Highlander Times

We hope everyone has had a healthy and happy summer. This “Back to School” edition of the Highlander Times newsletter has information about the start of the school year, important upcoming events, athletics, Communities, IDs, student email, schedules, and more. Note: New students and incoming 9th graders - be on the lookout for an email that has additional information for you. You can also click here to learn about scheduled orientation events for students and families. If you are new to Somerville Public Schools, click this link for more general information about Somerville High School.

Focus areas for the year

We are excited to see your students in just a few short weeks! Our focus continues to be on realizing our vision: “At Somerville High School, students explore their passions, connect with their school and communities, and engage with the world around them through authentic and equitable learning experiences. Graduates are empowered to achieve their goals and contribute to a more just world." At Somerville High School, we believe that all students can do high-level work; we are working to ensure all of our students believe this about themselves, and that they have the tools, skills, habits, and mindsets to succeed in whatever area they choose to pursue.

We will continue to focus on making sure students feel connected to the SHS community by providing them with needed support, working toward equitable access and outcomes for all of our students, providing students with authentic, meaningful, rigorous learning experiences, helping students explore and develop their passions, and raising behavioral and academic expectations. This year, there will be additional energy spent on adjusting instruction and systems to shift more ownership and leadership to students while continuing to focus on getting students to school and to class. We believe in our students and are excited to continue our work in partnership with them and with all of you.

To learn more about meeting teachers and other staff, please attend our Back to School Night on Thursday, September 19 from 5:00-7:00 pm.

I have received numerous emails from parents sharing their concerns about the negative impact of excessive use of cell phones on teens. The research is overwhelmingly clear: students perform better academically and have overall better social-emotional wellness when access to cell phones is limited. With this in mind, this year we are not changing our cell phone guidelines but will be following them more closely. Per our handbook:

• Students will be asked to place their cell phones and headphones/airpods in a designated location when they enter the classroom, OR to keep them in their bags.

• If cell phones or headphones/airpods become visible during the lesson, the entire class will be reminded of the cell phone and headphone routines.

• After the class is reminded, if a student’s cell phone or headphones are visible later in class, the teacher will ask that student to place them in the designated location until the end of class.

Additional Reminders:

1. Cell phone use will be part of a responsibility/participation rubric and grade.

2. The exception to these routines will be if students are doing an activity where a teacher explicitly asks them to have their cell phones out and in use (Kahoot, educational app). Cell phones are not allowed as part of IEPs/504 plans, but it is possible a student may need to use headphones for text to speech or speech to text. Consult the IEP or 504 plan for details.

3. If a student is awaiting an important call, they should notify their teacher privately at the beginning of class, and that student will be allowed to step out in the hall when they receive the call.

If students are struggling to follow these guidelines, you will be hearing from us. We may recommend the student leave their phone at home for the day, or they may need to leave their cell phone with their dean and/or assistant principal. At the end of the first quarter, we will send a survey to students, staff, and families to gather feedback on this closer adherence to the guidelines. Based on this feedback, we will consider changes to our systems. A few notes:

• We are aware that a very few students might need access to their phones to monitor medical devices. Please reach out to your student's Assistant Principal to work out a plan
• Students will still have access to their cell phones when not in class (before school, passing periods, lunch)
• If you need to reach your student during the school day, you can call the student's community or the main office and we can call the classroom

The goal of our cell phone guidelines is to help our students thrive both academically and socially. We hope we can work together with families to help our students improve their focus and well-being.

Our data indicates that school and class attendance continue to be an issue, and that there is a clear correlation between attendance and academic success. Please work with your student to get them to school and to class! If your student will be absent or dismissed, please be sure to call their community. As a reminder, any student with “more than 5 unexcused absences per quarter will be given a maximum grade of 59. (If an earned grade is lower than a 59, the student will be given that grade.) “

Remember that your student’s community is there to provide support! Each community has an assistant principal, dean, counselors, and a senior clerk. Reach out with any questions or concerns.

We want to make sure your student is safe and healthy. Please click here to read a note from our school nursing staff about SPS health screenings, medications, and allergies.

We have made some slight changes to last year's schedule. Please see below!

Every year we need to get your student’s updated information. In the very near future, you will be getting an email with instructions to sign into PowerSchool. Once in PowerSchool, you can update your contact information and medical information, sign the SPS photo release, review and sign off on the SHS Handbook, apply for SAT/AP and other fee waivers, and complete the military opt-out form (optional).

While we know it takes many steps to sign into PowerSchool, it is incredibly helpful for us if you do so. Many of the above listed forms are mandatory, and having updated contact and medical information is essential. If we don't get your information updated via Powerschool, we may need to have you fill out paper forms later this fall. Please help us out by filling out your information via Powerschool!

The first day of school is Wednesday, August 28 from 7:55-11:00 (optional lunch from 11:00-11:30). Thursday, August 29 will be a full day of school. There is no school Friday, August 30 or Monday, September 2 for Labor Day Weekend. Tuesday, September 3 is a full, regular day of school.

Student schedules will be available to view on Aspen by the end of the day on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. Aspen student accounts may currently show up as “expired” but will be reactivated August 20.

Students may email their school counselor to review their options or set up an appointment for August 21 - 23 via our Calendly scheduling system. Counselors will not be able to assist students who drop into school since they will already be assisting others who have scheduled appointments.

Please note: In meeting the needs of a diverse range of learners, the scheduling process is quite complex. Due to master scheduling constraints and other factors, students may not receive all of their requested classes but may receive their chosen alternate. In some cases, they may need to select another available class.

Currently, our school counselors are reviewing schedules, balancing requests, adding in alternates, and checking to see that students have required graduation and/or other special requirements. Counselors will prioritize at-risk and high-needs students when making needed schedule adjustments. Also, based on our Add/Drop Protocol, schedule changes can only be made for the following reasons: a hole in the schedule; a missing graduation requirement; a course level change; or a missing Multilingual Learner class or classes needed to receive special education services. Please remember to be kind to our school counselors, who are doing their best to meet the needs of all of our students.

Many but not all AP classes require summer work. Please follow this link AP Summer Work for SY25 for more information. Note - students will need to be signed in with their k12 account to access this document.

Somerville High School encourages students to participate in our summer reading challenge! For more information, click here!

Summer Reading Challenge - English

Summer Reading Challenge - Spanish

Summer Reading Challenge - Portuguese

Summer Reading Challenge - Haitian Creole

Students will receive a list of required school supplies from their teachers the first day of school. If you would like to purchase supplies ahead of time, most teachers will require three ring binders, loose leaf notebook paper, spiral notebooks, and pens and pencils.

We encourage students to participate in our fall sports program. Options include: cross country, football, soccer, golf, girls’ volleyball, and competitive cheerleading. Instructions for how to register are here. Medical clearance will be on August 13, 14, 15 here at the high school. Football tryouts begin on August 16; soccer, girls’ volleyball, and cheerleading begin tryouts on August 19. There are no tryouts for cross country. Medical Clearance starts this week. See schedule below.

We are aiming to distribute MBTA passes on the first day of school, though this may be postponed until the first full week of school. This year the MBTA and the city have a new partnership, and the student M7 MBTA passes will be good through August 2025. Per our handbook policy, students are only issued one card. If they lose it, they should come AFTER SCHOOL to the main office to report the loss. Please emphasize to your student the importance of hanging on to their passes.

Per our handbook: “Only one “M7” card will be issued per student. If a student loses their “M7” pass, they must go to the main office to put their name on a wait list for a replacement. Replacement cards may be an “S” pass, which allows students unlimited bus and train travel for $30 a month (the student rate), but students must go to a kiosk and put their own money on the pass… In cases of extreme financial hardship, students should speak with their assistant principal.”

All students must show their ID every day to gain entrance to the school. Returning students should bring their existing IDs to school. For new students, including incoming 9th graders, IDs will be created and distributed on the first day of school. ASPEN school pictures are used to create the ID. If you do not have a picture in ASPEN, please fill out this form. ID requests must be made using the student's school email. Students can download their ID onto their phones from Aspen. We’ll show students how to do this the first day of school.

All students are assigned a SHS email which is based on the student’s LASID (local ID number), located on the student’s Aspen account. The format is: LASID@k12.somerville.ma.us. To access Somerville Public Schools student email, follow these steps. Students are responsible for checking this email regularly throughout the school year. Ninth grade and new students will get their LASID number in an upcoming email; this number is the same student ID number students used in preK-8.

• August 13-15- Clearance for fall sports (It’s not too late to join!)
  
• August 20 - Schedules available on Aspen around 3pm NOTE: Aspen student accounts currently show up as “expired” but will be reactivated August 20.
  
• August 21 and 22 Orientation and Family Welcome events for 9th graders and new students. Families of 9th graders and new students should be receiving an email in the next day or two with more details and specific times.
  
• August 21-23- Counselors available for help with schedules BY APPOINTMENT ONLY (see details above)
  
• August 28 - First day for students (½ day), 7:55 am-11:30 am. Doors open for breakfast at 7:15.
  
• August 29: Full day of school for SHS students, 7:55 am-2:32 pm
  
• August 30: No school
  
• September 2: No school - Labor Day
  
• September 19: Back to School Night, 5:00pm-7:00pm
  
• September 26: Post High School Planning Night, 7:00pm. Encouraged for 12th grade students & families
  
• September 27: Picture day & grade 10 health screenings

• Tuesday 8/13: Football seniors- 10 am; juniors 11:15 am; sophomores 12, freshman 12:45 and Cheer 2pm

• Wednesday 8/14: Girls Soccer freshman 11 am; sophomores 11:45am; 12:15pm juniors;12:45 pm seniors Boys Soccer freshman 2pm; sophomores 2:45pm; juniors 3:15pm and seniors 4pm

• Thursday 8/15: Cross Country 11 am; Volleyball freshman 1 pm; sophomores 1:45pm; juniors 2:15pm; 3pm seniors

• Monday 8/26: Golf 11 am