Natick Redhawks

Dear Natick High School Caregivers,

This was our first full week in some time, and I think it took some of our students by surprise! Next week, we will have full school days on Monday and Tuesday, and a half day on Wednesday in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, which is celebrated on Thursday and Friday.

In the lead up to Thanksgiving there is always a buzz in the building; this year was no exception. Below you will find a number of reasons to be proud of our Redhawks, including their work on the upcoming play, Hadestown (12/6-12/7), their outstanding performance in the fall athletics season, the large number of inductees to the National Honor Society, and our Speech and Debate Team's successful showing at the Gracia Burkhill Memorial Speech and Debate Tournament this past weekend. We are certainly grateful for this talented bunch.

I also wanted to give a huge shout out to our Student Council, led by Ms. Tobin and Ms. Ouellet. They have been tireless in their pursuit of donations for A Place to Turn, Natick's Food Pantry. Thanks to their diligence over the past few weekends and during the school week, we are on track to meet our goal! Please send your students in with donations through Tuesday afternoon. We are looking forward to making our community's Thanksgiving celebrations a little brighter this year.

We are also looking forward to meeting with you! Caregiver/Educator conferences will take place on December 11th, and sign ups will take place beginning the Monday after the Thanksgiving recess. Information is below.

In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I wanted to wish you a joyful and peaceful Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones. I continue to be thankful for the chance to lead this amazing community of educators and students.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kind Regards,

Josepha Blocker

Principal, Natick High School

11/22 - Last Day to Register and Pay for Winter Athletics

11/27 - Early Dismissal for Thanksgiving @ 11 am

11/28 - Thanksgiving Football Game vs. Framingham @ NHS

11/28 - 11/29 - School Closed for Thanksgiving

12/2 - Caregiver Sign-Up for Conferences begins at 9 am

12/5 - Caregiver Sign-Up for Conferences ends at 5 pm

12/6 - 12/7 - NHS Theatre Company presents Hadestown, Teen Edition (See info below.)

12/8 - Senior Class Caregivers' Bingo Night Fundraiser @ The Elks (See info below.)

12/11 - Early Dismissal for Students; Caregiver/Educator Conferences

12/21 - 1/1 - School Closed for Winter Break

From our Natick High School Family, I wanted to wish you a lovely Thanksgiving recess, full of family and joy. Please note that we have an early dismissal at 11 am on Wednesday for the holiday, and there will be no late buses.

We are looking forward to meeting with you on December 11th. Caregiver/Educator conferences will be held from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm virtually. Instructions for sign-ups can be found here.

Sign up will also begin at 9 am on Monday, December 2nd and will close on Thursday, December 5th at 5 pm.

Due to our large student population, we have conferences scheduled as quick check-ins in order to accommodate the largest number of caregivers. Therefore, each conference slot is scheduled for 5 minutes.

We look forward to seeing you!

This Wednesday morning, we will host our annual pep rally for students. Please note that this event takes place during the school day. As such, the pep rally is only for current students and staff; we are unable to accommodate outside guests for this event. Thank you for your understanding!

We are almost at the end of our Student Council Food Drive for A Place to Turn, Natick's Food Pantry and we need YOUR help! Natick High School's donation is usually one of the largest that A Place to Turn receives each year. Students should bring nonperishable food items to the school lobby before Wednesday morning!

Natick High Schools Theatre Company will be performing the teen version of Anais Mitchell's Tony award-winning musical, Hadestown. Hadestown is a powerful and timely tale that deftly intertwines two classic Greek myth love stories: Hades and Persephone, along with Orpheus and Eurydice. While myths survive because myths resonate with us, Mitchell’s work makes the tales resound on a deeper level as the myths are recast to offer a world with sound, music, lyrics, images, characters, and a story that contemporary audiences readily recognize.

You can catch Hadestown at one of three performances:

• Friday, December 6th @ 7:30 pm
• Saturday, December 7th @ 2:00 pm
• Saturday, December 7th @ 7:30 pm

Tickets are available for $15 online here or at the door.

Natick High Theatre Company is committed to building community through the entire company in hopes of impacting students, staff, and audiences.

The Senior Class Officers and Advisors would like to invite you to a special event: Bingo Night at The Natick Elks Club! The Elks have offered to host this event for caregivers of Natick High School seniors, and will be donating the proceeds to the Class of 2025!

Date: December 8th, 2024 @ 6 pm

Where: Natick Elks Club

Doors will open at 6:00 PM and the first game is at 6:45! Funds raised from ticket purchases will help the Senior Class continue to plan the Prom at the New England Aquarium and the Senior Picnic activities. This event is 21+ and has a maximum capacity of 250 guests so don’t wait to get your tickets! Please see the attached flyer for more information about the event.

Tickets can be purchased using this link or the QR code located on the flyer.

Thank you to the Natick Elks and to YOU for your support of our seniors!

This fall our Natick Redhawks did a great job in the post-season!

This fall's Girls' Soccer team made it to the Final 4 and received an MIAA D1 Final 4 Trophy after another incredible season.

Boys' Soccer had another great playoff run as well. They headed into the Tournament at the #7 seed and battled through to the elite 8.

Varsity Cheer performed at MSAA Regionals at Franklin High School, where they qualified for States which will take place on Sunday November 24th at Worcester State University.

Girls Swim and Dive placed 6th at States'

Boys' Cross Country earned the right to participate in the 2024 Nike Cross Country Regionals in Wappingers Falls, NY. They are set to compete on Saturday, November 23rd.

Please join us for the Natick High School annual Thanksgiving Day football game vs. Framingham High School. This year we are playing at home.

Please avoid the lines and pre-purchase your ticket here: https://gofan.co/event/1622746?schoolId=MA14657

Gobble, gobble!

Thank you in advance for carefully reading the athletic registration information below. We look forward to working with your student athlete this season!

Any registration after noon today may not be approved AND will incur a $25 late fee. Please contact the athletics office with questions.

To register, each student athlete will need:

• A Completion of Course certificate from the two required online courses for student athletes
• A copy of the student athlete's up-to-date physical
• The athletics fee

Information on each of these requirements, along with the registration link and the payment link are included in the 10/25 newsletter.

First Day of the MIAA Winter Season: December 2, 2024

The MIAA allows winter athletics to begin as of this date. More information will be shared from the Athletics Department in the coming weeks on specific first-day details for each team, including sites and times.

The Guidance Department maintains a website full of useful information geared towards each grade. It changes regularly, and highlights some of the information that is shared with students during their guidance seminar. Parents and guardians are encouraged to bookmark the site and review it regularly.

Information on mandatory online trainings, your athlete's required physical, and how to complete the required online payment can be found in the last newsletter.

Families and staff celebrated together at the annual NHS ELL Family Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 14th. Traditional American foods were shared along with delicious offerings from many cultures.

On Tuesday our Black & Hispanic Student Union met with members of the Harvard Undergraduate Black Students Association. The collaboration, entitled "Empowered to Succeed: Navigating Motivation, College Applications, and Overcoming Underrepresentation", gave our Natick High School students the opportunity to discuss and ask questions regarding their experiences as minority students. Harvard students also provided resources and networking opportunities for future partnerships.

The NHS Speech & Debate Team hosted the Gracia Burkhill Memorial Speech and Debate Tournament last Saturday, 11/16. Natick's team made a great showing! We had nearly 50 students competing, plus several others volunteering. Additionally, we had several National Honor Society and Key Club volunteers, too! Many of our students earned individual awards, but we all know that the greatest reward is to have hosted such a successful event for the Speech & Debate Community.

On Wednesday night, families and friends joined 168 seniors for the National Honor Society induction ceremony. The inductees engaged in a rigorous application process and were selected because of their scholarship, leadership, service and character. The ceremony was led by the four National Honor Society officers: President Addison Robie, Vice President Aaron Wasielewski, Secretary Sydni Chandler and Public Relations Officer Natalia Abella. Congratulations to all, and thank you to NHS Advisors Ms. Marino and Ms. St. Jean for all of their hard work supporting our inductees through the process.

All students are required to pay class dues, a one-time fee during their four years which supports class events. Those dues are required to attend class events, including the Junior Boat Cruise and many of the senior activities. It is essential that students pay dues early so we can begin planning the events with the necessary deposit funds. Please note that EACH CLASS has a UNIQUE LINK to use to pay class dues. Below, you will find the information needed and who to contact if you have questions.

• Advisors: Neil Donohue (ndonohue@natickps.org) and Brenna Keefe (bkeefe@natickps.org)
• Dues Amount: $100

* Almost all students have paid their class dues. If you are not sure whether your senior still owes class dues, please contact Mr. Donohue or Ms. Keefe.

• Dues Amount: $100
• To Pay:

• Use THIS LINK or
• Write a check payable to Natick High School with your child's name and "Class of 2026" in the memo line
• Advisors: Rebecca Tramontozzi (rtramontozzi@natickps.org) and Jessica Stefanini (jstefanini@natickps.org)

• Dues Amount: $100
• To Pay:

• Use THIS LINK or
• Write a check payable to Natick High School with your child's name and "Class of 2027" in the memo line
• Advisors: Deanna Kanavas-DeRocher (dkanavas-derocher@natickps.org) and Jim Brosnihan (jbrosnihan@natickps.org)

• Dues Amount: $150
• To Pay:

• Use THIS LINK or
• Write a check payable to Natick High School with your child's name and "Class of 2028" in the memo line
• Advisors: Emily Diesl (ediesl@natickps.org) and Kelsey Wiliams (kwilliams@natickps.org)

If your family requires financial assistance in paying class dues, please fill out the district's financial assistance forms to qualify.

As of today only 58.9% of our students' forms have been completed and submitted. If you have not yet completed your Required Yearly Form (RYF) please do so, so that we have the most accurate information regarding your student(s). These forms allow caregivers the opportunity to update their contact information and invite caregivers to share medical information pertinent to their NHS student. The forms also provide important notices and give caregivers a chance to consent to various school-related activities that may impact their student.

If you have not yet completed your student's yearly forms, here is the link to complete the forms and some important reminders: https://natickps.powerschool.com/public

If you have not yet completed the forms, further instructions were given in this past newsletter.

Please click here for information on all of the following:

• Student parking
• School buses
• Food services, including how to order lunch ahead of time
• Purchasing a Yearbook
• Annual notifications from our nurses
• How to find out about, and purchase tickets for, athletic events
• Junior and senior "priv"
• Our cell phone use practices
• How to call your student in absent
• CORI checks for parent volunteers
• Joining the PTSO

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) is continuing to sponsor a free Parenting Solutions Library. MPY is offering this valuable resource in partnership with Peace At Home Parenting Solutions, a non-profit organization located in Mansfield, Connecticut. Through this partnership, MPY is providing proven resources to help students’ families thrive.

Peace At Home Parenting Solutions specializes in empowering parents with evidence-based strategies to foster nurturing connections that safeguard their children's mental well-being. The Parenting Solutions Library is easily accessed using the link on MPY’s home page. No log in or passcode is needed.

Natick Public Schools does not discriminate in employment nor its educational programs, services, and activities based on race, creed, color, age, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, physical and intellectual differences, immigration status, homeless status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Please be aware all electronic communication to and from Natick Public Schools is public record and subject to public disclosure per Massachusetts General Law Chapter 66, Section 10.

• Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
• MGL, Ch.76, Section 5: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 76, Section 5