Natick Redhawks

Hello Natick High School Caregivers,

Over this weekend, we will be observing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Dr. King left a legacy of wisdom and devotion to the community around him; one of my favorite quotes of his is, "The time is always ripe to do right." If it is your custom to share in that legacy by engaging in service to the community on MLK Day, there are plenty of opportunities in Natick this weekend, and beyond. Some of them are student led, and others are organized by members of the Natick community. However you choose to spend the time, I hope you have a moment for reflection.

Over the next two weeks, we will also conclude semester 1 and welcome semester 2. Our students have been working hard, and we have been supporting them to prepare for the upcoming midyear exams. Important details about midyear exam week are included below. We are all rooting for all of our students to do their best!

As always, we enjoy partnering with you to help your NHS student learn and grow. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns about your child!

Warmly,

Josepha Blocker

Principal, Natick High School

Three Shows Available!

Friday, January 26th at 7:30 pm

Saturday, January 27th at 1 pm

Sunday, January 28th at 1 pm

More information can be found on the Natick High Theatre Website.

We are excited that registration for the 2024 Spring Athletics Season is opening soon. We will be offering a traditional slate of Spring athletic opportunities in the sports of Baseball, Girls and Boys Lacrosse, Sailing, Softball, Boys and Girls Tennis, Girls and Boys Track, Ultimate Frisbee, Unified Track, and Boys Volleyball.

There are new required courses: the Arxed Natick Student-Athletic course and the Concussion for Students course. We have updated the courses to make them more time efficient and effective. If you have not taken the NFHS Concussion course since June 1,2023 then you have to do it again. By State Mandate this course has to be done each academic year. All of the courses are embedded in the registration to make it easier to find them and to upload the certificates of completion.

Please note The Hazing & Implicit Bias courses are NO longer part of registration!

OPENS: January 22, 2024 at 12 pm

CLOSES: March 8, 2024

PAYMENTS DUE: March 8, 2024*

* Payments received after March 8, 2024 will incur a $25 late fee.

https://students.arbitersports.com/programs/spring-2024-high-school-registration

Any courses giving a seated midyear exam will do so this coming week, on Tuesday, January 16th through Friday, January 19th, based on the schedule below. Students will be dismissed at 11 am. There will also be a late bus at 11:45 am. Late buses for METCO, however, will not be running this week.

No lunch will be served.

• All students are expected to be in school and to attend both scheduled blocks on each exam day, except for Study Hall.
• Students are required to attend classes even if they are NOT giving an exam. During those classes, students will critique or present completed projects, receive feedback on their summative assessment, or close out the semester class.
• Skills Class and Workshops are considered classes and will meet during the midterm week.
• Study halls will not meet during exam week. When scheduled for a study hall, students may:
• Be dismissed by a caregiver. (You would follow the typical procedure of calling or emailing the office, or bringing in a note.) OR
• Spend the Study Hall period in the cafeteria (9th and 10th) or the library (11th and 12th.)

For unavoidable absences, make-up exams will take place after school the week of 1/22/24, or during a study/priv. block, as arranged between the teacher and student. Students should contact their teachers as soon as possible if they will miss the exam.

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.

Please help us keep the parking lots safe. During drop off and pick-up, kindly use the circle at the front of the school rather than dropping off or picking up in the faculty lots. This will help all walking students and staff to remain safe.

In 2012, Justin Bailey, Natick High School senior and hockey player, passed away unexpectedly. Justin was the quintessential teammate–always at practices, always at games, always working hard, and always supporting his fellow teammates. As a way to remember Justin, the Natick High School hockey community annually holds a food drive to support the Natick Service Council.

The food drive will be held at NHS home game on January 17th. Your support would be greatly appreciated and make a big difference!

Junior Addison Robie, a three-sport NHS student athlete, is working with the DJ Henry Dream Fund to make sure all Massachusetts kids get to access athletics and extracurriculars regardless of financial status, including kids in Natick. The DJ Henry Dream Fund raises funds to support young people to pay athletic or activity fees and to obtain the necessary equipment needed to participate in extracurricular activities. If you donate through the links that Addison provides below, 25% of the funds raised will go back to Natick families in need.

Please consider donating through one of the ways listed below.

• Venmo account: @djhenrydreamfund. Please put "Addison" in the comments to ensure it's marked for Natick's contributions so we can track the money raised.
• The PayPal link is here, and it is specifically dedicated to Natick funds.
• If a check is preferred, you can contact Addison directly at addison.robie@djdreamfund.org.

If you know a family that would benefit from this fund, please forward this information or click here for further information and the application process.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact Addison directly at Addison.Robie@djdreamfund.org.

This is a great chance for us to bring awareness and support to families in need in the Massachusetts community. Please feel free to share across your networks.

Our librarians have been busy at work! Below is their latest display, demonstrating the emotional connection that many of us have to picture books from childhood, and linking those books to Young Adult (YA) books with similar themes.

Visit tinyurl.com/NatickMLKDay2024 for more information.

In honor of MLK Day, consider joining our partners at Spark Kindness by donating to the Natick Service Council.

Natick Public Schools has teamed with Massachusetts Partnership for Youth for many years, to support the wellbeing of our students, and the professional development of our staff. They have recently developed a new resource for caregivers that we wanted to share with you: the Parent Solutions Quick Video Library. This digital library contains useful resources that may support you in caring for your teen.

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.

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

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