Blue Hills News

From the Desk of the Principal

Week of January 21 - 2020

To the Blue Hills community:

Some important notes as we near the end of the month!

The term ends on January 24th, and report cards will be issued on January 31st. Please encourage your student to finish the term strong!
Grade 9 - Vocational program placements will be announced by January 31! You've done a great job in your exploratory programs. Now it's time to take your learning to a deeper level and start your training in a specific program. Use this time to continue investing in yourself and your future.
Grade 12 - Believe it or not, graduation is less than 5 months away! Encourage your senior to finish the year strong. Guidance will be checking in with students and families as needed to provide support. If you have questions about your student's progress, please reach out to his/her counselor. Also, remember to pay your student fees! Balances can be checked on X2.
Are you checking on your student's grades, discipline, and attendance through our X2 portal? X2 is accessible through our website, or by going to https://ma-bluehills.myfollett.com/aspen/logon.do Parents and students share the same login. If you need help recovering this information, please contact Ms. Wall in the Academic Office at 781-828-5800 x2670.
Superintendent/Principal Coffee Hour - Please join us for the next coffee hour to ask questions and discuss the state of the school - March 4 @ 9:45 a.m. in the Superintendent's Conference Room.

Sincerely,

Geoff Zini

Principal

Remembering MLK, Jr. - Click for "I Have a Dream" Speech

Click to read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" Speech

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NEW: The Homework Advantage Club

Vaping Presentations

On January 27, Dr. Lester Hartman will be presenting to all of our students during the school day on the dangers of vaping and addiction.

Important: We are working on hosting Dr. Hartman for an evening presentation for BHR parents/guardians and families. We hope to set this up for early February. Please reach out to Mr. Davis if you have questions - more details to follow! (jdavis@bluehills.org)

(From wmpeds.com/team/lester-j-hartman/:) Dr. Lester Hartman has been a pediatrician for 32 years and is currently the senior partner at Westwood-Mansfield Pediatric Associates.

He is a Mass General Hospital researcher who has focused on youth and tobacco as well as advocacy work to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21 years old. He co-wrote a resolution on the age increase which is now endorsed by the 55,000 pediatricians of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Hartman's presentations provide parents and students with important details and statistics about the growing use of nicotine products with adolescents and deceptive practices companies use in marketing their products.

Dr.Hartman has presented to over 20 local Massachusetts High Schools and Vocational-Technical schools in the past year regarding these issues. His focus has always been to educate families and to empower them to manage their child’s health.

Belle of the Ball

The BHR Guidance Department is inviting 11th and 12th grade students to participate in The Belle of The Ball program that offers free prom dresses to students in need. This is a unique opportunity to shop through hundreds of dresses and take home the perfect one for free.

The event takes place on Saturday, April 4. All interested students should contact their guidance counselor by Wednesday, January 29 to secure a space.

You can find out more about the program at https://antons.com/belle/

Bus Updates!!

With nine towns and fifteen buses, we experience bus delays and problems from time to time. We are continuing to use our Twitter feed, @bhrtech, to let those who wish to follow us know about significant bus delays, breakdowns, or problems. Follow @bhrtech on Twitter today!

Communication at BHR

A few helpful reminders about communication at Blue Hills:

Main School Number - 781-828-5800
Absent/Tardy Line - call if your student is going to be absent or late on a given day: 781-828-5800 x2250.
Questions for teachers - The best way to reach teachers for questions or concerns about student progress is through email. Typically, email addresses are formatted uniformly for all staff (for example, Geoff Zini would be gzini@bluehills.org.)
Guidance Department - Counselors can be reached via email, and the guidance office can be reached at 781-828-5800 x2260.
Nurse - Medical issues and questions should be directed to Ms. Joan Gainey, School Nurse, at 781-828-5800 x2230.
Social Media & Buses - Follow us on Twitter @bhrtech for bus updates and happenings around the school.
Newsletters - Both the Superintendent's Newsletters and the Principal's Newsletters are posted on the Blue Hills website.
Automated Phone Calls - We use automated phone calls to announce snow days, late starts, important school information, undocumented absences, report card publications, and other events. If you have not received any calls this year, please contact Julie Pica in the main office at jpica@bluehills.org. Please send her the appropriate contact information (phone number) in writing so that we can make the changes to our system.

If you reach out to a faculty member or administrator here and do not receive a response within a day or two, please follow up. Sometimes email gets spammed, and phone messages can be unreliable with spotty cell phone coverage and technology glitches. We care about our students and families and want to make sure we leave communication lines open.