Natick Redhawks

Hello Natick High School Caregivers,

Happy holidays! Whether this school break means a chance to celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years, or simply a time to decompress, I wish you all the best. It is no coincidence that so many of the celebrations this time of year center around light. As the days have gotten shorter, all of us look towards ways to add a little brightness into our days. At Natick High, there is always something going on to bring a smile to my face.

At the end of last week, I got to visit our Early Childhood students presenting their projects to our littlest students: our pre-schoolers. Our high school students designed age-appropriate games for our pre-schoolers and were playing their games with the pre-schoolers in groups of 2 or 3. From cardboard puppet houses, to homemade sensory books to various building toys, our high school students showed endless creativity, and were so attuned to the needs of our preschoolers.

This week, our 9th graders played in our annual Mentorship Dodgeball Tournament during CDS. This two-day competition was refereed by the Principal's Advisory Class students and eventually narrowed down to two winners: Ms. Powers' class won for Blue, and Mr. Custodio's class won for Red! Many thanks to our Mentorship Leaders, Mr. Lofaro and Ms. Brown, for organizing this early morning opportunity to blow off some pre-holiday steam!

Our Community Connections class engaged in a community bake-off. Students presented their baking strategies and baked goods, while several teachers from across the building and I judged. Every once in a while, I get to say that I was required to eat chocolate as part of my job!

During these past two weeks our music ensembles have also hosted their winter concerts. They all did an amazing job. They will continue with all school concerts today and with visits to perform at our middle schools. We are also being treated to performances by our Speech and Debate Team today, as they give us a sampling of what they have been working on all semester.

Our school community is certainly lucky to have students with such a varied range of passions and talents. As we go into our school recess, I want to thank you for sending your children to us every day. They light up the halls of our school!

All My Best,

Josepha Blocker

Principal, Natick High School

We have a number of resources at the high school for students who are struggling with early vape use, including the iDecide program and a partnership with the Natick Service Council. If you or your NHS student would like to know more about these resources, please contact your students' guidance counselor, dean or vice-principal. Those who are trying to stop using on their own may also find that 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.

• Text VapeFreeMass to 88709 to use a free, confidential texting program called This is Quitting.
• Call or text Start My Quit to 855-891-9989 to access trained coaches at My Life, My Quit (www.mylifemyquit.com) who can help.
• Visit teen.smokefree.gov

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.

It is hard to believe that midterm exam time is quickly approaching! We wanted to send out some clear guidance on the midterm exam schedule and academic expectations for students to support everyone to do their best.

Each course your student takes will have some kind of midyear summative assessment. This assessment may take the form of a project, paper, presentation, portfolio, or a traditional seated exam typically counts for 15% of the Semester 1 grade.

For courses with non-exam based assessments (i.e. projects, papers, portfolios, etc.), those will be due during the week PRIOR to the exam period, the week of January 8th.

• No other tests, quizzes or exams will take place that week.
• Courses giving seated exams will not assign new work/homework the week prior to exams to strike a balance between summative assessment completion and review for the exam week.

Any courses giving seated exams will do so during the midterm exam week, Tuesday January 16th through Friday, January 19th. There will be an early release on those four days, and lunch will not be provided.

• All students are expected to be in school and to follow their school schedule during the exam days.
• If for some reason a student will not be in a class or in school for the full day, the usual attendance procedures must be followed; a parent/guardian must call the student out prior to their leaving or to confirm their absence or tardy. If a student will be leaving early, a dismissal note from a parent/guardian is also acceptable.

Please note that during the January Midterm Exam Week:

• Students will be required to remain in school for a class that is not giving an exam to critique or present completed projects, receive feedback on their summative assessment, or close out the semester class.
• Study halls will not meet during exam week so students can either be dismissed early/enter tardy or they will be asked to remain in the dining hall or library.
• Skills and Workshops are considered classes and will meet during the midterm week.
• Lunch will not be served.

Last Thursday, December 14th, the NHS Concert Band, String Orchestra and Wind Ensemble played their Winter Candlelight Concert directed and conducted by music faculty members Craig Chisholm and Scott Morrill.

This past Wednesday, December 20th, the choral ensembles hosted their concert, Sounds of the Season directed and conducted by Kate Burns.

Today, our students will all get to hear our many talented student musicians, when they play school concerts for each grade. Then, later in the day, our music ensembles will hit the road, playing concerts at the middle schools.

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.

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.

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!

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