Natick Redhawks

9/2 - Labor Day - No School

9/18 - Early Release @ 11 am for Staff Professional Development

9/26 - Open House, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Mr. Cesarini joins our Main Office team, taking over for Dr. Erica Cole Harms, who is serving as the Interim Principal of Brown Elementary School. Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Cesarini was a biology teacher at NHS; his strong connections to students and faculty will serve him well in this new role. He has hit the ground running this summer and is already doing a great job.

Ms. Moorachian joins us from the private sector, where she demonstrated her strong communication skills and ability to multi-task. You may hear her voice on the phone or see her when you come in to pick your child up early. She will be primarily supporting Dean Matt Strother and Vice Principal Zach Galvin. Welcome Rose!

At NHS, students are assigned either a dean or vice principal who will support their educational journey for the duration of their four years at Natick High School. Below is our new breakdown for our dean and vice principal assignments.

For the past few years, we have made these assignments by grade; in other words, one dean had the entire 9th grade as his caseload, one vice principal had the entire 10th grade as her caseload, etc. However, we have noticed over time, that it would be helpful for our work with students to split the students by alphabet, rather than grade, for the dean/VP caseloads. This will allow our deans and vice principals to partner with 2 or 3 counselors (they also split by alphabet), rather than the whole department, in order to streamline our communication. This also allows us to keep families with one dean or vice principal for the duration of their time at Natick High. In the few cases, wherein siblings have different last names, we will deviate from the standard alphabet plan to keep the siblings with the same dean or vice principal.

During high school, it is developmentally appropriate to engage in a gradual release of responsibilities, transferring responsibilities and rewards from adults to students. As such, we reward 11th and 12th grade students who have demonstrated consistent attendance, good academic standing and a positive behavioral record with certain privileges, referred to by our students as "priv."

The Deans and Vice Principals re-evaluate each student's priv status on a term-by-term basis. Students with priv are scheduled for an open block in lieu of a study hall. During that time, students with priv are able to be in the library, cafeteria or with a staff member, if arranged. With parent permission, students with priv are also allowed to check in and out to leave the building during unscheduled times.

** Please sign this form to give your 11th or 12th grader permission to leave the building during priv. **

Please note that students will lose priv for the following term if any of the following occur:

• More than 8 tardies to school in a term

• More than 3 absences in a particular class in a term

• One grade below C- for a term

• Multiple disciplinary incidents or a suspension

Students who believe that they have lost priv by mistake can check in with their dean/vice principal or with their guidance counselor.

As many of you know, Officer O'Shaughnessy is a welcoming presence at Natick High School, and supports all of our students in maintaining a safe environment. Below is a message from him and Natick Police:

1. Ticketing in The Faculty Lot: There are fewer and fewer parking spots available at the high school, as the faculty grows to accommodate the increasing student population. Consequently, every spot in the Faculty Parking Lot and some of the visitor spots have been assigned to faculty. In order to maintain the Faculty Lot students who park there may be subject to ticketing by NPD.
2. No Drop Off in the Faculty Lot: We also appreciate your cooperation in not dropping off or picking students up in that lot, as additional traffic creates a safety hazard.
3. Right Turns Only Out of the Loop at Arrival and Dismissal: In order to maintain traffic safety and expedite the flow of students into the building, ONLY RIGHT TURNS are permitted out of the loop at arrival and dismissal times.
4. Please Pull Up: If you drop your student off in the loop in the morning, please pull ALL THE WAY up. The helps expedite the drop-off process. It slows down traffic when cars stop anywhere else in the loop other than the end.

This week the grades 10, 11 and 12 had class assemblies, and the 9th graders will have one in the coming week. During the assembly, we went over key portions of the Natick High School Student Handbook, along with necessary logistics for the year. Students were also asked to sign that they had read the Handbook. Here is the current draft of the 2024-2025 Student Handbook. Please note that this is a draft, as the Handbook must be approved by both our School Council and the School Committee annually.

Over the last year, Natick High School has joined many districts across the Commonwealth and across the country in limiting student access to cell phones during school. As many of you know, last September, all of our classrooms were outfitted with “cell phone parking lots”: over-the-door shoe holders where students were asked to stow their cell phones for the block. The vast majority of our teachers used these “parking lots” with great success; our discipline referrals for cell phone use decreased, and surveys of our staff revealed that students were less distracted by technology during class time. We also saw that despite students’ initial reluctance, in private conversations, some students also admitted that they were quietly grateful for the reduction in distraction. As long as no one had a phone, they didn’t feel like they were missing out on online communication, which allowed them to more fully engage.

This year, we will be continuing to use these holders, and we ask for your continued support of this practice. As always, we will accommodate our students who utilize their devices for medical purposes to meet their needs while helping them reduce their distraction. Our students need the “brain break” from their phones and they need our help in getting that break.

Natick High School teachers, along with their colleagues at Wilson and Kennedy will be implementing a new classroom management tool this school year. The solution was piloted last year at Natick High School. The new tool gives teachers the ability to monitor and manage student technology use within the classroom and minimize unnecessary distractions. It gives teachers the ability to take action and keep kids focused and engaged in learning.

Then join School Council! All schools in Massachusetts are required to have a School Council comprised of students, caregivers and school staff, led by the principal (M.G.L. Ch. 71, Sec. 59C). I am looking forward to meeting with this group to discuss our annual School Improvement Plan and other pertinent school issues. This body, along with our PTSO, provide vital links between the school and the community. If you would like to be part of our School Council, please my administrative assistant, Michele Daigle at mdaigle@natickps.org. I will be reaching out to students and staff in the coming weeks to seek volunteers at NHS. Once we have a group assembled, we will discuss a mutually agreed upon time to meet and I will publish an agenda for our meetings on the school's website.

Natick High Strength and Conditioning took over the fields and gym this summer with grit and pride! Over 40 staff members and over 200 students, grades 6 to 12, rose at 6 am to strengthen themselves in mind, body and spirit! Thank you, Coach DiAntonio, for your work to make us all better!

Natick High School’s Video Production/Photography teacher, Lisa Olivieri, debuted her documentary Recovery City, at the Provincetown International Film Festival in June, where it won the audience award for Best Documentary Feature. The film also received an award for Outstanding Documentary Feature at the Shawna Shea Film Festival. Other screenings include The SouthSide Film Festival, Maine International Film Festival and The Women’s Film Festival. Recovery City will be screening at Mystic Film Festival and Monadnock International Film Festival, in the fall.

Recovery City is a raw exploration of what it means to be in recovery as seen through the eyes of four women whose lives share a common thread: addiction. In the working-class city of Worcester, Massachusetts, Christine fights to regain custody of her young children while grappling with a traumatic past, and battling stigma from the very systems that are designed to help her. Bridget, who found recovery while in prison, now facilitates peer-led support meetings for women. On the frontlines, recovery coaches Janis and Rebecca navigate the city’s toughest corners offering support and trying to save lives. In this portrait of resilience, grit, and camaraderie, the women use their lived experience to lift up those still struggling while refusing to give up hope.

If you would like to see Ms. Olivieri's film, Recovery City, it will be screening at TCAN in Natick on 9/17. The film is 96 min long and will be followed by a Q&A with Ms. Olivieri, the subjects of the film and an addiction specialist from Newton Wellesley Hospital. Tickets are free, you just have to register for a space.

Link for tix: https://tcan.org/events/recovery-city/

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