They will also have one class after the boo camp and attendance counts.

All 9th graders will have classes as usual.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently launched the “Your Presence is Powerful” campaign as part of continued efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism. The Department is asking students, school staff, educators, and families in Massachusetts public pre-K-12 schools and adult learning classes to submit creative pieces of artwork, music, photography, videography, or writing to express what draws them to school. Submissions are due Friday, December 20.

All high schoolers attended the Enrichment Fair during Advisory on Friday. Below is a list of organizations and clubs that were in attendance. Ask your student what they learned and if any enrichment activities interested them!

External partners: ACE Mentor, Science Club for Girls, Green Cambridge - Canopy Crew Program, Community Art Center, Broad Institute - Summer Scholars Program, This Way ONWard - Job Training Program , Get Real Teen Council at Planned Parenthood, MITES at MIT, Dana Farber CURE Program, Leah Project at Health Resources in Action (HRiA), Teen Council at MIT Museum, Innovators for Purpose, Minds Matter - College Prep Program, TiE Boston - Entrepreneurship Program, Cascade at MIT, LIPS (Liaison Interpreter Program of Somerville)

Internal Clubs: Debate Team, Creative PHA, Sister Sister, Pathways in Medicine, Chess Club, STEAM Saturday, PHA Recruitment,

Groups that couldn't attend in n person but left flyers: Cambridge Public Health Internships, Let's Get Ready College Prep Program, Parkour Generations

If you have questions about enrichment opportunities please contact Ms. Le, Experiential Opportunities Manager- kle@phacs.org

Welcome back! Please read below for important information about college counseling programming for high school students and the college process for seniors!

Grades 9 & 10

Students in 9th and 10th grade will receive quarterly lessons in advisory, delivered by Ms. Martin and Mr. Costa, two of the college counselors. These lessons will focus on credits, GPA, graduation requirements, and an introduction to the college process.

Grade 11

Juniors will participate in a weekly, year-long College & Career Readiness course, which is taught by Mr. Costa. Juniors will be required to attend official college tours, learn more about the college process and financial aid, receive SAT preparation and register for the exam, and finish the year with a draft of their college essay. More information about college tours will be sent out.

Grade 12

All seniors are assigned an individual college counselor and have received introductory emails with links to their counselor’s appointment calendar. Students are responsible for signing up for and attending these important meetings.

All seniors are also enrolled in a weekly, year-long College & Career Readiness course, taught by Ms. Martin. In the fall, the class directly supports the college admissions and financial aid processes. Attendance is crucial in this class as missing even one week can impact a student’s college application. We need family support in ensuring on-time attendance to this class! The counselors will be notifying caregivers after the first instance of an unexcused absence or after any two consecutive absences.

Financial Aid: Students will receive instruction in CCR class about key financial aid steps. The department will also run a family event to support the completion of FAFSA, the main financial aid application used by all colleges. The FAFSA will be available on December 1st this year, so expect to hear more about the event later in the fall. MEFA, a trusted financial aid resource, also offers several webinars for families and these can be found at the links below.

Financial Aid 101 2024-25 - MEFA (English)

Ayuda Económica para la Universidad 101 2024 - MEFA (Spanish)

SAT: All seniors should have taken the SAT one time at this point. They received support in class last year on how to register and prepare for the exam. Many seniors have not taken the test, and if this is the case for your child, they should plan to take the October 5th exam. The deadline to register for this exam is September 20th.

FERPA waiver: Please check your email for an important message about completing a FERPA waiver, a form necessary to apply to college.

Best wishes for a healthy fall!

Erin McElligott, Director of College & School Counseling; Alumni Support

Devan Martin, College Counselor, CCR 12 Teacher

Leo Costa, College Counselor, CCR 11 & 12 Teacher

Join us for the first Middle and High School Family Advisory Board Meeting of the school year on Wednesday, September 25! 6:00-7:30 (Zoom). Hear from Principals Mr. Spencer (middle school) and Ms. Douglas (high school) about what's new in grades 7-12 and how the school year is going so far!

For all resources related to supporting our PHAmilies please see our the Family Central page on the PHA website!

Our fall teams have been busy! Check out our schedules and catch a game or a meet this fall!

For more information about athletics at PHA, contact Geoff Lerner, Athletic Director- glerner@phacs.org

High School Main Office- 617-284-7921

Middle School Main Office- 617-284-7920

If your student is absent or late to school, please contact us to excuse the absence/tardy::

Absence Phone Line- 617-284-7990

Michele Quinlan- Administrative Assistant- mquinlan@phacs.org

Dominga Soto- Administrative Assistant - dsoto@phacs.org

Christine Douglas- Principal- cdouglas@phacs.org

Holly Fritz-- Assistant Principal hfritz@phacs.org

Patrick Nolan- Dean of Students- pnolan@phacs.org

Erin McElligott- Director of Counseling and College Counseling- emcelligott@phacs.org

Geoff Lerner- Athletic Director- glerner@phacs.org