Natick Redhawks

Hello Natick High School Caregivers,

This past week, I had the pleasure of attending the METCO conference with educators from the other 32 METCO districts across Massachusetts. Together, we discussed strategies for promoting the success of our Boston students through inclusive curriculum, culturally responsive practices and support of first-generation college applicants. As I listened to the many presenters, I was reminded how much these practices not only support our Boston students, but all of our students. When we engage in practices that allow everyone to learn to their best potential, all students benefit.

During these past two weeks, our vape detectors have also gone "live," and we have been able to monitor them in real time to intervene on student vape use in the bathrooms. To respond effectively, our deans, vice-principals and department heads have been maintaining a visible presence in the hallways adjacent to bathrooms. As these weeks have progressed, students have commented on the increased hallway presence, and we have been able to see a notable decrease in "hits" on the detectors. We still have work to do, but this is wonderful progress and worth celebrating.

Our community partners at Natick 180 have given us some informational posters to hang around campus, and I wanted to share the same information with you. If your student is working on quitting, practicing the 6 D's can help. There are also a number of community resources that support young people trying to stop using vapes and other substances. They also shared this more comprehensive toolkit, for those who are interested. If you would like to talk about helping your young adult with substance use, please reach out.

I know that this time of year can be celebratory, and full of laughter and light. The season can also bring tougher emotions for some, for a variety of reasons. I want to remind you that we are here to support your NHS student. If you have concerns, or want to brainstorm ways we can help, please reach out to your student's counselor and/or grade level administrator.

All My Best,

Josepha Blocker

Principal, Natick High School

All students will have an early release this Wednesday, December 13th so our teachers can host parent-caregiver conferences.

We are looking forward to meeting with many of you. Please make every effort to be on time to get the most out of your conferences, as teachers have tight schedules to accommodate many conversations in a short window. We look forward to collaborating with you on behalf of our learners.

All seniors MUST log into their PowerSchool accounts by Thursday, December 21 to check how their full legal name appears, as this is how it will appear on their diploma. Students received this information via email earlier this week. Please check in with your NHS senior to make sure that this important task is complete. Questions about this process or necessary revisions should be emailed to Michele Daigle (mdaigle@natickps.org) by Thursday, December 21.

Each week our Guidance Department updates their page with important grade-specific information, including:

• Information for all grades on College and Career Readiness
• Information on specifics for post-secondary planning and other school details.

All winter varsity sports tickets will need to be purchased on https://gofan.co/.

A new Winter Season Pass is available only for Natick High School students. Students can purchase a Winter Season Pass for $150 to gain admission to all varsity sports events, including wrestling matches, boys and girls ice hockey games, and boys and girls basketball games. This pass represents a savings of over $100!

The Winter Season Pass here, using their student IDs as their access code.

We would like to make sure that every senior gets a yearbook, and we need your help!

When you purchase a yearbook for your student, you can also donate towards our Yearbook Angel fund. Our goal for this year is to get the cost of 12 books donated, which is a total monetary donation amount of $600! With your help, you could really make someone's year!

1. If you are interested in purchasing an extra book to donate, go to the NHS store at yearbookforever.com, the same way as when you buy a regular book.
2. Order a basic yearbook with YEARBOOK as the student first name and ANGEL as the student last name. Select STAFF for grade.
3. At check out, use the coupon code ANGEL24 to apply a $25 off coupon to the current price to the book. Currently, the basic yearbook costs $75, which means the book will cost $50 in total at checkout with the coupon applied.
4. If you would still like to donate to this cause, but cannot donate the full $50, you may donate however much you would like via check or cash in an envelope to the front office of the high school. Please make checks out to Natick High School with "Yearbook 2024 - Angel" written on the memo line. Please also write "2024 Yearbook Angel" on the envelope you are delivering it in.
   

5. Our school staff will make sure these books are delivered to the students who are looking to get them.

NOTE 1: There is a limited supply of these coupon codes, so please do not use it for your own book. We will have to refund the purchase of any book that is not an Angel book.

NOTE 2: If anyone is so inclined to donate more than one book on the school site, please make each book a separate order, so you may use the coupon code on each individual order. (If you order more than one book all at once, only $25 will come off the entire order, not each individual book!)

Please reach out to Dean Jason Hoye (jhoye@natickps.org) or Yearbook Advisor Jonathan Fleming (fleming@natickps.org) with questions.

This week was Computer Science Education Week!

Computer Science Education Week is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computer science, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field. At NHS, we held a school wide competition for our 9th and 10th grade students during CDS; students were invited to try one of two coding challenges, and those who completed the challenges will have a chance to win prizes. Thank you to Ms. Burnell for her work on this!

Recently, 49 NHS students auditioned for the MMEA (Massachusetts Music Educators Association) Eastern District Festival and 20 of them were accepted. Shout out to the following student musicians:

For Chorus: Evan Hyman, Tenor; Ryan McElaney, Tenor, Will Pollock, Tenor; James Potter, Tenor; Sammy Rennie, Alto; Lee Rush, Alto; Sofia Zay, Soprano.

For Orchestra: Ryan Carignan, French Horn; Benjamin Sawatdiphong, French Horn.

For Concert Band: Michael Atkin, Trumpet; Erik Broberg, Trombone; Lucy Chene, Trumpet; Teagan Cunningham, Baritone Saxophone; Max Curtis, Trumpet; Inkyoung Lee, Flute; Melanie Lempitski, Oboe; Charles Liu, Clarinet; David Soong, Clarinet; Ellie Stevens, Bassoon.

For Jazz: Michael Scorpa, Alto Saxophone.

Congrats to the following students on the NHS Speech and Debate Team for earning the following degrees through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Honor Society.

Merit: Kenny Chiu, Jake Mis

Honor: Akshaya Satheesh

Excellence: Desmond Eliot, Doris Yu

Special Distinction: Clara Duckworth

Each new degree represents hours of learning, practice, and improvement by our students. Many thanks to our dedicated coaches, Sarah Donnelly and Amanda Parker!

Student Kinslee Starling is this year's Team Captain for the Natick High School Polar Plunge Team. The Polar Plunge is a fundraising effort organized by Special Olympics Massachusetts and benefits the NHS Unified Athletics program. This year's plunge will take place Saturday, February 10, 2024. Anyone in the Natick community, who would like to support NHS Unified Athletics, may join the team.

Location: AMVETS Post 79 at 79 Superior Dr., Natick, MA 01760

Parking: There is parking available at AMVETS Post.
Registration/Check In: 10:00AM | Plunge: 12:00PM

Please note that anyone under the age of 18 will need a parent or guardian with them to sign a waiver. Download the form ahead of time here.

If you would like more information, to sign up for The Plunge, or to donate, please visit the team's site here.

Food delivery to students from outside private vendors during school hours or during school sponsored after-school activities will not be permitted on school grounds. Please note that this does not apply to faculty/staff ordering food for teams/clubs after school for students. Only faculty/staff members will be allowed to interact with delivery personnel.

Check out our clubs list! Students are invited to speak to their guidance counselors if they aren't sure which clubs they want to try. There is something for everyone.

The class advisors and class officers are busy planning important events for your class. However, in order to begin securing locations and vendors, we need each student to pay their class dues. Class dues are a $100 payment that each student is required to pay before they graduate. These dues help cover expenses and lower the cost of admission for events such as the Senior Prom.

Students should bring a check, made out to the Class of (the year they are expected to graduate), for $100 and deliver it to one of their class advisors. Class Advisors are:

Class of 2024: Anthony Cuoco - ancuoco@natickps.org & Danny Joseph - djoseph@natickps.org

Class of 2025: Neil Donohue - ndonohue@natickps.org & Brenna Keefe - bkeefe@natickps.org

Class of 2026: Emily Cunningham - ecunningham@natickps.org & Becky Tramontozzi - rtramontozzi@natickps.org

Class of 2027: Deanne Kanavas-DeRocher - dkanavas-derocher@natickps.org & Jim Brosnihan - jbrosnihan@natickps.org

Financial support is available for those who qualify. Students can see their guidance counselor or class VP/Dean to seek aid.

Please reach out to your class advisor with any questions.

All Natick High School students have access to Paper Tutoring, which offers 24-hour online support to students in the form of live, one-to-one sessions with knowledgeable tutors. Paper also offers feedback on written submissions. Students can log in to paper using at app.paper.co/login/students. There are also online info sessions available for parents and guardians if you would like to learn more.

Parents/Guardians of Grade 11 and Grade 12 Students: if your student is age 16 or over, per Massachusetts State requirements, the Health Office must have documentation of your student's Meningococcal Conjugate (MenACWY) vaccination on file. If you have already provided documentation (i.e., included in a recent physical), please disregard. This documentation may be emailed to highschoolnurses@natickps.org or faxed to 508-651-7167.

Additionally, we would like to stress the importance of completing the online PowerSchool Emergency Forms for your student(s). These must be completed each school year. The nurses use these forms to access important health information and contact numbers. These forms also include permission to administer Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen; please note that these medications will not be given without a signature from a parent/guardian.

Thank you,

Your NHS Nurses,

Nicole Marcinkiewicz, RN, Carrie Harding, RN, Kelly Keene, RN

Juniors and Seniors are permitted to park on campus, with a parking permit decal displayed on their vehicles, in the following locations:

• Seniors are permitted to park in the Memorial Football Lot or the Mahan Baseball Field Lot.
• Juniors are permitted to park only in the Mahan Baseball Field lot.
• No students are permitted to park in the Faculty or Visitor lots without individual approval from administration.
• Students may NOT make their own spots by parking in unlined areas. This creates potential safety issues.
• Students who do not abide by the school parking rules risk disciplinary action including detention, loss of priv. and/or loss of parking privileges.

Obtaining a Parking Permit

To obtain a parking permit, students must register their cars. Students may also obtain a parking permit in the Main Office during school hours.

Students must bring photocopies of the following to obtain a permit:

• A copy of their driver's license*
• A copy of the car's registration*
• This form filled out an signed by a parent/guardian and the student
• $200 - Cash or check accepted. (Checks should be made out to Natick Public Schools.)

* Please note that we will be KEEPING these photocopies for our records.

Parking permits are distributed on a first-come-first-served basis.

Governor Maura Healey's Office decided to institute free breakfast and lunch for all public school students in Massachusetts.

In the NHS Dining Hall, you can pre-order your lunch so it is waiting for you when you arrive!

With Nutrislice, students can pre-order their lunches, so they are ready when they get to lunch. Just order through this link by 9:30 a.m. each day, and lunch will be ready to pick up in the far left line near the salad and sandwich area. Students' names will be on the receipt attached to their orders. Just grab and go!

The Yearbook would like to share some information with you here. On their site, you can:

• Purchase a Yearbook
• Find information on Senior Photos and Senior Quotes.
• Buy an ad in this Yearbook and more!
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For all questions on Yearbooks and ordering school pictures, please email the Yearbook at nhsyearbook@natickps.org or contact Jonathan Fleming at jfleming@natickps.org, the staff Yearbook Advisor.

If your NHS student will be absent, please call the absence line at 508-647-6601 before 10 am on the day of your student's absence. Please note that if we do not receive the necessary call from you, you will receive a call from us! Please see the handbook for other attendance related information regarding excused absences.

Thank you to our PTSO for their ongoing support to our students and faculty. Our PTSO is looking for more volunteers to assist them with their work for the school year. You can learn more about the NHS PTSO, and how to get involved by visiting their website. Thank you in advance for your help!

You can subscribe to their monthly newsletter at the top of their webpage.

PTSO Website and Information

Reminder If you want to volunteer in schools, you must have a CORI check conducted and you must go into the building with identification (driver's license or passport) to do this. Click here for description of what a CORI check is and does. Without a CORI check, you cannot volunteer in the school. Here is the form to fill out for a CORI.

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