November 21, 2024
Dear Families,
I am grateful for each of you during this season of gratitude and giving. We each bring our own unique cultural and lived experiences to our richly diverse and inclusive community. Our holiday festivities and traditional/cultural feasts may vary from culture to culture. For many of us, Thanksgiving is a time to gather with friends and family and be thankful for all the goodness in our lives -- especially the people.
During this holiday season, especially given anticipated but unknown post-election changes, I encourage you to pause, take a breath, and care for yourself. Then, I encourage you to give the gift of a warm hug, a sincere smile, or a kind word of encouragement to your little ones, tweeners, teenagers, young adults, seniors in your life, and strangers. -- may this simple little gesture extend peace & love to your loved ones and our ever so changing world.
I also extend my deepest gratitude for entrusting us with your beautiful, curious, and deserving children. This fall, we’ve been diligently developing solid roots and sowing the fall seeds, and we highly anticipate spring fruit that comes to bear for all of our PreK-12 scholars.
With gratitude,
Angela
Angela F. Allen Ph.D.
Head of School / CEO
- November 27, 2024: PHA Early Release at noon
- November 28, 2024 and November 29, 2024: Schools Closed for Thanksgiving Break
- December 3, 2024: Head of School Listening Session (virtual) 5:30 - 6:30 pm
- December 19, 2024: Thursday Thrive Dinner 5:30-7:00 pm
- December 23, 2024-Friday, January 3, 2025: Schools Closed for Winter Vacation
- January 16, 2025: Thursday Thrive Dinner 5:30-7:00 pm
- January 20, 2025: Schools Closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day
- February 17, 2025-February 21, 2025: Schools Closed for February Vacation
Staff Spotlights
After an extensive search, we are very happy to share that we have hired our new Family Engagement Coordinator. Please join us in warmly welcoming Nereida Tejeda to PHA!
Nereida comes to us with deep experience in the fields of education and family engagement, most recently through her work as a Family Liaison in BPS. In her role as our Family Engagement Coordinator, Nereida will continue to further our practices of meaningful family engagement in support of our students' academic and social-emotional outcomes. She will be instrumental in the areas of community building, family education, and school-home partnership, and will be a member of the district Advancement team while also directly supporting campus leaders. Please find below a personal introduction letter from Nereida to learn more about her and please introduce yourself when you see her in your buildings in the coming weeks.
We are also thrilled to share another recent change made to the structure of our Family Engagement team which will better support the needs of our families and school. Our three amazing Family Liaisons - Mercedes Escorihuela, Adriano Chaves, and Abigael Pierre - have expanded their responsibilities beyond translation and interpretation, and will now also be partnering with the Advancement Office to support certain family engagement responsibilities, including student recruitment efforts. To further this work, Mercedes Escorihuela has been elevated to the role of Lead Liaison.
Finally, we remain committed to hiring three PHA parents to serve as Campus Family Ambassadors across our campuses, as well as re-establishing an active Family Advisory Board at each campus. With these initiatives, as well as the updates shared above, we are confident that our family engagement structures and efforts will continue to be of service to the unique and important needs of our community.
PHA Fall Fest
Scenes from a joyful 🍂 Fall Fest. On Saturday, October 26th, our PreK-12 students, families, teachers & staff enjoyed a breezy, beautiful fall afternoon in the Early Childhood Campus school yard, with a bouncy house, arts & crafts, pumpkin and face painting, games, and delicious food and snacks. Thank you to all our wonderful student & family volunteers for helping to make the event such a success!
Middle School Campus
Beats, Rhyme and Life Program:
This year at the Middle School, PHA is piloting a program called Beats, Rhyme and Life (BRL) in which we are partnering with Darryl Huggins, Director of BRL. A team of three educators will come to PHA from now until February 2025 to provide music therapy to a group of middle school students.
The Beats, Rhymes, and Life program will provide Hip Hop Therapy as a strength-based model of therapy, working with and enhancing the skills and abilities intrinsic within adolescents, viewing them as adaptive and resourceful. The model combines narrative & expressive arts therapy with youth development principles, using Therapeutic Activity Groups to inspire youth to recognize their capacity for healing and self-expression. You can read more about how this program works online here.
High School Campus
PHA Zine Library:
We opened our newly designed Library/Learning space in September 2023. Since then, students have enjoyed comfortable seating and a wide selection of books, including manga and graphic novels. Our 7th and 8th graders utilize the space for DEAR (independent choice reading) time, small group work, and quiet independent study, while high schoolers benefit from a space for quiet studies.
Additionally, we offer access to green screens and a media lab for recording audio and video projects, making it a versatile hub for creativity and learning. We are excited to plan and host more student exhibitions and community events in our library in the future!
Recently, our 10th graders held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and launch of their brand new PHA Zine Library! Students explained their work in American Studies this quarter and showed off the zines they have created.
Holiday Gift Card Drive
In this season of giving, the PHA community will again assist our families who need support during the holiday season by collecting gift cards from families who would like to contribute and then distributing them to our families who need assistance.
If you would like to contribute to our gift fund, please email or bring the gift cards in any amount (i.e., $10.00 would be much appreciated) to your campus principal or the campus front office before Friday, December 6th.
Gift cards from large department stores like Target, Macy’s, or Best Buy would be helpful. Unfortunately, we cannot accept cash donations, checks, or gifts.
For additional information, please see the email message that was sent to all families on November 21, 2024.
Winter is coming! Check out the Sweatshirts and Fleece Jackets at Lands' End
Lands' End School offers a wide variety of dress code apparel items and a broad range of sizes, in grade level categories, PK-12, featuring Prospect Hill Academy’s official logo.
Lands' End offers a wide range of sizes K–12 including regular and extended sizing, such as tall, slim, husky and junior.
Step-by-step instructions on how to measure your student.
Shipping. All Lands' End orders have a quick turnaround time (10-12 business days) and will be shipped directly to your home.
Returns. All products are guaranteed and returns are always accepted for any reason, regardless of whether the product has been washed, worn, or embroidered with a logo within 90 days of purchase.
PHA School Logo. The code/number- 1728591K - may be applied to any Lands’ End product via the website that can accommodate a logo. Please call 1-800-469-2222 to order product(s) that are not on the PHA uniform page. Families will need to call in to add products with a logo not showing on our PHA custom site.
To view and purchase Prospect Hill Academy Charter School available through Lands' End School:
Click on the below link or visit landsend.com/school
Click on SHOP BY SCHOOL
Search by school name and location or enter the Prospect Hill Academy Charter Academy School Preferred School Number: 900198680
Message from Michelle Doyle, Meals Program Director
This year, both of our elementary campuses have implemented Breakfast After the Bell made possible by the generous grant which PHA received from the Eos Foundation. We've seen a significant increase in breakfast participation by moving the time of breakfast to after the bell. Even students who are late are able to take part in the morning meal.
At the EC campus, this grant will allow us to purchase a special insulated cart to move food through the school while keeping it at the appropriate temperature.
At the UE campus, we look forward to investing in a space-efficient Sonic Steam/Commercial Microwave Oven to allow us to heat hot breakfast sandwiches in our small kitchen.
We hope that these improvements, along with new additions to our breakfast menu, will continue to encourage students to participate in a daily nutritious breakfast!
Feel free to reach me at any time at mdoyle@phacs.org
Happy Eating!
Michelle Doyle, MS MPH
Meals Director
Message from the Nursing Team
As the colder days are approaching, we anticipate that we will see a significant increase in respiratory illnesses. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reports an increase in cases of pneumonia and pertussis (whooping cough) this year. Both of these illnesses are characterized by a persistent cough, often accompanied by other general respiratory symptoms.
During fall and winter, we can also expect to see other illnesses, such as flu and Covid19. Vaccination of eligible individuals against flu and COVID-19 plays a critical role in preventing illnesses and hospitalizations.
Recommendations:
See your healthcare provider for severe or prolonged symptoms
Limit Spread of Disease: Keep your child home if they are ill, particularly if they have a persistent cough.
Diligent handwashing.
Vaccination: Stay up to date on vaccinations. Your School Nurse will contact you if your child is not up to date with required vaccines. Flu and Covid vaccines are still highly recommended for prevention of severe illness.
Thank you for your attention to this very important matter.
Margaret Maurukas, Lead School Nurse
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The PHA Nurse Team
Gaby Mendez(MS/HS) 617.284.7908
Margaret Maurukas (UE) 617.684.8508
Ernsy Alabre(EC) 617.284.7808
Nurse fax: 857.575.1274
Survival of the Slowest, the new temporary live animal exhibit at the Museum of Science, is an exploration of counterintuitive adaptations that encourages you to slow down and consider some of the advantages of being slow and some of the disadvantages of being fast.
Most people know why it is good to be bigger, stronger, or faster. But evolving to be slower as a mechanism for survival? This is the opposite of what many people think would be advantageous. But many animals have evolved to slow down as part of their survival strategy. See how animals such as sloths, snakes, hedgehogs, and horned frogs exist — and thrive — thanks to their status as being slower, smaller, or weaker than other creatures in the animal kingdom.
Survival of the Slowest is created by Little Ray's Exhibitions and F.A.R.E. (Little Ray's Foundation for Animal Rescue and Education), a proud member of Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA).
The Arnold Arboretum is one of the area's truly great places to get away during the spring, summer and fall. The two-mile-long main trail is paved and allows for leisurely stroller walks. Plant, flower and woodland life is labeled according to species.
In the fall, rich autumn colors catch the sunlight. Even winter is beautiful in the arboretum. The trees and shrubs stand in stark contrast to gray skies and snow-covered slopes.