Happy 2025! We are back in the swing of things rather quickly here in January. Winter sports are at full throttle as we begin a six week stretch of learning and some big changes for our grade 9 students. Today and tomorrow, grade 9 students select their top three programs for final placement.

See below for an important PowerSchool notice and some highlights around the school.

You may have seen or read in the news recently about a PowerSchool cybersecurity incident. Thankfully, Blue Hills was not impacted by this incident. Superintendent-Director Rossetti would like to share the following message with all families:

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On December 28, 2024, PowerSchool detected unauthorized access to their PowerSource customer support portal affecting certain schools' data.

I want to assure you that our school's data remains completely secure. Since we maintain our own self-hosted PowerSchool system, our student and school information was not impacted by this incident.

While we were not affected, we take these situations seriously and continuously monitor our systems to ensure the security of our data.

Sincerely,

Superintendent-Director Jill Rossetti

9th Grade Screenings at BHR

The nurses will perform health screenings for 9th graders beginning on February 24, 2025. This screening includes hearing, vision, and posture. Please notify the school nurses in writing by Feb 10, 2025 if you wish for your child to opt-out of the Grade 9 screening at: nurse@bluehills.org. This notification must be done annually. The student may still opt-out on the day of their scheduled screening.

Today, freshmen students are coming home with a purple document that asks students to tell us their top three choices for where they would like to be placed. Students should spend time discussing this choice with their parents/guardians. Think back to how the student did in the exploratory and ask some questions.

1. Can I see myself doing this for 3.5 more years? Or perhaps as a career?

2. Was I good at this? Did I get a good grade?

3. Did this career choice match my personal needs/preferences (sitting down a lot, on your feet a lot, working outside in hot or cold weather, the sight of needles/blood, lifting heavy things, etc.)

4. Did I like the teacher? Did I like the upperclassmen?

Students are placed in their first choice based on their grade in that program. For instance – if the student chooses Culinary as their first choice, there are only 22 freshmen admitted to Culinary. The students who received the top 22 grades during their Culinary exploratory, and chose it as their first choice, will get those spots. In the event of a tie, we look to the overall average of all exploratory grades to help break the tie.

The students who may have wanted Culinary, but had the 23rd lowest grade and beyond are now considered to be placed into their second choice program. Again, we will look at the grade received in that second choice program and place appropriately.

Should a student not get into their first, second or third choice, the guidance counselor will discuss options, and those students will be put on the waitlist for all three of their choices. Placement will be made after counseling and relaying to the student where there are openings.

If a student did not get their first choice but got into their second or third choice, they are automatically placed on the waiting list for the first choice only.

Final placement will be shared out with freshmen at the end of next week. Be watching your email!

Coach Flynn and Coach Doherty led members of the girls basketball team on a community service trip to Community Servings in Jamaica Plain over the holiday break. From Coach Flynn: "The girls helped to put together fresh healthy meals for chronically and critically ill individuals and their families and helped to package soups, salads, breads, and breakfast items. The girls all really enjoyed themselves and the sheer amount of food put together for people was impressive."

A well deserved congratulations to Muhammad Bakdounes and Ruth Jacques for being nominated and selected as students of the month for December. Each highlights this month's Vision of a Graduate theme: Empathy. Well done!

On Monday, January 6, the girls' basketball team hosted its annual Teacher Appreciation Game at 5:00 in the gym. The girls chose Mrs. Connolly, Mr. Cleggett, Ms. Daby, Mr. Holmes, Mr. Doherty, Mrs. Dowd, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Peters, Ms. Fiascone, Ms. Joyce-Grikis, and Mr. Cavanaugh to honor before the game. What a nice gesture by the team, and congratulations to the selected teachers!

This year, we are rolling out our "Vision of a Graduate." Each month, there will be a theme that we'll focus on around the building. Our students of the month will be selected using the theme as one of the criteria. The Vision of a Graduate is a great tool to help focus the entire school community on our ultimate outcome - producing graduates that are equipped and ready for their future.

January's Vision of a Graduate Theme is "Resilience."

"We are resilient, independent, adaptable, and forward-thinking" - Blue Hills Vision of a Graduate

Slides Order Link Below!!

Class of 2025 Lawn Signs: For purchase, here: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/2025-senior-lawn-signs/items?cart

2024-2025 Remaining Meeting Schedule

~ Tuesday 2/11

~ Wednesday 3/12

~ Tuesday 4/8

~ Wednesday 5/14

~ Tuesday 6/10

• Meetings are held at 7 p.m. in the Chateau de Bleu (School Restaurant)
• Dates subject to change; changes will be posted to the Blue Hills Boosters Facebook Page

Visit the cafeteria's page for more information!

https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid=1708116494561

(September 12, 2024)

1. Headphones and ear buds are not allowed in hallways or classes, unless a teacher grants specific permission to use them. They are only allowed in the cafeteria during breakfast or lunch. Students will receive detention hours if they are not complying with this rule.
2. Hoods are not allowed during the school day (7:48 to 2:20)
3. Bus arrival times at bus stops are approximate. Students should arrive 15-20 minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive. Traffic patterns greatly impact how fast bus routes are completed.
4. ONLY students who are eating breakfast should get off the bus upon arrival. All students not eating breakfast should remain on the bus until released at 7:40.
5. Attendance has been outstanding to start the year for most students. Please review the attendance policy at the bottom of the newsletter - tardies, dismissals, and absences all contribute to the total absences a student has during the year. Be here and be on time!

(September 5, 2024)

1. PowerSchool is our student information system. Login here: PowerSchool Parent Login. Parents who wish to see grades during the term or final term grades need to have access to PowerSchool. Access remains the same for all returning families; new grade 9 parents were sent login information by the Admissions Department.
2. See below for Health Office updates
3. Please review attendance requirements. Students will face summer school if absences exceed the policy limit!
4. Grade 9 Students and Families: Check out the Exploratory Program Guide for help in managing exploratory this year!
5. Drop-off and Pick-up are always busy. Please use the entrance closest to Massasoit and exit through the "main" entrance/exit. Pull all the way up. Do not block buses. We will have staff to help direct folks for the first few weeks.
   
6. Make sure your student arrives at the bus stop early. Bus pickup times are approximate!
7. Phones are not allowed during any instructional time, except with the express permission of the teacher. "Earbuds" and head phones follow the same rules, and may not be worn during the day.
8. Dress Code: We expect students to be in shop uniform during vocational weeks, and dressed professionally during their academic weeks. Per the handbook, tops and bottoms must provide "sufficient coverage" to be allowed, and hoods are not allowed in the building. Clothing must also be appropriate; offensive language or logos are prohibited.
9. All juniors and seniors are required to register their vehicle in order to park on campus. A $25 fee is required for the entire school year. Students, and it must be the student, should fill out the parking form in the form section of their PowerSchool account. Once completed, a message will go to Ms. Fama in the Main Office, and she will send a bill to the student's parents through myschoolbucks.com. Once the payment is received, Ms Fama will issue the parking pass within a few weeks of the start of school.

Please use this First Student provided app to track your bus route. It updates frequently, and is a tool to help provide real-time (or close to it) information.

January 9: In-Service, 10:40 a.m. start

January 20: No School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 24: Term 2 Ends

January 29: Faculty Meeting, No 3:10 buses

January 31: Report Cards Term 2

The student attendance guidelines are contained within the Parent-Student Handbook. Please be advised:

A student will be required to attend summer school upon the accumulation of sixteen (16) absences in order to fulfill BHR attendance requirements. An additional course will be required for every five (5) absences accumulated after (16). All such courses must be taken at the Blue Hills Regional Summer School. All course subjects must be approved by the (ARB) Academic Review Board. If a student is absent on consecutive days it will be counted as one day’s absence if accompanied by a doctor’s note. Notes must be provided within one week of the student’s return to school. All notes must be originals with an authorized signature and date(s) on the doctor’s office stationary. The student’s home phone number and homeroom must be on all doctors’ notes. Absences on special days, assemblies, etc. will be counted as a full day’s absence. A student must be in attendance for at least half the school day to be counted present. Half the school day means being in school from 7:47 am to 11:00 am or 11:00 am to 2:20 pm.

All out-of-school suspensions will be counted day for day towards a student’s maximum number of absences.

If you are not in class or homeroom by 7:48 AM, you are considered absent from school. You must sign in at Student Affairs Office and receive an admittance pass in order to attend class. If you arrive late for school, you are considered tardy and you must report to the Main Office prior to admission.

On the 4th tardy per term and every 4 tardies thereafter, you will be subject to Saturday detention. You and your parent/guardian may be required to meet with the Principal. Parking privileges may be suspended or revoked. Continued tardies may result in more severe penalties being assigned.

Blue Hills Regional Technical School’s mission is to continue its history of academic achievement, technical training and character development through a curriculum which emphasizes the integration of cutting-edge technical programs and challenging academic courses, enabling its students to become competent, caring and productive people in a diverse and changing world.

Core Values:

Community, Opportunity, Relevance, Employability

Website: www.bluehills.org
Location: 800 Randolph Street, Canton, MA, USA
Phone: 781 828 5800

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The Blue Hills Regional Technical School District is an equal opportunity educational institution. All programs, courses of study and activities are open to all students without regard to race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or disability. The School District is in full compliance with Massachusetts Law, Chapter 622 of the Acts of 1971, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (U.S. Code), and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Individuals may make inquiries relative to Chapter 622 and Title IX from the coordinator, at the school address or by phoning 781-828-5800.