The Common

Dear Nashoba Community,

This week I would like to take a moment to recognize all of the students, faculty and staff who are engaged in our fine and performing arts programs across the district. Art, music, performance, and personal expression are integral to the human experience and, as such, are essential components of a well-rounded education.

In Nashoba, we have many opportunities for our students to participate in arts education during the school day and in after school programs. Below you will see a schedule of performances throughout our school this year. Please take a moment to review the schedule and put those dates on your calendar.

Whether you have a student in these programs or not, join us and support the students and staff who enrich our lives through performing arts. Keep an eye out for future updates about the plays, musicals, and art exhibitions coming our way in the future.

Peace,

Kirk Downing (He/Him)
Superintendent

In case you didn't get a chance to fill out our Information Pathways Survey, we've extended the deadline to next Friday, October 18th, 2024! If you are a family with Nashoba students in Grades 6-10 please speak with your child and complete our brief survey. We'll use this survey to ensure that a future Information Pathway is aligned with student interests and community needs. You can find the survey and more information about our Innovation Pathways Program below.

Nashoba Regional High School is proud to offer two Innovation Pathways: Business & Finance and Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing. These pathways are designed to give students hands-on learning experiences through internships, capstone projects, and technical and advanced level coursework, while partnering with local employers to expose students to high-demand careers. The goal is to help students build practical skills and make informed decisions about their futures. To learn more check out our Innovation Pathways website!

The program is off to a strong start and has generated high interest among students. Building on this success, we are excited to explore the addition of a third pathway: the Information Pathway! This pathway would dive into industries focused on producing and distributing information and cultural products, transmitting these products, and processing data. Key areas include broadcasting, publishing, digital media creation, computer science, and data processing.

Next week, we’re excited to celebrate the 62nd annual National School Lunch Week! Launched by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, this week emphasizes the important role that healthy school lunches play in a child's life, and the impact that they have. We'll be highlighting the hard work of our dedicated cafeteria staff by showcasing Plates of the Day from each school on our LiveFeeds!

If you haven't already, mark your calendars! Nashoba Associated Boards of Health will be holding flu shot clinics across Massachusetts throughout the month of October. Locally, clinics will be held at the Pompositticut Community Center in Stow on Saturday, 10/19, and at NRHS on Thursday, 10/24. All appointments will require pre-registration. Please note that the NRHS clinic will not have the Covid vaccine available. All locations offering the Covid vaccine along with the flu shot are marked with two stars here.

Helpful Information! You can now order four additional over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for free. These tests are intended for use throughout the 2024 holiday season to detect currently circulating COVID-19 variants. More information can be found at COVIDtests.gov.

As cold and flu season gears up, remember that Nashoba’s Respiratory Illness Guidance remains the same. You can find more details here. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact your school nurse.

Join Samantha Lavallee, OTR/L, a pediatric occupational therapist and feeding therapist on October 16th at 7:00pm, to discover ways to support your children in building a positive connection with their food while minimizing the stress that often comes with mealtime. Register here.

NESCA's Director of Transition Services Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS, will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, October 30th, at 6:00 PM, geared towards learning about IEP transition planning and the most important skills to develop while students are still in middle and high school. Participants will learn about key concepts for transition planning, including visioning and postsecondary goals, requirements for transition services, basics of transition assessment, and critical elements of an effective transition planning process. This workshop is especially relevant at this time as student involvement in transition planning and services are much more prominently featured in the new MA DESE IEP. Register Here.

Students in Bolton's Pre-K made "Exploding Apples" with hollowed out apples, baking soda and vinegar this week. What a fun hands-on science activity! There are still open spots remaining in our half day integrated pre-kindergarten programs for students who are 3 and 4 years old. Please reach out to Kristen Ryan, Director of Early Childhood at kryan@nrsd.net for more information.

Celebrating everyday greatness! Is there a Nashoba teacher or staff member out there who you think deserves some special recognition? Send a Nashoba Notable Award their way! Fill out the form below and thank a Nashoba employee today!

Nashoba Notable Awards thank Nashoba employees for supporting students, families, and their school communities in all ways great and small.

Employees will receive a certificate that includes a brief explanation from the nominator of why they are Nashoba Notable. This form is open to everyone. Students, families, staff and community members can send a Nashoba Notable Award to any Nashoba employee.

There is no limit to the number of Nashoba Notable Awards someone may receive. Thank a Nashoba employee today!

Click here to tell someone they are Nashoba Notable!

MRE Fifth Graders loaded their bags as they headed out to adventure at Nature's Classroom in Maine!

First Graders at Center School completed the cup-tower building challenge as part of the EL curriculum, Module 1, "Tools".

Four NRHS teachers volunteered to participate in a “Casting Workshop", that saw them take part in a mock audition so that students could see what it was like to cast a show. The teachers were good sports and really put on a good show for the kids.

Hot off the press! Students from Hale's Journalism Club published the first edition of the Hale M.S. Times Newspaper! They covered student council candidates, the new high school build, and spotlighted books and songs through reviews.

Students at FSS participated in their annual Walk to School Day this week!