Highlander Times

It was so nice to see so many of you last week at parent/guardian/teacher conferences. If you weren't able to attend but want to connect with your student's teacher, please email or call. A strong partnership and good communication between teachers and parents/guardians can help students find greater success.

A few updates and reminders:

• We will be practicing our safety protocols - Lock Down and Secure and Hold - on Thursday, November 21 at 1:15 pm. These practice safety drills will take about 15 minutes. We will be collaborating with the Somerville Police Department. No one will be allowed in or out of the building during the drills. Please reach out to your student's community if you have questions or concerns.

• Picture retakes are November 21. Students can stop by C205 anytime between 10-12:45 to get their picture taken. Pictures from September have been uploaded into Aspen. It is expected that every student have an updated picture in our system.

• Please come see our talented students in two events this December. The Highlander Theater Company's Mamma Mia has performances Thursday, December 5 at 8pm;, Friday, December 6 at 5 pm, and Saturday, December 7 at 2pm and 7 pm. The annual winter concert, featuring our many musical ensembles, will be Thursday, December 19 at 6pm, and will be preceded by an SHS student art showcase at 5pm.

• Winter sports sign up is open and we encourage students to get involved! Medical clearance is Nov 19-21 and tryouts/practices begin December 2. Sign up for basketball, ice hockey, swimming, track, and cheerleading.

Principal Kersten

Congratulations to our 2024 Greater Boston League champions in girls' soccer, girls' cross country, boys' cross country, and cheer! Congratulations also to our TWENTY student-athletes named GBL all-stars! girls' volleyball: Alexis Bowie, Cate Timmins; girls' soccer: Leila Smee, Delia Richardson, Caitlyn Logue, Wendy Santos; boys' soccer: Gabriel Dos Reis, Imani Mixon; girls' cross country: Greta O’Sullivan and Marlee Thrasher; boys' cross country: Oliver Wicks, Henry Zarecor, Robert Leoni, Henry Omura; golf: Emmett Easton and Magnus Anell; football: Gavin Fucile, Rockson Thapa, Mateus Fernandes, Marcos Pineda

Girls' cross country finished with only one loss at 6-1, while the boys' team finished undefeated at 7-0. The golf team landed at 7-6, sending six students on to MIAA action. The cheer team, besides being GBL champs, finished second at the 2024 Cheer Invitational at Austin Prep. The football team was much improved this year at 3-6. The team will finish the season with the Thanksgiving Day game against Cambridge on Wednesday, November 27th at 6:00PM at Dilboy Stadium.

In ongoing action, the Unified Basketball team is undefeated at 4-0 so far! The team had an outstanding comeback win (58-56) against Lynn Tech at home with a packed gym. They’ll wrap up their season at a jamboree in Malden on November 12th.

In Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament (MIAA) action, girls’ volleyball (13-7) lost in the first round but played well and had a great season. The girls’ soccer team (11-5-3) also had a stellar season, losing in the first round as well. In boys' soccer, they made it through the first round and into the round of 32 before losing a tough match; they finished (10-7-1).

Senior Portrait Photos!

• Senior Photos due November 22. If another photo is not submitted, picture day photos will be used. Email Senior Portraits to: yearbookatshs@gmail.com
• If you need a photo taken: CTE Graphics is taking basic portrait photos for those who need them. E-mail yearbookatshs@gmail.com to request a photo and we will reach out to you with a date and time.
• Basic Portrait Specifications:
• Photos should be a minimum of 4 x 5 inches and 300 pixels per inch
• Note: Larger is OK, but all photos will be sized and cropped to a similar 4 to 5 ratio.
• Acceptable File types: JPEG, PNG, and TIFF
• Name your photo as: firstname_lastname_grade - (ex: rex_ryan_12)

Yearbooks are on Sale NOW! By ordering early, you really help us to plan and keep our commitments.

• Yearbooks are $70 each - Order one by November 29, and be entered to win one of four $50 Amazon gift cards.
• Follow this link to order your yearbook online: Order Link
• (If students have cash or checks and want to order a book in person, see Mr. McElroy in C-400.)

Student Recognition Ads are Available! Celebrate your student's graduation and achievement with a personal full color congratulations ad. Ads start at ⅛ page and can be ordered on the same page as the yearbook: Order Link

We still need most of our families to sign off on our Acknowledgement of SHS Policies Form, which includes information on the handbook, photo releases, and the military information opt-out form. Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001, high schools that receive federal funds must provide certain student contact information (name, address, phone number) to military recruiters upon request and must allow recruiters to have the same access to students as employers and colleges. If any student or their parent/guardian(s) do not want this information released to the military recruiters, they must complete the Military Recruitment Opt Out Form each school year, which is included in the Acknowledgement of SHS Policies Form. The first list of students who have not opted out, will be provided to the military branches who have made this request on November 1st.

• Thanks to those who stopped by Room 205 for our open house last Thursday--it was a pleasure to speak with you. This month we're launching our event-planning subcommittee, to plan a late winter fundraising social event at Dante's. Reach out to Laura Beretsky, if you're interested in joining, beretsky@yahoo.com

• Also, stay tuned for next general meeting to be held at SHS, in January.

Please give us feedback on our current cell phone guidelines by completing this brief survey.

The PTSA and SFLC work together to provide gift cards for food to our SHS families in need during the holiday season. Please donate if you can, as the need is great! You can donate via Venmo @SHSPTSA1 or drop off gift cards to the high school main office.

Do you have a flexible schedule? Enjoy spending time and learning with some wonderful young adults? Then sign up to chaperone a field trip! We are looking for volunteers to help us out on field trips by chaperoning. All that is required is a CORI check and a good attitude. If interested/available, please fill out this form. Thank you to everyone who signed up already - we will be sending you a CORI form in the near future.

We are looking for winter gear in good condition. If you have coats, boots, mittens, hats and gloves that you can donate, please drop them off in the SFLC donation bin by the main office. Thank you in advance for helping keep our students warm!

• November 19-21: Winter Sports Clearance
• November 21: School-Wide Safety Drill
• November 21: Picture Retake Day (not at the same time as the safety drill)
• November 22: Senior pictures are due
• November 27: 1/2 day and Pep Rally
• November 28-29: No School - Thanksgiving Break
• December 2: Winter Sports Tryouts Begin
• December 5: Somerville High Musical, 8pm
• December 6: Somerville High Musical, 5pm
• December 7: Somerville High Musical, 2pm and 7pm
• December 9: Winter Sports Registration Ends
• December 12: SHS School Improvement Council
• December 19: SHS Winter Concert (6pm) & Art Showcase (5pm)
• December 20: Half day - Winter Recess begins at noon
• December 23: January 2: Winter Recess

On Wednesday, October 30, the College Career and Readiness Office (CCR) brought eighteen students to UMass Boston for a prospective student tour. The group combined our English Learner College and Career Readiness course with other interested SHS students for an information session, a tour with a current student, and a lunch at the dining hall. A good time was had by all!

Megatron of The Slaughterhouse Kingz led a hip hop dance workshop for SHS students. Megatron is a leader of the Boston hip hop scene and a founding member of the Floor Lords Dance Crew where he performed with artists such as Madonna and Jennifer Lopez. During the workshop, SHS students practiced choreography and learned about the history of hip hop.

The Somerville Council on Aging brought seniors to our cosmetology program once again on Tuesday, 11/12. They had hair, nails, and skin services before heading up to culinary arts to have lunch. It was a great experience for all!

Students in English classes are working hard! New units and novels are kicking off:

• After finishing the short stories unit and writing their first formal essays, English 1 students are reading The Odyssey and A Raisin in the Sun.
• Students have finished their narrative unit and projects in English 2 and are starting The Poet X and To Kill a Mockingbird.
• English 3 students have completed their first argument essay and a short poetry unit and have begun reading Persepolis and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
• Students in AP Lit have finished The Great Gatsby and are already completing their third essay after completing a poetry unit and short story unit.
• After wrapping up their College Essays, English 4 has started working on The Catcher in the Rye and Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria.
• Students in AP Lang have finished their education unit and are looking at the power of rhetoric as they start their first research paper.

In each of these units, teachers are asking students to persevere through challenging texts, engage in open discourse about the human experience and communicate their thoughts and ideas in their projects, essays and class discussions. The English Department is looking forward to another strong second quarter!