Natick Redhawks

Dear Natick High School Caregivers,

We are approaching the end of the semester and our midterm exam period. At this time of year, all of our courses will have some type of summative assessment. For some courses, students will write a paper, complete a project or create a portfolio; for other courses, students will take a traditional midyear exam. In order to pace students through this period, we have spread this summative assessment period out over two weeks: next week (1/13 - 1/18) and the week after (1/21 - 1/24). During the exam week (1/21 - 1/24) students will be dismissed at 11 am, and will have a maximum of two exams per day. Students are expected to attend all classes that week whether or not they have exams. For more information on the midterm exam period, please see this earlier message sent a few weeks ago. As we head into this period, we are looking forward to supporting all of our students to do their best. As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding your NHS student(s), please reach out to us.

As we head into semester 2, we will also be starting our process of celebrating the senior class. There are two important opportunities I wanted to mention. First, you will see information about our local scholarship application below. We are so lucky in Natick; we have so many community partners and generous individuals who offer funding for seniors to use for future education. Last year, these scholarships provided 166 students with close to $280,000! I encourage you to talk to your senior about applying. Seniors will also begin thinking about prom soon. We want all seniors to be able to feel good attending prom. So, we partner with a community organization called Belle of the Ball to help students who cannot afford prom attire. Seniors who would like to explore Belle of the Ball, should speak to their guidance counselors.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Warmly,

Josepha Blocker

Principal, Natick High School

1/15 - Staff Professional Development - Early Dismissal at 11:00 am

1/15 - METCO 1st Annual Pathways Fair, 5 pm - 7 pm @ METCO HQ (Open to all students.)

1/17 - Eighth Grade Parent Coffee, 8:30 am - 9:30 am

1/17 - Last Day of Term 2

1/20 - Martin Luther King Day - No School

1/21-1/24 - Midterm Exams for Students - Early Dismissal at 11:00 am

1/24 - Last Day for Semester 1

2/5 - Staff Professional Development - Early Dismissal for Students at 11:00 am

2/7 - Deadline for 10th graders to regIster for pre-ACT

2/17- 2/21 - February Vacation - No School

Natick High School is going to Germany, Poland, and Czechia in February 2026 for a cultural and WWII-era history tour, and you’re invited!

See our trip itinerary linked here.

Register for our virtual info session on Tuesday, January 14 at 6pm: https://rsvp.eftours.com/j36j45m to learn more about opportunity.

If you have questions or cannot attend the interest session but would still like more information, please reach out to Andrea Rogers at anrogers@natickps.org.

When: Wednesday January 15th from 5-7pm

Location: METCO HQ ( 11 Roxbury St. Roxbury MA 02119)

Link to Flyer

RSVP Form

METCO headquarters is hosting its first annual Pathways Fair, which is OPEN to any high school student that attends one of the 33 METCO partner districts. This means that the fair is open to ALL Natick High students. At this fair, students and families will learn about ALL possible pathway options for post-high school success (excluding traditional 4 year degrees). Some of the opportunities include apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs, career training programs, service year programs, gap year programs, the armed forces, community colleges and mass transfer programs, trade schools and more.

Click HERE to RSVP for the event. Again, this event is open to ALL high school students. For more information, contact Karli Janssen, College and Career Coordinator, at kjanssen@metcoinc.org.

NHS is hosting the preACT test on Saturday, March 29th from 7:30 AM to (approximately) 12:00 PM.

Taking the PreACT may help some students become more comfortable with taking the ACT (an exam required on some college applications) and may help them understand how they are doing in core subjects.

To sign up, students should:

1. Complete this Google Form. Students who have testing accommodations should indicate on the form whether or not they would like to use them during the preACT.
2. Bring a check for $35 made out to "NHS Testing" or "Cash" to the Guidance office and submit it to Ms. White or Ms. Slattery by Friday, February 7th.

For more information about practice tools and resources, click here. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Erving at serving@natickps.org.

Support our school with the "Build-a-Brick" fundraiser! As their National Honor Society lead project, seniors Julia Bloom, Henry Zeman and Matty Gordon are working with Vice Principal, Mr. Galvin, to finish a project started prior to the COVID pandemic: the Build-a-Brick fundraiser. As many of you may have seen, there are engraved bricks that celebrate past graduates lining our walkways. Your brick could join them and support our school! For $100, you can personalize a brick with your name and a message, and have it placed on the walkway outside. Bricks will be sold through February 15, 2025 and will be installed this summer.

Bricks can be purchased directly from Polar Engraving here:

https//polarengraving.com/natickhighschool

Questions on the fundraiser can be directed to Julia, Henry or Matty or to Mr. Galvin.

All proceeds will benefit the Principal's Discretionary Fund, which is used to cover the cost of various initiatives at Natick High School.

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.

Inside this month's update, you will find information on student course registration for next year.

Our Natick Above the Influence (NATI) students are setting the stage for work across the state. They have secured a grant to pilot the first program for environmentally safe vape and vape-cartridge disposal. Their work was recently featured on Natick Town News, and four of our students were quoted: Maya Fortune, Charlotte Austin, Shresta Chakilam, and Kiely Chiaruttini. If you see any of our NATI students, be sure to congratulate them on their work! Thank you to our students and to our partners at Natick 180, Elizabeth Chalfin and Katie Sugarman.

This year for her National Honors Society project, Sarah ran a drive to collect gently used winter coats for Caring Partners, an organization that has been collecting coats for those in need for 29 years. Thanks to her work and your generosity, she collected 153 coats this holiday season! Thank you to everyone who donated, and please congratulate Sarah if you see her around!

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 66.43% 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

SAVE THE DATE: Natick’s 20th Annual MLK Day Community Celebration

WHEN: Monday, January 20th from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at Natick High School, 15 West Street, Natick

Celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy that inspires and empowers us all. Our program will feature performances from student groups, NPS middle school MLK Day Creative Contest winners, community leaders and partners, interfaith clergy representatives, and much more. You won't want to miss our moving and interactive keynote from Jamele and Amy Adams.

Join us immediately before the program at 9 a.m. for a Community Connection Event, including special MLK Day activities for all ages, and time to meet student groups, community organizations, neighbors and friends. Free refreshments for all guests will be provided by Starbucks. Our MLK Day program will begin promptly at 10 a.m.

Can’t join us in person? You can livestream the program through Natick Pegasus - www.natickpegasus.org/ or watch through Natick Community Television channels: RCN 3, Comcast 99, and Verizon 29 beginning at 10am.

Visit https://bit.ly/MLK_Day_Natick for more information about this special community event. Registration will help us accommodate those with accessibility needs and fulfill other planning considerations.

Have you experienced flooding in Natick over the last few years?

Well join the Town's Conservation Agent/Environmental Planner (Claire Rundelli) in an effort to gather data about flooding in our community for an on-going grant project!

We have put together a survey to allow Natick residents, employees who work in Natick or just folks passing through to report where flooding can be reported to help the project team assess potential locations for improved drainage. While the survey is primarily focused on the watershed draining to the Settling Pond (link to map), you can use this survey to report any flooding experienced within Town! The survey will be open until Friday, January 17th!

Please submit one response for each flooding location you are reporting and there are no limits on the number of responses you can submit.

Survey is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), and Mandarin. Choose your survey language using the button at the top of the screen when the survey opens.

You can find out even more about the project here: https://www.natickma.gov/2189/PROJECT-Stormwater-Treatment-for-Dug-Pon

Survey Here

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